This little party girl doesn't seem too happy about it, but then, every party needs a Wallflower. She belongs to fellow Artist and Pug-lover Nancy Medina. Thanks Nancy for the use of your photo!
Here's a little background information from Nancy: "This is Winnifred Wigglepants, my most precious girl I lost to GME encephalitis 3 years ago. This is the outfit she was wearing the day she won the silver cup at the Spring Bonnet Contest for the Bluebonnet Pug Club of Texas.
Winnie Wiggles was a diva in every sense of the word, and finished in the show ring as a full champion before we adopted her to give her a family home for her retirement. Winnie Wiggles was my little velcro muffin, she was small, but mighty, and an old soul who I was so honored to have in my heart and my life. One of her sons went on to become one of the top 10 pugs in the nation, and I have her brother, Howard Pee Pugpants, here with me today, to remind me every day of how special she was."
This little guy looks like he really knows how to party and can't wait to get to the action! He's only the second in the Series but I think he's already my favorite.
I only have a few more references for the Series so if any of you or your friends have some silly pet photos, please send them my way!
This big guy isn't part of my Party Animal Series, but he could have been with that personality!
Grumpy was a beautiful 20 year old Tiger who past away this last summer. He belonged to the wonderful angels at In-Sync Exotics Animal Rescue in Wylie, TX. They are a non-profit that is the last hope for these exquisite rescued animals.
They acquired Grumpy in the summer of 2010. He was part of the "Leona 6", 6 Big Cats that were rescued from deplorable living conditions in Leona, TX. Although Grumpy only lived another year, his last year was spent in comfort and happiness for the first time in his life.
I am excited to say that I have received permission from the owners of In-Sync to paint more of their beautiful cats. I will try to figure out how to link a Donation button, but until then, please hit the link above and visit their Website and Blog.
This little kitty looks like he's saying "Where's the party...am I late?"
I hope to make this a new series called "Party Animals". If any of you have photos of your pets wearing this sort of festive collar, please email them to me!
10 x 10" oil on canvas panel framed available through The Dutch Art Gallery dutchart1@aol.com 1-214-348-7350
This combo didn't last long. It's Spaghetti Sauce now! The purple thing that looks like a beet is a red onion. Don't know why it was shaped that way but it was and you know how that goes...paint what you see.
10 x 10" oil on canvas panel framed available through The Dutch Art Gallery dutchart1@aol.com 1-214-348-7350
This painting started out a little bit differently. It was a dress. I don't know what possessed me to take on a dress (with an invisible zipper...and lining) after nearly 30 years of not sewing.It was a disaster! But I did need some fabric to gowith this bright red cup, so not all was a loss.
The thing that kept popping in my head over and over
as I painted thiswas "Take better care of your toys!"
It's a life long bad habit. I must say I'm better with the brushes than I used to be. The ones pictured areat least
6 months old. They are Dinosaurs compared to the old
days when I would forget to wash them and returnto
find them petrified with dried paint.Acrylic at the time. Eeeeeewwwww!
~ Submission for DPW's "Paint What You Paint With" Challenge. Better late than never!
10 x 10" oil on canvas panel framed available through The Dutch Art Gallery dutchart1@aol.com 1-214-348-7350
At first glace the missing slice might be obvious. It's on the table, right? But on closer inspection, the missing slice is actually on the apple.
When I was doing the set up, as usual, I got hungry for a little taste of what I was painting. I took another sliver off of the apple and continued painting. It was only after I was well into the painting that I realized that the slice on the table no longer matched the slice out of the apple. Duh! Of course it changed it! There was no going back. I tried to paint it back in but it looked all wrong, so I returned it to it's original missing piece.
No excuse, it was a case of stomach over mind.
10 x 10" oil on canvas panel framed available through The Dutch Art Gallery dutchart1@aol.com 1-214-348-7350
Well, slowly but surely I'm getting back in the groove. Feels good to be painting again.
It's hotter-n-blazes here in Big D and nothing cools you off quite like Mango Salsa. I forgot to add the Chilies and lime to the composition, but not in the
real deal.Also, you're really supposed to use Jalepanos
and Cilantro in the recipe, however, this time I tried
it with little Thai Chilies and Basil. It was still yummy!
6 x 6 oil on canvas panel $80. free shipping in US email me for international rates
This DPW Challenge was...well...challenging! The assignment was to paint the image upside down. If that wasn't hard enough, there was the additional challenge of painting it reflected in glass.
I've done this kind of thing before but mainly with drawing skills. Viewing a subject upside down makes the negative areas pop out in ways the eye doesn't ordinarily discern. It's a great exercise for practicing portraying what you see and not what your brain tells you it should look like. If you've never done it, try it sometime. The results will amaze you!
6 x 6 oil on canvas panel $80. free shipping in US contact me for international rates
Finally...a new painting! It seems like ages since I've painted something new. This is my submission for the latest DPW Challenge . I found it to be a fun subject.
I tried doing this composition on my usual patterned background but it didn't work out at all. It was busy enough with all of the cups. Must admit it was MUCH less labor intensive. Maybe I'll stick with simple backgrounds until I get my chops back.
When, oh, when will this painters block END??? I've gone from patiently waiting to abject panic. Maybe the Painting Fairy, or Muse, or wherever the magic comes from, has permanently left the building. *sigh* If it doesn't end soon I'm going to have to think about... dare I say it... getting a real job. Ooooooh. That gives me chills. Never
mind. I think I'llhang on a little bit longer.
What is the longest some of you have gone without feeling the urge to paint?For me, it is usually like the need to eat, constantly there, so this is very strange.
This little piggy was one of the first paintings I posted 2 years ago when I started my Blog. He and his piggy wife, Salt, belonged to my dear Grandma. I played with them for hours on end and still consider them to be among my most prized possessions. I know...weird. Let's just say
it doesn't take much to make me happy!
I painted this precious little boy several years ago. He was playing Frisbee at the park with his Dad. Or
at least his Dad was trying to play with him. The little
boy was so mesmerized by the Frisbee itself that he didn't want to throw it back. I like to think he was a
budding artist and was checking out how cool the light
looked reflecting on that bright green!
I had completely forgotten about this Sake cup. It is so cute so I don't know why I only painted it this one time. As I remember, this painting was also what got me going on objects reflected in other objects, an exercise that I still find to be infinitely rewarding.
Gosh, I feel like a broken record. I'm STILL not able to paint! Hope you don't mind seeing yet another painting from a while back until I can
get my brush in gear.
This is my submission for the daily paintworks Japan challenge. All of the proceeds from this painting will go to the Japanese Red Cross. You can bid on the painting at the DPO site. I painted this a few months
ago but thought itfit the "Home" theme since it includes
my Mom's antique teacup which is very special to me.
I love knowing that the proceeds are going to
such a worthy cause.
The bid for this painting starts at $75.00. There are many
beautiful paintings on the site. Together we can give a little relief to the grief in Japan!
6 x 6 oil on canvas panel framed available through The Dutch Art Gallery dutchart1@aol.com 1-214-348-7350
Yep...still crazy around here, so I'm posting yet another older painting. 2 more days of moving my sister, then a garage sale, then hopefully I'll be able to get back to painting sometime next week.
Although I didn't get a chance to participate in this weeks DPW Challenge, "The Color Of White", I thought I would at least post a painting that reflects the subject. I am bummed at missing this one since reflecting patterns in shiny objects is sort of my thing.
8 x 10" graphite on paper nfs This is a drawing of my gorgeous friend, Modi. I did it years ago before I ever thought about painting or Blogging. I am so glad I took the opportunity to draw her, here in her native Ethiopian dress, because we've lost touch over the years. She has the most incredible bone structure of anyone I've ever known! I always told her she reminded me of the model Iman although she modestly never acknowledged her own striking beauty.
I am back to posting older work again for a while. What a crazy year it's been already! This week and next I'm helping my sister and brother-in-law pack and move. That girl has some stuff! The entire day yesterday was spent going through herclothes closets and prying hangers from her fingers. In the end, I must say, she did very well and let go of a stack that piled 4 feet high, some of which dated back to the 80's.
I was the fortunate recipient of some of the wardrobe she was purging. I've always called her my Fairy Godmother because she has outfits for any occasion imaginable. Luckily for me, we wear the same size. I, on the other hand, am a Minimalist and have what I call "uniforms"...mainly covered in paint. I wear the same old things over and over and over and over until they either wear out or get paint on them, then I buy more. I thoroughly expect those rude people from "What Not To Wear" to show up on my doorstep and abduct me along with my hideous clothes!
Here's this weeks submission for the DPW Challenge. This time it was Carol's "one color per stroke" exercise. Quite the challenge! I stuck to the rules with the exception of switching to a smaller brush around the tighter areas.
I must say it was a very nice...and much needed change... to do a plain background. The crazy patterned backgrounds have become my signature, but every once in a while it's a nice to take a break from them. I had forgotten how much time they take. This seemed like a breeze in comparison!
I'm having a crazy week and haven't been able to paint anything new. From the looks of it, it may be next week before I can get back to work, so in the meantime, here's a revisit of an older painting. Keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be back at it sooner rather than later!
6 x 6" oil on canvas panel $75. free shipping in US email me for international rates.
Here's a little different take on this weeks 10 minute Challenge on Daily Paintworks. I decided to do them in a way that it could be turned into a finished painting.
These kinds of exercises are always so helpful! Painting the same subject again and again...and very quickly... really helps zero in on the basic values. The actual painting of the oranges took roughly 10 minutes and the background another 10.
This is almost Guacamole...but not quite. I forgot to include the lime and onions.We Texans are purists when it comes to our Guacamole.No fancy sauces or Mayo added. Just lots and lots ofcreamy Avocados. Sometimes I add some garlic but forthe most part, it's just the basics. It's still crazy cold here so I'm about to make some nice hot Nachos with plenty of cheese and homemade Guacamole.YUM!
10 x 10" oil on canvas panel framed available through The Dutch Art Gallery dutchart1@aol.com 1-214-348-7350
I've painted these little elephantsbefore but they are so cute that I just had to do it again.This time I thought I'd get playful with them and let them toss around some toys.
6 x 6 oil on canvas panel $125. framed available at The Farmers & Merchants Gallery fmgallerypilotpoint@gmail.com 1-940-686-2396
This is my first palette knife painting. I've voiced my concern about getting too tight withall of the wild patterns I usually paint. Several havesuggested that I force the issue with some paletteknife work. Today was the day. I took a deep breath, loaded that knife and went for it! It was so liberating! I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely try it again.
While I have always appreciated palette knife paintings, now I have a brand new admiration for the skilled Artists who use this form as their standard style!
Ok...I'm going to be in so much trouble with this post! I rarely do figure painting. The last one I did was of my oldest son, Mike, in his Superman T-Shirt. I promised my daughter-in-law that the next one would be of my youngest son, Mark And I really wanted to! But when Angela Elledge posted that the theme for this month's challenge
on her site, "Some Texas Artists Like To Paint"was
"Cowboy Up", I immediately knew the photo reference I had to use. I'm sorry, Alisha, but I didn't have any photos of Mark in a cowboy hat and boots! I looked through all of my photos hoping to find one I could adapt of Mark but knew this one of Mike was perfect for the challenge.
My Dad always wore his cowboy hat and boots. Mike idolized his Grandpa and as soon as he could talk he started demanding his own hat and boots. This photo was taken when he was around 2 years old and it's one of my all-time favorites of him.
Mark, I promise, I'll do 2 paintings of you to make up for the imbalance!
Not quite through with my current painting so thought I'd post this one that I did about 10 years ago. It was my first oil painting. At the time it was a Miniature. I found it extremely difficult because my Mural work was always so large. Seemsfunny now since
practically all of my work is 6 x 6" instead of 8 x 10 feet!
The scene itself was from a photo I took in London where they still used glass milk bottles. I am old enough to remember when all of our milk products were delivered. Wish they still were, particulary since the refillable bottles make so much more sense than the wax-covered non-recyclable cartons or plastic
bottles that our disposable society uses today.
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Thank you so much for checking out my Blog and joining me on my new adventure into (almost) Daily Painting. I was a Freelance Commercial Artist for 15 years, then a Muralist for 10 and now I want to spread my wings and try painting for ME.
I have such admiration for all you artists out there who consistently paint on a daily basis. You are an inspiration! I can see it is
going to take a lot of discipline, which I don't have, but
I will make my best effort because I believe in the
process and that it will help me grow as an artist.
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