Cup Stack....Oil painting

Cup Stack......10x20.....Oil.......$225

This one draws from the imagination....a bit....I just couldn't get a set of cups and saucers to stay like that for long!

"Imported" Wine Bottles...Oil Painting...Commission

"Imported Wine Bottles".....36x48........Oil......Commission(sold)

This is a commissioned painting for a nice gentleman in Missouri. He found me via my blog (Yay blog!) by googling wine bottle artist (yay Google!). This is the second largest piece I have done.


I loved working on this painting! The wine bottles were "imported" to me, here in Mississippi, from Missouri. Each one is from a local Missouri winery that Jim and his wife have visited and each one has an interesting story to go with it.


It was a long back and forth process but this past week the painting finally went to its new home and Jim is very happy with it which makes me VERY happy!


Commissions are a diferent breed of painting....I explained it to Jim this way:


For a commissioned painting to be successful...

• first you have to realize what it is, exactly, that you want
• then you have to communicate that to me
• then I have to understand what you are saying that you want
• then I have to get my eyes, brain and brushes to execute what I heard that you want
• then when you see it you interpret, in your own way, to decide if it is what you wanted

There are many points along the way where a disconect can occur. I think my years of painting murals in people's homes have helped me to be a good listener when it comes to what people want. I recognize some of the pitfalls and ask a LOT of questions. When a client says "I want it to be sort of like this picture" I ask what it is they like about it. Sometimes the end result bears little resemblance to the orginal inspiration. But that's the fun of it!

Picnic Pairing...oil painting...

Picnic Pairing....12x24.....oil.......SOLD
This is one of those paintings that has a mood to it. It is based on a photo I took of wine that my mom and I enjoyed at lunch one day on a shopping trip in Ocean Springs. (hey, we had to refuel for a long afternoon!)

I tweaked it here and there to make it look like it was outside at a picnic...I just want to lay down on the blanket in the grass and grab a book and sip away.

Heading up Bourbon Street.....oil painting.....

Heading up Bourbon Street....8x10....oil on board.....SOLD

This is still a "little landscape" like the postS of the last couple of days....but you will agree it is very different.

I think it is amazing if you stop to think about it....the different kinds of worlds people live in. One person steps out their front door and they are surrounded by nature...another by concrete and cars. The point was driven home to me when Michael, my oldest, almost ended up with a job in NYC.

We went up there to find an apartment for them when he and Heather were virtual newlyweds. It was so funny to see what their daily life would have been like. Small apartment, subway to work, stop at the market on the way home...just so different from the life we are used to down here in the South.

Thankfully, they ended up in Kentucky, where they still are, and thankfully that is where the twins were born. I cannot imagine if they had actually gone to New York. God was watching out for them. Not that New York is a bad place, but I think what happened was best for them and the rest of the family.

On another subject, I just found out today, thanks to my great husband, that I got in the Gumtree Festival in Tupelo in May. Someone once told me that doing the outdoor art festivals was like having to apply for your job 5 or 6 times a year. And it is true...you don't know whether you will get in or not...it is a juried process. And some don't make it.

I got in Gumtree the first year I applied and then the next year I didn't get in. I was SO disappointed. Then as it turned out the weekend of the festival was the weekend my daughter graduated from college....I wouldn't have been able to go anyway and I would have had to forfeit my substantial booth fee. God looks out for us, but sometimes we don't see his hand on our shoulder immediately.

Have a great day everybody.

"Pond"ering....oil painting landscape....

"Pond"ering.....8x10......oil on board......SOLD

Continuing in the landscape genre....these little gems look so great right now lined up in my living room. I love that I get to keep my paintings around the house and live with them while they dry. I feel like a foster parent.

Something different is on tap for tomorrow, though. No need to get stuck on one thing for too long. That's the beauty of this job.

On another note, let's just say we've been knocking it out of the park with wedding planning lately. My little chick is going to have a wedding that is as cool and unique as she is.

Where No One Goes....Oil painting Landscape...

Where No One Goes....8x10....oil on board......SOLD
This is another one of those little landscapes....8x10 is counted as little when you're normally doing 30x40 or 20x24. This is one of those that benefited from my friend Julie's "smear tactics". I put the paint on the board and it was just terrible....so then I started in with the pallette knife, adding paint and loosening it up....and ended up with a painting that I just love! You know what they say...sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

From Now On.....Oil painting landscape

From Now On....8x10....Oil on Board.....SOLD

Not sure where this one came from...meaning, it is a departure from my normal style and subject matter. But I really like it. The title refers to the song lyric, "Blue skies, nothing but blue skies from now on..." It looks so much better in person. I have to get the hang of this photographing part!

Fine Line......Oil Painting

Fine Line.....24x24.....oil.......$600

This is one of the paintings I did for my show. I do love to paint wine bottles. The subtle variations of the green from one bottle to the other, the reflections. I get so caught up in paintings the little "pieces" of color that, sometimes, I have to walk away and let my brain "reset" before I can come back and see it as a cohesive painting.

Sometimes I really stuggle and think that things are not going well because a bottle doesn't look round or see-through or something...and then the next morning when I come in and look...BAM! It was there all along and I just was too focussed on the trees to see the forest as a whole.

Morning Snack....oil painting...

Morning Snack....8x10.....Oil.....$125

This is another painting from my workshop this past weekend. I like the looseness of it. I told Carole, the teacher, that I was way out of my comfort zone...working with a different pallette of colors, a different brush (I've been using pallette knives lately), and working small again for the first time in a long time. The last painting I did before this workshop was 3 feet by 4 feet...this one was 8 x 10 inches! But it is good to do things that stretch you.

Oysters on the Halfshell...Oil painting...

Oysters on the Halfshell....12x12....oil....SOLD

This is a painting that I did at my workshop in Alabama this past weekend. Carole Foretwas the teacher. We had a great weekend, ate great food (thanks to Todd), met her beautiful daughters, and got to paint!!! Great people in the class. All around just what I needed in a lot of ways. I love my oysters....plan to paint more.

And to those in my family (or your family for that matter, if they are not the same folks I am already talking about) that are experiencing serious troubles right now, please know that I am praying for you "without ceasing". You know who you are.