All the chubby mermaids

Chubby Mermaids, Sea cows, or manatees.

How about all of the above!

I've heard them called by all of these names.

I've even had someone call them walrus!

Hint, no tusks....

This is another commission that I am working on.

This one is about the same size as their turtle they purchased.

The couple have requested two.

Manatees are their piece and an octopus that their sister missed out on at a show.

She came back to purchase it, but it was already sold.

They even grabbed a screenshot of the piece so they could ask for it to be recreated.

I am making it larger for her as I want everyone to have an original.

It will be an awesome Christmas present!

Another hint, if you like something at a show, ask the artist if you can put it on hold for an hour or so.

I typically do not take a deposit and only a phone number.

If someone comes in wanting something on hold, and the time is not up, I will call the person 

and give them first right of refusal.

But, a caveat, if you put it on hold and don't come back in time don't expect it to be there.

I had a guy ask how long it was on hold for and I told him until 3pm.

Promptly at 3 I was looking down at my logbook and then a voice said it's 3 o'clock as the money appeared under the brim of my hat.

"It's mine"

He happily tucked the work under his arm and walked away.

She showed up 15 minutes later...

Stomped her foot and said I knew it would be gone!

I really hate it when people are disappointed. 

Hence why we have a sign in my booth that says, "I should've bought it when I saw it."

Whenever someone hesitates to put something on hold, we point to the sign.

I do enjoy it when something catches ahold of people and gives them the joy of ownership.

It's just hard to make a decision sometimes.

I really understand....

What I've learned to explain to people is this. 

 That you are buying a piece of my life I cannot get back.

That part of my life is contained in that work of art.

So, you literally own a piece of me!

We started the day with church and then a delightful ride on our 'new to us' boat.

The boat is aluminum and had over 22 holes that had to be repaired.

Chris sanded and sanded, then painted it a beautiful blue.

He built a windshield very similar to the one on the boat I remembered in my teenage years.

While sitting on her today, I was facing the wake and the shape of it made this beautiful V that I remember so strongly.

I had many happy hours behind the boat while water skiing and also while holding the helm while my 

father skied as well. 

I drove a boat from about the age of 14.

I've also really begun the VBS build in earnest now.

I went to Goodwill to purchase a barstool to build the motorcycle on.

And a chair to make into a throne for the girls to have photos in.

Each year I attempt to have interactive works for photo opportunities, and this year will be no different.

It's going to be amazing.

At least that's what I'm seeing in my imagination.

Another day in the Raccoon Retreat Studio in beautiful Fairhope, Alabama.

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

All the chubby mermaids, Acrylic on wood, 24 inches

Day 6 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2026

 

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

 

Seahorses and Sirens

This is the completed seahorse dimensional painting.

It was an adventure to create and cut out the seahorse to fit.

This piece measures 15 inches.

I am still enjoying the works, just not able to post every day.

Last night I was just too tired to stay awake much past church.

It had been a long day of designing and tracing off pieces, then cutting them out to go on the rounds.

We then were off to the church for the breakdown of the Lost world.

It took eight hours to put into place.

Wednesday evening took two hours to break down.

The long neck and the tyrannosaurus rex have a home in children's church for the next two months.

Our pastor is also using 4 of the panels to decorate the stage along with two of the gates and sign.

Several of the plant decorations are being used as well.

The velociraptor and triceratops are going to the Daphne public library.

Unfortunately, the Pterodactyl had to go into the trash bin.

He was just too big and difficult to hang.

Excitement is already building for next year's Summer Surge.

This is the first year I've heard so much positive feedback from everything.

I've heard from both Pastors, their wives, and many parents.

I am amazed at what the Spirit allowed me to create.

Next year........

This one!

"Siren" is 14.5 inches and was interesting to paint.

You will have to see this one in person to really appreciate the detail and the cut-out portions.

The background was nearly a disaster as I forgot to paint it before gluing her down.

Fortunately, I was able to get my brush down into the back and make seaweed.

She is a lovely addition to the series.

More wonders to come!

Tomorrow is going to be a tough one!

It's a 24 inch piece, recycling an older octopus that I'm trying to salvage.

It's going to be pretty amazing.

Orinoco Flow

My artist friend Alfred from Zimbabwe actually named this one.

When he saw the photo he said it reminded him of the song Orinoco Flow by Enya.

It does have a sail away, sail away quality to the painting.

So much of a pleasure to create, it had it's problems.

When I began, painting, Chris said the Dolphin was too small.

I agreed and enlarged it by a full third.

I also enlarged the tail quite a bit.

I love how it flows together with the poured background.

I've been working on a commission piece for a collector that wants additional 

pieces to go with his shadowbox turtle.

It will be a spectacular work of art when they are all in place.

He has an original 24 x 24 and wants to add 2 12 x 12's , and 3 12 x 24's.

The reef pieces are coming along great, and the turtles are beautiful.

I will post them as soon as they are done.

The total artworks will measure 50 inches wide by 38 inches tall when complete.

Other than that happening in the studio....

We sold Gypsy Gal today.

She is going home to a delightful couple in North Alabama.

They are spending the night here, after a delicious meal and a hot shower.

We invited them to spend the night after a six hour trip turned into almost 9 because of traffic.

She is going to a great home, and I know she'll have many happy hours with them!

I look forward to seeing their adventures.

Orinoco Flow, Acrylic on Poured background, 20 x 20 inches

Day 96 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2019

Mystical Mermaid IV & V

Mystical Mermaids indeed!

Our day yesterday was rather hectic, so I was just too tired to post.

It started with us getting breakfast and walking the dogs for 30 minutes.

Once home, we kept pups inside and moved the van to the barn.

We flipped seats, made a cargo bed, added plastic from the roll around projects from Winn Dixie.

The large plastic sheets make it easier to slide the equipment into the van.

We put the shelf units in that we bought last year, making a raised platform for the tent, sides, and other show pieces into the van. 

We then moved the van to the front door, releasing the hounds after we shut the gates.

I moved on to bringing down the multiple bags of artworks into the living room and then outside.

We loaded the art into the van so that we still had space for more if needed.

We locked up the van and got lunch, Chris took a nap, while I painted the afternoon away.

At 4pm we went and picked up the packet for the show and I told them we would be setting up later.

After going home, I went back to the studio for a bit, and then got a shower.

At 6pm, Chris took me to church for a women's event.

It was a lovely time, and I hate that I missed the Worship portion.

At 8pm we headed to the show site, and just as we predicted most were gone and zipped up for the night.

We were able to leisurely set up, with our only issue being the darkness.

We put up the main artworks, then zipped down ourselves for some well deserved rest.

We got home just about 10pm and got showers again.

Bedtime was about 10:30.

I woke up at 1am then again at 4am. 

I gave up at that point.

It gave me a chance to read my Bible and other readings for today.

We headed down after breakfast and at dawn, to finish setting up before the show started at 10am.

Set up went smoothly, with us having fans to try and keep us cool.

The fans did not work so well in the cooling department.

Kinda hard to cool down almost 90 degrees!

It's September Lord, can't we have a little fall?

Apparently not.

The day wore on,

 with lots of people complimenting my work, 

telling me how gorgeous it is,

 how my prices are reasonable,

all this while the sweat trickles down my back.

I tried to keep upbeat as the afternoon moved on,

More people, 

more compliments,

me thanking people for coming into the booth,

me trying to engage folks in conversations.

I celebrate my neighbors having sales!

There are purchases being made!

Large paintings go down the walkway, under the arms of eager patrons.

Late afternoon, and the heat becomes more intense because the sun is beating down into the booth.

I move my chair as I don't relish a sunburn this weekend.

More people, except now all of the Alabama and Auburn fans have melted away to game day parties.

Everyone is eating ice cream, drinking cold drinks, iced coffees, lemonades and other things cold to drink.

I myself have downed several bottles of water, a bottle of tea, and a soft drink.

Meanwhile, I talk to folks coming in, trying to steer the conversations away from the heat.

Why do I tell you this so vividly?

I want you to know something that most artists keep a secret.

We are frustrated trying to figure out pricing, what to paint, how to paint, etc..

All the months of labor, lovingly packed and hung for people to see.

Booth fees, jury fees, and other expenses.

Today saw this woman have not ONE single sale.....

I have prayed this afternoon for others to have been more fortunate.

I found out at the artists reception that there were others not making anything either.

God always watches out for me, he watches out for you too!

We are to turn to him in times of trouble like this.

God is testing me for sure!

The heat, no sales make for one unhappy artist at times.

I ask God, what are you teaching me?

Patience.

Persistence.

Provision.

Lord I hear you!

He's got my back, and I know he's got yours too!

Happy swimming!

Mystical Mermaids IV & V, Acrylic on poured background, each 4x12 inches

Days 88 and 89 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2019

Mystical Mermaid III

Mystical Mermaids continue!

Today finds the backside of one swimming away!

I really enjoy painting these.

What I don't enjoy is conflict.

I posted something that two people disagree with 

on a popular website.

Your first guess on the website is probably right!

Anyway, I seem to have ruffled feathers with the Global Warming post about Greta. 

For the record, I believe we need to do something, 

anything to help out our planet.

Yes the United States is working on it, but we could still do more.

Yes Children today grow up differently from how we did.

We grew up drastically different from our parents and grandparents!

We are slowly but surely destroying our planet with our garbage, chemicals, and lack of sound conservation practices.

On the other counts, I guess I'll have to respectfully disagree!

I am ready for the show this weekend.

I hope to see some of you there, even if just to look!

Mystical Mermaid III, Acrylic on poured background, 4 x 12 inches

Day 87 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2019

Mystical Mermaid II

The mermaids are just plain fun!

This one is primarily orange and coral with turquoise accents.

Another one based on vintage photos!

Today found the studio absolutely covered in paintings all over my large table.

Today was varnishing day!

When I get to this point, I know I'm close to a show.

There are still several paintings to create because we have not even begun shows yet.

There are also galleries to swap out artworks with on a regular basis.

I try to keep my works fresh and clean, sometimes even painting over them in an effort to sell them.

Painting over them usually works too!

After varnishing, we left to get lunch and some lumber for a project Chris is working on for a friend.

I stopped in at Hobby Lobby and purchased another roll of canvas.

 I have 6 more shadowboxes to stretch, made with the Restore stretchers we got for free.

Chris combined two together, then built the central box from wood in the shop.

The edges of the 24's are more rounded while the 27's have a larger opening in the middle.

Once stretched, I will need to paint them white.

Hopefully I'll sell enough this weekend to buy a gallon of white Liquitex acrylic from Dick Blick.

Hopefully I'll pay myself back some booth fees as well!

Coming back home after lunch, the varnishing from this morning was dry. 

I spent the next couple of hours putting hangers and wires on them.

There are several bags of already packed paintings ready to go now!

The first show will be beautiful, with lots of color in addition to the sepias on white. 

We will probably bring the pop up tent, because the weather is supposed to be nice.

THAT will make Chris really happy!

Lot easier to set up and break down, but it is a fair weather tent!

Ah Show season!

I LOVE IT!

Mystical Mermaid II, Acrylic on poured background, 4x12 inches

Day 86 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2019

Mythical Mermaid I

I hope you are not tired of mermaids!

I started a series of 5 mermaids on the poured backgrounds.

These are small originals created just for fun.

They are just lovely on their watery sea like canvases.

I look forward to the rest of them.

Today was a busy day for both of us!

Chris started his day by going to men's coffee while I did my bible readings for the day.

When he came home, we were supposed to go look for a campground 

to stay at during the shrimp festival in October.

What he didn't know was I had been on the computer and phone, searching for a campsite.

By the time he arrived, I had information about a place we stayed at 

years ago that we are going to give a try again.

This campground had seen better days the last time we came by, but the reviews seem positive.

Here's hoping we end up a winner, and not a dud!

Any way, as excited as I was about the campsite, he was more excited about something we had seen behind our local grocery store. 

The store has been renovating for weeks now, and some of their store displays were out back.

Chris had checked and they had signs on them "free".

He called just to be sure, and off we went.

These displays were made in the USA, and were built to withstand heavy produce.

They were used of course, but we could see value in them.

At first, Chris just wanted one for the shop.

We decided to take a chance and bring them all home.

It took both of us to dismantle them, and three truckloads to bring them home.

There were a total of 5 of them, 2 square 40 x 40 inches and 

3 larger ones with a drawer each measuring 30 x 48.

When we got them all home, we started calling friends.

3 of them have already found homes in other men's shops!

One will become a table, two others will be roll around tables.

The other two, Chris has already cut down one and added a lower shelf.

He then put the tabletop from a project for our Pastor on top. 

Now we have a very nice work surface that rolls into places we need it.

I will be using it tomorrow myself to put my belt sander on.

I will be sanding the slats pulled from two of the tables for our combined 

scarecrow/snowmen project in my Scripts & Strokes class.

We have one left, they are so nice I'm sure I won't have to do much convincing 

to get it in our shop space together!

We also went to out local Hobby lobby and purchased new brushes for Scripts & Strokes.

Yea new brushes! We had lunch, and I went to the dentist for the first time in two years.

We've really got to get dental insurance.  

But, no cavities ma!

Such is life here in Fairhope, getting ready for another show season, painting, projects,

and anything else life throws at us!

Mythical Mermaid I, Acrylic on poured background, 4x12 inches

Day 85 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2019 

I'm taking an "off" day!

Well!

As promised I am posting the other side of creativity around here.

This was obviously Una Lou's birthday party held today.

I left the house at about 8:15, grabbed a bite to eat, then headed for the party venue in Mobile.

When I arrived, my daughter was not there, but I dove into bringing in the panels and setting them up because we were using them as a base for the decorations.

I used fishing line to secure them to the poles and zip ties to hook them together top and bottom.

By then Jessica arrived and the fun began!

She had the fabrics for draping, the coral pieces, the large padded shell, (pictured above) 

and the clam shell throne.

I moved on to assembling the throne, because it involved more zip ties, wood pieces 

and then the cardboard shell.

I then draped it with fabric, pulling it up into the assembly to make poofs 

at the edge where the base met the shell.

I then continued draping the present table, making a large shell, and bow from fabric.

So fun!

I built the padded shell this week, engineered and assembled the throne, and Jessica's dad cut the pool noodles into coral pieces and parts.

Truly a family affair.

Meanwhile, Jessica and Jordan went to become mermaids for the party.

I got a call a few minutes later.

Mom I need help with costumes!

I went to the apartment where they were getting ready and proceeded to basically assemble their costumes using dozens of  safety pins.

It went against every bone in my body to pin, but there was no time to sew.

I literally was pinning the costumes while they were putting on makeup.

Everything held during the party, and no mermaids were harmed in the process.

My beautiful daughter makes me feel young and energetic!

So fun!

The color palette was precious and pretty too.

The coral reefs were made in Baking pans, using pool noodles, mini cupcake papers, real shells, grasses, styrofoam balls, skewers, spray foam and paint. Painted with spray paint and glitter of course! 

They were weighted down with cups of water!

The birthday girl in her throne.

The shrimp are from when I did the Mystic Mutts parade as a mermaid.

This is the shrimps third go round!

The sea turtle is a costume that Jessica and I built that actually went to 

New Zealand for the World of Wearable Art competition about 10 years ago. 

The shell is on a backpack, the costume is black light reactive, and the head is a bicycle helmet!

An adult wears the costume on top of a full body suit and the flippers are 

moved with dowels that attach to them.

It was wonderful to see Myrtle the Turtle out of the box again!

After I got home, I crashed in my pool after I cleaned it!

However, the nap I wanted never showed up, and the hot bath I wanted was tepid.

We then took the rottens, (dachshunds) for their evening ride.

After dropping them off at the house, we picked up a chicken and sides from the store.

After dinner, I cut up the box of mat board scraps I got from the artist's studio yesterday.

I now have a large amount of 5x7s, 8x10s, and most importantly, 11x14s!

The rest will be recycled.

I love working so hard with my daughter in creative chaos.

Our lives are so unimaginably crazy, and I wouldn't take anything for them!

So, I hope you don't mind if I take an "off" day!

"Off" Day, Day 68 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2019 

Multiple mermaids

Multiple mermaids is another bit of a series.

All nine of them are painted on top of poured paint backgrounds.

I have learned a lot about pouring in the past few days. 

It really is a satisfying process, and the backgrounds you get are so beautiful.

Some of them are not so pretty though and I may have to pour over them.

All a part of learning I guess. 

Anyway I have learned the process, 

and I am now ready to help my friend next week to make her own.

She will be using them as backgrounds as well.

As artists we are given several special gifts.

God wants us to enjoy them and it is only right for us to share them with others.

Tomorrow is another day.

I will of course be in the studio!

I once read where it takes 10,00 hours to become a master of something.

I'm still working on my "Master".

 I figure I'm up to about 7,000 hours so far!

Multiple mermaids, Acrylic on canvas, each canvas is 4x4 inches

Days 52 & 53 (and some of the ones missed while in Africa!)

!00 days~100 paintings 2019

Siren, or Mermaid?

Siren or Mermaid?

The question lingers, but I am certain she is a mermaid. 

You see, Sirens were so beautiful, and sang so well

 that they lured sailors to their deaths upon the rocks.

Sirens also are not really female in form though, 

in Greek mythology they were depicted as beautiful birds.

Can you imagine a beautiful bird encouraging you to dash your ship onto the rocks?

I imagine sailors saw lots of things on the ocean that really were not there. The mermaid depicted here is actually painted on a canvas that we placed into the paint left over on the table. 

I really like the effect!

I also experimented today some more with the "pours". 

I fashioned a tray out of cardboard and plastic bags. 

I managed to research the proper way to do the pours as well. 

Turns out the  glue is unnecessary and is also acidic over time.

Since I am concerned about longevity and archival, glue is out!

So is the Silicon oil.

Or any oil for that matter. They leave a residue and the paints may not properly stick over time.

So After reading several blog posts, listening to very good and very bad you tube videos, I finally settled on my process to use. I am still using the Floetrol, but in a 1 Floetrol to 1 Paint ratio. 

Then, I am adding 91% alcohol as my thinner. 

I also discovered a kind of formula for figuring the amount of paint needed for a project. One of the artists I listened to said to prepare 1 ounce of mixture for each 16 square inches. So a 16 x 20 canvas is a total of 320 square inches. Divided by 16, I needed 20 ounces of mixture for the project. (I mixed 4 ounces of 6 different colors, giving me 24 ounces total.)

After mixing up several colors of paint, 6 to be exact, I was ready for my first solo pour.

I laid out a 16 x 20 canvas with two 12 x 12 canvases underneath in an effort to catch the paint dripping off the edges. I also placed four 4x4 canvases along the edge. 

Tilting and gloves helped the paint along the edges.

All the canvases have some beautiful effects, some more then others.

I am looking forward to adding my paintings on top of them.

Things are going great here in the studio, I just need to be in here more!

Siren or Mermaid? Acrylic pour with painting, 16 x 20

Day 50 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2019

Queen of the Sea

          Queen of the Sea is a beautiful reminder of the upcoming Fall Show Season for me on the coast. I have been fortunate enough to be this years winner of the National Shrimp Festival poster contest. Queen reminds me of the poster because this year, the artwork features mermaids as well as shrimp. The festival is a large outdoor show put on by the Gulf Coast Chamber in Gulf Shores, Al  It  is held in mid-October and features artists from all over the country. I already have my acceptance letter in hand for the show, so my booth is scheduled to be there.  This will mark my 7th year having a space and I am more excited than ever to be part of this annual event.

          Things are really speeding up this summer. I cannot believe it is already July, much less after the 4th! Time is a precious commodity for me now as it does not seem to slow down or be enough on hand. Before I know it, the fall will be here with Jubilee Festival (Sept) Daphne, Grand Festival (1st weekend in Oct) Fairhope, Al, National Shrimp Festival (2nd weekend in Oct) Gulf Shores, Al, and Peter Anderson (1st weekend in Nov) Ocean Springs, Ms. More shows may be added as the weeks go by! I love living here on the coast.....The sea takes me back to being me!

Queen of the Sea, Watercolor on paper, 12 x 30