Another favorite of mine.....

~click on image to enlarge~

12"x8" Holly hocks in the Rose Garden, Pastel on paper.

Looking at this gem makes me anxious about painting in the Rose Garden in Bentonsport sooner rather then later.  Old man Winter just keeps lingering.  We had a light snow yesterday....again.  I can't complain too much about the white stuff.  We don't have the feet of snow that so many other places have gotten. I'm truly thankful for that.

This work is in this months show at the Courtyard Gallery & Studio .  I'm planning to create a few more floral paintings this month.  Just received my first seed catalog and all those juicy - bright colors of blooms.  Yep.....I'm ready to plant something in the rich dirt of my garden so I can watch it grow.

Art included in March Show

~click on image to enlarge~

"Sweet Ride", 24"x36" Oil on stretched canvas

I did this painting in 2011 and the image spills over on to the wood frame around the canvas. (not shown here)  My daughter Mika supplied me with the photo I used as reference for this work.  ....and yes...she has her own Harley to ride.

For the month of March, this oil painting is displayed in one of the front windows of the Courtyard Gallery & Studio in Bloomfield.  I'm the featured artist this month at the gallery and we plan to celebrate the opening of this show on Sat., March 8th by having an "Alla Prima Paint Out" starting at 10am.  Artist reception with refreshments will begin at 1pm and at the end of the day (4pm) we will draw a name from those that sign the gallery's guest book that day.  The winner will receive one of my framed original 6x6 works that is hanging in this show.

Counting the small works, there are 42 paintings on display and for purchase during March at the gallery.  I am one of many local artists that have work in this gallery year around.

Look for a "new" post everyday this week covering these paintings.  Now, back to work I go :D

....and another pic, showing progress.

~click image to enlarge~

I've made very little progress this past week on this piece.  Yes, A WEEK - 7 DAYS.....UGH!  I can't believe how I'm dragging this work out.  (In a way, I can .....I've mastered the art of procrastination. But, fortunately, that's not my only excuse this time for not being farther along here).   I've had other duties of being Mom, Housewife, Accountant....you get the picture of the other "jobs" that eat up time.

I've finished sculpting the lady's face, her top, and left hand holding the rifle.  What I find odd is, I'm right handed and tend to finish up the right side of a work and move leftward.  When I used to work exclusively in pencil, I trained myself to work left to right. (so not to SMEAR everything)  Now, I've fallen back to my old habit of the reverse.

How do any of you artists out there paint?  I never tire of the wonders of creating something. That's what gets me stuck on "Pinterest" too.  All the creative ideas......from beautiful/fantastically executed paintings, DIY projects, storage space ideas, and the current rage of makeovers using "Pallets". (...and YES...I have a few of those stacked in my barn :D  )

Well.....back to this work shown here.  This week is also going to be a slow process.  I'm thrilled I have commission work to do and have to meet a client today.  Time is a very precious commodity....gift....how ever you want to phrase it.  What I know about me is, if I have to run around doing errands here,there,everywhere.......by the time I get home, the energy to focus on painting  isn't there.  The trick here is to mentally "trick" myself to say I'm not tired :D    

Current work on easel.....

~click on image to enlarge~

Here I've decided to start a painting on stretched canvas size 40"x30".  You can see to the far left a photo of a couple standing in grass in front of a canvas tent. (by the color chart)

 I took this picture at a Civil War Enactment in 2011.  They were set up near the Des Moines River in Bonaparte, IA.

 ~click on image to enlarge~

I decided to back up to get a wider shot here so you could see more of the studio space I have my easels set up.  I took down my old collage on the wall when I brought home my 4x8 insulation foarmboards  from the studio in Bentonsport.  I've covered them with canvas drop cloths.  

I mounted one here and created small shelves using foamboard propped up with large sewing pins.  I can set the 6x6 panels I paint on them to dry and view before they're framed.

This studio space has enough room for 3 people to work with plenty of space around each person......4 people max.   You can barely see Obie laying on the pulled out chair from the table that's been shoved up next to the wall and has narrow shelving on it.  I can easily fit 2 table easels there.  

 Oh boy...now he's jumped up on the computer chair watching my fingers do there thing. ...s-l-o-w-l-y he's reaching out like he wants to help.  I'm NEVER alone.

Alla Prima Paint out with Artist Reception 2-8-2014

I'm moving slow today....fighting a flu bug I think gifted from my hubby.  He was home from work last week with it...feels better himself..........now it's my turn. :(  So, below are some pictures that  my friend Jeanette Corley took of the art event "Alla Prima" paint out and the beginning of my artist reception that was held Feb. 8th 2014. 

 Showing the technique I've been using with 6x6 pastel paintings

View towards left of walking in the FMAAA Gallery door

view of my easel with a shot of me being serious.

Definitely posed here!

Connie Morris working in front of the large oil paintings that are part of this show.

Carlene Dingman Atwater working beside Connie.......

Carroll Michalek beside Carlene.....

View of 2013 and what I had completed in January for this years (2014) 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge created by artist Leslie Saeta

where some of the pictures are hanging for this month's show and.......

another view of the first artwork seen in the one person show called "Gin Lammert: After 2009" at the FMAAA Gallery in Fort Madison, IA  

The show is open to the public and will be hanging until  Feb. 27th.  Gallery location is 825 Ave G (downtown Fort Madison, IA) and hours Tues. -Sat. 10am to 5pm.

"Curled up in a ball"

~click image to enlarge~

6"x6" Pastel on board

Guess I'm not done with painting images of our beloved cat Wabbles.  Here's another example of using the gouche paints as an underpainting, then finishing the picture with soft pastels.  

......And.......I'm not done yet :D  I have at least 2 more photos of Wabbles I plan to work from.  Then it's our new member of the family, Obie, that will be my next model.  He will be a challenge since he's a black & white kitty.  

"Focused"

~click image to enlarge~

6"x6" Pastel on board

I Love the contrast here....Wabbles was watching a lady bug crawl across the floor ...hunter instincts kicking in, waiting to pounce. The light source is from our South facing picture window.

Again, I've used the gouche paints to establish my value range, then I block in colors with my soft pastels. I'll be sharing this technique of underpainting in a class this summer for the Villages Folk School.