Sweet Magnolia III and IV

The paintings are continuing fast and furiously despite life getting in the way! I sent a  picture of the first Magnolia to my future Son in law so he could give me his opinion as well as show it to his "Ma". He said it was amazing and she loved it! So I guess the gifts will be well received when given at the upcoming wedding. I have 24 paintings of flowers to do for the baskets we are giving to family members coming from all over India. This one is Sweet Magnolia  III. I started with Magnolias because they are in bloom now and Sumita (Bappa's mother) spoke wistfully of the magnolias in her village while growing up. 

Loving it when a plan comes together!

"Sweet Magnolia" acrylic on canvas 6 x 6 Day 52 of the 100 Days ~ 100 Paintings

This is painted from a photo I  sent to India to make sure the magnolias were the same as here in our sunny south. After I received confirmation, I painted this one as well for the works to take to India for the wedding.

"Sweet Magnolia IV" acrylic on canvas 6 x 6 Day 53 of the 100 Days~100 Paintings

On a side note, things have been happening at Celebration church as well. I sometimes help with the set designs for the series and this week found me sewing, painting and hanging about 15 feet up! I love it when we have a scaffold though, it makes life a lot easier After some minor changes to the design, we got everything done in two days.  It really looks awesome and I cannot wait to see the final lighting done!

Sweet Magnolia II

      Today's piece is another flower for the wedding gifts we are taking to India. I am painting flowers at the suggestion of my daughter's future mother in law. They are universal, everyone loves them, and these small originals are the perfect size for a tabletop or small space. I hope the people who receive these as gifts appreciate them as much as I am enjoying painting them!

Sweet Magnolia II, acrylic on canvas, 6 x 6

Sweet Magnolia

I am going to have a busy rest of the summer and fall! Not only am I getting ready for shows along the coast, we are also planning on a wedding in New Delhi, India. Our youngest daughter is getting married to a wonderful young man who calls India home. Our daughter Christina calls it home too as she moved there to teach last summer. The proposal came later and now the plans for the wedding are rapidly coming together. The vast majority of the work involving the ceremonies are being handled extremely well by her mother-in-law to be. The ceremonies are going to be beautiful and we are looking forward to the adventures! 

Now, as to this painting, Sweet Magnolia is one of about 25 paintings that will be gifts for the family at the wedding. I really enjoy painting flowers and actually started out as a still life painter. The still life's were interesting and fun to paint as well as enjoyable to set up! However the sales were slow at best in the beginning of my art  "career". I got juried into my first National Shrimp Festival  in 2007 and started painting marine life and beach scenes. The rest, shall we say, is history. I think I am going to enjoy the flowers that will come from my brushes in the studio during the next few weeks, and hopefully they will become treasures in India as well!

Sweet Magnolia 6 x 6 Acrylic on canvas~headed for India later this fall!

Table Topper~hopefully a show stopper!

       Today's offering is the table top painting for the donation to Habitat for Humanity Fundraiser in September. I am hoping with the reaction to the previous days paintings that this will also be a hit! The cigar boxes have been given good reviews so far. I carried the shell theme to the next level by putting some on the table top as well. I hope this side table provides many hours of enjoyment because of what you cannot see!
       The cigar boxes that fit on the shelf below hold games inside for entertainment because our weather is so unpredictable. We can have sunshine beating down and fifteen minutes later it can be pouring down rain. You also know you live in the deep south when you turn on your heater and air conditioner in the same day. Ah, life on the coast................Isn't it grand!

Table painting, Acrylic on wood, Donation Habitat for Humanity

She Sells Sea Shells

      This week has been interesting to say the least! Frantic sewing, set designs for church (to be constructed next week), furniture re-design and painting! These two beautiful shells are part of the collection that will be with a table I am donating to Habitat for Humanity and their fundraiser in September at Oak Hollow Farm. They go with a table that has shells painted on it as well.
       These paintings are actually created on wooden cigar boxes! We have a local cigar shop here in Fairhope named Bouch's that gets a lot of empty boxes. Eventually, they have a sale and get rid of a few. I had noticed them a couple of weeks back out front, stacked high. Some of them are quite beautiful on their own, but I sanded these, removed the labels, and gave them a new coat of paint. The next day, I painted the shells on them. There are a total of six to go with the table and some of them have games inside them for entertainment at the house in which the set will hopefully find a home. I hope that they get a good price at the auction. My husband and daughter in law love them and think I should do more for sale at my upcoming shows. We shall see..........
       In the meantime, there's those furniture pieces we are re-habbing for the auction as well.
More on that later!

"Shell Collection" Acrylic on Wooden boxes. 8x8's, 10x10's, 8x16, 

Days 46, 47, 48 of the 100 Days~100 Paintings

Whew! Where did the summer go!

Day 38 found me with a different kind of painting, my Face! Those of you who are familiar know that perform every now and then as Precious the clown. This day found me at a delightful birthday party for a 6 year old girl. Always a lot of fun! While not a painting I can sell, just the paint on my face and the performance was the majority of the day.

"Precious" Day 38 of the 100 Days~100 Paintings

 Days 39, 40 and 41 found me designing and painting signs and backdrops for my grands birthday! The two with sayings are actually cabinet doors my daughter recycled for me to make signs for her sons birthday. The mustaches are on pieces of brown paper 3 ft x 5 ft and there were two of them to cover a window behind the cake table.

Coming soon to a gallery near you! Actually Fairhope connections in Orange beach and Fairhope will have these as well as Southern Art and Framing in Mobile. There are several of them, enough in fact for me to carry them to shows myself as well! They will come with a starfish story and shells to decorate them.

Days 42 and 43 of the 100 Days~100 Paintings (2 sizes, 2 days!)

"Archers Turtle" this 8 x 8 is the sepia done on Archers birthday for his collection when he gets older. I am hoping to paint one on each of his birthdays, so he will have a collage of art by the time he graduates from college.

August 12 Day 44 of the 100 Days~100 Paintings acrylic on canvas 8x8

Today's offering catches me up with my goal of 100 paintings. One of several coming to the Fairhope Connections in Fairhope, Alabama as a unique Christmas ornament. They will be combined with shells to complete the coastal theme. Arriving at the gallery in September.

Fairhope Clock 4 inches round, Acrylic on canvas, Day 45 of the 100 Days~100 Paintings

Sometimes you just have to be crafty!

Rarely does the church call and ask for favors, so I sometimes have to resort to asking if they need help. Such is the case here with the Summer Surge at Celebration Church in Fairhope, Alabama. Each summer we have a fantastic kids program that really puts the focus on Faith and Fun. This year is no exception with a beach theme that really is extraordinary. 

                My husband Chris did a beautiful job building these fantastic lifeguard stands in just a couple of days.  (I volunteer him on a regular basis~Life with me is unpredictable, you never know what I'll say Chris can build!) I am so grateful he does not say no too often.We have built an airplane and turtle nest together as well! The kids at the church painted the stands pink and blue. I was pleased to help with some small details on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. Both lifeguard stands needed lettering on the backs and sides. There is a pink one and a blue one to separate the boys from the girls sections. I also built (with Chris's help) the life buoy rings in the photos. I fashioned them from recycled foam insulation cut in three layers. We then wrapped them with white duck tape. After the white, I added the rope trim and red stripes, finally finishing them with a black paint pen to do the lettering. I am really happy with how they all turned out!

     Sunday afternoon found me with the Tiki hut on the stage. After making 3 different sizes of 'bamboo' patterns from poster board , I painted the outlines first. This was a trick since the 'stage' is fence boards I had to climb on, hoping they would not break under my weight. They had already painted the background a medium brown, so I really only needed 3 colors. A dark brown, yellow ochre and a white. After laying in the outlines, I dry brushed the yellow ochre and white on each piece of bamboo. I was really happy with the results after I touched up the seams between. I then added a bamboo outline on the sign already painted by one of the girls. We then trimmed and tacked the sign to the wall.

The whole project really turned out so cute! I am always happy to give time to the church and they have several of my pieces in their offices. I am grateful for the talents my God has given me and love using them in such a fun way! Many congratulations to Brianne and Judson Shores, Children's pastor at Celebration Church for a job very well done!

Sometimes you just have to be crafty! Not for profit, but for the 100 days~100 Paintings, Day 36

Yesterdays and Todays

       Painted Friday evening at artwalk in Fairhope, Alabama. I enjoy painting in public and always have delightful conversations. Some people are trying to learn the technique, others are just fascinated with me painting while carrying on a conversation. Still others remark, I could never do that! I tell them, you never know until you try! I love painting turtles and Kristi from the Turtle hospital in Marathon Florida was fun to paint. Turtles are naturally curious creatures and they know when their human saviors have come to check on them. That is probably why she was swimming toward the camera in anticipation. The Turtle hospital is located in the Florida Keys and is a must stop for me while down there. They give tours and wonderful information about the groundbreaking techniques they have in their surgical ward. Celebrating their 25th anniversary last year, this is a fun educational experience for the whole family. They also have website where you can adopt a turtle if you wish!

"Grateful to be rescued", 10 x 20 Acrylic on canvas, day 34 of the 100 Days~100 Paintings (yesterdays post as we are still suffering from internet issues.)

          My mother once asked me if I ever tired of painting crabs. I miss her queries about such things, (she died last year in March rather suddenly) The last time she asked, I replied, never, they are so interesting to paint! They have so many parts and pieces, I wonder at the creators reasoning behind them. 

       My husband also told me once, just pick them up by the rear, they can't get you there! What he neglected to mention was by rear, he meant the rear swimmers, not the back of the shell. I promptly got clawed, it promptly was thrown a few feet down the dock! Neither of us was worse for wear, me continuing to crab, him scrambling back into the water. We caught him again later, and I got the last laugh, between me and the crab boil seasoning.

Crabby VI, 12 x 12 acrylic on canvas, today's offering for the 35th day of the 100 Days~100 Paintings

Crabby V

       This is the painting for today Crabby V Day 33 of the 100 Days~100 Paintings
10x 10 acrylic on canvas

Art pARTy to You and art camp with the wee ones!

Art pARTy to You is a business my girlfriend, Linda Scoot and I started recently. We are having a lot of fun and  learning a great deal about all kinds of things while running a business! Most of all, making sure our clients are happy with their completed piece and wanting to come back for more! Our first Manci Monday was a rousing success, with over 20 people in attendance.
Backlit pier, Dachshund, and Pretty Peacock are just 3 of the paintings offered at our facebook page. Coming to a website near you soon!

Surely you jest! and There's an Alligator! are pieces that were completed with the 4-6 year olds at the Daphne Art Center this past week. Each piece of art was inspired by a book we read first, We made a mobile, a jester, a mouse sculpture, an alligator painting, and a spider sculpture. A fun time was had by all 

(at least I think they had fun!) The Daphne Art Center is also on Facebook for additional photos. We dabbled in glitter, watercolor, Acrylic, newspaper, and recycled art all in this Atelier class.

This catches me up on the current painting a day. I am still having some issues with the internet, but things have calmed down for now. Let the REAL painting begin!  

Elementary my Dear!

       The age group of 8-11 year olds got to paint in two classes as well Watercolor and Acrylics that pop! were on the menu last week. The kids had a lot of fun and I am sure that the  Pop Dachshunds will end up at Art Party to you in some form or another!
Initial white crayon on paper with watercolor, Sunflowers watercolor on paper 8 x 10, Pop Dachshunds 18 x 24 acrylic on canvas, watercolor crab and shrimp 12 x 16 each. These pieces are days 24 through 28 of the 100 Days~100 Paintings. I will post more later on these kids and their wonderful art work created while at Art Camps on the Gulf Coast!

Black Tar Paper paintings and the Mobile Museum of Art 2014

     I was introduced to Tar Paper several years ago and am always delighted with the results. The Tweens at the Museum painted both Middle Bay and a self portrait on this versatile paper. While probably not a permanent piece of art, it still is impressive!
Self Portrait, 18 x24 acrylic on tar paper, Mobile Bay revisited 18 x 24 scrylic on tar paper

Painting with the "tweenagers" En Plein Aire!

" En Plein Aire" one of the classes I taught at the museum during the past three weeks, This class took the children, ages 12 & up on an outdoor adventure into the world of outdoor art. It is always interesting to see what the kids come out with in this class. In the beginning, a lot of I can'ts, by the end of the week, I can't believe I did thats! Always enjoyable, always changing, sometimes unpredictable. Outdoor painting is a challenge for adults and children alike. We battled heat, rain, bugs, and lawn maintenance!

A wide vaariety of sizes from 5x7's to 12 x 16's, these 6 paintings take care of days 16,17,18,19,
20 and 21 ! of the 100 Days~100 Paintings

Faith~Love~Hope

     
       These sepias prove the beauty of black and white. (or at least dark brown and white!). I finally have the time (and the internet working for the moment) to post the past few days of hectic activity. As you can see, I am still at peace with my maker and joyful about life in general.
        I am a daily bible reader, and teach paintings for a small group that are based on scriptures. This one is really calling me to put it in color and add it to the paintings we offer at Art party to you as well as my own group that paints with me at the church. Look out fall, here we come!
Faith, Love, and Hope 12 x 12 Acrylic on canvas, Anchors 4 x 12 acrylic on canvas, and Hope, Love and Faith 12 x 12 acrylic on canvas.