Wednesday, October 30, 2013

mottie moment


 Thank heavens for small things and maybe genes.  My kids call my mother Mottie and she is one of the most talented and resourceful people that I know.  She inherited it from her father who could make something out of nothing.
I have been struggling with ways to showcase my small paintings at shows. In the past, I have hauled this long, heavy table around and things would constantly fall or blow over.  Last night I got the idea of looking for an old book or magazine rack.  Right before I was headed out to look at some second hand stores I saw this old and unused shoe rack in my garage.   The shelves were laying down flat so I had to figure out a way to make them lay slanted for better viewing.  Drilling new holes would have taken WAAYY too much time and skill so I used my handy zip ties. I secured the wire shelves to the shelf above it and at the top, to the wood. (Only had to remove the ends of the shelf that are the top part of the slant.  )  I left the bottom shelf flat so that the whole piece could have some support and to lay some more paintings. That was more than a mouthful of words and you are probably still confused.
This is going to make the perfect accessory to my tent which has panels to hang large works.  I will take a picture of my set up this weekend at the Moss Rock Show.  Perfect timing to figure out using recycled goods because this show celebrates the environment.

Thanks Mom for sharing a little bit of your creativity gene with me.

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Tuesday, October 29, 2013

wet walk

 Another rainy day shot from Edinburgh, Scotland. This one is painted on an 8 x 16" canvas.
This is one of those paintings that I photographed and corrected at least ten times.  Think I am good now.??sold
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Monday, October 28, 2013

sienna


 This is a painting that I finished right before leaving town last weekend. It is another large one ( 30 x 40") so I included a second picture to show the scale. I used burnt sienna for the painting.  I added a bit of white and then decided to add a little wash of ultra marine blue in the background.

 I had to include a little of the Alabama Fall foilage in the background.  My favorite time of the year.  The bottom photo is taken from my studio window.

I will have my animal paintings at the Moss Rock Festival this coming Saturday and Sunday.  The hours are 10- 6 on Saturday and 10-4 on Sunday.  The weather is supposed to be great so come out and celebrate this beautiful time of year.sold
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Sunday, October 27, 2013

pensacola sound view



 I just returned from a trip to Pensacola Beach , FL with five of my female cousins.  We do not get to see each other regularly but were close growing up.  It was so much fun catching up and spending lots of quality time together.   I painted the scenery of the sound from the back porch of the house every morning.  It was so much fun painting in such a beautiful place and listening to them laughing inside while doing so.  I needed a big dose of cousin.
I did several studies of this scene.  The top one is an 8 x 8" and the bottom one a 5 x 7".  The very bottom one is a picture my cousin, Andrea, took of me in action.   It may look warm but I was wearing three light jackets.  Enjoying the plein air painting.

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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

brolly day

 I took this reference photo during a walking tour of Edinburgh, Scotland. In case you are wondering about the title, Brits refer to umbrellas as brollies.   This is painted on a 12 x 24" canvas.sold
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Monday, October 21, 2013

ho and hum


 This cow was giving me the "another day in paradise" look.  I spotted him on my way home from Nashville last weekend.  She is painted on an 8 x 8 x 1 1/2" canvas.sold


















These are two small paintings I did at the Frank Serrano workshop last week. We painted in the rain and the sun.  The rain clouds were still around in the top  5 x 7" painting and it was becoming partly sunny in the bottom 6 x 8"painting.


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Sunday, October 20, 2013

narrow view


 I recently returned from Nashville after participating in a plein air workshop with Frank Serrano.  I learned a lot about painting landscapes and painting outside.  I am not a plein air painter but feel that it will improve my studio work if I squeeze some in.  Frank is a terrific painter and is a good teacher as well.  I came home with lots to think about and hopefully put into practice.
I am preparing for an upcoming show where I am only going to bring my animal paintings.  The Moss Rock Festival is November 2nd and 3rd and is a festival devoted to art, design and the environment. Right up my alley.  Click on the link for more information.

This rooster is painted on a 4 x 12 x 1 1/2" canvas.sold

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Friday, October 11, 2013

pointer

 Just for fun on a Friday. This is painted on a 10 x 10" canvas.
 Headed out to Chicago to cheer my twin sons on in the marathon this Sunday.
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Wednesday, October 9, 2013

all star

 Sorry for the photo but I have said before that I am not very good at photographing large pieces.  This piece barely fits on my easel.  This kind of shows you the scale of this 3' x 4' piece.  Think it might be one of my favorites.sold
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Monday, October 7, 2013

golden haired

  The reference photo for this painting
is one of my favorite pictures I took during my trip to England.  Is it a problem that I am in England and more interested in taking pictures of people than things like Stonehenge?  I took a few token pictures of the big rocks.
This is painted on a 20 x 20 x 1 1/2" linen canvas.sold
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Friday, October 4, 2013

hip high

 There was great light on this cow.  This is painted on a 6 x 12" linen canvas. Sorry if you do not like cows.
Have a great weekend!!sold

Thursday, October 3, 2013

most days

 Most days I feel like painting a cow.  I loved this calf's markings and her interest.  She would have won the staring game with me. This is painted on a 6 x 6 x 1 1/2" canvas.sold
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Wednesday, October 2, 2013

some days

 Some days I just feel like painting a cow in  a field.  This cow was catching some early morning rays in Oklahoma. This is painted on a 6 x 6 x 1 1/2" canvas.sold