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!

Dreaming of far off lands

Those of you that read the blog, know that I spent a couple of years in the Philippines. Recently, I had memories of the islands come back andvisit my dreams. The Islands are where I swam in warm blue waters, had a sea turtle build a nest on top of me, and learned the fine art of skin diving while playing in my parents bubbles from their scuba tanks.

I became very concerned about the local children having no clothes, so when I outgrew mine, I took them to the village near Subic Bay. Tony was our Bonka Boat captain and I played with the children while they swam in the sea. The other children swam in the buff, while I did not go any further than my underwear! We all became brown little nuts roasting in the abundant sunshine. My memory of the clothes is seeing the paper bag they were in torn to shreds and the cowboy boots within causing a huge fight among the children. Two seperate kids grabbed the boots, claiming them as their own and the battle was on. The villagers settled the matter by determining which child could fit in the boots. The shoes were then passed on to several children as they grew into them. I imagine the boots lasted long after I was gone, until they fell completely to pieces. I am certain the pieces were then used to make something else useful. 

Palms 1, 2 & 3 as well as the path to the village are all memory paintings they measure 3 x 9

These are days 72, 74, 75, and 76 of the 100 days~100 Paintings.

Sorry for the disjointed posting, I cannot figure out what is going on with the set up!

 

Palms 1

Palms 2



The path to the village
 

Plein Air Class at the Mobile Museum of Art 2012

      The past two weeks have been hectic indeed! I taught at the Mobile Museum of Art from 8-5 each day. I have to add the two hours to get there and back as well. Also some nights, I worked at Celebration Church getting ready for a fantastic Vacation Bible School!I fairly fell into bed each night from exhastion. Hence why the blog has been so neglected! The paintings are there, I just had no energy to post them!
     
          I have a new found respect for the teachers in our midst. No wonder they are giddy as teenagers the last week of school! I discovered that the first couple of days are relatively quiet as the children do not know each other. Wednesday they are starting to form groups, Thursday they are really talkative, and Friday they are starting to get on each others nerves! Even the siblings get into the act! I had three sets of siblings the last week and they did the same as the rest of the group! Funny to watch. I cannot imagine teaching all school year! Hats off to you my teacher friends!

       "The Bridge at the museum" is from the Plein Aire class. The students really enjoy the outside painting and this is the second year we have done this class. I am certain it will be repeated again.
The Bridge at the Museum watercolor on paper, 15 x 20.

     The other side of the lake, another of the paintings done during the Plein Air Class at the Museum was completed after we took a hike across the bridge to the opposite side. We were drivien crazy by the flies landing on us, flying around us, and finally landing in our paints! Very frustrating! Then there was the ducks and geese, giving us the evil eye for not bringing something to feed them. We were literally surrounded by the animals constantly. I have to commend the children for staying focused on the paintings!

    "The Other Side of the Lake" Plein Aire class, watercolor on paper

"The Geese at the Lake" was my first painting of the week for the plein air class. We all were adjusting to the heat, humidity, and bugs presented to us during our adventures in painting. I have to commend the kids for being real troopers when it came to the elements. The children were encouraged to paint their choice of scenery. I had representations of the lake, trees, the statue, and a small creek that runs alongside the gazebo. One of the kids even painted a walker on the path! I spent the class explaining techniques and tips while also painting my own piece.

"The Geese at the Lake" watercolor on paper 15 x 20

"Student Study" This day we  split our paper into quarters and used Oil Pastels that were water soluable. It was an interesting day as we had to walk outside the Museum to the balcony to paint! I really enjoyed this class and the kids seemed to enjoy it too!

"Student Study" watercolor on paper 7 1/2 x 10

Across the Bridge

This painting was much anticipated by the children as we went on a walk to get to this vantage point. Leaving 10 minutes into class, we hiked across the bridge to the opposite side of the lake. Our viewpoint now looked back toward the museum. We settled in under one of the covered picnic areas and got into the watercolor pencils and paints. The kids learned a lot this week about watercolor painting, "En Plein Aire", and drawing in general. By the end of the week, they all were mixing greens instead of simply using the Pthalo Green on their pallette. They were very focused on this day and we all had good work to show for our labors.

We were even visited by a gentleman that was bike riding and taking a break from the heat. He said I hope I am not disturbing you and I replied that we all knew that in painting in the fresh air could mean people would come talk to us while we were working. I really love this part of painting outside and this is the reason I paint at shows when we travel. I enjoy interaction with the public, and they get to see that I really do paint what is hanging on my walls at the many shows.

The View from the Gazebo

"The View from the Gazebo" was painted while sitting beneath the cool shade offered under the gazebo's large vaulted ceiling. The gazebo is located behind the Mobile Museum of Art and is situated on the walking trail. The kids in the class this past week were remarkably attentive and very focused on their paintings while they were in progress. Not once did I hear how hot it was, which surprised me a great deal as the heat indexes were in the 100's! I was delighted to work with them and am delighted to report they all said they would take the class again! I think we have found a winner in the teenage class category. I know I look forward to teaching this class next year.

Sunlit Alligator

We all have "Gators" in our lives. Things and people that eat up our time but don't feed our souls. They gulp us down, without a thought or a thank you.
I am grateful for friends that love me, family that loves me, and doing what I love to do for a living. Most of all, I am very grateful for a supporting spouse that wants to do everything to please me.
Our house is in transition now, Chris and I are still waiting to hear about the house in Fairhope~there is a problem with the Title that the broker seems to think is very small and fixable. I only pray that they "fix" it so we can sign the paperwork, get the key, and start cleaning/sorting out the garbage this weekend. Jere', (our son) had his last day in the Coast Guard. Jessica, our oldest lost her job at the salon (although it is probably for the best). Christina our youngest, starts her last year of college next week.
In the middle of the trips to Fairhope (to bug bomb the house), calls to the city of Fairhope (for permission to remove trees and for trash removal), and handling some phone calls for my womens organization. I am still commited to a painting a day. Today makes my 42nd entry and I am pleased with my progress so far.
"Sunlit Alligator"~ Oil on Canvas 10 x 20