Little Birds and Little Bets.....

So I read this article by Robert Genn on facebook the other day called Little Bets (click here to read http://clicks.robertgenn.com/little-bets.php) The long and short of it is that it's better to get lots of experience making little mistakes along the way, then wasting a lot of time on one big one....This is perfect for daily painters, it takes the stress out of painting....However, when I started painting I didn't anticipate exhibiting and I was painting on inexpensive supports that cost more to frame than the painting is worth.....alas, what to do now? I don't like the stress of painting on expensive supports, it cramps my style....Anyway, I found a friend on Facebook who is allowing me to use many of his photos for reference to paint....I would like to start a project of 100 paintings from his "library" from Barbados. It's a place I've never been but looks incredible, and one of the points in the article was to choose a topic or subject matter that you are interested in, will not tire of....I think If it was something like flowers, or animals, or something else, I might get bored....I don't know...anyway, it gives me goal, so here is painting number 1 from Barbados John's album....a wee little bird in the surf.

Neighboring Farm

I've been dying to paint the farm across the street since I got my outdoor easel, I know I probably look rather silly to all the passersby sitting at my little easel in the middle of a 5 acre field, but oh well, at least I'm outside and the sun is shining!

First Bloom

April has been, without a doubt, the most miserable spring I can remember. I don't think the sun shined more than twice, and if it did it was accompanied by very gusty winds.....miserable weather for those wishing to paint outdoors....When I went to paint the first bloom in my garden it was bouncing and waving in the wind like a buoy in the water, so I snapped it's pic and painted in the safety of the barn.....

Nemo part 2

Here is Nemo again, he's not quite done, but I saw storm clouds rolling in and I wanted to get it off the easel and photographed and close the barn door! (my studio is in the barn, but I like to paint just inside the barn door where there is lots of fresh air and light, not in the studio, go figure. This one was tough, the photo was odd, it didn't show Nemos shadow, even the light source is obvious....also his eyes were very troublesome for me, I'm going to tinker with them a bit tomorrow, but his fur was so much fun to paint!

Painting Nemo and Paint & Partake

This is a study of Nemo, for a commission for a friend. It's a Labradoodle, and I'm working from a photograph so I thought I would paint a small version first (8x8) and make sure the coloring is true to Nemo....This isn't the photo I will be using for the final, but I thought the way he cocked his head was cute.....I'm glad I did this first, because the compostion is not great, and it needs more contrast. Suggestions? Lighter background perhaps?

Tonight I'm attending an event called Paint and Partake, at the Red Tornado Gallery in Findlay, Ohio, where we will try 4 wines AND paint a masterpiece in 3 short hours, all for the low price of $30. I love events like this that are low in commitment and price, but high in fun!

Over my Head

You know when you start a painting and immediately you know you are over your head? Well this is it for me....any artists friends feel free to jump in and direct because I'm at a standstill!!! I started this a week ago, got frustrated, the paint is too dry to fuss with, as is my mixed paint on the palette....I need a quick fix or I'm going to paint over it! suggestions???

Life's Challenges and the Weekly Challenge

This was a tough week for me, both in my personal life and painting. Something tells me they both go hand in hand...... I thought I had a true friend in someone, and found out that in fact, I was wrong. I have very few friends that I have entrusted my deepest secrets to, and to be betrayed by one is devastating, almost like a death. I'm hoping this week is a new start, so here is my entry in the weekly challenge. This was the most difficult of al the challenges so far, and I have lots to learn about figures and flesh tones, but hopefully its something I will be learning in the Peggy Kroll Roberts workshop when I go! I can hardly wait!

Daffodils, Daisies, and Doldrums

This week has been the absolute worst since I started daily painting...I don't think I accomplished a single satisfying painting...Yesterday I started work on a larger picture of a rose, worked on it it for 3 hours, and when I went to clean up, the painting tipped over and landed directly on my palette, Needless to say there were 8 or huge globs of paint neatly ordered in spectrum order.....I decided not to even tackle that mess today, and decided to set up a cheerful still life to beat the awful weather doldrums and rut I am in.....Here is my attempt at a glass of daisies and daffodils, even they refused to cooperate as I tried to arrange them so I finally gave up in disgust.

Complementary Commission

I've been putting off 3 commissions of friends' pets for at least a month now, and since this is already a dreary week with the wintery cold and rain, I figured I may as well go ahead and tackle them....Now I know why I put them off....This is a good lesson for me as well, and it makes me dread the next two a bit (ok, a LOT). In the future, I will insist that I take or approve the reference photo first.....This dog is actually the easiest of the 3 I have to do in regards to reference material....uggg...except for the fact that it is an interior ( I haven't done any interiors yet) and both reference photos she gave me were taken with the light source directly behind the dog, not my favorite composition at all....and then there's all the sports paraphenalia...ugggg...and on top of all that, I'm doing this one for free....uggg. I'll just post the paintings, enough said.....

Ten Fold Sold and Caramel Cuteness

This post is largely in part a message of gratitude to David and Carol Marine and their wonderful artist friendly site for daily painters www.dailypaintworks.com (I don't know why, but everytime I try to make something a hyperlink it doesn't work, grrrr) I've never met them, nor taken a workshop from Carol, but stumbled across the site when I began daily painting. I've done all but one of the weekly challenges and they have all helped me grow tremendously as a painter. When they posted the Help Japan Challenge, I opted in, and was a little discouraged when my painting didn't sell the first two times around....The third week it was posted, it got a bid! the benefactor, a fine gentleman from Barbados, purchased the work and to my surprise and delight, purchased two more of my paintings! I never expected the response I recieve just by doing what I love best, painting and giving back....I hope the efforts David and Carol put forth regularly for all artists out there are returned 10 fold, like it has for me. Thank you isn't enough for their dedication to their art.

I painted "Shoop" today, for this week's challenge....I had already planned on painting this cute little bunny, but the challenge to use complementary colors helped with my pallette choices....Shoop is a baby bunny in my barn that found a wonderful ome this week thanks to Margie Shoop, and she used the adjective "caramel cuteness" to describe him perfectly!