companions 16 x 20

Okay so I love this painting. I painted it a while ago but couldn't post it because it was a Christmas present. Okie and Bentley are my brother in law and his girlfriends dogs. They are sweet friends. I love how Okie is looking out the window like he wants to go out but will faithfully wait for his friend. I have to say this is probably one of my favorite paintings!

Monty 11 x 14 oil

I really enjoyed painting this. It is my first cat painting. This is a christmas present for my sister in law. I already gave it to her over the thanksgiving holiday. I am thinking about getting into pet portraits. I only have done it for family so far. I am currently working on another one so hopefully I will be done today or tomorrow.

pumpkin 8 x 10 oil

I painted this one a while ago but I have to say I like it but not love it. I am enjoying painting bigger. I wish this one had been at least an 11 x 14.  I do like the colors in the pumpkin.

pumpkins II 16 x 20 oil

pumpkins 16 x 20 oil

I feel really good about this one. I am happy I finished this in one sitting although it is larger than I normally paint my daily paintings. I love this time of year. There are so many great smells and pretty colors. I loved painting these pumpkins so I am planning to go out and get some more for tomorrow or whenever i can paint again.

older drawings

These are some old drawings of mine. I have been missing drawing lately and hope to get back to it. I know it has been a long time since I have posted. I am hoping to get back into a groove with painting regularly.  I feel inspired today. At church the pastor talked about whether we are acting a part or if we are really being that part. He was talking about faith but it got me thinking about my art. It was strange because yesterday I finally watched a show I recorded. It was Oprah talking to J.K. Rowling. It showed a clip of her speaking at Harvard and talking about how failing is part of life unless you live so cautiously that you don't fail and that is not really living. I wanted to write that on my wall so I have to see it everyday and hopefully inspire me to work. I guess it felt strange to me to have messages speak to me 2 days in a row. Maybe that is the little push I need.

Okie 24" x 30" oil

I finally got back to painting. This is a painting of my brother-in-laws dog named Okie. I feel like his personality comes through pretty good.

red white and blue 8 x 10 oil

I don't know why I seem to be drawn to red white and blue but alot of my paintings seem to be these colors.

raspberries 5 x 7 oil

I am happy I was able to paint this yesterday. I have to admit it wasn't easy. When I don't get to paint as much I get a little rusty and frustrated. I actually started this and then wiped the canvas clean and painted it again. I amost stopped about half way through this painting and gave up. I am glad that I worked through it. I think I need a new palatte. Maybe that would help. Mine gets so dirty with old dried out paint. I read about other artists who have burnt umber on thier palatte. I may try to use it but part of me feels like that is cheating. I was trained to mix my own colors I basically use 2 shades of red, 2 of yellow, 2 of blue and white.  I am going back to Iowa soon for a visit. I am excited. I miss the small town feel, the country, the antiques. Where i am going there are lots of Amish and you will see horse drawn carriages along the road. Much different than Houston.

three tiny tomatoes 5 x 7 oil

Okay, so I have hardly painted in the last few weeks. I did one painting but I was too embarassed to show it. It was pretty bad. I am trying to figure out a schedule now that my oldest is out of school.  Hopefully I will get one worked out but I may take it easy over the summer what with vacations and trying to entertain the kids. I am planning to take pictures and find other things to paint. It is my birthday today, 37 yrs old. It seems odd. I feel like i am only about 28 or 30.

two bottles 8 x 10 oil

I don't know what is going on with my computer. It has a virus or something attacking it. I have a great book about picasso that has quotes from him that my mom would borrow to read to her class. I want to blog one of those quotes today.....

"Everyone wants to understand art. Why don't we try to understand the songs of a bird? Why do we love the night, the flowers, everything around us, without trying to understand them? But in the case of a painting, people think they have to understand. If only they would realize above all that an artist works out of necessity, that he himself is only an insignificant part of the world, and that no more importance should be attached to him than to plenty of other things which please us in the world, though we can't explain them. People who try to explain pictures usually are barking up the wrong tree."

I had a painting of three teacups in an art show many years ago and the judge came and talked to me and about how two teacups were touching each other and the third was a little off by itself and how that meant loneliness and not relating to the other teacups. Give me a break. It was just a painting of teacups!

the lonely tomato 5 x 7 oil

lemons and limes 8 x 10

I went to hobby lobby a couple of weeks ago and got some different fabric. I need to wash them or iron them so they aren't too wrinkly. I like this one. I do like the wrinkles in the cloth. There were a lot more but it would have been too busy to paint them all in.

limes in purple bowl 5 x 7 oil

Okay, so I haven't painted in a while. It has been a tough week for my art.  It was one of those when you aren't sure if you should just give up.  I don't think anyone looks at this blog. I am struggling and trying to tell myself I am doing this for myself and not other people. I am trying to look forward to what will happen if I continue. I should feel proud of myself. If I had been asked a yr ago if I ever thought I would have a blog I would have said no and yet here I am.   Obviously I am feeling sensitive and I am needing encouragement.  This has been a big jump for me painting as often as I can and starting a blog. My next step or big push is to try to sell on ebay or etsy. I am a little scared about it.

limes in a red bowl 5 x 7 oil

It is such a gloomy day today. My painting seems dark.  I paint by natural light so it affects my painting.  I felt like painting something more colorful after my last painting. I am not sure about this painting and my last one too. In the last one I like the pop of color of the limes and the colors in the fabric. Today i started to feel a little cramped in the 5 x 7. I felt boxed in. I couldn't focus on detail because I don't like detail and I kept trying to make myself go back over it with detail but I didn't want to. I just wanted to grab a big brush and go crazy like I would on a large painting.

I have never painted abstract, i don't even know how to begin. I think it would be fun to paint on a large canvas using whatever emotion I felt.  An artist I really love is de kooning.  I like how he approaches a canvas with his large brushes and buckets of paint surrounding him on the floor and the raw emotion coming out in his paintings.  Picasso is another artist I love. I didn't until i went a picasso gallery in France when I was 18. Standing in front of his work and hearing about his life is amazing. It changes the way you think about art.  When you know what is going on in the world during the time when the artist is painting, knowing about their lives, trying to see through their eyes...it changes your perspective.

pitcher with lemons 8 x 10 oil

tangerine slices 5 x 7 oil

I have really enjoyed painting almost everyday. I find that when I can't paint for a while I miss it and think of what I want to paint.  I notice that I am starting to "see" again. That is what I call it when wherever you look you think "that would be a nice painting". You get distracted by colors. I remember in college I went to the movies with some friends.  The movie wasn't that great, I don't even remember what it was but i was mesmerized by the colors on the faces on screen...the blues greens and reds in the skin tones.  I was in a spin class yesterday and I looked at a fellow spinner and the way the light and shadows fell on her face I thought I would like to paint her like that. 

tangerines 5 x 7 oil

mineola tangerines 5 x 7 oil

I am happy with this one. I love the bright color and odd shape of this fruit.

teacup and fruit 5 x 7 oil

My husband calls my artwork teacups and fruit so i thought that would be a good title for this one. It really is a teacup, one i picked up about a month ago from homegoods. It is different for me to paint something like this with a pattern on it.

still life with apples and limes 8" x 10" oil

abby touch up

I touched up my abby painting a little bit.  I like it better.

still life 5 x 7 oil

I am not sure how i feel about this one. I had placed these on the guest bed yesterday while painting yesterday's painting and then when i was done i saw these lying on the bed and liked the way the light fell on the fruit.  Once i started painting it i was a little frustrated because there is a shiny stripe pattern on the fabric and it did reflect the green from the limes.

two limes and apple 5 x 7 oil

It felt good to be back to painting. I guess it has become a routine to me now which is fantastic. I had a great visit with family. We celebrated my youngest son turning 3 yrs old. My mother in law and i went to p.f. changs yesterday for lunch and my fortune cookie said  "endurance and persistence will pay off" that is good. Hopefully that will come true!!

espresso cups and saucers 8 x 10

I found these cute little espresso cups and saucers at world market. They had some great stuff. I hadn't been there in a long time.  I loved the bright colors. They were a little difficult to paint. I am not sure how i feel about this painting.  I will not be painting for a almost a week. We have guests coming so I will be taking a break.

Abby 16" x 20"

This is my dog Abby. She really is a sweet dog. She walks around with this ball in her mouth hoping someone will throw it for her.

three amigos 5 x 7 oil

This was pretty fun to paint. Three jalapenos. It took forever for me to set up. It has to catch my eye and be interesting to me for me to feel like painting it. When you paint you get into a kind of zone. Time seems to slide by but sometimes while I paint I tend to work through or dwell on different problems.  

fiesta cups 5 x 7 oil

My sister-in-law loaned me her fabulous fiesta teacups. I am very grateful for that. I love the bright colors. 

tomatoes on a vine 5 x 7 oil

campari tomatoes 8 x 10 oil

I have had these little tomatoes for a little while trying to find a set up that clicked for me. I think i have tried about 3 or 4 times and ended up wiping off the paint with turpentine. I am happy with this painting. I loved the pale blue with the tomatoes. It is actually a shirt. Alot of the time i have an idea of what color would work but no fabric to match so i scour through the closets trying to find it.

Apples on a plate 5 x 7 oil

Yes, more apples. They are so beautiful and fun to paint. It is my sons 8th birthday today.

norm 24 x 30 acrylic

I painted this one in sometime in November or December. Norman is my sister in law's dog. I like painting dogs. I haven't tried a long haired dog yet, only labs. I have a golden retriever that i want to paint next.

untitled 5 x 7 oil

apples 5 x 7 oil

oranges with blue bowl II 8 x 10 oil

Same set up pretty much. I just changed the perspective.

oranges with blue bowl 8 x 10 oil

Obviously I have a horrible time naming my paintings. I can never come up with those cute little titles some artists do. It would be easier if i could just call it still life #362 or something along those lines. I really loved painting this. When i set this still life up and saw the bowl and the oranges together and the way the light from the window fell on it I got excited.  Right then I felt grateful that I can see the beauty in the things around me. It felt as though that was my reward.

limes on a plate 8 x 10 oil

 So i haven't been able to paint too much over the long weekend. I worked on this one a little bit on friday and sunday. I love the colors of the limes. I notice i am using gray a lot lately. I am into interior design and even worked for a little bit in the field.  I get a lot of home interiors magazines and i am noticing gray being a hot color. I love the color.  I am seeing gray and yellow in the magazines but i also like it with orange and pretty much every color. It influences me when i set up my still life sometimes because the colors i see together in the magazines make an impression. Nature of course is also an inspiration.

three lemons 5"x7" oil

bowl of lemons 5"x7" oil

I realize that these paintings are looking similar. I am just having fun painting them. I think maybe i am learning how to paint small and make more interesting and complete paintings.

clementines 5"x7"

I also painted this quick little painting today.  Once again the clementines have so many colors in them.  Sometimes i have to squint to try to break down the shapes and colors i see and simplify them.

bowl of clementines 7"x 9" oil

I am having fun painting these clementines. There are so many colors in them and i like the way they reflect so well on objects around them.

darling clementine 7" x 9" oil

I really enjoyed painting this one. I loved all the colors in this that i got to play around with. It is nice to come to a point when you really enjoy painting. When i began painting daily i had frustrating days fairly often. Now i feel as though there are fewer. It feels liberating.  I used to have to push myself to go paint and now i look forward to it. My love/hate relationship with painting is changing.

Bette Sellars painting

This is one of my mom's paintings. She really is fantastic! I wish i could paint like that.

I know, this is the same painting i posted yesterday but i touched it up a little. I think this is a better image too. Not as many lumps. I meant to paint a new painting today but i am too tired. I am back at the gym this week after 2 weeks off because of colds and spring break.  Todays spin class was really tough. Hopefully tomorrow i will have the energy to paint again. It is nice having the internet to look at other artists work and get inspired. There are so many talented artists out there. In school you are surrounded by other artists and you struggle together and learn from each other. You have days when you feel unworthy next to another painter and then the days you feel smug because your painting is going well. Some days it feels like i am back at school while i look at all the amazing artists out there.  I have to keep remind myself of what i discovered in school and that is that every artist is different and unique. I compare painting with handwriting in the sense that everyone has thier own style of handwriting as well as brushstroke.  The method of which they apply paint to the canvas. My mom is a fantastic artist. I would like to get her on the internet. She was my professor in college. Every once in a while i still need a critique from her. I am lucky to have that.

tea anyone? 7 x 9

roma tomatoes 5"x7"

friends 5" x 7" oil

I just finished painting this a few minutes. Actually, i think i will be touching it up a little later. I propped my table up on top of another table to get this viewpoint and i like it. I will try this out with some other still lifes too. It is funny, when you see your work on the computer you see it differently. Sometimes in college we would turn the painting upside down to get a different perspective.  I like it when you see one of your paintings that you haven't seen in a while. Sometimes it surprises you. I gave my uncle a painting years ago and forgot about it. It was one i wasn't entirely fond of but he loved it.  Before he passed away i went to see him and saw the painting on the wall. I thought " that's a nice painting i wonder who did that" and then i realized it was mine.

apple reflection 5" x 7"

The apple painting is the one i painted yesterday. My photo isn't too great. The light is reflecting a little. It is a painting of 2 apples with an old percolator behind them reflecting back the 2 apples. The other painting is one i painted a while ago of a silver gravy boat.