Venerable 2

I have been having fun playing with texture and color. I just layer and layer color untill I see something I like. This is the second canvas called venerable. I will have to explain the title maybe in another post sometime. This is an acrylic mixed media painting on gallery wrapped canvas At this time I am intrigued with the colors  turquois and azu nickel. Several of my previous paintings were done in these colors.

blue iris

I have been working on a series of abstract paintings and today I chose to paint a familiar subject.
I needed to get away from the abstract for awhile  Irises grow in my garden  and I have painted them so many times in oil paints and acrylics I guess you could say I can paint them with my eyes closed as I have studied them closely. Tomorrow I   intend  to get back to painting the abstracts. 2014 has been a good year for me to paint. So far I have been able to paint 3 or 4 days in the week. I try to do a little bit every day. An hour of 2 in the evenings on the off days. But to paint all day as I sometimes do is a dream come true.

Spring flowers

Spring flowers are a little slow in blooming  this year. Years ago I painted these that were growing on our deck outdoors. There was an area where I could plant bulbs and seeds among rocks that I had placed around because I love rocks. These bloomed among the rocks and I sat down on the deck and painted them as I saw them. I like to paint flowers the way they  grow instead of in a vase. But sometimes I will paint them as a still life. Painting this way perhaps goes back to the time of early art classes. My teacher insisted that whatever we painted we had to observe. She did not let us use  copies of photographs or magazine pictures. We could use our own sketch of a subject.

spiraling

Having fun today painting with the painting knife. Color here and maybe more over there. Layering and layering looking for just the right color combinations and design. Thick juicy  paint with lots of texture.  A little collage with several layers of colors, turquois,, burnt sienna, aztec  gold. Just playing watching the colors combine. So here it is and I may still eventually pick at it again.

Elliot Ness telephone painting

My Elliot Ness telephone painting won 2nd place at Trinity Art Guild in their Winter Challenge juried   show. This is acrylic / Collage on gallery wrap canvas. Size 14" X 11". Very thankful

Rusty goes to the Mardi Gras

So here we are again with my muse following me around. Rusty joined me in my home town to have fun at the Mardi Gras celebration. We know that Rusty is an anti-social creature but for some reason he got into the spirit of the festivities. He cast aside his attitude of hissing and clawing at people and attended the fancy balls and raised a paw to catch doubloons and beads at the parades of glittering floats and the music of marching bands.

Rusty goes to Paris

Since I just posted a picture of Rusty for Valentines Day I thought I would look over more of my Rusty paintings. I like the one where he visits Paris with me. Together we visit all the sites especially the museums. We both enjoyed the Musee d'Orsay. This was our favorite and then the Louvre.
what fun it was to travel down the Seine and sketch and photograph some of the sites from the river. In this painting Rusty is on a night tour of the City of Lights. How beautiful a city.

a valentine for you from Rusty and Betty

Well again here is my muse Rusty who follows me about urging me on to paint like an artist. Although Rusty has been an ornery old anti-social cat Betty has been working with him, desperately trying to teach him manners. It has been a while since he has swiped his paw at visitors and hissed and growled. Here he is trying to make up for his bad manners  by offering some roses and chocolates to those people he has mistreated.  So sweet! Happy valentines's day to all our friends who follow our blog.

Backyard cardinal in snow

When I woke up this morning and looked out the window there was snow. Snow, Snow, Snow. We have had a cold winter here in Texas. It was 19 degrees out side. The little juncos that had migrated south were huddled against our back door and wall. Maybe they should have migrated further South. I did have plently of seeds out there for them to eat so they didn't have to venture far for nourishment. The cardinal was sitting in the holly berry tree and I thought he looked very pretty. I took this photo with my cell phone camera and the color is not really good. He is seated on snow covered branches. I am working on a painting of the juncos while I can still observe them before they leave us. They usually leave in March.

Oklahoma Cattle

While visiting relatives in Oklahoma I sketched and photographed some of their cattle. It was a very cold winter day when I captured these two. I did other paintings of cattle but I really liked these two who seemed to enjoy staring at me.  This painting was done in oil on a size 9" X 12" canvas.

Pelicans

A few years ago while waiting to go on a cruise  I sketched these pelicans from the balcony of a hotel overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. As this is the state bird of Louisiana and that is where I am from I was thrilled to see these birds once again. I observed them up close and watched them as they seemed to glide miles out into the Gulf until I could not see them Amazingly I watched  the small figures out there  return as they came closer and closer to me. It may seem a little far fetched of me to think of them resembling pterodactyls but they do.

TURTLES

When I am in an area where there are ponds, canals  or bayous I look for turtles that are sunning on logs I think turtles are amazing creatures. I think of when as a little child we could buy those tiny creatures in a 5 and 10 cent store such a s Woolworths. It was fun to have them as pets.The picture of this painting is a little dark and a white spot seems to have covered the sky. I use a cell phone camera so what can I expect. . If you touch the mouse over the picture you may be able to see it a little clearer. I am not much on painting  landscapes. I prefer to have people or animals part of it.

LEDDY

Years ago I worked in a studio in the Historic Stock Yards in Ft. Worth. I always love this particular corner  on Main Street. I thought it truly represents the heart of the stock yards. I like the architecture in that area. It is so authentic of the old  Western cities Much to my dismay the  guy on the long horn actually rode this animal down the street.I was always afraid of horses and cattle roaming around. The police were on horses also.  Tourist would have their picture taken sitting on the long horn.As you can see by the huge boot sign this business made and sold boots.

grackles 2

Here I go again painting those grackles that are so prevalent in our area this time of year. I mostly see them at sunset, hundreds of them flying around  and sitting on buildings and wires. I never really plan my paintings in advance. I just move intuitively across the canvas relating one object to another. As I was sitting by my easel staring at the canvas, I do stare a lot,  wondering what do I do next I began telling myself a story about the birds. What are they saying to one another? My son came over and looked at the painting and told me his  idea about the story the birds are telling. It made me wonder how many  viewers have different stories to tell than ours.  Well I am not quite finished with this painting but it shows I am working on  the 7 paintings I said were on the easel.

Fan Mail

I have been busy today reading my fan mail. Ha, ha! 2 little girls in a writing drawing class sent notes to me telling me how much they love my books. They said they are my biggest fans. The notes were very sweet. They also included drawings they did in class, one of which is shown above. In this drawing King Rob said" thank you for drawing me." I love it and will keep and cherish these notes from my biggest fans.

jazz brunch at Commanders

Jazz Brunch at Commanders Palace - oil on canvas 36" X 48"
When I return for a visit to my hometown I love to eat in one of my favorite restaurants, Commanders Palace in the Garden District.  This restaurant has been in New Orleans since 1880.This painting was painted after enjoying a fun jazz brunch with friends. When it was time to leave waiters escorted us out of the restaurant with 50 balloons, hanging them  out of the car window, to flow overhead as we drove down the street. A great welcome for a returning New Orleanian.

Faith, hope and love inspired by 1st. Corinthians 13

As I mentioned in a previous post I have been working on 7 canvases. Just to prove I am I decided to post 3 of them. So I am working and not goofing off. I have a lot more to do on these pieces. Right now I am thinking they are a little bit too busy. the angels are holding objects that  represent  faith, hope and love, a theme I have been inspired to do from chapter 13 of 1st Corinthians in the New Testament.. I am thinking of taking away some of the color and adding collage. We will eventually see what happens.

I have about 7 canvases started sitting on my easel. Can't seem to finish one. Maybe I just need to focus on one and finish it. I am working on 3 paintings that pertain to 1 Corinthians 13.. The paintings are faith, hope and love. Another painting is an old familiar theme with me, that is, the grackle birds that are so prevalent in our area. Other paintings are irises, pansies, and a mother and child. So hopefully I will be posting one of these canvases soon.

tree sketches and thoughts

It has been terribly cold in Texas this winter. I have not been outdoors sketching the trees as I usually do in January. I love sketching the trees after the leaves have fallen. I also love to see the bare trees dark, almost black against a cloudy sky. They are so beautiful, the many tiny branches like little fingers reaching up into the sky. Here I have posted an old sketch, one of many, from a sketchbook from several years ago.

Rose in blue bottle

What can I say? It is a rose in a blue bottle. The blue bottle is one of my very favorite subjects to sketch and paint. I love the color. It is a small bottle. Going through old sketch books I came across this picture that I did in pencil. The rose grew in my garden.  So I was searching for a subject and thought this rose bottle thing would look  pretty good in color. . The canvas size is 10" x 8". I painted this in acrylic and with a painting knife. I love the painting knife as details cannot be achieved with the knife, therefore the painting is a little looser.