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.


See the rest of the 30 in 30 participants here.

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?



See the rest of the 30 in 30 participants here.

Updateable

It's past the Witching Hour.  Too early to get up for work.  Mind running.  (Yes, I know... I'm supposed to meditate to help with that.  I know.)  Since I'm up, I visit my canvas friends.

Two large canvases that may or may not be companion pieces.  I think they look great together.  The one on the left is black and grey.  The right is Dioxizine Purple and grey.  Each canvas is 24" x 48".

 A shot of the Dioxizine Purple featured on the canvas on the right.  I've had more than one art instructor tell me, "Don't use Dioxizine Purple."  "It's garish."  "It's unnatural."  "It will take over your whole palette."  Don't tell me not to do something.  I'm stubborn.  I'm going to do it just to spite somebody.

I do what I want.

Mixing black from a limited palette.  Alizerin Crimson, Sap Green, and Ultramarine Blue.  This makes a cool (blue-ish) black with a ratio of 3 parts Alizerin, 2 parts Sap, and 6 parts Ultramarine.  This black is also the base for all my greys and it works as a toner when used in small amounts to cut back the brightness of a color.

In other news, I got a new job.  Pretty much the same as the old job, but better.  I have just a couple of weeks left before Summer Break from school, and I'll have news of a gallery show coming soon.

Stealing Moments

I have crept out of my bed and met my lovers in the dark of night.  I am cautious.  My breath stops in my throat at every creak of the floorboards in the bedroom above my studio.  Does my husband sense he is alone?

Sounds like a trashy novel.

Perfect!

My lovers are these:

Adding more color and defining the focal point of the top painting.  The painting with circles gets scales to help suggest motion and to add texture.

Here are the beginnings of each:

The top painting has the focal point pretty near the center and that's generally not where I want it to be.  I will probably make some adjustments later to draw the eye slightly to the right of center.

The scales painting will get a transparent layer of color over the scales outside of the circles so that there is texture there but the eye is not immediately drawn to it.

Beginning Ten

Part One

Another in the series using scales stencils.  I did a time lapse video of this painting and posted on Instagram.  (You'll have to tell me if you can view that.  I have no idea if the link will work.)
I think the fact that almost everything is neutral color keeps this from looking too busy.

A light wash of Burnt Umber is applied and allowed to dry.  Purple scales are added with a large stencil then warm grey is used for the smaller scales stencil.  Black marker for the marks along the right and left edges, then light grey is washed over much of the painting.



30 in 30 Blog.

Ice on Round Bay - The Last of Winter's Paintings

"Ice on Round Bay"

I hope winter is finally gone but I had one final painting from an icy cold day on Round Bay.




"Ice on Round Bay"
20" x 24" acrylic on stretched canvas
This painting is available at my shop on Etsy.

Buttercups

30 Paintings of Comfort and Joy, Number Twelve

Painting flowers and abstract are wonderfully enjoyable to me.  I got a two-for-one deal here.

I am obviously pining for Spring with these last two paintings.  Winter can be lovely to paint and I may try a Winter landscape but I'm already ready for warmer days.  I did take a walk last night (trying to get in those 10,000 steps).  It was dark and chilly and the walking path was quite clear of other people, if a bit slippery.  Don't worry tho- I had my flashlight and reflective vest so I made my attempts at safety, anyway.

I am having some trouble with my lighting again so some more experimentation is in order, I guess.  Forgive me for the shiny areas.

"Buttercups"
6" x 6" oil on Gessobord
This painting is available through Daily Paintworks Auction.

Half Spool

30 Paintings of Comfort and Joy, Number Nine

Only a small amount of lovely purple thread left on the spool.

Sewing.  I do enjoy sewing.  Especially in the winter time.  When my 30 paintings are completed, I will begin work on some quilting projects.  In the past, my quilt tops have all been made by machine while the actual quilting portion has been done by hand.  I intend to get a free-motion quilting foot for my machine (an old model of questionable quality -- so wish me luck!) and probably a table because crawling around on the floor for cutting fabric and sandwiching the quilt layers is becoming less desirable all the time.

"Half Spool"
6" x 6" oil on Gessobord
This painting is available through Daily Paintworks Auction.

Tea with Lemon

30 Paintings of Comfort and Joy, Number Eight

A bit of freezing rain this morning makes me extra glad for a hot cup of tea in the morning.  Yikes!  I hope it warms up a bit by the time I need to venture out after waiting for school delays to lift.

Lemons are the obvious star of this painting.  I think lemons and apples are probably the most common things artists paint (besides flowers?).  The lemons under the spot light certainly refreshed my studio.

I have gotten behind on the paintings but that's okay.  Life is complicated sometimes.  I still intend to do 30 paintings.

"Tea with Lemon"
6" x 6" oil on Gessobord
This painting is available through Daily Paintworks Auction.

Holiday Dream

30 Paintings in 30 Days -- January 2015

I decided during this third 30-in-30 Challenge I would have a theme from which to draw ideas.  My theme here is "Comfort and Joy".  Thirty paintings about things that bring me comfort and/or joy.

This basket of vintage Christmas ornaments brings the joy of many holidays past.  Lovingly placed upon the tree each year and carefully and safely packed away after the holiday season is ended.  These ornaments have their own history and evoke many memories.  Some shiny, some a bit dull, these ornaments have a bit of an abstract look that is so appealing to me.

The "in 30 days" portion of the subtitle here may be a bit of a stretch.  There will be 30 paintings and I will do my best to keep up but there are never any guarantees, right?  I was sick between Christmas and the New Year and I'm still recovering so sleep is more important than ever.

My theme of "Comfort and Joy" is even more fitting when recovering from being sick.



"Holiday Dream"
9" x 12" oil on Gessobord
This painting will be available for sale (as soon as I get all my ducks in a row).
If you have to have it immediately, let me know.  I can make that happen.

Holiday Cheer

Get ready for the holidays with cards or prints of my holiday ornaments or birds from my Cage Free Series at Fine Art America.

Cage Free -- 30-in-30, Day Twenty

Delicate Blue
Cage Free Series 027

Tufted Titmouse on a chilly morning.

It is absolutely beautiful in my neighborhood today but I'm sure the chilly days are not far off.

I am honored that Daily Paintworks chose this painting along with three others for their DPW Picks.  I believe the picks are listed according to when the auction ends.  To see all the picks, just page through the tabs.


"Delicate Blue"
6" x 6" oil on gessobord, unframed.
This painting is available through Daily Paintworks Auction.
See the other participating artists on Leslie Saeta's blog.

Cage Free Series 006, 007

"Winter Couple" female and male Cardinal

This couple is in my yard all winter.  My lovely neighbors feed them.  I tried a feeder but the squirrels tore it up almost immediately and that was the end of that.

Male Cardinals have quite a sharp call and I can always tell when they are in the hedge directly below my window.  I often try to sneak a peek but if they see any movement, they are gone.


"Winter Couple"
Each is 6" x 6" oil on gessobord, unframed.
This set is available through Daily Paintworks Auction.

Something For My Valentine

"Be Mine"

Chocolate hearts and flowers for Valentine's Day.

We are snowed-in again in the East.  I'm not sure I'll even get out to get hubby a birthday gift.  He is my Valentine-Birthday boy.  Good thing he likes chocolate hearts.

I hope your Valentines gets you something really special.


"Be Mine"
6" x 6" oil on gessobord.
This painting is available through Daily Paintworks Auction.

Awake

Crocus in Snow

After my own long Winter's Nap (which I needed after 30 paintings in 30 days!) I thought of Crocus.  We don't have a lot of snow any longer but it's still rather cold.  Even so, I saw new buds of grass peeking out in the yard, and I'm beginning to get cabin fever.  The Crocus in my yard should start coming out soon and it's always a pleasure to see them.  The squirrels dig them up and plant them in other places, so I'm always surprised wherever I see them.


"Crocus in Snow"
6" x 6" oil on gessobord
This painting is available through Daily Paintworks Auction.