Journal, Strawberry Picking in Virginia

 Picking strawberries was a highlight of our visit. An 88-year-old farmer named Jimmy has a big strawberry farm and he gave us a bucket and said to pile 'em high, so we did. Yum! In seven months I've gone from not being able to walk to the corner to being able to pick strawberries. Progress!

Carmen

Punch Cup, 10x10 Oil on Canvas Panel Still Life

 I painted this before my recent health crisis. I love the reflections.

Carmen

Are YOU Talking to ME? Chicken painting oil on canvas 8x8 inches

Are YOU Talking to ME? 

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I love the comical look that chickens can have, and this one made me think of Robert di Niro's classic scene in Taxi Driver. Sometimes the title comes before the painting.

This is painted on gallery-wrapped canvas, no frame needed.

This was my entry for the monthly challenge on the Pieces of 8 blog. Click here to view the other very clever entries.

Carmen

5-Day Challenge, Day 5: Big Ole Vidalia, 5x7 Oil on Panel

This is the final day of the challenge to paint a small artwork in 20 minutes. So happy that #ArtWorkLivingChallenge has done this online exercise. People did some beautiful things in a measly 20 minutes! It makes you have to plan and think, instead of just jumping in. Thanks, Mary Gilkerson.

Carmen

50 Strokes of Chicken 5x7 Small Daily Painting Oil on Canvas

Our group challenge for the Pieces of 8 for December is to paint a painting using only 50 strokes. For those of us who have trouble simplifying, this is a great exercise. You have to think about each stroke and make it count. For areas like the ruff around the chicken's neck, I used one zigzag stroke for each color. That covered some territory with one stroke; however, the dot that is the eye is also just one stroke. At the end, it is hard to stop because you want to do just one or two more--but you must resist!

Carmen

Onions, 7x5 Oil Painting on Canvas Panel Still Life

 $75

The Challenge for this month for the Pieces of 8 group is to paint a painting in 50 strokes. I've been enjoying that exercise. Below is my 50-stroke painting of these onions, smudges and all. I decided to refine it to a finished painting. Which one do you like best? I think the 50-stroke one is more exciting. 

Carmen

Queen of Genoa, Small Oil Painting on Canvas Panel of Woman in Italian Cafe 5x7

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This was one of the funniest days of my trip to Europe with my sister. We got off a train in Genoa, Italy at the wrong stop. We thought we had lots of time so were lollygagging outside the station and had lunch at this woman's cafe. She never stopped moving; she was cooking, serving, taking money, and talking the whole time.

When we got back to the station we found out we were in the wrong place and had to dash to a train to go to the right station to make our connection to France. On the plus side, I got the picture that inspired this little painting. 

Carmen

Blueberries, Small Daily Painting of Fruit Original Oil on Canvas

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This little painting is a favorite of mine, not only for the colors, but for the fact that it is the sum total of my blueberry crop. My little bush produced these berries then withered and died. I know blueberries can be grown in Florida, but they must be a certain kind, and maybe they are not salt-tolerant; maybe I'm too close to the beach. Just another gardening experiment gone awry.

Speaking of gardening, would someone please tell my weeds it's winter? As the planet gets warmer many of my weeds continue to grow when they should just hibernate. Could I please get a weeding break? On the plus side, I have flowers blooming in the middle of winter. 

SALE: 20% Off, Oil Painting Still Life, Radish Bouquet, 6x8 Oil on Canvas Panel

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I'm offering this little still life for 20 percent off and free shipping. I love free shipping, don't you? Most of my original oil paintings are on sale until December 20. 

Carmen

Still Life, Radish Bouquet, 8x6 Oil on Canvas Panel

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This would be such a nice picture in a kitchen. Radishes are such colorful vegetables, they beg to be painted. 

Carmen

Mango High, 6x8 Original Oil Painting on Canvas Panel

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It is mango season and there are so many mangoes right now. For those of us who love them it is a glorious time. I was in Bradenton recently, standing under a tree that had dropped mangoes on the ground. Gorgeous fruit just lying all around. Way, way up in the tree were these beautiful collections of fruit, and I especially liked this one because of the lone ripe mango among the lavender ones. So, the title "Mango High" can be taken two ways. 

Here's a tip I learned last week about cutting and peeling mangoes: make a cut around the fruit, all the way to the seed. Use a glass or a cup (easier with a cup, holding it by the handle) and scoop the fruit out of the peeling. Do it firmly and you will have no waste. Then chomp on the seed and get the pulp all over your face like you usually do. Mango high.

Carmen

Garlic, 5x7 Oil on Wood Panel, Still Life

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If I wrote a song about my favorite things, garlic would be near the top of the list. It must be my Mediterranean blood. It's healthy too, which I tell myself when eating delicious garlic knots at my favorite Italian restaurant. I like painting garlic and onions, because they are so layered and interesting. 

Carmen

Red Grapes, 5x7 Still Life Oil on Panel

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This Spring weather just makes me want to be outside. I think it's time for some plein air painting. We don't have a very extreme "change of season" here in Florida, but my yard certainly comes to life. I have one Frangipani tree with leaves and no blooms, and a huge one with blooms and no leaves. Very odd. 

Been thinking of new challenges for the Pieces of 8 painting group. How about ten-minute plein air paintings? That sounds hard. Just what we need!

Carmen

Onion, 5x7 Oil on Canvas Still Life

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This was fun. The Elio Camacho workshop inspired us to do 30-minute paintings with our painting group this week; yesterday in my studio I limited my time to ten minutes, and this was one of the paintings I did. I had a piece of canvas that was painted black and had a few spatters on it so I painted on that. I think I will do more food paintings with ten-minute limits. This is such good practice for me to loosen up and have a more spontaneous feel.

Carmen

A Little Bunch of Grapes, 5x7 Watercolor on Paper in 8x10 Mat

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It's a lot easier to paint a watercolor with your foot propped up than painting an oil in that position, so this was my result. My broken toe is making little progress but I have graduated from wearing a sock to a flip flop. Thank goodness I didn't do this to myself before I finished my mural! 

My most re-pinned pin on Pinterest is a watercolor by Igor Sava, and if you haven't seen his work, check it out. I'm a big fan. /https://www.pinterest.com/artymaryd/art-of-igor-sava/

Carmen

Teacup, 6x6 Oil Painting on Stretched Canvas, Tea Party Kitchen Decor

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This little teacup represents a happy memory at a tea party in a cute little teahouse in Washington state. I miss my Pacific Northwestern relatives, but it is such a long way from Florida. There is so much out there that is exciting to see: big mountains, big trees, big rocks (I happen to love rocks). The towns are adorned by big baskets of flowers hanging from poles. It's a beautiful place.

Carmen

Radish Bouquet, 8x6 Oil Painting on Canvas

$89.00, Click to Purchase

Don't you think radishes have a personality? They are striking in color and nice little calligraphic roots at the bottoms to enhance a painting. It is a pleasure to paint radishes.

I was reading the latest post from Robert Genn's website, this one written by his daughter Sara. Robert is a talented and successful artist who is suffering from cancer. Many of us artists have followed his writings for many years. His daughter Sara is writing quite a bit in his place, and this week she wrote about 11 Steps for an artist, which struck a chord with me. Here is the link: http://clicks.robertgenn.com/eleven-steps.php