Painting What I Know

"Sunny Side Up"

oil on canvas
5" x 7"

Now that I've finished up my cat paintings, I'm returning to still life. I want to spend some time, though, exploring other subjects besides the pottery and fruit that I use so much. The art books always encourage us to paint what we know and I decided that one thing I know quite well is food, breakfast in particular. (I could eat breakfast three times a day and be quite content.) A couple of years ago, I stumbled across Oriana Kacicek's blog. She is a very talented daily painter who often uses food as her subject matter. One of the things that I really like about her paintings is her color choice for her backgrounds. Visit her blog and you'll see what I mean.

Last of the Cats

"The Lawn King"
oil on canvas
8" x 10"

"Esmeralda"
oil on canvas
7" x 14"

Here's my last two cat paintings for the animal rescue event at Artifacts Gallery. These paintings as well as other animal (and non-animal) art will be offered for sale at this Eureka Springs gallery during the month of September, with 15% of the sales going to an animal rescue organization. Please visit their website for more information.

The kitten in the grass was a particular challenge. My reference photo of the kitten was taken at our local humane society. The little tyke was posing on carpet. I wanted to place him in a backyard setting, so when I got home, I borrowed one of my daughter's stuffed animals and took photos of it "posed" in my backyard. I was a bit intimidated when I started tackling the grass in the painting. I tried not to get too obsessive-compulsive on the grass details since the kitten needed to be the focus. All-in-all, I'm pleased with how it came out.

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...