The endless summer, Backyard bliss, or, my battle with green..

Take your pick....
Summer is passing by quickly (as usual...)  As a mom of two, summer can be busier for me than during the school year and I find I just can't make it to my studio to paint as often as I'd like.  As an artist, this can be really frustrating and stressful, as I have come to realize that I need to create... otherwise.... BOOM!  Between making sure the kids have been fed, are occupied and happy, doing housework, and increasing responsibilities at work and the gallery, I have been up in my studio to paint maybe 5 times in as many weeks.  Ugh..  And the issue with not painting frequently is that, believe it or not, you lose your skill.  It is not like riding a bike, as one might think.  It is more like meditation.  It is a discipline that if not practiced, gets rusty.   So, for the past week or so, things internally have been reaching a near boiling point and I am ready to either lock myself in my studio with a coffeepot and some snacks and unhook the phone or.... shave my head. Do you see what I mean?  Boom.   As for what creative endeavors I have been up to, well... I've been taking tons of pictures, because I can do that while taking care of the kids and the garden or just living in general.  So hopefully this will serve me well in the upcoming 30 in 30 painting challenge I will be taking part in in September.  For those who don't know, it is a challenge hosted by Leslie Saeta during which you paint a painting a day for 30 days.  During this time I WILL be locking myself in the studio and getting down to business because, there is business to be done.
To counter some of this ranting, I would like to share with you a few photos of my garden.  Ahhhhh.  I have painted one small picture using a reference shot from the other day.  But, I am not quite happy with it.  Green is a difficult color and I am not pleased with all of my edges.  But, I painted, and that is all that matters.  I will battle with green again, and probably soon.  So, some photos, and then the painting which I may entitle, "Backyard Bliss"  Although maybe "My battle with green" might be better...

Backyard Bliss, 10.5" x 10.5", oil on panel

Having a snack - sold!

I love the feeling when I get a phone call from the gallery and they tell me someone has purchased one of my paintings!  I never thought it would feel so good to know that someone likes my artwork and wants it hanging in their home! I got the message yesterday that I sold my painting Having a Snack which was hanging in the West Reading Tavern.  Thank you for the blessing!

What happened to August?

Well, school has begun, the kids are off and I have literally done more work in the past 2 weeks in my studio than I did all summer long.  I haven't figured out how to add 5 hours to my day yet and when the kids are home from school, that's what I would need in order to be able to be painting on a regular basis!  So here we are and not one post in the whole month of August.  I apologize to my loyal followers (are you out there?) and promise to be better from now on.

Enough of that.  So it is September and I have been painting chickens.  They are in the new harvest show at Art Plus gallery, which incidentally is having an opening tonight.  And I painted a new one yesterday!  The chickens are residents at Lake Tobias Wildlife Park, which is out by Harrisburg.  I took lots of pics back in July when we went, and these guys stood out as the ones I wanted to paint first.  There is also this duck which I haven't painted yet, but will!  I also spent a good portion of last week finishing up the frames for these buggers.  Fun, but time consuming.  Also extremely budget friendly which is always a welcome thing! I will post a chicken a day for at least the next 10 days so, come back tomorrow for some more poultry pleasantries!
And now... Chicken (or possibly a rooster...) #1.... and this ones called, "Are you lookin' at me?"

Are you lookin' at me?, 6" x 6", oil on panel

Getting ready for Art Plus opening on July 11th

I am currently busy, busy getting all of my ducks in a row for the opening where I am the featured new artist so I will be displaying as many paintings as I can!  My latest endeavor is making frames for all of my paintings.  Luckily I have some MAD wood working skills (not really... just mediocre) but enough to get by... Here are some of the steps taken to complete my frames.  I make a type of frame called a floating frame where the picture appears to 'float' in the frame.  Mainly because they are relatively easy to make.  Just time consuming.  And lots and lots and lots of sanding!!!

My chop saw named Frog for cutting the corner angles.  (Sitting on top of the table saw I use to rip the wood first)

The scary air compressor.  I finally got over my fear of this thing.  Had to.

My beloved air nailer. This is why I had to get over my fear of the air compressor.  It makes frame making much easier!

Love this clamp.  Worth every penny!  If you need to make a frame, get this!

Stain (also known as big fat mess)

Frames drying in the sun

If you want to learn how to make a float frame, here is a link to a youtube video that gives a great description of how to make one...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2aPROSgHaA