Authentic Jazz (Musicians from Fritzel's) Oil Painting...2 of 30

24x36......."Authentic Jazz"........$1200

 

This is my second painting for the "30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge".  We went to New Orleans at the beginning of August to celebrate anniversary # 36.  Lately we go check out Fritzel's every time we go down there.  Great place and really great music!

Wading...Oil Painting of a Blue Crab(Challenge #1)

 

10x20.....Wading.......$240

 

September is here!  And so begins the Leslie Saeta 30 Paintings in 30 days challenge.  I am looking forward to trying to accomplish the goal of 30 new paintings posted in 30 days!  Wish me luck!

 

This is one of my favorite new paintings.  In person the water on this one looks so real that it seems that if you touched him your hand would get wet.  But who would touch a crab running around loose in his own element? 

 

We just returned and unloaded the car from our trip to New Orleans for the Palmer Park Art Market.  I'm hot, tired and hungry .....feeling a little crabby. Hence the choice for my first of thirty paintings.   



Walking Heron at Dauphin Island Oil Painting...

Dauphin Island Neighbor.....18x36........$775

 

I took this photo when we vacationed on Dauphin Island last year.  There is a bird sanctuary there and this guy has definitely made himself at home.  He just played it cool and walked right past me on several occasions.

 

IT'S ALMOST SEPTEMBER!!!!  Sunday begins the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge I mentioned in my last post.  I work rather large sometimes and one painting may spill over into more than one day, so therefore my goal is to feature a new piece each day that has been done this summer. (And believe me 30 posts in 30 days is a challenge for me, in itself!) Whenever possible I will post a painting that I did that day, but when that is not feasible my other new work will be there to take up the slack.

 

MEANWHILE, we are off to New Orleans this afternoon for the Palmer Park Art Market tomorrow.  It looks like it will be a hot time in the old town! 

 

Have a great Labor Day everyone!

Tomato.....Original Oil Painting

12x12.....oil on gallery wrap......$170

 

My real title for this is "Potential Salsa Dancer" but you know how Google takes things so literally! 

I am gearing up for the 30 paintings in 30 days September challenge on Leslie Saeta's blog!  Oh yeah, I'm fixing to blow up your inbox with a new painting every day in September!  Wish me luck!!!!!

Dreama Tolle Perry Workshop...

I had the pleasure of taking a 5-day workshop with awesome artist Dreama Tolle Perry in mid-June. The preceding 6 weeks had been very stressful for me, with the loss of my brother on May 6 and lots of travel.  I typically get fairly stressed during workshops by trying to absorb all that I can and by trying to produce "keepers" while simultaneously trying new styles and colors and methods.  If the traumas of the last 6 months have taught me nothing else, it is that we need to enjoy every moment and not worry about things that are just not important in the grand scheme of things.

 

Therefore I entered into this workshop experience with a new set of goals....to place less pressure on myself to "produce", to enjoy it more, and to appreciate being an artist and getting to hang out with other artists for 5 days.  I didn't set out to learn to paint like Dreama, she paints like her, I need to paint like me.  But my main goal was to learn how she achieves her gorgeous colors.  I feel like I achieved these goals.  I am still working on adapting her style and palette into my own version, but I REALLY enjoyed this workshop and got a LOT out of it.

 

This is an 8x8 "musical" painting.  We set up the canvas and we rotated from easel to easel and painted a bit on each other's painting as we went.  I knew Dreama did this at her workshops and I could not fathom what we could learn from such a haphazard process.  Boy was I wrong!  It was very evident from the start that I would need to assess the painting quickly and do what I could to get the most bang for the buck.... focus on what needed attention the most.  It also made me let go of any control or any plans I had for a definite outcome.  I approached each time at each easel with an immediacy that I need to direct to my own work at home.  Dreama advocates taking lots of breaks (which I am all for lol).  So when I come back to my work I can achieve a fresher look by thinking what needs fixing the most.  Do it and move on.  I reworked and adjusted the musical painting enough that I feel like it is my own now and I feel like valuable lessons were learned along the way.  Who knew?

 

 

 

Boats....oil painting

Fishing boats...something so restful about boats parked at a dock. You can hear the birds and smell that fishy smell.

Hail State....Mississippi State Tailgating oil painting...

A certain school in Mississippi gets a lot of attention for its outstanding tailgating, but MSU does a might fine job as well.  Hail State!

And I don't want to let the day go by without mentioning that this is my middle son's birthday!  Happy birthday D-man.  Thanks for all you do to help me with my art business.  I'm proud of you sweetie!

Wine, wine and more wine....oil paintings

These are more of the wine paintings that I did this spring.  I did a lot.... one, because I am in five shows or festivals and they always sell, and two, because I am a wino.

Fruits and Vegetable Oil Paintings...

My first mandarin orange painting was on a turquoise-y background and I loved it.  I wanted to try it on a more neutral background and I like this one, too.

Olives...on a toothpick....does that make you think of a martini.  Me too.  and I don't even drink them.

These are my first attempt at cherry tomatoes.  Such cute little orbs, if they weren't so red you could mistake them for cherries themselves, which is why they got their name, now that I think about it. lol

Kitchen Art....still lifes with tabasco, tmoatoes, etc.

SOLD

I recently sold the top painting to a sweet young couple in Shreveport.  Their mother is a client and now they are too.

I set up the still life of the next one and painted it from real life.  I absolutely love it.  The olive oil is one that we got on our trip to Italy.  This is another one that has to be seen in person to be appreciated. 

I never get tired of painting Tabasco.  I love all the different colors of red that go together to make it come alive.

This is a stack of cups that I actually (I asked permission first) stacked myself at a cute little coffee shop in Tupelo.  I took several shots of different compositions so expect to see more eventually.