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 3 of the 28 in 28 - Easier Together

 Whew.  The past few days have been a whirlwind of snow and lots more snow.  We got just about 2 feet over the last 48 hours. It stopped this afternoon and after arting in the morning, the rest of the day was pretty much about shoveling.  Everyone pitched in to help in this arduous work, but we got it done together.  Although my arms hurt a bit and I am wupped, I love times like this when family is forced to come out of our singular spaces to all get something accomplished.. even if it is just shoveling a crap ton of snow. :)  So, today's piece is called Easier Together.. I thought this little elephant and blackbird made a sweet pair, weathering the pink precipitation together, having a nice time because of it. ♥

"Easier Together", oil on panel, 8"x8", unframed
$165 To purchase, please click here

In addition to being a sweet metaphor, this little painting has some nice areas of texture and color.. 

See details below :)

Day 27 of my Holiday Painting Spree - "Bird Dog"

It's a good day when you can see a bird AND a dog in the same painting!  The question is, does this Corgi agree?  I was really digging the thick paint and textures today.  Also loving the warm tones in this pup! I have stuck with pretty much the same palette during the current painting spree I am doing, and I am just not getting tired of that periwinkle blue.  Maybe because its winter?

Bird Dog, oil on panel, 6"X6"
To purchase, please click here

Day 9 - Starry Starry Rooster

Corny title, I know.  I don't care... it must be...vvI painted this painting on a black ground today.  The gesso I used was particularly absorbent and I needed to work fast and thick.... In addition, the past few days I have been leaving my photo reference behind about 1/2 way through the painting.  I then finish the painting using cues from the artwork itself, rather than the photo.  These factors made for a very expressive chicken!  This guy fits into my "vintage" category as it's breed is apparently a Silver Duckwing which is considered Old English game... so to me, this sounded pretty vintage... Anyway here it is... :)

Starry Starry Rooster,  oil, 6"x6",
to purchase, please click here

After taking a picture of it, I noticed how much it reminded me of VanGogh's Starry, Starry, Night.  Below is a closeup of a part that is particularly Van Gogh-ish...

Starry Starry Rooster, closeup

Day 12 - Montana Daydream

Wow... today was the rainiest day I have seen in a long time in Eastern PA... I thought it would be nice to paint a sunny day landscape with warm hues to brighten things up a bit.  I have to say, though, there are those days in the studio when you think a painting is going to be simple, there is no good reason why it shouldn't be straight forward.... but for some reason, it doesn't work that way.  Today's painting was exactly that way.  This one fought me tooth and nail and I am not convinced it shows just how much effort I put into it.  But, that's o.k.  You learn something from every painting, good or bad.  So this one is called Montana Daydream... maybe because I was daydreaming of a sunnier day...

Montana Daydream, oil on panel, 6" x 6",
to purchase, please click here

 Here is a closeup of one section to show off the texture...