COVID Nightengale

 It's time for my yearly post! (Oh.. that is embarrassing.) It's been a strange year for us all. I simply haven't painted as much as usual - art is language and, under lock down, I guess I felt like I had no one to talk to. And I was really overwhelmed with trying to process that I am actually living in a time of global pandemic, let alone all of the other stuff going on, of which there is a whole lot! Aren't we all?  Anyway, early on I was looking at images of the first-line people and I really felt like I should paint about it. I painted this last spring but it's just as relevant now. For artists this has been such a weird time. I had an opening for a two person show just a few days before our state shut down in March. People were scared so it was a pretty quiet event, and then my work was locked up in a gallery for two months. Since then I have participated in a few things, but I was really heartened and excited to have a chance to try to enter a juried show because I am so ready for something. I have realized that I will be sorry if I continue to squander my time trying to decipher the news, so I am just going to live my life and make some art.  Thank you, thank you to the New Ulm Artscape Juried Art Show and to Dana Sikkila, the best juror in the world! ;-)

Ilana's Hat

Oh my, what can I say? It has been so long since I have visited my blog that I hardly remember how to use it. Suddenly it called me back! This painting is for a commission for our dear friends from Israel, Boaz and Ilana. We don't get to see them nearly often enough. Almost a year ago we were in Thailand with Boaz. We were expecting Ilana would to join us in a few days. I was chatting with Boaz and he was telling me how much he was missed her and how he thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. I said, " I hope you tell her that." and he told me that he does all the time! What? They've been married at least 50 years. I was so touched by that. He has been after me to do a portrait of her for quite a while, so I finally did. It will be in the Member's Show at the Carnegie Art Center for a while and then we'll ship it off to them.
PS. Ilana is an inspiration to me. Her slogan to live by is, "Don't postpone life."

The Traveling Chicken and her Peeps Come to Mankato, MN

I recently had the great honor of a visit from 'the Traveling Chicken".  As a host for the little chicken and her companions, I was invited to be a quest blogger on the official blog where I submitted this painting. This was a big deal, ya'll! After I signed up for the chicken, I waited a long time to be a part of this thing that has been going on since 2012! The chicken has been all over the world and finally came here. I came up with a little story, which you can read on The Traveling Chicken blog, if you are interested. In fact, looking back at the archives, there are many fun stories to read and lots of interpretations of the wee poulet and her companions. Check it out : http://travel-chicken.blogspot.nl/

Cheers

The last painting in the 31 day challenge - finally!  I have painted every day, although I didn't finish a painting every single day. Hopefully I learned some things along the way, and now I'm happy to go on to some other projects. But first,  I get a little reward ;-)

Grain Fed

The second to the last one! I bought a loaf of "take and bake" bread the other day, but I didn't read the direction that said to freeze the bread if you weren't going to bake it right away.  Four or five days later, I popped it in the oven and it smelled divine! It looked completely beautiful when it came out too. Nice and crusty - yum! But on the bottom, I noticed a big green area. So disappointing! Never one to waste, it ended up serving another purpose, and I learned a lesson. But I can't wait to go buy another one and bake it right away this time!

Pepper Pile-up

I got to use a lot of cadmium colors for this, and keep them pretty intense. Pretty fun! I love those happy little peppers.

Radish Bowl

Here's my story - I bought some radishes, not because I wanted a salad, but because I've never painted them. They had lovely green tops at the time. I stuck them in the veggie drawer and forgot about them, until the tops were dark and slimy, so I trimmed them up, and popped them in a bowl and then I painted what turned out to be a complicated maze. The colors in the produce section of your grocery store are so intense! A purple cabbage, for example, or those mini peppers.

Legs and Hair

I rarely buy carrots with the tops intact. I don't see an advantage other than aesthetic pleasure, the feeling that it's fresher perhaps? We know why I did it now though:-) They were fun models and I'll put them to good use tomorrow, maybe in a soup. With a ton of fresh snow, that seems like a good use.

Room for More

In real life these grapes are as tired as I am. they've been sitting out since Thursday night and the stems are getting a little brittle. The poor grapes may have lost their luster too, but they've served me well. Thank you grapes.

Red and White

I painted this for a friend, hoping it might be something she would enjoy. Turns out, I was right :-) Painting still lives is always an education in color and texture. This was fun, but a toughie!

It's Only Wine

I really wanted to include the little brass llama, but it got voted out. Oh well, he's been in another painting and I'm sure he'll get another turn. No hard feelings, little guy.

Tea Rose

My Aldi's bouquet is earning it keep. Every day I think that I will paint during the day, but I rarely do. Nothing wrong with being a night owl, except it allows me no wiggle room for later when I look at a painting with fresh eyes and see... something. I occasionally make changes even after I've posted something. That's a confession.

Saturday Roses

You never know what you'll find at Aldi's. We made a quick trip there today and I saw these luscious pink roses for under $4.00! The only place that can top that is Trader Joes, but that's almost two hours away. So, a quick painting today, and maybe another tomorrow. 

Are You Ticklish?

It's usually not a great idea to have an even number of objects in a composition. I was challenged this week to try it and I took the bait. Gotta use up these beets, after all. It feels OK to me and it's kind of quirky, which I like.

Beets

I absolutely hated beets as a child, but I think they're great now. Such a useful vegetable - I'll start with the tops and add them to a stir-fry. Then I'll roast the beets and have them maybe with carrots and potatoes.... Then, in a salad. I predict one more painting too ;-) I've painted beets before and I think I did better. Maybe not.

Special Treat

My mama's birthday would have been today, so for the last three years I've painted a treat for her that I think she would have enjoyed. My little memorial.

Fallen Rose

Hello neglected blog. I have been painting, but not posting. When I post, it's arranged that my image is picked up by DPW and I haven't felt like putting stuff out there lately. Well, suddenly I'm back in the game.

Number 6 - Smile for the camera.

She looks like the girl next door maybe? Kind of pretty. I checked our her earlier shots and they were even nicer. In a way, that makes the painting a greater challenge. I'm going for an equal number of men and women although there are fewer women to choose from. I'm, so far, avoiding folks that are bleeding or look totally crazy, ala Charles Manson.

4 and 5

The most recent mugshots.  I thought this would be so fun, but it's kinda hard. I'm choosing subjects that are within a certain criteria. I want to practice faces of people that I might see in everyday life. The guy is kind of dangerous looking, but I think there's more... The woman looks a little stoned and a little defiant.

Number 3

I wanted to paint one that didn't look so sad, but he kind of does, and maybe scared too?  The photo made the color slightly warmer, and there is some glare. Happens with a dark background and artificial light. This is the third one. I am giving myself the goal of 30 - they won't be consecutive because there are some other paintings that need to be done, but I am loving this for the opportunity of painting so many sorts of people.