Another Family Portrait

"Fireside Chat"
4" x 6"
Sold

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Another goofy little painting as part of the Fisher Price series.  I have a few more up my sleeve and am hoping to have some new venues for my little people in the near future.  As Crystal Cook would say "Huzzah!"  :)

Madden Girls

"Madden Girls"
8" x 8"

(what this painting could look like framed)

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I've wanted to paint these cute little shoes I've had for a while now and the latest DPW challenge provided the perfect opportunity.  To check out Carol Marine's "Polka Dot" Challenge click here.  

Redware Tea

"Redware Tea"
6" x 5.8"

(what this painting could look like framed)

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Thank you to all who commented on my last "negative" post.  :)  You made me feel much better. So enough of my whining . . . here's the latest painting.  Isn't it funny how some paintings just come together while others take forever?  I still have a few hanging around that I need to finish, but I started and competed this one over the weekend while jumping to and from the others.  I'm looking forward to a productive blog week.  (Yikes -- I hope I didn't just jinx myself!)  :)

Ugh . . . The Negative Post . . .

"Cherry Tomatoes"
5" x 7"
starting bid:  $50
Sold

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This is probably the worst surface I've ever painted on . . . and as I struggled through I kept thinking "why am I torturing myself?  just stop!"  But I kept going because apparently I like pain and so here it is. (and now that it's posted, I think I need to punch up the dark value in a couple areas within the tomato grouping) Anyway, the surface was Crescent cold-pressed watercolor board.  It was the most unforgiving surface I've ever used. Perhaps you've used it and it worked for you . . . but for me, ugh!  As I've mentioned on this blog before, I like to pull color out as I go and the watercolor board didn't allow this at all. In fact even scrubbing was a nightmare. Then the color started to bleed in places.  Ugh!  Nightmare. Needless to say, I'm going back to my wonderful Fabriano soft-pressed. Why oh why did I even stray in the first place?   

And while I'm on this negativity kick . . . I just had TWO paintings rejected from the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts show. So now I have to schlep back down to Mystic CT to pick them up. Talk about a walk of shame! I've had to pick up one piece before, but not BOTH. (I'm a little bitter.)  :) Incidentally, I've posted the two rejected paintings (which I've posted before as I finished them) below.  I walked them in rather than applied online because I thought they were more dynamic in person -- especially the clementine -- it really loses a lot digitally.  Apparently though, the judges didn't feel the same. Aaaahhhh . . . you just never know. 

So that's my negative news.  I'm going to go eat breakfast . . . take a shower and get to work on some more paintings.  Sigh.  :)

"Delicious Light"
11" x 14"

"Oh My Darlin"
8" x 8"

Lemon Wedgies?!

"Lemon Wedges"
5" x 7"
$60 -- at the "Off-The-Wall" Fundraiser in Jaffrey, NH

I posted over at DPW that I wanted to name this "Lemon Wedgies" just to be silly, but thought that people would think I just couldn't spell.  I painted this for the DPW's "Yellow Challenge" and also as a donation to the Jaffrey Civic Center's "Off-The-Wall" Fundraiser to be held on Thursday, May 24th in the 2nd floor Cunningham Gallery at 5:30. If you are in the area and looking for original artwork and to support the arts, do stop by.  All artwork is 5" x 7" and priced at $60.  I've never been, but I've heard it's a great event.  

And now I must get to bed.  I went to a different class tonight at the gym:  "Guns, Guts & Glutes" and nearly killed myself with an 8 lb. medicine ball. At one point we had the ball placed between our legs while we were lying on our backs and we were supposed to be lowering our legs to almost touch the ground then back up and stretched to the sky, lifting our bums off the ground (for what seemed like 100 reps but was probably only 10).  I was really trying hard, but I just couldn't stop laughing at the thought of lifting what felt like an 8 lb. hemorrhoid wrapped around my legs.  Luckily the woman next to me was amused by my pathetic attempts as she was having her own set of problems (but with an excellent sense of humor).  Kudos to all the ladies (many of whom are older than me) in my classes who are AMAZING and to all of you out there that work out.  I'm actually having a blast and determined to get back into some kind of shape . . . other than a giant rectangle.  Hope you don't mind my little updates every once in awhile. It's really quite a comedic adventure.  Tuesday at Zumba I was totally busting out my moves when I realized that everyone was facing forward while I was still facing the back wall.  Good Lord!

What Not To Wear

"What Not To Wear"
4" x 6"
(watercolor on paper)
starting bid:  $45
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I think I'd go with the blue pantsuit and red trench . . . ha!  How funny is that?  I had a lovely time the other day posing my Fisher Price "little people" for an extensive photo-shoot.  And I must say, they were pleasant to work with . . . no massive egos or diva mentalities.  So stay tuned for some more fun little paintings.  I hope they bring a smile to your face . . . and pleasant memories of childhood.  Cheers!

Before the Scramble

"Before the Scramble"
4" x 6"
Sold

Heya!  Well this is exciting . . . I finished this painting the other day and posted it yesterday to Daily Paintworks and it already sold!  So thank you very much to the collector who bought it -- I am most appreciative.  Let it be known that I appreciate all of you who have purchased my work or left kind comments.  I'm VERY grateful.  

Anyway . . . you'll notice that the orientation of this painting is different from the last post of it.  I guess it can be viewed either way.  I still have to sign it, so I'll have to pick one . . . but I'll sign it somewhere that lends itself to either orientation.  So that's all for now . . . I'm working on some 4" x 6" paintings for a charity event . . . this would've been one of them had it not sold . . . but what a delightful predicament to be in, having to paint more, eh?  I'm very lucky. Have a great day!

Strawberry Shadows

"Shadows"
4" x 6"
$45

(what this painting could look like framed)

Click here to purchase.

Embossing . . . gaaaaahhhh!

I'm working on this little ditty -- a 4" x 6" study on reflections and embossed surfaces.  Ugh.  The plate (actually a bowl) is embossed with little flowers that I can't seem to capture.  I've already scrubbed them out once and tried again . . . and am still working on them.  I'm determined to get this, but it's so hard for me.  Every time I have them in a painting I struggle.  Sometimes I hit it, but I'd like to be more consistent.  So stay tuned . . . 

Oh -- but before I go . . . Crystal Cook sent me this link (click here) that 100% accurately reflects my Zumba experience.  I LOVE it!  Thanks Crystal!  :)

Strawberry Study

"Strawberry Study"
6" x 6.75"
(watercolor on paper)
Sold

I started this as just one strawberry but continued painting around it.  It needed a home.  :)  I've started the bidding at $55.  Have a good day . . . I'm off to the gym.  (I just joined.  After 20 years of doing pretty much nothing, I decided it was time.  Basically I joined so I could take the classes.  That's the way to go for me, as I'm a complete lazy nightmare when left to my own devices.  So tonight is kickboxing.  It's outrageous -- very tiring, but fun.  I took my first Zumba class last Friday and LOVED IT!  I'm absolutely horrible . . . zigging when I should be zagging, arms and legs akimbo . . . I explained to a friend that I think I may have even poked my eye out with one of my very own hips!  But it is so much fun and a great work-out.  Okay . . . that's all . . . must go fetch my leopard printed unitard and leg-warmers off the line . . .  Ciao!)

Old Standby

"Old Standby"
(watercolor on paper)
8.5" x 8"

(what this painting could look like framed)

Click here to bid

Finally got something done -- yeesh!  So here's "Old Standby" -- I LOVE these sneakers. (I did another painting of them before -- just in a different "pose.")  They're very old -- made by Saucony who used to have a factory in the town over from me. Unfortunately they're gone now -- boooo!  But I just went online and found out where I can purchase this brand again -- never thought of that before, duh!  I miss having the outlet store just up the street though.  Anyway . . . I'm starting the bidding at $85.

P.S.  I just figured out how to place a Facebook "like" button at the top of my posts . . . so if you see something you like, please be sure to "like" it.  Thanks!  :)

So Close . . .

"Blueberry Bowl"
 approximately 6" x 6"

"Cookies and Milk"
approximately 8" x 10"

Ugh . . . I'm so close with 3 of my paintings.  I just need to finish and get them over to DPW for auction!!  Gaaaahhhh!  And these aren't the best snapshots -- I don't know, they look a little washed out to me, but I just wanted to get them up to prove I haven't been totally slacking.  Have a Happy Friday!

Notecards!

Shown:  "Mom's Old Coffee Pot" and "Monday Morning"
Cards are blank inside and measure 4.25" x 5.5"

I've been selling notecards for a while during my open studio during the Fall and have decided to put a page up here on my blog where you can order cards at anytime.  The notecards are 4.25" x 5.5" (envelope included of course!) and are blank inside.  They come packaged in a plastic sleeve and are available as singles ($2) or in a package of three ($5) . . . you can even choose which 3 images you'd like to package together.  So check out the available images . . . and keep checking back every so often because I'll be adding new ones to the list.  I hope you find something you like.

More Stuff

Not much to say . . . just thought I'd post my progress today.  I started a couple new things, a strawberry study and a pretty bowl of blueberries.  I couldn't resist.  I thought you might like to see the first layers on each.  The blueberry painting (bottom) is on some Arches cold-pressed I had.  I thought it would work well for working layers on layers.  I like to pull out color on the blueberries, so this is going to take some serious planning on my part as the cold-pressed won't work the same as my soft-pressed paper.  However, I was really interested in layering the shadows on the bowl and putting the pattern on top and figured this paper would be good for that.  

The sneaker is almost done -- yes, I'm crazy . . . just a little more obsessive tweaking on the laces and some stitching.  And the strawberry is a study for a larger painting.  I have to go to bed, so I didn't measure these out for you.  I'll get you the dimensions tomorrow.  Have a good night.