Flowers, flowers, I love spring!

I've spent this week visiting my parents, so I haven't been online to post as much this week. The apple trees and lilacs were in bloom there. I trimmed some branches and put them in a vase for my mom, just like I did when I was little. The violets and bluets were blooming in the yard too.

I love spring! The colors and scents of everything in bloom always makes me want to paint flowers. Since I've been out of the studio this week, I'm looking forward to painting.... and puttering in the flower beds, of course!

Violets have always been one of my favorites. Here is a sculpture I did of a common blue violet:


The photo above links to a page about this sculpture on my web site.

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Monet and spring

Monet has always been one of the biggest influences on my work. The impressionists just had a way of capturing the mood of a scene. There is a series of paintings by Monet (I think there are five in it) which depicts a cathedral in France. The paintings are all from more or less the same side, though the angle and vantage point changes somewhat. The really striking thing, though, is the way the mood is different in each one, just because the weather conditions and time of day at the time changed the light and the colors. The brightest uses soft pastel hues, like when you have a rosy sunrise and it tints the surrounding landscape, as if with a giant rose-hued brush. The darkest uses lots of deep grays and very somber tones. That one was before or after a storm.

I played around with using a similar composition to some of Monet's paintings a few times, just for fun. Here are a couple of pieces I did which were inspired by Monet's work directly:


This one has a little girl and her family dog out picking flowers, in an idyllic setting. This painting sold to benefit Save the Dalmatians, a canine rescue charity I help support, but prints of it are now available.


This one depicts a garden bridge at the famous Parc de Monceau in Paris. While visiting there (and having seen some of Monet's work at the Musee D'Orsay a few days before) I was reminded of Monet's painting of the bridge in the Japanese garden, and had to paint this one.

I'm out of town and away from my studio for a few days this week. I can't wait to get back to the easel. Spring always makes me want to paint flowers and landscapes!

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New cat oil painting finished!

I finished that other cat ACEO I was working on finishing last night:

TIRED TABBY
Original oils
2-1/2" x 3-1/2"

I haven't listed it in auction, but if I do I'll post a link. [added later:] Here is the link! I also made some earrings this week:


Celtic Tree of Life Earrings


Zen Moonflower Earrings

And this set, which was inspired by the works of Kandinsky, consisting of a pair of earrings and an origami trinket box:


I enjoy working on these other projects, in addition to painting. They provide another outlet for my creativity, but also give me a chance to think about ideas for paintings while I'm working on them.

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What I've been working on today

Today I've been trying to finish another cat ACEO oil painting I started this week. This one is of an orange tabby, getting ready to have a nap. The composition is similar to the other cat painting I finished this week, only because that happened to be how the cat is in the photo I'm using. I had hoped to post a pic of it as a work in progress, but since it's cloudy here, the photo didn't turn out too well. It's nearly finished, hopefully tomorrow I can take a decent pic to share.

I've also been working on some assemblage art pieces this week, mainly earrings. I'll be photographing those tomorrow too, if the weather cooperates.

Thanks for stopping in! Have a great weekend!

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About my dog.......

Since my dog spends a lot of time here in my studio with me, I thought I should devote a blog entry to her. I found my dog, Shilah, at the area Humane Society two months after I had lost my last dog to severe illness. (She was also a Humane Society rescue, but I got her as a pup.) I went to the shelter "just to see", and visited with a few of the dogs there. They had a quiet room where the person and dog could interact quietly, without the noise and distraction of all the animals in the shelter cages.

As soon as they brought her into the room, she ran over to where I was standing, leaned against my legs, and looked up at me with a big "aren't I cute?" doggie smile. I knew she was the one.

The ladies at the shelter told me that she was about two years old, and had lived her entire life till then outside. I guess the person who owned her had never taken her to a vet, so she wasn't spayed. She had ended up pregnant and had given birth to a litter of puppies (I don't know how many.) As winter was coming on, she had been brought in with her puppies by a concerned neighbor, who feared that she and the pups would starve or die of the cold. The owner said they didn't care. She had a patchy coat, and her teats were still visibly hanging down from nursing her pups. One ear drooped, and you could see her ribs. Despite all that, she was filled with hope and still willing to love people.

All the pups had gotten adopted, but nobody had wanted Shilah. She had been at the shelter for three months, and had been scheduled to be destroyed twice before, but they hadn't had the heart to do it, given how sweet she was. Normally the dogs become very stressed by the noise and being in a cage there, but I guess to Shilah it was an improvement, since she now had food and shelter. She went home with me the next day.

It became clear to me right away that Shilah had been mistreated. She was afraid of any loud noises, sudden movement, and any large men with low voices, even on the tv. Her posture would change and she would run and hide if I picked up a broom or yardstick. Although she couldn't tell me about her past, she had obviously been beaten and had things thrown at her. She was afraid of plastic grocery bags.

That was over six years ago. Shilah no longer runs away from a mop or broom. She has learned that she doesn't have to be afraid of plastic bags, and knows that I bring food and other goodies home in those. She knows she has a home where she is loved and safe.

Crow oil painting.... my latest ACEO

I finished this one yesterday, but didn't get a chance to post it on here.


WATCHFUL CROW
Original oils on canvas, mounted to archival museum board
Currently available on ebay!

Please note: The text shown above does not appear across the actual painting.

More about ACEOs...
For those who don't know, ACEOs are a highly collectible form of art which has become quite popular with collectors. ACEO stands for Art Card Editions and Originals. They must be 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" in size. The size enables them to fit into protective trading card sleeves, although many collectors mat and frame these pieces as you might with any other artwork. One advantage to ACEOs is the fact that their size enables even people with limited space to collect original art. Also, they are generally much more affordable than larger works, so collectors can add work by artists whose creations they might otherwise not be able to afford.

Back to painting!.......

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Painting vs. other stuff that's not as much fun

I've been getting more painting done this week, to the exclusion of other things which don't seem to do themselves.... No, no, must stop painting and do the dishes/do the laundry/eat/etc. It's weird, I get on a roll, and just want to keep painting.

The creative mind is a funny thing. Some days, boom, it's there. The ideas are flowing. Images go from my head to the canvas, and it seems that the brush is just a conduit, moving as if on its own. I remember reading a quote by van Gogh which makes mention of this very thing, how at times the brush will seem to move of its own volition. He also said that at other times, ("lean times" I believe he called them) the artist would be staring at a blank canvas, waiting for ideas to come. Of course, it's a little scary to think I have something in common with a man who eventually cut off his own ear. If he were alive today, he'd be put on meds, and we'd see him on talk shows discussing something horrible about his childhood.

Ahh, enough rambling. This is what happens if I get on here to post before I've had enough tea.

Time for more tea. Earl gray. Hot. :)

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Sleepy Kitty Original oil painting ACEO

A cat works so hard! This sleepy calico has decided it's time for a nap beside the flower pots!


SLEEPY KITTY
Medium: Original oils
Support: Canvas on archival museum board
Dimensions: 2-1/2" x 3-1/2"
NOW AVAILABLE on Ebay

I've been creating miniatures for years, but haven't done any ACEOs in a while. At first when I started painting ACEOs, they seemed huge compared to the tiny 1/12th scale dollhouse miniatures I have created. Those are often less than an inch in size. I guess it's all relative to what someone is used to creating!

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AL FRESCO new wine still life

AL FRESCO
Original oils
8" x 10"

This is my other latest oil, featuring a glass of red wine on a rustic wooden table, outdoors in a sunlit vinyard. This painting is fresh off the easel, and is currently available in my ebay store.

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Newest Oil painting- an abstract landscape

I just completed another painting in my WINDOWS OF IMAGINATION series.


WINDOW TO SUMMER
Original Oils on gallery canvas
24" x 24"
Currently available in my ebay store

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