I Got One!

Acrylic 11x14 Canvas SOLD

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I have not been able to paint for a week. Today, however, I let everything else go and enjoyed the beautiful day.

This is my darling niece when she was around 3. It makes me smile! You can see her proud struggle carrying that huge pumpkin! Once again, I enjoyed the texture of the sand and medium on the canvas.

the FINISHED murals

Pickin' Pumpkins

Acrylic on Canvas 11x14 $125

I enjoyed painting this scene of my father and my younger son looking for the perfect pumpkin. I painted on texture, once again, and found the texture to be exciting and frustrating all at the same time. Look for more pumpkin patch scenes on paper over the next couple of weeks. I will be trying to work something out for a larger painting.

Pumpkin Topiary

Acrylic on Canvas 12x24 $185 SOLD

I am really enjoying trying out new textures and new subjects on the texture. I am also in the mood for fall (as if the subject of the next couple of posts should show!) Enjoy!

Skim Boarding

Acrylic 12x24 on canvas $250

I embraced my tendancy toward minimalism and used alot of what I learned at the workshop this weekend and painted this. This is my sweet son looking for the perfect skim with his skim board. I really love the texture!

Claire told me about how she uses sand in her paintings so I went out to the kids sandbox and scooped some into an empty parmesan container and voila! I have texture! Thanks Claire!

Photos from the Workshop

Carole Foret & Claire Kayser Destination Workshop

Acrylic on Canvas

I had a wonderful time this weekend at a Destination Workshop with twin artists Carole Foret and Claire Kayser (to see their fabulous work check out their websites and blogs - links to the left) Two of my good friends and I headed to Jackson, TN for this great workshop at the Art Under a Hot Tin Roof Gallery. I learned a ton! To sum it up:

1. The JOY of a filbert brush.

2.Toning

3. Scumbling

4. I CAN mix the paint on the canvas

5. Accentuate the dark and light highlights

6. Texture the canvas first

7. MISTAKES ARE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR TEXTURE

8. Pallet knives are a great tool for texture

Their next one is in Rosemary Beach, FL. I highly recommend it as a fun girls weekend with some great women - as well as the opportunity to learn from these wonderful artists!

Lobster Feast

Acrylic on Canvas 20x40 $450

I painted this to hang in my kitchen. I wanted somthing whimsical to hang over an antique buffet we have. My kitchen is painted a gray purple and I think this fits in really well!
If you want it for your kitchen, however, I am sure I could let it go!

Haunting Face of Need

Watercolor 20x24

If you haven't noticed, I haven't been able to paint this week! It has really stressed me out! But, it has been for a good reason. I have been getting myself ready (and my family ready for me to be gone) to go to a painting workshop out of town this weekend with two of my closest friends! We are going to Jackson, TN to Art on a Hot Tin Roof to attend a workshop led by Carole Foret and her sister Claire Kayser. I am very excited! It will be the first painting workshop I have attended. I am hoping to come home inspired and full of ideas!

This watercolor is one I did years ago. This woman was in a magazine with an article about the poverty in her area. Her face really haunted me, so I painted it, several times. There are thousands more like her out there that we turn a blind eye to everyday.

Murals

These are murals I am working on for my niece and nephew. Both are shown in progress. They are on floor canvas and measure about 4 feet by 3.5 feet. They have been really fun to work on! I am happy to take commissions for murals on canvas, such as these. They are $550.

Daisy Mae

12x12 Pencil on Paper NFS

I couldn't post CeeCee without posting DaisyMae. She died this past November of old age (15) and kidney failure. She was my constant companion through college, she was with me when I got married and had my children. I miss her dearly. I did this pencil sketch when she was young, 1996. I didn't take it out of the frame and you can see her collar hanging on the side.

Cee Cee

Acrylic 12x12 on Paper

This is my puppy, CeeCee. I got her for myself for my birthday this past February. I have been reluctant to paint her, afraid she would look like one huge ball of yarn. This really is a good representation of her. She is one big fur ball! My daughter loves to coordinate their ponytails - one or two, and what color the holder will be. CeeCee is constantly at my feet or in my lap. She is my first small dog. My husband thinks she is more like a cat - and there really are alot of similarities. (Like her favorite place to sleep is on the pillow over my head!)

The Brakefield Cabin

Acrylic 12x12 on Paper $120

This is the cabin where I spent many a summer weekend and spring break as a child! Now my kids have the opportunity to share in the same lovely experiences I did. My husband and I took the kids to the cabin to celebrate the last weekend of summer before school started. They fished, went swimming, for boat rides, and tubing. I sketched, read a new book (The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger) and painted this!

Hangin' On

Acrylic 8.5x11 on Paper $85

This one was fun! This is my husband holding a net holding a crab that he caught to show the kids during last summers trip to the beach.

Apple On Circles

Acrylic 12x12 on paper $60

This is another one I did on Friday. I just had fun with it! I think I will do some more of these this week! I am still working on "2 & 92". I really want this one to work so I am taking my time. When I get excited about a painting I sometimes rush because my brain is completing it faster than my hands can paint! I am so glad I found the DailyPainters.com website! It has truely been an inspiration to me! It has also given me the permission to paint on paper! I had always thought for a work to be taken seriously it had to be on canvas. I see now that is just not true! I have so much more freedom as an artist to paint on whatever I want!

Bullfrog

acrylic on paper 8.5x11 $75

I love this one! Last summer a bullfrog got into my neighbors garage. They were kind enough to come and get my boys when the giant frog was caught. I took a close up of it when my oldest had his turn to hold it. They released it into a nearby creek. I painted this one on Friday. This weekend I started a larger painting of my grandmother with my daughter. I will be working on it today! I hope Labor Day Weekend has been full of fun for everyone!