Domino Train Stations (1 done and 30 to go)

I got a commission for a Mexican Domino Train Station via email a few days ago requesting a hummingbird in purple and green on a mustard colored background.  The bird was to be hovering over a flower.  I was to use my own choice of color for the flower. Here is what I created.

This is the first of 31 train stations that I have to do before the Sun City Art Festival which is the last Saturday in October.  I have base coated 17 of them not counting the one above.

I still have 13 that are unpainted.

I think I will do 8 or these and leave 5 unpainted to allow for special orders.

I don't think I mentioned in a previous post that I was invited to have my own show in the Council Chamber of the Oro Valley Town Hall for the month of October.  I will show larger paintings and save the smaller ones for the Art Festival.  Lots of things coming up in the fall so I have to keep busy creating new art.

Three functional items and some items that sold this week

I painted three functional items this week.  Here they are.

The first is a cutting board with a surreal saguaro pattern.

The next is a desert scene on an old cigar box.

The third item is an oval tray with a desert scene.

I sold three items from home this week.  We had some neighbors over for a game night and they asked to see my home gallery.  They found some items they wanted to give a s gifts which are pictured below.

"Pretty Kitty"

8X10

"Patchwork Pony"

Along with selling these items I sold a painting that I posted on Facebook.  A friend I met on Facebook who had me paint a pair of her cowboy boots saw it and bought it.  She lives on the other side of town so I mailed it to her.  We have never met in person but have become online friends and look forward to the day when we meet face to face.  Here is the painting she bought.

15X15

"Pretty & Prickly"

A painting from the past

I saw the above painting by Georgia O"Keeffe on Facebook today.  It is titled "Desert Abstraction" and was painted in 1931.  It brought to mind a painting I did a few years ago.  It was a commissioned job and the client knew exactly what she wanted.  I was able to create the image she had in mind. The size is 16X20 and the title is "Red Reflections".  Here it is.

The past few days I have been base coat painting domino train stations.  I have 20 done with another 14 to go.  I also have been working on a small cutting board while I was waiting for the paint to dry on the train stations.  I have a tray ready for a desert scene which I will do after I complete the cutting board.  I have three months until the Sun City Art Festival.  I like to have at least 80 items to show.  That will keep me busy!

"Magnolia"

One of my favorite artists is Georgia O'Keeffe.  I have always been attracted to her paintings that feature a large flower.  That was my inspiration for this painting.  I wanted to do a white flower on a light background and remembered a painting I did of a magnolia on a 16X20 canvas which I sold a few years ago.  I decided that it would be perfect for this 24X24X2 inch art box.  I printed a copy of the original painting to jog my memory on the color palette.  I based coated the board in a lighter color than the first painting then I freehand sketched the flower and started painting the flower.  In less than 24 hours I had it completed.  Here is a photo of it along with the first "Magnolia" painting.

I really enjoy painting flowers but it is my southwest style paintings that are my best sellers so I do more of those.  It has been awhile since I painted a cactus flower which combines the floral and southwest themes so maybe I'll consider that for my next canvas painting.  For now though, I am going to concentrate on base coating domino train stations and working on some functional items.

Stained Glass angels by Roger

A few years back Roger made a stained glass panel of an angel for his mother. The size is 22X13.  I did the design work and glass color selection.  Here is that panel.

More recently he decided to do two more of these panels to give as gifts to a couple of his cousins who live in West Virginia. He used the same pattern and I did the glass and color selection.  All of these panels are meant to be hung in a window.  Here are the two new angel stained glass panels.

He now has to build a crate in which to ship the panels.  Hopefully they will arrive safe.  There is always some worry when we mail stained glass but so far they have gotten to their destination unbroken.

I started work on the large painting I mentioned in my last post and should have it done tomorrow.  Also, I got notification today that the paintings I submitted to the Chili Pepper Exhibition had not been accepted.  Part of being an artist is to know you will not make it into every show you apply for.  I really don't mind because if they sold the commission is 50% which means I would have to raise the price accordingly.  Now I can show them at the Sun City Art Festival and sell them at a more reasonable price.

Second version of "Cowgirl Dream"

I did a painting titled "Cowgirl Dream" in January with the plan to show it at the SAAG Gallery but that didn't happen.  I had someone come to the house to purchase one of my domino train stations who saw the painting and bought it for a grand-daughter. I decided to do another one that I would be able to show and found a frame and cut and base coated a canvas but then I had some commissions and lots of company and two trips.  There seemed to be one reason or another that caused me not to finish the painting until now.  The size of this painting is 9X18.  I am also including a photo of the first one that sold so quickly which is 8X20

For my next project I am working on another 24X24X2 art board.  I'll post photo when it is done.

"Masquerade"

Two posts ago I told you I was almost done with a large 24X24 painting when I decided I did not like it.  Since I wasn't happy with it I decided to paint it out with black paint and start over with a new idea. In my last post I told you what my new idea was and that I had started working on developing that idea.  That was on Thursday.  I continued to work on the painting yesterday and had it finished by last night.  This morning I applied the polycrylic , made the back of the art box neat looking by painting it, and attaching the hanging wire and name tags.  Finally I took photos of the completed painting which I titled "Masquerade".  Can you guess why I gave it that name?

Not everyone sees it at first glance but if you study the painting you will see what inspired the name.  I know this is not my usual style of subject matter but I've done so many doodles while traveling this year I decided to do a painting based on one of the doodles.  Here is the doodle that gave me the idea for this painting.

Funny how I worked so long on that first painting then whipped this one out in such a short time period.  Every so often you hear of an old master painting being x-rayed and another painting is found underneath.  I doubt that this painting will ever be x-rayed and I'm not sure that the original painting could be seen because I obliterated it with black paint before I painted it over.  I wonder if I should have set the original painting aside and finished it at a later date but if I had done that would I every had the idea for this one?  I am glad I went with my gut feeling and did what I did.  I am happy with the new creation and will show it when the opportunity presents itself and see what the public thinks.

I am ready to go back to painting what I am comfortable with.....southwest whimsy and lots of bright colors.

Asymmetrical Desert Scene Bowl

I finished this bowl.  It is an interesting piece because the sides of the bowl are asymmetrical.  It is lower on one side then increases about an inch or so around to the other side.  The problem is that you really can't see the shape in the photos.  When  you see it in person it is very obvious.  The outside of the bowl is painted a deep purple and I did one of my classic desert scenes with a geometric design on the inside of the bowl.  Here are the photos.

I worked on this bowl to help me clear my mind while I decided what new painting I would do on the artist board you saw in my last post.  I had a number of people say they liked the original painting that I covered over with black but I wasn't happy with it so it went bye-bye.  Yesterday I had the word "Masquerade" pop into my mind and the vision of a doodle I did a while back came to me.  Since I wanted this painting to be something different from my usual southwest-folk art style I decided go with this really off the wall idea.  I started at 4 pm yesterday by drawing the the pattern on the board and applied most of the base coat by bed time.  I was up early today and finished the base coat and shading and am ready for the decorative design work.  It is definitely something different from what I normally paint.  I'm not sure what kind of reaction I will get from this painting but I am having fun creating it.  I'll post a photo when it is done.

An Artist's Dilemma! What do I do?

In yesterday's post I told you I was working on a painting I was going to title "Painted Patchwork".  I started working on it weeks ago before I went on my last trip.  I spent hours working up the idea.  I made a template on the computer then had to work out the math to get it spaced out correctly on the art board.  Next I had to tape and paint and re-tape and paint over and over.  After that I started on the decorative design work.  I have many hours into this project.  So what is the problem?  The problem is I didn't like what I was doing.  I continued to work on it and was almost finished.  Usually when I am unsure of a painting the more I work on it the better I like it but that was not the case this time.  I kept telling myself to finish the painting but I just couldn't do it.  So I made a decision.  I stopped working on it and got out the black paint and poured it over all my weeks of work.  I used a crumpled bag to texture the black paint so none of the original painting would show through.  Here are photos of before and after.

Was I crazy to do this?  I don't think so.  I have peace of mind over what I did. It is not often that I am unhappy with a painting but this one was the exception. I now have a nice black back ground ready for a new painting.  I'm not sure what It will be but I'll think on it for awhile and am sure I will come up with an idea.  I may work on a bowl while I am waiting for inspiration to hit me.  

15 New Doodles

Here are the doodles I did on my trip to New Mexico.  My black Sharpie ran dry so I used my red and blue till they ran out then I borrowed some sharpies and colored pencils from my grand-daughter.  I really love the one done in the bright colored sharpies.  I must buy myself a set.

I am done playing catch up from being away so much in the month of June.  I went back to work on a painting I started back in May called "Painted Patchwork".  Hopefully I can have it completed in a few days.  It is very detailed and is taking me longer then I usually take doing a painting.  I'll post a photo when it is done.

My first project since I got back from another trip.

It has been over two weeks since my last post.  That is because I had an unexpected trip come up.  This one was to New Mexico where I went to help my daughter with some projects.  She lives in a little mountain town and it was an escape from the heat of Tucson.  I'll post more about my trip later.
  This post will feature a project I started before I left and finished after I got back.  It was a commissioned job.  Here is the story of how it came about.  I sold my Sycamore Bowl at the gallery.  The customer saw my Saguaro serving board and decided she would like one in colors that would match the bowl.  The problem was that this board was a one of a kind item that I bought at a yard sale.  I had no way of getting another one.  I solved the problem by re-purposing the board by sanding off my painting and repainting it in her colors. Here is the first painting then the new painting and the bowl I was matching.

If you follow my blog you know I always have a number of zantangle doodles that I have done while I was traveling.  It is no different this trip.  I did quite a few but haven't had time to scan them except for one of them that I did in color.  Here it is.