down time

I am having a severe case of painters block combined with no down time. I worked on an 8 x 10" painting yesterday and today for about five hours for naught!

Scrubbed away into oblivion. Trying to make peace with myself. I am taking it harder because I do not have time for failed paintings.

A son moving home tomorrow to start a job in Birmingham. Yippee! Fourth plans with relatives in Tennessee. Work trip with my church to Tennessee July 9 - 16th. Susan G Komen 3 day walk in Boston July 20- 25. All fun stuff just not much time to catch up with painting. Ya Da Ya Da Ya Da........

I took the reference photo for this painting in Hilton Head. Struggled a lot with the foreshortening but decided it was close enough. I painted it on a 6 x 12" cradled panel.

I hope you guys are having a terrific summer!

cherry on the side

I started this set up knowing I wanted to paint the green apple. Just started picking things off the shelf after that. I think it is hard to come up with creative still life scenes but I don't really tire of it. Endless possibilities and easy acess to paint from life. The still life objects don't have to take breaks either. I'm kind of liking this one. I painted it on an 8 x 10" gallery wrap canvas.sold

two chartreuse

Sorry for the glare on this photo. I picked these two green vases up last week and was glad I found some time to paint today. I have been out of town so much and it felt good to be in my studio again. So thankful for opportunities I have had but I miss my home. This is painted on an 8 x 10" panel.

Happy weekend!sold

between shivers

This is my dog Tucker. I snapped this shot yesterday while I was sitting on the porch in the late afternoon. Trying to decide how I can briefly explain the title. I am in Fairhope, AL while my husband works a short commute away. My husband has leased a condo for three months while he is working in this area. This is Tucker and my first trip down here. I guess he is getting more nervous in his older age and he has been under foot this last few days. Shivering and following me around every where I go. He was sitting on the coffee table next to the couch I was on. That was not brief. Maybe I should have titled it "Tucker". This is painted on a 6 x 8" linen panel.

sweet summertime

This is my entry for the Daily paintwork challenge. It about made me get the flu. So hard! I almost quit the painting several times but pushed on through. Glad I did and am ready for a vacation.

Tried to put into practice one of the ways David Shelvino paints but it was hard with this challenge. He blocks his paintings in with a neutral color and then starts with the lightest parts of the painting. His reasoning is he feels the paint and pallete get dirtier as you get into a painting. Wants to keep his lights the purest form. He does this with figures and still life. Works for him.

This is painted on an 8 x 10" gallery wrap canvas.

first pick

This is the first tomato off of our tomato plant. It is the size of a cherry tomato. I think the plant is a "better boy" variety so I am not sure why it is so tiny. I only had time to do a small painting today so I thought this would be a good subject.

It is painted on a 5 x 5" cradled panel.

I just returned from David Shevlino's workshop in Atlanta. We concentrated on figures for the first two days and still life today. He is an excellent painter and a good teacher. His bold brushwork is inspiring. I will share some of his painting techniques with you in the coming posts. I am pooped for now.

twin palms

This is a commission piece for friends who have a new beach home. I took the reference photo at Amelia Island , Florida. This is what the water looked like a couple of weeks ago when I was at the beach. Carribean blue and I did not even go out to the water once. I am having a hard time squeezing in all I want and need to do. I am heavily into the training for the Susan G Komen walk. Walking up to forty miles a week now. In Alabama heat and humidity. Boston should feel very good in comparision. There will probably be some kind of record breaking heat wave that week. Oh well, walking for a great cause.

This is painted on a 16 x 20"gallery wrap canvas.

moving on

Spotted this girl making strides at the beach and snapped her picture. I was disappointed because I did not get her whole body in the frame. Then...realized it made an interesting composition as a painting. Painted on an 8 x 10" gallery canvas.

katie and beth

I went to church this morning but I think I need to go again. I said so many foul words while I was trying to get a likeness of these girls that my dog left the room. It is finally in the ball park and is going to have to do. These cuties are the twin daughters of my friend Kathy. I painted her other set of twins a few months ago. You heard that right. No fertility drugs either. This set is in their middle twenties now. Their posture in this painting is a little representative of their personalities. Beth, on the right, has a little attitude and swagger and Katie, on the left, is always on stage. I mean that in the nicest way. Great personalities and girls.

This was commissioned by their grandmother. Only two more grandchildren to go. This is painted on an 11 x 14" linen canvas.

spot

First time to paint in over two weeks so I went to one of my favorite subjects. Took the photo of "spot" on my way home from Nashville a few weeks ago. I think he is a holstein cow. I liked his crooked ear. This is painted on a 4 x 12" canvas.

Just returned from the beach with a couple of friends who are doing the Susan G Komen walk with me in Boston in July. We did a 16 and 15 mile walk in preparation. Were too tired of the heat and sun to even step foot on the beach once. The water looked really beautiful from the air conditioned condo.

SO glad to be home for a couple of weeks. The Lake Martin Art show was lots of fun last weekend. Looking forward to painting this week. Happy weekend!sold