Grieving Angel, 8x6 Inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

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I've always loved this sculpture - you can read about it's history HERE. I think grief is a hard thing - and different for everybody.  I know we want to quickly get through the 'stages' and be 'normal' again.  But even if we try… it doesn't work that way.  It takes the time, and cost, it takes.  I view it as an honor to the person/animal I'm grieving over.  

When I lived in Hingham, I would love to roam the cemetery and view this Angel.  I thought… the people who grieve can give their anguish over to this angel, and rest.  She will weep, not letting the deceased be forgotten.

I love cemeteries - have I told you that?  But when I 'go' I would like a seat-type sculpture, with a marble sleeping cat on one side of it.  :)

Greening Up, 6x6 Inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

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This was the painting I WANTED to do for my Girls Just Wanna Paint Challenge for Sunlight.  But being me, I 'lost' the photo before I could paint it.  And as it usually happens, as soon as the Challenge was done... you guessed it, I found it.  This is a big old tree in our neighborhood.  I've love the shadows on grass as well as snow.  I started this as a demo for my Providence Art Club class as an example of 'negative space'.  Took it home and completely reworked it, so I'm happy now.

During my class Monday I started getting tons of messages, and phone calls - unusual, since everyone I know KNOWS I teach Monday afternoon.  It wasn't till I spotted the message that flashed on the screen  that said "I'm OK Mom, don't worry..." that I decided to look at the other messages, and realized something was very wrong in Boston.

Took a long time to be certain my kids and friends were safe, as cell phones were not working from Boston due to the bombing.  Texting, however, still worked, and I literally spent over an hour texting everyone checking to be sure... 

My daughter was supposed to be running the Marathon this year... for a couple of reasons she decided not to... but that was right around the time she usually crosses the finish line, and we've been IN that crowd, waiting, and were 'supposed' to be there this year....  angels watching over us, I guess.

  

Evil is resilient .... but goodness is even more so.  The messages from friends and strangers across the country in support of Boston was... incredibly moving.  From a day filled with heartbreak, I am coming away with hope, and strength, and confidence that goodness will prevail, that we are One.

Starry, Starry Night, 8x8 Inch Oil Painting byKelley MacDonald

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This month the Girls Just Wanna Paint Challenge is to "Paint Like Van Gogh".  I thought this was a fairly brilliant topic, as I am a huge fan of Vincent.  But what really happened, when I tried to copy (a portion of) Starry Night, what that I LEARNED so much!  At first I thought it was going to be easy-peasy - what's so hard about blobbing paint on the panel or canvas, right?

Well!  He was a spot-on-master of value, for all his fame about color.  And if you think it's easy (as I did) getting that thick paint to lay down on top of other thick strokes, you've got another think coming!  Ah.... I love it when I'm learning and painting.  So... check out the other Girls' paintings HERE.  I think you'll enjoy it!  Hey - it's December.... Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit (for good luck!).

Enjoy the Season... what ever your family's traditions are!

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It's Monday!  Time for a a Santa Fe Fling with my friend Pam Holnback!  Another Santa Fe Door - in red, for me... with a cross-shaped window that reflected the perfect Santa Fe sky...  and here's Pam's, below:

I think she did a great job!  

We had such a great time at the workshop, really delving deep into painting reflections, and spending time with such phenomenal artists and friends~!

Now... off to fight a hurricane..(Sandy!)

"Puggie Love", 6x6 Inch Oil Painting of Pug Dog

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This Month my Challenge Group, Girls Just Wanna Paint had the topic "Love, appropriately enough for February.  I ran though the list of the usual things you'd think of - weddings, babies, romantic themes, but then.... there's this face that faces me every day, all day.  At 2:30 in the morning, if I open my eyes, this is what I see, in the dark.  First thing in the morning, last thing at night - the smile and adoring eyes never quit.  When I'm cranky, when I'm sick, when I'm annoyed (or when I'm annoying - yes, it happens) there is never a pause in the love.  Oh, Paco!

So!  As tough as it was to choose the subject, once I started it just flowed off the brush.  This painting will be seen in our group show at the Bumpus Library in Duxbury, MA in May and June.

Storefront, 6x6 Inches, Acrylic

NFS

It's the first of the month - time to check in on my Girls Just Wanna Paint Group!  This month our topic was 'Storefront' and in another life (i.e. another computer, that recently died) I had some great photos of storefronts in NYC - one, in particular, a tiered display of Barbie Dolls in identical pink princess outfits  in one window, and blue princess outfits in the next window - it was fabulous.  BUT.... they are somewhere on an external hard drive that I don't know how to access!  So here is a really fun shop in Provincetown, MA, at the very tip of Cape Cod. I was trying to stay very loose - which is much harder than you would imagine!   I love, love, love Ptown, so here's my 'ode' to my favorite spot on the Cape!

Fiesta, 6x6 Inch, Oil

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This is in response to Carol Marine's Daily Paintworks Challenge.  I used a triad color combination: blue/green, orange and red.  And speaking of 'challenges', Linda Popple responded to my own challenge to paint the Eiffel Tower from my photo.  She did a fabulous job!  Here it is, below!

Mintini, 6x6 Inch Original Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

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This painting is being reserved pending admission to a show - temporarily unavailable

I'm trying to figure out something to submit for my upcoming Challenge post on the topic of 'glass'.  I have a few other ideas I'll work on, but this is what I came up with today.  Thin glass, starlight mints inside - AND a nice little shadow.  I love thin glass, unfortunately it's fragile (duh!).  Who knows?  Maybe I'll get someone to make me a Hendrick's martini with a twist for New Year's! I guess that's really what I'm thinking...

OH! And under this painting is a wish for:

Carolina Herrera's Runway, 5x7 Oringial Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

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My Challenge Group, as I mentioned yesterday, had the topic of "Fashion".  Now, although I know some people see me as a fashion fiend (NOT!) I am kind of laid back in that department.  Still, I like to know what's what.  I think I'd enjoy going to an actual runway show someday.   I'd love to see the notes the serious Fashion Police take in the first row.  Probably something like "Black and White" or "Sleeveless Blouse" or "Weird Straw Hats"... just so we'll know what will get filtered down to us peon who shop in 'regular' stores!

End Of The Day Sizzle, Original Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

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This month my Challenge Group (Girls Just Wanna Paint) is painting The Sun. Well, I love sunshine, sunrise and sunsets, so that was perfect for me! My problem was deciding WHAT sun to paint! Here the sun lowers itself onto the horizon behind Aquidneck Island... Portsmouth, to be exact. Yes, it's the view from my porch. I know a lot of people think sunsets are too 'kitschy' but I find them serene, peaceful... inspiring, almost like a prayer. I used a little pure cadmium orange near the sun, and while it was very vivid, it made it's point! SIZZZLE!

Just letting the blood sugar settle down a bit... a day off from the donuts!

We Want S'Mores! Oil, 6x6 inches

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This month our Challenge group, Girls Just Wanna Paint chose as it's theme 'Summer Desserts'.  My first thought was "MMMmm Watermelon!", But Page Railsback's gorgeous rendition of watermelon stopped me cold.  Then I thought "Oh!  An ice cream cone!"  And I saw that Nancy Colella did one of those.  So what then?  I was stumped till we had our own cookout and my son wanted s'mores.  So... last day of the month there I am at 5:30 a.m. building a charcoal fire, by 6 a.m. I was roasting a half dozen marshmallow's to the confusion of my neighbors.  The chocolate was ooey and gooey, and the marshmallows were so FLUID, but ultimately paintable.

Happy 4th of July to all of you!

Finally, Joan! 6x8 oil

Well, I struggled and struggled (I may have spent more time on this 6x8 than any other) but I finally threw in the towel, and said 'enough'.  My husband kept looking at it and saying 'the eyes are too big' and I would make them smaller, but then they would - on their own, I swear, drift to the left, to the right, closer together... uuugggh!  Funny how when you look at it online you can see things you wouldn't notice in person - the eyes, the forehead, still not right.  She's much, much prettier and more vivacious than this ... but just for comparison I'll repost the one I did in acryilic....

So maybe if you combine these two paintings you'll get a more accurate image of the 'real' Joan?

Portrait Challenge, First Try, Acrylic

This month my Challenge group is doing portraits of each other.  Whose terrible idea was that?  Mine.  I don't know what I was thinking!  I've decided to do the portrait of fellow artist and all around dear person first in acrylics, then in oil.  This acrylic painting, in a 6x8 in format, took about 3 hours - wayyyy too long for what it was.  And truthfully, this looks nothing like her.  So.  I have my work cut out for me, and will try again probably next week.  But now I've analyzed the image I'm working from pretty thoroughly.  I'm a little dazed from the Marathon day yesterday.  I cannot imagine what it's like to actually RUN it!

Virtual Cocktail Party, various artists

A couple of weeks ago I sent out an invitation to any blogging painter who wanted to come was invited to a 'Virtual Cocktail Party', BYOB.  Well, here we are,  an intimate cyber gathering with our choice of beverages (for today, anyway)....

Cheers, everyone!

Me - Cabernet Sauvignon, MontGras Reserva 2007

Pam Holnback's Wine

Amy Hillenbrand, Cocktail

Gwen Bell,  Kaluha & Cream

Nancy Colella's Chardonnay

Kim Remple's Ceasar

Dana Cooper's "After The Party"

Sally Dean's Cosmo

 Margarita by Page Railsback

Martini by Page Railsback

Mary Sheehan Winn's Virtual Martini

Also, if anyone's having trouble with my blog loading, would you let me know?  I heard from someone who had a problem - only with my blog.  It could be because I have a rather large amount of images on each 'page', but I do that because I found people don't usually go beyond the first page (do you blame them?).  

Dreaming Of Harry Winston, 6x6 Acrylic

Well, it's that time again, when my Challenge Group posts their monthly interpretations of a theme or idea.  This month the theme was "Dream".  First of all, I'm completely lost when it comes to 'making stuff up' about a painting, and this is why I never thought of myself as a creative person for many years.  I started this and was really going places with it, till my loving husband told me I needed to make it 'sparkle' more.  OK.... I darkened the background, changed the color, changed it back, repainted the 'steps' on the inside of the stone, changed the shape of the diamond, gave it double claws like a 'real' HW, and then declared it completely dead.  If you check the Challenge Blog you'll see I did a Mermaid's Dream.  Just thought you'd get a chuckle out of this.  No, it's not something I own.  I just love sparkles, and.. let's be honest, in real life they're pretty sparkly!

As an aside, I've been paying more attention to my Studio Blog, and, well, Paco's Blog is featuring him and my MARTINI!

This one is NFS (not for sale)

Grammy Croft's Cream Whipper, Oil 5x7

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This was a tall pottery container my husband's grandmother used to whip cream (I was astonished when I learned this as a young woman - I thought whipped cream came out of an Redi-Whip container!). My MIL has some gems like this from that generation, that I borrowed to paint for my Challenge group's theme "Grandmother's Kitchen" this month. It's updated and available for viewing HERE. Do you guys want to see some photos from our 'dress-up' gathering for that theme last night? It was fun, we had all 50's food, and we dressed like our grannies. A fun, wild night, and getting to see the paintings in person was amazing as usual.

Stuff On My Mantel, 6x6 Acrylic

6x6 inches, acrylic

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I'm trying to learn Photoshop, and it's not easy! Anyway, this painting is for my Challenge Group, the December topic being "Lamp", and there's my little pinecone painting and some winterberry branches. It's New Years' Eve, and I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2010. I'm still reorganizing my 'Group', but will be finished soon, and you'll be getting these images in your Inbox, if you desire!

Telephone Challenge: Help Me Choose!

I'm involved with a 'challenge' with 9 other artists, and this month our task was to paint something with a 'telephone' theme. I had a zillion ideas, then ran out of time. Tomorrow I'll show you my 'idea' page in my sketchbook, but tonight I just need some votes on which one I'll submit. The top one, "Stuff My Cell Hears...", is acrylic, with collage (that ran... which is one reason why I usually stick to 'regular' painting..) and the bottom one "Never Without The Blackberry..." is regular oil. It started OUT as an acrylic painting, but all of a sudden the darks started feeling sticky, and I realized I'd loaded an oil paint onto my acrylic palette... eeeks! So I took it to the studio today and re-did the painting in oil. So... help me out, please, and tell me in your comments which I should submit to the Challenge. People in the challenge thought I was the 'uploader' this month and sent me some really wonderful paintings, and I think I was intimidated!

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving, and are sufficiently 'stuffed'!

Wok'in, 6x6 Oil

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My Challenge group is doing a 'mushroom' theme this month. So I thought about a stir-fry... also I loooove snow peas, and was getting hungry in the produce aisle ;) So if you're in the Challenge group - close your eyes! Mushrooms might seem boring to paint, but they are actually, if you study them, lustrous and reflective. These positively lit up with the orange reflections. Slaving away getting ready for a show I'll tell all about this weekend!