Okole Maluna! Oil Painting...

Okole Maluna!...30x30.....oil on GWcanvas..........$800

This is the only painting that I did this week, but since it is 30x30 I am OK with that. I also did a community project on Monday and have been getting ready to deliver my paintings this weekend for the show in Biloxi next weekend.

But back to the painting. I just want to say that I am button-popping proud of this one. Not that it is the greatest painting I have ever done, but it is by far the best HANDS I have ever done! Any artist knows that hands are just hard. And let's see...why not put four of them in there from all different angles!

I was searching for a foreign toast and then I saw Okole Maluna...it is Hawaiian. I had images of it meaning something to do with light (luna) so I went to look up the meaning. I first found Okole it meant rear end. Huh? Then I found the entire phrase and it means...Bottoms up! So much for my romanticised melodious Hawaiian phrase.

Interesting Places to Go and Things to See....

First let me answer the question that I know is on everyone's mind...What the heck? Or actually what the heck does a little Shasta trailer have to do with anything. If you don't know what I am talking about, check out the previous post and then come back.

Last night I received the correct answer from our dear friends Randy and Joleen in Baton Rouge, La. (who are just "the best people). There is a reason we have been friends with these folks forever....they just get me. Anyway, for those of you who are still scratching your heads, the answer is======"One Happy Camper"!

Ok now on to something serious...As I stated yesterday, I was honored to receive the "Arte Y Pico" Award again. The first time, I played by the rules and did everything I was supposed to do. It takes a little chunk of your day to post all those links and email the folks you have chosen and all that stuff...so this time I decided to update my link list to the right with cool people that for some reason I never did put over there. Now anyone who comes to my blog forevermore will be able to look over there and go check them out.

So here are the new additions to the party:

Justin Clayton...I got to meet him in Austin and he is a really nice guy. His site is very different and beautiful. This is what blew me away...look at his archives of paintings in those little collages that he has and then look at all those little red dots! Those are paintings sold people! Way to go Justin!

Charles Sovek...My most helpful site ever. Mr. Sovek passed away this past summer and it just broke my heart that the world had lost such a great generous, talented artist way too early. His site has tutorials, and helpful hints and wonderful archives of his work. Spend the day just checking it out!

Maggie Stiefvater...She is a writer, mom, humorist, colored pencil artist and all around nut. Her articles in the archives about time management are solid gold. Use the magic search feature and find them, read them, follow them, and then call me and remind me to do the same.

Mike Rooney...I love his work and he is a "chatter" like me. He always tells you what is going on and what he's thinking. I like that. It makes you feel like part of the process or something. It also makes me know that there are other artists out there that I consider much farther up the food chain than me, that have their own insecurities, bad days, and wiped off paintings just like I do.

Mary Sheehan Winn...She does beautiful work that I can identify with, would like to own, like to look at, etc. Plus her commentary is pretty entertaining. Check out the painting of the kite store. Wow. Love it.

Jerry Lebo (a.k.a. The Sixty Minute Artist)...Interesting views, hints, and articles. Be sure to read his bio piece on the side that tells why he is the Sixty Minute Artist.

Quiang-Huang... I got to meet him in Austin as well. His name is pronounced Chong Wong. He is such a sweet, gentle person. His paintings are beautiful. His journey is interesting and I love his phraseology in the "English as a second language" vein of thinking. Sometimes it is almost musical.

Colin Page...I am seeing his name pop up everywhere in the blogs that I frequent. He is a fabulous painter with a style that I aspire to. Loose, colorful, happy, with blocks, and splotches of color that may not necessarily make sense until you look at the overall picture. As was the joke in an art class I took, when we particularly loved something we said we just wanted to "get a spoon and eat it!" I need a knife and fork, too, when I see his work!


Okay, my job here is done. I must get to painting since I rally hate to post without a "picture". But I will have one for you tomorrow. I hope.

Pat O'brien's Evening Radiance...Oil Painting

Pat O'Brien's Evening Radiance.....24x30.....Oil on Canvas.....$700

This is from a photo I took when we were in New Orleans for a Saint's game last year. I have always wanted to paint it because of the wonderful glow it has.

Well, folks, I am indeed surprised to say that I have received the "Arte Y Pico" award from another source. This morning I got my Google Alert and saw that Carol Marine had included me in her five recipients. Talk about an honor! For a musician, this would be like having one of your alltime favorite recording artists bestow an award on you. It is very very special to me in an entirely different way than when I received it from Pattie. The picture below describes what I am right now...I challenge everyone to submit the right answer in the comments column. So do you get it? Come on think about it......Answer will be posted tomorrow. But I know there is someone out there on the same quirky wavelength as me.Also coming tomorrow will be five more artists...I got the award twice and cannot wait to post another 5 recipients that are every bit as interesting and talented as the first five.

Mom's Flowers Oil Painting

Mom's Flowers.......24x36......Oil on Canvas.......$800

These are some flowers that are in my mother's dining room. She won them at some event she attended. It makes me think of the Christmas arrangement that I still have that my grandmother won at a Christmas Open House at a local florist. It is way old now, but I can't get rid of it.

I have had a couple of people tell me that they are unable to leave comments on my blog. Not sure what's the deal, but I promised someone that I would tell how to do it so she would be sure she was doing it right. First, for those of you that subscribe to my blog, you may not know this, but you can click on my name at the top of the email you receive and it will take you to my actual blog. It is ever so pretty with the black background and all that stuff so check it out every now and then. If you are on the actual blog you can look at the bottom of each post and you will see a spot that says "0 comments" or "1 comment". If you click on that it takes you to a comment box and you can leave a message there. There may be a verification box that you have to type in the letters that you see in the squiggle form, but that's pretty much it. So let's hear some comments!

Where I Stand on Sunday:

This is my first post for a photo-journalistic sort of project that caught my eye. Pattie Wall, the cool lady that gave me my award a couple of posts ago, is part of a group that takes a photo every Sunday of where they are at that particular slice of time. This is my first Sunday to do it.

This is "where I stand" today. I am in my den, sleeping pooch nearby, trying to be sure I don't miss anything on the Olympics. We've been to church, grocery shopped, so I have just a couple more chores before I can settle in for some serious Olympic viewing!

Fountain Reflections Oil Painting

Fountain Reflections.....20x24.....oil on canvas......$490

This is for my festival in October in Gulf Shores. It is based on a photo I took while in Santa Fe last year attending Carol Marine's art workshop. I became friends with a wonderful classmate named Bernie. He and I would meet early and ride around and take pictures and then go to class. This was a fountain at a hotel near the one where I was staying.

Arte Y Pico Award...

This month I was awarded the Arte Y Pico Award by Pattie Wall, a talented artist from Kansas. Patty was one of the students in the workshop that I took in Austin taught by Karin Jurick and Carol Marine. Unbeknownst to me she has been following my blog since then and graciously chose me for this award. I have seen this on other people's blogs and thought it was a way cool idea, but never thought I would receive one. If I had thought about it I would have guessed that it would be sent by someone I know really well. I was so touched to get this from Patty and to have it reinforced that I am not just sending this stuff out into space....that someone besides just my family is actually looking at it. ==sniff- sniff===This is where I say "I promised myself I wasn't going to do this" as I dramatically wipe away a tear. But there is business to take care of.

The Origin of The Arte y Pico Award You might be interested in the origin of the "Arte y Pico Award" The designer of the award puts it like this..."The Arte y Pico Award has arisen from the daily visits that I make to many blogs which nourish and enrich me with creativity. In them, I see dedication, creativity, care, comradeship, but mainly, ART, much art. I want to share this prize with all those bloggers that entertain and enrich me day to day. Doubtlessly, there are many and it will be hard to pick just a few."

I couldn't have said it better myself. I LOVE the blogging community and cannot tell you the inspiration I have derived from the art, musings, tutorials and general postings I have found there. So, in accord with the "rules" I shall pass on the links for five artists that I think deserve recognition. There are oh, so many, but these five are women I feel exhibit quality and may need to know that others appreciate their efforts.

Faye Christian Phillips-Her blog is the whole package including quotations that match the subject matter of her painting for the day. Can you say "consistent"? And so classy, like her.

Vicki Shuck-I met her (and Faye) in the Carol Marine workshop in Santa Fe. She is working to improve her art sales so that her husband (also an artist) can "quit his day job".

Paula Cravens-Also a "Santa Fe" friend. Her and her husband were so kind to me on that trip! You never know what will appear when you tune into her blog....and I mean that.

Terry Rafferty-Yes, another Santa Fe friend...what can I say? It was a great class! Terry is a serious girl...she is working to get better and better and it shows.

Robin Cheers-I had the pleasure of meeting Robin Cheers at Carol Marine's house when I was in Texas for the Carol Marine/Karin Jurick workshop. I had followed her work online and did not know she would be there so it was a delightful surprise to be shaking her hand all of a sudden. Her work is probably the most similar to what I attempt to achieve in my own style...bold, colorful, bright, happy.

So now I am requested to post "The Rules":

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award through creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter of language.

2. Each award should have the name of the author with a link to their blog.

3. Award winners have to post the award with the name and link to the blog of the person who gave them the award.

4. Show these rules and the paragraph (above) explaining the awards origination.

So there you have it. My thanks to Pattie and my congratulations to these five artists (not intentionally all female, by the way).

Have a great day, I'm off to paint!

Crawfish Boiling Point Oil Painting

Crawfish Boiling Point........20x24.........oil on canvas........$490

This is from a photo at Dacia(my daughter's) crawfish boil that we had to celebrate her graduation. Her boyfriend Shaun was our chef and he reminded me that I had wanted to take a photo of the cooking in action or I would have forgotten all about it. Thanks Shaun! I love this one....you can almost smell the crab boil. Let's say I love it now that it is done. It was a doozie to decipher as I was trying to paint it.

I think this one will be a hit at the shrimp festival.....even if it isn't shrimp!

Steam Boat Willie Jazz Musician New Orleans Oil Painting

Steamboat Willie....10x20....Oil on Gallery Wrap........SOLD

This is a painting of my favorite Jazz Guy in New Orleans. We first heard him on our anniversary trip to N.O. right before the hurricane. We heard him at Cafe Beignet in Legends Park on Bourbon St. on Sat. night. We really liked him and then as luck would have it, he was playing at the Jazz Brunch at the Marriot the next morning when we went there. We talked to him and bought a cd, which he signed. I took a few photos of him and his trio. It was just a most memorable anniversary. (I took the photo of the shrimp on the plate with the lemon that I posted a couple of months ago on this trip as well as a shot of a chef making bananas foster.)

Well, three weeks later the hurricane came and I wondered many times about his whereabouts. On our first trip back to New Orleans (I don't remember the exact date, but it was for a Saints game so I guess it was a little more than a year after the hurricane) we were walking down Bourbon street and I heard this great sound and lo and behold! it was Steamboat Willie back in Legends Park! I was just so glad to see him and know that he was okay and back in N.O. playing.

You can go to his website http://www.steamboatwillie.tv/ and click on live gigs...then click on "listen to Bring Me Back" It is a song he wrote while up in the north somewhere not long after the hurricane. If that doesn't get your toe to tappin' I don't know what will. That song is just so special to me. In it there is a wonderful black woman that sings out the names of different areas of New Orleans and at one point she sings out "New Orleans East!" which is where I lived from first to fifth grade. Just go listen, I know you will enjoy it!

So Steamboat Willie holds a special place in my heart and we always make it a point to go and see him when we are in N.O. I have drug many friends and family members there to sing, dance, sweat, dance in the rain and have many great memories.

So, I have always wanted to paint him and now I have. I truly love this painting. It is like the one of my nephew and his sons at the beach.....just like I want to paint.....loose, colorful, bold. Every now and then I hit one just right and this is one of those.

We went to N.O. this past weekend for our anniversary (we have one of those every year and we definitely feel like it is worth celebrating!) We had the most wonderful trip and of course, got to see Steamboat Willie. I took him a print of this painting and he liked it and decided he needed the original. So now we have to make another trip down there to take him his painting.

It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

Flirtatious Feet Oil Painting

Flirtatious Feet......Oil on Board......8x10......$125

It was all about the chair . I took the photo of the chair, I chose to paint the chair...then I noticed the feet. His feet, her feet. Then I had to paint the chair to get to the feet. I think I spend too much time by myself sometimes.

Shrimp Boat with Pelicans oil painting

Shrimp Boat with Pelicans.......20x24.......oil on canvas...............$490

This is one of the last ones in my series of coast paintings for the show in a couple of weeks. This is one of my favorite places in Ocean Springs. Down on the little pier with the pelicans. I love that shrimp boat. It has appeared in a couple of my paintings already, along with varying winged neighbors. I really like the way this painting turned out. I think the afternoon mood is pretty well evident.

Pathway to Peace of Mind

Pathway to Peace of Mind.......24x30........oil on Canvas....................$750

This is for my coast show on the 30th. The show features aspects of life that were affected by Katrina, and this one represents our peace of mind. The slow and easy underlying pace of the coast was definitely affected. The "fishing on Saturday instead of putting a new roof on your house and trying to survive" mode of life is returning for some, but others are still struggling. My heart goes out to all who are still trying to regain their "peace of Mind".

Lovelace Drugstore Washington Ave. Ocean Springs

Lovelace Drugs........ 24x20 .........Oil on Canvas............$490(sold)

In my absence from my blog I have been painting in bits and pieces when time would allow, I just haven't had the time or energy to photo, post and write a blog entry. But I have to get back in the saddle and get down to business.

This is a piece I did for the upcoming show in Biloxi. The title of the show is "Everything is Katrina Related". It will feature aspects of coast life that were affected by Katrina as presented from my personal point of view. The show is Aug. 30 which is the day after the 3rd anniversary of the hurricane.