Day 12 - Well Read

 Today's little duckling is titled "Well Read" as I like to think that she enjoys not only sitting on books, but reading them too. :) My duckling paintings often end up hanging in a sweet little gallery in Kennett Square called Square Pear Fine Art Gallery and that is where this one is likely headed too.. there seems to be a good portion of folks down that way that like sweet little ducks, and better yet, ducks on books.  I like painting them so, it is a win-win!

"Well Read", oil, 8"x8", click here for purchasing details

This palette also keeps calling me back too.. I have used it or a variation in some of my recent rainbow/prism paintings, including yesterday's Happy Frog. Its a bit of a muted rainbow but you'll notice its missing purple! I don't have a problem with purple and in fact like it a lot.. But I find it interesting what happens visually if you don't include it.. interesting enough that I think I'll be exploring it more..

Day 4 - The Warm and Fuzzies

 So, books are another trope I come back to now and then.. kind of like grilled cheese and tomato soup.. Books are good for a rainy day.. or a sunny day on the beach, or to listen to while I'm painting... and, as a former children's librarian, my connection to and love of books is well engrained. and don't even get me started about book banning.. oy... Anyway, books are a refuge for me.  

And then there are ducks.. :)

As soon as I paired this little girl on these books, it just felt all over warm and fuzzy.. This one is a simple image mostly about my love of books and cute little animals.  I'm also loving the brushwork and saturated colors.. ♥

The Warm and Fuzzies, Oil, 8x8, Click here for purchasing details

Day 5 - Little Ralphie with a Cherry on Top

This little guy popped into my studio today along with some delectably plump cherries, making a lovely little composition... I love painting ducklings and cherries too.  Its so satisfying to capture the softness of the duckling beside the jewel-like juiciness of the cherries.. yum! One thing I usually do as part of my painting process is conduct a bit of research on my subject matter.. I like to find out obscure facts and find connections, and, reading a bit about ducklings today, I found more than a few fascinating facts about ducks that I never knew before… amazingly, ducklings can swim almost immediately after hatching ..their eyesight is highly developed, even allowing them to  see ultraviolet light and, they have 3 eyelids (as do all birds - how did I not know this?)

Anyway, this little guy... too cute! :)

Little Ralphie with a Cherry on top, Oil, 8"x8", click here for purchasing details

Day 3 - Sunshine, Lollypops and Rainbows

Today's painting is titled "Sunshine, Lollypops and Rainbows" and she was inspired by the many little ducklings wearing shoes that I have painted before.  But more than that, I am currently reminded of my childhood.  

I remember as a kid, whenever I had to go to the doctor there would inevitably be a lollypop (or if it was the dentist, a little rubber animal!)  at the end of the visit… we all looked forward to that little lollypop, and in fact, to me, it was the most important part of the visit! Those were the good ol’ days and, I think it’s safe to say, we aren’t in lollypop land anymore... 

I have doctors on my mind because I've recently been to the doctors quite a bit myself, and, over the past few days had my son to several doctors as well.. and while there are no lollypops to help sweeten things after a shot or when you are feeling sick, I've found that most of the nurses and doctors are sweet enough to make up for things.  In this time of heightened medical awareness, this little duckling with her cheerful spiral lolly is for all the nurses, doctors and other medical staff who are doing their best to brighten your day, even while they are seeing patient after sick patient themselves, and even if they can't give us lollypops anymore..  Thank you for all you do!

This gal is for sale on my daily paintworks site. For purchasing info, please click the link below.

"Sunshine, Lollypops and Rainbows", oil on panel, 8"x8", click here to purchase

Day 16 - Do You Have Some Time For Me

Today's painting is of a little duck in a different but equally iconic style of shoes, Mary Janes.  A classic shoe, I've found that ducks look just as cute in them as they do in Chucks.  This little one needed a balloon to balance things out.. a red balloon :) When thinking about what to title this painting, I was reminded of the song 99 red balloons by Nena.  It was a popular song when I was a teenager and I remembered it begins with the line "Do you have some time for me?" And so the title was born.  

Naturally I had to look the song up and then watch the video.. and and then read a bit about it too.  It has an interesting history and is actually popular in 2 languages, English and German. If you'd like to read more, check out this link 

Do You Have Some Time For Me?, Oil, 8"x8", Purchasing Details click here

Day 29 of the 30 in 30 - Dixie Chick Goes to School

There are many kids heading to school right now and things are quite different for them and their families.  I know it is a stressful time for a lot of them, but I also know that a good sense of of humor, patience and empathy for everyone involved are all important ingredients for success. This little chick is ready to go and excited to learn and I bet most of the kids going back are ready to be learning again too.  

I was inspired to paint this little painting for a few reasons... One, because I wanted to acknowledge all of the back to school vibes flying around right now, and two, because these little ducks are kind of a tradition for me.  The past few 30 in 30's I've done have all featured a few ducks in Chucks or Ducks in Mary Jane's and I couldn't let this one go by without painting at least one. :) These little guys waddle into my consciousness and are just too cute to not paint!

So, back to school is hitting close to home right now.  My son is going into 9th grade and his school will be totally cyber to start... but for him, it won't be much of a transition as he has been cyber and/or a blend of cyber and onsite for the past several years.. I feel lucky and thankful that we don't have any anxiety about his schooling this fall because his school is already set up to do cyber. I also feel for those school districts that are going completely cyber for the 1st time and for the kids who are navigating this new world along with them.  It'll be hard for sure, but be patient... it'll all be ok. <3

Just a quick note about cyber school... as I mentioned, my son is in cyber school.  He was in a traditional brick and mortar public school up until 6th grade and unfortunately, his needs were just not being met.  In short, he was bored out of his mind.  He is a bright kid and his style of learning was just not matching up with his district's methods.  I was skeptical about cyber, but circumstances were such that there was no other option at the time.  I gave in and decided to let him try cyber (which he had been asking to try for years..)  And I'll never regret the decision.  Cyber school has turned out to be a blessing and the answer to all of the problems he was encountering in traditional school.  So, to all the parents and kids out there worrying about cyber.. I say, give it a shot.  It may wind up not being for you, but be patient and open minded.  You may find that there are many benefits to cyber you had never realized.  Good luck and best wishes to everyone going back to school!

Dixie Chick Goes to School, oil, 7"x7", click here to purchase

Hanging artwork in restaurants

You may have noticed a trend with fine dining establishments reserving display space for original fine art, usually by local artists.  When I first started painting, there were two modes of thought on this... Some artists felt that hanging your artwork in a restaurant was undesirable and was simply decorating another's space... for free! I was advised by some to not hang my art in restaurants... But, since I have been painting, I have had my artwork in many, many restaurants.  And it has almost always been a win-win situation.  If you are an artist and are thinking about hanging your work in a restaurant, here are a few pointers... Most importantly, make sure that certain things are agreed upon up front... The restaurant should always give you permission to have your work for sale and you should always be able to display label information with your artwork so patrons know your work is for sale. Along with your artwork, hang an artist statement with your contact info, website and social media links.  Make sure there is decent lighting and if the space has a hanging system in place, bonus! If not, make sure the owners are ok with you moving hangers if you need to. Determine the percentage the restaurant is taking (if any... some don't take a percentage!) and determine who will handle the sale, should someone want to purchase a piece.  Also, it doesn't hurt to have the staff on board and knowledgeable about your work so they can talk about it positively when you are not there, so you might want to leave a little info sheet for them to get acquainted with you..  I have had a lot of success hanging in alternative venues like this and would encourage any artist looking to put their eggs in more than one basket to give it a shot.

Take More Chances, Dance More Dances, oil, 8"x8"
Will be available at one of the 2 venues mentioned....

So, point of story....  I will be hanging my work in 2 beautiful restaurants on Monday! -  Say Cheese in West Reading and the Soltane Cafe in Phoenixville.  My gallery, Art Plus, has had a relationship with Say Cheese for some time and we hang our member's work there all the time. It is a wonderful restaurant and has a great gallery space towards the back of the restaurant where they even installed a hanging and lighting system to make it easier to hang your work! Things have been so successful, the owners are looking to expand the hanging space into the front of the restaurant. Very cool!  I have never hung in the Soltane Cafe before, but am so looking forward to getting my feet wet in the Phoenixville scene, and the manager, Emma Peabody is a total sweetheart. 

As you may have imagined, the past few weeks have been jam packed for me with preparing new work for these two shows.  I've painted 14 new paintings (which I can't even believe...) and am in the process of finishing frames.  The weekend will be spent deciding which work goes where, printing labels and putting the finishing touches on everything.  :) Life is good... 

Check out the details of both shows below, and happy Friday!

Day 2 of the 30 in 30 - Little Miss Mei in her mary-janes

Happy Groundhogs day... and, thank you! to those of you who reached out with all your well wishes and good vibes!  Your love is very appreciated.  My guy is getting better day by day, and news from yesterday's appt. was mostly positive. So, whew on that front.

I am just getting around to posting now as today's schedule was also tricky.. another doctor's appt, this time for my teen-aged daughter, plus other Mom duties had me juggling my time.  I'm getting better at managing my time even when things are disjointed but it can be tiring!  I think I am ready for winter to ease up with the sickness, and the cold...  I know I'm not the only parent dealing with this right now, so, love to everyone else out there <3

Yesterday's painting was in honor of my son, so I thought that it was fitting to paint today's in honor of my daughter. She is a very strong and unique young lady who I am so proud of for all she is accomplishing right now.  There is also a soft and love-y side to her that not everyone may know about.. that feeling is what I tried to capture in this painting :)

This one, I can't sell yet either! Sometimes you just have to hold on to a painting for awhile...

Little Miss Mei in her Mary-Janes, NFS

Day 1 of the February 2018 30 in 30

This is now the 8th 30 in 30 I will have participated in... I can't say enough about what doing these has done for me, the development of my art and my career.  That being said, it is with a little trepidation that I am starting this one.  Without going into too much detail, my son has been been battling with some pretty tough illness for about 2 months.  Today, we are travelling about an hour away to see a specialist about some of what he has been going through. I wasn't even sure how I was going to be able to do this.  But, I know from prior experience that this challenge is all about organization.  I also know that if I don't participate in this challenge, I probably wouldn't make myself get up to my studio to paint as much as I would like.  So, I've been planning for the past week or so.  I have 10 of my compositions already sketched out on panels (my preferred surface).  This has been done in bits and waves when I had the time.. sometimes late at night after my son is finally settled in bed... And I woke up early this morning to make sure I could get to my studio before he woke up.  I also chose a pretty simple and small piece to start with as I didn't want to shoot myself in the foot on day 1! 
So, anyway, I just wanted to put that out there because I know that many 30 in 30 participants visit other people's blogs and read about their process.  Mine is going to be interesting and I hope I can keep up the motivation and energy to do all 30 paintings. It is so worth it in the end!
Without further ado, my first painting is in honor of my son...:)  I think I will call this one "The Little Con-ducktor" 
Good luck to everyone who is participating!

The Little Con-ducktor, NFS