Cats, Kittens, and More Cats!

"I'm Listening"
oil on canvas
8" x 10"

I'm taking a break this month from drawing and from still lifes by painting cat and kitten portraits. Artifacts gallery in Eureka Springs, AR, is hosting "Artifacts for Animals" during the month of September. I'm joining with some other artists to contribute 15% of the sale price on our work to selected animal shelter and animal rescue groups. I decided to focus in on kitty cats and took several reference photos from our local animal shelter (The Humane Society of Independence County). Our local shelter has an overabundance of grey striped tabbies, so I've turned to friends and family and the public domain to get a more varied supply of reference photos.

The way that the contributions will work is that there will be a list of organizations and the person purchasing the work will be able to select which group they want to benefit from their purchase. The plan is for all of these animal paintings to be on Artifacts' website so internet sales will be possible for individuals who would like to make a purchase, but can't make it to Eureka Springs.

Below is another painting that I've completed for the show. I'm having writer's block on the title other than the obvious "Butterfly and Kitten". I welcome title suggestions! This little guy, by the way is at our local shelter waiting for a home...

"Butterfly and Kitten"
oil on canvas

14" x 7"

Serendipity

"Still Life with Pebble"

colored pencil
12" x 12"

Here's a new colored pencil work, just completed earlier this week. My dictionary defines serendipity as "the making of pleasant discoveries by accident". When I was setting up this still life, one of the little flower buds got knocked off and landed about where I've placed the small pebble. Although I had a very formal composition in mind when I was placing my objects, I noticed the flower bud and liked what it brought to the composition. I switched it out with a small, red pebble which now has star billing in the title.

Since my last posting, I've learned that my colored pencil work "Red Pears at Play" has been accepted into the 6th Annual Juried Exhibition of the International Guild of Realism. This year's show will be held at the Sage Creek Gallery in Santa Fe, NM beginning September 30th.

Also, I have a colored pencil drawing ("Pears and Squares") in the 2nd Annual Spectacular Colored Pencil Exhibition at the Science Museum Oklahoma in Oklahoma City. This show is sponsored by the Oklahoma District Chapter of the Colored Pencil Society of America. I learned recently that I won third place in this show.

Back at Work

"Creamer and Shells"
graphite and colored pencil
5" x 9 1/4"

I'm back at home and back at work now after vacationing in Charleston last week. We had a great time visiting our son. I was able to drag my husband down to the historic district one day and visit several art galleries. The highlight of the day was visiting Robert Lange Studios. I've admired his paintings for quite some time and it was wonderful to see them in person. There are several other great artists in that gallery including Ali Cavanaugh and Kerry Brooks.

Above is my latest little colored pencil. It's another experiment of using graphite and colored pencil together. I tried seven ways from Sunday to get a good photo of it. This was the best I could do, but it really doesn't show off the subtle colors in the shells and pottery very well.

"XOX Stack"
oil on linen panel
7" x 5"

Sold

If you've been following my blog, then you know that I've started doing some of the Daily Paintworks Challenges. I've missed out on several of the latest challenges, but this is one that I did for the Balance Challenge.

New Work, New Gallery

"Mangoes and Pitcher"
colored pencil
14" x 14"

Here's my latest colored pencil drawing, just finished up this morning. I've had this pitcher for a couple of years and this was my first time to use it. I really enjoyed drawing it - makes me look forward to getting to those other pieces of pottery that I have which are also waiting for their debut in a still life setup. I've been taking a bit of a break from art lately. I've been enjoying some time with my youngest daughter before she heads to Thailand for the rest of the summer. I won't be back to work full time until July - other relatives are dropping in and we've got a visit planned with my oldest son.

I am pleased to announce that I am now represented by Artifacts, a new gallery in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The gallery has been open for a couple of weeks, but the ribbon cutting and opening reception will be Friday, June 10th from 6-9. I'll be in attendance along with most of the other artists. If you are in the area, drop in and say hi! If you are in Eureka Springs the next day, stop by 83 Spring Street Gallery where my daughter Allison will be having a show of her small works.

"Hairy" Painting

"Steady Gaze"
oil on canvas
6" x 6"

Here's my newest little painting. This was done for the Daily Paintworks Weekly Challenge. It's been fun to do these challenges each week. As a still life artist, it's good to get out of my comfort zone and try something different. I have drawn cats before, but never painted one. It was a little "hairy" at first, trying to decide how to start. I finally decided to start with the eyes after getting a loose sketch down. It was fun to "brush" on that fur! Ok.. .enough puns for now...

Paint Your Veggies!

"Turnip"
oil on canvas
6" x 6"

Sold

This is a little oil that I did yesterday for the Daily Paintworks Challenge. This week's challenge is to paint a vegetable from life. I really enjoyed doing this one. This was my first painting after taking Jonathan Aller's online lesson mentioned in my last post. It was a bit more challenging since I was working from life instead of a photo, but the principles of paint application were the same.

I received good news this past weekend. My colored pencil piece, Cherries, Grapes, and Plums (pictured above), is in the 122nd Annual Member's Exhibition of the National Association of Women Artist currently on exhibit at the Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Gallery in New York. I received a letter Saturday informing me that it had been awarded the first place award in the works on paper category.

Continuing Education

Pear
oil on canvas
7" x 5"

A few weeks ago, I ran across the blog of artist Jonathan Aller. I really liked his alla prima paintings, so when I saw that he was offering an online painting course, I sent an email to find out more. To make a short story even shorter, I just did his first lesson this week. It consisted of painting the above pear in six steps. Jonathan provided written directions outlining the steps as well as videos showing him painting the same subject every step of the way. As I completed each step of the painting myself, I sent him a photo of my progress and he gave me feedback on how I was doing. What I really liked is that he uses a painting method that is very much like drawing. Now, how cool is that?

Tea and Hydrangeas
colored pencil
18" x 18"

I'm very happy to announce that my colored pencil drawing, Tea and Hydrangeas, has been accepted into the Colored Pencil Society of America's 19th Annual International Juried Exhibition. This will make my third CPSA International show to participate in which means that I'll be awarded signature status. The show and convention will be held in Dallas in July.