no time...

i am so sorry i haven't been able to paint or post in the last couple days - lots of life getting in the way - willie came down with the "heiny" flu (as my hubby calls it) sunday morning - so we're all battling not to get it! - i think lucy may have succombed - she's possibly just jealous of the stay-at-home mode -met the new grandson of a good friend at a little gathering last night - had a pedicure - and i'm working to get my images to the left bank gallery - don't know how many she'll want - waiting to hear on that...also getting organized for the upcoming workshop with janet - can't wait for that! - packing for our trip - need to be all ready since i'm playing in a tennis match on friday - i shouldn't be taking the time but i feel bad for missing the last two matches because of this stomach thing...now thinking it could be an ulcer - yikes!! - anyway - i'm hoping to be able to post while i'm down there but you never know - for sure i'll be golfing and painting a lot!!! not to mention relaxing!!!...a lot!!!

a few more....

6x6 oil on canvas panel
here's another fiery sunset over the marsh - it's amazing how many different paintings you could garner from just one scene - all you have to do is stand in the same spot - every evening - and the sky and sun would work their magic...and you have another gorgeous sunset! -

6x6 oil on canvas panel

i call this "patrick's sunrise" because it's from a photograph by patrick anderson. he does wonderful coastal shots and i've worked from his images before. i'll have to say - i'm not sure it's possible to capture the exact moment in a painting like he did in this shot - so elusive...so i don't try to replicate what he's done..just use it as reference.

life.....

so here's the deal...i did a little work in my studio today but at the moment there are 4 children in the library pounding on the grand piano and the miniature grand piano..i'm not sure who's on which...but they love to pound away! - every now and then you'll hear an actual "twinkle twinkle little star" come forth...but mostly it's just letting loose. we can do this, you see, because papper's working in the ER tonight - we had a "bath" in the hot tub earlier..and willie, tillie, lucy and oliver all swam" nakies"..no, i take that back..for some reason lucy had her suit on...and we talked a lot about baby joey - the only one missing - he really loves that hot tub! tomorrow morning we'll do our usual...go out for a breakfast feast at Sadie's...a full family fun event - sometimes we hang spoons...sometimes we flip little pieces of napkin off our forks - all great fun and lots of noise and the proprietors seem to love it!! and now - willie's dragging me off my chair to go play another game of rummykub so i must run - ain't life "grand"???????

"another sky over the marsh"

6x6 oil on canvas panel
i'm going to have to figure out a better way to name these paintings. so many of them are marsh and sky and i'm not being very creative in naming them. this is from the same photo reference as the one i did a few days ago - this time i made it more of a sky painting. i still have more possibilities with that wonderful photo - i'm also not sure i have my camera set correctly - i'll have to double check with my buddies downtown to make sure i'm getting the most out of the digitals i'm taking! -i'm planning a couple more beach babies and then i have to finish a waercolor commission before i leave. stay tuned....

"Float My Boats"

6x6 oil on canvas panel
this is my work for today - as i mentioned - we were gone a good deal of the afternoon, finding out that i am, in fact, a crock. but i had some time when we got home and the studio is so good for my psyche. painting heals my soul somehow.....and another thing i've learned..or i knew but i'm reminded - it's good to view your work either in a mirror, upside down, or in this case, take a photograph. as i was working on this, i didn't notice the little black triangle at the upper right ..but there it is! - and that's where the viewer's eye will go until l tone it down a bit - somehow, it's so very dark and the fact that there aren't really any other true triangle shapes in the painting makes it all the worse. so tomorrow i will fix that but i kind of like this little guy!

"Another Marsh Sunset"

6x6 oil on canvas panel
this is the painting i worked on yesterday but by the time i finished it was too dark outside to take a photo and post it last night. i have a fabulous photo reference that i can crop in all sorts of ways to create different paintings of the marsh...the marsh i so dearly love and that i have missed tremendously for the past almost 6 months!! most likely i will do another couple of these to take with me to georgia. i had my last series of tests today - proving there is absolutely nothing wrong with me - in fact, my husband says i have the healthiest gall baldder in columbus! and everything else proved to be negative so again i have a new lease on life - if only this tummy ache would go away....and maybe now it will do just that!

ah well.....

ok - so life got in the way today. i wasn't able to get to my studio until just before dinner and since my hubby's working tonight - i may be able to get back there...but i still wanted to share this news: ...my little painting that was accepted into the national AIS show.."big sky over the marsh" ...well guess what? - it's already SOLD!!!!! - and the opening isn't until friday night! needless to say i'm over the moon and inspired to keep at it!! every minute counts until i have to leave for the island and it's kind of exciting! lyb

"Marsh Sunset"

6x6 oil on canvas panel
actually i really like this little painting! - it was a lot of fun to do and the camera doesn't do it justice, i'm afraid. we golfed yesterday - in the howling wind - and i know it didn't get over 60 - we're trying to take advantage of every last minute of golfable weather before old indiana winter sets in! - we can go for months without playing and that's no fun! - really looking forward to georgia - should have delightful weather and so much fun.

"Big Guy Little Guy"

6x8 oil on canvas panel
i haven't been able to post for the past few days but i have been doing a little painting. this is from yesterday or the day before. actually it's from a photo of my son-in-law greg and my grandson joe on the beach on st. simons. working on a few things for the Left Bank Art Gallery on the island...don't know how many they'll take but i like to have several for them to choose from. they have a "little picture show" every fall and these small paintings i've been doing will be perfect for it.

"Another Babe on the Beach"

6x6 oil on canvas panel
so we're heading to georgia in 2 weeks and i haven't really been doing any painting for my galleries down there. i thought i'd better get started! - i feel so much better today - possibly because all my tests were negative and i could just be a hypochondriac...but i digress...this little one is from a photo i took this spring - or maybe last fall - can't really remember. it's painted a little differently than my usual fare - i'm experimenting with using more medium and thus the paint is a bit thinner - except in spots, obviously. if anyone has any comments about the difference and which is preferable to the viewer - i'd love to hear from you. meanwhile my hubby just got home from his third stint in the ER in as many days and i must attend to him - happily, i might add!

work in progress...

i haven't been able to post for the past couple days - something's wrong with my tummy. my hubby had me come in to the ER today for a battery of tests but nothing showed up - we'll see about tomorrow - anyway - i've been working on this painting for a while -little bit at a time -i'm sort of sneaking up on it which is very unusual for me - usually i go at a painting full tilt and it's done alla prima or in one session. but this has more detail than usual and that's yet to come. since i'm posting this now and then i'll post the finished piece whenever i finish it...it may be a bit disjointed. i think i may take some pictures of a painting in progress - and think of it ahead of time so i'll actually DO it..so the various stages of the painting can be seen. now that's a tall order for me - to get that organized..but we'll see....

"Eli's Alex"

11x14 oil on stretched canvas
so here's my offering for today. this is alex, a wheaten terrier. i'm not sure alex is around any more but this painting is a wedding gift for JE's daughter and her husband-to-be, eli. katie wanted a painting of eli's childhood pup and sent me some pics. we actually had a dog, cubby - a mutt we thought was a poodle-sheepdog mix but i'm thinking she might have had some wheaten in her. cubby was the best dog - (other than nellie of course) - and we loved her til the day she died - i hope this gift brings fond memories for eli -katie was so thoughtful in planning this surprise for him! lyb

"Big Sky Over the Marsh"

6x6 oil on canvas panel
so finally i found it - this is the painting that was accepted into the AIS juried show in denver! -(especially for you, lillian!) - i'm so mad at myself that i didn't take a photo of it framed - too late now but it's framed in a thick 2" gold frame - really cool! - they don't accept works with a frame showing - just the image! - anyway - didn't get to the studio today - i've been watching the president's cup and doing paperwork. i'll get back there tomorrow!

"Im Thinkin I like This One...."

6x6 oil on canvas panel
so here's a better big o! - as i said, for some reason this kid's personality is so elusive to capture - but i'm thinking i really like this one a lot! he's usually laughing his head off so this is pretty typical - i can't wait to document him from birth til who knows when -just like the rest of my grands - i am such a lucky girl!!!

i give up!@!!!

my friend lillian asked if i would post the AIS painting...i've spent the last 2 hours (or so it seems...) trying to save my photo of the painting so i could send it to my photo processing program and present it nicely...i 've saved it at least 6 or 7 times but for the life of me i can't find it anywhere! if anyone wants to see the actual painting...go back in the archives to may 19th...it's the 6x6 pallette knife painting i posted on that day. it's called "big sky over the marsh" and i sent it off today - what a lot of paperwork, etc. involved!! but a thrill nevertheless!! - i did another painting of ollie today but it got too dark so i'll post it tomorrow! hope the rain ends soon!!!

"Another Stab at Ollie"

6x6 oil on canvas panel
so here's another attempt to paint oliver - he'll be 4 next month and for some reason i still haven't captured him properly. i'm not unhappy with the painting...i'm unhappy that i haven't quite captured his "look"...he has this unbelieveable impish glint in his eye - he's the little guy who beat his papper by 27 strokes in wii golf this week - and papper is a GOOD golfer!!!..i may tweak this a bit tomorrow and post it again - we had so much rain today - flood warnings abound - and the thursday afternoon paintout was cancelled - hard to get in the mood. i have to pack up my AIS (american impressionist society) painting tomorrow and get it off to denver. i talked with the president today and she reminded me how proud i should be to have gotten in. never having applied to a national show before, i didn't know what to expect. i only wish i could be there - maybe next year...if i am accepted...lyb

"Shomler's Serenade"

16x20 giclee on canvas
i had no time to paint today! - thus the blast from the past. this is a painting i did from a photo by a wonderful photographer named shomler - thus the name of the piece. i found this image on the net and got permission to paint it. today life got in the way. i went to a funeral, had to clean my house...(it's a dirty job but somebody has to do it)...(wasn't that from a movie?)...and had an hour and 20 minute derm appointment. i got poked, prodded, frozen, biopsied, injected with cortisone...and i was thrilled!! if you ever discover a basal cell carcinoma - like i did several years ago - you just feel better after these appointments. tomorrow we're gathering here to paint so i for sure will have something to show for myself...these days just happen now and then and that's ok....i'm learning to be gentle with myself! lyb

"Max"

6x6 oil on canvas panel
so this is max -(i was right about finn...) the oldest of the fair-haired little boys! - they are something, aren't they? there's something about painting children that is so magical - they don't have the worry or sun or age lines we older folks do and the're just enjoying everything so much! - takes me back, for sure!~ i have to paint ollie again before i do anything else - and i have some portrait commissions i'll be working on in the near future. what fun that'll be!!... also i went back to tennis practice today - closing day of golf was rained out so we had our final luncheon golf luncheon after tennis - time sure flies when you're having fun! life is good and i am so blessed to have so much fun stuff to do!!!

"So I Think This is Finn"

6x6 oil on canvas panel
as i said...i think this is finn -= however it might be max -i'm so chagrined to say i don't know which is which - but i'm going to paint the last one tomorrow or maybe the next day so i'll have them all on here whatever!!! didn't i tell you they were gorgeous??? and they all have this amazing white hair and these amazing blue eyes!....to die for...anyway - we took nels out to the golf course for her 8th birthday...sort of a tradition...she chased squirrels and went swimming and we tried to play nine holes - wasn't the greatest but at least she had a ball! - we have ollie tonight - jimmy and tilly will return from australia in a few days and i know there will be a family reunion like no other...

"Little Cam"

6 x 6 oil on canvas panel
i'm still enthralled with painting little people. this is the third son of a good friend of my daughter's. he and his two older brothers are drop dead gorgeous and i plan to paint them for practice. i'm working on other things in my studio...(actually i SHOULD be working on my studio...)..but i plan to do a small portrait every day in the meantime. i'm waiting for my kids to supply me with pics they'd like me to paint and in the meantime i'll probably do some friends' kids and grandkids ....i'm having the best time!!

"Tillie at Three"

6 x 6 oil on canvas panel
so here's my oldest granddaughter matilda. she just turned seven (check out the last painting i did of her...) - but here she is at three. isn't she a beaut?? - too busy yesterday to get to the studio and we're getting ready to head to bloomington to see if this IU team has anything at all...but first a family reunion in brown county - this time my father-in-law's side.....looking forward to meeting long lost rels...and as for fall, it won't be long....we've already had a couple fires!!!

"Joey at One"

6 x 6 oil on canvas panel
so here's baby joey - i think i'll paint more of him since he hasn't had as many birthdays as the other grands. i still don't have a keeper for ollie - i wiped that quick study i did of him earlier...it just wasn't him...this one, on the other hand, i'm very pleased with. this project is going to be so much fun. last night i was with a bunch of ladies and someone asked if i did portraits. usually i say not really - more like character studies...but i'm thinking these little pieces are portraits after all. i have so many little people in my life - children and grandchildren of friends and then there are my rels - i could paint little portraits from here on in and not run out of painting fodder. what a lucky girl i am!!!