The painting is complete! Life is a Carnival Glass!!!

My last post was a Work in Progress for this piece.  I still had lots to do and I saved the tough stuff for last as I always do :)  I am so please with how this piece turned out.  I have found that reflections are not as hard as they may seem.  What I do is under paint what is behind the reflection first and then dry brush the reflection over the top.  Works well for me!

I was first thinking to call it 'Top Shelf China', but that didn't really do it for me.  Then I thought of the song by the Band - Life is a Carnival, so why not 'Life is a Carnival Glass'.  That worked!!!

I had a frame all ready for this and have it hanging next to my china cabinet so you can see the still life and the painting together.  Typically, everything I do is for sale.  My mentor thinks I should keep this one for myself.  I do have it for sale right now though on Daily Paintworks.  Thank so much for looking!  Prints are also available on Fine Art America here:  Buy Print!

Still life painting work in progress vintage glass and more glass!!

I love to see works in progress.  In the top photo you can see the reference I am working from.  This one is challenging!  The view is the top shelf of my china cabinet.  I have lots of glass from my grandparents so it is all near and dear to my heart.

As you can see in the top photo, I toned the painting for light and shadow with blue and raw sienna.  This gives me a road map and also gets rid of the white paper underneath  if I miss getting color on a small spot it will not be glaring white.  I  worked on the background and the blue and white creamer in the front.

The 2nd photo show a close-up of the carnival glass in the lower left corner.  All the color changes and reflections took me many hours to accomplish.  I have made some more progress, but still have more to to.  I will post the completed piece when I am done.  Please check back to see it!  Thanks for reading :)

I call this piece 'Autumn Ivy'  It is a piece I did for the 2015 Twitter Art Exhibit in Moss, Norway.  It is on its journey to Norway right now.  If you haven't heard of the Twitter Art Exhibit - it is a great concept and really fun show.  It is open to artists and amateurs alike - no jury process.  All art is donated and all proceeds go to a selected charity which changes each year as does the location.  If you are interested in participating, please visit The call for artists page.  Deadline for submissions is  March 1, 2015.

Old Canoe is an award winning painting with 2 Ribbons!

Here I am with my painting 'Old Canoe' at the Regional Art show at the Rome Art and Community Center (Rome , NY that is :))  I was surprised to see that I won two awards since I did not get a call.  I was at the center and took a sneak peek at the show and was thrilled!  Of course, I went to the opening that night to get my certificates.  I'll get the ribbons at the end of the show!

I got a Place award and a special award from the Jervis Library.  These special awards are the best, because, to the person choosing them, this piece was the 'Best of Show'!  Thanks so much to the judges!

'Oktoberfest' painting finished! 'Hacker Pschorr' brewery.

After many hours, this painting is finally done!  I posted an 'in progress' photo 2 entries down in case you missed it.  Check it out!

Flora and more flora!  It was a challenge painting all the floral garland, but I like the cast shadows they create.  I was always looking forward to the next item to paint.  I love the blue on the wheels and that was one of the last thing I painted.  I did this one on smooth Ampersand gessobord and it proved to be difficult to blend even with my favorite blending too - my fingers!   I am really happy with how this came out though.

Please share it with your beer loving friends!    Hacker Pschorr  is a Munich brewery.  This is their float in an Oktoberfest parade.  My husband was lucky enough to be in Germany at the time.  I am kind of curious to try one of their brews now.  The first Hacker brewery is mentioned in 1417, located at the corner of Sendlinger and Hackstraße in Munich so they must be pretty good.

Featuring 'Montmartre circa 1977' Paris France painting

This is one of my favorite paintings!  I snapped this scene on a high school junior French club trip to Paris.  I was so in awe of all the wonderful artists painting and selling on Montmartre.  It was like painting little paintings within the larger piece.  They were such fun to do since they were looser than my style and I probably wouldn't paint a clown :)  I did this piece on Ampersand Gessobord which helped loosen me up a little because of the smooth surface.

This was a trip of a lifetime and one I will never forget.  There were 3 total from my school that went and they were both friends.  We slept 3 in a bed and faced the morning wake-up calls together!  The chaperons were quite lenient.  There was an older guy from our school going to the Sorbonne and we were supposed to meet up with him.  The three of us took off to tackle the Metro at night!  Such fun memories.

Thanks for reminiscing with me.

Hacker Pschorr Oktoberfest painting Work in Progress - a sneak peek!

I found this great photo of a float during Oktoberfest in Munich a number of years ago.  My husband took the photo when he was on a business trip and I was psyched when I saw it.  He is not known for he photo prowess, but he got lots a great pics this trip. 

I have been slowly working on the wood areas and took a break to do the sign which was a challenge.  After taking a couple hours to do it, I had to look up what I was painting.  I found out that 'Hacker Pschorr' is a Munich brewery.  In the late 18th century, Joseph Pschorr bought the Hacker brewery from his father-in-law; he subsequently founded a separate brewery under his own name.  His two sons divided his estate by each taking control of one of the two separate breweries. In 1972, Hacker and Pschorr merged to form Hacker-Pschorr, but the beers were sold as separate brands well after 1975.  It is incredible that the original brewery was founded in 1417.  I guess the stuff must be pretty good!

I have made some more progress since taking this photo.  I have to get everything else done before working on the flowers since they are 'on top' of the barrels.  I hope I can do it justice!

Thanks for looking and feel free to leave me a comment to say Hi!

Fall camp scene sneak peak work in progress!

 

Work in Progress!



I found the reference for this piece on Wet Canvas in their reference library for artists.  It is a great place to find reference photos that members have graciously allowed anyone to use, no strings attached. I typically use my own photos, but I really liked this one.  I loved that the canoe was all scuffed up and that the old building had a bright fresh coat of paint.   What you don't see is all the fall leaves and long grass that are still to come.  I am plugging away at it though.  I was happy to get the canoe done since that is really the focal point.  My picture doesn't do it justice - it really pops!

Here is a look at the reference so you can see what is to come.  I did change the red of the building a bit so that the canoe would stand out more.  Also, it was the same color as some of the leaves.  I suspect there were some photoshop changes involved to pump up the color.

 

I'll post the final version when I am finished.  Thanks for looking and feel free to comment with what you think.

 

 

Featured art - Caffe Gilli Acrylic painting award winner!

I will be featuring a piece of my artwork from time to time and giving some background on it.  This week I am featuring my painting titled 'Gillis'. Caffe Gilli is a wonderful Patisserie in Florence, Italy.  I just added the original for sale on Daily Paintworks  and Etsy so I wanted to showcase it.

This painting is near and dear to my heart since it won me a Best in Show ribbon at a juried show I entered.  I was floored and so grateful.  This is what the judge had to say about the painting:  "Composition strong with elements of storytelling.  Color transition carries your eye through the piece.  This painting successfully tells a story complete with a get-a-way car :)"  I thank her for the kind words and the recognition. 

My husband travelled to Florence for work and I eagerly tagged along.  It was a wonderful trip and I came away with many reference photos for future paintings.  This one really had me eager to paint it.  Reflections and food - what's not to like??  I have to admit that I had a real craving for biscotti the whole time I was working on it.

Thanks for reading!  Please leave a comment if you get a chance.

Pixley park in Winter and work ethic!

I thought I would start this post with my latest painting.  I titled this one "Pixley in Winter'.  It is acrylic on 12 x 16 Ampersand board.  I love the smooth surface of these boards.  They do get me to loosen up just a little :).  I was itching to do a winter scene since I had months of inspiration outside my window this winter.  The reference photo for this piece was taken at a park just a few miles from my home.  It is also a great  place to cross country ski though I haven't done that for a couple years now.  I must admit that I am not the fan of winter that I used to be, but I love painting snow!  I also needed a new winter scene for my annual calendar that I do at Zazzle! 

The other reason for this post is to inquire about others work habits.  It seems that being a creative sort, I am always working.  I am either painting, promoting, working on my online shops or learning!  I feel guilty taking time for myself.  When I worked at my corporate job I had no problem using the weekends to 'play' - now I spend at least a portion of the weekend working.  Lately, I have thought about actually making a cup of tea and reading for an hour or so, but alas I am doing this post instead.   I do take my evenings off pretty much when hubby is home from work though.    How do others balance work and me time?  I really would like to know.

Everything gets in the way of painting!

The title says it all!  Life, social media, money, online shops - these things get in the way of making art!  Let's Start with social media.  I am sure you have heard of  Facewook, Twitter, Google+,  Pinterest, Blogger and that is just the core group, I am sure.  How in the heck am I suppposed to keep up with all of this?    My Google+ account has been ignored since March and my blog (that I am going to revive starting now) has been  too long as well.  I tweet a couple times a week and Pin when I finish something new.  I do visit Facebook daily though.  I am so in awe of the artists that tweet daily all day long and still manage to get someting accomplished!    Facebook sucks too much of my time as it is :)!  If anyone has any suggestions to this dilema, I would love to hear it!  How do you balance social media and doing art??

My latest completed painting~  titled Gilli's.  Yummy window I photographed in Florence.  Prints available on Fine Art America.
               
Money is another thing that gets in the way of creating art.  Canvas, classes, memberships, entry fees, paint and other supplies all cost mucho dinero!!   What is a girl to do?  When I retired to pursue my art I really wanted to be able to fund myself.  I started garage and estate sale shopping, scouring for collectibles to sell on Ebay.  This has worked quite well, but I lost all control of the clutter in my house and can no longer take it!  One bedroom was completely dedicated to all my finds and packing material.  This quickly spilled out into other rooms to the point that if we had any guests, I had to find a place to stash so much stuff so they had a place to sleep.  I finally had to stop the madness and cut way back on my Ebay selling and be so much more selective.  This hopefullly will allow me some more time for art and my on-line shops!

 

That brings up the on-line shops!  I have a shop on Etsy, Cafepress, Zazzle, Fine Art America and other places I can no longer keep track of.   My plan was to cut back on Ebay and spend more time on my shops.  This is supposed to replace the Ebay income if I can get my shops making more money.  I know this will take a lot of work and I need to start focusing on this goal!


But none of this matters if I don't have new paintings to show, put on new products, sell.  I would love to hear how other artists, atisans, crafters balance all this with creating! 


Thanks for reading!

New Painting Work in Progress - View at Camp.

I am finally on to a new piece.  I must admit that I am not a marathon painter - a couple hours at a time is typically my limit.  That being said, we shall see how long this one takes me.  Also, since my style tends towards realism details are important and take me time to render. 

 This new piece a view from the new side deck on our log cabin camp.  I love sitting on the new deck surrounded by trees in the peace and quiet.  I hope I can do it justice.

Above, I am just getting some paint on starting with the largest, darkest area first.  Then I proceeded to the deck which is a tricky color.  I may still need to darken the values in the shadows, but want to get some more color on first.  This is the point where it is really ugly, but come back, I promise it will get better!

In my next session, I worked on the chair and I really like how it turned out.  I am so procrastinating on doing the foliage.  Trees have never been my favorite so I need to push myself to work on that.  I really prefer to work a section to completion, but learned that it is better to get some values established first.  As you can see I completed the chair anyway - it kills me to leave stuff unfinished :) 

I will be back with more progress the beginning of the week.  I am psyched to work on this one now that I have it to this point.

New painting - Sunflowers and light, acrylic on paper

First, I want to say that I just took this pic quick with my camera so the colors aren't exactly right.  The flowers are much more vibrant with glowing oranges and yellows.  I still have to get it scanned for a more accurate photo.

I have been working on this one for awhile.  Between the holidays, snow removal and life in general - it took me a long time.  Now it is complete!    I must confess I redid the shadows on the table a couple times.  The first attempt I used the acrylic paint as opaque.  Just did not get the effect that I was looking for.  Then I gessoed it out and tried it watering the paint down for a more watercolor transparent look - much better.  It doesn't really show in the photo, but it really does glow with light! 

Surprisingly the glass didn't give me grief at all.  I just turned the painting and reference upside down and painted the shapes!  It turned out pretty well!

Thanks so much for looking!  Once I get it scanned I will be offering prints on Fine Art America!

Art, Paintings, Hemingway Cats and more!

I did this painting for my sister of her sweet kitty, Iggy!  I love him to death.  As you may notice, Iggy has a  few too many toes.  I had never heard of Hemingway Cats before my family got Iggy.  Hemingway acquired his first cat from a ship's captain in Key West, Florida, where he made his home for a number of years. This cat, which may have been a Maine Coon, had extra toes (technically known as polydactyl, latin for "many digits"). Today, approximately 60 cats, half of them polydactyl, make their home in the Ernest Hemingway Museum and Home, in Key West, protected by the terms of his will.

The cats of the Hemingway Museum are so popular and so well-known, that the nickname "Hemingway Cats" has often been given to polydactyls.

Iggy is getting up in years, but he still has a nice disposition and is very loving.  My sis also has another cat named Harley who is young and crazy!  I promised her a painting of him next Christmas!

You can get a print of 'Iggy' on Fine Art America!  He is too cute to pass up :)

What's on the Easel? A new watercolor and a new acrylic!

Thought I would give a sneak peek at what is in the works!~  The left side is an new acrylic painting I am doing.  I just love the window reflections - they are little paintings themselves!  The top two are done, but I am still working on the other 4.  There are also some pretty flowers that I need to add the the flower box.   I am really enjoying this one :)

The right is a new watercolor still life.  I have decided that I really like doing still life watercolor paintings rather than landscapes.  Trees are really not my thing in watercolor.  I am still fighting with the doily, but other than that just a little more tweeking. 

Let me know what you think.  I would love to hear from you.  Also feel free to comment on what you would like to see me paint.  I may just take you up on it! 

Acrylic peacock painting Bird Part III - next to last!

OK!  We are getting to the home stretch!  I finished the shutters and am getting some color on the bird - finally!  At this stage, I did an underpainting and am just starting to work on the feather detail.  I am using various mixtures with Phthalo green - cerelean blue for lighter and purple for darker.  I am also using some interference paint in the sun kissed areas.

I will use this as an opportunity to give a plug for my favorite acrylic paints.  I use Golden Artist Colors.  They use no fillers and are more true to color.  You can get them for a reasonable price at Dick Blick and such places.  They make a great selection of interference colors.  GOLDEN Interference Acrylic colors offer a unique "interference flip." When viewed from difference perspectives, Interference colors flip between a bright opalescent color and its complement. 

I am quite happy with the stone work and the shutters.  Now the main event is going to be challenging.  I'll tell you a secret - I am further along right now than in this pic and the tail feathers are not too bad.  I am not looking forward to the wing detail though!

Peacock work in progress Part Deux~!

Whew!  This took longer than expected, as usual! I have been painting the stone walls with some false starts here and there.  First was getting the perspective correct - then the values in light and shadow, then painting believable stones.  I am happy to report that most of the stone work is done - I am anxious to get on to the shutters and the main attraction itself.  I have not painted feathers before - fur, but not feathers.  The colors look challenging too.  Well, we never will improve and learn without a challenge.  That is why I am all over the place with subject matter - I want to try everything!

This photo is a bit washed out because I forgot to turn off my spot lights.  Next time I hope to have some more COLOR on the canvas.  I have given myself a deadline of two more weeks to get this done - we shall see. 

Leave a comment and let me know what you think or ask any questions!

Peacock Painting Work in Progress~

Welcome to my WIP - Work in Progress that is!

The reference photo was taken in Tuscany when I tagged along on my hubby's business trip.  This was at a winery in the Black Rooster region.  There were several peacocks running around the property and this one was kind enough to pose for me!

I started with the largest, darkest shapes first as I was taught.  This is to help establish the rest of the values.  Now I am working on the stone around the windows.  I know I am supposed to get paint on the whole canvas before working on any details, but that just goes against my nature - when I start something I want to finish it. 

I will work on the shutters or wall next.  I tend to leave the main event until last , partly because I am procrastinating and, in this case, partly because his feathers ovelap the background.

Please come back for another exciting installment of my WIP!  Same bat time, same bat channel. 

Woodstock '99 Revisited in Art

'Woodstock '99 Revisited' - Mixed Media on paper.

Remember Woodstock '99?  It was held in Rome N.Y. and ended in flames.  I guess it is no longer possible to capture the peace and love of the original.  I did attend despite my somewhat elderly status in comparison to many of the attendees.  How could I pass it up?  It was 7 miles away.

I must confess that I did not get the full woodstock experience.  I slept at home in my clean, comfy bed and was bussed in each morning and home at night.  It was the only way to go!!!

There was a wide array of bands from The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Korn, Kid Rock (before he went country) to Jewel and Cheryl Crow.  You can see the entire list of performers here.

A plywood and steel fence was consructed to prevent gate crashing.  Lots of murals were painted on the wall and that is what I depiced in my painting above.  This was such a unique image since I captured a solitary guy sitting by the fence.  Quite a feat since over 200,000 people were in attendance. 

I loved the artwork on this section of the fence so I painted this mixed media piece (acrylic and pencil) on paper to commemorate the event.  Tell me what you think...

Work in Progress Done!

I know this took way to long. I had some other projects going on so I would sneek this in here and there. I still may do some tweeking, but it is essentially done. If you scroll down for previous posts you can see some 'in progress' photos. I also included the reference photo used to paint from.

I think I still may lighten up some flowers/leaves faceing the sun and adjust one of the window mouldings for perspective, but you can get the idea! I just noticed that I didn't finish the pumpkin stems - OOPS! So I still need to do that.

This one was a challenge! I had to darken the values of the entire piece from the photo so I could keep the magenta color without going too pink in the light. I also kept the hanging petunia looking more alive than the photo. Let's just pretend it is earlier in the fall when they were healthier.

Thanks for all your kind comments on this as I went along! I need to take a better photo too - the colors are so much better in the painting.