Life is Like...

Life is Like... - 6 x 6 Oil on Gessobord

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I was so happy to find cherries at the grocery store the other day.  I love the alizarin color of these... just like the red delicious.  In fact I liked the color scheme of '3 Red Delicious' so much I decided to use it again with these cherries.  And of course they are soooo delicious.  If I can get another painting out of these before they are eaten up... life is good :)

Here is what it would look like in a nice frame from King of Frame...

Cutie

Cutie - 6 x 6 Oil on Gessobord

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This is the other commissioned painting I mentioned in my last post.  This one was actually commissioned as a surprise birthday present for our friend Charlie (hopefully he isn't reading this right now).  We understand that the two are best buds, so I hope that Charlie will approve of this painting when he sees it!

Green Eyes

Green Eyes - 6 x 6 Oil on Gessobord

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This painting was commissioned by friends of ours who wanted portraits of their two pets - one of this lovely cat, and the other which I will post tomorrow.   Thankfully their animals weren't shy like ours.  This one seemed to even pose perfectly for the camera... yay :))

Little Copper Pot

Little Copper Pot - 6 x 6 Oil on Gessobord

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So this one is a little different for me.  Slightly more muted colors, maybe more along the lines of a traditional still life approach.  And I am liking playing with more varied colors in the background rather than one flat color, which is more often than not what I have been doing.  I think I'll keep playing with this approach.  Progress...

And here is what it would look like in a nice frame from KingofFrame.com.

Defiant, Vivacious or Coy?

Defiant, Vivacious or Coy? - 6 x 6 Oil on Gessobord

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I hardly ever wear nail polish, yet I have about twenty bottles in my cupboard, along with lipstick I never wear.  However, you never know when you will need it, right ladies?  At any rate, they are great for colorful still life subject matter, and they may be revisited soon. :)

Cologne Bottles 2

Cologne Bottles 2 - 6 x 6 Oil on Gessobord

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I like all of these little bottles of my husband's, they make great arrangements of shapes: circles, squares, rectangles.  I guess I particularly like the green and gold Polo bottle -- it takes center stage again.  I love the challenge of the transparency as well.  A good exercise.

Another quote I like: “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” —Vincent Van Gogh

3 Red Delicious

3 Red Delicious - 6 x 6 Oil on Gessobord

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This is one of the new ones I mentioned in an earlier post.  I really like how this one came out.  I initially had an olive green background color, but it wasn't really grabbing me, so I wiped it out and changed it to more of a muted blue.  Obviously I missed some of the green, but I think that the variety of color makes it much more interesting.  

I like this quote by Scott Adams: “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.  Art is knowing which ones to keep.” 

Here is what the painting would look like framed.

Bebe Sketch

Bebe Sketch - 6 x 6 Oil on Gessobord

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Another older painting, this is a (relatively) quick sketch of our cat Belleza, whom we call Bebe.  Always a source of amusement and subject of painting when nothing else inspires :)

Side note: this is my 100^th post!  And I’m looking forward to the next several hundred more!!

Primary Brushes

Primary Brushes - 6 x 6 Oil on Gessobord

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This is an older sketchy painting that never got posted, but I like it so I’m posting it now.   I have a few new ones which I’ll post later this week.

If you are wondering where I’ve been for the last two years, I was back in the corporate workforce.   In a nutshell, I spent too much time working, and commuting (an hour+ each way.)  Basically, it sapped all of my energy.  After a lot of thinking and praying, I decided to take a leap of faith.  I found a part-time bookkeeping job at the Suzanne Haskew Art Center in Milford, MI, where I live (ten-minute commute :)).  So I am working mornings and painting in the afternoons.  I am really happy with this arrangement.  My challenge now will be to try to make up for some of the lost income.  But better to do what you love and be happy than to be financially secure and miserable... am I right?!!

Apples... again!

Apples... again! - 6 x 6 Oil on Gesso board 

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Hello!!  If you have followed my blog in past, you are probably wondering if I fell off the face of the earth.  I'll let you know in my next post where I've been, if you are interested.  But I am very happy to be painting again.  Of course apples are a great way to ease back into painting after an extended absence, thus, more apples.  Right away some bad habits resurfaced, and I’ll need to overcome them again: being miserly with my paint and being too lazy to add more paint to my palette, to name a few.   So, I hereby vow to combat the laziness and miserliness, and let the next challenges come forth!