Lemon Slices

This is a large commissioned painting for a client and, now, friend who I've been painting for for many years. The size is 30"x40".

Barns and Pears

It's been so long since I've posted anything. Wow! School's out and I'm busier than ever with kids going every which way and me trying to paint in between. I have had several commissioned jobs and for that I'm very thankful. I've actually been busier the past few months than I've ever been. I hope that means I'll be even busier once the economy improves. For now I have two paintings to post. One is a 24"x30" commission of a barn. The client grew up with this barn and now it will be torn down. He wanted a painting to remember it by. This one was very difficult because the photo the client gave me wasn't a good reference photo. I decided to make the trip out to the barn about an hour away and take my own photos. I got several good ones but we had just had a terrible ice storm that took down many of the trees. I had to use my imagination for a lot of this painting which I never like to do. The other painting that I'm posting is just a still life of a pear. I love the simplicity. I want to do a very large painting of this soon.

Iris

I have been wanting to paint a flower really badly since the spring flowers have started popping up. These irises are so beautiful growing in my yard so I decided to pick one and bring it into my studio to paint. After about an hour I wished I hadn't. That color was so hard to duplicate and I decided that I just wouldn't be able to with the tube colors I had that day. I tried and tried and this was the closest I came. I also think that my light source was not strong enough to make it an interesting enough painting. We live and learn:)

"Afternoon Coffee"

I'm so excited to post a finished painting. I've got so many projects going but haven't had anything finished until now. I set this up yesterday and finished it this morning. It was a lot of fun. Tomorrow it's back to my other projects.

Tennis anyone?

I don't have a painting to post today. I'm working on a commissioned painting of a barn right now. I donated the apple painting from the last post to a benefit auction to raise money for a child in our town who is very sick.

I don't know if I've mentioned before that I also play tennis. I started playing about 3 yrs ago and fell in love immediately. I try to play twice a week or more. As an artist, I find myself getting more and more comfortable being alone which isn't good all the time. Tennis has allowed me to meet people and make really good friendships. This year I decided to join USTA Team Tennis to see if I would like the more competitive play. I've never been a very competitive person so this has been a huge challenge for me. My nerves almost get the better of me before each match. The worst thing is I have not won ANYTHING yet. This is starting to really get in my head and I'm afraid it's now keeping me from winning. I'm trying to remember that it's just a game, I'm not getting paid to do this. I'll keep you posted on my progress and you can be sure I'll let you know the minute I win:) I'm wearing the green shirt in the picture above.

Apple Trio

Today I was determined to start and finish a painting. I knew I better not put too much thinking into or it would never get done. That's how I usually roll. I think more than I do. It still took me until noon to get situated and start painting. Not sure how I will get over all the fussing I do to prepare. Anyway, I used only brights for brushes because I've always liked the look of paintings done in that style. It's hard to leave it alone and not work it to death. I also used Cobalt dryer to speed the drying time and apparently used too much because the paint started drying too quickly. It became so sticky that I had to finish sooner than I probably would have otherwise. Good and bad. I was told after it was all said and done that I should only use the dryer in my white and cadmiums. I'm excited to one tomorrow if I have time. I play in a tennis tournament tomorrow afternoon.

Wino Wednesdays

What a great day today was. I spent it with my friends and fellow artists Tim Tyler and Vicki Ross. I've studied with Tim for about three years and have learned so much from him. He's a great teacher but now a great friend. We meet at Tim's about 9:00 am every Wednesday, paint, talk and listen to great music. We go to lunch, have a couple glasses of wine and then it's back to painting. Today I finished the dog that I've been working on for a while. This dog belongs to the same client who owns Bailey from a previous post. I believe this one's name is Scarlett. I'm excited to let the client know that I'm finished. I have one more dog of hers to paint. Today I also worked on a still life that Tim set up for me of a vase with a beautiful leather mask hanging from it. Can't wait to get back to that next wednesday.