Day 28 - Day Dreaming

 Art has been a solace for me through my life. It is a place I can go when everything around me is sadness and pain, where I can find healing and peace.  Today's painting is titled Day Dreaming because when I paint, I can, if I'm lucky, achieve a kind of waking dream-like state, where I am immersed in the marks and the colors, the sweet faces of the animals I paint and the rich, juicy paint itself that is so satisfying to spread on my panel.. 

...and because this Bear is like a day dream, serenely sitting atop a giant cupcake in the sky...

Lastly, One of my favorite quotes about dreams...

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” 

 -Eleanor Roosevelt

"Day Dreaming", oil, 10"x10", click here to purchase

Day 18 - Balancing Act

 Good morning and happy Saturday :)

Today's painting, titled "Balancing Act" focuses on the tension between opposites. A chickadee (predator) and a ladybug (prey), the delicacy of the teacup and the juicy texture of the paint, the heavy pattern of the teacup against the simplicity of the background, the flight of the bird and the static nature of the cup... In other words, it is a balancing act where I tried to marry the concepts of push and pull, yin and yang into a balanced whole.

I enjoy exploring themes within themes and while my paintings may seem like simple acts of happy symbols and tropes, I am always thinking about the tension within the square, so to speak, as I am painting.

In addition, I thoroughly enjoyed painting the chickadee's wing (the colors.. the feathers.. the elegant lines...) while trying to capture that classic blue glaze and gold trimmed cup... and the shape of that handle... so many little things adding up to create this composition...

"Balancing Act", oil, 8"x8, click here for purchasing details

Day 6 - A Little Birdie Told Me

 Here is the secret that is not a secret... This little chickadee is whispering "someone loves you" to the wee bug.. and maybe it's something you need to hear today too... Someone loves YOU too.

 I hope you are feeling wonderful today.  But maybe you are feeling small or insignificant, or maybe life is overwhelming today.  Whatever the case, I hope you know that this too shall pass (wise words my mom taught me), and behind every beautiful thing, there is some kind of pain.  So, if today is just not a good day in your book, I am sorry.  But things will turn around soon. Somebody loves you, and you will make it through.

♥

"A Little Birdie Told Me", oil, 7"x7", click here for purchasing details

Day 4 - Sweet and Steady

 Some thoughts about Steadiness and Sweetness.

Chickadees are one of my favorite birds to paint.. this one is atop a sweet mocha cupcake with candied fruit and bits of rosemary.. sweet and steady, tasty and delicious. As I work my way though this challenge, it is important to try to establish a rhythm.. I find that around day 14 I fall into a sweet spot where my studio time has a kind of steady cadence and the painting process flows like water... Having people follow along with me helps sweeten things even more! (thank you!)

The first time I painted a cupcake was for my daughter's birthday in 2014.. wow.. 8 years ago! Time flies!  Another first, I painted that painting during the first 30 in 30 I ever participated in. (This is now my 12th...)  It was a pivotal experience that helped to solidify how important art and painting are in my life.. 

Art makes life sweet and painting helps to steady my mind.. and I'm not sure where I would be without them. :) Sweet and steady as she goes...when I am in the moment, totally focused on the painting process.. this is where I find that steadiness.

 Scroll down to see the first cupcake I painted way back then...

Sweet and Steady, oil on panel, 10"x10", click here for purchasing details

Happy Birthday, oil on panel, 6"x6", NFS

Day 24 of the 30 in 30 - The Moment Before

 Once again, the Red Balloon has made an appearance in my painting.. I didn't intend to continue the exploration of this theme, but here it is.  Another unexpected thing, I didn't expect the presence of a balloon in my paintings would create such tension. But again, there it is. 

I titled this one "The Moment Before" after I sat and just stared at the painting for awhile, trying to figure out what is going on here.. Is the bird going to pop the balloon? Is this the same bird from the last red balloon painting?  Is the cat going to jump for the bird? Are they friends? Why is the balloon tied to the cat's tail? Are they playing a game? Is the cat trying to trick the bird?  I honestly don't have the answers.  I just painted the image, but I don't know what is going to happen or how they got there. Your guess is as good as mine!  So, this painting is about the moment right before we find out... it is an image frozen in time that is so full of questions, and tense with what will be.

Moments Before, oil, 10"x10", click here to purchase

Day 22 of the 30 in 30 - Chicka Chicka Red Balloon

Good Sunday morning.  Day 22’s painting, titled "Chicka Chicka Red Balloon" is another take on the Red Balloon and an abstract background, with a twist...  When this idea popped into my head it was one of those that I almost pushed away thinking it was dumb.  A bird with a balloon tied around it’s middle... what? Here is how the conversation went in my head...

Ooohhh... a red balloon and a bird! 

No good. most birds fly all on their own...  Why and when would a bird ever need balloon assisted flight? This would never happen... 

But... when has the impossible stopped me?  

Yes, but what about all of the poor birds that literally get tied up in balloons that people release accidentally or on purpose..this is not good at all...don't paint this...

But then I thought, what if a bird purposely had the balloon around his waist?  I don't know.. maybe it was at a party and some other bird dared him to do it?  Or, maybe it was minding it's own business and found someone's red balloon and kindly was taking it back to them? Other scenarios vaguely passed through my head...still not entirely convinced, I then thought, I need to paint something, I should just do it... painting a painting a day requires flexibility and sometimes going out on a limb.

If you read my blog post about being open to the thoughts and images your brain produces and not censoring them, you will wonder, Why were you censoring yourself, Karen?  Truth is, I slip up sometimes and let negative Nelly talk.  If I'm lucky, my positive Patty poses convincing arguments and wins.  I was lucky this time and, I painted it.. I'm quite glad I did. After finishing it, I found myself just staring at, lost in some kind of feeling that I can't describe (ever have one of those?)   I still don't exactly know what to think of it, but the best way to describe it is it has a tension in the imagery.. a push and a simultaneous pull..  Is the bird flying, controlling the balloon? Or is the balloon pulling up, controlling the bird?  And, for whatever reason, I'm particularly happy with how the balloon came out :)

Chicka Chicka Red Balloon, oil, 11"x14", click here to purchase

Day 18 of the 30 in 30 - The Tetris Effect

 I am fascinated by iconic bits of humanity.. old telephones, vw bugs and this, a vintage gameboy, with the iconic game Tetris loaded and ready to play.  I just found out (from wikipedia) that the Russian inventor of Tetris wanted to create a game to "Make people Happy"... I just LOVE that tid bit as the art I create is specifically...  Designed to Make you Smile (aka, make you happy!!)   :)

I was also intrigued to find out that Tetris is one of the worlds best selling and most played games, ever.  Very cool is the fact that, it is considered high art, by some. In 2013, the MoMA in New York acquired an original 1984 copy of the game for its collection. (A lovely thing I did not know before I painted this...)

 And, perhaps, most fascinating is the "Tetris Effect" a phenomenon that occurs in the human brain when people play A LOT of Tetris.  Here is an excerpt from https://www.thrillist.com/tech/11-things-you-didn-t-know-about-tetris, which explains it better than I can.  

"The Tetris Effect is a real thing. And it’s kind of a big deal. It occurs when people play for such an extended period of time that they begin to pattern thoughts, mental images, and dreams in such a way that brings them to imagine how real world shapes can fit together. (E.g., items on a supermarket shelf or buildings on a street.) It’s been the focus of renowned psychiatrists, and has even been studied as a model to rewire the brain to think more positively."

Hmm.  maybe my little chickadee is experiencing the Tetris Effect in this painting... imagining happy thoughts of birdseed falling from the sky, stacking up neatly on the the ground.. ?

The Tetris Effect, Oil, 11"x14", to purchase, click here

Day 16 of the 30 in 30 - No Prob Llama

 Well, I've gotten on the Llama train and painted a Llama. :)  And... fell in love with these frankly adorable animals. <3 There is no hidden meaning to today's painting..  Instead, No Prob Llama was purely for fun.   Llamas are too cute and Chickadees are one of my favorite birds to paint and I wanted to continue exploring white on white (something that has been a bit of an obsession this challenge).   I love the sweet expression on this guy's face and how the chickadees all seem to be watching each other.  

Check out the pics below too for a peek at how it would look framed, and a close up of some juicy brush strokes.

No Prob Llama, Oil, 10"x10", click here to purchase

Day 27 of the 30 in 30 - "Morning Call"

I have a penchant for vintage things.. particularly product designs that are found in the 1950'5.  This tea cup is a cup made by Lu-Ray and was in their pastel dinnerware line. Lu-Ray made this line from 1938-1960 and if you like clean, simple, soft lines, elegant design and pastel colors... this is the dinnerware for you.  The baby chickadee sitting on the edge of this cup is singing a joyful song, maybe for his breakfast.. or perhaps a cup of oolong tea?  

Oh, and thank you to my hubby for the title. :)

Morning Call, oil, 6"x6", to purchase click here

Day 8 of the 30 in 30 - Just a Spool for Your Love

When I get an idea for a painting, I usually like to make a series of them because one idea isn't just one idea... There are so many ways to interpret it that one idea can sometimes result in 5 paintings (or more!)  So, this is the 2nd in this little series of paintings -  birds and spools. I am not sure how far it will take me but I have 4 planned already, and 2 more waiting to make it out of my head....

 These birds are specifically black and white only, as I wanted to have them stand out next to the sweet colors of the vintage thread.  This little Chickadee is getting ready to make a landing - hopefully without knocking over the spool! I keep getting great title suggestions for my paintings, which are always welcome... some times the title is easy peasy, others, not so much, so spare titles are awesome. :)

This painting is for sale, as is yesterday's.  Check out my Daily Paintworks page for all the details!

Just a Spool for Your Love, oil, 6"x6", to purchase click here

Day 9 of my Holiday Painting Spree - "A Minor Bird"

Sometimes birds are just too cute.  This little guy is all puffed up probably keeping warm as the weather is cooling down here in Eastern PA.  3rd in my chickadee mini series, I painted this painting with both brushes and palette knives, which is more complicated than it sounds.  I need to perfect this method because I love it when it turns out the way I intended. The title comes from a Robert Frost Poem of the same name. I included a copy below. Enjoy!

Rounded Up, oil on panel, 6"x6"
to purchase, please click here

And, here is an idea of how to decorate using small art...

Day 8 of my Holiday Painting Spree - "Spirit"

Painting is one of the few activities in life that can take me out of my head and into the moment. This painting is titled 'Spirit' after a quote from Leonardo Da Vinci that resonates with me - "Where the Spirit does not work with the hand, there is no Art".  I believe that all artists draw from their inner spirit to create something new, out of nothing... We fight it sometimes... and sometimes we let our brains take over, which usually yields less than acceptable art! But when we listen and follow Spirit, that is when masterpieces are created!

Spirit, oil on panel, ready to hang
to purchase, please click here

Also! Today is the first day you can enter for a chance to win my painting, "Fuzzy Dice" of a classic Thunderbird. I love this painting and so will you if you win!!!  Enter at my website, www.karenweberfineart.com, or you can enter by going to my instagram page, follow me and tag a friend! Thanks and good luck!

Click here to enter

Day 7 ~ And The Winner Is......

Yippee! I drew the first winner of my Holiday Painting Giveaway today!
And without further ado, the winner issss...
Anne Petrick of Reno, Nevada!

Congratulations! I love that this painting will be going to a good home! And I love that a friend from across the country will enjoy this little long horn. :)  I will be priority mailing this off Monday morning. Thank you to everyone who entered this weeks contest!  :) And don't forget, look out tomorrow morning at my website for next weeks new giveaway painting!  I think you're gonna like it...

Today is also Day 7 of my Holiday Painting Spree!  (I think I was a little nuts when I planned on doing all of this off in the weeks around all of the holidays!..)  I have a new mini series of birds... Chickadees!  They are the cutest little birds to paint with their black capped round heads and sweet little faces.  I am also having fun experimenting with the background.  I used both paint brushes and palette knives in this painting to create all of the different textures in both the bird and the background. I love the effect!
If you are interested in purchasing this painting, please visit my Daily Paintworks gallery here.

Little Captain, oil on panel, ready to hang
To purchase, please click here

ALSO... Today is Small Business Saturday....Artists ARE a small business!
Thank you for reading and check back tomorrow! I will be unveiling my new painting giveaway, which I think you will like...  Don't forget to enter here, starting Sunday!

Three Little Birds and Tiny Tufted

Happy July!  Things are going great for me and my art...  I am busy with several commissions, the gallery I belong to is making some awesome changes to help the artists and I am very happy with the direction my painting is taking me!  The two paintings below are two of my recent ones painted for an upcoming exhibit at the West Reading Tavern on Penn Avenue in West Reading.  The exhibit is all about birds, which are a lot of fun to paint.  I came up with these two compositions, wanting to paint a bit of cuteness... Hope I achieved that!

3 Little Birds, Oil on Panel, Framed, $175

Tiny Tufted, Oil on Panel, Framed, $175