Hmmm...

"Denim no. 1"
5"x7" acrylic on canvas

NFS

Well, not for sale because I'm not happy with it, not at all, but it is my daily so it's getting posted *wry grin* The blues turned out wonderful, and it's at least identifiable, but my goodness, have you ever tried this? I figured it was doable because it's wonderfully easy to make it look good in a pen drawing, but in acrylic, good night.

That just means I'll have to try again. Have to learn something, trying a subject that challenges you this much.

#92

Sunday evenings....

"Champagne Roses"
NFS

A painting of some beautiful spray roses I got for the weekend, and the petals are just beautiful, faint shades of greens and peaches..... happy. Nice against a black background too :)

#91

Just the gin this time....

"Tanqueray no. 10"
5"x7" acrylic on canvas
SOLD

My most recent bottle of gin came with this little airplane bottle attached to it, some kind of promotional item, and it was just the most irresistable thing, with it's lovely tapered shape and brilliant green color, and I was even very good and rendered the little emblem on there and everything.

So now I'm wondering if I could do a closeup of a larger bottle, right there with the wax seal on the side of it, that deep red wax against the pale green glass would be amazing.... oh, well. Soon. For now, I'm really enjoying this one- I've gotten a lot better with greens and am very proud of it. Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

#90

Peonies

An older one, because I couldn't muster the energy to paint tonight- it was a perfectly beautiful summery day, and I've been wound so tight for so long that it felt just amazing to relax and be lazy. Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow :)

#88

Summer's a-coming

"Summer Fields"

5"x7" acrylic on canvas

SOLD

Believe it or not, I drew inspiration from Klimt for this one, too. I'm going to have to try again, though, because as much as I love this one, it just doesn't capture that amazing, breathless subtlety of his landscapes. Now, it does a better job than this picture shows (why can't digital cameras pick up on everything we can see?), but even here.... those fat little chickens, content in the soft greens of the field, trees silhouetted against the soft-bright sky. It's one of those paintings I just want to crawl into, live in that world. I love those.

#87

Drawing on Klimt.

"The Lute Player"
5"x7" acrylic on canvas
SOLD

This one was inspired by a stylized little lute player in on of Klimt's friezes- isn't she lovely? And gold metallic paint can be so much fun to play with... *happy sigh* There's days when you have to be so happy that you have a painting to come home and do, something new to learn or discover. Just let me know if you want to bring this one home- till then she is definately remaining on my wall :)

#86

The last and the sweetest.

"It's all good"
6"x6" acrylic on canvas

Well, these four have been very fun. Trying to figure out what comes next... I've been in the strangest mood lately, hard telling why. Maybe I'll backtrack and do some alcohol... or try posing something on tinfoil, Carol Marine ( http://carolmarine.blogspot.com/ ) did the most fascinating piece with lemon slices on tinfoil, playing with the reflections. Fun.

#85

Three's still company.

Still delighted by the whole strawberries and chocolate thing- and posting surprisingly early today, I know. Going to head out and deliver a few paintings later this evening, and I knew I wouldn't feel like posting after I got home, I've just been too tired today for all that. It's good to come home and relax, anyways.... think I'll go get a Rasberry Smirnoff Ice out of the fridge, actually. You guys have a wonderful evening!

#84

Part Two.

Hm, isn't this fun? Chocolate is so delightfully rich, and strawberries... strawberries are some kind of essence of summer, as far as I can tell. Beautiful.

#83

It's all good.

One of four chocolate covered strawberries paintings, which were absolutely delicious, by the way. Well, the edible versions were delicious. The acrylic and canvas versions just are giving me chocolate cravings issues. Fun, huh?

They'll all go on eBay together on, well, Tuesday evening. Hope you're having a gorgeous weekend!

#82

Just a little something.

Just a summery daydream- not painting tonight, having some different sort of fun. Don't worry, I'll be good and get lots done tomorrow :)

#81

The little things.

"Girl with Doll", study

5"x7" acrylic on canvas

SOLD

Another study of one of William Merritt Chase's portraits. I love working off things like this- I learn so much. All sort of little details, the shadowy crinkles in the most unexpected places, the relaxed angles of her body. I'm content tonight. And I need to get to bed- Mark is fast asleep on the couch, waiting for me to finish up with this :) You guys have a good night!

#80

Studying the Masters

"At the Window", study
5"x7" acrylic on canvas
SOLD

Sargent is still my absolute favorite, yes, but I really, really love that small piece by William Merritt Chase, "At the Window", a portrait of his daughter Alice. The feeling of sunlight in it is wonderful, and I feel like I've caught that in this study, or at least I hope so. Of course, I was working from a black and white.... wonder if that helped the "capturing the light" thing or hurt it? Hm....

Anywho, it's been another long day, parts of it very difficult. Hopefully tomorrow will be better- either way, I have a lot to be grateful for, right? Good night!

#79

What a day for a daydream

what a day for a daydreamin boy
what a day for a sweet dream
dreamin bout my bundle of joy...
doop pe doop pidi boo boop
doop pa doo....

"On the Road Again"
6"x6" acrylic on canvas
SOLD

Long, long day leaving me kind of fuzzy, here, but that's cool. I've never been so happy with the greens in any piece I've done, I'll go ahead and say that- nice and soft and fading away, but still having that feeling of sunlight.... sigh. I like the haziness of it, and the simplicity- someplace I just want to sit and think. Sweet Dreams!

#78

Gizmo the Cat

"Awakened"
6"x6" acrylic on canvas
NFS

Wow, I had fun with the colors on this one. And the striping. And those marvelous eyes. I don't know why, I'm in a mood tonight where I wouldn't usually be painting at all, but I really am enjoying how Gizmo here came out. Thanks to David and Sheila for letting me come over and take pictures of the critters, and thanks to the critters for being such wonderful, compliant models. Mostly.

And then there's the fact that I don't have any practice, really, painting cats and dogs- but I definately want to learn, and from there on it's practice and experimentation. Wish me luck!

#77

Pretty things.

"Daydream"
8"x10" acrylic on canvas
NFS

Not sure if she's done yet, but I'm happy with what I got done today- she looks playful, I guess, and her skin is just wonderful on some parts. People are so tricky! But beautiful, yes, you're right.

Well, it's getting late, and Monday morning comes early. Best beginning-of-the-week to you all!

#76

Something a little different- again.

"Figure Study 1"
8"x10" acrylic on canvas
NFS


Since changing it up right now just means, well, anything that isn't a rose. Don't worry, I'll get back to them- they're entirely too much fun to pass up for long, but a few figure studies seemed like a good idea for right now. Have a good night!



#75

Another Red Rose

"Waiting for You"

5"x7" acrylic on canvas

SOLD

Flowers in shot glasses. You can always count on me, hm?

More tinkering with this new, layered sort of background. It's been a very odd day, but I got this little one finished for you guys, and I'm looking forward to a nice long day of painting tomorrow. After I drive myself crazy obsessing over various things- I often wonder how the "Normal" mind works, if it's possible that most people can actually sit and think nothing for long periods of time, where it seems like my mind is always spinning, even if I'm just making up stories for myself.

Maybe someday the scifi writings will become true, and we'll be able to see one another's thought. That'll be a scary day, won't it?

#74

Just for tonight.

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

Tonight, well, I had intended to do something fun and simple, with a bright colored background- but ended up with something a lot more emotional, with a lot more visual depth. I love this background, and there's really a feeling of light coming through that I treasure. Hope you guys are having a good night.

#73

Quietly.

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

I'm tickled with some parts of this one, very much so- the highlights are nice and rich, and I finally, finally got some colored papers to use as backgrounds for my still lifes, which was a wonderful idea. Look forward to some more fun colors :)

And I've got to be in to work early in the morning, so you'll have to excuse me for the evening. Have a good night!

#72

Hope, I suppose.

"Unfurling"
5"x7" mixed media on canvas
SOLD

Don't like Tuesdays, not one little bit. But, well... what can you do? At least the paints still work the way they're supposed to, and the sun still behaves in the usual fashion, even though all of the clocks are an hour off. Good night!

#71

Worlds and worlds

"The Orchard"
6"x6" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

I am just in love with this little one- it's much prettier in person- and since my eBay paintings haven't been getting any love lately, if you want my half-Duke-Gardens, half-fantasy little landscape here, contact me at kmhall@clearwire.net .

I'm loving the delicacy of the branches, and the feeling of strengthening sunlight glowing through the soft blossoms. Enjoy it with me? :)

#70

Two roses tonight

"The Opening Act"
8"x10" acylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

Ridiculously pleased with myself on this one, all the pretty colors and curves in the petals- or I would be, if I wasn't so terribly disoriented by this whole daylight savings time thing. Ah, well, the weekend is over, and I'm sure soon the niceness of having long evenings will counter the fact that I'm going back to driving to work in the dark. How about you guys? Anything interesting?


#70

Something different tonight.

"A Single Rose"
8"x10" acrylic on canvas
SOLD

Tonight was partially the result of trying to make my dailies more in accord with the style of my larger paintings- explaining the little bit of collage and watermarking in the background- and partially, I assume, the way I'm feeling today- sad, but at peace. Some days are just like that, I suppose.

Finally getting some rain, this month, which is nice. I'm going to keep playing with these roses for a bit, I believe- but I wouldn't be surprised if I tried to through in a misty landscape, too.

#68

Wow, I love color.

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

Tried something a little different tonight, used a gel retardent on this one to get the acrylics to dry a little slower here, act a little more like oils (without all of the odors and chemicals), and it gave a really nice effect, I think. Brought the iridescent bronze in again, too, along with the tuquois, and they make for a nice contrast. Happy tonight.

#67

In the Garden of Eden.

"Crocus II"
5"x7" acrylic on stetched canvas
SOLD

This one did not photograph well at all, and I can't figure out why. Oh, well- I'll try again tomorrow, and then change out the pictures or something.

And of course, tomorrow is Friday! Marvelous things, weekends, aren't they? I'm really looking forward to it- may go and take some pictures of the chapel this time, that's a beautiful building. And get some roses on the way home, paint from them for a while, even though I saw some dandelions out today that looked very tempting.... full of ideas, aren't I? Stay tuned!

#66

*did change the pic out

Return to fruit.

"Three Lemons" revisited
5"x7" acrylic on strtched linen canvas
private collection

It's been a long day. A good, productive, beautiful weather day- but still terribly long. So I'm going to cut out of here quick, and go do some practical things- packing up some paintings to ship, specifically- before going sleepy-sleep. Love you guys!

#65

Beautiful Day

"Shine"

6"x6" acrylic on canvas

SOLD

Went back to my pictures from Duke Gardens on Saturday for this one, on this soft, lovely day. You can really feel the seasons changing, running like the raindrops over your skin. The rain is coming down so hard right now that when I stand by the open door I can feel it splashing on me, and it's beautiful, being alive and able to feel everything so intensely.

Had a lot of fun with the soft bluish shadows on the flowers, it's a great contrast for the pale, buttery tones on the petals... I love being able to see all of that, and know that the more I look, the more I learn to really see, the more details and delicate little gradations of color will appear.

#64

Monday Evening Tea

"Monday Evening Tea"
5"x7" acrylic on stretched canvas
SOLD

I had fun with this one- the brushstrokes, all the warm tones with just enough blue smudged in to make for a nice contrast. I actually tried really, really hard to do this one from a steeper angle, where you were almost looking straight down on the cup, and could not get it right for anything. I'll try again soon.

It's funny, though, it doesn't even matter that that one didn't work out- you're always learning, and tomorrow will always be better. Today I realized I felt really awake for the first time in a while. It's like my moods come in waves, washing over and coloring everything, and Thursday or Friday it turned, started swinging upwards, and things are more vibrant, richer, more sensually colored. I'm content tonight.

#63

Revisiting Duke Gardens.

"Belladonna"
8"x10" acrylic on canvas
SOLD

You know, the nightshades are underappreciated flowers- they're beautiful, very graceful. I was going through the pictures for the umpteen millionth time in the past day, and just had to do today's painting on this one. I think we'll be back to still lifes tomorrow, but for now- enjoy this one. Springtime is beautiful!

#62

A gorgeous Saturday

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

This one....hm. Today was gorgeous, and it was a Saturday, which compounded the gorgeousness. I went out to Duke Gardens and took about a zillion pictures, and this came from one of them. I tried to make it a lot more like my larger pieces, stylistically- opaque and transparent, yes, and kind of sketchy too. I love how vivid the flowers are.

Oh, and just in case you're wondering, yeah. North Carolina has got that whole weather schizophrenia thing going, and while the tulips are blooming at American Tobacco, not a couple of miles away the crocuses are just breaking through the pine straw mulch in Duke Gardens. The daffodils are blooming there too, and the quince and the winter jasmine. *happy sigh* I got lots of pictures, lots of inspiration, and it's all beautiful tonight.

The bigger pieces are going well, too- the one I'm doing for Maggie's challenge, and the one I'm supposed to be wrapping up tomoorow (um...), and a new one too. Everything just seems so full of possibilities.

Post #61

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