Cinco De Mayo, 6x6 inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

How would you like it?  Straight up or frozen?  Hmmm... Maybe you like it one way and your best buddy/friend/significant other likes it the other?  Whatever way you make it or buy it, it is delish!  I like mine extra lime-y.  I remember my favorite Margarita story.. I was painting in Mexico, in San Miguel de Allende with Paula Villanova and it was Easter Week (had we realized this we may have picked another week, but the crowds were fun, too).  Paula and I were painting in the Jardin (town square) and she went for a walk.  I jokingly asked her how much I could sell her painting for, and she said some silly answer like $20.  We laughed, and don't you know I sold both paintings on our easels while she was gone!  I gave the guy a terrific price and he was thrilled, as were we.  Paula and I celebrated by spending the afternoon in a very cool, beautiful restaurant drinking the best Margaritas (straight up) I have ever had, to this day.  Don't remember too much about the rest of the day, but I'm sure it was fun. :)  I will get back to that lovely town.....  And if you enjoy Paula's paintings, you can see them as well on our Girls Just Wanna Paint blog. 

Make Mine A Manhattan, 6x6 Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

I guess I'm thinking of 2 things today, painting this, OK, 3 things. 

1. It's Primary Day in New York, and aren't we lucky to be able to vote for whomever we choose?
2. I have a friend that's coming to celebrate her birthday and her FREEDOM from her job, and I'm very excited, wanting to toast to her!
3. I love love love painting the shimmery, gold, yellows and reds in a Manhattan with a cherry.  OK, I love painting any kind of whiskey, bourbon, any of that gold-y stuff.  Which is kind of odd, since I don't actually like the taste of it!  It's the visuals, that get me, every time.  Plus painting glass... I love to do that too.

Anyway - hey, we have a lot to be grateful for - every one of us, if we think about it, so ... here's to you!

Darling Sparrow, 6x6 inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

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Do you love her?  I do.  I have always been drawn to the soft, pouffy rounded shape of a Sparrow.  I think if you sit and watch them you just have to fall a little bit in love with them.  Notwithstanding my cat thinks my love for sparrows includes dead ones,  which it most definitely does not.  I love their lively little eyes and dancing way of hopping around.  

I have somewhere (packed, and I'll find it) a sculpture of 3 sparrows on a branch.  When I get it out I'll include a photo of it. 

HUGE apologies for a post I wrote (it was a long one) on the 1st.  It disappeared - and didn't even go to the Drafts folder.  Shaking my head.... hope this guy gets out to you all.  Hey.... Spring is VERY close!  Reason to celebrate!

Baby, It's COLD Outside, 6x6 inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

"Baby It's COLD Outside", 6x6 Inch Acrylic Painting on Archival board

$100 & $12 S&H

Click HERE To Purchase 

I have long wanted to do more figure painting.  Can never seem to find the time for 1) a class, 2) a drop in or 3) a workshop.  But today I felt compelled.  And this baby appeared on my easel.  No, I don't know this child, it's adapted from a Google Search. 

I used (Cadmium) Red, (Cadmium) Yellow and (Ultramarine) Blue and white, plus a bit of Burnt Umber (brown).  I love baby faces because they are without guile, their eyes are large and their skin is so soft.  I plan on doing many more.  I think a collection of these would be so adorable together!

Are the eyes the window of the soul?  Seems so.

Tulip Time - Already?? Original Painting by Kelley MacDonald

Time moves on and so do we all!  This has been an unbelievably busy Holiday Season, and also - I have moved, so on top of pushing out 42 small paintings for Little Pictures types of shows, and juggling 2 day jobs, I've become an Urban Girl.  Yup.  Never thought I'd like it (yes, that was me you heard kicking and screaming...) but I will admit... it is A-OK.  I never realized how much TIME I spent getting places.  Now there are endless sidewalks to explore with Paco, and even the cats do not seem to mind not going outside for their morning constitutional.

PLUS I'm super close now to my sons, and that is just GREAT.  

So these tulips grace my new space... and it is the end result of a lesson I taught at the Art Club today.  We took a photo, did 3 small quick experimental paint sketches, and settled on one to really paint.  Teaching at 2 places now, the Club and North River Arts Society in Marshfield.  I love my life!

Hopper's Light, 8x10 inch Acrylic by Kelley MacDonald

Well, it's the 1st of the month, and that means Girls Just Wanna Paint!  This month Mary Sheehan Winn chose the theme "Paint Like A Famous Artist".  I was stumped, stymied and s-l-o-w.  I've always loved Hopper, and his bare, lonely lighthouse paintings, so here we are.  I'll tell you trying to copy another artist's work is so much more difficult than doing it yourself!  But I do learn, every single time I do things like this.  This speaks to me of every lighthouse I've visited.  Especially Maine, where Hopper took a lot of inspiration.  I love everywhere he painted.  Anyway, it's an 8x10 on gallery wrapped canvas (no need to frame).  I can't ship it till after our monthly meeting on the 6th, so bear that in mind!  Stay safe if you're in hurricane areas!

Long Time Gone

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I've really missed my blogging friends!  I've cleared out a lot in my house, and now am in the Limbo that is unique to a House For Sale.  I've struggled with all the different hats I've had to wear prepping everything, and I'm still not done, but well on my way - one more yard sale and one more POP UP sale (keep your eyes peeled and check the blog posts, because I will be taking sales via text message as well as in person!) to go.

It had been so long since I've done a Daily Painting... there was this fear... could I still paint?  I thought I'd forgotten HOW.  And what?  What subject?  I returned to my comfort zone.  Hadn't done a coffee or tea break in a long long time.  I love painting different textures, and here the graham crackers contrasted with the smooth liquid and the hard porcelain... and I had a BLAST doing it.  And whites are always so interesting.  So join me in 'Tak(ing) A Break", relax and enjoy.  And thanks for being there.

Poppies, 6x12 inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

As we drove to and from painting sites during our week in Maine, we were treated to gorgeous displays of poppies.  These, against the deep dark of the woods, were these brilliant glowing flowers! We took so many photos of them and I knew I'd paint them.  One thing I love about this painting is that the woods are not a flat black area, there is depth and branches and trees and all sorts of stuff going on there! A nice, 'tuckable' size, too, 6x12.  

I always see poppies as a hopeful sign, that the cold winter is really really gone, and the flora of summer is on it's way.

"The Spiritual America" Cocktail, 6x6 inch Acrylic by Kelley MacDonald

At a place called Pearl & Ash in Manhattan they are dreaming up Spring cocktails.  Now... how fun does this look? Tastes like Blood Orange with Rhubarb accents.  Sounds like a winner, even though I can't figure out how they came up with a name like that!

Come on Spring... I know you can do it!  I think here in Rhode Island we're going to pretty much skip Spring, and leap from the mid 50's to the 70's.  I'm enjoying saying goodbye to frigid weather and snow injuries.  Looking for some tulips to brighten the days, too.  Enjoy, friends!

Lush And Sweet, 7x5 Inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

I knew you needed some sweetness in your life right now.  Here you go.  ZERO calories!  Tender plump donuts filled with real whipped cream and a splot of jelly injected in the middle just for a touch of perfection.  Dusted with powdered sugar.  In a brown box, with waxed paper wrap to keep it safe.

Yeah.  I'm even making MYSELF hungry!

Now... wipe that drool off your lips...... 

:D

Memories, 6x6 Inch Acrylic painting by Kelley MacDonald

This month the Girls Just Wanna Paint challenge was to paint a treasured object.  I've kind of trying to adopt a Buddhist attitude, of detachment, and not letting material things mean too much to me, but this little pitcher was my mom's and I think was actually a creamer.  My son, knowing how I love pussy willows, actually GREW some this year, and put them in a floral arrangement he gave me on my recent birthday.  Well the flowers are gone, but the pussy willows remain.

SO.  On to the fun part here.  Today, being behind the 8 Ball with my painting schedule, I packed up my paints and drove to Sally Dean's studio where we decided we would simply get in her studio and CRANK out this month's Challenge. We did it, then went looking at some awesome pottery and glasswork in nearby Norwell (behind Trattoria San Pietro). So... here is mine.  Please check out the rest of the GJWP Challenge paintings HERE, and Sally's blog HERE.

"Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends... " yes I do, and I want to say THANKS to Sally for a great art date day!

Droolworthy, 6x6 inch oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

"Droolworthy" 6x6 Inch Oil on Archival Panel

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Oh, I love these close up portraits of jelly donuts!  I particularly enjoy the jelly part (can you tell?).  Why?  Because it's the biggest challenge (hardest part, yeah..)!  How many layers of light and sweetness can you see?  I use about 7 or 8 colors here, the exact selection honed over about 7 years of painting donuts.  The jelly has layers, and so do the highlights.  In this way it's like painting colored glass.  

So... I just this morning begged my husband to stop at the donut shop after he picked up some dog food.  Nom nom!  But I'm getting in the mood to paint some pets, and I've exhausted my own.  If you would like to send me a head shot of YOUR fur baby or one you know, please do!  NO OBLIGATION, I'm looking for models!  Send them to kcareymac@hotmail.com!  THANKS... from me and.... Paco, who is having a very tough time between the 2+ feet of snow and the bitter cold! :D

This is Paco's "come hither" look...

"That Kind Of Day" 6x6 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

"That Kind Of Day" 6x6 Inch Oil Painting

Too long since I've posted a nice martini painting, and if your winter is ANYTHING like the Boston area's winter - you NEED a nice martini.  :D

Seriously, we'll get through it, but oooooh that first sip of a nice cold martini makes you warm all over.  I've intentionally let the 'ground' show through these expressive brushstrokes - hey, let me tell you everything about this painting was fun.

Now.  Who needs a sip?

It Was Either This Or A Snow Painting...

Bunch Of Clucks, 4x4 Inch Acrylic Painting on Cradled Wood

$65 & $10 S&H 

Click HERE To Purchase

Oh, the joys of a snow day!  I visited chickens a couple of times last summer and was going through my photos and thought I needed to bring them into a painting!  Once again,, this acrylic pen is so much fun to use!  Not my usual style, but every once in a while you have to break free.  

What better time than during a historic snowstorm?  Thanks Juno!

Tender Trail, 8x6 inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

Oooooh, a little shadow, I now see, at this late hour on the lower left side!  Will re-shoot in the light of day!  This painting is one of those many, may layered pieces.  Abstracts, for me, take so long.  The planning.  The process, the layers, and seeing how they are working, and adjustments made (cooler white or warmer white... any color really gets tweaked).  Then, as I have learned, turn the pieces on their sides and upside down - it must 'work' on all sides.  This again, has so so many layers of paint and clear acrylic.  In person you can see the depth and it draws you in.  

All the reds and red browns and red oranges.  I was seeking warmth, I guess, in bleak January!  Gray sky, gray water, even the dead grass looks gray.  Gray tree trunks.  So... RED!

:)

Sparks, 5x7 inch acrylic painting by Kelley MacDonld

Day 5 of the 30 in 30 Challenge.  I'm very intrigued with the different types of abstract painting you can have.  Eschewing form in favor of motion, of interplay between colors, I've got a few more coming. Today I am loving black and a creamy white.  Black, of course, is a mixture of a lot of colors, and the red was just the ticket. I've kind of taken over the dinning room, with drying paintings, pots of mediums, glazing mediums and paints.  What a ride this is!  

Here are the details.....

Every One A Memory, 5x7 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

Happy New Year Everyone!

Time to put the ornaments, candles and garlands away and get on with 2015.

Let's hope this year simply sparkles for each one of you!  I loved painting this because of the challenge each glass ornament provided.  And yes, the highlights on the gold one in the middle DID look like a smiley face!

Breathe in... breathe out...  face each day with an open mind, and know that the people who love you will continue to love you, no matter how close (or not) you come to the goals you set.  Me?  I'm just going to choose faith and hope, rather than goals this year.  Let's see where that takes me.

The God Squad, 6x4 Inches, Oil by Kelley MacDonald

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Times are trying now... for a lot of people.  Here's a conference of sweet angels ready to jump in to help.  Do you know someone who is in need of a fleet of angels?  This tiny painting will sit nicely on a nightstand and is only a whisper away.  I love layering the diaphinous robes and wings, the cute but powerful wings.  Angelic assistance is on the way....

Full Nest, 6x6 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

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Sometimes in our lives things are very full... like with little ones, and business and dreams and hopes.  That's what a full nest feels like.  Everything changes, so we learn to hold on to this sweetness and the moments as they come.

Today in class we did the 'counted strokes'  lesson.  We painted our image, counting each stroke - no limit.  My first one was 230 strokes.  The next one we did we cut that number in half - I only could cut it, this time, to 120 strokes.  The third is the most difficult - cut the number in half again.  Doing this makes you think VERY carefully about the stroke you're putting down.  It makes you deliberate.  Keeps you from 'house painting' where you 'pet' the canvas or board, almost mindlessly, until you think of what color comes next.  Here, we are practicing 'thoughtful' strokes.

At the end we paint the image again, with no counting, just the lesson of thoughtful paint application in mind.  This, above, was my last effort.  Here is the set of 4 below, from my demo (the painting above is on a regular square of gessobord, and I just taped it to my big canvas in space #4.

The colors were a little yellow in this photo...

And the little dabs were my way of counting each stroke - no, they do not match up - the first one took more room for the dots than I needed, so I continued down on #4's space (which I didn't need because we didn't count on that one!).

P.S. The recent post had a link to get Blog Traffic from Allison Stanfield that didn't get live - HERE is the live link!  

Chocolate Chocolate Cream ... Plus... oil by Kelley MacDonald

Getting ready for the Hingham Arts Walk THIS weekend.... come SEE the 'wall of donuts' - 35 North Street in Hingham.  Most of these have not been seen by the world yet!  I discovered a true gem of a donut shop in Fall River, this donut is slightly crunchy on the outside, and tender and moist on the inside, PLUS filled with cream AND frosted with chocolate... WOWZA.  Do stop by Page Railsback's studio on Sunday!

Also.... I am endlessly fascinated by other artists' process.  So when I see some (and you should check these guys out) like Karen Appleton and Amy Hillenbrand, I just am mesmerized.  They paint in one location and move on to another... This speaks largely to the whole "my school of painting is the only correct one..." crowd.  You see, in the world of art, there IS no 'correct' method of painting.  Some people start by blocking out masses of shapes, some draw with  pencil first and then work they way methodically across the canvas/board, some draw with paint and lay down the darks firs.....  it's ALL good.  And what happens when you tend to judge is that you miss out on being OPEN and learning new things.  I'm re-inspired.  May just try this type of method soon.  I'll show you.  Although, to be honest, when you try something new, it takes about 6 tries to get it right...