Cranberry Dance, 6x6 Oil

We've all had wonderful and, well, not-so-wonderful Thanksgivings.  Yesterday was one of my best, and I hope you all had a great one, too.  Other than wishing for more time to talk to my kids, I couldn't have asked for anything more, and we had no burnt food, illnesses, fires or other catastrophes!  My son Conor made the cranberry sauce this year at my house, and 'rescued' 5 little berries from the pot.  He put them on this light green glass plate with bubbles on the sides, and they sat under a light on the counter - I had to paint them, you know? Many challenges, the biggest being the white table having the 'shadow' of the green plate with the little bubbles showing.  I may do more cranberries, just because it gives me an excuse to use my Perylene Red!  Happy Thanksgiving, and a safe weekend to all...  This is also not going on ebay (when the market picks up a bit I'll put them back on, but it cost me $$$$ to sell NONE of them through ebay last month!) but email me if you're interested. ($100)

Different Strokes Weekly, Oil, 6x8

This painting is in response to Karin Jurik's Different Strokes From Different Folks Challenge. I found it extremely challenging, with the light coming from behind, and there was a whole tableau to choose from & narrow down. I love a challenge, though, and the very neutral tones were fun to work with (how many ways can you say 'gray'?). And also I go to meet Katie May this weekend at Mary Sheehan Winn's Open Studio - what a great girl!, this is the three of us below:

Also..... I've been 'tagged' by Paula Villanova AND Katie May (so I guess I'd better play!) Here goes:

The rules:
1. Put a link in your posting to the person who tagged you.
2. List 7 unusual things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 other bloggers at the end of your post (*including their blog links*) and comment on their blogs to let them know they have been tagged.

Now... my 7:

1. I was the recipient of the Betty Crocker Homemaker Of The Year Award in my senior year of high school (I was desperate for reading materials, and pored over the Farmer's Almanac and Yankee Magazine the previous summer, so knew a few things about skinning peaches and making jam) and was the butt of jokes the entire year - I am absolutely domestically challenged!
2. Being an artist was way beyond my wildest dream as a child... my family tried and tried to point me in a 'practical' direction.
3. I can bake circles around almost anybody, and I can't tolerate pie crust that isn't flaky and light!
4. In jr. high and early high school I was in a girl's guitar band, called... are you ready?.... The Pebbles. :0 We mainly played at Catholic Masses, B'nai B'rith (hope I spelled that right) meetings, other Women's Group meetings, the VA hospital, and.. funerals.
5. My cats can hypnotize me and put me to sleep.
6. My favorite thing to do is to just be with my husband - I am never bored (31 years) and am just happy, whatever we do.
7. At the Holidays I can drive around for hours like a child, looking at the lights and decorations - the more elaborate the better, throw in a Santa & Reindeer, too!

Now.. I'm tagging

• Nina Villanova
• Patty Walsh
• Kathy Weber
• Debbi Roark Smith
• Debbie Miller
• Nancy Hartley
• Pam Holnback
  

Snowman, 6x8 Oil

This is a little plastic snowman (a la Christmas Tree Shoppes) that has been hiding in plain sight in my bookcase waiting for the Holidays. I'm not putting him on ebay, so if you're interested just email me, at kareymac@hotmail.com. Kind of tonal, but fun to paint~

Take Out, 6x6 Oil

This painting is not going on ebay - if interested simply email me at kcareymac@hotmail.com. I played around with this a bit, and still wonder if I might like a darker, more neutral background on it. Well, I'll paint it again at some point. I've been working on a submission for an upcoming show - and will post it after Monday on my Studio Blog. But... for now I'd like to invite you all to the
North River Arts Society 27th Annual Holiday Art Sale.
It is on Saturday November 22 and Sunday November 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can really pick up some bargains here. It's in Marshfield MA at 157 Old Main Street, in beautiful and historic Marshfield Hills, quite a nice drive, in a wonderful old Grange Building. I'll have 20 pieces for sale PLUS a big painting that I've reduced drastically for this sale. See below:

All my smaller pieces are on 'sale' from this blog - at Fire-Sale prices (between $50-$75). The large piece, the Flower Stand, can be seen on my studio blog. There will be lots of high quality paintings for sale, and it's a hugely popular event with those 'in the know'. They've even had to start an "Early Bird Admission" for the customers, for $15 you can get in an hour early (9 a.m.) on Saturday, to beat the crowds, and get to browse and sip a cup of nice hot coffee.

Sparkling Egg, 8x6

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**ooops** I sent this out before the photo was uploaded - my apologies!

Here's one where you say... WHAT was I thinking?  Actually, my 26 year old son was helping by cleaning out a closet (something I dread) and he found this and said "This should be a Daily Painting!"  "HA!" I said.  That would be crazy!  So here I am in crazy-land, and I tried not to get tied up in the 'decoration' of the egg.  I just let my eye capture generalized color, bright vs. the shaded colors, and wherever little sparkles or shots of color came out, I added them in.  I was also trying to do the new Karin Jurick's challenge, which was an upside down figure, and I only had a half hour today - needless to say it was a total wipe off.  I'll do it for next week.

Just the Peaches, 6x6 Oil

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I did do a painting over the weekend, but it was not successful, it was OK, but nothing to write home about.  Then this morning I grabbed this jar of peaches and had a great time painting it! I wonder if there's too much of the mid tone, that being the golden color of the peaches.  I guess it's one more thing to think about, and not jump in and paint till I've got it settled in my mind.  As Ken Auster says "Intellect, then passion, then intellect".  I was running with the passion, forgetting to plan, plan, plan!

Santa Snow Globe, 6x6 Oil

Reserved

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Uh-HUH! The stores are all decked out for Christmas already! I went in to pick up a presciption and CVS was completely Christmas-ed. So this little guy was 99 cents, and I said to myself - I wonder how I'd paint THAT.... and the next thing I knew he was standing in the spotlight in my studio just DARING me to paint him! So it's a bit early for the holidays, but I'll probably be tired of all that by December anyway! The inside of the globe was a challenge, but not as much as I'd feared (of course that depends on if you think it succeeded!), and the little pink and green sparkles were fun - I had some fancy smancy paint - I think it was Daniel Green brand - that was 'radiant', in magenta and green, and honestly, I've never found another place for them! I'm just having fun today!

Mushrooms, 6x6 Oil

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This little 'Daily' took about 6 hours, if you count the first attempt and subsequent wipe off!  The whole time I was thinking I really wanted to go for a walk, casting my eye out toward the sunshine that was slipping away, and not really focusing on my painting.  The first design was all, all wrong, and nothing I could do could pull it out.  Finally, about 3:30 in the afternoon, I wiped it off, said "To heck with it!" and went out for a stroll during the most beautiful part of the day.  When I got home I switched from the 6x8 format I was using, grabbed a trusty 6x6, and this painting fell off the brush.  I love to paint whites that aren't white, and these mushrooms fit the bill.

 Then back home, where they became part of a mushroom-spinach-rice concoction that gets scooped into a pita with a slice of cheese, and grilled till the cheese melts, mmmmMMMmm!

It's A Persimmon, 5x7 Oil

Not Available

I love them ... to eat... to paint... to simply look at.  Funny, because orange is not a color that would come up on my 'short list' of favorites.  But I loved the bouncing reflections from the saucer on to the Persimmon, and the highs and lows in the shadows.  The ground on this board is very very absorbent - I think it's gessoboard - so some of the looseness that would/could come from sliding brushstrokes full of paint together didn't happen, but it's OK, I like it anyway.

On my Studio Blog I'm posting some photos from my Artist In Residence day at the Furnace Brook Middle School in Marshfield, MA.  The kids were amazing, and I did two little panels, explaining about A Painting A Day, and they did one (taking turns, of course) and I did one, and I'll post mine there, too - I can't believe I forgot to take a photo of the one the kids did - it was  great!

Different Strokes, Oil, 8x8

This is in response to Karin Jurick's bi-weekly challenge - Different Strokes From Different Folks.  So I'm not putting in on ebay, but if anyone wants it just email me.  I like challenges, and using someone else's image certainly fits that bill.  I just focused on the shapes of the ladies and their shadows - and it was fun putting in the little park/traffic background as well.  While I was doing it, I was gritting my teeth in fear - then I said to myself  "Nobody knows you're doing this... if it doesn't turn out, just wipe it off!"  and that freed me to try some things.  I did have to do a little wiping off, but that's OK. I'm so inspired by the other artists that have done this challenge.  I don't know how often Karin updates her submissions - every few days of so, I think. 

Bottle of White, 6x8 Oil

Today after coffee, etc. at Olga's Cup & Saucer in Providence Tim & I went to Borders for some quiet bookbrowsing... NOT!  Apparently Bill O'Reilly was signing his new book there, and I swear it looked like 3 days before Christmas!  It was packed - and made it tough to find books to read - we 'booked' it out of there and over to get some art supplies on Wickendon Street.  There's a really great wine store off Wickendon, so we picked up a couple of nice French wines on the Blue Tag Special. Then over to Wayland Square to see the shops & pick up some amazing cheese at the Farmstead.

So we had the cheese & wine at my studio, because it's on the way back home, and I had forgotten my photo card reader there on Thursday.  And because I didn't post yesterday, I painted the wine bottle.  Not thrilled with it, so I won't put it on ebay, I think I should have been more creative about the viewpoint, and composition in general.  I was breaking my rule about not painting after a glass of wine,  now I remember why I made it!

******Good News Alert!  I've been accepted as a Gallery Artist in the Cape Cod Art Association!  I found out today and am very pleased!

Pink and Yellow Gerbers, Oil, 5x7

Reserved

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Today I combined two colors of the daisies, but stuck them in a pink lemonade bottle. I just loved the undulating shape of the bottle, and thought the colored labels might be fun. The format, 5x7, is not my favorite. I've decided that I'm most comfortable with 6x6 or 6x8. It's a good thing to know, but now.. all those odd sizes of canvases & boards.... I'll think of something to do with them!

OK - let's talk POLITICS! No, really, let's not. But I guess the Obama girls are going to get a puppy, and being an animal lover (do you remember that I'm such a dog freak that I go - by myself- to the big AKC dog show in Boston every December?) I'm listing a few of my favorite breeds in a POLL on the top right of my blog. Out of my suggestions which dog would YOU like to see in the White House (on the sofas, on the White House lawn, in Lincoln's bed, etc.). It's just for fun, though I promise I'll send our recommendation to Michelle Obama!

Red Wine Vinegar Cruet, 6x6 Oil

Reserved

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Away from flowers for today, and on to food! This is one of my mother's cruets, which, though not expensive, mean a lot to me. So since the only salad dressings I like are home made, I'm planning on doing a series, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, cider vinegar, and olive oil. I'm discovering the joy of painting glass, too. Don't worry, I'll mix it up with flowers & fruits & veggies, too. I think I could paint for 3 lifetimes at least and not run out of things I want to paint!

I spent today in Southie (South Boston) with Paula Villanova and Ros Farbush. I'll post that plein air piece on my Studio Blog. It's great to paint with Paula, always, and Ros, having celebrated her 80th birthday this year, gives me such hope - that loving painting can go on for a long time and bring a sparkle to our 'golden years'.

Yellow Gerbers, 6x8 Oil

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More Gerbers.  I find I like their shapes as well as their intense colors.  I put them against a dark chocolate brown background to make them stand out.  The cloth they were resting on was a warm white - I don't know if it came out that way in the photo.  I think I'm definitely buying PhotoShop!  The program that came with my mac is great for storing, cropping, etc., but for quick resizing and color matching, I don't think you can beat PhotoShop.  I used to have it on an older computer (isn't it amazing how quickly we burn through computers?), and I can't even remember which one!

Pine Cones in a Vase, Oil, 6x8

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Another on that kooky background!  These are, again, my Nova Scotia pinecones.  I would have liked the set up to be a little less flimsy - the background would not stay upright in back of the yellow covered box - and instead it rested a few inches away (I should take a photo of my set up) - to get it eye level I have a plastic storage box, with a big phone book, then a tall box on top.  On top of this I drape the cloth or paper, then in back (against the microwave) I lean the background.  So the shadow did not touch the background!  Anyway I went to Kabloom for more flowers - I was going to splurge - but they were closed, so.... the little pine cones filled in.  They are surprisingly hard to do - you can't try to 'draw' the little 'leaves', it'll make you crazy, you have to just kind of look at the light spots and the shadows (which is the best way for me to paint anyway...)  Happy November!