New Work...

"Leaf Litter" 24 x 12 oil

As I have been working more with oils, I have decided to postpone any new work in this medium  'til summer when I can work outside...here is the latest (and last (for the season)...







...and another oil I completed previously, inspired by my sister's miniature chair collection....

"Chair Collection"  24 x 12 oil

New Medium...
For months I have been considering giving oils a try...at the urging of my husband, who gave me some oils for my December birthday, I jumped in...the first few days were iffy...the fumes from the paint and the Turpenoid were giving me a headache, even with my office window open and the 20 degree air flowing in...a few days later, it didn't seem to matter as much...perhaps I was used to it  or the affected brain cells were already gone...in any case, I completed two paintings. 

"Safe Harbor" 20 x 16 oil on canvas

"Square Boucicaut - Paris" 20 x 16 oil

I found my style was quite different, as the feel of the gooey paint was exhilirating!  The drying time however, was so...slow.....I realized that I needed to have a least six paintings in progress simultaneously to be able to productively work each day. While I also completed two small acrylic paintings of birds, these two oils were finished. 

"American Robin" 12x12 acrylic

"Winged in Yellow and Green" 6x6 acrylic

More to come!

The Chair Project

The Lakewood Arts Council Gallery has a wonderful holiday show each year that runs through November and December.  Earlier this year artists were asked to embellish a found chair, adult or child sized, that would be donated to the gallery and sold as a fundraiser at the holiday show.  Several artists participated, and I enjoyed adding chairs to my weekly searches through the local thrift stores, finding four children's chairs over the months.  After re-gluing, screwing, and sanding the chairs as needed, I was ready for the ornamental painting.  Some also have details highlighted with gold penwork.  See the results below.  Next year it will be small table and I'm already on the lookout!

Apple Blossoms

Below is my latest acrylic, 18x24.  The subject is my backyard apple tree near my patio, blooming without frost interference for the first time in many years.  We did in fact, get a tree loaded with apples in the summer!

Out of My Comfort Zone

In June, several artists from the LAC, myself included, had a show at the gallery requiring each participating artist to specify up to three subjects, after which each artist had to select at least one topic from each artist to paint for the show.  This concept pushed most of us way out of our comfort zone, as we were allowed to interpret the topics as we deemed appropriate.  Subjects included architecture, fish, eggs, trees, wheels, and ribbons.  My results are shown below.  We all had such fun with this concept that we are having a repeat performance in October of 2013, with two additional artists and additional topics!  Watch for it!

16x20 acrylic

6x6 acrylic

                                     

12x12 acrylic

12x12 acrylic  "16 Wheeler"

16x20 acrylic

16x20 acrylic

Colors!

Adapting a similar previous style, I created my latest acrylic painting and revived my interest in painting horses.  This one is 16 x 20 on canvas and currently hangs at the LAC Gallery.

More Birds!

My mother-in-law shares my love of birds, so for Christmas I gave her four 6x6 acrylic paintings for her home.  They are such fun to paint and really add to our snowy Denver winter days indoors.

More!

Last month a small local newspaper printed an article about the Lakewood Arts Council Gallery and our current show.  Accompanying the article was a photo of the bird on the limb painting (shown in my  previous blog entry). The painting attracted the attention of Al and Linda who came to the gallery to see the painting.  Discovering that it was too small for their dining room wall, they asked me to paint another, larger piece in a similar style.  I visited their beautiful home to see what they had in mind.  What I made for them is a 30 x 24 acrylic and shown below. I called it 'Bird Talk'.  And I made some wonderful friends!  Thanks, Al and Linda!

I've been also printing my own greeting cards from the photos of my work, which my husband diligently corrects for color.  Now I wish that my friends and I wrote and mailed more notes!

Long Time Coming...

Wow!  so much time has gone by..I must be more diligent.  I have been busy with both painting and architecture...experimenting with different styles.  See these from the last few months. Each is an acrylic 12" x 12".  I'm loving the patterns and contrasting borders.  It's hard to tell here, but when the acrylic work is finished, I add linework with a silver gel pen.  Kinda like doodling!

Berries! and Cards...

18x24 acrylic

I've always liked berries...especially in a red and green color scheme...perhaps this one will become a Christmas card...speaking of cards, I will soon have lots of greeting cards at the LAC gallery, thanks to the technical help from my photographer and printer husband Scott...take a look!

Larger Work!

A few months ago I mentioned to my friend (and talented artist) Kathy Berl,s that I needed to paint larger...6x6's were not where I wanted to go...and she graciously offered me an extra canvas she had (32 x 42) and said she was anxious to see what I would do with it! (no pressure there!) Wow..that's a lot of blank canvas space..but I used a few reference photos from an April visit to South Carolina, when the azaleas were in full bloom and loaded with butterflies...here is the result!

Summer in full swing!

Time flies!  and I've been painting...my garden is in need of a good trim,- it is so overgrown...but is wonderful to paint..lots of new plants and ideas about plants for next year...some of my latest work is below...

These are 12x12 acrylics.I've decided that the 6x6's  are too small...these are from flowers seen at the annual LAC Garden tour...always fun to check out other gardens!

New Style...

 Most birds are quite graphic...I wanted to portray geese and crows in a "stained glass style" with each section of color separated by a border of the white canvas below...they were fun and may lead to more glass ideas!




"Dueling Crows" - 18x24 acrylic on canvas






"Hidden Geese" 16x20 acrylic on canvas

More 6x6's...Birds!

I have decided that I really like the 6x6 format...and birds!  Take a look...these are all acrylic on self-edged canvas...

New 6x6 sizes...

At the first of January, I wanted to try painting a different size...so, for now, I'm going smaller, to a 6" x 6" wraparound canvas...I find these paintings lots of fun to do...they feel like "excerpts" of my larger paintings...but, I can accomplish them much more quickly and I end each day feeling as though I've really accomplished something...I also found that the paintings can just as easily sit on a bookcase of table as be hung on a wall...here are a few of them, so far...and while the pics don't show it, each painting extends around the wrapped edge...no frame needed!