heading south...

the other day i was heading to my studio to paint.  my hubby was working in the new bathroom...putting things in the brand new recessed medicine chests (love em!)...so i thought i'd change direction and paint in there.  i'm talking woodwork.  i got a really good start - the whole tub room, all the ceiling trim, one door, but then there's the room with the vanity which attaches to the bedroom with one wall of built-in (wooden) bookshelves, which attaches to the den.....in other words..i really have my work cut out for me! - and then golf has started..and then we leave tomorrow for the house in georgia where we will be barging in on our two daughters who have tandem weeks down there.  but fun, fun, fun!! - i'm not taking my paints and i'm not even mixing paints because things will dry out by the time i get back.  but we have an IPAPA paintout here in columbus the following saturday and i'll be dragging some buddies to that!!  time to get back at it..next week..

power....

we lost it..and then we got it back long enough to watch the final episode of IDOL...so happy for scotty...and then we lost it again..all night long...far into the morning....so we've been without power for a long, long time...we got slammed last night - possible tornadoes...lots and lots of trees uprooted but nothing...i'm telling you..NOTHING.. like we've seen in missouri or other places! - just a bad storm!  thankfully!!  at times like these, as we're cutting up the tree limbs fallen in our front yards, we thank our lucky stars and pray for all those people who've lost everything.  heart-breaking, i'll tell you!...slowly putting the bathroom back together...bringing in lots of peonies and photographing them for future reference - don't have the time i need to do any painting justice right now...priorities, and all...the one above is a definite possibility...

value study...new challenge from carol marine

so here's the latest daily paintworks challenge...a value study with one value being the"most", one value a bit less and one value just a "smidge"..in this case i went for the medium value being dominant with a bit less of dark value and the lightest value the smidge.

 
so this is my value study - i can see that the middle value doesn't read middle enough above...in the  color study below, i tried to carry the value study through.  it's a good and valuable tool - being able to make your values "read" - i think i need to go at this again  after i get my bathroom a bit more in order...they delivered the granite top today and i am very excited!! 



lemon meringue...

30x24 oil on gallery wrap canvas

so here's my final painting for the sweetrose bakehouse...she gave us a whole pie so i've had a bunch of pieces and saved this one for the painting!! i may tweak it a bit as it's drying but i'm so happy to get back to the studio.  i cut a bunch of peonies today so some flower paintings are definitely in my future

backyard rose

6x6 oil on canvas panel
so here's the painting i did yesterday...i think i'm too distracted to do much justice to anything right now...they started to install my cabinet today - the granite top comes tuesday - there's much painting to do up there...but until i can get to that next week, maybe i can get something done in my studio.  davey picked up a piece of lemon meringue pie today - i have one more big painting to do for the sweetrose bakehouse - hopefully tomorrow - or at least i can get a good picture of it if i can't paint it from life...if it's nice we may just have to golf!!!!!

working on a rose

this is a rose from my backyard.  i HAD to try and paint something for me today.  i faux finished walls...i hand embellished two giclees for a client...after stretching them on very thick and difficult stretcher bars...(hrumph!)...and now i'm working on this rose- after seeing the photo, i'm not happy so i'll work some more tomorrow and post something then for sure.  i thought i'd put a pic of the unfinished bathroom project up.

the lighting is terrible so you can't see the finish well..lots of bronze, copper, tealy green-blue, my vanity is being delivered tomorrow.  you can see the chocolate brown tiles on the bathroom floor in the background.  i've decided on white white wordwork...can't wait to get started on that.  will i EVER get back to my studio???

too busy

i've been busy faux-finishing my bathroom walls...painting...but not the sort i can post.  maybe i'll take a pic tomorrow...and hope to get back to the studio soon!

yardwork!!

i am knee deep... elbow deep...muddy...sore and tired.  and not done!!  i have my last tennis match tomorrow so i can finally get on with my summer - golf, gardening, painting - can't wait!!  i am so excited  about the birth of my good friends ben and ceebs very first grandchild - he will rock their world!!!!

"Lost in New York"

5x7 oil on canvas panel
so here's another of the daily paintworks challenges..she's into her mobile device...cell phone? ipod?  totally absorbed...thus the name.....i'm so behind on these - but little by little i'm sneaking up...i think mostly i'm trying to put off doing the self-portrait, which was last week's or maybe the week before. i have yet to attempt any of the challenges from the two new sites i'm on - http://www.dailypaintersinternationalartgallery.com/  and http://www.artistsinternationalgallery.com/ ..soon!!...got to get to the yard today!

"White Peonies..Blue Pot"

6x6 oil on canvas panel
i finally got to do what i wanted for the whole day...it being mother's day and all...and i got to spend almost the whole day in my studio.  i managed to fit in a scrumptious breakfast and lunch fixed by my hubby and a dog walk in the park but other than that, it was paint, paint paint!!!  this is a little floral piece - i'll be taking this out to elsbury's with some other florals.  i may be doing some fruits and veggies for them as well.  i did another of the challenges i'm behind on and i'll most likely post that tomorrow.  i'm working on a nude but i'm not sure it's done...have to take a break and see what i think....happy mother's day to all of us fabulous mothers all over the world!!!!

chicken challenge

6x6 oil on canvas panel
so here's another of the daily paintworks challenges.  i'm a bit behind in these - i think it started when we went to georgia and i couldn't paint as much as usual...we spring-cleaned the porch today and i worked in the front yard a bit - getting ready to have a super fantastical home made meatball and spaghetti dinner prepared by my wonderful hubby!

frosted mother's day cookie...

i had to paint this!!!!  and i know i didn't do it the justice it deserves because it's the end of a long day and i rushed a bit.  but isn't this the coolest thing ever?  the sweetrose bakehouse has a few left...they have some in green and they also have decorated purse cookies!!!  i took a closeup picture of this and may have another go at it but i'm first gonna EAT it!!! on another note.... we had such a nice day - i joined my friends cindy, phyllie and sukey at the new "Millie's" lunch spot at elsbury's greenhouse.  after many years, gorden and family have retired and it's under new ownership..kim mckinley and husband and daughter and son-in-law and other miscellaneous rels...such a wonderful spot to visit...and they even have PLANTS!!!!!  if you haven't been there in a while, i highly recommend it!!! very user friendly and kim has lots more surprises in the works!!

busy with other stuff...

i haven't had much time to paint in the last few days...working on bathroom remodel stuff and trying to get a bit more organized around here. i have been asked by K Madison Moore (http://www.kmadisonmoore.blogspot.com/)  to consider joining two sites, Daily Painters International Art Gallery and International Artist's Gallery. check it out by clicking on the widgets at the right! i think this will be a good thing and i am hoping that joining forces with other artists from around the world will be stimulating, exciting and, hopefully, eventually profitable.   this will take some doing to set up and i'm trying to squeeze it in among my other chores and projects and parties.  got to get ready now for a plate-painting party in honor of my friend margaret.  anytime one of us turns 60 we gather and each of us paints an individual plate so she'll have a set of 8 or sometimes 9.  margaret is a teensy bit past 60 but somehow missed out on her stack of plates.  of course this always involves wine....we have too much fun!!

getting closer...

so i have been working and working on this...since the glass of milk is a cylinder..it needs to look like a cylinder...tough to do...i'm almost there.  i've been dashing up and down from my studio...watching the golf playoffs and thinking i'm done with the piece and then seeing that i'm not quite done..and dashing back up!  at the moment bubba and webb simpson are dead even after the first playoff hole.  i love playoffs!