Three New Paintings!

Hi there!  I've been a busy little bee lately!  Recently I took part in a challenge to paint 30 paintings in 30 days.  This one above was the very first one that I painted for the challenge.  Not bad #1, not bad!  It's on a 8" x 10"x 1/2" canvas. I love Koi and waterlilies so I figured why not paint both!

This is the second one, "I AM here".  This one was much easier than the first one.  It seemed to flow out fairly easily and tell me exactly what it wanted.  I love when that happens!  It's also on 8" x 10" x 1/2" canvas.

close up of "I AM here"

"Island Of Dreams" was the third painting that I did.  Don't you want to take a boat out on that water and just float?  This one was done on 11" x 14" canvas board. 

 I like how the first three paintings all have water and seem to go together.  I think it was a great way to start off the challenge!  

Just for fun here's a photo of "Island Of Dreams" while it was still in progress.  This can almost be a finished painting itself!

So there's the first 3 out of 30!  I only have 27 more to show you!  ;-)  

They're all done now so if you can't wait you can see them all on my Facebook Art Page or Instagram 

Thanks for visiting!  See you soon!

Shadow Shot Sunday : Tree+?

Hi there.

I would like your input on today's shadow shots.

At first glance these two photos look the same...BUT if you're very observant (and I know you are), you'll notice the tree is in the center in the first photo and a bit on the right in the second photo.  I usually try to go by the rule of thirds in my photos, which tells you NOT to put the main subject dead center... BUT once in a while I like a photo better with the subject in the center, not on the side.  Like in these photos.  I like the centered one better, but I was going to ignore that and post the other one because "the rule... don't ignore the rule!"
 I think sometimes we need to break the rules.




















I would really like your opinion. Which do you prefer out of these two photos?  Sorry to make you work on a Sunday ;-)  but I appreciate your input.  Thank you!!

For more shadow shots or to join in with your own shadows, go on over to Hey Harriet's for Shadow Shot Sunday!

Orange Post : Koi Carp

Ok,  I guess I didn't make the lil' sneak peek hard enough for you smarties... most of you knew it was a Koi fish (and to the nut who said "or an under-ripe tomato that looks like a Koi", I just went to your blog and now I understand, LOL!)  So here's one big cyber pat for all of you who guessed right  ** PAT  PAT**  Thanks for playing along.  It was fun!!  I think I'll do that again, but maybe make it more of a challenge next time!

This was inspired by a few photos I took of  Koi Carp in the pond at Fashion Island in Newport Beach.  I started off with a 9x12 inch canvas.  I printed out three separate photographs of mine onto regular computer paper and glued them down onto the canvas.  Then I used Heavy Gel Medium to create lots of "yummy yummy texture", to quote Jenny and Shelley (thanks ladies!).

Once that dried I added layer after layer after layer of paints and glazes.  Then a few more layers.  To finish it off I popped out  a few details on the fish with permanent pen.

These are the photos that I used in this mixed media painting.  The first ones are of the Fashion Island Koi.  The last photo is of our very cool chandelier in our bedroom.  I took the photo looking straight up at the light.  I like that you can't really tell what it is!

So here is my Orange Post for The Summer of Color.  I was SO excited to read that there will be a Summer of Color 2 next year, Yay!!  Hopefully next summer I won't be a week behind in all the posts,  LOL, but this was so much fun!  I now have some cool artwork that wouldn't have existed if it weren't for this challenge and the wonderful  Kristin!!

Lovely Lavender

Last week's color (yes I'm behind!) for The Summer of Color was purple.   I needed to make a thank you card.  So what do you think happened?  Yup, I made a purple thank you card.  Actually we'll call it lavender, since that's the shade that I used and the plant that was part of my inspiration. 

I took this photo (below) last year up in Oregon in my sister's front yard.  I love the image and have been wanting to use it for something, so this was the perfect time.

I started by collaging pieces of paper onto a card, then painted over them to make a nice background.  I transferred the image onto the card by experimenting with Transfer Artist Paper (TAP).   I then layered on more paint and added a few embellishments.  

There's just something soothing about lavender, isn't there?  Even when you can't smell it.  Hmm.. maybe I should scent the card.

Nah...probably not.

With each of my Summer of Color posts I've tried to add a few extra photos that feature the color of the week .

So... here's a couple more photos that were also taken up in Oregon.

I love anything "thistle-y"

Lavender field against a white barn... heavenly.

And while digging through my photos I came across this painting that I had in an old post, that I did for another color challenge.  This was the first time I used the color lavender in my art and loved it. 

 That's why I love doing these challenges.  It makes you step out of your box and try out a new color or technique that you might not normally use.  So a big THANK YOU goes out to my friend Kristin for taking the time and energy to do this for us!!  There's still time to join us and maybe even win a prize from Kristin!  This weeks color is Orange... I'm excited about this one!!

So...what are you doing to challenge yourself?

Green With Plaster

 Hi there.  I'm a bit late with this, but here is my entry to the Summer of Color for green week.  I've been so inspired by the techniques that I'm learning in the "Plaster Studio Workshop" online class, so I had to finally squeeze in some time for a little plaster play.  This piece is not quite done (I think), but I'm liking how it looks so far.  I think I want to mount it on something but I'm not quite sure how or what yet.  I'll let you know when I do.

detail shots

Ooh, I love this cracked plaster technique!  So much fun!!   

I also wanted to let you know that it will continue to be quiet around here for at least another week, so I'll try to get caught up with you after that.  Hopefully I can then participate more with the "Summer of  Color" fun.

Thanks for being patient with me. 

 I hope you're all having fun and making wonderful messes with paint!  xoE

Light and Beauty and SSS

There is something about the light in Oregon that takes my breath away, especially the late afternoon light.  That's my favorite time of day anyway because I LOVE the long shadows, and because the afternoon light seems to soften the appearance of everything that its warm glow caresses,

even paved roads and dirty, tattered old mail boxes.

These pictures were taken from my sister's house, at the end of her driveway.  Amazing.  Every afternoon I would just stare out at their front yard and try to take it all in...try to soak up the light and beauty that was right there in front of me...right in their yard.  I wondered if I would ever get anything done at this time of day if I lived there...and wondered how often her and her husband stop....and just breath it in.

This is for you V and B, to remind you to not take advantage of the beauty that surrounds you...and to remind all of us to do the same.  We may not all have a view like this, but there is always beauty that we could appreciate right there in front of us, which we probably take for granted.

What is it that is right there in front of you, that you would suddenly miss if it were gone?  Take a good look around.

These pictures below were taken IN their yard.  I was working just outside their garage, making them some art pieces (talk about an inspiring view!  picts of the artwork coming soon), and I looked up, caught my breath, then grabbed my camera and walked maybe 25 feet in front of me and snapped these shots.  Unbelievable.  Sooooo pretty!  I did nothing to any of these pictures, just simply captured the Lord's light and beauty that seemed to make things glow from within...hmm kind of like He can do with us if we let HIM.

I love how the leaves seem to capture and hold the light.

I've been wanting to participate in Shadow Shot Sundays for a while now, and I think that this might be a good week to start.  I love capturing the play of shadows and light, so now I found a good reason to keep it up!  It's as simple as it sounds, take photos of shadows,  post them, and link to the amazing person who created Shadow Shot Sundays so everyone could go check out all the other participants.   To check it out just click on the button below.  Enjoy!
                                                                                  

Photography: Beautiful Waterfalls Part 2

Here's the other waterfall from Kern River, as promised in the last post.  It looks like a short fall, but in reality it has about a 60 ft drop.  Hmmm ... looking at these pictures makes me want to go back!  "Honey, pack your bags, we're goin for a drive!"

Can you feel the spray against your face?  Refreshing, huh?  Man, our Creator sure knows what He's doing.  The ultimate artist.

Photography: Beautiful Waterfalls Part 1

Here's a few pictures of one of the waterfalls (altough this one might be more of a waterslide) at Kern River.  I took tons of pictures on a hike on our recent vacation, so it's taken a while to go through them.  I decided to split the waterfalls into two posts, one for today and one for tuesday.  I was afraid that cramming them into one post might take the attention away from the beauty of each, so without further ado, here's the first...

Ahh...breathe it in.  So pretty, right?  I usually avoid turning my camera toward the sun, to avoid sun spot (or halos, or whatever they're called), but this time I was having fun experimenting with purposely trying to get some spots and glare from the sun.  I like how they turned out, who needs photoshop right ?(she says longingly while (not so) secretly hoping her dear husband will surprise her with it one day...wink wink).

Kern River Photos

Here's just a few of  MANY photographs I took while we were on vacation in Kern River.  We went hiking in a beautiful area, and I just couldn't seem to stop taking pictures!  I will post pictures of the gorgeous waterfalls soon, but here's some beautiful scenery to hold you over till then.

So pretty...sigh...and no, I did not alter the colors of the trees, that's how vibrant they looked in person!  Amazing.

I love when the moon is out during the day, did you notice it in the last picture?  More pictures to come soon...