Three days.......

Ghost crab III Day 64

Unbelievably , the past three days are a blur!

I received a phone call from our oldest begging for help on a birthday project for a friend next weekend.

I went and helped on Tuesday and Chris joined me at the house.

Chris puttered in the yard, getting small projects done with our grandsons zipline and rock wall.

I did what I could with our daughter Jessica, sewing primarily.

After the day, Chris and I went home in the evening.

I sewed several yard of ruffle for the mermaids at the birthday party for Saturday.

I went back the next day,(no Chris in tow) Wednesday with more sewing on the docket.

I realized that Jessica did not know about duct tape not sticking to cardboard and it really threw a monkey wrench into our plans, because the other products would not stick as well.

We stepped back and figured out a solution.

Things are getting done, just not as quickly as we both would like.

The mom and child are delighted with the projects so far,

A giant clam shell.

4 mermaids.

A coral reef.

Backgrounds provided by my grids that will be sold afterward.

(more on this later)

Anyways, a busy two days with two ghost crabs thrown into the mix!

Ghost crab IV Day 65

Neel's kitty Day 66

Today's painting!

This cat is our grandson Neel's favorite when Christina reads him the book in India.

He invariably tries to kiss the cat!

When I asked Christina what she wanted for Neel's birthday painting, she said the cat.

And so, here he is....

All 6x6 inches of him.

I hope he likes it!

Today is Neel's first birthday. 

It's hard to believe that one year ago Chris and I were both in India, 

celebrating the birth of our 2nd grand!

Today's September 5th was totally different!

I found out about some free stretcher bar frames at our Foley Habitat for humanity restore.

Chris came back from walking the dogs, and I asked if he wanted to go on an adventure!

We deposited money at the bank, then headed to the store in Foley.

We got there before they opened, but the frames were in a huge pile out in the back.

We had brought the truck, and started digging.

One of the women that works at the store said take what you want, just restack what you don't.

We said sure, no problem.

Lots of shallow frames, but we can stack them with glue and nails and they will be a nice deep edge.

There were a few deep edge ones, particularly three very large ones!

We quietly dug through the wood, stepping carefully around the palettes of  frames.

Before we left, there was another artist that showed up and started his own pile.

Another artist talked with us while in the store inquiring where the stretchers were.

Our truck was full!

We then headed to the fastener store to get something for Chris.

We also went to Hobby Lobby to pick up a roll of canvas to start stretching.

We ended up getting lunch at Calverts too!

A very fun morning.

We got home, emptied the truck and Chris headed inside for a nap.

I decided pool time was in order, so I cleaned the pool and then chilled a bit.

When Chris came out, I came inside and got a shower before heading to the studio.

Chris modified the bars on the biggest stretcher bars slightly, 

giving them an edge that will allow some spring when I paint.

We stretched the canvas together, making new folds at the corners.

The canvas took 1/3 of my canvas roll I had just bought!

There is a piece 21 inches by 6 feet that was cut off and will be used later.

That's a LOT of canvas. 

It will be gorgeous though, I have plans for life size sea turtles!

BTW, it measures 3 ft 7 inches by 5 ft 7 inches.

Not the biggest I've ever done, but pretty large, especially in my studio!

I have a good sized studio, but the ceilings are angled inward, making large pieces difficult at times.

I then painted the kitty this evening after dinner.

WHAT a wonderful day!

Three days, Acrylic on canvas, Ghost crab III, Ghost crab IV, Neel's kitty

Days 64, 65,  and 66 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2019

Geez! The weekend got away from me!

We had friends come down this weekend with their baby girl!

Paintings done for the past three days, just not posted!

We went to the zoo, the beach, the splash pad at the park, and Mr Gene's Beans.

All in all a fun weekend helping the young ones relax some. 

The tiny house was a hit again too!

Here ya go!

The poured backgrounds continue with this one.

I loved punching up the highlights so the seahorse would show up against the background.

My best friends daughter also came into the studio, fascinated with the poured paint!

So we dove in and created for her to take her beach pieces home. 

Lots of paint, so I have several canvases to paint on as well.

I pray you're not tired of the backgrounds, I promise there will be some with some beautiful blues soon!

I must also get on the shadowboxes as they are the best sellers.

19 of them await my brushes sooner rather than later!

My wonderful husband also spotted me some money up front to be able to purchase canvases on sale for Labor Day. The pricing was really good, the selection not so much!

It's a good thing that I still have a very good supply on hand of the larger ones...

You see, my husband calls me a hoarder of canvas.

He says I have too many on hand, but when they're on sale for 70% off and I have money....

He knew today I am tapped out of funds, before my next show at the end of this month in Daphne, Al.

If I am a hoarder, he's an enabler!

I love him so much, I think I'll keep him!

I had a great time with the ghost crabs as well.

Or are they sand crabs?

I don't know, I just know I don't like them running across my feet at 5:30 am  while looking for turtles!

I am scared I am going to step on and crush one of the little guys one day.

They run faster than the sandpipers!

Fun to watch, and even more to paint!

Anyway, the day is winding down, I am still praying for the people affected by hurricane Dorian.

The Bahamas have been hammered for over a day now!

Fortunately the USA seems to be going to be spared a direct hit on the East coast.

At least not as a Category 5.

I can only imagine the Bahamas right now.

The things I think about in my studio, praying for others with each brush stroke.

Seahorse, Ghost I, Ghost II, Acrylic on canvas, 4x4 inches

Days 61, 62, & 63 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2019

Cigar boxes, Mops projects, Ghost crabs and shells

The LAST of the boxes! 

This week has been an exercise in how much can you get done! 

Artwalk and painting while talking with potential collectors.

Trips to buy supplies for classes, more trips for supplies after adding students. Housework,(what is that anyway?). Labor Day weekend fun. Designing a logo while on the road. Swimming pool driving me crazy because I can't seem to get the chemicals correct and the water clear! In the middle of all this, I am trying to paint and blog, then the internet is down, or flaky at best!

Ah such is my crazy artist life here at the Raccoon Retreat Studio in Fairhope, Alabama!

The show season is rapidly, rapidly approaching. This makes sleep difficult at best, because all I can think about is catching up on blogging, painting, and designing.

The LAST of the boxes! takes care of 3 paintings, numbers 33, 34, &35 of the 100 paintings

Shells

These are simple paintings, simply done. 6 x 6 canvases

Paintings 36 & 37 of the 100 paintings

Ghost crabs I, II, III, & IV

Two of these are 6 x 6 canvas, two are 4 x 6 Canvas

All four are just plain fun! These little guys are constantly skittering away from us while we are walking for the turtles. Some of them are no bigger than a quarter, and so pale you cannot distinguish them from the sand. Others are so large that the birds chase them, hoping for a tasty meal!

Paintings 38 through 41 of the 100 paintings, all acrylic on canvas

Paintings just for fun!

My church has a Mothers of Preschoolers group. The leader,asked me to create decorations for the tables using this years theme. They are simple and fun, painted on blocks of wood so they can stand. All of them are painted on both sides.

What I would have given to have had such support from other moms when our children were small. I was a mentor for a time and really enjoyed it, the moms want to know how the children were raised in gentler times. I cannot imagine having a baby in this turbulent time we live in!

I would have loved being told to do this when a young mother! This years theme for the group is similar to others, just embrace the mess, and the craziness that is the preschool age. 

Love your little ones, they grow up so fast!

Paintings 42 through 48 of the 100 paintings, acrylic on wood.

Crabs and a Willet!

 "Blue Man, Blue"

This painting is a departure from my normal sepia toned 12 x 12 canvases. I get requests from collectors for specific spots in their homes. Sometimes large, sometimes small, the special requests are always a treat to complete! 

Did you know you can tell a male crab from a female by their claws? Boys are blue, Girls are red. More specifically, they are mentioned to have "painted" their claws much like a woman would paint her nails. I found this out while researching blue crabs, same information located on several websites of a scientific nature. I have not tested this theory out on my own, but have asked several folks to check and get back with me! 

Nobody ever has contacted me about it.

 I am still curious, is it true?

"Blue Man, Blue" 12 x 12 Acrylic on canvas, Painting 5 of the 100 Days

"It takes Two to Tango"

This painting came about as we were walking for turtles a few weeks back. Another day on the beautiful, crowded, Orange Beach. We also had one of our Pastors from church with us because he wanted to walk the beach at dawn. It was a gorgeous morning, we walk before the sun rises completely so we can beat the tourists trampling possible nesting sites. This particular morning, we did not find a nest, we did find thousands of shells and shell pieces. 

We also came across these two in their dance of possible death. Ghost crabs are a favorite of mine to watch with their frantic running about, trying to avoid being stepped on by the giants walking in their midst. They range in size from an inch to much larger, maybe 5 inches across with their legs. This little guy was wary of the bird watching him, and we stopped to watch this dance unfolding before us. They traded quick moves, each one sizing up the other. They moved quickly up toward the wrack line, then onto the sandy beach. There are dozens of holes that belong to these little creatures, and if you are quiet you may actually see one cleaning his home. They are also territorial, defending themselves from the other locals. These two however , were nowhere near this little guys hole! He kept trying to get back to his spot of beach to no avail. The Willet kept pushing him further and further from his home, with the crab frantically going from moving in a defensive posture, to just plan giving it his all. The bird made a few attempts to stab this little guy, but he always danced out of the way. Finally, the crab got far enough away that when the bird glanced in another direction he shot down a convenient escape hole.

I am certain that another battle ensued underneath the sand, after he popped into another crab's domain. I guess the crab choose the lesser of two evils, one above, the other below. We did not see him resurface, so we can only assume that he finally got away when the Willet vacated the beach head he had established.

"It takes Two to Tango" 15 x 30 Acrylic on canvas, Painting 6 of the 100 Days

Simply Sandy

             I want to call them Ghost crabs, my husband calls them sand crabs. They are fun to watch when they are bickering about their little territories. Shoving lots of sand and fighting with their claws! It is east=y to find them at night, during the day thay are very cagey about coming out of their holes. This little guy was so confused after he came out, running himself to exhaustion under an umbrella on the beach. Catching his breath and then running to find a hole in the sand. I only hope he did not run into another crab below!
 Simply Sandy Acrylic on canvas 8 x 8 deep edge. day 80 of the 100 Days

Ghost Crabs July 4th & 5th

These Guys are just plain fun to paint! This pair completes days 4 & 5 of the 100 days of painting. I talked with Shelby Jones who is another artist with me in Cathedral Square Gallery in Mobile, Alabama. I told him of my "project" a painting a day for 100 days. He looked at me like I had three heads. Why! he exclaimed. I told him I took this challenge to myself to become a better Painter. The painting a day is challenging not only in finding something you are excited about painting, but the act of creating itself. I asked him how much he had painted lately He said that he had not painted for almost a year. I would absolutely feel suffocated if I went that long without creating! His work is amazingly detailed and beautiful to look at. I invited him to come over to my home on Tuesday evenings because that is when I have an open Studio. The open Studio gives me a chance to interact with other artists as well as receive their input on my most recent works. I also teach at that time. My students love the studio, and I love the interaction! By the way, I have had several conversations with other artists and have come to the conclusion that I am very lucky indeed. I actually have a studio in which to work! So many artists work off of their dining room table, desks, or someplace else that they have to pack up every day they create. I just want to say, Thank you to my husband of 30 plus years for giving me such a marvelous gift!