The Blue and the Gray

This small 12 x 12 oil is an historic building on Main Street in Franklin, TN, a town with Civil War origins. The painting will hang in ElmTree Gallery right across the street from the drugstore. The store is long gone, but the sign remains.

Bye, Bye Miss American Pie

Okay. One more. This song just stuck in my head, so what was one to do? Every single thing in the painting reflects some portion of the lyrics in the song.

8" x 8" mixed media on gesso board.

Dawn's Early Light

Got a bee in my bonnet after the last post, so made a diptych.


Each are 8" x 8" on gessoboard, mixed media.

The Rockets' Red Glare

I'm in the process of finishing up a rather tight, realistic painting and it's taking a while. So in the meantime, a little rebellion against studied concentration. It's fun to let 'er rip.

8" x 8" mixed media on gessoboard.

Have a Cold One

Had a busy week with no painting to show for it. So, I am posting one from a series of 6 of things we drink everyday.

12" x 12" oil on wrapped canvas.

At Ease

My son's shoes are cool, with the two tone canvas and looked like they'd make a good subject for a painting.

12" x12" oil on cradled board.

Vintage

A wild and crazy experiment. I enjoy doing ink drawings, although I don't post many of them on the blog. I was ready to paint this as a realistic oil (which I will still do), and got the hair-brained idea to do the ink drawing on cradled art board and color it with acrylics. Best part - no glass or framing required.

Perhaps the technique will have interesting possiblities... who knows.

6" x 6"

Dirigibles Disguised as Starfruit

Such an interesting fruit, that looks like little dirigibles to me.

6" x 6" in oil on cradled board.

It Was Mom's

This was my Mother's favorite little coffee pot, an old drip-style model that predated those new-fangled percolators. Made just 2 cups. I keep it in the cupboard and can't bear to let it go.

6" x 6" oil on cradled board.

The Blues

6" x 6" in oil. I got these for Christmas several years back when I thought I wanted to learn to play. Heh.

Sweet Reflections

12" x 12" oil on cradled board. Metal, glass and liquid.
What was I thinking? Nothing like a challenge.

Kisses

I really like the almond kisses but wanted to paint the silver foil. They are much tinier than one realizes.

8" x 8" oil on cradled board.

Florida Morning

Got a fruit basket from a work client and wouldn't let anyone pick at it till I took a photo.

8 x 8 oil
pretty loose for me, heh? and BRIGHT, jeez.

Just Between Friends

6" x 6" oil on cradled board. Got a cupboard full of these. Of course, mine were a Christmas present a couple of years ago and the other side sports my name and art from the 50s.

SOLD

Jimmy and the Girlfriend

Well, my husband has a girlfriend named Molly.

It's a mutual admiration society. When he was tooling around in the early fall, he had me take this picture because Molly insisted on riding on the back.

Say "car ride" or get out the keys and she's ready. If she manages to get in the car she sits upright in the passenger seat, ready to go. Then when she won't get out, and you go to the passenger side to open the door, she moves to the driver's seat.

So it's a Christmas present and a surprise. 12 x 12 oil. (Not for sale.)

Life is Just...

Feels so good to get back to what I like to do best... light and metal. This is 12 x 12 oil. Found the little chrome doggie dish at the grocery store and had an ah ha moment!

SOLD

Holly Holly Christmas

And... one more! The gallery wanted more small ornaments for the show. Can't complain on that point. So now we have a decorated ornament. Photo looks a little flat here. 6 x 6 oil.

SOLD

Cadmium Orange

8" x 8" oil. Again, really working on loosening up the brushwork. I'm pleased with this one.

SOLD

Juicy Fruit

8" x 8" oils on cradled board.
Ah, I enjoyed this one tremendously. Tried something new with Raw Umber gesso ground and worked the color from there. Seems richer somehow. I am definitely going to explore this further. I am trying to use bigger brushes and looser strokes.

Uncorked

6" x 6" in oil on cradled board. Tiny version of a large pastel of kitchen implements series.

Tangerine

6" x 6" in oil.
Now this one was a little harder to do, but no less fun to do.

Christmas Bauble

Another fun little 6" x 6" oil for the holiday small works show. I truly love doing reflections.

SOLD

Lady Godiva

Chocolates as another 6" x 6" oil for the small works show.
Like anyone needs more sweets at the holidays. But these are calorie free.

A Little Cheesecake

A small 6 x 6 oil painting on cradled board of something for the sweet tooth. I did a large version of this in pastel, but wanted a looser version while trying my hand at these popular smaller sizes.

I think I could get into this! Am I the last to discover how fun these small ones are?

My Alma Mater

Went to Ball State University... Ball canning jars, good drink mugs, you know the stuff - that's the family that started the whole thing. So now we have salt shakers.

What would we do without it?

Fun little one I actually did on purpose. Sat it on my desk, when I should have been working. Sort of today's placeholder.

I used Derwent's Graphitint watercolor pencils. I think I want some more in other colors.

The Scoop

Sketching while watching TV tonite. Hard to hold the scoop with the left while drawing with the right.

Too tough a day to try to work with oils this evening. Trip to the dentist this afternoon and then to the bank with a haf a dwoopy fathe that looked thupid. Hence, the drawing.

Heirloom

Grandma's Towle Old Colonial... beautiful silverware that lives day in and day out wrapped in flannel blanketing. Small 5" x 7" oil on canvas. Did much of the background initially with oil pastels before going for the brush.

Frank Lloyd Light

8" x 8" oil on canvas. I have been wanting to try something with that warm light that looks so special.

Colt Navy 1851

8" x 8" Pastel on Wallis.
This is not a new one, but one of my favorites that needed dusting off - no pun intended. I miss my pastels but they are so hard to sell. I don't know about your area, but art 'under glass' just doesn't move and I don't understand why.

If I could get my oils to look like this - I'd be a happy gal.

Klimt crowns record art auction

Had to post, as Klimt is a favorite.

"A 1912 portrait, Adele Bloch-Bauer II, by the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt fetched almost $88m (£45m).

The painting was one of five Klimt works looted by the Nazis and returned to their owners earlier this year." (BBC)

The Bed

12" x 12" oil on masonite... this one painted itself; it just flowed. And it's the first time for a painting using cold wax and galkyd and I loved the texture.

Berrys Chapel Road

Went to get art supplies on Saturday and had the camera. On the way, there was the perfect hill and valley and shadows.

I like the foreground, especially.

16 x 20 in oil.

The Coming Storm

Small 5 x 7 inch oil on canvas. We live in a beautiful area with lots of farm fields and this one is not too far from home. As in go to the end of the street, turn right, turn left. One of those great moments when I was shooting the photo and things got dark fast and the clouds opened up.

After Dinner and too tired to paint

The after dinner remnants... left me too tired to paint.

Have you ever been just popping with ideas and the desire to paint and real-life demands just get in the way? I am going through a period of frustrations with ideas coming like crazy and no time!

I DO NOT sketch well but at least it was a moment of creativity.

Second problem - having time to go paint and getting caught up in an exquisite trail of links to some great art blog. Slobber on the keyboard. Haven't decided if it's inspiring or discouraging!

Off to do some painting. Ciao.

Lighter and Brighter

Decided to go from black to white on this blog. Black was great for the images but it's harder to talk and hear in the dark. And I decided it might be good to post a little more about the process and the trials.



Had my hair done yesterday, so took the sketchbook.

Sound Barrier

Another mixed media painting: 10" x 20"
This also uses fabric pieces. Using fabric really is providing some interesting directions to explore. As a quasi-fabric artist at one time, I just keep digging into those scrap piles.

Note: I NEVER throw anything away. It has its pros and cons, no?

Reconstruction

40" x 30" mixed media. Most of the color portions are fabric.

Burning Fall

22" x 28" Mixed media on canvas.

Navigating the Thames

And another.



















12" x 12" Mixed media on canvas.

Unearthing History

Mixed media exploration.




















12" x 12" Mixed media on canvas.

Red Storm Rising

Gone abstract for variety. Sometimes it's where the muse leads after working on paintings that required more control and concentration.















24" x 18" Mixed Media

SOLD

At Last! A New One...

Finally! Back belatedly with a new pastel. Just great when you can eat the art when you are finished.




















Addictions
20" x 20" Soft Pastels on Wallis

Lilies

One more floral:




















30" x 30" Acrylic

Kaleidescope

A floral color explosion...
22" x 28" Acrylic

Moonlit

Enjoying the really large florals and the drama of the overhead lighting.















36" x 48" Acrylic.

Night Blooms

Very loose and colorful flowers and hydrangeas. Certainly a departure from the rather tight cars and trucks of late.

Acrylic 36" x 48"

NOT FOR SALE

Tired Pony

An old abandoned Mustang, left in a nearby barn since 1989. So of course, could not resist capturing this one...








22" x 10" Pastels

Oxide Tears

Finished a new pastel this week with this painting of an old rusted truck. The rust and missing metal was captivating and added so much "texture" to the visual.

30" x 22" Pastel