Another in my Pots and Plants Series

The past few days have been very busy for me but I still made time to do this painting.  I call it Pots, Plant and Red Fruit.  Size is 8X10.  I now have 3 paintings in this series done and have another ready to paint.  I also finally received my new supply of Mexican Train Domino Stations.  I have 24 of them.  I have to get busy painting them.  I have people who are on a waiting list for the new ones.  They always seem to go fast. 

Two Paintings Completed Yesterday!

I had a productive day yesterday.  I completed the cactus painting that I had started a few days ago then set aside to paint a couple of functional items for the gallery.  The title of this one is "Red Torch Cactus" and the size is 11X9.

I finished it in the morning then went to lunch with friends.  When we got home from lunch I decided to do a sketch for a canvas I had base coated and was ready to paint.  I thought awhile about what I would do.  The frame is navy blue with gold trim  and I had blue and gold in the base coat.  I stared at the canvas for awhile trying to come up with ideas when I suddenly remebered a painting I did years ago that had indian corn.  One of the ears of corn was blue so that was the start of the idea.  Since I have done a number of Southwest Still Life paintings lately I decided to go in that direction.  I did not want to use a lot of bright colors so decided to use a burlap type cloth as the base and an agave in a pot.  It needed something else and I got the idea of using a wedding pot.  I did the sketch and liked it so started the painting.  Once I started it I couldn't stop until it was finished.  I worked for about 5 hours on the sketch and painting.  I was tired when it was done but it was worth it.  I love what I came up with!  I call it "Pots, Plants and Indian Corn".  Size is 8X10.

 Looks like I have started a" Pots, Plants and ?" series.  I alread have an idea for the next one.  I might get the sketch done today but since I have to work the SAAG Gallery this afternoon, go squaredancing this evening and bowling and Bible Study tomorrow it might be awhile until I start the actual painting.

Two new craft items

I Sold two bowls at the SAAG Gallery, the Rose Bowl and Sarape Bowl.  I have been busy the past two days painting the two items posted below as replacement items for my gallery display.  Since the Rose Bowls always sell I did another one and decided on a Southwest Still Life pattern for the box.  I had to interrupt the the canvas painting I was working on to get these items done.  I will complete that painting today.  I will post photo of it tomorrow.

I have a comment on the spelling of the work SARAPE.  Sometimes spell check will tell me that it is spelled SERAPE.  In doing research I found it is acceptable to use both spellings.  It just so happens that the first time I was looking for images of the Mexican blanket it was spelled with an "A" so I used that spelling but since spell check always wants me to change it to an "E" I just might do that the next time I paint a SERAPE!  Any comments from my Spanish speaking viewers?

An Inspired Painting

There are times that something I see inspires me to do a painting.  Here is how this painting came about.  I follow an artist from Surprise, AZ on facebook.  Along with photos of her paintings she posts inspirational thoughts.  When I saw the one below, not only was I inspired by the message but also by the photo.

When I saw the Bleeding Heart flowers a flood of memories came over me.  I thought of my grandma's garden and how much I loved those little heart shaped flowers.  She lived far from me but when we visited I remember playing in her garden.  In those days (this was the late 40's) there was no such thing as landscaping.  Flowers grew in a garden just like vegetables....row after row of beautiful flowers.  I started to think of the others that made an impression on me. Hollyhocks came to mind.  She taught me how to make little dolls out of the blooms.  Then I thought of the colorful Gladiolus and the tiny little blue Bachelor Buttons and of course my favorite the Iris.  With these thoughts in my mind I decided to do a painting and title it "Grandma's Garden".   How will I present all these flowers in a folk art style I wondered?  They suddenly I thought of doing them as a quilt.  I slept on that idea and the next morning my eyes rested on a crazy quilt was made for my mother in 1931 when she was 10 years old by her grandma.  Here is a photo of the quilt.

The odd shaped patches both floral and plain told me the direction to go in.  I found the perfect 11X14 frame.  I chose a color pallet and started by painting in the shapes keeping in mind which flowers would go where.

After doing some internet research on the flowers I wanted to incorporate to make sure my memory of what they looked like was correct I drew the pattern then did the painting.  I was obsessed with getting this done.  I spent one day on the background and drawing and spent seven hours yesterday painting the flowers.  Here is the painting.

I had another inspiration while writing this.  My grandma's name was Flora.  Isn't that perfect for such a painting.  I am changing the title to "Grandma Flora's Garden" 

Thank-you Nancy for your post that was the inspiration for this painting.

 

small critter painting

Here is another 12X6 painting.  It is "Colorful Critters".  I was going to do a flowering cactus painting next.  I have the pattern traced on the canvas and ready to go but I got an inspiration for a new subject and since ideas won't leave my mind I decided to do that one next.  I will be 11X14 and may take me a few days to complete.  I will post photo when it is done.

Two small paintings

I was busy this weekend with social occasions but was still able to make time to complete these two paintings.  The desert scene is 8X10 and the sunflowers are 12X6.  I have two new canvases ready to paint.  One will be a flowering cactus and the other will be a critter painting.  I would like to have at least 50 paintings done by November to take to the Sun City Art Festival. I also need a nice selection of craft items.  I have a shipment of 24 domino holders that I will have to get started on soon.  Much to do but I enjoy every minute I spend painting!

Mexicali Boquet

Even though I have been busy the past three days I was still able to get this painting done.  I love doing these folk artsy type of flower paintings. This one is 12 X6.  I am ready to start another desert scene in 8X10 then I think I may do another sunflower painting in the same size as the above painting.  For some reason I have been hooked on sunflowers lately.  I love the contrast between the yellow flowers and the black background that I paint them on.  I hope others like them as much as I do and want to give them a new home.

A Blast from the Past!

I don't have a new painting to post today so I thought I'd do something different.  If you read my bio you know I started painting and selling my work in 1976.  I started teaching tole painting a year later and did that for over 15 years.  I probably taught an average of 12 to15 class sessions a year with an average of 15 students per class.  I taught adult-ed at 2 different high schools and at various craft stores, two YWCA's and also home classes.  While going though some old photo albums I found some photos I took "back in the day".  The first two are of a class I taught at Fitch High School in Austintown, Ohio in October of 1985.  I taught at Fitch for 15 years and always had a full class.

If you click on the photos to enlarge them you can see the items the students were working on and the subject matter.  Each student worked on their choice of project and pattern at their own pace.  The other thing I noticed when I looked at these pictures is all the big curly hair that was the style back then.

Here is one of me working on a painting at home that was on the same roll of film.  How many people use film now days?   I just realized that I am the same age in this photo that my youngest daughter will turn on her birthday on Sunday.  Where did the years go?

 

This is the completed painting and below you will see some more of my work from that time period.  Everything was very "country" style.  I was working in oils back then and had not started to embellish things with dots.

The last photo that you will see below was taken a few years later at a craft show.  It is in black and white.   Big curly hair and large shoulder pad were in style.   Why when we look at old photos, what was in fashion at the time that we thought made us look so cool, 20 or so years later looks so funny?  By the time this photo was taken I had made the change to acrylics and was starting with the dot borders.  We lived in Amish country so that was the focus of most of my paintings.  I sold almost everything I painted and am happy to say that is still true to this present day.  Hope you enjoyed this "blast from the past".

Why I am called "The Dot Lady"

 

This is the 8X10 painting I did yesterday.  If  you wondered where I got the nick-name "The Dot Lady"  it is because of paintings like this one that abound with dots.  Like the virgin painting I posted yesterday, I also have a large version of this one that is hanging in an exhibit at the Sheraton Hotel.  I'll post photo below.  It is 18X22.  It has even more dots than the one above.  Again, the computer makes them look the same size but the bottom one is much larger in person than the top one.

I have a new canvas base painted and have the pattern transferred on to it but I am not going to start it until tomorrow.  We went bowling this morning and have Bible Study this evening so I decided to take the afternoon off from painting.  Since I won't have a new painting to post tomorrow I have planned something different that I hope you will enjoy seeing.  You will have to wait until tomorrow to find out what it is.

Virgin of Guadalupe in two sizes

This is the 8X10 painting I did yesterday.  I have done her in various sizes over the past few years and have sold all but one.  The sold sizes were 16X20, 11X14, 8X10 and 5X7.  The one I did not sell is large...28X22. Since the smaller sizes are the ones that sell best I decided it was time to paint her again in the 8X10 size.  See the large one below.  It is strange how the computer makes them look the same size...in fact the 8X10 looks larger than the 28X22.  I wonder how that happens?

 I have two more canvases ready to paint today.  I'll probably get only one done.  I have a busy day tomorrow so may not have any painting time.  In fact, the rest of the week is scheduled with someplace to go everyday so my goal of one painting a day will probably not happen again for awhile.

Pots, Plants and Pomegranates

You saw the above sketched pattern in the last post.  I did the painting yesterday which you see below.  I think it looks good in this frame and color scheme....much better then the one that I designed it for.  I'm so glad I gave it a second thought and changed my mind and decided on the boots and hat for that frame and canvas.  All the paintings I have done since I got my canvas delivery last week are 8X10.  I will continue working on that size for awhile. I need to replenish my stock and I have some really nice frames that I want to fill.  I almost never mention the price of my paintings on this blog but I will let you know most 8X10's are $45 to $55.  The price variation depends how wide and fancy the frame is. 

I was in the shop early this morning and decided to sort through all my patterns and set aside some that I would like to paint.  I found some that I haven't done for awhile and that have always sold in the past.   I also did a little organizing and cleaned some brushes.  It makes it more enjoyable to paint when things are not such a mess.

A word to my viewers.  I know there are quite a few of you out there because my hit count keeps going up but I seldom have any comments.  I would love to have feedback from you.  Do any of you have any suggestions of subjects you would like to see me paint?  I talked about painters block in my last post.  I usually don't run out of ideas but sometimes I'm not sure what I should paint next.  Any ideas would be appreciated.  The comment section is at the end of each post.  click where it says No Comments and it will give you a place to make a comment.

The birth of a painting

You hear about painters block.  While I didn't have a total block on this painting I did have a struggle with choosing the subject.  I picked the frame and painted the background and border in colors that I thought would complement the frame.  When I was ready to do the painting I studied it for awhile and when I couldn't "see" anything in the canvas I decided to draw a something new.  It took me two hours to draw the sketch that you see above.  I would draw then erase then draw again and erase again until I came up with something that I was happy with.  The next day when I was ready to transfer the pattern on to the canvas.  I suddenly "saw" something else in the stippled background.  If you look close at the top photo maybe you will see it too.  What I saw was a pair of cowboy boots.  I put aside my first sketch and started drawing again.  I have a pattern of boots that I have done before and got that out to look at but decided it needed something more.  That something was the hat. It took me around an hour working on the new drawing.  So, I  had three hours invested in just deciding what to paint.  Once I started the painting I did it non stop which took three more hours.  The painting was the easy part... the decision of what to paint is where all the labor in the birth process came into play.  I am happy with the final results and think the subject fits the frame better then the pots, plants and pomegranates sketch. I already picked a frame and have the background ready for that painting and as soon as I post this I will get to work on it.  I am glad that I don't go though this with most of my paintings.  Usually something pops into my head whether it be a redo of old subject matter or something new and different and I don't have to go though this long drawn out process to produce a new painting.

2 of my classic Desert Scenes of Arizona

Here are two 8X10 Classic Desert Scenes that I completed today.   After finishing these this morning I decided to apply the polycrylic.  If you read the last couple of posts you know that I don't like the job of applying the polycrylic.  Usually I wait until I have a number of projects done then take a day and apply the polycrylic on them together. 
This time I thought of how much easier it would be to just have 2 paintings to finish off and I was right.  It was much easier and only took a short time to complete the nasty but necessary job. Once the finishing coats were dry I was able to put them in the frames and take a photo of them.  I did have something happen that had never happened before.  While shooting in the framer points one of the frames came apart.  It was beyond repair so I had to come up with another frame.  I did not have one that matched exactly the frame that the other painting is in so had to use one that is slightly different.  Usually I paint these scenes in sets with matching frames.  In most cases they sell individually but sometimes the customer wants a matching pair.  In looking through the 8X10 frames I have in stock I discovered that I don't have any matching sets.  That has never happened before either.  Oh well, that is okay since I have a good supply of really nice wider molding 8X10 frames.  I'll spend the next few months creating paintings for these frames to sell at the Sun City Art Fair in November. 

Polycrylic Done!

I know you have seen these items in past posts.  I take photos of them before I apply the protective coats of polycrylic because the gloss causes a reflection from the flash.  You can see it on some of these items.  I am posting this photo just to show that I did get the job done today.  I mentioned in yesterday's post that I usually procrastinate because it is not a job I am fond of doing.  I actually put the first coat on last night then the 2nd and 3rd coats today.  Job done! 
Below are two paintings that I had completed before I painted the above items.  They also needed the polycrylic finish.  In the case of paintings I do not take photos until they have the polycrylic coat.  I photograph them in a special area I have set up with good lighting so I don't need the flash thus no reflection.  These are smaller paintings that I will show at the Sun City Art Fair in the fall.  I am working on a couple of small desert scenes which may be done tomorrow.

Sepia Cactus
8X10
 

Images of Arizona
9X12

Sunflower Bowl

Here are two views of the Sunflower Bowl I just completed.  It is about 9 inches in diameter.  This will be the last craft type of item I will do for awhile.  I received my canvas order today so am ready to start working on framed paintings.  I have 24 each of 8X10 and 11X14 canvas.  That should keep me busy for awhile.  I think I will start with some 8X10 desert scenes.  I only have two and those are at the SAAG gallery.  I am happy to say that I have sold every one that I have ever painted.  I don't even own one myself.  Along with the canvas painting I must make time to put the polycrylic on all the craft items I have been working on.  I don't particularly like doing that so save up a bunch and do them all at once.  Maybe tomorrow.  I am good at procrastinating at things I don't like to do.  See the photo below of the order I got today from Dick Blick.

Canvas and framing supplies.

Saguaro Cutting Board

This long narrow cutting board was perfect for a saguaro.  I am never sure what the finished painting will look like when I start.  I drew a saguaro on the black surface with a chalk pencil then started to doodle on it.  I added a flower then as I went along I decided to stick with a flower theme. I randomly added color and this is what I ended up with.  I like that I can find an old item that someone has no use for anymore and give it a new life as a decorative item.  I will do a bowl next.  I have painted it black and will decorate it with sunflowers.  I have been on a sunflower kick lately.  That is why I was inspired to paint my nails yellow!  See photo below.

Hot, Hot, Hot

Chili peppers are hot and so is the weather here in Tucson.  We did not break 100 this year until the first of June and it has been a high of 105 or more every day since then.  I finished these two chili pepper boards today.  I am now ready to do another bowl.  I decided to paint sunflowers on it and I also have a long narrow cutting board that is just right for a saguaro.  With the weather as hot as it is it is the perfect time to stay in my air conditioned shop and paint.