Oil Portrait

One of my favorite oil portraits. 6 x 6" on panel.

Gift Wrapping with Your Scrap Bag

For those that like to save those bits and bobs for art projects for collaging, abstracts, and such things...there is an additional usage of these items. Gift wrapping. This video shows you what I did some of my extra scraps!

Room Scape

This is another small oil painting that I have enjoyed because of the shadows on the walls.

Calla Lily

Another of my 6 x 6" oil paintings on panel.

Photo is a bit blurry online, but you get the gist! I have been thinking about flowers lately and started a couple new pieces with flowers in them. They weren't going well, so I pitched them and have started a third one. Sometimes it takes more than one attempt......

What Inspires You?

I am sure that everyone has a different answer to this question. I don't profess to be an expert in the area, so all I can do is theorize about what works for me. Generally speaking, I would have to say that I inspire myself. I have to go searching for images or views in the world, paintings in museums, walk through art galleries and shows.

Some days this requires a good deal of work. You can look out your window and get inspired by a lovely sunset or the rain. But it really begins with your mind set. I have to be willing to BE inspired or it won't happen. If I am blue or funky and grumpy and I don't feel like exerting myself...inspiration does not arrive in my home.

This image was inspired out of necessity. I was doing a lesson for one of my classes, happily making marks and not thinking of any particular direction to take the painting. Suddenly I realized that I had a total mess on my hands and I had to get creative quickly in order to complete the lesson for my students. The image below is what it looked like initially.

Nothing about this piece inspired me in the slightest. I was embarrassed by the mess that I had created. After a little quick thinking, I began searching online, had a Bright Idea, and then I was able to video the process of my thoughts as I revamped the mess and made it into an Eggplant Still Life. Whew! I pulled that one out of my hat!

Aluminum Foil Tape

This stuff is very cool and I have continued to use it in other mixed media projects over the years. You can buy it at Home Depot and Lowe's for a few dollars and it lasts a looooong time. One of my Small Faces pieces was made last year using this same stuff and it looks superb!!

Another Older Still Life

I have an obsession with Still Life pieces that has been with me for many, many years. Sometimes I feel withdrawal pangs if I haven't made one for a few months.

This one is done with water soluble oil pastels on a canvas panel that was coated with self-leveling clear gel. This made it similar to working on Yupo paper or using watercolors. Once my pen and ink drawing was completed, I added the oil pastels in several thick layers, mixing my colors and experimenting.

I was not pleased with the initial results, so I continued building layers and adding various colors. Finally, I took a very wet cloth and washed away most of the layers of colors and the stains remained. I like this grungy look!

The Story of a Painting

Many artists add stories to their work, or tell stories with their work. This is something that has never preoccupied me when I work. Some years ago I decided to make up a story about one of my abstract/pop art paintings...it was completely off the cuff and done after the creativity.

I was somewhat surprised to discover that there was a good deal of story in this piece. During its creation, I was completely oblivious to this story and I'm not making this up. What I am making up...is the story that I added in this video. Enjoy!



On the painting below, I very definitely had a story in mind while I made it. This abstract is part of the series that I did at that time:

Apple

It is fun to paint fruits and I enjoy the simplicity of them. This is a little spring time apple that I did in oils a few years ago.

What is ACEO?

This video explains the difference between ATCs and ACEOs and where ACEOs originated. Part of my personal collections of ACEOs is showcased in this video along with a few of my own originals.

Bunny Rabbit

In honor of the upcoming Easter holiday, this little bunny rabbit is my image to celebrate the day. To all the kiddies out there...enjoy the treats! I'm staying away from them myself and where this will power is coming from I surely don't know.

Pitcher

I am currently reading books, car shopping, and trying to get myself composed after the recent loss of a dear friend. I thought I had fully recovered from this, but I discovered this week that I haven't yet. so on we go!!

The Cow

This little oil painting is another one that I did some time ago. Now that I have no online connection at home anymore, I can't post any of the new stuff that I am doing. But I am still here!

Masking Tape Technique

Masking Tape decorating creates an interesting texture on journal pages and in mixed media art pieces. This short little video shows you how easy it is to do!

Glass of Water

This is another of my earlier oil paintings. And no, I haven't yet started my Daily Painting routine...still talking about doing it, but haven't made the commitment yet. This is normal for me!

Can I Do It??

This was a painting that I did a couple years ago in a class that I took. I used Alkyd oil paints on this one. I am currently CONSIDERING working on a Daily Painting project using oils to improve my painting skills. It all looks so easy, but doing Alla Prima work requires much more knowledge than I currently possess. Or experience, or both.

I'm not sure why it is so difficult to create a small painting every day, but for me it is. I envy people that have that much discipline!

Florida Series

Here is another acrylic painting demonstration from my Florida series.



Several years ago when I was first doing outdoor art shows, I decided NOT to make paintings that were tropical in nature because every other booth at the shows were of manatees, fish, dolphins, palm trees, etc etc.  I wanted to be different!  So I refused to paint them

What I didn't realize at that time is that the public was buying that style of art and that is why so many artists were making it.  So I sat with my fruits, flowers, frogs, abstracts and whatever I was making at the time and hauled most of my inventory back home with me when the shows ended.  After doing this for about 12 consecutive shows, the penny finally dropped and I realized the error of my ways. 

I began painting small tropical pieces in bright and wild colors on 16 x 20" pieces of paper and dropping them into my print rack at my shows.  They FLEW out of the display at $40 each, much to my surprise.  Thus began my Florida series that became over 60 pieces in total.  I did various mediums and sizes over the years.  It was the best selling of all my series by far.  I don't do art shows anymore, but if I did the entire display would contain Florida pieces.

Creating Through Grief

Today has not been a successful art day for me as you can see from this image:

I have redone and reworked this mermaid at least 4 times so far. Adding a face, painting it out, doing a new one...over and over. At one point today I had her in the trash bin and later I was scrolling online and saw this one painting, and I thought "Mine looks better than that". So I dug my mermaid out of the trash bin and started painting out and sanding over her face yet again. I don't know where this will finally end, or even if I should be trying to paint anything today. Sometimes it is therapeutic and sometimes it's frustrating.

One of my friends of 30+ years is dying at any moment. I jerked awake dozens of times last night when I thought of her, so the sleep was more of a nightmare than anything restful. I'm doing what I can to process this event and although it is a part of life, it is one of the most difficult parts to accept. Even though you know it all comes to an end for all of us at some point in time you still have to go through all of the emotions that come with the territory. Death is not a new thing to me and I have already lost dozens of people that I loved very much.

None of that seems to matter when Mr. Death comes calling. I do not have the same view of death as most people do, either. But even with a reincarnation viewpoint about life and how it continues it's still not any easier to experience. I'm just dealing with this as best I can, and moving on when I am ready. Today it is music, a walk on the beach, some more art, and whatever emotions come out are okay with me.

A Florida Painting Demonstration

This video is a demonstration of how I painted one of my Florida paintings.

Faces #15 and 16

Putting a bit more intention into getting caught up on this challenge after being down for the count last week.





I find it fun to do faces of males from time to time. There's not so much importance placed on how beautiful or pretty they are and I like relaxing a bit when I sketch. Smudging and smearing the ink is fun, too.