Stephanie, 30x40

I have zero time for painting, so I am reaching into the archives for this portrait of my daughter that I painted years ago. I was still working full-time and painted this in my kitchen at night, because that room had the brightest light in the house. I was completely self-taught at that point, just biding my time until I could retire and paint full-time.

I now have a job that's taking 100 percent of my time, and it is art, but not painting. Keeping it under wraps until time for the big reveal.

Carmen

New Rosie, 12x9 Watercolor Painting, Illustration

Sold

This painting was part of a series of working people done for a pipefitters union. This one was my favorite. She reminds me of Rosie the Riveter as she does what is traditionally a man's job. I am so impressed that she makes a few fashion statements in spite of having to wear ugly overalls and those white gloves that are not going to be seen at any tea party. She has a hairdo, hair ribbon, and earrings. Rosie would be proud.

I'm racing against time this week, so I had to dig this out of my archives. This is a far cry from the sultry women I've painted recently, but I'll get back to that. I do like painting working people, who are the backbone of our country. 

Carmen

Scarlet and Gold, 11x14 Oil on Canvas Panel

Buy on Saatchiart.com

All that glitters is not gold, sometimes it's gold oil paint. I was so seriously studying landscape painting until I unscrewed the top of my gold paint. That started a chain reaction, and this week I am going to see the movie about a stolen Klimt painting, so the fires will be stoked again. I want to get back to the Roaring Twenties too. So many ideas, so little time...

Carmen

Sultry, 6x8 Oil on Canvas

SOLD

This all started with a tube of gold metallic paint from Ralph's Art Supply in Melbourne. I needed an exotic subject so I could use the gold. You can't really appreciate the metallic quality looking at it online, but I used it in the medallion on the turban, the earring, and the cloth on her shoulder. I liked the result so much that I'm going to do more.

City Girl, 9x12 Oil on Board

Seattle is a beautiful city, and a very busy one. This girl caught my eye as she was striding purposefully down the sidewalk with her big bag. I love all the hanging plants in the city, especially the dangling ones like the one above her head. The composition pleases me, as do the reflections in the doors.

PURCHASE

Zenqueen, 11x14 Matted Pen and Ink Drawing

This is an 8x10 matted to 11x14. These Zendoodles can be very time-consuming. Also, with this technique, more is more, not less is more. It's hard to figure out what the price should be on something that takes so many hours, and that brings me to a great quote from a noted artist in the Blogosphere:

"...pricing has little to do with time and effort. Besides, the per-hour rate for painters ranges between that paid to falafel folders in Casablanca and plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills."  Robert Genn

PURCHASE

Lydia at a Tapestry Loom, 24x18 oil on canvas

This is a direct copy of a Mary Cassatt painting done in the 1800s. My painting group, Pieces of 8, did copies of masters as a learning experience, and I went on to copy Sargent, Gauguin,Van Gogh and Homer. This was time very well-spent. My last post was a copy, too, which I neglected to mention.

 PURCHASE

Three of us Pieces of 8 members took Dianna Gessler's journaling workshop last Monday, and had a great time wandering around Cocoa Village sketching and painting. I am flush with ideas, and hope I remember them when I have some time! Check out our efforts by clicking here.  

The Photographer, 8x10 Original Oil on Canvas

I took this photo of our Pieces of 8 member Kathy Garvey while she was intently photographing poppies. She liked them as much as I did. It was really fun to paint her, and of course it was an excuse to paint more poppies. Here's a little slideshow of the painting as it progressed:

PURCHASE

Femme Fatale, Collage, 24x30

I'm venturing off into a new area here, and it's a little break in my Travelogue. When I returned home I attended a Derek Gores workshop and learned this technique. I almost forgot to go home, I got so deeply involved in ripping and pasting. Next time I'll try full color, and I can tell you there will be a next time. This was really a lot of fun. I'm looking at magazines in a whole new way.

Oh My Aching Back: My Whiny Post

Last Tuesday I bent over to pick a weed and my back went all wonky.  The next day I was in excruciating pain, so much so that I have not been painting. On Friday I couldn't even walk, until I got medication. I'm much better now, but I just drew this little cartoon in lieu of posting a painting. I am completely out of new paintings, which is a first.

With my husband still recovering from a crushed heel, we make quite a pair. He limps and I shuffle. How pathetic. It makes one appreciate how wonderful life is when we can move around normally.

As they say, my back goes out more than I do!

Gossip Time, 5x7

This lady looks like she is enjoying a bit of news from a friend, perhaps about another friend. This brings to mind a quote from Will Rogers:

"Live that you wouldn't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip."

BUY

ILU, 8x6

This continues my On A Cellular Level series. I imagined this girl getting a text message that says "ILU" (I love you). She looks happy.

I feel so bad for all the people who have experienced disasters recently. Our family in Pennsylvania narrowly escaped injury when a tornado roared through last week. I hope their state cares more for the citizens than Florida does. Our state government passed a law recently that the insurance rates here can increase by 15% each year. Our last hurricane was almost six years ago, yet rates have jumped outrageously, so this is adding insult to injury.

Maybe the girl in my painting just heard that her premiums didn't go up this year. That would put my painting in the "Fantasy" genre.

BUY

At the Museum, 5x7

I said in a previous blog that people on cell phones might make a good series, and I convinced myself. This is No. 2. "Beach Break" is No. 1. My series is called "On a Cellular Level."

I'm really pumped up after painting this one. I've been a bit overwhelmed lately and this painting made me happy. My husband is working on hard on therapy for his broken foot and he does everything he can using a cane or wheelchair. He observed that the neighbors on each side of us all have knee problems, back problems, and skin cancer problems. He says our block is just one crutch away from a telethon. 

SOLD

Beach Break, 7x5

It was a bright sunny day and this girl was waiting for the Shuttle launch. She had a cell phone but I didn't realize it till I got home and looked at my photos. It seems that I get a lot of pictures of people on their cell phones. That could be a painting series.

BUY

Beach Stride, 5x7

I saw this woman striding down the beach, arms swinging, and I took her picture from the seventh floor of my friend Mary's condo. It was the day of the last launch of Shuttle Endeavor, and it so exciting to see that bright light rise from the sea's horizon and lift into space. The weather was beautiful, the ocean was calm--a great day all around.

BUY