I forgot to post my collage of all of the paintings I completed during the 30 day challenge.. but better late than never! Here it is.. It was a FUN month and I had such a great response to all of my artwork.. I've sold 4 of them thus far, and most of the rest of them are already hanging in galleries. So thankful for this artistic life that I am blessed to be able to live. ♥♥♥
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...
"Day Dreaming", oil, 10"x10", click here to purchase
So, if you've been following along with me this month, you will know that I have spent some of it exploring different ways to get rainbows into my paintings. This image came to me the other day, the turtle with rainbow skates and a little rainbow flag on his back, and toting around a snail friend.. it wasn't until I started painting him that I decided to also give him a rainbow shell..
Doing a 30 day challenge does so many things for you as an artist, and one of them is to help you to explore new ideas.. And while the work I've created is still rooted firmly in the whimsical and always designed for smiles, the rainbow is an area I wasn't sure about, but wanted to explore..
(Here is today's painting, titled "Freewheeling Spirit" because, well, isn't he just?)
But, I am not LGBT or Q... so that is not why I wanted to explore it.. instead, the Rainbow resonates with me for other reasons.. I wondered, when I first thought of exploring the rainbow, if it perhaps has been too strongly branded LGBTQ, and therefore can only be seen as an LGBTQ symbol... will it work for my paintings???
...but then, I decided I was way over thinking things again... Geeze.. I simply wanted design paintings with rainbow elements for crying out loud.. (I argue with myself a lot..) Whatever the meaning is for you, that is great! For me, I love COLOR... I love actual rainbows (I mean, who doesn't, right?) and I have just loved the infinite design possibilities I've realized by adding the rainbow to my paintings. Alright.. enough of the blabbing ramble.
Oh, wait.. one more thing.. as I was painting this guy, I thought about how he is a perfect companion for the Rainbow Roller-skating Rabbit from a few paintings back! You know, the Tortoise and the Hare, and all that..?
This little dude is a companion painting to yesterday's "Artist Chick" and is titled Chicasso (of course!) :) I love to paint in series (sometimes just 2 in the same theme, other times a whole mess..) and after designing the artist chick painting with red accents I knew I wanted to design one painting in blue.. I'm considering a green artist chick, but haven't yet designed her..
Somehow, I also have gotten into painting iconic shoes.. It started with me painting Converse All Stars years ago.. I painted them alone and then I started putting them on ducks (because, Ducks in Chucks..).. and they even ended up on bunnies and giraffes too! Then I opened up my shoe repertoire and added Mary Janes.. then saddle shoes, and wingtips and even Vans.. Shoes are just too fun to paint, and really, we all have a deep connection with our shoes. The shoes we wear are, of course, utilitarian, but, it can't be denied, have a ton of symbolism that go along with them too. I don't really want to explore the symbolism of shoes in words, but I do love to explore how different styles of shoes can change a painting. So this guy is wearing a stylish pair of blue wing tips, and if you compare yesterday's and today's painting, the red and blue give quite different feelings, and the shoes do too.. Hope you enjoy! ♥
One reason I've done so many daily painting challenges (this is my 13th!) is because I love the new ideas that come by pushing the creative flow.. To come up with new ideas every day, there is a degree of letting go you have to do.. letting go of censoring, letting go of control. This little idea came yesterday and while it is so simple, the imagery and story are striking to me.
another point of interest, I had no blue or green on my palette for this painting.. Its probably obvious, but it was fun painting with what is known as an analogous color scheme, meaning all of the colors are next to each other on the color wheel (yellow, orange and red)
Oh, and how do you like the funky red saddle shoes? (I love them...)
Last bit of commentary - by day 24, I am feeling the fatigue.. designing, painting and posting every day is a challenge for sure. The posting in particular is hard for me, but also, I know, vital. Vital to get my art out there, and vital for myself, and others who care to come here and read my blab, to get a deeper insight into why I do what I do. I am so thankful to everyone who follows along with these challenges I do and of course for all of the kind comments and likes my paintings glean. ♥ So today, this painting celebrates the challenges and rewards of being an artist chick :) Thank you for reading ♥
Hello and welcome to day 24 of the challenge.. :) I painted 2 bunny's in honor of the Year of the Rabbit, the Lunar New year's animal this year.. I'm looking forward to some peace, productivity without stress and prosperity for all.. This little bunn is giving up an offering of a juicy, ripe strawberry to help with the welcome! I've enjoyed painting fuzzy little critters for the past few days.. seems that a little bit of fuzz goes a long way towards the cuteness.. ♥
Mary Jane dudds seem to make it into my paintings every now and again.. I love the simple, classic design and, every time I look them up, I want to get a pair.. why have I not gotten a pair yet?? That'll be a goal for 2023.. get a comfy, chic pair of Mary Janes all of my own.. :) Its the little things..
So, the title on this one makes me laugh..😄 as I may have mentioned, titling work can sometimes be a challenge. dunno why.. But for this painting, the title came to me immediately and as soon as I thought it, I laughed, then thought.. I'll have to paint a few more bowls full of clucks cause that's just too funny. So, this one will be the first in a few bowls of clucks. There. I said it 3 times, and laughed to my self every one of them. :)) Hope you did too!
"Bowl Full of Clucks", oil, 10"x10", click here for purchasing details
Its day 21 and today's painting features a fuzzy syrian hamster, hamming it up :)
Now, I'm not a rodent aficionado, but from what I have seen, I think syrian, long-haired hamsters are some of the stinking cutest little dudes on the planet.. their little faces look like tiny teddy bears and their fuzzy bodies almost don't look real..
Beware though! They may only be cute from a distance.. After I painted this guy, my daughter was admiring the paintings, but then went on to remind me of different long-haired hamsters she has known over the years, and she reminded me that they did not have particularly sweet temperaments! Years ago, she worked in a pet store that sold different breeds of hamsters and she relayed the story that every time she would walk by their tanks, they would, well, stand up and hiss at her! She wasn't terribly fond of handling them, as you'd expect. And, I believe it was in 3rd or 4th grade, her class had a class pet.. and it was a long-haired hamster. Each student had the opportunity to take it home for a week to care for it, and when Meilea brought him home, he bit her.
Oh well.. I still think they are stinking cute, even if they have a stinker of a personality :) And I promise, this guy won't bite you! :)
Today's painting is simply a happy little chick, swinging on a garland of stars.. And the title "Swinging on a Star", harkens to the song.. which I forgot all about until I painted this guy..
Swinging on a Star, made famous by Bing Crosby, was written in 1944, so was popular in my grandmother's generation, and I guess when my mom was little too.. After titling my painting, I looked it up and listened to it.. what a memory :) You can listen to it here, if you'd like.. Enjoy :)
Todays painting is tentatively titled "I can see clearly Now"... there are so many odd things going on in this painting, I was having trouble landing on the meaning...Plus I'm a little under the weather so also having trouble coming up with words! Here goes.. We have a Llama, of course, and the rainbow in the background.. the Llama is wearing the funky 80's, square engineering glasses and, what is the leaf doing on his head? I don't know! Sometimes when I design images, I'll have ideas fly through my head and I put them together not necessarily knowing why or where the ideas came from.. and this is one of them.. the best I can do is say that I do have a rainbow theme going in some of my paintings this month and I wanted to explore that a bit more.. plus, as I've said many times, I love making images that make people smile, so I hope this one does that. :)
And thinking about it, its quite ironic that I chose the temporary title "Seeing Clearly" when it is clear I am seeing anything but clearly about this one!
Have you ever been to a tea party? I have fond memories of one I went to when I was a little girl, in a bonified tea room. I don't remember much, but I do remember the pretty teacups.. the fancy cookies and just being enchanted to be there. Maybe that is why I like painting tea cups so much.. Teacups have made it into many of my paintings, indeed, and I've definitely pondered why.
I love painting birds, and sparrows are one of my favorites.. They are just a friendly bunch who often will hang out in groups and are very common in many parts of the world.. Their markings are so pretty to capture as well.. :)
Marbles on the other hand.. no, just kidding. I do like painting marbles and in fact I love marbles in general.. pretty little mini universes that they are and all.. But man, I haven't painted marbles in several years and I forgot just how hard they are to paint! The reflections, transparency, shadows and distortion.. all in this tiny ball, are challenging to say the least. I am not complaining, I promise... I enjoy trying to capture the complexity and hope I do a half decent job at it.. Not sure if I achieved half decency with this one or not, but I'm pleased enough.
On another note, if you have marbles from your youth, don't get rid of them! I was looking up marbles on eBay when looking for reference pictures and 'vintage' marbles are quite expensive! So, save your marbles folks!
You ever wake up on Monday and feel like you need another weekend? Ok, maybe the operative question would be, do you ever Not feel this way? :😂 It sure seems like the panda in today's painting is feeling this way.. or maybe she just really loves cupcakes.. Either way, I think she's happy where she landed..
I designed this painting awhile back and when I did, I considered painting it really big (big for me anyway.. something like 24"x24"..) I thought it would be interesting to see how a whimsical design like this would translate on the big scale..
But I rarely paint that big anymore. The most common sizes I paint on are 8"x8" up to 11"x14" and sizes in-between.. so I him-hawed around about it and let it sit on the back burner.. and every time I'd look at the design I'd think.. I just want to paint it small.. And so, I did :) This little gem measures in at 8"x8" and she was just a joy to paint.
I like painting smaller because I really like being able to finish a painting in one day. There are many things that interrupt painting during a day, but if I paint small enough, I can always make sure can finish what I start. There are several reasons for this, but the 2 that stand out to me as the most important are: I get bored if I have to work on a painting for too long.. and then I get fussy, and then I lose the spontaneity of it. So keeping it at one day, I can stay interested and keep the painting feeling fresh. Secondly, I prefer to work wet into wet - meaning I want my painting to be just as wet at the end of my painting session as it was at the beginning. This also enables the sense of spontaneity that I prefer. So, that is why this little panda ended up a small one.
Good day and a happy Saturday to you :)
I've only roller skated a handful of times in my life, but I do remember liking it quite a bit when I did. Haven't done it in years.. and while I don't seek it out on social media, Roller Skating (with a capital R) comes up in my feed sometimes, reminding me that the sport is still alive and well in some areas of the country..
Gliding around on wheels attached to your feet is just a little bit like flying.. and that is what I imagine this bunny is feeling as he glides around the roller rink, blissfully breezing through the moment...
Continuing on with the rainbow theme.. I dunno.. it keeps drawing me back in with it's happy vibes and infinite design possibilities. And I know, this one is a lot more illustrative in nature. If I'm brave enough, I may keep exploring this direction :)
Good day :)
Todays painting is titled "Mid-Century Euro-Robin" and it is a simple little one with a mid-century modern style teacup and an adorable European Robin.. I like mid-century modern design and the funky little drawings that are sometimes found on the products of the time. I think this teacup is just the sweetest and like not only the design on it but also its little circular handle..
If you are not familiar with the term, the Merriam Webster dictionary describes it thusly: Mid-Century Modern (MCM) is a style of design (as in architecture and furniture) of roughly the 1930s through the mid-1960s characterized especially by clean lines, organic and streamlined forms, and lack of embellishment.
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!
...a sentiment I, more often than not, believe... there are so many shades of gray in most situations in life, things are rarely just Black and White.. and if you look, you will see my largely black and white painting has a shade of celadon in the lip of the bowl and a smidge of red too :) If you have read a few of my previous posts, you remember my musings about rainbows.. So this painting is in response to those paintings and here is the enjoyable reason why...
If you mix all of the wavelengths of the electro magnetic spectrum together, combined they make White Light.
and..
when dealing with pigment and paint, for example, all of the colors of paint mixed together gives you Black..
Its Never Just Black and White, oil, 9"x12", click here for purchasing details
I found this explanation on a Reddit and think it describes the phenomenon pretty well:
Light is additive color and paint is subtractive. When you paint something green, you're not exactly "putting green" on the object but instead putting a substance that reflects only green and absorbs the other colors. Thus, our eyes see the object as green. If you mix all the colors of paint together you get black because you've created a substance that subtracts (absorbs) all the colors and to us, an absence of light is seen as black. With light, you're combining colors and not removing them. That's why when you mix all additive colors
it's perceived by our eyes as white. So if you think about it, white light is the most colorful color.
Hello :) It's day 3 of the 30 day challenge and I'm going another round with the Simple gifts idea.. This one is titled "A Gift From the Welkin" and shows a Kingly but pensive Lion, possibly unaware of the gift he is being given by this benevolent cardinal..
