Peaceful turtle (no political affiliation please)

The paintings are going well, with me easily completing one per day.

I am afraid though at the rate our country is going, I may get even more done.

I think we are headed for another lockdown.

In which case, I will be found in my studio painting away.

I pray it isn't so, but with the raging numbers we are being presented with on a daily basis....

And,

Our president finally speaks to us all wearing masks if you cannot social distance.

Although I wonder if it's just an attempt to boost numbers with an election coming up.

I'm already tired of the presidential, local, and statewide elections and their commercials.

Each side accusing the other of this and that, with respondents replying with tit for tat.

I'll be in the studio creating!

Peaceful turtle (no political affiliation please), Acrylic on hardibord, 10 x 10 inches

Day 23 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2020

A mother's love

A mother's love knows no bounds. Even a giraffe mother's love!

Giraffes are pregnant for 15 months!

During birth, the baby falls about 6ft to the ground from the mother.

Talk about a rude awakening! It actually helps with the birth process, breaking the umbilical cord and the amniotic sack. The actual landing on the ground stimulates the baby to take it's first breath.

A baby giraffe is 6 feet tall at birth. Most are ready to walk within an hour. They also must learn to run by the end of their first day in the wild, to prevent being eaten by a hungry lion.

The babies weigh about 100 pound at birth.

Giraffe have also exhibited grieving at the death of a baby. One researcher found 23 females surrounding a baby after it's death. They will sniff it, kick it, and then stand nearby to guard the body. Maybe they think it will come back?

Who knows...

A mother's love, Acrylic on canvas 12 x 24

Day 53 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2018

Playing at the gulf

A few months ago, I cleaned my palette off on to a canvas. I am not one to waste paint, and there was just too much to throw away! So, I coated the canvas with the leftovers and waited to see what would inspire me to complete it. This little girl was totally perfect. I added the shoreline with wave action to the all blue canvas. Some, sand, some waves, a little girl playing in the water. 

Just makes me want to go to the beach!

I also worked on this Lichtenstein inspired piece. I completed it today with my Atelier class at the Eastern Shore Art Center. The parents are having almost as much fun as the kids when they see their wonderful works of art completed during the class.

Playing at the Gulf, 16 x 40 , Acrylic on canvas

Day 93 of the 100 days~100 paintings

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
 

Coya Costa Pathway

     Coya Costa Pathway is another of the one a day paintings done with my class at the Eastern Shore Art Center. My students usually paint 16 x 20's and I will demonstrate on a larger canvas so they can see the techniques to paint more efficiently. My canvas was 24 x 30 ~ 1/3 larger than the students.

Coya Costa Pathway~ 24 x 30 Acrylic on canvas ~Day 93 of the 100 days

"Beautiful" & "Majestic"

Beautiful is another in a series of bird paintings. I will never get tired of painting birds or photographing them. They have a seemingly endless array of poses and some of them really ham it up for the camera. This is another of the photos I took while in Perdido Key last year. It was a lovely vacation, spent chasing and walking the four legged children (dachshunds) from our condo on the Pass. It was unbearably hot when we went and we have vowed to never again vacation in the month of August. The pavement was so hot we could not walk the dogs on it unless it was early morning or late in the evening. We spent many a happy hour throwing a tennis ball for Frida while trapped in the tennis court fence. It helped to get out some of her energy so she would settle for the evening. The other two would chase her as she chased the ball, so everyone was worn out by the time we went back to the condo.

     Early evenings was when this big guy would show up. There was a dock behind the condos and people would fish. The hooks no sooner hit the water than our rather large begger would swoop in for the taking of fish. He was a beautiful sight, close up and personal, though wary of humans.

 

"Beautiful" Acrylic on canvas 20 x 20 day 72 of the 100 days~100 paintings

 

     Yet another pose by this imposing animal. I would sit in the evenings and watch as he flew in as soon as people started fishing off the dock. He would wander off during the day, but the evenings were when he would get an ample supply of fish that he promptly gobbled up. I also photographed this big guy catching and swallowing a snake. Interesting to say the least!

"Majestic" Acrylic on canvas 20 x 20 day 73 of the 100 days~100 paintings

 

Sailing Along

    Sailing along is todays offering for the 100 days. Turtles are one of my best sellers and this year proves no different. A lot of people seem to have a turtle story or a collection of these beautiful creatures. They are a constant source of delight to me as a painter with their patterns and spots. I will always love painting them! I am teaching at the Eastern Shore Art center a painting a day class during the fall session. I hope they do not mind if we delve into turtles, especially if they want paintings that sell!

Sailing Along 6 x 12 Acrylic on Canvas

Relaxing

     Relaxing is a painting that is all about turtles of course! I painted this one while waiting for the car to be fixed again. Hopefully this time they got it right! Turtles will always have a fascination for me and this little baby was fun to paint.

Relaxing 12 x 12 Acrylic on canvas

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

I'm ready for my close up!

This turtle was painted on my recent cruise. I find painting while on vacation relaxing and plan on continuing to do so at every opportunity! This guy was another of the turtle at the hspital in Marathon, Florida. They do great work there, saving turtles that are injured, have a virus that causes tumors, wrapped up in fishing line, or have a belly ache that is caused by any number of items ingested. They rescue,rehab,release as much as possible.

they are going to carry my cards as a donation in their gift shop as soon as I can get them shipped and sent! This painting is number 75 in the 100 days~100 paintings series. September 17th's entry!

I'm ready for my close up! acrylic on canvas 6 x 12

Turtles are always a favorite! Wednesday July 27

The kids enjoyed the wet into wet this week using my favorite subject. We worked the background first, letting it dry completely before painting the turtle. The children are all showing off their works and I will be curious to see which ones they pick for the art show on Friday.

Serenity

I am wishing I was feeling serene right now. I am 1 week away from 5 weekends of shows ranging from Biloxi, Mississippi to Pensacola, Florida. I am still trying to create one painting a day, work on the house in Fairhope and run our local Daughters of the Nile chapter (I am president this year, an office I never would have taken on 3 years ago if I knew what my art career would do!).
Fortunately, the first show is here in Mobile and basically just a small forerunner to the big ones to follow. It will be a chance to work the bugs out of the show, wrap my head around travel, camping, set ups, break downs, selling, calculating, inventorying, talking, promoting, packing, unpacking, framing, mats, cutting mats, etc. etc. etc.......
I am getting tired just thinking about it all.
This is the life I have chosen~the life of an artist and I love it!
Serenity 5 x 7 Oil on Canvas SOLD

Wish I was here!

We began restoring the house in earnest this past week so getting to the easel and my blog has been impossible at best. This painting is part of a series of boats and sunsets I plan to do in the coming days. I am doing a 4 day "catch up blog" tonight!
Sometimes we all want to run away from life in general and enjoy the peace and quiet. My husband and I have spent time away on a boat and it is indeed peaceful and serene. I don't know if I could live in such close confines though, there is nowhere to paint!
Wish I was here! 16 x 20 Oil on canvas

My version of Deer's Skull with Pedernal by Georgia O'keeffe

I spent last week working with the teens at the museum. One of the classes I taught was in Charcoal. I had the students work on bone studies of a goat skull I have in my studio. While I was working with them, I was reminded of Georgia O'keeffe and her paintings of skulls that were larger than life. I could hardly wait to run to my own studio and paint!
While this is not a skull, (my husband tells me it is a breastbone from a catfish) it is still beautiful in it's own way. It is also larger than the actual bone which is 4 inches. In the painting, the bone is 12 inches. The painting is 10 x 20 and oil on canvas. I also have this piece of driftwood that Chris found at the Alba Club. I wanted it to have the same feeling as the O'keeffe piece so I put the water behind it. It took about 5 hours to complete and really beat me up in the process. My back is burning! I really enjoyed doing this one though, and I love the combination of Blues and Browns!
This painting is also giving me ideas for shells on the driftwood as well. I love painting the wood, it is almost like you are carving the piece as you paint!