Morning Ritual, 8x8 Inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

This painting was done for my Girls Just Wanna Paint Challenge this month. The topic? "Ritual".  There were so MANY I wanted to paint - girlfriends walking the beach, nail polish and cottonballs, a Rosary, a pug in the lap of someone (ahem) meditating....  But when I found these green cups and saucers at a friend's cottage.... I was hooked.  Then I had to go BUY a newspaper - first time in a long time - and I loved it.  Reading the newspaper was a habit for years and years.  The Boston Globe in the morning, the Patriot Ledger in the afternoon.  I read ENTIRE articles, not just headlines.  I read different points of view.  I read ads.  Classifieds.  OK, Obituaries.  Now... I never know who's alive or dead.  I guess that might sound wrong.... but I"m not going to get online and LOOK UP Obituaries just in case someone I know might have died.  But I digress.

No, in case you are wondering, and I think maybe you are, I never ever sat with a donut on a plate and a coffee cup and read the newspaper.  That would be 'wasting' a plate, don't you think?

Anyway, check out the other very cool responses to the "Ritual" Challenge HERE.  :)

And have a great Labor Day - and a rest from your labors...

Broken, 6x6 Inch Oil Painting of a Jelly Donut by Kelley Macdonald

$100 & $10 S&H

 This was one fun painting to do.  I broke it open, and, yup, gobbled up a piece I tore off.  I'm hoping that Wednesday is a better day.  Tuesday started with my loving orange kitty FLINGING a small dead bird onto me as I slept.  Then he pounced on it and practiced killing it again.  OMG.

But the day certainly picked up when I met a new friend for coffee in Providence.  Kate Hanley is a guru, yoga master, wise-beyond-her-years gal who is relatively new to Providence, via NYC.  She is bubbling over with ideas to help people (I know, right?) find balance, peace and health in their lives.  She has two pre-schoolers and is planning on giving retreats for people (I think: women) to show them how to center themselves and give themselves a refreshing pause when they need it.  She is very cool.  You will love her.  Check out her site HERE

The first session is a full day on Friday, September 28 - a day long retreat.  It's at the unbelievable price of $100 - I believe this is an introductory price.  Rehoboth MA, right off 195.  As soon as there's a paypal button, I'm on it.  I'll let you know.http://www.msmindbody.com/

One Sugar, Two Donut Holes, Oil, 6x6

SOLD
I love these Buffalo Mugs, with their chunky handles.  Trying to keep it looser.  I'm having a show in a coffee shop in Boston in late Spring, so I'm indulging my love of all things coffee!

Thursday night at Gallery Z  in Providence, from 5-7 I'll be participating in a Silent Auction to benefit the victims in Haiti.  Come on down if you can!  My framed painting of 'Fortune', below, will be auctioned off.  Let's hope it's a lucky fortune for the Haitians!

Coffee & Donut, 6x8, Oil

The coffee shop across the road has started selling their own coffee mugs - in adorable blue with yellow insides!  So, of course I had to stop in and get a jelly donut (and yes, that big bite was DELICIOUS!) to sit and keep the coffee company.   I liked painting their relationship.

Did I mention that my work (and Paco's face) is in a beautiful video that Myra, whose wonderful Blog I follow, made and posted on YouTube?  Oh, you have to check it out!
$100 & $10 s&h via Paypal

Wild Strawberry Wedgewood Coffee Cup, 6x6 Oil

SOLD

This little china cup has always been a favorite.  I liked painting the cloth underneath, and the cloth underneath THAT.  No more cups or drinks this week, I think.  I'm a little exhausted by elipses (the way a circle flattens out as you view it from the side)!  So we'll see what I come up with.  It'll be fun (well, for me, anyway!) I sure!  Let's get through March weather with a smile on our faces!

ReGift, 6x6, Oil

$100 plus $10 shipping & handling via PayPal

Well, technically not a real re-gift... I bought it to paint the week before Christmas, and.... here we are, finally! I love to paint the challenges - anything that scares me. So here we are - cellophane, a glittery ribbon, a logo! Getting ready for my workshop, AND for a trip to Austin next week, so it's busy, busy busy. Good busy, though, and I'm thankful.

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!

Black, No Sugar, To Go, 5x7 Oil

Got a comment from a fabulous artist, Sally Dean, that I should be mindful in painting things like toss-away coffee cups, that they really pollute the environment - and so today I'm painting my 'green' coffee mug.  Also, it comes from Coastal Roasters - any visit to RI should include stopping in at this gem of a coffee shop, particularly on a nice day, when you can sit outside and get, essentially, my view ;)  So here's my 'green' cup with the green lid.  Actually, it's Tim's cup, but I gave it to him (and hid it today so he'd leave it for me to paint!).

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!

Nutcracker, Holiday Cup

This cup would be my ideal mug from Coastal Roasters for the Holidays. Notice the two little peanut butter/hershey kiss cookies for Santa...

This nutcracker is the only nod to the Season in my house so far. I never nocticed how the teeth on these nutcrackers remind me of the Bog Man's teeth! He could probably crack nuts with them, too!

Holiday Mug, 6x6 Acrylic

On Sunday evening Tim & I went to Newport and stopped in at Starbucks (hey, Coastal Roasters was CLOSED!) and they had these cool metallic mugs that I thought would be a challenge to paint. I was right! But I forged ahead, letting the paint get really thick, and letting the lights emerge from the shadow. The only huge question was whether to include the 'seam' on the wood that the cup sat on (that diagonal going from the center to the mid-right side). See, in real life there's a refletion on the mug, so I was thinking 'yes', include the reference for the reflection. I'm going to try painting it in the daylight, see how that works.

And many thanks to all who have visited my blog. I very much appreciate your presence, and your comments, it makes you feel less 'alone' in the work, knowing people are viewing.

More Coastal Roaster Coffee Stuff ! :)

This is just what I'm up to these days. Dropping off paintings at Holiday Shows (55 were 'at large' this month alone!), packing & shipping Daily Paintings that have sold (will update the 'solds' on the blog SOON I promise!) and painting little acrylic paintings about my favorite coffee shop, Coastal Roasters, in beautiful Tiverton, RI. The photos did not come out as clear as I wanted, and rather than wait for tomorrow's light (today's light was gray and dismal) to get better images. Suffice it to say that the paintings are clearer, that you can read the signs, and the colors are richer. OK. The first one, below, is "The Coast Is Clear" (8x10), and it's about the gauntlet you have to endure to cross this Main Road to GET to the delicious, full bodied coffee (Starbucks, eat your heart out....). The speed limit is 25, but one day I was 'passed' by a truck going 50 (yes, I zoomed after him to see JUST how fast he was going!). And that would be me, saying 'SLOW DOWN!' to all the zoomers going by.... :) Below is one of my Holiday Dreams for a Coastal Roaster Cup!

Forgive me for being a little irreverant... but I think both Mary and Joseph would have been THRILLED to receive some nice hot Coastal Roasters coffee after their travails. The text on the bottom right reads "How thoughtful! They've come bearing Coastal Roaster Coffee!" Seriously, the Magi are very dear to me, my favorite symbol of the season, and I can't help but think that if they'd been able to, they WOULD have swung by Tiverton to bring some delicious java to the Holy Family....

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.

Eat At Max's, Acrylic on canvas, 6x6

This is my souvenier from San Francisco, from last year when I took a workshop with Camille Przewodek. We had breakfast at Max's with our friends Kevin and Linda there. Max's is, I guess, a sort of famous little restaurant, and you can buy the coffee cups. Along with stones, shells, seaglass and pie plates I clutter my house with special coffee cups. This one's the perfect size!

His and Mine, Acrylic 5x7

We all have our favorite things, these are among our 'cherished' coffee cups.

Starbucks Coffee Break, 6x6, Oil

This new cup and saucer from the ORIGINAL Starbucks in Seattle is a gift. I love the creamy white of the cup and the purply shadows. OK, I love Starbucks coffee, too!

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