Sapphire

One more gigantic, beautiful, shining lizard eye.


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Laurel

I accepted a few suggestions for dragons as I was working on this series.  This suggestion came from the organizer of the charity horror convention I attend every year.  Scares That Care is run solely by volunteers so that all the money collected can go to help recipients.  The charity is run by the most caring and giving person I have ever met.  Joe Ripple asked me to paint a dragon in the Scares That Care colors: purple, green, and yellow.  I was more than happy to oblige.

The Laurel plant gives us our beloved Bay leaf, the basis for "Old Bay" spice.


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Ruby

"Ruby" has a tail that is a little bit out of control (and those toes!). 

I enjoyed this big swirl and working on getting the light just right on all the curves of the lizard.

Happy Valentine's Day!
Today is my husband's birthday and he is definitely the Chocolate King.  Happy Birthday, Melenman.


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Indigo

"Indigo" has some glorious scales to protect him during battles.  Dragons are always fighting battles with knights and other dragons, right?  Indigo is definitely a champion fighter.


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Violet

A purple lizard named Violet.  Isn't she beautiful?  I'm having a wonderful time painting these expressive eyes.


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Sparky

Sparky the Dragon looks like a playful companion, doesn't he?  Get the ball, Sparky!


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Fuschia

This dragon has her eye on something she really wants and there is no doubt she will get it with that laser-focused gaze.


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Blush

A touch of warmth in the cheek from Love...?  Excitement...?  Anger...?
I loved this eye so much, I wanted to paint it again.


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Pearl

A friend of mine is part of a Dragon Boat team of all women who are Breast Cancer survivors.  Because of my Dragon theme, she asked if I could do a painting of a pink dragon to honor those ladies.  Of course I would!  In fact, I did more than one because, who wouldn't want a PINK DRAGON?!


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Confetti

Ice cream, cupcakes, sprinkles, Jimmies... all things you expect to be pink, purple, and lovely.  But snakes?  Oh sure, there are 'snake people' who adore them and think they are beautiful but Average Joe/Jane would not think of them as lovely.  Would you ? 

I have not even hung this painting in the gallery and it is already spoken-for.  Thanks, Friend!

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Masquerade

Before I began this painting, I was thinking, "The colors in these paintings are getting a little crazy, maybe I should tone it down a little" and this was the result.  I do love color but tone it down apparently doesn't work very well in my sub-conscious.  I am pleased with this painting even if I didn't tone it down.

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Two Point Landing

This guy leapt out of the shadows and onto the panel.  Too close for comfort, probably.  I like that about it.  I want my art to be a little frightening as well as beautiful... something you just can't take your eyes off (maybe because you don't dare take your eyes off it).

Have I mentioned how much I'm loving this series?  I'm working hard to remain 'loose' in my brush strokes... to not over-work each painting.  It looks easy but it's actually quite difficult in practice.

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Wonder

Eyes are amazing, aren't they?  "The window to the soul."  But what if it's a dragon?  Would a dragon have a soul?  Would you want to see a dragon's soul?  What if the dragon could look into your soul?



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Golden Girl

A close-up view of a lovely lady dragon.

The thought of a view of a dragon this closely is rather frightening but her eye is gorgeous.  The spines around the eye are definitely menacing.

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Dragon Grab

"Dragon Grab"  6" x 6" oil on Masonite panel.

Those claws look perfect for fishing.  Is the fish quick enough to get away?


When I first began my Serpent Series, I had made stencils of scales to be featured as a part of my abstract paintings.  When I talked about my developing series to friends, I also added descriptions of claws and teeth which had not yet made an appearance in my work.  Those descriptions led me to begin these smaller paintings as accessories to the larger, abstract paintings.


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Freckles

30 Paintings in 30 Days February, 2018

"Freckles"  6" x 6" oil on Masonite panel.

Welcome back to 30 in 30!  My theme this time around will focus snakes, lizards, and dragons and their various beautiful body parts as a continuation of my Serpent Series of paintings.

My Serpent Series began last year as a number of abstract paintings using handmade stencils of scales in a variety of shapes and sizes.  You can take a peek at some of those paintings as they developed here and here.

This year, I have a gallery show coming up at the end of February where I will display some of the abstract paintings from last year as well as a number of the smaller, accessory paintings that I'm completing for this 30-in-30.  Cutting it close?  Maybe.  Nothing like a deadline to get the artistic juices flowing.  I may hang a few paintings that are not varnished and may not even be completely dry... so if you come to my gallery show, no touching please!  HA!

I hope you enjoy my 30 paintings.

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Coming Soon: February 2018 Edition

Oh HI!  Happy New Year!  

Each year I assess my Internet presence and think, "I should blog more... let people know where I'll be, show more art..." but life gets busy and the blog is usually the first to suffer.  If you're on Instagram, you're most likely to see me there when I have new art.  https://www.instagram.com/karimelenartist/

The new year also brings an opportunity to join in the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  This January, Leslie Saeta is in Europe so the beginning of the challenge will be delayed to February 1.

I know, I could do 30 paintings any old time I want but Leslie's Challenge makes it fun and much more visible to Internet-land than just doing it on my own.

This February I'll be in a special show at Circle Gallery in Annapolis, MD (more about that, later).  I'll be using some of my Challenge paintings in that show, which means I needed to start the challenge early because the gallery gets unhappy when an artist tries to hang paintings that are still wet.

So, look for me here with new art to share, starting soon!!

Day 30 - All the Paintings

The Collection

Some are incomplete but still quite interesting.  Seeing them all together, there is a lot of cohesion because of the repeating colors as well as multiple paintings with drip lines and scales patterns.

Through this month I have learned so much about my preference to work on several pieces at one time.  Being able to set aside a piece and come back to it later helps me to really see the piece better.  Multiple photo images during the process help me see the challenges with a painting and help guide me to the next step.  Taking photos and checking them in black-and-white helps me to see if there is enough contrast for visual interest.

Working on several pieces at one time also reduces the pressure I put on myself to finish a painting before walking away.  I don't feel the need to dedicate several hours at a time in the studio.  I can pop down for 15 minutes and still make progress.

 That was critical for me this month.

My month began very quietly, as January often does.  Then all h#ll broke loose.  It always does.  What is UP with January, anyway?  My time in the studio is limited because of a full time job unrelated to art.  I knew I was starting a new semester at college on the 19th so the paintings needed to be mostly done and posts needed to be mostly written by that time.  My husband got very ill and was in the hospital for 6 days then promptly got the stomach flu when he came home.  My daughter got the stomach bug about a week later.  Both of them are feeling much better now, thank goodness!  But you can see how this impacted my possible time in the studio.

My math professor at college has given us a task of filling out a schedule sheet so she can see exactly how long each day we intend to dedicate to math work.  I am definitely scheduling time for art and plan to sneak in the studio whenever I can.

At the beginning of the month I read a book called, "Big Magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert and one of the things she mentions about making time for creativity is treating it like a love affair.  If you were having a love affair, the rest of your life would not stop.  You would find time to sneak away and be with your lover.  Stolen moments, so to speak.  Art is my passion and I need to give it attention.  Sneaking away from the rest of life to be with my art sounds wonderful.  Thinking about it being a secret rendezvous makes it so enticing!

I am so thankful to everyone who visited this month.  Your comments have encouraged me immeasurably.  I hope you will come back and visit from time to time.  I doubt I will continue posting every day but with my new practice of sharing my process, I feel at ease with doing just that, rather than only posting when a painting is finished.  Some of my paintings will be for sale on Etsy and I will post when they are there.  You can also follow me on Instagram.  I'm karimelenartist.

30 in 30 Blog.

Day 29 - Several Beginnings

Ending the 30-in-30 with more beginnings gives me a lot of inspiration and it reminds me that my painting is NOT done for the year.  I don't know where to store all of these giants but I had a blast painting them and I'm so so glad that I resisted the urge to paint small and try to just finish each day.  I have enjoyed sharing my process with you and I hope that you enjoyed the journey.  I have a few new friends to follow from this challenge and I'm excited to see where they go from here.

One
This is going to be another dark serpent painting.

Light grey is added to the top one third, then deep and light sap green are added to the lower two thirds.


Two
This is the yellow-only painting I was stuck on for some days.  I was inspired by a lot of other paintings I've seen recently that featured circles.

Medium grey and light blue-grey are splattered, sprayed with water, and then circles are drawn to give the feeling of movement.


Three
Going back to the neutrals and violet scales with this one.  I'm going to keep it very light and airy, to contrast with the one with dramatic maroon.

Burnt Umber is washed on in a wave shape.  Violet scales are added with the stencils I created, then medium grey and light blue-grey are added to the upper kidney shape.  I also added some light spritzes of water here and there.


30 in 30 Blog.

Painting Two Needs a Name

Final

I wanted to reveal the final painting near the end of the challenge.  The creature has no visible legs, and we're not quite sure where he ends as he curls around a large, blue egg that could be his sibling.

Mythical creatures have long been a fascination for me and this painting was wonderfully fun to create.  I have more creatures to spur your imagination (nightmares?) coming soon.

30 in 30 Blog.