Nose to nose

 "Nose to nose"

Manatees are always an interesting creature to paint.

So big and so graceful as long as they're in the water.

Not so graceful out of the water.

Sea cows or chubby mermaids, take your nickname.

They are called sea cows because of their slow-moving nature and constant grazing.

I'm not sure where chubby mermaids came from!

We were fortunate enough to have them come up to feed on romaine lettuce that was placed in feeders while we were kayaking in Florida.

It was a mother and baby, and we felt honored to see them.

Closer to the Shrimp Festival I go.

Each day is an exercise in either frustration, or fun.

Come to think of it, most days are like that.

It all depends on how you view your world around you.

God does that sometimes, placing speedbumps that slow us down to a less frantic pace of life.

When we slow down, we see the beauty created around us.

We can enjoy the world God has placed at our feet.

We can become what God wants us to be in His plan.

We see the creator in our mundane everyday existence.

One day closer to the National Shrimp Festival and four other shows.

I am getting excited!

Nose to nose, Acrylic on shadowbox canvas, 12 x 24

Day 65 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2025

 

Beauty in the Caretta caretta

Caretta caretta or loggerhead sea turtle, whichever you prefer.

I love the scientific name of this turtle.

I am beginning to find my pace in the 100 days.

Working hard to create every day.

Sometimes the paintings are easy to set up and paint, and sometimes they hurt my head!

Each day is a new adventure in paint!

I am still amazed that I get to create and even make money while doing it.

I truly believe the saying: Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life!

Finding what to paint can be a challenge though.

Some years Turtles are more popular; others it's the octopuses.

I've also painted manatees, alligators, pelicans, sharks, herons, 

seahorses, manta rays, and so much more!

Then, just when I think I have it all figured out, the rules change.

The neutral paintings have not slowed down even after 10 years.

I started the Sepia series when people would comment that the colors 

I would use might not go on their wall.

I prayed and the answer I got was go neutral.

To go from strong color to neutral was a stretch.

When they first started, they were browner.

Like a sepia toned photograph.

I purchased unfinished wood frames I bought from Michaels, 

hand painting them to match the sepia paint.

Then, a few years back, I mixed the sepia color bluer, and it's been that way ever since.

Anyway, today was a full day.

Helping others and then hitting the studio after getting blackberries, blueberries, and onions into the freezer.

Tomorrow, we bag them!

Beauty in the Caretta caretta, Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 24

Day 64 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2025

 

Great Blue and a turtle!

I have told you all before, I am not above revisiting paintings in an effort to salvage them.

This is one of those pieces.

It is painted on one of the wood framed sign blanks from Hobby Lobby.

I am very pleased with how it turned out.

He only needs varnish and a companion.

Another Great Blue in the works, facing in the opposite direction so they can be a pair.

I love painting the herons.

This is also from a photo I took several years ago while on vacation in Orange Beach.

I took my grandson home to Saraland after a weekend with Yaya and Yoyo.

I brought him home as our daughter was working hard to get her bedroom 

together after painting this weekend.

I then stayed and helped her with going through bags and boxes.

I came home with eyeshadow palettes, lip gloss, and bronzer, as well as hand cream.

She also gave me a red jacket.

Hmmm. 

She said I know you don't typically wear red, but it is a cute jacket.

I took the things after two hours with her and we got a lot done.

I also brought home a taboret she has had forever, still in the box.

I unboxed it at their house and put it in the car.

Came home, ate a late lunch, took a little nap.

Headed to the studio, for a few stolen moments.

Then the dogs wanted their ride, and I needed a break.

I put together the taboret, photographed it, and put it on marketplace.

Hopefully it will sell, as it probably won't work in my studio.

We ate leftovers for dinner, and I again headed to creating.

I'm thankful for leftovers, it makes for a quick dinner and clean up!

I also managed to paint this little guy today too!

He is a small part (about five inches) of a 24 by 24 shadowbox.

I'm trying to find my groove in painting the shadowboxes again.

It will take a bit of thinking as their set ups are so very different from the new dimensional rounds.

This piece will have three turtles on it eventually.

I may try to paint the colored heron as well tomorrow.

I'm needing to change out my space at the gallery downtown before Artwalk this Friday as well.

So, lots of paint slinging tomorrow!

Goodnight from the Raccoon Retreat Studio in beautiful Fairhope, Alabama

Great Blue and a turtle, Acrylic on wood and canvas, heron 15 x 30

Day 63 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2025

 

Mermaid reflections

"Mermaid reflections"

I wonder what is going through her mind about this funny looking thing from the wreck.

I'm sure like "The little mermaid" there are lots of things in her stash of collectibles.

A little caveat.

Our "African son" asked me about mermaids.

It seems that people there think they are real spirits that are not very nice.

No son, they are fantasy here not real.

Curiously strange.

This is the last of the rounds for a while.

I have 11 more to paint, awaiting my brushes.

I will probably paint them in between Mattie Kelly and Peter Anderson.

Peter Anderson has sent out booth numbers and I am 656.

I asked to please be placed back near the Government Street Grocery.

The booth should also be near our wonderful parking. 

We park Friday night, and don't move even to load out or in.

I am so grateful for the spot we stay in during this show.

I asked to be moved because we were across from a popular place and people were constantly cutting through our booth to get to the restaurant.

We were also cut off from people seeing us because of the line from the restaurant.

So, we'll see how it goes this year!

This mermaid was fun to design and paint.

It was also incredibly hard to cut out.

Thankfully Chris is willing to help out frequently.

His band saw has a really thin blade he discovered while cleaning, so he's able to get pretty intricate.

There are still some things I would cut differently, but I am grateful for the extra hands and help.

I also had to use my Dremel on the dolphins recently as there were two spots that weren't removed.

The Dremel is the same one I used to make ornament push molds carved into wood.

We make a wonderful team.

I am so glad God placed us together as man and wife.

So, now I have to check my inventory here at the house and come up with a plan of what to paint.

There are several shadowboxes lined up and ready to go.

I am also going to make at least one 5-piece turtles for the far wall.

I'm really looking forward to the new booth set up with black walls.

The white backgrounds will really pop off of them.

I just pray the booth won't be too dark inside.

I may have to invest in some serious lighting that's easy to transport, not too fragile, and able to run off my battery pack.

That sound like a tall order to me, although I'm all in as far as investing in myself and my business.

The next order of business is a website other than this blog.

The blog has increased my presence on the web but has not increased my sales.

I just need to stop long enough to build it and post photos.

I had a website before, when I had oodles of time to build it through a company.

I was happy with it, but it was taken down by the company when my debit card wasn't able to pay.

I also wasn't able to simply reinstate the website.

So much work lost, and now I have to carve out time to build another one!

So much to do, so little time on my hands as of late!

To God be the glory though, because I usually get it all done!

Just another day at the Raccoon Retreat Studio here in beautiful Fairhope, Alabama!

Mermaid reflections, Acrylic on wood, 20 inches

Day 62 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2025

 

A Circled Cephalopod

Today was another day of joy for me.

I started the day in the studio, working on backgrounds for the last two circles.

Don't worry they're coming back in late October, because I still have 11 more to paint.

I'm going to use them as "fill ins" after the first three shows.

As usual, this one was fun to paint.

What was not fun was trying to paint after a restless night.

I finally gave up and got up at 4am this morning.

I got my Bible readings done, painted a bit, then headed off to a Baby shower.

The shower was fun, but I was hungry for lunch.

The shower had only fruit and dip that I could eat.

I have apparently become Gluten intolerant.

I don't have violent reactions as some do, but it's bad enough.

I have what amounts to an allergy attack, phlegm, and sinus drainage.

Sometimes up to 24 hours later!

It's just not worth the tastiness.

So, I ate a leftover salad from the refrigerator and headed back to the studio.

The studio was quiet except for the dachshund that followed me up here.

The tippy tapping of her claws is cute, but then I worry when I don't hear movement.

Quiet in a dachshund is like a quiet toddler.

You better be nervous and you better go look.

With dachshunds they're usually in a garbage can, stealing tissues to shred.

I worked for a couple of hours then decided it was time for a nap.

The dachshunds and I piled onto the couch under a blanket and dozed off.

I needed that nap!

It was time to go back to the studio and after an hour or so, it was time for the afternoon ride.

I then cooked dinner, took grandson for ice cream and headed back into the paint.

A good day.

Now hopefully it will be a good night!

A circled cephalopod, Acrylic on wood, 12 inches

Day 61 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2025

 

Babies, babies everywhere!

Today's piece was after a long day.

My youngest brother was having surgery, so I drove to Mobile to sit with him and my sister in love at 6:15.

I spent the day waiting and chatting with her.

We talked a lot, prayed a lot, and even cried a little.

Then the doctor came out and said it was tough removing the knot as it was full of scar tissue.

We'll find out results later next week.

I finally got to see him again as he was being wheeled out from his outpatient surgery.

Surprisingly about 1 pm.

Too late to go home to Fairhope, too early to pick up grandson from school 

as he is spending the weekend with us.

So, I got lunch at Tazikis.

A lovely salad with chicken and fruit.

I then drove to my daughter's house, and she gave me a hair trim!

Yahoo no more bangs in my eyes!

I could hear my grandmother saying, "get those bangs out of your face!"

It's like when I get dirty fingernails or paint.

I have to clean them, or I'm nervous.

My dad would whip out a very sharp knife and dig the dirt out if I didn't do it.

This is why I have a nail brush by the sink, to scrub.

It's also why I don't care for the artist look of dirty clothes covered in paint at a show.

I just don't feel it presents yourself professionally.

So, I'm always neat, clean, and wearing pretty clothes at shows.

The drive home was interesting to say the least.

The traffic was unbelievable and it took over an hour and a half to get back to Fairhope.

Anyway, I came home to french fries and chicken nuggets that my husband heated up at my request.

I ate, then came upstairs to paint.

I painted these guys in between my grandson asking questions about the books

 I want to sell out of my studio.

I have quite the collection of books on drawing, painting, and references galore.

His research found some of my books are rare and somewhat valuable.

I told him he could have a cut in exchange for photographing, posting, and researching pricing.

We agreed to 20 percent of the profit after sale and shipping.

I have a very interested tweenager in the studio now!

Babies, babies everywhere!, Acrylic on wood, 12 inches

Day 60 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2025

 

10 years later....

10 years ago, I was painting a mural in a hyperbaric chamber room.

I don't even know if it's still there.

It was an amazing under the sea theme with lots of fish, Dolphin, and corals.

It was so the people in the hyperbaric chamber could see the mural as they passed time.

This week found me a delightful "job" in Pensacola Beach Florida.

This couple found me at the Gulf Breeze show in the Spring.

They have been searching for an artist over a year to paint their mural.

They have a long tradition of murals in their homes, now both in New Orleans and Pensacola.

They have patiently waited through my show season, a visit from daughter and grandchildren, and a massive dinosaur build for our church VBS called Summer Surge.

The first day, (Monday) we arrived at their condo and settled in quickly.

I was incredibly happy to see a wonderful scaffold as promised, with rails!

I got to work on transferring the pattern to the wall.

Chris settled in to chatting with the owners, Cathy and Randy, while I listened in and occasionally added a bit to Chris's stories.

Orange peel texture is incredibly difficult to paint on because it's so bumpy.

Not to be daunted, I got the pattern on the wall cutting it into manageable strips of six feet by 1 foot.

It took a couple of hours to transfer the pattern I had drafted.

I then excitedly started painting the farthest legs on the right.

I worked a total of 6 hours the first day.

I then took Chris to Peg Leg Petes for a delicious meal.

On Tuesday, I pushed until I got all eight legs done!

It was an adventure all the way fighting with the orange peel texture that was 

becoming easier with each stroke.

This was my point of view most of the day.

I would hang my legs over the edge, leaning into the strokes following the patterning.

Laying on paint, scumbling paint, removing paint.

Just like on the smaller canvases, except on a grander scale.

At this point Cathy was already texting photos to friends and family.

She kept saying it was so much more than she expected.

This is my absolute favorite thing to hear from a client.

I stopped again about 4 pm because I was hungry.

We had a delicious dinner, cooked by me of spaghetti made with deer meat and a lovely salad.

We enjoyed each other's company until later in the evening 

after Chris and I went and got Ice cream on the boardwalk.

Wednesday found me working on the head and rest of the body.

We kept hearing the Blue Angels practicing, and I came down just in time to see a pass by and an incredible lift while barrel rolling high into the air.

What a thrill to watch.

I worked until lunch, then Chris and I went to a restaurant on the water for BBQ.

I told Cathy and Randy to please look for anything that bothered them on the octopus.

When we came back, I swung into action doing the final shading and touch ups.

Chris and I then joined the owners out for a relaxing dip in the sound.

Relaxing that is, until the fish started biting us.

Randy and Chris went in with Larry to take down the scaffolding.

I chose not to go in as there was a bit of a problem the first day just dropping the floor down to facilitate me walking back and forth while painting.

I was too nervous to watch it come down.

Chris had a part of the floor dropped on his head that first day.

It's always his head!

Lord!

Anyway, they took the scaffold down and we got showers while Cathy and Randy returned the equipment back to the store.

I realized I had not signed the piece, so Chris and I got out the ladder and I signed it in the bottom right curl of the leg.

We had dinner together again, eating the leftover spaghetti and a new salad.

The owners are very happy with their piece of art!

They are trying really hard to come up with a unique name.

We spent the evening relaxing, chatting, and finally going to bed.

I love it when collectors become friends!

We came home today, with them waving goodbye from under the condo after walking us to the car.

I almost didn't want to go home....a lot of work, but so relaxing.

I believe they went back home to New Orleans today too!

I came home, unloaded the car, unloaded the bags, greeted the dogs and then went into the studio.

Chris and I got lunch at Rouxsters in downtown Fairhope.

That was an adventure in itself, going around all the detours to get to the restaurant.

We had leftover chicken salad with a salad for dinner, using up all the chicken I made.

These guys were cut out, but not sanded, edges painted, mounted, then painting both the background and the dimensional dolphins.

It's been a long day, but a productive one!

I pray Cathy and Randy; our new friends made it home safely to New Orleans.

10 years of adventures here in Fairhope since the mural.

I've painted several since then both at church and another hyperbaric chamber.

Adventures!

Kind of has a nice ring to it!

Goodnight!

10 years later...., Acrylic on wall and wood, Octopus 6 x 12 feet, Dolphins 12 inches round

Days 56,57,58, & 59 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2025