Live A Little, 8x10 inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

A morning on the placid lake.... Loon ooodling in the distance, sun just hitting the tops of trees... Blood pressure dropping..... I am utterly enchanted, reveling in art time, girlfriend time, peace time. No TV, phone ringer silenced, reaching deep inside for true inspiration and centering. I can't believe it's already Thursday. I am geared up to do my Challenge painting tomorrow.....

Sweet Life, 8x10 oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

So blessed to have some time on a lovely little lake in Maine this week. Traveling with Paco has it's moments but for the most part we are Content (capital intended). Vast views, quiet, loons and a schedule of exactly NOTHING.... To rejuvenate, reconnect with friends, and try things out on my canvas. I am grateful.

3 women, 2 dogs and a million memorable moments......

Today was the first day of August Open Studios.  Why, you ask, would someone put themselves through the agony and tremendous work TWICE in a summer?  Well, for one thing if I wasn't open this weekend I would have missed meeting fabulous painter and blogger Fay Terry!  I've been following her work for a looooong time, enjoying every post.  She's up this way from North Carolina, and meeting her in person was beyond beyond.  Sweet, kind, fun, (SO fun) and talented, it felt like I'd known her a long time.  I hope she enjoys her time in New England, and comes back again soon!

And this is what my fortune cookie said last night. So... I won't.

Fun, funky and returning friends came today.  At least 2 people told me they read my blog faithfully - one said it "makes her morning"... another said when she wakes up she HOPES I've posted.....  (and one person said I'm even nicer in person... thanks ;)

I had my trusted friend Jane by my side.  She knows almost as much about my journey as I do, and she handles every sale with aplomb.  Nothing throws her.  Not a non-cooperating Square credit card reader, not lack of change, not oversized work being sold or dogs growling at her feet.  Yes Paco... growled because the chew toy he STOLE from my son's dog suddenly was very precious...

Well, Sunday is another day!  New friends to see and meet!  I love it that people were taking advantage of the chairs I put out on my front lawn... many people sat and looked at the water after stopping by.  A great way to wrap up a visit, I think!

(two of these paintings are still available...)

Final Open Studio for the Summer!

I have some new pieces, and new studies as well... I am so excited by the volume of people who have let me know they are coming!  It's so easy to start at my studio and then visit tons of other artists, or go have a great lunch, tour the South Coast area....

Take Route 24 South into Rhode Island

Take Exit 5

Go Left off the exit about a mile

#1888 is on the Left, right after Cumberland Farms, 

and Coastal Roasters

I'm #9 on the map - which is irrelevant ...there is no rhyme or reason for the numbering

*I am the FIRST Studio you will encounter on Main Road*

Box O Donuts, 12x12 inch oil painting by Kelley MacDonald

Ahhhh... We had a session and these were the 'runners up' that didn't get picked for paintings... so I gave them their own 'crowd shot'...  A bit of glare on the photo, but... hey, it's too late now that I've noticed it to take a new photo. I loved painting these donuts - I let myself be a bit more expressive than normal, and you know what?  It felt great!

I am ready!  For the Open Studio this weekend.  I have a number of new paintings, both in the 'Studies At Reasonable Prices' area, and the 'New Work for Shows, etc.' area. :)

I'm so looking forward to seeing everyone!  Good weather is predicted.  Donuts will be available (till they run out!) on Saturday!  Paco, Harry & Isabelle have promised - NO PET DRAMA this weekend!

Sakonnet Glow, 12x12 oil painting by Kelley MacDonald

This painting is featured this week (maybe 2) on the main wall at the Art Stable Gallery.  It's a white wall and I'm beyond thrilled to have my 3 Coastal Skies paintings on it (see below)

I am madly painting and prepping for my upcoming Open Studio Tour as part of the South Coast Open Studio Tour.  There are 2 during the summer and this is the final one.  The top painting is available via the blog as well - email me for info, it is 12x12 inches on a cradled board.  

I've had a weekend of animal mishaps and it has swibbled my mind.  My beloved orange kitty was sick on Friday, Paco my Pug played Houdini and escaped on Saturday, running into busy traffic on Main Road, and Sunday morning a neighbor's dog broke free and did what Paco did in front of our house, but wasn't as lucky as Paco and got his lead caught under a car.  Survived, though, and that's what's important.  So... it's been hard to concentrate and I'm a bit behind.  Wish me a clear head this week!

Right now.... there's a meteor shower....

Sweet! 6x6 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

SOLD

Well, maybe all these donuts look alike to you... but I guess, like a mother, they look unique to me!  Today I went to not one, but two different donut shops and drove the poor girls crazy selecting the perfect donuts to paint.  I have another Open Studio coming up in 2 weeks, at the South Coast Open Studio Tour for August (the 17th and 18th) and I know for sure I'll have friends from the blog and from Facebook, looking for donuts to satisfy their sweet tooth!  So today was pretty intense!  I did this 6x6, then a 10x10 inch, below.... (this one includes a CREAM and jelly donut... yes, Paco & I took a bite out of this one)

Then, just before cleaning up for the day.... I grabbed a 12x12 inch canvas and belted this one out, below:

This one is not the best photography job.... it's far, far better in person, and if I think to do it I'll re-photograph tomorrow.

Oh, The Places You'll Go.... 6x6 Inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

This month my Challenge Group is painting "Travel", and I love the look of old-type suitcases. Back in the day, I guess, when we didn't pack all the comforts of home!  I  love suitcases, and the whole thought behind them, that armed with a suitcase or two, you can go to exotic locations, learn about a different culture, visit beautiful sites you'd always dreamed of.  I think everyone should visit as many places as they can, inside the USA and out.  I'm dreaming of France these days, but I've had many wonderful trips,.... and btw - my art equipment needs it's own bag!

Visit all the Painting Girls' take on 'Travel' HERE.  These paintings will be available and on view for our Girls Just Wanna Paint Show at Thayer Academy - in mid November....

The Path, 6x6 inch Oil Painting by Kelley MacDonald

SOLD

 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

SOLD

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!