Daffodils Usher In Spring

Spring's Happy Dance

11 x 7.5 inches
watercolor

For me, daffodils are the number one signal that Spring has arrived!  In Colorado where I was raised, crocuses, and even hyacinths, always arrived before it really was Spring and they poked their buds out of the snow.  Not that it didn't snow occasionally on the daffodils, but by the time the tulips arrived, it was May and almost time for summer.  In a state where winters are long, but thankfully intermittent, the arrival of Spring was always special.

Now we live in the Tampa Bay area and are experiencing the gentlest of winters this year - fantastic after the last two years where it was not so nice.  I know it's all relative, and Florida winters do not compare to icy, cold winters in the higher latitudes of the continent, and that's what makes me so genuinely appreciate the lovely winter we have had this year!

Gorgeous sunset on the Gulf

I chose this photo, because of its simplicity.  There is a ritual every evening that the weather is nice, there are always lots of people celebrating sunset on the beach.

Back to Spring's Happy Dance -  This painting is available in my Etsy shop, DreamON. It has been painted, for Spring, in watercolors and gouache on Arches 140 lb. Cold Press watercolor paper.

Tulips For Spring

I worked on this watercolor off and on for a couple of years, and I feel such a sense of accomplishment to have finally finished it. Sometimes a painting comes together quite fast. Maybe it's because it features a subject you have painted many times, but honestly sometimes it just seems to almost paint itself. Then again there are the paintings that you start and put aside, pick up later and work on and then put aside again, over and over. You like what you've started, but something about it doesn't compel you to finish it. Sometimes you're just waiting for that special something inside you to come and let you know how to finish it, aka your muse. That was Tulips by Midnight. It took a very long time for my muse this time!

Tulips by Midnight

So. . . have you ever had anyone ask, "How long did it take you to paint that one?" What exactly are they wanting to know, do you suppose?  I dunno.  Maybe it's just a simple question, but my analytical side doesn't quite accept that. Is it that they are asking how long it took so that they can multiply the number of hours you say by what they assume your work is worth per hour? It is that the painting looks so basic and easy that it probably took about 5 minutes and so the price would be very, very cheap? Could it be that it's just so good that they think it took you a very long, long time? Hmmm, well yeah! Of course, there is the tried and true answer that it took a lifetime. That is the real truth, because it is the sum total of an artist's education, their travels, time spent in the studio and en plein aire painting, exposure to other artists and mentors, and most important of all - their life experiences - the good, the bad, the ugly and the ho hum!

Tulips by Moonlight may be found in my Etsy shop, DreamON.

My Happy New Year starts in February this year

Well, not really!  Since I had surgery the first week of January, January is what you call a lost month.  Everything went fine, and I am happy to be up and mobile again.

I have painted a number of new paintings, and now I can share some with you.  I have been experimenting with ghost flowers in the background.  This painting is called Poppy Shadows.  It was painted on a gold toned piece of watercolor paper 11 3/4" x 10 1/4".  I used a technique called color sanding to add some texture in the painting. I have just listed it in my Etsy shop. Click on the painting name under the first illustration to go to the listing.

Poppy Shadows

I put one of these new poppy ghost flower paintings into the Artists' Guild Gallery, and last week I was notified that it was sold.  Yay!  It's title was Ghost Poppies.  It is shown below.

Ghost Poppies

Ghost Poppies was painted on a toned sheet of watercolor paper that had been textured prior to painting.  Then I added some texture with a roller before painting the poppies.

Enjoy!

Recycled Art - Why Not?

Just having fun with the idea of making something new out of something old. This is the painting I had to begin with: that is, before I started thinking negatively. Negative painting, being what I'm getting at, and not having a bad attitude. This is a technique that I have used creating successive layers of negative painting, or painting around objects before, but this time I used the existing painting of the deer in the woods and only had a single layer of painting in the negative.

I was inspired by Etsy running the leaf pictures that had been configured into faces, and I thought that idea was very clever!

I have had a stash of painting starts, and paintings that need "something." Sometimes it seems that "starts" are what fits the mood, but in the last few days, I have been in the mood to do the fixing and finishing on a few of these

Over In The Clover

My painting with the deer at the edge of the trees had lost its charm for me, and it became my victim, as I cut the size down a bit and started drawing clover leaves on it, and then I painted around the clover in Indigo Blue. Before the paint was dry, I lifted some additional areas.

This new painting called "Over In The Clover" is what came of it all. It was fun to do, and sometimes doing a painting just for fun is better than struggling with one to fix the details that may never turn out right anyway.

Therapy!

To see more information about this painting in my Etsy shop, please click on the painting title.

Front Page of Etsy This Morning

I woke up this morning to check my Etsy shop and for the first time saw an actual Etsy front page with one of my listings in it. What an exciting way to wake up! (The last time it happened, the item sold right away and I only became aware of the FP later.)

My item is called Under A Lemon Moon. It is in the second row, second item from left. Many thanks to DawnWillBreak for creating such a beautiful beach wedding treasury and for including my lemon moon watercolor painting in it!!!!! You can visit her Etsy shop by clicking here. Click on the image of the Front Page to see a larger view.

In other "Breaking News," I've added two new items to my shop today. The Sinking Sun is a 6 x 6 inch acrylic on canvas. The inspiration for this one is, of course, the glorious Florida sunsets we have here on the west coast of Florida where sometimes it looks like the sun is just melting into the Gulf. The water almost loses its color it is such a grayed-out aqua, except where the sun and sky reflections hit the water. It is so amazing to be able to live here and see such a gorgeous sight!


I also included a new mermaid watercolor, In The Deep. I just love the song, "Rolling In The Deep" sung by Adele, and also recently on Idol by Haley. So this is the inspiration for my mermaid. I was thinking about her playing and executing full rolls deep in the ocean. This painting is very close to 8 x 11 inches.



Both of these photos are clickable. Hope you have as much fun dreaming when you see these as I did when I was painting them!

Season 10 American Idol

One thing you probably don't know about me is that I am a huge fan of American Idol.

What's different this year? The new group of judges selected probably the best contestants ever!

Although I didn't hate Simon Cowell, still I thought he could cut the contestants to the heart with only a few words. So I can't say that I miss him, especially with the new judges this year. The entertainment value provided by the judges on the show has gone way up.

I've always enjoyed Jennifer Lopez in the movies, and she seems to be a grounded, genuinely kind person as a judge, at least so far. Stephen Tyler is fun and unpredictable, and I am enjoying his personality. The fans love them both. Jennifer has started giving some technical advice which shows her classical voice training. Stephen needs to bring more in the way of advice to the singers as well. Randy Jackson, the experienced judge here, needs to give some real constructive advice. He tends to want to pigeonhole certain contestants into a mold when this early, it just seems they might be trying to show what a broad range they possess when they switch song types from week to week. Other contestants seem to get a pass when they switch from Blues to Rock, etc. Really Randy!

That said, this year I feel the contestants were much further along and polished than in previous years, at least not until towards the end did they show as much poise and stage presence as they do this year. The voices are better, and most any of them will probably have a future singing somewhere.

I know everyone doesn't feel the same, but hey, it's only one person's opinion: ME. My son confessed that Simon sometimes was the reason he watched the show.

The guys: I admire James Durbin having overcome Turret's and Ausberger's Syndromes to get into this competition in the first place, so I'm watching him with great admiration and interest. He has a really nice voice which he has shown, in addition to his preferred hard rock style. Scotty McCreery is a deep-voiced 17 year old who sings pretty good country, but it's hard to feature that mature voice coming from the face! Paul McDonald sounds a lot like Rod Stewart, and he has had a couple of rough weeks, but escaped without any scars from judges so far. Jacob Lusk can pull off a Luther Vandross song with seemingly no difficulty. Stefano Langone has a career in Vegas with his vocal style. And then there is Casey Abrams who in addition to his wonderfully intense singing possesses a great sense of humor and is so likeable. Jacob and Casey have the early lead. Stefano and Scotty are right in there too.

The girls: I tend to root for underdogs, and right now Haley Reinhart is someone I like, but she has an uphill battle convincing the judges she knows who she is. Naima Adedapo will also have a tough road and we will have to see if she can correct her tendency to be flat - that is her pitch is. Lauren Alaina and Thia Megia are the young ones, only 16 years old. What big voices they both have: one country and one more of a ballad singer. Pia Toscano is the favorite of the girls right now.

Well, there you have it - my opinionated opinion! I'd love to hear how you feel!

Small Things - Just 5 x 5

New collages --- What great fun it is to make collages!

I posted on Facebook a little while ago about artists being great hoarders. Well, in order to make collages, we just have to be - a little bit, anyway. Otherwise, where would you ever come up with the "stuff" to make a collage?

So I have these big red sunflowers - silk flowers that I have had in a beautiful twisted glass vase with some smooth little pebbles. I decided that the stems were way too long, so my wonderful hubby set about finding some snips to cut through the heavy wire stems. He cut them off, and then asked the crucial question: "What do you want to do with these?" The "these" referred to the remaining stems. At first I said to throw them out, but I saw them just laying there on top of the trash, and I just had to rescue them.

I had just painted these little 5 x 5 canvases black, so I laid a few of the stems on top, and decided they looked pretty cool. So I asked him if he could go and cut me some 5 inch even cuts from the stems, and he's great and cut them for me.

I had rescued a bag of dessicant, you know a bag labeled, "Do Not Eat!" and determined the little stuff inside was clay balls. So I set about mixing up some thinned red acrylic in a small lid to see if I could get the balls to accept the color. After awhile I got some nice red ones, some pink ones and some that lost their shape and were melting.

I had some lovely gold paper that another artist (Thank you, Raquel) had given out to us that she said came from Brazil, and some other paper that I thought was rice paper that I bought in a bargain bag. First I glued on the "rice paper" and the glue showed through after it dried, so out came the gold acrylic to paint this which turned out great. I cut out a round shape from the gold paper and glued it onto the other canvas, then I proceeded to lay on the stems and the little colored balls and glued them down. Voila!

Here Comes Mischief in Cat Form!

Misty Gray Cat is a painting about a kitty that we used to have. A soft, pretty gray-colored shelter kitten we got when my son could hold her upside down in one hand, she grew into a beautiful, although squirrely, cat who could be gentle and loving or as fierce as a tasmanian devil when she visited the veterinarian (which thankfully she rarely needed).

Misty, the painting, is done in pure watercolor on Arches 140 lb. Cold Press Watercolor paper with mostly Winsor-Newton paints. (I have a few other brands, all professional quality, and intermingle them on my palette.) It definitely reflects the personality of this loving tasmanian, split-personality, kooky kitty. Cool colors dominate the composition.

Misty Gray Cat can be found at DreamON by clicking here. Enjoy!

Texture is fun, but more than that the added dimension it adds to a painting is becoming to me like putting salt and spice on my food.










The textures that can be added to every kind of two-dimensional media vary, but more and more I am looking at texture as a necessity rather than an addition to a painting. In this first example entitled Music For Martinis, texturing the background happened before the idea of the painting was hatched.





















In this next example, He Gave Me Flowers some of the background texturing happened as the abstract still life was being painted, but much of it was created after the fact.

The two examples are used to show that texture can happen at any stage of a painting to add interest and excitement to the artwork.

For added information about either painting, you may want to click on the images to read more.

Winds of March Sale!

I decided to have a sale of some of my pieces that have been in my Etsy Shop, DreamON, for quite some time. It's time to get some new artwork going in; and clean up, clean out, sweep out with the March winds - some things that have been lurking there in the corner unnoticed. So I'm posting a few of them here.

They're all great buys at their newly reduced prices!!! Please go check out my Winds Of March Sale Section. Click here to be transported. The first one is called A Bit Squirrely.







This next one is titled Heceta Lighthouse. The Heceta Head Lighthouse as seen in the distance from the twisting highway along the Oregon coast makes you want to get up close, but the traffic moves right along, and before you know it, you've driven right past. My original painting has real seaweed collaged onto it now.



This next one is called Kitty Daze. For whatever reason, I've always loved this one. The bright and cheerful colors with the cute little sandpaper kitty collaged on just appeals to me.

I had just discovered that the foam thingy that came with my ultra-spendy Stein Mart watch made a wonderful stamping tool that I have gleefully used and used until it just fell apart. It's a happy painting. And, you know, I just love kitties!

The last one in the post is Wind For Sale. It is all one painting that has a black gesso border dividing it into three panes onto which collaged pieces add a slight, colorful quality to the otherwise all black and white. It had a moonlit marina theme. It's not meant to be realistic, but to have that special quality that moonlight casts on objects in darkness.

There are eleven pieces of artwork in the special Winds of March Sale. You will find them all in my Etsy shop at DreamON.Etsy.com.

Interview With Miz Katie

I got to know Miz Katie a little bit from my convos with her about my Treasury about clotheslines. That has lead to our exchange of features about each other's Etsy shops. The following are questions I posed to her and her answers to my questions.

I notice that you are in Kansas and wondered how long you have lived there?
Almost ten years, minus 2. It's actually a very long story, so I'll try to keep it short. I moved to KS in 1999 from Maine. Ended up moving to West Virginia in 2005. I LOVE West Virginia. But, I came back to Kansas in 2007 to be near family. I will never regret that choice, but honestly, I miss my friends in WV.

Are you in a rural area or closer to KC?
I am in extremely rural Kansas, three plus hours away from KC, and about 40-45 minutes away from Wichita. Except for the 932 people and all the barking dogs, it's a bit like a ghost town here. The grocery store, two restaurants and barber shop were closed when we moved here. There is absolutely nothing to do. It is about a 20-25 minute drive to the nearest little city. But, we have a liquor store, which just opened. I heard it is doing very well. Wine is a top seller.

What do you like about it, and what do you dislike?
I love being near family.
I love my house.
I love the flat land.
I love the hot, arid summers.
I dislike/disagree with the majority of political views.
I dislike people not caring for their animals, and leaving them out all night, barking, no matter what the weather.
I wish the neighborhood kids weren't so loud, disrespectful and rude.
I miss my WV "hillbilly" friends.

Are you involved in any art groups or do you show in a gallery?
Only online. I belong to so many art groups, it would take days to list them all.
I don't think my art fits in a typical gallery.

How long have you been painting?
Oh, gosh! Well, hm..my obsession for painting started soon after I moved to Kansas in 1999..I was very lonely, depressed, and unhappy. I began to paint for that reason. Painting made me come alive. It gave me reason to get out of bed each morning. I couldn't wait to paint..still can't. It's something I look forward to doing every day. Before that, I was more into collage, writing, and photography. I've been published a few times in magazines/newspapers, and several times online.

What time of day do you find is best for you to paint?
Anytime is fine with me. I'm not one who has to sit around and wait for inspiration. I HAVE to paint. It isn't a choice. I usually paint from around 1pm to 7pm, though. That time works for me. I have the morning to get the boring stuff done, and I can play all afternoon. Sometimes, I can't wait for 1pm, though, and I head to the studio as soon as my first cup of coffee is brewed.

What do you like about your work space, and what do you dislike?
I have a pretty big room, which I call my studio. I love everything about it, except that it's freezing cold. I can't seem to get it above 60F in that room, no matter how high I crank the furnace. brr!!! I have to use a space heater the whole time I'm working.

Do you listen to any music while painting, and if you do what kind of music?
Sure, sometimes. I like Alternative. I usually go to Pandora.com and listen to the Foo Fighters station. That gives me non-stop music with no commercials the whole time I paint.

How did your "style" evolve?
Oh, there are so many ways! The most important is that I stopped taking myself and art seriously years ago. I used to be so anal retentive. It was incredibly boring and painful to make art back then. I was so careful. Ugh! The day I learned there are no mistakes in art was the greatest day I've ever lived. I know now that no matter what I do, I can NOT mess up. It's impossible. That's why gesso was created! All I have to do is paint over it if I don't like it, and try again. What a relief! Whew! The pressure is OFF.

I am much happier these days, so I insert humor into my artwork more often than I used to. I like to take something ordinary and twist it until it's humorous. Sometimes, absurdly so. I'm from New England; therefore, I am sarcastic. ;) Most everything I make comes from my imagination, made up stories, exaggeration, half-truths, and complete and utter lies! Oh, there is a pinch of reality thrown in from time to time, but eh.. I like to keep it as unreal as possible.

I hope you have enjoyed this feature on Miz Katie and will check out her Etsy shop, MizKatie!
I think her art is very fresh and lots of fun! Enjoy!

My New Etsy Treasury "Just hanging out"

As you can see, I've named this treasury on Etsy, "Just hanging out." I love plays on words, and I think this one works. This is my most successful treasury to date. Just looking at it I found it on page 5, and it's not even a day old yet. Just an infant!

I had been looking for subjects for a treasury, and somehow I started thinking about how much fun I had photographing clotheslines in Italy and how much fun I've had painting the two Italian clotheslines that I've painted. So I decided this would be my subject.

I had so much fun seeing what was on Etsy with search words "art" and "clothesline." I found some wonderful things, and I was excited to snag a treasury. Well it's taken me awhile to do that. One time the magic number was down to 336 or something, and I went into the kitchen to work on something - like dinner or something silly like that. I had one eye on the computer and saw the screen flash, but by the time I got to it, the treasuries had already been filled. So this time, the magic number was 347 when I started to stalk the treasury page and wait for the screen to "open, open, open."

Many thanks to MizKatie who offered me access to her blog photo, where she has featured my treasury. Screen shot declined to work for me tonight. She's a fabulously expressive artist so go check out her world at MizKatie .

Please do go look at MizKatie's blog, Miz Katie , and be sure to check out my treasury which can be found on Etsy.com in Treasury under "Just hanging out" . It will expire in two days on December 8th around noon, so look fast.