An artist friend from Hull, MA, Jeanne MacFarland, came to paint at my studio today. We changed the vase from yesterday, and she put this little glass vase in my 'black box' with a black velvet background and a lime cloth under that wonderful clear plastic. I didn't realize all my photos were blurry till I got home and tried to post - I'll shoot another one tomorrow. After painting and eating (very important) we hit a few of Warren's many Antique shops, then went to the local coffee shop so I could see photos on her computer (love that WiFi) of her daughter's SIX brand new pug puppies. I'm going to have to get one of those photos and post it on my studio blog! Wrapping up the day by sipping Coffee Cabinets (do you know what they are? a delectable whirled combo of coffee syrup, coffee ice cream, malt powder and milk - mMMmm!) from Delecta's old fashioned Pharmacy, Jeanne went home, but left me with her painting of the carnations - I'll post that tomorrow!
This looks better in person. Last Summer I was searching and searching for a 2 cup pitcher for milk and this was in my cabinet all along. It was Tim's aunt's and when she broke up her house she gave me this. Perfect. It was a real challenge, because the only 'white' is on the little tiny highlights at the top of the pitcher. I've been rigging up a photo area in my studio, and have surrounded it with white sheets, to avoid the glare, but I had to take this photo at home without it because I'd forgotten my camera today.
When I got into the studio today I couldn't BELIEVE how much I hated yesterday's post of the butterscotch candies in my mother's candy dish. I wiped it right off and that's something I rarely do. I changed the format, to a 6x6 (yes, today I remembered my Gessoboards!), changed the viewpoint ( a little), the color of the background became light blue when I put a piece of blue tissue paper over the white ground. This time I didn't worry at all about the dark side of the yellow wrapper or the twisted ends of the cellophane. I believe (and I was on autopilot when I did this, so I can't say for sure) I made the yellow cooler and darker. So! I also attempted to paint the calla lilies again, too and I'm not happy with it, so I'll put it on the Studio Blog just to show you.
On Saturday I poured these butterscotch candies into my Mom's candy dish. It was a sunny day, and the light from the window lit up the golden wrappers, it was awesome - and without saying anything I turned to my son Conor, who looked at me and said "Daily Painting!" I don't feel I 'got it' and may try again with different viewpoints and backgrounds. I'm particularly challenged by the shadow side of yellow. Remembering Carol Marine's adage : "If you can't figure out what color something is, it's probably a gray...", I attempted a gray-yellow, but I don't think it 'showcased' the highlights enough. And believe it or not, it looks a LOT better in real life! :)
You know, I don't know if my glasses are dirty or there's glare on this shot, but... if it looks 'glare-y' to you, then it's NOT my glasses! I didn't post yesterday because I spent all day painting a bigger (30x30) still life. Still lots to do on it, but soon I'll post it on my studio blog.
Monday and Tuesday of this week are the nights that the Westminster Dog Show is on TV. I've DVR'd it and will watch both nights together. This little West Highland White Terrier is from the Ladies Dog Club Show at the Bayside Expo Center Show from December in Boston. Westies are (and were once grouped with) Cairn Terriers, coming from the same breeding stock in the same area. Some people really preferred the pure white Cairns, and bred them apart, so now they're different 'breeds', but really interchangeable in terms of disposition and structure (watch, I'll get Westie Moms telling me I'm wrong about this, and that the white ones are sweeter...:). I put off painting the white dog because I thought it would be boring, but it was anything but! In person, you can see all sorts of pretty, colorful 'shadows' in the white, that are beautiful grays made of up beautiful roses, and blues and ochres..
This weekend I bought these red glasses that remind me of ones (lost in some move) I bought in Mexico. Added to that I was given a couple of turquoise glass swizzle sticks, a starfish and a seahorse. When I said I wanted to paint the glass, my husband said "Do you realize how many colors of red, plus orange and yellow are in this one glass?" "Yup." I said - that's what I love about it! Also the glass, being hand blown, was lopsided at the top, and inside. I really like the reflections I got on the shadow and on the table, they were fun to paint!
A bit of glare on the background, for which I apologize. I specifically asked the donut girl to be careful, and put this baby in a box because I was going to paint it... and it got squashed anyway. No sense trying to hide it, so I let it be. Although I could have been happier with the red and white drizzles, I like the actual donut better than ones I've done in the past - I guess it comes with experience. It actually looks lots better than in this photo, don't know why I couldn't capture it.
I got this beautiful aqua glass from my son last Christmas - it's so beautiful I'm afraid to use it. I like the way the limes react to the strong light I put on them, too. It looked like they were waiting for a splash of.... San Pelligrino? Hendricks Gin & Tonic? Limeade? Flat Water?
My Dad was a big fan of Bloodhounds. They look so wise. I had my son take the photo for this, as I left my camera in my husband's car yesterday, and when I imported it into my iPhoto, the colors got all weird. I think I've got them now. I loved the look on this dog's face at the Dog Show, so patient. I taped the Eukanuba Dog Show during the Super Bowl and forced everyone to watch it last night. Although I hate those 'best of the best' dog shows (how on earth can you compare the 'best' Puli with the 'best' Corgi?) I think it comes down to the showmanship of the individual dogs and the appeal they have to the judge. What.EVER. I still love to watch them. Something different tomorrow....
"Hey You", "Get Real", "Awesome" and "Got Love?" are the words on these - and I think I discovered the deal with the 'modern' words - these are made by Brach's.... My usual Candy Hearts were made by the local company, Necco. So at CVS today (picking up the new Dog Show photos) I found the Necco Hearts - and will paint them soon, too. Also I'm going to update my Studio Blog soon, with some larger paintings I'm working on, and almost done, as well as my "Daily Painting" wall in my studio....
I bought these yesterday at the supermarket, thinking it would be sweet to explore these little pastel shapes. When I opened the bag today I got a little shock - they've 'updated' the words, so, yes there are still about 1/2 the usual 'Kiss Me', and 'My Boy', etc., but now there are... "U GO GIRL", "GOT CHA" and "E-MAIL ME". EMAIL ME? Well, I guess I'm getting old... but there were a few others I'll try to get in tomorrow, as well as the sweet ones. I just had some more dog show photos printed and would pick them up except today (Wednesday) there's a bit of a storm here, so maybe it'll be tomorrow. Oh, and you guys should check out blogs of some of the folks that have been commenting here, Melissa And Emmet, Manon Doyle, The Pug Posse, Nancy and the Fatties.... um... I hope I haven't left anyone out! Oh, and get your kleenex out when you visit Nancy and the Fatties, which I recommend you do!
I've been saving a couple of small bottles of Coke since a holiday. I won't say WHAT holiday, but it was a long time ago! I loved the taste of the soda from these bottles when I was a kid, and I thought I'd like to explore the way the light hits the greenish glass bottle, then goes through the brown liquid, turning it red, orange and gold. Then, throw in a shadow (on a polka dotted fabric)... and you've got a loooong Daily Painting session! But I love a challenge, and loved doing it.
I didn't think about Valentine's Day when I painted this, but it really is just about 2 weeks away, so start thinking! My own Valentine thinks this day was dreamed up by the Hallmark Company to sell cards, and the Florists to sell flowers, but after 31 years of marriage has really gotten past that and treats me to a fabulous day anyway! My buddy Joan Brancale visited my studio today and she wanted me to demo what I learned at Carol Marine's workshop (which I highly recommend) last Fall. So this is what I did, even though it turned out to look a little monocromatic. I was trying to put in the most saturated color first, and work out towards the shadows & reflections, and to keep the edges in mind always, and to load up my brush and lay down the paint, not over working or over 'smushing' the brushwork. I've painted this subject twice before. This one's the best, I think, so far.
This was harder than I thought, but not for the reasons that I anticipated. I thought the hard part would be portraying the water, or perhapsthe lemon slice through the glass. What caught me up were 2 things: the inner rind of the upright lemon (couldn't get it light enough) and the base of the glass (what a myriad of lights and darks - like painting a diamond!). Well, I thought I'd intersperse regular paintings between my dog show paintings - as painting from life is what sharpens your skills.
And now for something a little different, for me, anyway. I'm a mug collector, and liked these color together. I'm really envying all you people who are in Florida - I don't care that you're complaining that it's 50 degrees - we are battling chunks of ice that I think will never go away! These cups were challenging, but I tried to keep your eye roving up and down the stack.
I can already see where I need to touch up the dark background in the 'handle' area on this one. What a joy to paint. I think, were I to do it again, I'd 'neutralize' the violet in the cloth. Let the very subtle blue be 'the' color in this image. This was such a fun piece, I may do more pottery. I still have some dog show paintings in me, but I think I'll take a small break - or at least put other things in between them. My mom, gone now 13 years, still missed sorely, would like this one, I think.
Still working off my 500+ dog show photos. I would rather paint from life, but that would be a little difficult at a Dog Show ("Excuse me... #29, could you and your pug just hold that pose for about 45 minutes?"). I put all the DS (dog show) paintings up on the wall, from first to this one and it was astonishing to me how I have let the dogs get smaller and smaller, and the paintings are more about the 'scene'. I think here and possibly the last couple I was trying to show the relationship between owner or handler and dog. In this one there are even some bystanders. I think I'll go back to a closer-up look at the dogs.
I think I'm a bit stressed out today. On my way to a long overdue visit with a friend this morning I noticed that this little teeny crack I've had in my windshield was growing in leaps and bounds across the whole space of the windshield. So... I pulled over, called my friend and canceled, called Tim and told him to be on 'standby', and grabbed a coffee to console me on my ride home. I noticed that the coffee shop was decked out in red, white and blue, and even the pastries were all decorated. Consumed with having to pay for a new windshield (not covered by my insurance anymore), I couldn't figure out the whole motif. I thought "Does Martin Luther King Day have colors associated with it?" DUH - the inauguration tomorrow! So, here's my Red, White & Blue salute to Inauguration Day, my big tubes of Utrecht paint! 
Dogs hate to shop as much as men and kids, I think. This German Wirehaired Pointer is impatiently waiting for it's ownder to decide between dog hair care products. I love the colors of these dogs, and their expression is so beautiful.
Lest you think I only paint sugar packets and dogs.... I got this bouquet at the supermarket a couple of days ago and I just had to paint it. I dread painting flowers, I simply cannot tell you how much! And Charles Sovek told me I had to paint what I fear - until I am not afraid anymore! I hate failure, and when I get caught up in petals.. **shiver**.. well, I'm doomed. I tried, in this little painting, to let the shadow colors define the flowers and then just add the hits of 'light' on the tips of the flowers where the direct sun was hitting them. I'm not sure that it worked, but I think it's a good direction for me to go in. Dogs again tomorrow, brace yourselves...
Although this is kind of 'tonal' and lacks a lot of color, I enjoyed it because it was such a challenge. I realized when I got to the studio yesterday that in our round robin of car assignments in our family, I had the car without my backpack with my dog show photos in it! So I had to find something to paint that was already IN my studio. Now you've already seen my cell phone, so I had to come up with something else. I keep sugar packets in a little jar that has 'handles' on the sides - just sculpted glass, but it's cute. So with this on a creamy background at first I said "NOOOOOO!", but then I said - let's just give it a try and see what happens? So this is what happened. I wanted to keep it kind of loose and not get into the words on the packets - you can go either way and still have fun with it.
Two Dachshunds with their owner/handler at the Dog Show. Today I painted with Sally Dean at her studio in Marshfield. It's so wonderful to hang out & paint with other artists sometimes. I love to have my intense alone time at my own studio, where I can just dig in and let it all flow, but it is important, too, to spend some creative time with other artists that you respect. I'm trying to do this every week or so. Anyway, while I was painting I kept backing up right onto Sally's 2 corgi's, Ollie & Winnie, who are adorable in the extreme. I think I rushed this painting a bit, because I didn't get the face on the dog on the right to be what I wanted. I think it was much more complex, and expressive. Sometimes I feel the 'end' of the painting coming and I just make a dash for it.... got to learn to slow d-o-w-n.
SOLD
This little painting was submitted to Karin Jurik's Different Strokes From Different Folks Blog. As I mentioned before, she posts a photo, and everybody sends in their interpretation. This nocturne was my submission. Be on the lookout for a few new dog show paintings this week. Thanks for all your comments and encouragement - boy, it matters like you couldn't even imagine!
The title here can go different ways - referring to the woman and her dog, or the dog and his owner... or the dog and her doll. Fresh from the doggie restroom, this long legged lady, quite chic-ly dressed for a the dog show, gave a long leash to her baby, a young mastiff. And very pet-like, the dog HAD to carry it's 'baby' around. I think it calms the dogs in this crazy, hundreds of new doggie scented place, to have something from home. A nearby crate of pugs had two pugs curled up in donut-type beds on top - no leashes! Their ownder said as long as they had their beds they were not inclined to wander off into the jungle of other dogs.
Waiting for their time in the ring, this Scottish Terrier and a little Norfolk Terrier are having their 'Spa Time'. The Norfolk had this 'do' where they combed his 'beard' out so it looked like a real beard! The Scottie said "No." to that. Maybe one more Dog Show painting?
In the Scottie ring at the dog show, it's important that they keep their tails pulled up high. Scottie handlers spend an awful lot of time coaxing that tail tilted up over their backs. Another odd thing I notice is they like to pick up these dogs (and Cairn Terriers, too) BY their tails and their chins - I asked about it and apparently the reason they don't crop the tails short is that these dogs sometimes (originally) had to be pulled out of the holes they chased prey into - handy to have a nice length of tail to tug on. I love the dignity of the Scottish Terriers, and their endearing expressions. I loved this lady at the show - all pink suited up with her sensible shoes :)
Corgi's in Ring 10! When I went to the Ladies Dog Club show at the Bayside Exposition Center last month, one of my favorite events was the Corgi's (Pembroke). This sweet girl was looking up at her handler constantly, wanting to know if she was doing a good job. I don't know if she actually won anything, but she was a winner in MY book. I tried to keep it loose and simplified (it's about the dogs, not about the shoes, after all), and I had a LOT of fun doing this.
New Years' Eve brought a storm to Rhode Island, and kind of put a damper on plans people might have had to go out. Me? I grabbed my camera and Tim drove me around Tiverton, Little Compton and Westport trying to get some good 'snow' shots. This painting came from a photo taken as we passed Pardon Gray, a land preserve here in Tiverton. Snowy, blustery weather is wonderful, and I think although this painting LOOKS gray, in person you can see every color in the rainbow, which, mixed together, comes out gray! I love this lonely looking tree. I have more... and will paint them soon.
Today I got a little studio time in - Tim has been on vacation for a week and when he's on vacation... so am I! But today he and Conor (our son) went gallivanting around Providence and they dropped me off in my studio for a few hours of bliss. Of course I knew I wanted to do a Daily Painting, but for the life of me couldn't decide what to paint. So ... here's my cell phone. Harder than you'd think with all those little notations and buttons on the front, but I enjoyed the challenge. I'm going to try to post another one and schedule it to go out tomorrow morning, but that didn't work last time, so there may be two new posts today! Anyway, have a wonderful weekend, guys!
Here's a painting of a beautiful bouquet my husband indulged me with while we were grocery shopping. I wanted to paint in the style of my previous winter bouquet with greens, but this is what I came up with after 2 tries. I guess every subject has it's own voice, and you have to be true to it. Here, at my house the time between the holidays is sort of out-of-focus, with me confusing what day it is - who's home? Who's stopping by? Who are we visiting? And although I love it I kind of am looking forward to burying myself in the studio for long hours again.
The other day I was visiting my artist friend Nancy Colella, and our plans were to paint, then have a meal together (it's an hour to her house, so I couldn't possibly make it home without food!;). Well, we ate first, then it turned into a haircut adjustment (it happens, OK?), and then Nancy spread out the tulips I brought her on a table and I painted them. The blue tone from beneath the paint doesn't show up as much in real life. I'm getting into painting flowers - I never really saw the point, but now I'm feeling up to the challenge, and am very excited about it! Today we're buried (about 8 inches) in gorgeous snow, and I'm driving to Logan to pick up Tim from a business trip very late in the day, so I hope I get to paint today - maybe some snow?
THIS ONE'S FOR MY SUBSCRIBERS! (Anyone who has signed up for my Group and gets my posts in their Inbox). Terrible glare. I apologize! I tried in every light, inside, outside, in the bathroom, in the common room at the studio (no windows).... and I COULDN'T get the glare to go away! This freebie (to subscribers to the blog) painting is on the 1 1/2 inch gallery wrapped canvas - so no frame necessary - go ahead, re-gift, it' OK with me! Anyhew... IF anyone wants it and is a subscriber to this blog - email me - the first one to arrive in the inbox gets it for the price of shipping - $10 via Paypal (If you want insurance on the package it is $12). This baby is VERY wet and glossy, I wouldn't think of shipping it till Monday or Tuesday - but I'll let you know. Happy Holidays from ME!
This is $100 through Paypal - just email me if interested.
