Comfort and Light

Honey Gold
4"x4" acrylic on hardboard panel
collection of Victor Papadopoulos

Named for the color of the tea :) Have you ever noticed that the teabag casts a shadow along the bottom of the cup? And it catches the light in the strangest ways... beautiful. Beauty in the smallest things, in colors and light. Content tonight.

Thank God and Greyhound

Hydrangea - Still Waters

8"x10" acrylic on hardboard panel
collection of Linda Grote

Crazy complicated piece that is finally done :D I definately want to do more like this, too- putting the reflection and the shadows together is wonderful, and then looking up through the hydrangea blossom, the undersides of the petals like stained glass the colors of springtime.... happy.

Have to admit, my worshipful stalking of M Collier's blog is what led up to me painting a hydrangea blossom at all- kind of scary to think about painting anything with that many pieces, you know?- but I'm glad I worked up the nerve, now ;) yay!

Other than that... I'm a blank, it's Monday night. Happy to be at peace, and at home.

#273

Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition

Stacked Teacups

6"x8" acrylic on canvasboard

collection of Breedlove Publications

Happy with how this one turned out- back to the all of the colors in white thing, lots of fun. And the sparkly little points of light all around the handles. You notice the darndest things once you start painting, seriously- I was initially attracted to this because of those strips of diffuse light echoing up from between the cups, and the nice repetitive pattern of the handles.

#272

I want a fishbowl now... and a pony :)

for the September Virtual Sketch Date - nfs
9"x12" acrylic and dry media on toned paper

The rule I set for myself here was that I couldn't break out my little brushes- whatever I wanted to show, I needed to use a respectable sized filbert, or the charcoal/white pastel. It was fun :) And it was a beautiful picture to work from, too.

Got to thinking about some more things I need to play with, too- the way everything is inverted through the glass, for instance, is that because it's a round vase? What would it look like halfway full? And din't I see something similar for cheap at AC Moore, and can I pretty please justify stopping there sometime soon and getting one? LOL

Anywho, IF my internet ever starts working well enough to upload this image.... for everyone who's not familiar with my relationship with my internet carrier, CLEARWIRE SUCKS.... then you can see the pretty picture. Otherwise, check out everyone else's wonderful sketches with this same reference photo at Virtual Sketch Date (that's a link, click on it) and definately join in next month- I love this whole thing!

#271

Rainbows in Teacups

Hover
5"x7" acrylic on hardboard panel
collection of Sherry Harris

Another teacup suspension! New teacup, beautiful little thing... painting's good to take your mind off things, once you get removed from them just a little bit... and the colors came out wonderfully on this. I'm sure I should try some limited-palatte exercises, simply to avoid becoming toooo dependent on all the pretty shiny saturated colors... maybe another night.

#270

Just can't paint worth anything today....

Hydrangea

Work in Progress- not for sale at this time
8"x10" acrylic on hardboard panel

So I'm posting a WIP pic from yesterday. Something about hospital visits just kills my creative abilities. A friend of ours oldest son- he's eight, it's just not fair- has lymphoma. It was gone, now it's back again.... tests tomorrow, then treatment. So we were down at the hospital, visiting and offering moral support. I'll probably be back Saturday with a few more toys and some random groceries :) Pray for him? Thanks...

#269

Giving in to their charms once more...

Fairytale Eggplant Sketch - not for sale
acrylic and dry media on toned paper

Eggplants. Why does something that has the taste and texture of squash-shaped tofu have to be so perfectly, gorgeously irresistable? It's so unfair.

Posting a little early today, going to go take part in a crit session at the Durham Art Guild this evening- really looking forward to that. Still need to decide which pieces I'm taking....

#268

Coffee, blue, and white...

Morning Light

4"x4" acrylic on hardboard panel

private collection

Absolutely thrilled with this one :D It's so tiny, but I got completely ocd on catching the reflections in the surface of the cup, and with the light coming towards you the ways it is I feel like I caught this glow, really held the shininess (shinyness? no, that doesn't look right...) of the cup and saucer....

Anywho. Hope you like it too!

#267

PS- almost forgot to mention it, but I got progress pics of Black and Gold up on Moment by Moment, finally! it's http://kellie-hill.blogspot.com

Pretty pretty blues...

Hydrangea Sketch- not for sale

acrylic and dry media on toned paper

Having an inordinate amount of fun with these sketch-paintings. Charcoal is wonderful stuff... and pthalo blue, I swear, if I wasn't already married.... har-de-har-har. Something "for real" tomorrow night, don't worry :) Thinking a little 4x4 with last night's coffee cup...

Fun with the glass- it's a bistro shot glass, whatever the devil that is- and fun with the general shapes of the whole hydrangea thing, without totally losing my mind on all the details... like I am on the piece I was mostly working on today. Dude. Got these hydrangeas at whole foods, and now I'm losing my mind, I guess. Can't wait to show that one to you :D No, no sneak peaks.

Goodnight!

More coffee- some like it black :)

Coffee Sketch- not for sale

acrylic and dry media on toned paper

Figured I'd try out the learning curve on my other new coffee cup :) Isn't it so awesome?!? And I love how the light reflected off of the spoon onto the side of the cup is so bright and diffuse... happy tonight. And looking forward to whatever I end up painting tomorrow- that's always a good place to be, isn't it?

#265

Yay, Saturday!

Parallels

5"x7" acrylic on hardboard panel
collection of Emily Weinstein

There! I knew it'd be better the second time around :) Got the translucency of the cup, the reflection of the spoon in its side... the coffee, rich and black in the centers, all burnt orange and gold along the edges....

It all ends up being about seeing through something versus seeing the surface and what's on it, isn't it? Yeah, got some reernce shots of a gorgeous hydrangea blossom in a shallow bowl of water.... now that will be a serious challenge with the seeing through versus seeing the reflections on the surface of :) It's such a beautiful set of images, such a beautiful idea... hopefully I can do it justice :)

#264

Sleepy Friday night....

teacup suspension sketch

not for sale

Well, there's a learning curve with any new toy... object... whatever. Got these amazing, translucent white milk-glass teacups, and now the challenge is figuring out how best to portray them.... hm. Another attempt tomorrow night :)

Also got an amazing coffee cup and saucer set, white with blue stripes, kind of chunky... solid looking, you know? Very friendly. Looking forward to that one too, yay!

#263

Shoes and ships and sealing wax....

Black and Gold

8"x10" acrylic on hardboard panel

collection of Linda H Grote

Cabbages and Kings! No, no idea why I've got that in my head, but it's fun anyways. Better than wandering around singing "I'm a little teapot", which is what I seem to do about half the time. Or the Sesame Street song, that's a classic as well :)

This one, well, let's just say I seem to be working up the nerve to tackle some seriously intimidating subjects, lately. This is a wonderful black Elizabethan sort of teacup and matching saucer with little designs in gold all over it- they totally disappear in the deep shadows, show up in irregular and interesting ways through the midtones, and catch the light brilliantly where they can. They also turn pink where they're reflecting a particularly pretty flower.... fickle things...

Isn't really a daily, to be honest, a little too big and I spent too much time on it for it to fit into that catagory... but I'm listing it as one anyways, just because. Love you guys- happy Friday tomorrow!

Littlest of Bitties :)

Slanting Shadows

4"x4" acrylic on hardboard panel
private collection

A little worried about myself lately- wondering if this manic obsession with all things teacuppy is entirely healthy :D They're just so pretty, I can't help myself... ok, that statement alone should scare me, I'm sure. Hehe.

Really enjoying the shadow on this one- maybe all the more so because I cut it off so closely. Isn't it amazing how the shadow of the handle falls on the saucer, and then on the table, keeping its shape and that wonderful sense of continuity? Fun.

#261

Under the Boardwalk

Sunrise Seashore

6"x8" acrylic on canvasboard

collection of William Portalatin

Cool and rainy today, more beginnings of fall. I'm in denial, revisiting Emerald Isle, hearing the soft sweep of the waves on the sand and watching the sun come up. A warm, constant breeze coming in, and the early sunlight brightening the edges of everything it touches, and dancing a pale streak down the waves and damp sand. I love it.

#260

Freakin finally....

Pink and Grey - nfs
5"x7" acrylic on hardboard panel

Took forever to upload, but I guess that's ok- I'll forgive clearwire, but only because I was preoccupied with texting through all my failed attempts to get an image plugged into this post. I love texting with a full keyboard phone, it's awesome :) Had a crazy time on the glass here, there's a lot going on, but it really feels like glass and all the distortions that come with it, and I'm proud of that.

Other than that, hm... nothing excting. I was planning on being in bed already, so I'm taking a shower and getting to sleep. Honey's snores are echoing out here, calling to me.

admitting it may be autumn

Autumn Light

12"x12" acrylic on hardboard panel

not for sale at this time

Zinnias usually come in the farmers market towards the end of summer.... well, it is September, after all. And then this teapot- I bought it a while ago, just couldn't resist, but I've been terrified of it thus far- this piece just felt right, you know? Came together.

Love how the water distorts the petals, and then the flawlessly thin, delicate glass, all those shapes made by the beautiful teapot form.... *happy sigh*

a very merry saturday

Sketches tonight, because they're quicker than proper paintings and I'm totally obsessing over this big (good lord, did I just refer to a 12"x12" piece as big?!?) gorgeous piece that I have some seriously high hopes for.... crossing my fingers it'll come through and I can share it after a long day tomorrow :)

Haha, now I've given you a reason to come back! Love you all, and I'm going to try and go ahead and get this posted before it's officially tomorrow.... and then I need some sleep....

Emerald Isle evening

"Sunset Stroll"

5"x7" acrylic on canvasboard

collection of James Ribet

I got to thinking, with wanting to do something from the beach, my paintings are usually very intimate, aren't they? Close up on something small, a teacup, a flower....

So I wanted to bring that whole compulsive attention to color thing to bear on something where I'm trying to fit something amazing and spacious and atmospheric into a little 5"x7" space, and after an alarming amount of time and glazing and seriously unexpected color combinations, I really think I got it. And now, there's a tiny couple strolling on the beach at sunset, right there at the edge of the surf, with an early moon above them.

Too kitschy? Ugh, I hope not... it was so much fun trying to get the gradations right, you know? And I put all the houses there on the beach and everything.... oh, well. Pretty. And now I'm returning to the comfort of my strawberry margarita. Happy Friday!

#256

Red, red wine

Crimson

5"x7" acrylic on canvasboard

private collection

Oh for crying out loud, it's way too late for me to have just spent that long trying a thousand and one times to upload a simple image! Argh!

On the other hand, pretty, right? Red roses can be such beasts, you know, so velvety-matte, such intense colors, but when it does come together.... from that last trip to Duke Gardens, actually referencing the last picture I took on that trip- my memory card was full, but on the way out I saw this and just had to have it, so I deleted one of my waterlily pics for it. Hehe- well, everything has a story, right? Oh, well- goodnight!

Something different tonight

Sunfire (Oleander)

9"x12" acrylic on cradled hardboard panel

contact me at kelliemarianhill@yahoo.com for purchase information

From going down to the beach recently- the sun shining so bright and strong through the waving clusters of oleander blossoms, the shadows upon shadows coming through the leaves.... I can almost smell the salt in the air, feel the sunlight on my face.

I'll have to try something with all the pictures I took of the ocean, too, I absolutely love the beach but painting it is such a challenge :) Looking forward to it. Got some amazing references for some skyscapes today and yesterday, too, there's been some clouds coming through on these storms that you wouldn't believe. So much to look forward to- don't you just love those spells where you're just feeling overwhelmed by all of the things you want to paint? Good sort of overwhelmed, you know?

Anywho. I'm going over to Moment by Moment to try and post some progress pics for this one. If my Clearwire internet signal is actually strong enough to let me upload the images, they'll be up shortly!

#254

A good year for the roses.

White Rose

6"x6" acrylic on hardboard panel

collection of Reynolds and Sunny Maxwell

So, so much fun to do. Inspired by my most recent trip to Duke Gardens, and by M Collier's most recent post, which started me thinking about how much fun a white rose would be to paint.... I set the challenge for myself of managing it entirely in phthalo blue, permanent violet dark, indian yellow, and white- yes, even the background- and I think it contributed a lot to the unity of the piece, and to the overall luminescence- I had to resort to layers and layers of the thinnest glazes just to make sure it wasn't horribly discordant!

But it came together really well, and I thank my lucky stars I live in the age of easy, digital photography, where a picture can reinforace a sketch and a memory and reassure you that yes, that unexpected shadow really is in the right place and yes, white really is that white, but only in those specific little areas....

Happy tonight. Hope you are too :)

#253

Getting your shots

Tequila and Lime

6"x8" acrylic on canvasboard

collection of Claire de la Vaue

Back to the alcohol, yay! And yes, I did take the shot. Chased it with a sip of gin and tonic and a dove dark chocolate :) Turned the glass a little more towards me this time, and made it a little more upright, and, obviously, added the slice of lime. It's got a really nice glow to it, actually. Very pretty. And the weird curvies where the lips of the shot glass intersect your view of the lime slice, those are a real treasure- they just add so much to it, you know?

I think it'd be fun to try something similar, except where the liquid in the glass makes it so you see the object through on the wrong side of the glass... could be really fun. Not sure what yet, though.... hm.

Sweet Summertime

Waterlily

6"x6" acrylic on hardboard panel

collection of Kim Roblin

Back to Duke Gardens again today, and thoroughly enjoyed walking around and just being. Beautiful day, beautiful place. The lily pond was amazingly still, a flat, pale slate blue that held the most perfect violet reflections... and besides, I love waterlilies.

#251

Scent of Summer

Gardenia Suspension

16"x20" acrylic on cradled hardboard panel

available through the Distinct Appointments Gallery

I think Payne's Grey is my favorite color. I don't know, I just keep coming back to it... soft, cool, not to intense. Nice, you know? And there's something of that in this whole piece, that coolness, stillness.... maybe a little bit surreal, I mean it totally came out of my head the way the background gets darker by the flowers, but I really wanted to make them stand out all strong, creamy, porcelain perfection. *happy sigh*

More Marbles

Marbles #5

4"x4" acrylic on hardboard panel
collection of Lynn Fontana

Love these little guys. Oh, and I put up progress pics of Marble Shots, the larger suspension from a couple of days ago, over on Moment by Moment. Check them out!

That last sip

Blue Dawn
6"x6" acrylic on hardboard panel
collection of Sherry Harris

Teacups are wonderful things, aren't they? Beautiful shapes, colors, highlights... gold trim everywhere... and the pretty, translucent, auburn liquid in the bottom of the cup. Happy.

Other than that? Thursday! Thursday is happy too :) Means tomorrow is Friday. Have to get a couple of pieces ready for this weekend, too, there's a juried show at the Arts Guild I want to get in and I've got three pieces almost ready for it. Wish me luck!

#248

Something a little bigger tonight.

Marble Shots

12"x12" acrylic on cradled hardboard panel

collection of Natasha Marcuard

Wow, wasn't sure I'd be able to post tonight! And why is that, boys and girls? Oh, yeah- because Clearwire sucks! Soooo looking forward to getting a reliable internet provider when the year turns over and my contract is up. When it takes you a full dozen tries to upload an image after you drop it to 5"x5" and 72 dpi, well, then, it's no longer a matter of "Mrs. Hill, it's just that's you're trying to upload too large an image." Sorry. It's that you ought to be accused of false advertising for calling your stuff "high speed".

Ok, I'll be good, no more diatribe tonight. Pretty picture! Pretty picture that drove me completely insane, the whole thing with glass spheres inside of glass shot glasses... crazy :)

*Tried again a few days later, and got a decent sized image up. Yay!

Color Magic

Breathless
6"x6" acrylic on hardboard panel
collection of Sherry Harris

Wow. This is that little demitasse cup again- my new best friend, apparently- I decided to play up the gold on it this time and really go in for all of the colors. Also tried to give it a bit of a glow by lightening the black background just there around the cup, and a little around the string... just wow. Sometimes they just paint themselves, you know?

Used almost no true white till the very end, and mostly Indian Yellow for the gold again, but the rest is a lot of colors, all scrumbled and glazed together for harmony... let's see, mostly my favorite combination of Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold and Quinacridone Burnt Orange, with the shadowing mostly Anthraquinone Blue, and some of a new-to-me color, a nice soft green, Terre Verte Hue.

#246

More alcohol in suspension

Wineglass

6"x8" acrylic on canvasboard

collection of Deborah Ross

So, so tired tonight, and I'm useless when I'm tired, so I should probably avoid the whole typing thing- I'll just end up confusing myself :) tomorrow morning comes early, you know? And it's been a beautiful day...

Field Trip to the Natural History Museum

Not really a field trip, of course, but I thought I'd share. It was actually really cool, and I'm definately planning on doing it again. Maybe the Museum of Life and Science next time, it's a lot closer, and I'll catch the Natural History thing again next time I'm in Raleigh buying art supplies or something.

That happens about once a month. There's something messed up about being so conscious of your gas usage that you plan to make a 45 mile round trip only once a month... but I guess it's a good sort of messed up, yeah? Now if I could just get a scooter for all of my around-town driving.... I would do the bike thing but there aren't enough bike paths yet and I am not one of those inconsiderate dingbat cyclists who think they have a right to ride out in the middle of everything and force cars to choose between going 10 miles an hour or risking a head on collision. I would happily run over every one of hose individuals and never even pause, but I think that might, um, have some negative legal repercussions.

Happy Sunday night! And a happier Sunday night to all of you lucky souls who actually have Labor Day off!

Virtual Sketch Date

and the tale of the decorative cabbage :) It's been a month already! Kinda scary, huh? Yeah, I think so too. Had no idea what to do with the image we were working from, tried a couple things and just couldn't get it rolling, but I went to the Natural History Museum in Raleigh today and stood around like a dork sketching dinosaur skeletons in graphite and white pastel on tinted paper, so I decided to keep rolling with a good thing. Hope you like it!

And now, well, I'm off to play. It's labor day weekend!

Demitasse

Espresso and Gold

4"x4" acrylic on hardboard panel

collection of Victor Papadopoulos

Had so, so much fun with the reflections on this one. Started another suspension, a glass of wine, but it's getting posted another night- this one was just awesome to do with it's really close crop and the weirdness of the gold trim, and all the wonderful colors that happen, as always, in white china. Awesome.

Went to Tylers for a bit too. If you're ever in Durham, give it a shot- over at American Tobacco downtown, they've got the cute little outdoor tables that are awesome, and then the resturant inside, and the bar around back with the pool tables and everything.... and they have fried pickles. How can you argue with that?

#242

Tequila Sunrise

Tequila Suspension

6x8 acrylic on canvasboard

collection of Natasha Marcuard

Bit of a replay here- my first post on this blog, January 1st, was one tequila shot :) I love this one! The suspension thing is great :) I think my setups are getting a bit more... elaborate... as time goes by, you know? A shot glass tied to my lamp with some dental floss, silk hung in the background to diffuse the light...

Anyways, had fun with the pale greyed gold background, the graceful curves of the thread, and the actual tequila itself is just amazing, the refracted lights make for so, so many wonderful curves and little points of lights.... very happy.

Portrait today

Joshua - 8x10 mixed media on hardboard panel

I put up some progress pics over at Moment by Moment, if you want to go check them out :) It's totally politically incorrect to portray him smoking, I'm sure, but it was just such a wonderful, expressive motion, you know? Something I enjoy. And it was fun painting his face all scrunched up and boyish like that. Goodnight, Wednesday!

#240

Fruit with Personality

Dancing Figs
4"x4" acrylic on hardboard panel
NFS

Well, I've seen some artists who do beautiful, beautiful paintings of pears, and will go on about how much personality they have, but I have to say that figs seem just as human to me :) This pair is dancing, and I had a wonderful time capturing all of the unexpected colors and little ridges.

#239

Nude, just Awakened

"Awakened"

8"x10" mixed media on hardboard panel

Happy! I got permission from PhotoScot at Deviant Art to use one of his beautiful pictures of Betcee May for reference, and I'm thrilled with how this turned out- the richness of the shadows, that wonderful little half smile, the playfulness in her eyes, the tumultuous fall of her hair... and the subtlety of the colors, I'm very proud of that too. Such a beautiful inspiration.... happy Monday, everyone!

Primary Colors

Primaries

4"x4" acrylic on hardboard panel

collection of Lynn Fontana

This one was the most difficult- I suppose it makes sense that it was the most satisfying, in its own way. Swirls within marbles are so graceful, and the distortion from the glass surrounding them only adds to that effect, so it was certainly something that required a lot of observation :) I'm happy with the end result, though.

#237

Reflection and Refraction

Reflections

4"x4" acrylic on hardboard panel

collection of Lynn Fontana

See the marbles reflected in the curved surface of the two marbles towards the back? And the way you can see two of the marbles turned upside down through the foremost marble? So proud of that, along with the light shining through them and on them and all around.... happy. They're a delightful subject, yes?

#236

Four Marbles

Four Marbles
4"x4" arylic on hardboard panel
collection of Deb Keller

More happy little marbles. So proud of the highlights on the bubbles imbedded in the glass, and the delicate, graceful swirlies. Happy.




#235

Losing my Marbles

Three Marbles
4"x4" acrylic on hardboard panel
collection of Lynn Fontana

My first time painting marbles, and I love them! Adorably small, and the light comes through them so wonderfully.... and then in the little super-dark purple one, there's the reflection of the greenish marble with the swirly in it. Trying showing detail shots for the first time, too. Happy.

I discovered that the slightly greenish ones I have are pretty close to turquis, and the golden one is mostly quinacridone gold and quinacridone burnt orange.

Pussy Cat

Just some doodling- pretty little kitty, isn't she? Halfway through the week, everybody!

#233

Pepper curlique

I want my camera back. I'll get a decent image of this up tomorrow night, hopefully. As it stands- part of the Cutest Veggies Ever series, apparently. Most wonderful little curlique of a red pepper I just had to get from the farmer's market. Enjoy!

*I did post a new pic. Scan, actually.

Eating your Vegetables

Let me introduce you to the Cutest Eggplant Ever! It's a little roundish one, with the pale pink and white areas where the cap protected the actual eggplant part, and a gently variegated purple elsewhere. Eggplant is one of those things that's just so pretty I feel like I ought to really like it, you know? Weird, but true. And practice must make perfect, because I'm actually getting better at cooking with it.

Happy Monday, everyone :)

#232

Stargazer Lily

Stargazer Lily
6"x8" acrylic on canvasboard
collection of Catherine Ziehl

Another fuzzy pic. Yep, definately reposting tomorrow. Forgive me?

This is from my most recent trip to Duke Gardens, and turned out very pretty, if I do say so myself :) Thank goodness for the ability to take reference pics, though, because this was a delight to paint but I can't abide lilies as a general rule- they look beautiful, but smell like a funeral to me.

Aren't I cheerful tonight? Oh, well- lame it on being almost-Monday. Goodnight everyone!

#231

*I did post another image.

Waterlilies

Waterlilies
6"x12" mixed media on hardboard panel
available through the Distinct Appointments Gallery

Wow, this camera takes such dark, fuzzy images.... still, this is a painting I'm enormously proud of. I'll post again with a decent pic once I get a chance to take one with the sun on this side of the earth... The flowers are the most wonderful color, and you can almost feel the water pooling on some of the leaves.... *happy sigh*

#230

*I did upload a new image. It's a bit better.