"Free Spirit" .... as a painting progresses.....

"Free Spirit" 

 oil,  8"x 16"..not sure, but close

I want to paint a larger painting of this one.  

This is a small study...colors I want to use....layout, that kind of thing.

I took pictures along the way.  Not usually something I do, but did it this time.  

I love the look of the painting progressing...so I thought I'd show you.

I love these skull paintings.  Looks modern to me but I love the symbolism and ideas

 of spirituality that can be hinted at.  

Thanks for looking!

Reworked.....

"Waiting for Spring"

24" x 36" oil

This one was painted a few years ago, but it hangs in my house and is meant to be for the family,

a self portrait.  

So... because it hangs in the living room...I have the chance to look at it every day.  She kept whispering to me what she wanted.  I tried to ignore her.....tried to concentrate on the movie we were watching, or the book I was reading....but my eyes would drift over to where she was.  I'm a good listener....it took me years to get to it, but last night in the studio.  I did as I was asked. 

 You wouldn't know these things, unless you live with the painting and listen to her talk everyday!  The sky became a little warmer...her skin softened and warmed a bit on the sunlit side....petals floated and began to lay on her head and shoulders...her smile softened.  Ahhhh..... she's happy......I'm happy...it all worked out.  She was right...she's better this way.

  

Don't you just love to create??!!  Me too!!

Thank you for stopping by...looking and reading!

I appreciate it.

Plugged In

"Plugged In"

oil, 16" x 20"

Okay...finished her last night.  I like how this painting turned out.  Although I do think the lighting in my studio is so blue that it affected the color I saw and how I painted her skin.  It works....but I may not want the same look in my next painting.  Its wonderfully bright in my studio, but I can see this light is always going to lend a cool light to my paintings....not the warm glow I may want in others.

If you walked up to my studio at night....the light coming from the windows is so blue...

it almost looks like someone is welding inside!  I was going for "day light" bulbs, but I think I took it too far.  Back to Ace Hardware store!  I kinda love going there anyways...it's in my neighborhood...they recognize me, we work well together :)

At times, I've thought of working there....I could see myself as a hardware store girl.

It's very comforting being around all the tools, parts and pieces to make anything you want. 

I'll stick with painting for now.  

Thank you for looking!

Fresh paint....

I'm not sure of the title to this one.....it'll tell me soon enough.

I have it all blocked in and it ready for more today.

First I need to do other duties...hardware store.... get shipping tape and box cutters...make boxes

and ship some paintings.  Create some sketchbooks at Office Max...a great tip from Darrell Anderson  

on how to make inexpensive sketchbooks, so I'll sketch more!! The ipad is great for sketching, but what if a collector wants to buy my sketch?  Of course that happened on my first sketch!  The universe is screaming at me and sometimes I am so stubborn.  But when I'm shown what I cannot imagine on my own, then it sinks into my thick head! blah...blah...blah....

Moral of the story....I should burn through as much supplies as i need to get where I'm going!

Use more paint!!  burn through the canvases!! Use more paper!! paint until a brush goes bad, toss it and grab a new one!  Phew, that felt good.  I went crazy with the exclamation points...but its worth it.

I seem to love taking the long route when I learn....

Thank you for looking and reading my little art dilemmas :)

Sketching for fun.....

I just got a new iPad a few days ago, what a fun toy!!  I bought it for manipulating photos and working out new ideas for paintings.... But I got sidetracked with a sketching app!  

There is something so easy about picking it up and starting a sketch! I don't know why a piece of paper or sketch book is different. I guess I feel such a sense of commitment to create something wonderful....I'm not always up for that. If I don't like it.....I need to get rid of the evidence, rip it out and put it in the trash.  When my family hears the rip....they all turn, and of course...want to see what I thought was bad. Its kinda like a car accident.....there is a sounds that everyone will stop what they're doing to look....ripping paper always gets my attention too!  But this iPad....so silent, no commitment, just delete and start over...sweet. You know, I seem to like everything I draw on it too...I'm much kinder to myself with this little toy!

Okay.... maybe more than you wanted to know about my insecurities, but there you have it.  If you have an iPad and sketching sounds fun to you, download the "Sketchbook Pro" app, it's a lot of fun!!  It's something like $5 .....and  I use a little stylus instead of my finger, an inexpensive one works just fine :)