"Emerging" Acrylic Painting

Acrylic, 6x8"

$95 plus shipping

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If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you may have seen this painting before, because I have posted it before, I think in November.   It's making an appearance again because I decided to sell it through Daily Paintworks.

Is everybody digging out?  I couldn't resist the temptation to post a reminder of warmer, steamier days ahead!   I actually think artists around the blogosphere are beginning to feel the same way.  I was delighted to receive a notification from a new artist friend, Patricia Powers, who posted a painting of a surfer, probably just as I was writing these words about trying to remind us all of warmer days via this painting!  Gotta love it! (P.S. to my Mom and sisters, don't you just LOVE her blog name???  Check it out!)

"Lone Tree" Soft Pastel ACEO

Soft Pastel, 2.5x3.5"

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In December, I did a number of soft pastel paintings, and I will call them soft pastel paintings to differentiate them from the oil pastel paintings I did in January during the 30 in 30.  For those who don't know, soft pastel means the dusty kind.  And most soft pastel artists just refer to them as pastels. 

This tree was painted from my imagination, which makes me very happy!  And my Finale! painting from the 30 in 30 sold in a DPW auction, which was really fun, so I am putting this one up for auction, as well.

Thanks for Watching...

"Lavender Farm" Oil Pastel

Oil Pastel, 2.5x3.5"

Happy Birthday, Jackie!

To be very honest, this is one of my paint-ahead paintings.  I did paint today; in fact, I went out plein air painting on my lunch hour in my car, while it snowed!  And then, when I got home from work tonight, I had to leave my car in town and walk up the hill I live on outside of the town...because the hill will be too dangerous to drive on first thing in the morning when I need to leave for work.

Anyway, my plein air painting is at the bottom of the hill, in town, in my car.  Not that it was ready to show you.  It needed tweaking, but will have to wait.

The one above is from a photo from another plein air trip I took with the Blue Ridge Art Guild to paint at a lavender farm.  I have used this composition a number of times, and you may see a version or two this week!

30 in 30ers across the blogosphere are exhausted and in need of a break.  I say, take that break if you need it!  30 Paintings in 30 Days is just an exercise...to get us all in our studios more.   Please, friends, do not allow this exercise to make you never want to see your studio again!  Far better to take a break and preserve your joy in painting than to make yourself literally paint 30 but burn yourself out! 

As I said in this post  "...I have come to realize that this 30 Paintings in 30 Days gig is more about opening hearts than counting paintings!" 

 

Please take care of yourselves, artists!  And everyone in the northeast of the USA, hope you are warm and safe and well-prepared for this storm...

"Grace" Oil Pastel

Oil Pastel, 5.5 x 5.5"

$45 plus shipping 

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Hello, Watchers!  This painting represents for me a breakthrough process.  I am excited and thrilled actually at how this one came together!

I painted it on my lunch hour today from a scene I saw hours earlier on the way to work this early morning. No reference photo. It makes me very happy to have created from my mind's eye, memory only! A very freeing process...

In real life, the blues of the trees of this painting are much richer and the orange is lighter, calmer, and not so contrasty--the orange knows its place in the real painting.  

I am using Picasa to edit these OPs and am about ready to decide to keep this new computer.   When I decide for certain, I will move my Photoshop Elements license to this computer and then hopefully do a better job of photo-editing.

Anyhow,  thanks for being here to hear about my breakthrough...and to all my artist friends, Happy Painting!

"Friends" Oil Pastel - 30 Paintings in January 2015

Oil Pastel, 2.5x3.5"

$15 plus shipping

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I am out of clean socks.  And now I need to go to sleep.   You 30 in 30ers will know exactly what I mean!

I'm going to have to talk more about open hearts (see yesterday's post) another time.  Right now, we're talking socks.

Before I bid you a goodnight, I want to comment that this image looks a lot like the actual painting--never let it be said that I missed an opportunity to not complain about a photo of one of my pieces!

And to all, a goodnight... (literally falling asleep at the computer here)

"Open Arms" Oil Pastel - 30 Paintings in January 2015

Oil Pastel, 4x4"

SOLD (Thank you!)

This is the one I talked about yesterday, that appeared horrendous when I scanned it.  Today I photographed it.   I would say the photo is marginally better.  I actually really like this little painting...not so sure about the photograph!

I am really glad I have a blog--for most of you, it is the only way I would ever be able to show you my art.  But times like these I really wish I could say, "Come on over to my studio and let me show you what I've been doing."   Ixnay on the digital images!

Anyhow, I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the 30 Paintings in 30 Days.

I am blessed to have people who follow and comment on my art.  Today, I would love to encourage everyone to go check out the offerings from the rest of the 30 in 30 artists on Leslie's blog.  Perhaps you would be willing to go find some new art you love and go let the artists know on their blogs. I think the other artists are already checking each other out, so I am mainly talking to my non-artist friends.

At the bottom of Leslie's posts, each of the artists in the 30 in 30 posts a small thumbnail of their painting for the day.  The later in the day you go to Leslie's blog, the more paintings will be there (obviously!).  You get to the blogs by clicking on the thumbnails.  If you are in Firefox, like I am, a new tab will open with the artists' website, blog, or FB, whatever they put in the link on Leslie's blog.  A few artists don't put links, so clicking their painting won't get you anywhere.

And, as always, I thank you for being here...

"Tree Dance" Oil Pastel

Oil Pastel, 3.5 x 2.5"

$15 plus shipping

Purchase Here

Now that we are "over the hump," I want to ask my artist friends, "How are you doing?"  Is everybody ok?  Still taking good care of yourselves, body and soul?

How are you doing with your painting?  Are you painting what you really want to be painting?  Taking risks?  Learning new things?

Are you giving yourself the freedom to be the painter you truly want to be?

These are the things I've been wondering...

30 Paintings in January 2015 - Country Charm Oil Pastel

Oil Pastel, 5x7"

Interesting thing about the 30 in 30...you find out things like:

Who really cares if you remember to eat?

Who really cares enough if you remember to eat that he suggests pouring cashews into your mouth while you continue painting?

Any of you have anything like that going on in your life?  Must be hard to be the spouse of an artist during the 30 in 30!

OK, About the Painting!

I learned SO MUCH from painting this one.  I taped out a white border around it, and the parts in this image that are white (at the bottom) are where the tape pulled off some of the paper when I removed it.  I kind of like it though, and it looks better when you can see the white border.  

For some reason, with oil pastel, I really like seeing some of the white edges showing into the image (rough edges), maybe because the oil pastel is so thick, it brings some lightness in.  Not to mention, Wolf Kahn himself often left white showing around the edges of his pastel paintings (did you miss the quotes from his book Pastel that I mentioned in yesterday's post?).

I have to admit, I resorted to adding in some of my old friends, the trusty colored pencil, to this one...

Happy Painting, everyone!    

30 in January 2015 Pink Forest Oil Pastel

Oil Pastel, 5x7"

SOLD (Thank  you!)

I have just completed reading Wolf Kahn's book Pastels and immediately turned around and started reading it again.  I love his work, and I really appreciated getting insight into his views on the artistic process.  I want to highly recommend this book to my artist friends, no matter what your medium.

Here are a few quotes I found deeply meaningful:

"The practice of art should have an effect not only on the public, but even more importantly on the artist himself, by enlarging his sphere of freedom." (p. 16, paragraph 2)

"The moment you know how to do certain things, you should by rights stop doing them.  You would be ceasing to search and starting to perform."  (p. 18, paragraph 1)

Points to ponder...

And, as we are in the midst of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge, how about this reminder from Wolf Kahn (also from Pastel, p. 25 paragraph 2):

"The artist must beware of trading places, even momentarily, with his public.  He follows mental pathways in which audience-conscious esthetic judgments such as 'interest' have no place.  The intimacy of his personal relationship to the work at hand has to remain inviolate."

Watchers, I think that is another way of saying "Paint Like Nobody's Watching."   In his profound way, Wolf Kahn is telling us what to focus on while painting (the creation of the image) and what not to focus on while painting ("will it be good enough for my blog?  good enough for Leslie's blog?  good enough for DPW?").

Paint Like Nobody's Watching, friends....and as always, I do thank you for Watching!

30 Paintings in January 2015 - Happy New Year!

 Oil Pastel 5.265 x 5.265" (to be precise!)

$45 plus shipping

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Happy New Year, everyone!  Today is the first day of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge hosted by Leslie Saeta of the Artists Helping Artists Radio Show.  I am having a terrible time with computer tonight, so better sign off now, while I can.  I will be painting....not sure I'll be able to be blogging...depends on how my computer behaves!

Bright times for you all for 2015...

Thanks for Watching!