Outside the Box

8x8 acrylic mixed media

I can finally reveal my Outside the Box piece which was great fun to do. I can't do better than this photo because of the glare on the iridescent paint. The color is much more vibrant than it shows. I drew the dragonflies and then decoupaged them on and painted them with a shimmery acrylic paint. I'll have to think of something different for next year because I want to keep everyone guessing.
By the way the closing party is tonight at North River Arts in Marshfield Hills. Be there or be square.
Don and I and the 'girls' are heading to Parrsboro, Nova Scotia tomorrow for a week. A little slice of heaven. 

Step by Step Demo and Vacation

I have been busy all week getting ready to go to Nova Scotia. I had two fabulous Birthday luncheons. Worked Thursday after which I stayed up half the night doing laundry. Friday, I cleaned my house and then attended South Shore Art Center's summer awards ceremony where my homey, Kelley MacDonald received a blue ribbon for first place in oils. You GO GIRL! On the way home I did the food shopping for the vacation, not that Canada is a third world country but the food is pricey and I like to save a little on groceries. Yesterday I packed the clothes I'll take and did the banking and postal duties and was ahead of the game. Today, I had to finish up some crucial gardening and begin packing the car. So, despite my desire to get some painting in, it did not happen.

So.. I'm leaving you all with a step by step demo of one of my 12x12 paintings. Next post will be from Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. Stay tuned.

Pink Peony

 

SOLD

I received a beautiful bouquet of Peonies from a friend and must hasten to paint them because they don't last that long. They smell great and are one of the most beautiful of the Spring flowers and they are really, really hard to paint. 

Email me if you want to buy this, I'm not listing on eBay at the moment.

Copper Caddy

Click to Bid

One day I wandered into TJ Maxx and found 3 copper pitchers which I knew I didn't need but had to have. Props, of course. This one's been sitting here for weeks holding watercolor brushes and a palette knife and I thought it was time to paint it. 

This afternoon I went to the beach with the intention of painting which didn't happen. It was again,  windy and brisk but, hey, it's still Florida and I enjoyed reading and taking photos of the kite surfers.

Watercolor Wednesday

It just happens to be Wednesday which turned out to be great for today's title! I'm focusing on a series of small watercolors to mat and deliver to my Gallery, The Art Boutique at Tin City. They SHOULD be scenes of Naples and really, I'll get to those but, to digress....I was given a Sunshine Award for creative and positive blogging by Bonnie Heather from Kelowna, British Columbia and also by Mitzi Easley from Austin, Texas. SO, while meandering around their blogs I came across Bill Guffey, who does a very unique blog challenge where the artists "meet" somewhere around the Globe, courtesy of Google Earth (is there a more amazing program ANYWHERE?) and you can paint a 'street view' of ANYTHING you see. Well, let's say I spent more time (virtually) in San Fransisco today than I did in Naples. I did this scene on Barbary Coast Trail in the heart of SF. I'm passing on the Sunshine Award to these fantastic bloggers. 

http://moniquestraub.blogspot.com/

http://verysmartgals.blogspot.com/

http://kohlene.com/

Basking Clementines

This is for the Girls Just Wanna Paint Challenge. Check out the work of my fellow artists as they present their take on 'Lamp'.

Treasure

You know how things that are old are more precious than things that are new? This little vase is made of recycled glass from Egypt and was a Christmas gift from my dear friend, Teak.  So, it's new but it's old, too. Today is a snowy, cozy day at home painting in my pajamas :D listening to Dan Gibson music on Pandora radio. I could not be happier.

Follow Me

After 10 days without painting, this did not come easy. I love these little flying saucer onions and will take another crack at them.

Open Studios

Always a wonderful time. Here are some shots of my visitors and my studio. Look closely at the Toyota Scion, ingeniously dressed as 'Toaster' by Holly Hamilton and Maggie MacLellen. See the plug resting on the hood and the little knob on the back to push the toast down? Love it!!!

Next photo is Katie May McElwain from Ipswich, a sweetheart artist I met through my blog , her daughter Claire and my bestest gal pal Kelley MacDonald and the well known pug, Paco, who has his own blog! Well, his mama writes it because his toenails are too long to type, but he's got plenty to say. It's a dog's life and one to envy!

Open Studios

I am seriously behind in my painting, cramming for Open Studios. Here's a shot of my building late at night. See those lights along top floor? See me in there going like a madwoman? Come one, come all!

Saturday and Sunday 11-5. For directions and links to participating artists see our website 4thfloorartists.org.

Furnace Brook Middle School Demo

Last Friday Sally Dean and I did a demo in the lobby at a local school. That is that last time I was free to paint since I left right after that for New Hampshire to see my little boys, Ryan and Colin. It's Ryan's 6th birthday today, but the party was on Sunday. This is my demo which needs a tweak. The kids were great as usual. I've been tied up with yard work and Open Studios prep but I'll be painting soon!

Tishman Speyer Show

Tishman Speyer Properties at 125 High Street in Boston, hosts an Artist of the Month show in their beautiful Atrium lobby. There are 20 paintings in this show which runs through November 28th. The building is only open to the public during business hours and not on weekends. Don and I hung the show and then went over to the North End for some wonderful food at Mother Anna's Restaurant. Hanover Street sparkled on a beautiful night in Boston with a full moon and no wind. It was fabulous.

White Carnations 12x12

I finished this and hung it in Boston yesterday with seven other 12x12's and twelve 6x6's. The show looks great and I am thrilled about the frames from kingofframe. I personally liked the unfinished version of this with all that cool pink showing but I didn't think I should quit there. So, there you have it. I'll post photos of the show tomorrow.

Carnations and Stripes 12x12 WIP

Be warned that posting a WIP (work in progress) is a touchy thing. This is a block in for white carnations with a few red peppers and limes scattered about for counter balance to the green stripes. It was making my head spin. It's not finished at all but this block in appeals to me because of the under painting. I just love the colors. I have already taken it past this point but think I need to back up a bit because I lost some of my darks. I sort of wish I could call this the finish. I suppose I could. It's my work after all. Check out 4thFloorArtists.org for information on our upcoming Open Studios. 18 years!

Works In Progress

I am still painting 12x12's for my show. So far so good. Here are some of them in the fabulous frames made for me by kingofframe.com in California

Holding Court 12x12

This was part of the girls just wanna paint challenge blog, but it's also going into my upcoming show. 

White Mums and Stripes

Still my favorite flowers. So much drama with white! I have been honored with bloggy awards by two of my fellow artist bloggers which I'll get to tomorrow. The blogosphere is a great place to be!

White Mums and Stripes 12x12 WIP

I bought this wonderful fabric at Building #19 for $2.00 a yard.  They even had some Waverly for $3.00 a yard. Such a deal! I'll be finishing this up tomorrow and starting the next one on my painting marathon. For those of you who got an empty post in your email with this title, I apologize. I hit something and off it went unfinished.

Three Green Apples 12x12

SOLD

I'm painting 12x12's for a show I'm having in November so I've filled the studio with flowers and produce and set up a corner with black out drapes on the windows where I can control the lighting. It's too cool! Much to do here ;{

The Huddle

SOLD

These garlic cloves remain perfectly preserved as studio props. Who says you can't take it with you?