Wall sculpture in progress

I finally have a pic to share of the wall sculpture I've been working on! It's done in hydrostone, and made to look like a stone archway, with a little shelf just big enough for putting a small statue or votive candle on. It's still in progress, because it's not painted yet. (The white is the color of the hydrostone.)



I see a lot of possibilities for these, with a small fresco painted on the background, or even a mosaic set into the arch. I'll post more pics when it's finished.

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Sculpture snafu in my studio

Today I was getting ready to finally cast a sculpture I've been working on for the past couple of weeks, and I accidentally broke the mother mold. (This is the mold that goes outside the latex mold to enable it to keep its shape when the hydrostone is poured in, till it sets.) So now I have to make a new mother mold, which sets the sculpture back yet another couple of days. I started to make the new one today, but ran out of materials and have to go out and get them tomorrow to be able to finish.

I wonder if Rodin had days like this...

The good news, I got some concrete materials today to make a couple of outdoor pieces. Those will have to wait. Hopefully later in the week I can post pics of the new sculpture, if I don't run into any more snafus!

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Miniature Dog Portrait Painting

Today I shipped a miniature commissioned dog portrait I'd been working on. The little dog's name is Freida, nicknamed "Freida the Diva" by her owner, so that's what I called the painting. Isn't she a cutie? Her owner doesn't know what breed she is. She looks like she's got some terrier in her for sure. The painting is 2" x 1-1/2", matted to fit a 5" x 7" frame. Here's a pic of just the painting:



To see other examples of animal paintings I've done, or to check on the possibility of having your own pet's portrait painted, please visit the animal art page of my web site.

Yesterday I finished working on the latex mold for that sculpture I've been working on. This evening I can make the mother mold (the mold that goes around the latex mold to help it keep its shape until the sculpture inside sets up.) I'll post a pic as soon as I get going on the sculpture. I can't wait! I always seem to get impatient at this stage.

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Miniature mosaic ACEO

Since I had mosaics on the brain this week, I did an ACEO which is actually a mini mosaic, as opposed to a painting which looks like a mosaic, like I did earlier this week. In keeping with the ACEO size restrictions, this is 2-1/2" x 3-1/2". It was created on a water theme, and is entitled "River Dance". It reminds me a bit of the swirls of color in van Gogh's Starry Night.




I also finished putting the final coat of latex on for the mold on the sculpture I've been working on. Now I have to wait till tomorrow before I can do anything with it. Oops, thundering here- time to shut down the computer!

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Mosaic inspired paintings

I've been wanting to do some mosaic work lately, but have been painting all this week. This is the result! I've done two paintings on 6" x 6" gallery canvases, which look like tile mosaics. One is a sun, and one is a moon:


"LE SOLEIL" (The Sun)
Original oils


"LA LUNE" (The Moon)
Original oils

The paintings continue around the sides of the canvas:


Because they have a Mediterranean feel, I gave them titles in French. Both are listed on ebay now. The pictures link to the auctions (links open a new window).

I've also been working on a new hydrostone sculpture, but am still in the process of working with the latex for the mold. It takes a few days to build up enough coats. Stay tuned for an update on this piece.

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Newest oil paintings- a trio of flowers

I finished the third painting in a set of three yesterday. Each painting is oils on gallery wrap canvas, 10" x 20", of a single flower; a daisy, a poppy, and an iris.


    

I really do love flowers. They just make me happy! Planting them, smelling them, painting them.... while painting these I was reminded of how, as a child, I would often come in from playing outdoors, with a handful of whatever flowers I could find for my mother. Sometimes all I could find were dandelions, but she would take them and put them in a vase on the kitchen windowsill all the same.

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Newest painting and sculpture

I haven't had a chance to post on here for about a week and a half, partly from being busy, and partly because we've had thunderstorms quite a lot lately. Having once had a telephone and some other things get completely fried when lightning hit near the house, I figure I'll spare my computer from that fate if I can.

Here is my latest abstract painting, entitled INFINITY:


Original oils
24" x 36"

Although I primarily work in realism, I do enjoy creating abstracts as well. They provide the artist with a creative outlet which is unlimited in scope or vision. I find them very freeing in that regard.

I also experimented this week with a different color finish for one of my dogwood wall plaques. I make these from hydrostone, which is the hardest of the gypsum cements. Previously I had always painted these dogwood blossom pieces with a faux stone finish, but decided to try one with a faux bronze finish instead.

DOGWOOD BLOSSOM
Acrylics on hydrostone
2-3/4" x 2-1/2"

I hope to post pics of some other pieces later this week!

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New giclee prints and updates to my web site

I spent most of the day making some much-needed updates to my web site. I can now offer giclee prints (on canvas and on fine art paper) of more of my paintings, which is something I've had people asking about for a while. Here is a link to the new page of my site, which I've called Prints & Gifts. I don't have all of them on there yet, but I was glad to get part of it set up today.
Here are pics of a couple of the paintings I can now offer as giclee prints:


PURPLE MOUNTAINS MAJESTY
From an original oil painting
This painting is one from my American Vistas series, which celebrates the diversity of wonderful landscapes which may be found across the US.


READY TO GO!
From an original acrylic painting
This painting depicts one of the dalmatians rescued by the Save the Dalmatians charity, for whom I often list my art. I will be donating $10 from the sale of each print to help these folks, who have a wonderful program for the rescue and medical care of senior dalmatians in need of loving homes.

I plan to add some of my jewelry and other creations to this new section of my web site soon.

Curious about Giclees?
Giclees are a modern means of producing reproductions of a painting which come as close as possible to capturing the color and feel of the original. The special archival pigments are designed to have a longevity which meets or exceeds that of traditional watermedia. Giclees make an affordable alternative to originals, making the artwork available at a fraction of the cost of the original painting. Sometimes they are signed and numbered, or enhanced by the artist to make each one unique. They should not be confused with images printed by home computer printers. Regular computer printer inks are not formulated the same way, and have not been specially designed to have the archival properties of true giclee prints.

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Miniature paintings

According to my mom, I've always loved making tiny things. I still do, and I often create miniature paintings. Sometimes these are my way of playing around with ideas for larger works, and sometimes I just want to paint something small for its own sake. I've got lots of examples of miniatures I've already sold on the miniatures page of my web site, but here are a couple of examples which are currently available:


EVENING LIGHT
Original Acrylics


SOLITUDE
Original Acrylics


HURON SUNSET
Original Acrylics

Some people who collect miniatures have an affinity for tiny art, and others get them for use in 1/12th scale dollhouses.

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