The last Japanese Magnolia this year.

"Japanese Magnolia"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD


We're going to lose them all tonight, in a hard frost- they're such sensitive, fragile flowers. But they're so beautiful, wonderfully rich... I had such fun with the petals on this one. It's been a good day, and I'm happy- hope you are too!


Post #60

Back to the beauty of Spring

"Redbud"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

I've been wanting to do some flowers in this wonderful little mug, but the daffodils just wound not cooperate. And since the redbud were so beautiful and delicately intense, I tried something else different, with the warm wall behind them and everything smaller and a little more towards eye level. I hope you like it! Isn't the reflection of the flowers on the table, there in the side of the mug, isn't that just wonderful? I love seeing little things like that in life.

Post #59

A drink for a cold February day

"The Last Sip"

8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas

NFS

I'm enormously proud of myself with this one- these daily paintings are such a source of joy, and they are such constant teachers! This is the very last of a scotch on the rocks, distorted through the thick, faceted glass, and I love it! A vice a day lately, hm? That's okay- the redbud trees are out now, so I think that's on the agenda for tomorrow.

Post #58

Something old, something new

"Gin and Tonic"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

I don't know why, but as I sat down to do this post, it's like all the words just flew right out of my head. I had a couple of requests for another Gin and Tonic, and since I do love requests and they're a wonderful thing... here we go! I really love this one- practice is definitely helping my lime slices, and the bubbles trailing up the inside of the glass are just so much fun to do. You guys have a wonderful night!


Post #57

Starfruit

"Starfruit"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
NFS

Wonderful, wonderful colors- and another "what was I thinking?" moment. You don't have any preset formule for how a starfruit is supposed to look, really, which is a good thing. But it's also a really odd shape, and very translucent, which is difficult for me. Still, it came together with the details, and it's always good when we challenge ourselves, right?

I really love the light peeking under that top slice, where you expect there to be shadow, and the delicate brown edges where you can see how it sat under the lights- it's such a delicate fruit, really beutiful. And delicious.

"Escape" 16"x20" mixed media on canvas

Post #56

Bright Sunshiny Day

"Bright Sunshiny Day"
6"x6" acrylic on stretched canvas

SOLD

Today I was mulling over what to paint for my daily- pears, starfruit, that other gin and tonic that I'm planning to do.... and these caught my eye and were just irresistable. They're my husband's Raybans, my mother gave them to him for Christmas a couple of years ago and they've hardly left his face since :) The polarization of the lenses gives off come really great colors- they didn't show up very well in this picture, but they're there- and the shadow really drew me in for some reason. Don't you love the paintings that just sort of find you?

Post #55

Back to the kitchen

"Corkscrew"

8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas

SOLD

This is one of those paintings where, about halfway through, you look at the canvas and ask yourself "what in heaven's name were you thinking?" A foreshortened view of a freakin corkscrew... but it came back together in the end. The chrome was a lot of fun, too, with all of the little reflections and constant changes in colors.

Well, Mark and I are heading out to play tonight- you guys have fun!

Post #54

Liquid Fire

"Good Kentucky Whiskey"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD



This one was fun. It's been a long, long day, with way to many frustrations and inconsistencies and changes of plans, so it seemed like a good night to break out the liquor for painting time :) And it's such a beautiful, rich color- now I want to try rum, and amaretto, and circle back to a different type of tequila maybe... all in good time, hm?


At any rate, I tried really hard to keep the brushwork loose on this one, not fussy but still capturing the light and those crazy shadows. Who wants to have a shot with me?

Post #53

More Daffodils :)

"Brilliance"
6"x6" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

Okay, last of the daffodils for a little while :) Don't know what it'll be tomorrow night....

I love this one. I really wanted to do these backlit, really glowing on a dark ground, and I think I got it- by way of a lot of unexpected colors and endless staring at the flowers themselves. At any rate, I'm content, and I'm very happy tomorrow is Friday, and I was actually just thinking this morning that next spring I'll be revisiting all these same subjects in my dailies, and I'm really looking forward to comparing the ones I'm doing today to the ones I'll do a year from now- the bloggers that have been doing this a while, you can click back on their little monthly-organizer-things and see such a big difference that it's always really inspiring...

I'm babbling, I'm sorry. Sleepy and emotional, which is never a good combination. Good afternoon, good evening, and good night!

Post #52

*sigh*

"Breathless"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

I had a wonderful time painting this one, and really do wish that I could somehow paint smells- daffodils have the most wonderful scent, especially under the lights :) Not thinking much else at the moment- have an early morning tomorrow, and spent entirely too much time trying to upload this image and getting disconnected repeatedly. Well, at least Clearwire has wonderful, alert, english-speaking customer service. That makes up for a lot.

Love you guys!

Post #51

Encore!

"Gin and Tonic"
8"x10" acrylic on canvas
SOLD

This one was fun to do- Gin and Tonic returns, by popular request! This one was for a specific collector, but I'll be doing another for another round on eBay, to satisfy additional requests. I feel special :)

At any rate, I've come to believe that green and purple should be complements, somehow. Or maybe I feel that way because I used a reddish purple, and a lot of the greens are tending towards gold, so that would make it a sort of neutral-complements something, I guess.... I need to look this one up, don't I? That should be fun. Any suggestions?

At any rate, I'm very pleased with this one, and I really am loving the whole painting-a-day thing. It's a wonderful system/discipline/idea :)

Peace in the Valley

"Peace in the Valley"
6"x6" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

*sigh* I love daffodils. They're crazy difficult to paint, such weird little shapes, but they're just so gorgeously springtime that it's irresitable. I'm kind of obsessed with springtime lately, aren't I? Well, you'll have to forgive me- I'm not much of a winter person. And besides, flowers are wonderful. This weekend I am so definitely going out to Duke Gardens to take loads of pictures to use as reference for my bigger stuff- everything here is supposed to be strictly painted-from-life :)

Anyways, it is seriously past my bedtime (up late working on a commission), so I'm going to bed. Sweet dreams, everybody!

Post #50

Finally!

"Japanese Magnolia"

8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas

SOLD

I'm sure you guys have got to be tired of hearing about this, but gr! Stupid image took at least a dozen tries to upload, after I'd gone back and resaved it as a much smaller, lower resolution file!

So that was my brief vent. Done for the evening, I promise. Because I'm just tickled about this whole thing- I love those Japanese Magnolia trees, even though the blooms don't keep for anything in a vase- they're just so big and springtimey and enthusiatically graceful, and when the petals fall then everything is covered with these huge saucer-petals in cream and pink and warm purples.

And the daffodils are in bloom too- they keep better in vases, so I'm going to find a way to bring some home, a big vase of sunshine right in the middle of the kitchen. Very good plan to brighten up a Monday, isn't it?

And number three

"Presence of Time III"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

Last happy little watch for a little while, I promise. The Japanese Magnolias have come into bloom, so now I'm dying to have a go at them. And I've got a request for another gin and tonic, too, so that's percolating in my head :)

Going to see Tim Cifers band at Randy's Sports Bar and Cues in Creedmoor, right now like should've been gone- I've been trying to upload for a good bit now, still with the disconnecting problem. Grr. Hopefully that will be all fixed soon. Well, I'm going to go put my face on, and my biker boots, and a shirt I feel all sexy in- happy Saturday night!

Post #47

Success!

"Presence of Time II"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

I'm having fun with these paintings- even though I was bound to have fun with the one for tonight, just out of gratitude to the day for it being a Friday. Metal is always interesting, though- it really does seem like there's an infinate number of shades of grey available to paint with.

And here is yesterday's- a successful post! Curiously enough, after my little rant yesterday Clearwire emailed me and then called me twice today, asking if I was having any troubles with their service and what they could do to help.

Not that I think the one was the result of the other. I mean, it's a remarkable coincidence otherwise, but still... it seems conceited to presume a connection, you know? Maybe. I don't know.

Well, the way I was raised causes me to lean towards being overly polite and never cussing, and besides the guy on the phone was very nice and seemed very helpful and carefully apologetic, so my response was not "You can wave the @!**?^& cancellation fees, because the whole %?@@#^! situation ?^%!!# ?#*^!@@&" (is there a system for doing those little cuss-wordy things?). Instead, we had a nice conversation where I told him about the problems we're having and he explained what they're going to do to fix it, and that if I have any more trouble I should contact him immediately and he would put the engineering team on it right away.

o_O

All of this is astonishingly civil for a big company, which is why I'm saying all this- I'm not deleting yesterday's because well, that was all true too. At any rate, Clearwire would probably be ideal for someone who travelled a lot to places that didn't necessarily have wireless, or something like that.

Happy Friday, everybody!

Post #46

Clearwire is evil...

Maybe I'm easily frustrated tonight, but Clearwire Internet Service is the most infuriating thing I have encountered lately. Seriously, I'd rather be uploading images on dial up, but I've got ten more months on contract with these people... wondering if the cancellation penalties would be worth it, honestly.


There, it just wouldn't upload again. If I plead technical issues, can I post tomorrow? It's a 5X7 of one of my husband's watches- I'm doing another set of three, for some reason I've really been drawn to them lately. On a darker grey background, too, something a little different for me.

Okay, I just restarted the computer and the internet-connection thing, and it's still not working, and I'm waking up in seven hours. I'll post both of them tomorrow, I promise.

Flowers for Valentines Day

"Burgandy"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

Well, it's not Valentines Day until tomorrow, but... I felt like flowers, and there were some beautiful, inexpensive Ranuculus at Whole Foods. It's got me thinking about zinnias from the farmer's market this summer.... you know zinnias turn the water orangey-red? That would be interesting in a painting, as long as it didn't just look like I was seeing things or trying to turn the flowers funny colors, like in school studying circulation and making white carnations turn red white and blue.

Anyway, burgandy ranuculus in a cordial shot glass.

On a totally different note, I just got a blog going for a wonderful art group that I'm a part of, the Whimsical Women- not many posts so far, but it'll be a wonderful lot of information about a wonderful bunch of artists soon! It's at http://whimsical-women.blogspot.com/ if you want to come by- especially if you're in central North Carolina for one of our shows, it's definitely worth coming to.

Post #44

And number three

"Summertime III"

5"x7" acrylic on stretched canvas

SOLD

Well, actually can't spend long on this one- hubby wants the computer, something to do with his music collection. Suffice to say, I love seashells, and it was fun doing these three with the same palette idea... I think flowers tomorrow, though. Love ya'll!

Post #43

Turns out yesterday was part 1...

"Summertime II"
5"x7" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD



This one was a lot of fun too! The crop is a little awkward, sorry about that.... maybe I'll get industrious and post a new image of it. The weather turned colder again today, but the seashell thing felt right anyways.

I'm really proud of the colors on this one- I used a lot of them to make some neutrals that turned out just wonderful, and the light-and-shadows effects turned out really nice because of it. Maybe next time I'll get up the nerve to paint the speckles that are actually on this shell. Hopefully. Patterns on surfaces that already require color changes for the whole light and shade thing- that makes me really nervous.
*warm fuzzies*


Post #42

All wind and sunshine today

"Summertime"
5"x7" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

I'm so happy with this one! The colors were fun, and it really feels like the form just came together... one of those painted itself pieces :)

And besides, it's a seashell, and seashells are a very happy sort of thing. Now, I'm going to putter myself into the kitchen and whip up something chocolate, which officially makes the evening even happier.

Post #41

no cookies....

"Glass of Milk"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas

SOLD

It's been a good sort of Saturday- pretty, quiet, and productive. The stupidhead computer might be acting up again, so- this is a glass of milk, in another biproduct of my trip to Morgan Imports. This just about drove me crazy, with the whole white on white thing, but I'm ending up being really pleased with it.

Only thing I'm thinking right now is that it'd be wonderful if weekends lasted three days instead of two. But what's that old phrase? If wishes were horses then beggers would ride. Humph.

Post #40

good afternoon, good evening, and good night!

"Quiet Times"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas

SOLD

Hm... I hope the image appears when I post this, because all I'm getting right now is one of those weird little boxes with a red x in it.

Anyways, revisiting the whole chamomile tea thing, but this time at the end of a good day, and in my brand new tea cup that I got from Morgan Imports today, which is a totally awesome store. It's got all the really great I-must-have-this random stuff in it that you would expect in an overcrowded semi-sketch junkish store, but it's clean and well lit and everything is spaced out well enough that you don't accidentally knock over anything fragile with your butt because you take a step backwards to appreciate the sunlight shining through a particularly pretty cup onto the wooden display table thing.

Warm fuzzies for everyone!

Post #39

Introducing Dixon

"Something Shiny"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
NFS

This is our kitty, Dixon- a bell on his collar, his eyes wide as he notices some sparkly bit floating in the air. Hehe- maybe the next picture of him will be the pounce. Right now His Highness, king of the red blanky and canned tuna, is actually chasing his tail in the corner, after the tiring business of approving of this painting :)

And oh my goodness, Dean just dreamed himself up a doppleganger on Supernatural- am I the only one who's totally in love with this show? It's fast paced, well researched, has that hot car, and then Dean and Sam aren't too bad either...

Sorry about that. I don't watch much tv, but the shows I do watch I'm kind of over enthusiastic about.

Anyways, it's Friday tomorrow! Yay!

Post #38

How do you take your coffee?

"With Cream and Sugar"
5"x7" acrylic on canvas
SOLD

And making its second appearance... the coffee cup!

Today was a lovely day- almost eighty degrees outside, the clouds all different shades, high in the sky and moving fast with the big gusts of wind. So it's nice, early in the morning when things still feel soft and damp, or later, at dusk when you get all of the little everning noises, to have some coffee, not too strong, softened with cream and sugar and stirred up just the moment before :)

That's a happy thought, isn't it? I'll need it tomorrow morning- having to wake up ridiculously early, and it's already past my bedtime- it's got me looking forward to this weekend. Weekends make for marvelous coffee time, don't they?

Post #37

More Cherry Blossoms!

"Cherry Blossom II"
6"x6" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

Something a little different, so far as my daily painting stuff has gone- isn't it fun? It's from those same little cherry branches I brought home the other day, but a much closer look at them, and then I wanted the flowers themselves to kind of glow against a rich background.

Sorry about the glare on this one- things were tricky tonight with that, for some reason.

And I'm actually sitting here wondering what I'm going to paint tomorrow. Not that I've run out of ideas, goodness no, but the weather has been so perfect and springtimey around here, I just want to do something that works with that, you know? Today was actually almost pansies again, but these were all oranges and golds, very autumn, just didn't feel right today. I know I'm being silly, and probably self indulgent, but it's fun this way. Any suggestions for tomorrow?

Post #36

Lemon, Lemon, Lime

"Lemon, Lemon, Lime"
6"x6" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

Color is good for Mondays, don't you think? Cheers them up some.

Actually, I guess I'm pretty satisfied with today- went to the gym, which is good since I've missed the last two weeks, and did some cleaning today too, which can be a bit out of character. And then the whole painting thing- isn't the green reflected onto the lemon off the lime just delicious?

Post #35

Cherry Blossom

"Cherry Blossom"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

It just seemed so beautifully springtime today, it was wonderful. So when I was driving home from work, I didn't mind at all pulling into a high school parking lot and walking over to the bus stop to vandalize these gorgeous cherry trees. The people waiting for the bus were looking at me like I'd lost my mind, but I suppose all artists get used to thos looks with time- rooting through the produce bins for the prettiest fruit, wandering through landscapes with a viewfinder and sketchbook, sitting in the corner of a coffee shop scribbling madly away, even taking pictures of our food in resturants- yes, all kinds of crazy things.

This one was a lot of fun- those round, overflowing blossoms dropping their petals in a little skirt around the shot glass, the distortion of the dark stems through the water and glass... I'm torn about my favorite part, though. Either the shot glass, or those petals all around- or particularly the one that's half in and half out of the shadow.... bah! Maybe I just like painting, and all of the wonderful little details that come with it. I wonder what this one would be like if I cut it in half horizontally? Redisplay it like that, somehow... it's an interesting idea.

Post #34

A shot of cheer!

"Viola Shot"
5"x7" acrylic on canvas
SOLD

The pansies are here for an encore! And I like today's painting so much- they stand out from the background really well, and there's all kinds of interesting stuff going on down in the bottom of the shot glass, so that was wonderful too.

Oh! And I am just ridiculously pleased with myself over another picture I'm working on. she's mostly done, and you can see the process pics (first time I've ever really done process pictures) over at my scatterbrain/studio blog Moment by Moment (http://kellie-hill.blogspot.com/. I know, I know, not a thrillingly creative domain name- but all the good ones I thought of were either too long or taken *pout*). It's going wonderfully- a piece inspired by Vermeer, and by the movie Girl with a Pearl Earring, which was just beautifully shot.

Post #33

Color again!

"Pansies"
5"x7" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

I am so happy about this one! I'd been craving color, I just wasn't quite sure what to do about it... but when I went to drop the rent check off at the office (Mark and I are very much living in a tiny apartment right now) I saw these guys, and just pansy-napped them right out of the pot and brought them right home!

Used just about every shade of bottled yellow I have, just to have fun with it, and used a gorgeous Permanent Violet Dark as a base for the dark parts... I love pansies. Such a happy little flower. I think I'll do them again tomorrow, but in a different format... hm, ideas.....

Oooh, and it being February means that I've officially broken into my second month- the post number no longer matches the date! Very exciting... I guess the next landmark I get to be excited about will be Post #100?

Happy Friday night everybody! *smooches*

Post #32

Gin and Tonic

"Gin and Tonic"
6"x6" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

Well, tomorrow is Friday, and soon follows the wekend, which I am wholeheartedly looking forward to. Perhaps we need to celebrate it's arrival in advance, yes? So here's a gin and tonic, with plenty of lime- don't be shy now, drink up!

It was fun to do, with all the little reflected colors and bubbles and such- actually, there were more bubbles when I started the painting... there was even ice in the glass, but of course it melted. I suppose if I want to paint something frozen or very bubbly, then I should work from a photograph and not from life. But I like the bubbles anyways, and who needs ice? Let's say it was lovingly run through one of those little mixing contraptions, and came out icy cold and delicious. Yes, I like that story.

PS- Mark knew I was having a rotten day, so he went out and found something new- apparently Ferrero Rochere now has a dark chocolate version of that glorious hazlenut confabulation thing they're famous for. Best. Thing. Ever. Dark chocolate actually goes wonderful with gin and tonic, too ;)

Post #31

Back in the Kitchen

"Pastry Mixer"
6"x6" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

Well, we're back in the kitchen again for this one. I'm not sure how I feel about it- I'm very proud of certain parts, though. And the little parallel blades do make for interesting shadows.

I think I might be craving color again soon- flowers, to be specific. Now, where best to find them this time of year? And what colors am I craving? What about you guys- and color or flower suggestions? Please comment! My brain is just addled (how on earth do you spell that one?) this week.

Love to all...

Post #30

Waiting for Summer

"Waiting for Summer"
5"x7" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

I was in the kitchen, seriously considering whether I should paint the pastry mixer, or the potato masher, or one of Mark's grill toys- and I opened up the junk drawers and found these guys, and realized I wanted to do something curvy, with translucent parts.

My sunglasses get relegated to some hidden corner for the duration of every winter, but hey, it was in the sixties today and sunny, and I'm craving something summery. Not too bright yet, though- I was really enjoying that black-and-white thing, I think it's helping me to see values a lot better. So it was black, neutral grey, white- and some smalt hue, which is a color I love but always seem to forget to buy some when I run out, and some iridescent bronze, which I just couldn't resist yesterday. Every now and then I get in a kick where I want to use iridescents- irides-iridescence?

Well, I'm going to go sit on the couch with some CSI on (and then House which is a totally addictive show, and is Bones new tonight too?), and work on taxes stuff. You guys have fun!

Post #29

2006 Chardonnay

The computer and I are NOT getting along right now. I'll try to upload my image again in a minute- fifth time's the charm.

In the meantime, I'll go ahead and say this- I've officially got my car back now, and I have never been so happy to be behind the wheel in my life. I made my pilgrimmage to Jerry's Artarama, and got lots of canvases and some more paints. Some of the colors I've never tried before, and I'm just dying to make pictures that revolve around them... I just didn't want to jump in right away, it's dangerous that way ;)

"Chardonnay"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

Thank goodness it uploaded- I definately want to have a painting up here for every single day this year. Next year, too, of course, but my mind works better with set periods of time, and consistent repetition- sounds very dull, but I promise I'm eccentric enough elsewhere to make up for it.

I'm also glad it uploaded because I'm terribly proud of those two little bubbles at the top of the wine, and those little hatch marks reflected from the bottom of the bottle. Mark likes the shadow best. Dixon doesn't care- he's playing fetch with Mark right now, and couldn't be happier.

Yes, the cat plays fetch. And he catches balls in midair, if he's in the mood- he's a very exceptional kitty, if I do say so myself.

Whoops- he just chased the ball off the carpet and onto the linoleum, which provides less than ideal traction. Collides with the front door- the neighbors really must be wondering about the noise- captures the ball, and now he's brought it to me. I must go attend to his highness's game. Goodnight!

Post #28

Measure to Measure

"Measuring Cup"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

I had fun with this one- the blues produced by the thickness of the glass, the reds reflected throughout from the measuring lines- the shadow cast by the measuring cup itself was actually really strange, though. Surprised me.

Well, it's past bedtime, so I guess I should go take a shower and settle in.

Post #27

Corkscrew

"Corkscrew"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

Wow, today was a long day. And I'm still kicking myself for not being able to go to my cousin Susan's baby shower today... I really wish I could've been there, but I haven't had a car since Friday, and the way things were- well, now I'll be getting her back on Monday, and if I hadn't been in town it would've been more like Tuesday or Wednesday, and that would've thrown off all kinds of other things. As an additional excuse, I'm useless at baby showers- all that happiness and estrogen just leave me feeling sad that I don't have a baby already :(

Sorry about that. Bleh, I know. I'm also useless when I'm tired, and I picked up a dreadful sleep deficit this week. Somehow this painting turned out well anyway- I love the shadow, and all the little reflections on the metal, and the corkscrew part was such a challenge, but it's those challenging parts that you actually pull off that you end up liking the most, isn't it?

Post #26

Can Opener

"Can Opener"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

This one was a lot of fun- there's something so clean about the pure form-follows-function pieces, isn't there? And then, metal is always interesting. You know my Mama has this old can opener that tiny and all metal, doesn't really have a set of handles but it works really well once you get the knack. I'll have to see if I can borrow that one to paint :)

And I'm just thrilled with how my blog is going! My wonderful cousin Stephanie emailed me to a bunch of people she knows so I've been getting a lot of hits from her area, and my Mama was showing it around at her work and one of the marvelous women there wants to buy my orchids work-in-progress post from the other day, and then I've been getting hits from all over the world- like the United Kingdom and Greece and Thailand and Spain and South Africa and all kinds of places- totally awesome! And then I've got a show coming up soon, so I'm going to do postcards at this one instead of business cards, and make sure to include the blogsite on them... I'm sorry, I'm kind of a.d.d. tonight.

But the good news is that I'll be getting my car back tomorrow (yay!), and I'll be going art supply shopping soon after that, I need to refill on some of my favorite colors and get some more canvases for my dailies. I'm also thinking of getting some smaller sizes- initially the 8"x10" just seemed incredibly tiny, but I'd like to tinker with getting a little smaller, getting even more of that "jewel" effect.

*sigh* I can't wait till tomorrow's painting! I love this :)

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend, too!

Post #25

Eggs, Anyone?

"Eggs, Anyone?"
8x10 acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

I like this kitchen stuff idea :-D Tomorrow is a can opener- I've got it sketched out already, and I'm really excited about that!

Took a page out of the book of the fabulous Carol Marine (http://carolmarine.blogspot.com) and got my husband to give me a name for this one, because all I could come up with was the stunningly unoriginal "Whisk".

Okay, now I'm back off to ebay to email the person who sold me a part for my poor dead car- if it doesn't get here soon I'm going to have to mail him a spring-mounted boxing glove or something like that. *sigh*

At any rate, tomorrow is Friday and that's always a happy thing. Hugs to all!

Post #24

Work in Progress

I'll have to make sure not to catch so much glare in this one, next time- I was stuck taking this picture in the dark. I tried painting some habenero peppers tonight- cutest little things in the world, all set up to get painted, and they would just not act right on the canvas.

So I went ahead and played with this one some more, and I'm really happy with it, so far- all kinds of stuff going on in the layers in the background, and the orchids just kind of glowing against it all. The leaves just showed up tonight- kind of surprised me, but they feel right.

There's something else- maybe the habeneros were misbehaving because they knew my mind was a little bit elsewhere- lately kitchen utensils and such have been popping up in the corner of my eye. I think tomorrow I may try an egg whisk or something.... a can opener, a pair of tongs, a measuring cup, pastry cutter, pizza cutter, a set of measuring spoons... how on earth do people ever run out of things to paint?

Here's to the painting-a-day thing! I was doing a little surfing earlier today, and apparently this whole thing- which the initiated apparently refer to as the POD movement- was started by a man named Duane Keiser. He's got his painting a day blog (http://duanekeiser.blogspot.com/), and then a very informative 'nother blog at http://keiseronpainting.blogspot.com/. Just in case anyone wants to go look....

Post #23

Windows

"Windows"
6"x12" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

For me, this is a meditation piece, windows reaching into the earth, letting us see what it is that holds the tree there, so strong and peaceful. The play with the textures on this one is great, and I love all of the soft edges. I try not to get too self-conscious or existential with my work- I mean, the teddybears yesterday were just simple and fun, but some days you need to create something that is a personal symbol for peace and trust.

Post #22

The Teddybear Wedding

"The Teddybear Wedding"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

Mark and I have been married 6 months today! So this morning, at freakin' four am when we woke up and he had to drive me to work.... well, him holding out his hand and saying "Happy Anniversary" actually made that unholy hour feel a lot better.

This cute little pair came with a wedding gift, and they live on a bookcase now, but something about how plushy they are, how absurdly round, always makes me smile. Hope they do the same for you!

Post #21

Pretties

Pretties
6"x6" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

Every day is a good day, as long as you can cock your head and squint at it just right. I've got a plan for getting the car towed and fixed, and a plan for getting to work until that happens- if you can call having Mark drive me there and back every day a plan- and I got a lot of painting done, which included doing this one, which was just a delight. A little tricky, but a lot of fun nonetheless.

Post #20

A wintery mix

"Seashore"
16"x20 acrylic on canvas
collection of Ricky and Terry Hall

As a gesture of defiance of all things January, here's one to take you to the ocean, all warm winds and salt water, the sound of the waves and the hot blank sand punctuated by finely articulated seashells. *sigh*

It's been either sleeting, snowing, or raining here all day, and darkness is just now falling. There's a half-dozen bright-red cardinals in a sapling just off our balcony, puffed out so much their scarcely identifiable as birds. In the next sapling over there's a single female cardinal along with four little greyish birds that I don't know the name of, but they have a pretty song. I've been trying to coax the little guys up on the porch where they could at least be dry, Mark is going to be sweeping birdseed out of the cracks for the next week and a half, but they're so fluttery and jumpy- they always end up right back out there in the trees.

At least the squirrels have the good sense to stay wherever their version of "inside" is- haven't seen one of them today, and they usually spend all available daylight hours chasing each other up and down the larger trees.

So here's to winter weather *raising glass of water* and to desperately hoping that every resident of Durham has the good sense to keep their butts off the road, because goodness knows that Southerners cannot and should not drive in this sort of mess. *drinks deeply*

Post #19

The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

"Chamomile"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

This was a good painting to work on tonight- chamomile tea is always a good thing, though, isn't it? Nice and soothing, with a little bit of honey in it... I should try painting some tea with a lemon slice floating in it, I bet that would be beautiful.

I'm sure I'm violating some kind of somebody's copyright, using the title of a book as the title of today's blog post, especially when I (beastly unfortunate) can't remember the name of the author.... hold on, I'll go find it.

There we go. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst and Ray Cruz- loved it as a kid. Don't you just love amazon? I do- if I could go on there more often without spending obscene amounts of money that I really, really don't have.... oh, whatever. I say my mouse is demon-possessed. That's right, Kellie- blame it on the poor, defenseless mouse.

Which, ladies and gentlemen, is why I hardly ever click over to Amazon, that blessed, insubstantial wonderland for all bibliophiles everywhere.

What was so bad about it? It began with some serious but not unexpected work drama, and moved into the usual gallery of people drama. And then, as I was on the way to Home Depot to purchase the ninth smoke detector of the day, my car begins squealing, shaking, and smoking.

These are three very-not-good s's when it comes to vehicular issues- and trust me, you are reading the blog of a woman who can sense the finer distinctions between the aromas of burning oil, transmission fluid, and brake fluid. A woman who has crawled under her pickup truck in a crowded parking lot to bang on her gas tank with a brick to get her fuel pump working. Repeatedly. A woman who has dealt with the smaller inconveniences of doors that will not unlock, vehicles that refuse to go in reverse, vehicles that spontaneously redlined and had to be turned off in the middle of the road, radios that magically tuned themselves to static, brake fluid leaks so severe that a single thirty mile trip required completely refilling the tank, and things generally being so messed up under the hood that I once had a mechanic express his sincere wonder that the thing I was driving at the time had not burst into flame on the way to the mechanic shop. I'm familiar with vehicular issues.

So, my poor car is on the side of the road in downtown Durham, and I'm trying to figure out the most efficient way to remedy this problem. And until that occurs, I'm going to go have my first Rangpur gin and tonic since New Year's Eve. You guys have a wonderful Friday night.

Post #18

Whoops! Almost forgot to punch in a title...

Study of Sargent's Portrait of Lady Agnew
9"x12" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

I love Sargent. Love-love-love. I've tried to reproduce that quirky smile he gave her, that oh-so-direct gaze, even that lovely thick hair, and, well... I'm certainly not Sargent, but I like the result.

Now I've got about two and a half seconds before I have to leave for yoga class, or I'm going to be hideously late. So here I go, off through the miserable, freezing rain that is North Carolina's version of winter, in my t-shirt and wonderfully comfy yoga pants and floppy little swim-sneaker-thingys. Hope you're all doing wonderful!

Okay, I'm back. Just for a minute- it's just about bedtime. Yoga was absolutely wonderful, thank you, Virginia! I feel great now. And something occurred to me while I was in class- see, there's a point, I'm not just back to waste time- the Durham Crafts Market! I have something now that I think I could sell there, next to the Durham Farmer's Market- pictures of fruits and vegetables andother happy little still lifes!

I guess pricing will largely depend on how well similar things are doing on ebay.... have any of you other artists tried something like this, at a Farmers Market? How did it go?

Post #17

The Littlest Teapot

"The Littlest Teapot"
6"x6" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

This little guy has been sneaking into my peripheral vision for a while now, trying to pose for a picture- isn't it cute? I got it for Christmas one year about a decade ago, and it's the sort of cute little teapot that's designed to brew up and pour out just one cup of tea- which, since Mark doesn't really share my infatuation with herbal teas, works out just fine.

It was fun to paint, too- not really shiny, but not really dull, either, and with all kinds of shadows playing in the little handle part.

I've got a confession to make, too. I've been absolutely lusting after the cutest little teacup and saucer-y set thing at Linens and Things... I should go get it, you say? Really, are you sure? Well, if you insist.... hehe. If I convince myself well enough, there should be a painting of it by the end of the week.

Post #16

Monet for Becky

"Monet"
acrylic and mixed media on stretched canvas
collection of Rebecca Hill

Well, I'm all caught up in a big painting today, so I don't feel like doing a daily painting.... I still should, shouldn't I? Yes, you're right... If I do one, then I'll post it, don't worry.

At any rate, let me introduce you to Monet, my niece. I did this for Becky, my wonderful sister-in-law, wanting to do a slightly abstracted pet portrait of Monet in something warm and dreamy, with lots of texture and layering to add interest. I really like it, though there are some parts that I'd like to change- and I had a lot of fun doing it, which is always nice.

Hope you're all having a wonderful day! It went and got cold here again, so the cat is acting like a lunatic... I think I'll go make paninis for supper before I get back to painting, too.

Post #15

Water Glass

"Water Glass"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

Those links just keep getting longer and longer, don't they? And nothing seemed right tonight- I tried lemons, and they just wouldn't behave at all, briefly contemplated bananas, but wound up with this glass of water, in spite of how impossible it was to get all of those beautiful reflections and dancing shadows.

I dunno, I like how it turned out, but it feels overworked somehow, and I used so much white- I guess I'll try it on a colored ground next time. Yeah, that'll be pretty- a vibrant blue or something.

Post #14

Sunday Morning for Two

"Sunday Morning for Two"
8"x10" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

Early morning makes for such long, wonderful shadows sometimes. I just couldn't resist these two when I was at Goodwill looking for models for my still lifes :) and they serve double duty- modeling and serving coffee, to be specific. Mark was all sweet and sunshiney today, and it was just cool enough that I really shouldn't have had the door open, but I did anyway...


*sigh* I love weekends, even if I do tend to have an insecure, overwhelmed little spell at the end of them sometimes- just me and my craziness I guess, needing to remember that there's always another day.

Post lucky number 13