Wednesday, August 31, 2016

35 - Barbara

20x16 acrylic palette knife
1 of 3 chicken commissions
I was at an art festival displaying and offering my work July 4th weekend.  A lovely lady bought a rooster painting from me and left with her purchase.  An hour or two later she returned.  She asked me if I would be interested in painting more chickens and roosters for her.  Her family is having a wedding in November and the reception will take place in and around a barn.  They added restrooms for the wedding, and decided identifying the girls' restroom with the hens, and the boys' with roosters, would be a wildly wonderful idea, as they had chickens and roosters at their farm, and like me, are very fond of them.  This is one of the hens.   

34 - Oh boy

5x7 acrylic on canvas panel
Tarpon study

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

33 - We Got This

24x48 acrylic
This is a painting I did about 5 years ago.  I took it to some art festivals for a year or so, and decided since it hadn't sold I should keep it.  I sold many prints of it, and even did a smaller commission which turned out great.  These are the girls. . . or at least the girls at the time.  The one with the blonde tail feathers is the last remaining of this group, after trouble with predators over the years.  It's, fortunately, been peaceful in the chicken world lately.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

30 - Vivid Dreams

10x8 acrylic
I had a dream about 2 weeks ago that really rattled me.  It was just too real and really paralleled some things that had gone on in my life over the last several years.  Last night I had a really long, really vivid dream that included Disney World, people I know, people I don't know, carrying around things for no apparent reason, and car crashes.  It just went on for what seems like forever.  I don't know about you, but I spend the day thinking about it, analyzing it, and trying to figure out what some of it meant.

Monday, August 22, 2016

28 - Invisible

5x7 acrylic
I do outdoor art shows.  It seems like there are a lot of artists doing them because some of the shows are really competitive and challenging to be accepted.  But when I think about it, I'm sure it's only a small percentage of the artists out there who are actually insane enough to participate in outdoor festivals.  For those of you who don't know what it entails - here's a synopsis of a typical weekend.  Set up on Friday sometime, or early Saturday morning.  This means dragging all of your equipment, tent, artwork, etc. out of your vehicle or trailer, and constructing your tent in a 12x12 space assigned to you.  You sometimes have the thrill of even doing this in the rain.  For me setup takes about 2 hours, but for some it's much longer.  Then you man your booth for the next 2 or 3 or sometimes even more days, waiting for people to come in and hopefully fall in love with one of your pieces of art work.  It's wonderful to meet people and see returning customers, and talk about various things we ironically have in common.  But ultimately, we are there to try to make a living; sometimes it goes as planned; sometimes not.  Sometimes it feels like everyone else is selling, and you are invisible.  The weekend can be hot, cold, raining, and even sometimes storms roll through that either injure or destroy your tent completely.  Then after it's all said and done, you dismantle everything and in many cases, dolly it all out to where you are parked.  In some cases you get to pull right up to your booth location, but this can be tricky with so many people trying to exit at once.  So that's in a nutshell.  Oh - I forgot to mention the booth fees, and travel involved.  I got home at 8:45 last night after a long hot weekend with less than stellar sales.  But like everyone else, I'll regroup, keep on working, and get ready for the next show. 

Thursday, August 18, 2016

27 - Uncle Joe

24x24 acrylic sold
This is one of the sweetest subjects I've ever painted - a tern.  I paint, paint, paint, and can't wait until I get to the part where I get to put in his hair. . . okay - well - it's not hair, but that's what it reminds of.  A friend of mine said he so reminds of her Uncle Joe.  So Uncle Joe - I've painted him several times in many sizes - small to large, and they all have been just irresistible because I shore don't have one in stock right now.   If you'd like one, I'd be happy to paint another in a size of your choice.  I love this guy!

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

26 - Forever Owed

10x8 acrylic

It's 5:30 in the morning.  I try to get things done early, but I find that sometimes my brain feels numb this time of day. . . umm. . . what was I just thinking. . . uh, what do I have to say that would be the least be interesting?   Well, there's a lot of things about my life that might be interesting to some, while to me they are just normal, although a little chaotic at times.  My brother says I should write a book, or at least write stories about my life. . . I'll have to think about that.   In the meantime, I'll just keep sharing a painting a day (or at least every other day), and sharing a few of life's moments with you. . . like this one this morning, where I can't think of anything to say.  I've got to set the coffee pot for an earlier time.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

23 - Dancin' with a Hoe

7x5, acrylic, sold
A hoe - as in a garden hoe, y'all.   Clean up your minds.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

22 - Splish Splash

10x8, acrylic, sold

I promise new unsold paintings will be coming soon.  I'm starting to feel it.

Monday, August 8, 2016

20 - Charlie

5x7, acrylic
There is daily painter who I greatly admire, and she tends to name her paintings something that she has thought about, experienced, or feels during the day.  I love that concept because it's interesting, fun, and thought provoking, but also because it would be almost impossible for me to name each every painting something that actually makes that painting unique and yet still describes it.  Anyway, Charlie is my thought for the day.  Charlie is a gigantic German Short-haired pointer that I'm dog-sitting for my son and his girlfriend while they are vacationing. . . and I've just noticed some of the keys on my laptop are not working now that he has jumped on it. . .twice.  He's full of sweetness, but his energy level is. . . um. . . . HIGH, and he has no concept of his ginormous size.  So here's to Charlie - may my chickens be living, and my house be standing a week from now. 

Sunday, August 7, 2016

19 - Shine on

triptych - each piece 12x6", acrylic

I haven't been painting much lately.  There are lots of reasons, and I promise they are not excuses.  Life just throws curve balls at you once in a while.  I'll be "normal" soon.  I've promised myself to post daily, and somehow - even with it being the weekend - I missed two days.  Poohy.  I think weekends are worse because I get out of my weekday routine.  

I mentioned this over there on Daily Paintworks, but I'll mention it here too.  I have mostly been posting my small and smallish paintings that have been sold recently at festivals.  I take pictures of them as they are sold.  If you ever see something you really like, and it is sold, please contact me, and I'll be happy to work one up for you that is similar - or different.  Just let me know, okay?   It is kind of hard for me to keep an inventory of small paintings because they sell pretty quickly at the festivals.  They are easy to transport, make great gifts and souvenirs, and fit just about anywhere.    See you tomorrow, with something new! 

Thursday, August 4, 2016

18 - My "meh" hairdresser

5x7, acrylic
I have the best hairdresser.  He's young, handsome, smart, driven, and talented.   We always find something to laugh about, even in some of the most trying times in our lives.  We are both Aquarians; I think that bonds us!  We both were there when his mentor - my former hairdresser (and dear friend) of almost 30 years, withered away from the tragic effects of chemo and radiation, and ultimately left this earthly existence just short of the age of 50.  Last night we talked about James, we talked about politics, and we still found things to laugh about.  He first asked me how I was doing, and I said "oh, meh".  He smiled and said - "yeah - I feel meh a lot of times too.  We should start a blog about meh."  We laughed.