Scottsdale Mug & 2 Jelly Halves, 6x6 Inches, Oil Painting

LOTS of technical difficulties around here!  For example, my trusty camera has finally bitten the dust.  After painting this I packed it in the car and took it and my camera to Hunt's Camera in Providence.  They couldn't get the camera to focus either, and finally pronounced it officially non-functioning.  I'm getting another camera this week, but in the meantime, they actually took the memory card and put it in a new camera and took some shots for me.  My new camera will be in around Thursday, and I am so excited!

Getting ready for my Open Studio on the South Coast Open Studio Tour on Saturday and Sunday, August 20 and 21.  Crossing my fingers for good weather!

Come on over!  Exit 2 off of Rte 24 in RI.  Go south 1 mile, and ...voila!

I painted this jelly-full donut in response to Susan Roden's volley - it is Monday, so it's the Donut War Day!  Susan thinks her trifecta of sugary sweetness will *splat* my jellies against a wall.  I say.. we divide and conquer!  Reinforced by one of my favorite mugs - one from Scottsdale Artists School.  I loved my class there.  Can't wait to do another one!  On the scorching red mug, is a symbol of a palette, and the words "Scottsdale Artists School"... as if I could forget!!!!

Pair Plus One, 6x8 Original Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

More of these Asian Pears... mmmmMMmm...  I painted this one on a canvas board- the one from yesterday was on a smooth Gessobord.  In other words, this surface had more 'tooth'.  I find I like the way the paint glides onto the surface of the smoother board.  Just a nice feeling when I'm painting.  It's funny, when I first started oil painting I had this great teacher, Valerie Vitali, who made you believe you could achieve anything you wanted with paint.  She would gush about painting on hard surfaces, like paper, and I would try and imagine how I could love anything more than a springy, textured canvas.  Now I know.  It only took me years to get there, but I agree!  One of my goals for next year is to try to buy some large sized wooden panels to do bigger pieces on.  I don't have the patience for framing paintings on paper, although I do love painting on it as well!

Kind of out of it today, as a cold kept me up almost all night. Between the wheezing and the 2 cats and 1 pug on top of me, I barely slept!  But one good thing I found out - I had a painting make it into the Best And Brightest Show in Scottsdale!  It'll get rotated into the huge 10 week Celebration Of Fine Art Show in Scottsdale Gallery area! 

Happy Birthday to my lovely daughter, Molly!

Scottsdale Artists' School Mug, Oil, 6x6

Back to the studio and raring to go.  Finally over the sore throat caught on the plane, I could focus on doing my Painting A Day and not have it look like.... well, the 3 Coke bottles I've been trying to paint all week!  I am also fooling around in the studio with self portraits.  It's terrible when your model won't stay still - even more terrible when it's YOU who are the model!  I'll post those tomorrow on my studio blog for a laugh.  

This is the mug I got when I went to Peggi Kroll Roberts' workshop in Scottsdale.  Well worth the trip, and this was my souvenir.  Reds, as usual, a devil to work with.