"To change one's life:
Start immediately.
Do it flamboyantly.
No Exceptions."

--William James


This guy is 24"x24." I kept working and working on him, knowing something wasn't quite right. A friend saw him and said to try some yellow. I did, which of course became orange, which I liked. So I worked in different shades of orange, yellow and pink. What do you think?

Marley

"Your present won't always match up to your past, but your future can surpass both.
----unknown


This is the final of Marley. The owner wanted these specific bits of text in the background. I'm not sure if they show up in the photo but they say things like "good dog" and "go outside?".

Marley commission view #1

 

"My friends are my estate."
Emily Dickenson





This is the commission I am working on currently. His name is Marley. He is a pound dog, part boxer. Isn't he sweet? The piece is 24"x24." I haven't written here in so-o-o-o long, because I've been doing nothing but painting. It's wonderful to be so busy, but I need to learn to handle the stress better. It's all "good stress," but my body doesn't know the difference between good and bad stress, so my neck and shoulders are in knots. Geeze, more lessons to learn...

Artist and Subjects

"If the only prayer you say in your whole life is 'Thank you,' that would suffice.
-Meister Eckhart


I delivered this commissioned painting to Lance and Gena yesterday. They are the owners of Ricky and Lucy, the subjects of the painting. They are the sweetest little dogs. It was such fun to meet them and visit with their owners. One of the bonuses of being a painter is meeting wonderful people (and dogs).

Iris Bouquet

"Love many. Trust a few.
Learn to paddle your own canoe."
-Author Unknown


My husband brought me these iris from the grocery store. They were so lovely; they begged to be painted. Perhaps the background is too loud. I'll live with it a day or two and then see.

Stargazer

"Discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

This is a commission I just finished. It is to be a birthday present. I usually paint the entire canvas red before I begin a painting. This one is no exception. I like the way the red shows through in places. In this one, I left more red showing than usual-----the edges around the flower---and spots in the background. It is 6" x 6" done in acrylic.

Ricky and Lucy

 

"Life ain't no dress rehearsal!"
-Mark Twain


It seems like I have been working on this commission forever. That's why I haven't posted in so long. I still have to work on the background a bit, but I hope the dogs are finished. I've just emailed the photo to the client. Painting a white dog from a photograph challenges me almost too much. I'm fairly happy with this, but am always open to input. Oh, it measures 18" x 24."

Pear on Stripes

 

"It is up to you to choose a life that will keep expanding. It takes discipline to remain curious; it takes work to be open to the world---but oh my friends, what noble and glorious work it is."
Ann Patchett


Haven't posted in a while because I'm busy working on a large painting. It is a commission and I had been working on it for at least two weeks. No matter how I tweaked and tinkered, it just wasn't right. So, yesterday I wiped it all out and started over. It is coming along well now. I learned much from the first one and am able to apply those lessons to this one. Sometimes wiping it out is the very best thing.

Anyway, this pear was fun. The striped fabric is a crumpled up blouse of mine. I want to practice more on doing fabric, but I'm learning as I go along.

Pear on Paisley

 

"There is no must in art because art is free."
--Wassily Kandinsky



I suppose I'm going through another pear period. I learn something new each time I paint one. The fabric background is a scrap of Ralph Lauren fabric. I love the green on the pink. This one is 6"x6" acrylic on canvas. It will be for sale soon at georgianaewing.etsy.com.

Pear on Stripes

 

"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong."
---Joseph Chilton Pearce



I have been out of town for a while. Went out of town to the wedding of my lifelong friend's daughter. Two days of celebrating. Such fun. Weddings are so life-affirming and hopeful. Didn't realize it had been so long since I posted anything. I'll try to play catch up in the next few days. I painted this 6"x6" this morning. Cheers to all.

Finished Commission (I think)

 

"All serious daring starts from within."

--Eudora Welty


I haven't posted anything in so long it seems. I've been busy working on this commission and have begun a new one. I think I'm finished with this one. I've changed the sky and water a bit since I posted it last---------also added more detail to the buildings.

current commission

 

"I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well"

--Diane Ackerman

This is a commission I'm working on. It is 30"x30." I would love some feedback. Specifically, does the lower right quarter need something else going on? A teacher I once had said it is a good idea to have a place in the painting where the eye can "rest." That's what I have in mind here, but not sure whether or not it works. In the photo I'm working from, that street (on the right) is full of people, but I don't do people. Also, any other suggestions are WELCOME!

Fiesta on Pink

 

"here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(carry it in my heart)

e. e. cummings

I did this yesterday between sessions of working on a large piece. These small paintings are fun. I like the way the colors in this one work. Have always liked pink and green. What would life be without color?? Boring, indeed.

Pared Down Pear

 

"What a wonderful life I've had! I only wish I'd realized it sooner."
----Colette


This is daily painting #35! This project is teaching me discipline as well as improving my painting, I think. I'm enjoying playing around with acrylics on these small paintings----------although I'm still doing the large ones in oil. This is another 6"x6" on gallery wrapped canvas. Dick Blick gives great price breaks if you buy five or more in one size. I order most of my supplies from them.

Blue is Best

"I disregard the proportions, the measures, the tempo of the ordinary world...I will not adjust myself to the world. I am adjusted to myself."
--Anais Nin


This little guy is an 8"x8" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas. Something about cows, goats and sheep really appeals to me, although I am not personally acquainted with any of them. I went through a period of longing for an alpaca, but got over it when I realized how difficult it would be to find someone to care for it if we left for the weekend!

Thanks for looking!

Reflected Pears

 

"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm."
-Winston Churchill


This is small (almost daily) painting #33 or #34. I need to count them again. My goal has been to do three of these little ones a week while working on my larger commissions. I love the variety of having more than one painting going at once.I also love the sense accountability this blog gives me.

Colorful Couple

 

The Buck Stops Here

 

"I didn't belong as a kid,and that always bothered me.If only I had known that one day my differentness would be an asset, then my early life would have been much easier."
----Bette Midler


I can certainly relate to that quote. As a kid, I wanted to be like everyone else. Being different was not a good thing. The older I get, the more comfortable I am with who I am. What a relief. Somehow, I have found myself through painting. It has been my salvation.

This painting was fun to do. We have deer in our yard every morning and evening, and I love them. I painted this guy from a photograph, then made up the fabric in the background.

Thanks for visitingmy blog.

A Pair of Pears

"Art is the only way to run away without leaving home."

--Twyla Tharp

I'm fairly pleased with today's painting. The colors are wild, but I like them. I told my husband this evening that I fall more in love with painting every day. The more time I invest, the more entranced I become. I'm so grateful I get to spend my time this way.

This painting is 6"x6" on gallery wrapped canvas---------painted in acrylic.

Mom's Fiesta

"Painting is a faith, and it imposes the duty to disregard public opinion." ------------Vincent Van Gogh

This is today's painting. As I read recently on someones's blog, "I work so hard to make it look spontaneous!" That describes my process perfectly. I want to loosen up, but it is difficult for me. Perhaps as I paint more and more frequently, the work will become looser. This is acrylic and is 6" x 6."

Old Chuck

"The first quality that is needed is audacity." -----Pablo Picasso

This painting was a commission I did a while ago. I did a whole series of Chuck Taylor high tops and a client bought three from the series. Then she comissioned three more paintings of the shoes in specific colors. This piece is 24" x 20" and is in oil. It was great fun.

"To draw, you must close your eyes and sing."
------Pablo Picasso

"Parade of Artists"

This is a photo of me with two of my favorite people in the world: my son and my brother. They each came to Boerne Saturday to visit me during the annual "Parade of Artists." Wish my husband were in the picture but he was behind the camera.

The weather was great, I made some sales and met lots of nice people. All in all, quite a good weekend. I'm hugely grateful for my family and friends who constantly encourage and support me.

"I am interested in art as a means of living a life, not as a means of making a living."

---Robert Henri


I haven't posted anything in a while because I have been so busy with the "Parade of Artists" here in Boerne. Today is the last day, so I'll be back online early in the week. The weather has been perfect, and I have met so many great people. Cheers!

Java For One

"Low art is just telling things; as 'There is the night.' High art gives the feel of the night. The latter is nearer reality and the former is a copy.....Rather paint the flying spirit of the bird than its feathers." ---Robert Henri

I kept messing with this and the more I did, the stranger it got. So frustrating. Oh well. Tomorrow is another day. I'm getting ready for a show this weekend. I tend to get bogged down in the details of preparing for a show. Then I get really crabby. I LOVE to paint, but I hate setting prices, making lists, and all the rest of it. If only I had a "personal assistant" to do all the dirty work, I could just paint and paint. AH-h-h-h-h-h.

Anyway this is as usual a 6" x 6" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas. .

When Life Hands You Lemons......

"You can't kill time without injuring eternity."

Henry David Thoreau

I completely changed the background of this one. I like it much better. This is 6" x 6" on gallery wrapped canvas. Painted in acrylic. Thanks for checking in.

Orange and Yellow, Black and White

Today's painting actually looks better than this photograph. I must have trembled when I clicked the photo. Anyway this is 6"x6" done in acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas. Thanks for checking in.

A Fine Pair

"To the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures."------------Flannery O'Connor


This was a fun one to paint. And rewarding. As soon as I finished it, I ate one of the pears. Yummy. This is an acrylic done on 6" x 6" gallery wrapped canvas. No need to frame. .

Kellie's Painting

"Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working." ----------Pablo Picasso


This is a commission I did for my friend Kellie. It is painted in oil from a photograph she took in Italy. She will see it when she comes to visit this weekend. Commissions are difficult, just because as an artist you are trying to please someone else rather than yourself. If the person who commissions the painting lives out of town, I usually email "progress" photos, so they can have input along the way. Thank goodness for email! It certainly facilitates the process. This is 16" x 20."

I need to improve my photograpic skills!

Green Mug

"We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are." ------Anais Nin

I've been working on some larger pieces, so haven't had a chance to post in a while. This is a 6"x6" acrylic painting on gallery wrapped canvas.

Three's A Crowd

"I would like to recapture that freshness of vision which is characteristic of extreme youth when all the world is new to it."----------Henri Matisse

Thanks for looking.