Rouge et Or, Oil Painting on Canvas, Portrait of Woman with Red and Gold

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I went for a bit of drama here. I used metallic gold paint, which is hard to appreciate on a computer monitor. I had some fun with it. This is a larger painting, not a "daily painting," 18x24 inches.

Carmen

Color My World, 8x10 Oil Painting on Canvas, Portrait of Woman

This was my contribution to the Pieces of 8 challenge for July, which was to paste a half face to a support, then do a creative rendering of the other half. Everyone did an amazing job, which you can see at Piecesof8art.blogspot.com.

Summertime always means painting between traveling and yardwork. Am I still a full-time artist if I keep stopping to pull weeds? Hmmm. Not sure. This week I was weeding four feet away from a large snake, but he was pointed the other direction, so I didn't bother him and he didn't bother me. I did keep an eye out, though. I try to be at one with nature, as long as nature isn't a roach. I will kill myself trying to get away from a roach.

I complain a lot about weeding, but in truth I enjoy gardening, and in my family we have a name for that. It's the "Chulie Gene." My grandmother Chulie was a master gardener, and most of our family is infected with the Chulie Gene. My niece actually has a nursery, Paradise Found, and works like mad to grow very exotic and unusual succulents.

See what I did here? I plugged the Pieces of 8 and my niece's nursery, all in one blog post!

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Sweet Orange Blossoms, 8x10 Oil on Canvas, Fruit Painting

Have you ever walked through an orange grove when the trees are in bloom? It is the sweetest smell, rivaling any flower known for having a perfumed aroma. Nowadays I see the groves giving in to condos and housing developments, and it's a shame, because trees and fruit are much healthier than concrete block and pavement. I remember walking through orange groves as a kid and running into these fancy-looking spiders hanging between trees in their webs. It's a Spiney Orb Weaver spider, and it looks worse than it is.

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Storm Over Hopetown, 16x20 Oil on Canvas, Bahamas Seascape

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This is a happy memory of Elbow Cay in the Abacos Islands. I was leaving on the ferry while a storm was approaching. Elbow Cay is a beautiful little island with gorgeous beaches and no cars. A golf cart is all you need. 

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Everglades Bird, Giclee Print on Canvas, Wildlife Painting

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This painting represents a very happy memory of camping in the Everglades with my buds Cindy and Kathy. We saw at least 50 alligators, but no pythons, thank goodness. Although we painted en plein aire on the shore of a lake with a big gator resting nearby, my real scare was when a huge furry black spider got on my paper towels.

This is a high-quality print in several different sizes, on stretched canvas. 

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Koi Pond, 12x12 Oil Painting on Canvas, Wildlife Art

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I am very into painting on black right now. What has inspired me? Ralph's Art Supply had a big sale on black canvases! That is very inspiring. I had forgotten how much fun it is to do a dramatic painting, and I can't wait to do the next one.

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Flamingo Twist, 12x12 Oil Painting on Canvas, Wildlife Art

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I love flamingos. This guy is perfectly comfortable standing on that one skinny leg, neck twisted, beak down in his feathers, doing...what? Sleeping? Looking for something, and if so, what? Or just fluffing that magnificent plumage?

This is fresh off the easel, 12 x12 inches on stretched canvas, still wet.

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Basking Robin, Original Oil Painting, 5x7 Oil on Panel, Bird Art, Wildlife Art

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This little guy looks like he just ventured out for Spring. I give my husband the credit--or blame--for the title. Actually, I like it a lot. 

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Patchwork River, 20x16 Original Oil Painting on Canvas, Smoky Mountain Landscape

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The Pieces of Eight were hiking in the woods on an artists' retreat and came upon this peaceful scene. This was in North Carolina, the same mountains where we went whitewater rafting and bonded over a near-death experience. Below is my drawing commemorating that scene.

 

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Mother of Exiles, Statue of Liberty, Crying, Pencil Drawing on Paper, 9x9 inches

The plaque on the wall of the Statue of Liberty reads, in part:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

This used to be America. It didn't say, "We will snatch your children from you and store them in an old WalMart. We will return you to your abusive husband or to be killed by drug cartels. We don't even know what we will do with your children." 

My own great-grandparents would never have  come here if they thought this would happen to their family. Have we completely lost our humanity?

Carmen