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.