Wild And Crazy Martini, 8x8 Inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

"Wild And Crazy Martini", 8x8 Inch Acrylic on Canvas

 I got about 90% of this done in class at North River.  A student/friend graciously let me use this vivid fabric and I LOVE it.   I visualize this framed in a white wood frame, in a bar area or kitchen... I love the fabric background, and MAN was it a fun challenge to see how it looks when viewed through the vodka and glass!

So here's to you. Friends, artists, art lovers and just basic great women...CHEERS!  Celebrate!

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. 

Gimlet, Anyone? 7x5 Inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

Green.  I love the color!  So many greens in this piece!  And well, so many yummy things are green, like limes!  And then there's all that ice - never too much ice!

So.. kick back & enjoy.  This might just be my drink of the summer.  Looks so refreshing, no?

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!

"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?

Love On The Rocks, 6x6 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

SOLD

When I was small, my Dad loved a Manhattan on the rocks.  If I were VERY good, I would get a cherry.  (Or two.  Dad often gave me both of his, but my Mom needed one of hers!)  So... yeah, I was always very good.  When my sister came along she discovered that you did NOT have to actually be good - you still got the cherry even if you escaped from our booth or hid under someone else's table and made my parent's frantic.  Or if you mimicked the quirks of the other diners, their ticks and accents.  My parents actually ROARED at that.   Hunh.  My 12 year old self kind of though "All that time... and I couldn't gotten the cherries NO MATTER WHAT!"

:)

It all worked out - Dad switched to a Manhattan straight up, with a twist (and rocks on the side).  I'm going to have to paint that soon, too.  Miss you Dad....

To Us, 8x8 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

We have so much in common, but you like olives and I like lemon twists....  here's a toast to the best of times!

Spring is finally here in full swing, and everywhere we look there are celebrations - festivals, weddings, graduations, etc.  So... a toast to all the good things, and good people in our lives!

Martooni Time, 10x10 Inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

I made one more swipe at this one today after I photographed it, but couldn't get a photo without even this much glare!  So hopefully I'll get a better image tomorrow by noon, and replace this one.  This is another 'Recovery' Painting.  A painting that did not 'make the cut' getting another chance at life with a new painting over it.  I leave little strips of the old painting, which looks like colored stripes, peeking out… to remind the new painting that it has roots.  Hoping that the new painting is one that sticks, and gives it a new lease on life.  It's exciting and fun, and I can't even remember what the old painting was by the time I finish the new. 

I'm on a martini kick these days.  Lemon garnish coming later this week.

To YOU!

Approximately 6x8 inches, Oil on Canvas pad

This is to all of YOU who keep me buoyed and up no matter what!  I've been down with the usual winter health issues, but this week in class we had a 'Cocktail Party'.  I encouraged zooming and cropping, enhancing the background and love, love, loving the glass.  We all were interested in the way the 'gin' magnified the olives, reflected them upside down and just did crazy things!  And the glasses grabbed color from as far away as the painter next door, with their bright blue trash bags, or the blue of the sky.  Anyway, cheers!

Here's some of our work:

Cocktails For Two!, 8x10 inch oil painting by Kelley MacDonald

8x10 inches

$200 & $10 S&H

Click HERE To Purchase

In my painting classes last week we had a 'cocktail party', and I was totally inspired by the colors and set ups that my students selected.  So I thought - I MUST have something to celebrate, and it will come to me as I paint.  So... *tick*tick*tick* (time going by)... I found out my painting Maine Chicks won an Honorable Mention at the upcoming North River Arts Festival.  I'm honored just to get IN that show!  So... Cheers! (And yes, I ate 2 cherries just setting this up...)

(and even though I always HATE to put a $200 price on a Daily Painting, this is 8x10, and that is a fraction of what it will go for at the gallery - if it doesn't sell this week, it goes on the Art Stable Gallery walls!)

Here's the little Maine Chicks...

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

SOLD

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.

Waiting For Tonic, 6x6 Inch Original Oil Painting By Kelley MacDonald

6x6 Inches, Oil

First, let me just say that if you haven't tried Hendrick's Gin.... y'oughta!

This weekend marked the (belated) push for the Little Picture Shows.  I can hardly believe how many I've committed to.  This weekend I did 4 'cocktail' type paintings.  My first thought is to do 3 cocktail and 3 donut paintings for the Providence Art Club Little Picture Show, like last year.

Since taking Carol Marine's Advanced Workshop a couple of weeks ago I'm all excited to do glass and reflective surfaces... so look forward to more!

Also - as a balm to our hectic world, with all our anxieties and conflicts (think politics - and then DON'T think politics...)  I offer to you a recent sunset from my front porch.  Maybe someday I'll get brave enough to tackle them again!