Tree-lined Lake

This is a water miscible oil painting. It is 5 x 7 inches. It is the result of the painting project for About.com/painting. The project was to do a painting like Whistler. He did some paintings that were very subdued, atmospheric works with not a lot of contrast.

Cypress Swamp at Sunset Miniature

This is a tiny watercolor painting. It is 2.5 x 3.5 inches in size.

Hibiscus

I can't believe I got to create art!! It seems there is no time. Well, there probably is time, but you have to be kind of "in the zone." After chasing a toddler all day, I am mostly in a vegetative zone.


She sure is precious, though. : ) When I showed Chloe this painting, she made a little gasp and said she liked it. The cute thing is that she made a beeline for my bundle of colored pencils and grabbed the red one. I gave her a piece of paper and a clipboard and she started scribbling. I asked her what she was drawing and she said, "Flow" (flower). We signed her drawing and hung it on the fridge. Another cute thing has nothing to do with art, but humor me. I'm the grandma. I was carrying her up to bed for nap and was kissing her neck and shoulder. I didn't say a word, but Chloe said, "I uv oo too."

This painting is a pastel on 11 x 14 sanded board. I chose the black background to make a bold statement. I wanted it to pop, unlike my Mellow Sunflowers, which were supposed to be subdued.

Prairie Summer

This is an acrylic painting done on Gessoed watercolor paper. The size is 10 x 12.

Coneflowers

This is my most recent. It is done with watercolor pencils on paper. Matted size is 9 x 12.

Crimson Corsage

This is NOT one of mine. This was done by my son, Adam. I liked it so well, I wanted to share it with everyone. He created it in art class at school and displayed it on a table at Graduation. One of our friends liked it so well, she purchased it from him. I only have a digital image now, : (
but I am happy for him. (And maybe a little jealous.)

Cyprus Swamp at Sunset

I've neglected my blog and my art lately. There is much yard work to be done and let's be honest.... spring weather to enjoy. All the other duties we wives, mothers and grandmothers have take time as well.

I did manage to get a painting done. Yea! This is a 16 x 20 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas. I did a small painting about 15 years ago similar to this one. I thought is would be nice to revisit this theme.

Chair in My Garden

This is another altered photo. This was taken last season. The chair was a $1.00 find at a yard sale. I thought it looked nice placed among the flowers.

Jonquils

This is an altered photo. It was done with my Nikon D 50 and Corel Photo Paint.

Sunflowers

This is my latest painting. It is acrylic on stretched canvas, size 16 x 20. I used the brush and knife on this one. I used heavy bodied paint for some texture.

Cowboy in the Rain

This drawing was prompted by a request to design a CD cover. The musician wanted a cowboy in the rain, sitting on a stump, holding a woman's scarf. This was my first attempt. The musician asked for some minor changes, which I made. The musician is still interested in my drawing, but his recording was delayed by an injury. I am looking forward to my art being on his CD.

One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure

Here's another weird one for you. I think I've been watching too much Planet Green on TV. I just had to find a use for the pretty plastic sleeves the newspapers come in. I manipulated some of the plastic and my little grand daughter said, "flow". (It is pronounced like flower only without the er on the end.) Well, if an 18 month old can see a flow, I guess I can put it out there. This is a 16 x 18 stretched canvas which I covered with recycled tissue paper. I applied this with gel medium. I used some acrylic paints, pastels and applied my "trash". The bright, shiny flowers are the newspaper sleeves. I added large button centers and black wire stamens. The smaller, daisy-like flowers are made from paper egg cartons that I tore into petal shapes. I painted the upper daisies with acrylic and the lower one is done with pastel. The centers of the daisies are the little glass spheres sold for scrap booking. I had a lot of fun with this one. My husband named the piece for me.

Irises in oil pastel

This is an oil pastel on paper. The size is 11 x 13. You might notice that the corner is torn. My sweet little grand daughter did that. I think with some creative cropping, it will be just fine. Maybe I should frame it for her room. What do you think?

Poppy

This is a quick study using watercolor and oil pastel on paper. The size is 9 x 11.

Pastel Sunset

This is a pastel painting done on sanded board. The size is 10 x 12. This is a very familiar winter scene here in Missouri. You can see the lay of the land, the bones of the trees and the sunset peeking through the trees. Even though I don't like the cold weather, I still love the special beauty that this season holds.

Winter Approaching

This is really a weird departure for me. On About.com, the painting guide gives monthly challenges. This month was to do a painting using only a knife. This was my attempt. I was illustrating winter overtaking the other seasons and covering the earth with her icy grip. Don't know where that idea came from. Maybe because doing a painting with only a knife was so foreign, I did a foreign subject matter as well. It is interesting to see how other artists around the world interpret these monthly challenges. You can view past challenges as well as the current one.

This painting is 16 x 20 on stretched canvas done with acrylic paint.

Sunset in Winter

This was my first watercolor on a stretched watercolor canvas. It is a museum mount meaning that the staples are on the back of the canvas leaving the sides able to be painted. Some people forgo a frame and hang the canvas directly on the wall. This painting was given to my daughter.

Sunflowers

This watercolor is done on a canvas sheet that is sold specifically for water media. This is my second try on the canvas. I have mostly done watercolor on paper, so this is still new to me. I really liked using the canvas. It could also be rolled to ship in a tube and will unroll to a flat sheet again. I think this is a plus.

Colored Pencil in Yellow and Violet

This was experimental. A painting forum, About.com, that I visit has monthly projects. This particular project was to use a color and its complement. Using white was allowed, but I chose not to.

Purple Coneflowers

Irises

This is an older (late 1990s) colored pencil painting that I did after buying my set of artist's pencils. It has a Van Gogh likeness without being an exact copy. I am a fan of Van Gogh. I like the colors he used, the outlines and the feeling of movement his work has.
Starry Night is another favorite. Wikipedia has some nice photos and info on Van Gogh's paintings.

Magnolias

This is a digital photo of last season's magnolias. I altered it with a paint program. If you click on the photo and enlarge it, you will see the outlines. It is subtle.

I just love them.

Poppies

This 16 x 20 inch painting is on canvas. It is done in acrylic.

Pastel Sunflowers

This is a pastel painting on a canvas board.

Floral Blue and Chocolate

This is a 16 x 20 acrylic on canvas board.

Papercrete Botanical

This was made from papercrete. Papercrete is a mixture of paper pulp, cement and water. I made a square mold for the base and formed the botanical images by hand. I like the look, but my finished product is not as strong as it should be. I will need to try again and reduce the amount of water that I use. I mounted this on masonite and hung it on my wall. If done correctly, it will be strong without mounting. I hope to make a proper one to use as a back splash for my bathroom sink.

Glazed Sunflowers

This 18 x 24 inch painting is an acrylic on canvas board. I mixed many glazes and layered the colors. These are not usually the first colors that I am drawn to, but I like how it turned out.