The Path, 6x6 inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

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 I've painted this path to the beach before, but honestly, this is the one I'm happiest with!  Little 6x6, I look at it and say "Yes, I can see my path...."  I love painting of paths, beach paths, forest paths, etc. and for some reasons the brushwork in this turned out EXACTLY as I imagined it.  Live and learn, as my Mom used to say...  Here's your path... take the first steps...

Jar Of Joy, 5x7 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

$100 & $10 S&H

Click HERE To Purchase!

I really changed gears last week.  It turns out there is so much wattage necessary to get ready and have an Open Studio that afterwards I was the equivalent of a wet noodle - could hardly paint!

But this little charmer made me smile when I painted it.  Something about the blue and yellow - always a favorite of mine... 

And then my class gave me a charge, on Saturday.  We chose squares of colors which were face down on a plate - cut from magazines.  When we got 5 or 6 we taped them to the side of a piece of paper, then set about to exactly come up with that color.  You might think this is easy - you would be wrong!  But it was fun and challenging, and then we were ready to get to our little still lives... and I took the bit again to dive into painting.  Good thing... I have the OTHER Open Studio coming up in a few weeks!!!

I promise I will start a newsletter soon, so every post is not filled with updates, but I was so thrilled to hear that 3 of my paintings were accepted into the Small Matters Of Great Importance Show at the Edward Hopper House in New York in August.  Here they are, below:

I'm crossing my fingers that my framer got the frame right - I wanted a floater frame with a gold liner.... 

Gratitude

This weekend I participated in the South Coast Open Studio Tour.  It was successful in so many ways. I met people who 'knew' me from my blog (lots of you!).  I met people who I only knew through Facebook.  And I met friends of friends who had seen my work in small doses at other shows, or at The Art Stable Gallery.

Here's what I found... people who love art, have big, beautiful hearts.  I don't pretend to understand why, but they see beauty first, just like so many artists.  Meeting them is a joy.  They may or may not purchase anything, that is irrelevant.  What they say to me when they see my art makes my heart sing.  They say that it makes them smile.  It lifts their spirits. It reminds them in the dead cold of Winter that there will soon be Spring.  They 'get' how I love dogs, cats, birds... sunsets, glittering water and dew on the grass.  They say they 'know' me through the things I choose to paint.  They cheer me on, and remind me why I share my work online, as well as in shows and galleries.

Well, THEY lift my heart.  With their comments on my blog and on Facebook.  When they wish me luck with my Open Studio. When they pile in the car with friends and make the trek to visit my part of the world, trusting me that when I say there's a lot of interesting work to see besides mine, that I won't steer them wrong.  They tell me my Blogging Talk motivated them to start their own blog, and are happy they did.  

Honestly, I had a LOT of sales.  It was exciting.  It was exciting to see someone have a painting 'speak' to them, and have them tell me they will treasure it.  But the most wonderful thing was to meet so many truly beautiful people, to share a little conversation, and to feel the connection.  Thank you to all of you who came out when they could've been sitting in their air conditioned living rooms.  Thank you for making my weekend.

Chocolate At The Beach, 18x24, oil, and a correction by Kelley MacDonald

Now you call know why I never did well in clerical jobs - how they kept me on as a legal secretary in my younger days for 3 years is totally beyond me!  Yesterday's little collage said my Open Studio was on Sunday and Monday.  No.  The South Coast Open Studio Tour is SATURDAY and SUNDAY, the 20th and the 21st.  I think my brain is not working right because of the heat.  Which I am trying desperately to avoid!

But the doggie, above, will be hanging this weekend at the Little Compton Art Show at the Community Center.  Friday night, Saturday and Sunday.  It's a great little show, and if you're in the mood for a ride, it's a beautiful ride from my house.  You can't miss my Open Studio - I've got art EVERYWHERE.  On the house, in the house, on the porch, the side porch.....  it's a good thing, though.  And I have two FUN friends helping me out this weekend, I feel so blessed, and lucky..... really lucky.

Also this lovely lady at the Little Compton Show: 

I've been awol lately.  No excuse except I haven't been painting many little Daily Paintings!  I've been working on bigger pieces and trying to get organized (a Herculean effort for me) for my first Open Studio weekend of the Summer - this weekend!

As a member of the South Coast Artists Open Studio Tour, I'm excited to show you my work!  I'm emptying out my living room and porch to hang paintings, so if it's too hot we don't have to deal with it - I'll have the a/c on! ( I figure this is a great excuse to do work in my living room after the Tour.... heh heh heh!)

You can download a brochure, or pick one up at my house first!  I'm easy to get to:  from ANYWHERE! 

•  Take Route 24 in RHODE ISLAND.  
• Exit 5 (again, in RI) which is Tiverton and Little Compton.  
• Head South off the exit for about a mile - I'm 1888 Main Road - right past Coastal Roasters (best coffee anywhere).  

You can download the brochure HERE, and you will see I am #9  on the map - but I am the FIRST artist on the Main Road.  A great place to start, and I can give you easy directions to any of the other great artists on the Tour.

Listening To The Heartbeat Of The Sea, 8x8 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

This painting is in response to the Challenge of our Girls Just Wanna Paint group.  The topic was a line from an e.e. cummings poem.

maggie and milly and molly and may

  by E. E. Cummings

             

maggie and milly and molly and may 
went down to the beach(to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang 
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing 
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone 
as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me) 
it's always ourselves we find in the sea

-

"For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), it's always ourselves we find in the sea...." I myself am always drawn to the water, be it a stream, pond, ocean, pool, etc.  I stand at the ocean's edge and feel my heartbeat sync to the lapping of the waves.  I feel like I can find the solution to any problem there, and that in the end, it will all be OK.  This couple must feel the same way.  In Maine lots of people walk out on to the rocks, as in this painting, and sit and just experience the deep, cool, peace of the water's edge.  This painting, as well as the others posted today on our blog, will be shown at our show at the Thayer Academy gallery mid November - December.  Please plan to stop by! 

Commission, 8x10 by Kelley MacDonald

This is a dog portrait of a sweetie pie named Daisy.  I've had the commission for way too long and needed to  finish her up!~  Yes, I accept commissions for pet portraits.  All sizes.  Just email me at kcareymac@hotmail.com and we'll talk.  Don't be intimidated, thinking it must be a horrific price - I do all sizes, to fit any budget.  They're fun, and they give me a break from the streams of ideas and plans I have in my own head.

SUPER productive day in the studio today.  Started a huge 30x40 Maine painting, edited in a big way one from last year, completed my Challenge painting, designed new marketing materials and finished this.  Wow.  Off to celebrate with some popcorn and a movie!  :)

The Oil House, 6x6 Inch Oil Plein Air Painting by Kelley MacDonald

SOLD

Better than a scrapbook, better than a photo, having my plein air paintings from different trips bring me right back to that location.  I spent a blissful day painting at the Pemaquid Light House last week.  For $2, I got to park, wander, paint, check out the lighthouse  station, 2 outbuildings, see a an art show, use the restrooms, get food from the cafe next door and have a picnic.

I also met LOTS of nice people.  There was a watercolor workshop next door with Skip Lawrence - really!  And the participants wandered over and spoke to me - two gals from Montreal and I had a great long discussion of workshops in general, and abstraction, mediums, etc... I await their friend requests on Facebook ;)

Blue Boat, 6x6 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

This was, I think, the first plein air painting done this trip in Maine.   The first morning there I decided to do the obligatory 'boat painting'.  I mean, we were in Maine, right?  But boats are notorious.  They spin with the wind, they drive away, they get filled up with lobster traps as you look... but right off the bat I felt I had nailed the boat and reflections.  I was packing up my brushes and I heard a motor start up and, you guessed it.... this blue boat drove off!  I think I might paint this in a much larger format - or do you think it would be too much 'boat'?

Hanna's, 11x14 inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

Been off 'the grid' for a week, as it was my yearly trip to Maine with the South Shore girls.  This year we had phenomenal weather, not that it really matters to us - in case of rain or fog we just set up our easels inside and do interiors, or still life!  

We stay in a big farmhouse at the edge of a cove.  Mornings we wake early (I think every one of us saw 4:58 at least once) because the light is so intense, and we grab our morning beverage of choice and either pad down to the dock and listen to the water lap and the fishermen get ready for their day or we park ourselves on the rockers on the large porch and read or sketch.  Then we start in earnest.... someone found a field of buttercups not to be missed, someone wants to paint the rocks at the point, or the lupines growing almost everywhere.  Everyone is considerate and kind, and we enjoy fabulous food (we each cook one night) and icy beverages (my specialty was Cosmos) and watch the rosy sky, talking about art, families, our struggles and joys.... and THIS week Sally Dean Mello and I cracked the code for using the DVD player, so we watched movies at night.

This painting was done with Sally and Peggy Farrell Bruno and it was my favorite from the week. Please check out their blogs, as well, I think you'll like what you see! After 4 days of plein air painting (boats, crashing waves, still life on the porch, landscapes, etc.) I FINALLY relaxed.  

I'm grateful for this annual trip.  It re-sets my clock.  Takes down my blood pressure.  Gets me to really reflect on a lot of things.  I am simply, now, a Maine-iac.  And I love it!

AAaaaand this year we went to Maine earlier, so I could be with my husband on our anniversary (#36), which is the 24th! 

Update (Work In Progress)

Truly, I feel blessed these days.  I have an extremely supportive and loving family, pets I adore, many treasured friends who both guide me when I need it and encourage me when I need that.

A couple of years ago I tried for an artist membership at an art association, preparing 8 large (30x30 and 30x40) paintings of the sunsets I see from my porch.  The series was both personal and a reach for me, not being one who ever did much in the way of series.  To make a long story short, I was rejected for that membership, and the judges were pretty clear that they did not think much of my sunsets, both as subject matter or execution.  Later I talked to someone I thought was knowledgeable about selling art and she told me "Sunsets are a no-no.  Actual sunsets cannot be surpassed, although photography comes in a close second.  Painted sunsets are ... just 'too'...."

So I pretty much gave up painting them.  Although they still inspired feelings of peace and expansiveness and joy in my heart, I closed that door for my art.  Well, lately, and maybe it was seeing my work in Pam Copeman's wonderful home in the Boston Globe, and maybe it was just gaining a bit of confidence, warranted or not, but I decided to stick my fingers in my ears and hummm... and paint my sunsets that I love.  I had even AVOIDED looking at them, as if just seeing the rosy sky and golden tipped clouds would make my art 'smarmy'.  No more.  You can now find me on my front porch soaking in the glow.

So here's a 12x12 that I'm working on.  I'm about halfway through, but you can see where I'm going.  In this, the storm clouds are coming up from the South East, headed right for us.  When this is ready it will most likely show up at the Art Stable Gallery - look for it there!

Do Not Disturb, 8x10 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

I'm celebrating!  Just had such a great, fun weekend, glamorous partying with friends under the stars (some of whom I have not seen in a LONG time!), hanging out in the garden and getting a few new plants to tuck here and there, running into a friend at the garden store, and going back to her summer place to see so many of my paintings hanging there, looking so happy... exciting news of new babies (no, not in MY family), engagements (again...not in MY family)... so enjoy, not only the 'insider's price', but free shipping!

So I also got in some much needed studio time yesterday, and this painting just flew off the brush.  It was like I wasn't even there.  I'm thinking this gal needs a day.  No work, no cooking, no shopping, no laundry, errands, kids, men, etc.  Just the sounds of the waves, a good book, the smell of the ocean.... HER time.  And... she's totally coordinated :)

Also... this afternoon I started getting texts and emails that alerted me .... to an article about aforementioned glamorous friend Pam Copeman being written about in the Boston Globe Magazine, with photos - that show my paintings in her sumptuous home!  Look HERE.  Pam is a friend, a fellow Girls Just Wanna Paint girl, a fabulous artist and a sublime decorator.  Her whole condo is done is sunset colors - brave and glorious.  I would trust her with any design project - seriously, she can do it all!  I'm so proud of her!  My sunset paintings are very happy in her house!

Cluck, 8x8 Inch painting of a chicken by Kelley MacDonald

SOLD

No need to 'adjust your set'.... The photo was one of 3 I took - all a little blurry.  I think the camera didn't know what to focus on with all that pattern!  I will try again with a different camera on Saturday, when I am in the studio again!

I love chickens - I guess you can tell.  I think they're pretty smart - though some people can't see it.  It's like people who don't 'get' cats, or dogs - you can't expect them to act in a 'people-ish' way - you have to take them on their terms.... and then I believe you will mostly find it very rewarding!  The feathers on this chicken are crazy!  Very flamboyant.  And we all know I like fun, so.... 

Oh, on Saturday night, Kathrine Lovell, a heavenly artist, (and I mean her work is divine, not religious) is having an Opening in her Studio at Tiverton 4 Corners.  I have double booked, and will miss the Opening (but my homemade hummus will make an appearance), but I will not miss this show. 

Sunshine In A Vase, 6x6 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald - Gerbera Flowers

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Although in real life, the green is more aqua blue, these flowers, a gift from my friend Mary Sheehan Winn, are just exuberant!  At first they were all orange... then the very tiniest tips became yellow, now they're about 1/2 and 1/2 yellow/orange - delightful!

I have a friend who drove down from Boston Saturday afternoon so we could figure out how to make prints.. and this, though exhausting, was exciting.  I'm such a literalist.    I am working my way towards a little bit of abstraction, but I'm not there yet!  So here, below, is my first try that I'm happy with. 

 Dancing Pugs:

Mine, 6x6 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

SOLD

There are few things as fun to paint as whiskey and ice.  There.  I've said it!  Glass, ok, that too.  Now... I want to reassure everyone that I have NOT quit my blog.  I simply have had an avalanche of things to do for my painting career.  I'm teaching 2 classes... getting things in my gallery, the Art Stable Gallery in Westport, MA, entering and picking up paintings from shows and Festivals... yeow... not to mention family things and pet things and house things and.... and...  well... recently I DID take another day off (I think one a month is allowed, no?) and had my friend Mary Sheehan Winn (check out her blog!) over to my new studio in Warren!  Below you can see how enchanted she was with this big cow on our walk from the parking space to the delectable lunch at the Providence Art Club. (the meter maid saw us park her car, and we timed it perfectly for the 1-hour zone - 57 minutes!)

I've missed this girl!  She's back from a warmer clime, and came all the way to Warren to visit me.  We later had pizza on my porch, with a poor excuse for a sunset, but she was a good sport anyway.  

Also....

I'm going to be doing a "Painting Safari", where we have a plein air class once a week in the East Bay RI once a week, with a demo, and a critique (if wanted)... details coming soon.  I will also travel for a one-day plein air lesson - within an hour's drive of Providence, just email me.  It's almost summer, we might as well!!!!

Mad Me 6x6 inches. acrylic

This morning was one of those days - everything that could go wrong.. did.   It was supposed to be warm and clear - it was neither, so no plein air for me this morning.  But I took Paco over to the beach, where he tries to ingratiate himself with the fishermen, because he is SURE they have cookies.  Bait.  They have bait.  Paco thinks the little containers have dog cookies.  OK, then the wind picked up, but I was determined to paint on the porch.  I have a couple of little commissions to work on (overdue, of course).  But first a dog walked down the street with it's people.  Paco turned into Cujo,  twirling and barking and strangulating his leg (he was screaming so loud and twirling so fast I couldn't even tell WHICH leg - and getting more and more tied up)... OK, phew, fixed, on to painting.  

Did I mention the wind?  Please, PLEASE don't email me telling me how much you love wind.  I used to love wind, too.  But we call this wind eyeball peeling wind.  I thought I had anchored myself, my easel, my paints, my water, but things kept blowing back past me (did you know brushes can be like arrows?)

This painting is me, leaning over to see the mirror propped to the side of my canvas.  Yup.  I'm furious. Wind, Dog, Escaped cat, flying brushes, hair whipping into my eyes, over my eyes, into my mouth (and not wanting to disturb my husband on his conference call inside.... no barette or elastic).  My Art Club Class is going to try self portraits as Daily Paintings so I am, too.  Lots of fury in these strokes.  Much calmer now.  Good thing I got Depak Chopra's meditation guide, huh?

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...

Who Took That Bite? 8x8 Inch Oil Painting of Donuts by Kelley MacDonald

SOLD

Donut Mania.  Can't explain it.....

Manhattan, 5x7 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

SOLD

Hey, TGIF, right?  Apparently there are a few people out there who like the Mad Men cocktails... Manhattan!  This was fun to paint - I could almost smell it as I painted it.  It's the weekend, and I am stacked up - Class on Saturday (we're having a 'cocktail' party - and we have a couple of slots open due to travel, so.... you're welcome!), then the Spring Bull opening, where I have 3 Gull paintings, then the Girls Just Wanna Paint will meet at my studio on Sunday.  All good things.  I am grateful for all my peeps, and for the art in my life!~

Alternate Universe, 8x8 inch Acrylic Painting of White Tulips by Kelley MacDonald

$125 & $10 S&H

Click HERE to Purchase

A bit grainy photograph is what happens when you take the shot too late in the day, and the light is going.  I'll get a better shot tomorrow, and replace it.

My Girls Just Wanna Paint topic was 'white', and I had these gorgeous white tulips, but I was playing with two backgrounds.  Who knew so many people love the color purple?  I have a lot of friends who say it is their favorite color.  All artists, mind you.

I took a large part of today to PLAY.  I haven't had a day off in a loooong time, and with no wind and clear skies, Paco and I took off for the beach.  Good call... he loved it.  His blog is now happening again, feel free to visit!

It's Paco's Pugtails...

Also... mark your calendars!

Princess Tulips, 8x8 Inches, Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

This month, the Girls Just Wanna Paint Challenge group painted "White".  Actually, for me the problem was not WHAT to paint, but what to NOT paint.  There were so many white subjects I'd love to do... clouds, white houses, white dishes, white ice cream, white dogs, cats, well, you get the gist.

But tulips were my big obsession this month, so, here we are.  SO much going on, and I want to thank each and every one of you who came out to the Sea Rose Cottage last week in Bristol, RI.  It was fun, right?  Lots of interesting artists studded the local businesses.  I made new friends and some of my favorite paintings found new homes :)

But coming up.....

I'll have 3 gull paintings at Spring Bull for this show.... and Newport is always interesting!

Flowering Quince, 11x14 oil painting by Kelley MacDonald

$350.00 & $15 S&H

Click HERE to Purchase

OK, it's much bigger than my usual Daily Paintings - 11x14 inches! This painting kind of came to me in a dream.  In that I dreamt about a design like this, knowing my two gorgeous flowering quince bushes were just bursting with blooms.   So, coincidentally, I stumbled on the glass panels I purchased TWO YEARS ago and promptly lost.... I knew it had to all come together.  I found a beautiful ultramarine tissue paper and put it under the glass, popped the little vase on top...and just reveled in the reflections. 

I put this up on Facebook and got record numbers of 'likes' (for me, anyway!).  I had been planning to save this painting to put in the Gallery this summer, but ... I was just so tickled that it got such a rush of good responses, I thought I'd like to offer it online.  Normally, framed, this would go for double this amount, but I just get such a KICK out of people being enthusiastic about a piece I LOVE, love, love, I am happy to offer it at this price.  So, I'd be happy to see it go to a 'good' home with one of my blogger friends, I guess is what I'm saying!

Be well, all... be happy, and enjoy the blooms of Spring!

Join Me, 5x7 inch Oil Painting of a Blue Martini by Kelley MacDonald

SOLD

OK, I mean it, join me for some fun tonight at Sea Rose Cottage (on Constitution) in Bristol tonight (Thursday) for the Bristol Art Walk!

You can take a virtual sip of one of my cocktails, enjoy a virtual bite of my donuts or see 'my' pugs in person!  Chickens on the walls!  I'm pretty darn excited.  I love Bristol, and I love the design/decor/paint that Nancy Chase at Sea Rose offers!

It's a case of "be there... or be square...."

xo
Nancy had nice things to say about the evening, too, HERE.

Two Dirty Martini's, Coming Right Up, 6x6 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

SOLD

Girls Night Out, right?  2 Dirty Martini's and an appetizer to split.... if this makes it to Thursday, it will be part of the 'cocktail collection' at the Sea Rose Cottage at Bristol Art Night, in Bristol, RI.  I will be the Featured Artist, and will have a fun group of paintings to share.  There will be the Cocktails, the Donuts, the Pugs and the Flowers, all small, around 6x6 inches, as well as a few larger pieces I've done over this past Winter.  I thought painting the 'dirty' liquid would be the hardest part of this painting, but it wasn't bad at all!  And olives.  I love my olives. :D

(I'm noticing the tiny edge of the painting at the bottom needs to be cropped a little better, you an see the tiny line of the panel holder.  Will shoot another photo tomorrow and replace it on the blog!

All's well here.... hope you all have a fabulous week - and stop by Bristol on Thursday form 5-9 if you can!

Do Not Adjust Your Set... 4x4 Inch Forsythia by Kelley MacDonald

$65 & $10 S&H

Click HERE to Purchase

A different pink background, a different size.  I love exploring a subject in a series!  I have one other background I'd like to explore, as well... coming up Monday!  Two rather big happenings in the next couple of weeks:  

April 25, Thursday, from 5-9

I'm the Featured Artist at Sea Rose Cottage on Constitution Rd, Bristol, RI

Bristol Art Night 

Come, be a friendly face, and view the gorgeous decorating ideas at the Cottage!

 And for the month of May I'm one of the South Coast Artists showing at Spring Bull Gallery on Bellview Ave in Newport!

Forsythia In Pink, 6x6 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

$100 & $10 S&H

Click HERE to Purchase

Had a hard time painting today... all my work on my big paintings has to be done over.  I could manage this small one, though, and am very happy with it.  I was talking it over with my daughter and she said she, and others with ties to Boston, is having the same issue.  It's like a hangover of grief.  Everyone will work their way through it, but yesterday and today it seemed like I was standing in wet sand up to my knees.  So PINK was the perfect remedy.  Be well, be happy...

Greening Up, 6x6 Inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

$100 & $10 S&H

Click HERE To Purchase

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.

Exuberance, 6x6 Inch Oil Painting of Forsythia, by Kelley MacDonald

 This week in my Saturday class we discussed composing a painting with Negative Space in mind.  That's the space BETWEEN the branches, the shapes being determined by their relative distance from other shapes.  I think Forsythia is an excellent example, although chairs, trees, and such do a great job as well. Well, too, the blue jar was as fun as the flowers to paint!

I hope you enjoy these lively flowers!

Joyful, 6x6 Inch Oil Painting of Forsythia by Kelley MacDonald

SOLD

 There's something about Forsythia that lifts the heart.  Those cheery yellow bushes reaching for the sky, and the vibrant blue of a Spring day provides the perfect backdrop for these symbols of new life.  I can never fathom the urge to crop them into little rounded bushes, because what I love about them is their reckless reaching out, the irrepressible nature of their outstretched limbs.  

Which, of course, I cut and put in jars and vases around the house!

So... a new spring, a new season, and new and interesting things to come, for each of us.

April In Paris.... 8x10 Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

SOLD

I've only been to Paris once, and it was really not enough!  My dear husband lured me out for a walk one evening, which ended up being like the Trail Of Tears (for my poor, blistered feet), but his destination was romantic, and so was immediately forgiven.  We were quite a distance from the Eiffel, but it looked close because it's huge - surely dominates the landscape.  By the time we got there it was lit up - my very favorite view of it.  And I think its synchronicity that my friend Leslie Saeta also painted this scene (although daytime) this week.  Check hers out!

Along those lines, this month there will be an opportunity for locals and their friends to get together as I walk them through a Paris painting - Thursday, April 18th, 6-8:30, BYOB, fun supplied, as well as all art supplies.  Pure non-artists welcomed and encouraged!~

On My Easel

Two shows need work for later this month, so I've been working on larger pieces.  This one is 20x24, Oil on canvas.  I had the design from one of my zillions of photographs of gulls, and I just concentrated on design and paint application... It is agony (in setting up the design and that 'math', as I call it) then fun (digging into the paint and using free, expressive strokes), then agony again, as I look at it with a cold eye and decide what does and doesn't work and doing the 'editing'.  

First show is at the Spring Bull Gallery on Belleview Avenue in Newport, RI.  It's called "A Sampling Of The South Coast Artists" and will run the month of May.  I will have 3 pieces in this.  Then I will be  the featured Artist at Sea Rose Cottage Thursday, April 25, from 5-9 in Bristol, RI on Gallery Night.

Fun Time Tulips, 8x8 Inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

$125 & $10 S&H

Click HERE To Purchase

Painting today was frustrating.  I wanted to paint shore paintings, gulls and plovers and children in the waves.  But after 3 tries, nothing was working.  Why?  I had great reference material... I had new-ish brushes and all my favorite colors laid out in front of me.  I had time and space to myself.. good music on....  I complained on Facebook, 'got it all out', meditated, took a walk, looked at other art I like...  Then I decided to clean up and forget today's work.  But I had a bit of paint on my disposable palette and I thought, I'm just going to design a painting of my tulips, and it can dry and I'll work on it tomorrow.  But when I got the design in I decided to pop in a few color notes, and one thing led to another and I was IMMERSED.  I had a blast!  It's a little different in technique, but hey, experimenting is good!  So thrilled with it I want to share it.  So instead of the usual $150 for this size work I'm offering it for $125.  And I'm going to do more like this!

My other title I was going to go with was "Exuberance!"  Do you like it better?

Renewal, 6x6 Acrylic Painting of Tulips by Kelley MacDonald

$100 & 10 S&H

Click HERE To Purchase

Springtime MEANS tulips to me.  I adore all the different variations.  A few years ago my friend Paula Villanova and I went to Holland the week the tulips were supposed to be peaking.  Well, when we arrived there had been a historic heat wave in the Netherlands, and the temps hit 90 many days in a row - which is a death knell for tulips. We managed to paint a lot and have a ton of fun anyway (right?  of course right!)  You can check our blog about it HERE.

This painting just thrilled me.  Who would have ever thought that violet would be a good background for red tulips?  I tried it out tentatively, and then went right into it, full force - loving how it came out.  Dedicating this post and bouquet to a friend who is dealing with caring for her husband's mom, navigating all the options of best care, with her open heart.  I keep her in my prayers, as I know how hard it is on that road.

Seeking Balance, 6x6 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

$100 &n $10 S&H

Click HERE To Purchase

Again, one of my favorite themes.  I spent some time collecting NEW rocks last weekend with Tim and Paco.  Unbelievably, on the beach, there was only one other car.  Turns out it was friends of ours from Boston.  What a great surprise... and Paco recognized them first....

I think we are all in need of a reminder to keep balanced.  I love these cairns so much I often wear tiny ones as earrings.  An artist in Maine makes them.  Throughout the day when I touch them I am reminded.... seek a balance.  These paintings never last long, but I am never sorry to see them go to someone who also knows about the importance of balance in our lives.

This was a demo last Saturday, and the lesson was about edges, values, texture, and .... yes, balance.  When you zoom in you can see the 'freckles' and 'scars' that makes each stone unique.

All Of The Tulips, 6x6 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

SOLD

The last of these gorgeous tulips.  Now I'm itching for other colored tulips.  I've never painted white ones, so there's that, but I do love the orange ones, and then the yellow ones always 'get to' me....  We'll see what looks good when I shop!

Happy Easter, Passover, whatever holiday you observe.  I'm going to try for an Easter without chocolate (I know, right?  What's the point - kidding!).    

Well, I'm thinking that the warmer weather will bring some fun plein air painting.  I'm going to do a 'Safari' again this Spring/Summer, where we go to a different location each week, with a demo, painting and then a supportive critique.  Also, if you are in the Boston/South Shore area and are interested in a one-day Plein Air Workshop, I'm thinking of putting one together.  email me at kcareymac@hotmail.com.  Again... FUN!

Also I have room for maybe one more person in my Saturday class, it's ongoing and there are some very cool people you would love to paint with in it!  10-1 at my Warren Studio.  Just email me to let me know you're coming.  It's week-to-week, $25 each.

Pussy Willow Shimmer, 6x6 Inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

$100 & $10 S&H

Click HERE To Purchase

Loving my pussy willows still... and in this painting I decided to use a bright gold metallic paint for the background. I love the way the blueish pussy willows stand out against it.  Just exploring paint and shapes and design.

Saw sunshine today.  Took THREE walks.  Ahhhhhhhh... I am SO ready for Spring this year!

Pussy Willows, 6x6 Inch Acrylic Painting by Kelley MacDonald

$100 & $10 S&H

Click HERE To Purchase

Pussy Willows are always a favorite of mine.  And though I FELT like painting daffodils today what I HAD was pussy willows!  I love them because they last, literally, for years.  And because they are soft, like little kitties!  And I know I told you this before, but when I was a child and we were not allowed to have pets in our apartment, I collected these, took them off the stems, named them, and took them everywhere with me.  They were the perfect pets, really. Never had to feed them, walk them, they were quiet and very amenable. 

Also, they bloom around the time of year that my Dad passed away.  So I think of him when I look at them.  

I loved layering the acrylics here.  I want to tell everyone that when you switch mediums, say from watercolor to oil, or to acrylic - give it a while so you get the hang of how they 'act'.  Don't dismiss them immediately.  I struggled to get acrylics to do what I want - for such a long time.  And even now every once in a while.  But then they'll do something wonderful and surprising that you hadn't expected, and there you go.  Your own little miracle.

I hope you all are getting a little Spring...