Double Decker Donuts, 6x6 Inch Oil Painting of Donuts by Kelley Macdonald

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Ahhhhhh.... donuts... it's going to be THAT kind of week, I think! :D

Been a long time...

Three Kings Of Cocktails, 6x6 Inch Original Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

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This wraps up the week's cocktail offerings!  Now.. TGIF and, as my Dad used to joke.. "Pick your choose.." (honestly he seemed to memorize every odd turn of phrase he heard).. it meant 'take your choice'.  I like all the blues and greens... no matter what's inside!

So... no matter what's going on in the world, one thing remains unchanging... friendships... so let's toast to that today, huh?

SKYY Martini, 6x6 Inch Original Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

$100 & $10 S&H

I just love the cobalt blue bottle of SKYY Vodka!  Add those 3 little olives ready to just get popped in your mouth, and it's a win-win!  Always on the hunt for colored bottles, so if you hear of or see any... let me know!  In the meantime.... cheers!

I just heard on TV that letting your dog kiss you on the lips can be dangerous - and people have gotten some horrible diseases that way.  My question is.... I have had dogs almost all my life - never was this a problem.  Now I have THIS guy...

and all I can say is... he's a lover, not a fighter, but his kisses ALWAYS land.  And I believe his name is actually Pierre, if you catch my drift.  Gross.  I know.  I DON'T ASK FOR THIS. 

But he's stealthy.

These Boots Are Made For ... Running! 4x4 Inches, Oil

$65 & $10 S&H

I saw these boots in Santa Fe about 4 years ago.  I don't know why I hesitated, and then left without them (probably the sticker shock).  But I when I saw them something inside me went "YEAAAAAH!"  And when that happens, I have learned to go with it.  So this Fall I am headed out to Santa Fe again, and if I see them.... they will be mine!  If you encounter something that speaks to you (a pair of boots, a cream colored kitten, a piece of pottery...) you should grab it and run.

I have a pair of boots (blue.. from Arizona) and they, honestly, are among the most comfortable shoes I own.  And when you wear them, you get a little lilt in your step.  Definitely worth it.  I think every woman should own what I call 'running boots' (as opposed to 'flying' boots, I guess, 'cause that's how they make you feel!).

On another note, I'm having high anxiety that my Opening Friday night will be devoid of friendly faces that I know!  OH!  When does THIS fear end?  Seriously, there will be fabulous Blackberry Lemonade Cocktails, fabulous food, and very interesting art to look at.  I'm in with a good group....

Chicklets, 5x5 Inches, Acrylic

$100 & $10 S&H

Buzzing around getting ready for my Karin Jurick workshop next week, and I spied a box of Chicklets (remember them?) I bought on the Cape to paint these colorful little pieces of gum.  I was thrilled when I saw so many reds (I ate 2 while I was painting), which are my favorite!  The background is lighter than this - but I took the photo after the sun set, and I couldn't correct it without adjusting the colors of the chicklets.

I will definitely post from the road.  The biggest road trip of my life!

Lovers' Lane, 5x7 Inches, Oil Painting of Blithewold

Don't you just love "lovers' lanes?'  In the beautiful little town of Bristol, RI, there's a gorgeous 'summer home' mansion that's open to the public as a kind of museum.  They're preserved the house as it was long ago, with the gorgeous grounds, as well as furnishings inside.  On the side of the property leading down to the private dock, is Lovers' Lane.  When I first painted this, I knew I had a problem, because the camera could not focus - my values were all in the middle!  So I deepened the darks and lightened the lights, and now.... take someone's hand and go strolling beneath the canopy!

Letting It Cool, Dunkin Donuts Coffee, 5x5 Inches, Oil

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It's Monday, and time for a crack at the Donut War with Susan Roden!  Actually it's turning into  a Dunkin vs. Starbucks war, and we can paint anything from those shops.  This photo is has a bit of glare in the black background - I took a zillion photos, and every one had glare somewhere!  Anyway, you know how HOT those coffees are (yes, you do, you remember someone got something like 3 million $$ for burning herself with it...) sometimes I crack the lid open to let it cool down a bit.  I haven't painted on this canvas type surface for a while, and I must say, I really enjoyed the 'tooth' grabbing at the paint on the brush!  Have a happy week, everyone.  See you tomorrow!

Cairn V - Strength, Acrylic, 5x5 Inches

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Another cairn painting - a little one.  

At the risk of boring everyone, I would like to say a little about the cairn paintings and why I do them.  I was intrigued when I saw my first cairn.  I was astounded when I saw them at the vortex in Sedona, about 9 years ago - hundreds of them.  And again in Maine.  I think each one is like a lesson - of patience to find the right angle of each stone, of gentleness in the placing of the stone atop.  Of the joy I find in our differences - I think each stone has a personality and it's color and shape reveal it,  I think we must trust when we balance them, and give in to that sense of balance.  Very much the way I want to live my life.  This one is named Strength because the stones fit very solidly into each other, and support each other.  I know people of true strength.  I bet you do, too.

Negative Space

Been super busy with commissions lately.  This is a demo I did a couple of weeks ago for my class. I was explaining negative space, which is the space between things.  In this piece it is the 'air' inside the cup handle.  It was a rough, quick demo, just to give them an idea.  They got it, all right. I think I must have super-geniuses in my class - look at their pieces below.  These guys have only had the feel of the brush in their hands for LESS than 4 months.  They were painting my husband's great grandfather's lunch pail.

Periwinkle Cup, 6x6 Oil

I bought these little cups and saucers at the cafe (now defunct) downstairs from my previous studio.  I love the yellow, periwinkle and rose cups with turquoise accents.  What a challenge to paint though, because the colors are slightly muted but still saturated.  Why am I doing so many coffee themed Daily Paintings?  Certainly not because they're in demand :).  I am challenged by the shift in elipses as your eye hits the rim of the cup, the base of the cup, the saucer top - throw in a handle, and it's a morning's eye exercise!    There's that and I love good coffee!

Small Iced, Regular, 5x7 Oil

Here in Rhode Island (the actual birthplace of Dunkin Donuts, I believe) there's no 'season' for iced Dunkin Donuts Coffee.  No offense to Coastal Roasters, who has my heart for hot coffee, there's something special about DD's iced.  I've sat at the drive up window in a snowstorm behind a string of cars, all getting our fix of the nectar!  I tried to stay loose in this one, and am happily ensconced in my new studio - yay!

Fallen Pear, Acrylic, 6x6

Today was a day I stayed home, so no oil painting for me.  But I had these luscious pears and I decided to make a painting with them.  The background, originally black, seemed boring, so I looked for a nice red to set off the green pears.  I picked up a tube of Naphtol Crimson, a paint I'd had for a while, but never really found a place for.  It was perfect - and more 'candy-apple' red than it shows in the picture.  I'm no pro at iPhoto (yet!), but this is a pretty good image otherwise.

"Spin Me Around, Dad!" Oil, 6x6

FINALLY I can post again!  Thank all of you for your patience.  I'm nowstruggling to learn how to use a laptop, and learn the MAC language that I used to understand!  Today's painting was based on my recent trip to NYC, where I watched the skaters at Rockefeller Center and saw this little girl skating with her Dad.  I loved the shapes of the skaters against the ice - it was a weekday and there were only a few people there, so looking down on them you got a lot of ice in your view.  Anyway... back to Painting A Day - YAY!  Also in about 15 minutes you can check my studio blog, http://welcometomyartworld.blogspot.com/ and see the biiiiiiiig sunset I finished today!  Again, always, thanks for looking!

Damp Day, Acrylic 5x7

A few days ago when the air was heavy with moisture and the sky was hazy, the Edna Mae, a fishing boat that 'lives' across the street and down a little ways, was heading out.  It was approaching Gould Island, and I snapped a photo (no, it wasn't a plein air painting!).  I have a few art errands today, so probably won't get to the studio, but I painted this little painting of the boat and the island.  On the Island blog, I'll post the photo as well.

Strawberry Jar, 6x6 Acrylic

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There is an upcoming show featuring the color RED for February, and I've been thinking of what to enter.  At the studio (no, I didn't photograph it yet) I'm working on a fairly large (for me) painting of a little red sailboat being 'guided' by a little boy.  Hoooo-boy - can I pick a complicated subject?  Let's just say it may not get finished!  Hopefully this will be a good workweek and I can post some photos in my studio blog, too.  I bought this little jar of strawberries because it was so beautiful.  I can't imagine that they taste so good, but I decided to take a shot at painting them today.

I used a black 'box' like a lot of the daily painters do (I think Carol Marine and Jeff Hayes and Shawn Kenney use them), with a directed light.  I'll admit it's easier when everything else in the world is taken out of the picture.  Let me know what you think of this.  I liked that it was glass, and then the berries with their luminescent color under the glass, and then - seeds!  Thanks for looking!

White Sangria, Oil, 6x12

I apologize for the bad cropping job - I'll try to re-crop it & post it later.  This is from Spain, the most delightful Sangria I've ever had (not that I've had a LOT of it!).  There is a show about 'RED' coming up, so some of my new paintings will be visual thoughts about that color.  This cherry in the bottom of the glass, I thought, deserved some attention.

Coastal Roasters

After a very intense week/end what with all the Holiday Shows and their preparations, the Open Studio I participated in in Bristol, and my visit to the Boston Fine Art Show, I was hungry for painting! Just having a little fun with my favorite coffee shop, Coastal Roasters. Outside in the seating area is a little Budda and after I painted it Tim suggested it would be appropriate for Buddha to be nursing a Coastal Roasters Travel Mug (not that he's actually travelling, but it gets cold on the water there!). So... fun, and still framing, dropping off, etc., AND trying to put myself in a mindframe to shop/cook/clean for Thanksgiving.

Saved From The Pie, 6x6 Acrylic

I'm celebrating my new oven, and wanted to bake a peach pie - just in time, since it's peach season here! So these three jumbo-jet sized peaches begged to be painted... and I let them! I have a little blue and yellow dish that I like and I thought would be a good supporting cast for the yellow/orange peaches, so I piled them on it. I've been painting outside lately, and been skipping the Daily Painting while the weather was so unbelievable - back to work/fun now! See the painting of Hopper's House, on http://welcometomyartworld.blogspot.com.

A Summer Gift, 5x7, Acrylic

This was waiting for me from Tim after a long day at my Open Studio on Saturday. Sometimes the best gifts are the simplest. These flowers were from a neighbor named Bill whose house I painted (which sold to someone else at the Opening of my show) I think I called it "Purple Sage". I had wanted to do a longer canvas/board, something like a 6x12, but I'm all out - thank goodness Dick Blick is having a canvas sale! Hoping to paint plein air today, maybe I'll even get a Daily Painting out of it!

Two Cherries, Four Currants, Acrylic 6x6

Bounty from the garden - the cherry tomatoes look huge and motherly compared to the tiny currant tomatoes! Soon the yellow cherry tomatoes will be ready, and I'll paint them, I'm sure. I was happy with how loose I was able to keep this, considering I was a ball of tension when I started - not wound down yet from our Open Studios Tour this weekend. The tomatoes are so welcome but I hate that they signal the 'back half' of summer. I need to make a list of the things I wanted to accomplish this summer, to get back on track!