"Why, Hello There..."

"Why, Hello There..."

8" by 8"

Oils on Panel

Ms. Jack-o-Lantern

I carved this pithy lady too soon to be out on Halloween (She rotted dramatically about a week ago, with long harry white mold coming out of her eyes and her whole interior fuzzily black.). She is my favorite attempt I have ever made at a jack-o-lantern. Her face was inspired by the pumpkin that I intentionally picked with a dent skewed upwards that made a great start for a crooked smile. My favorite halloween styles come out of the 1930s so I kept that in mind as I styled her eyes to look up and her eyelashes to be dramatic. Finally I realized she must be looking at something and added a friendly mouse.

'Tis a happy halloween thing I am sharing!

Next

I must do a Whole Piece series painting. If you'd like to add your facial feature to my series, read about it here.

"Humble Blush," Daily Painting # 49

"Humble Blush," Available (click here)

8" by 8"

Oils on Panel

Pink Pumpkin (Well, sort of...)

When I was told there was a pink pumpkin variety I have to admit I wasn't sure I'd like the looks of it. I was imaging a sort of Cinderella Barbie pale fuchsia perfectly round pumpkin, what I found seems much more suitable to an earthy version where Cinderella might have to carve a door for herself and sit below dangling pumpkin seed ornaments. 'Tis my kind of pink pumpkin.

Now the reason I actually bought this was because I have been told it is the best pumpkin eats around. I actually bought another pumpkin to paint and a colorful squash. But the longer I had this pumpkin the more it's pink blush spread over it's lumpy-cream surface and I saw it's imperfect shape from different angles the more it was drawing me in. So I painted it first. :P (There is a jack-o-lantern painting waiting to be posted.)

Composing

I chose to closely crop the composition around the pumpkin to emphasize it's uneven base and allow our eyes to scan the color shifts across the surface of the pumpkin. Enjoying it's imperfection, even glorifying it seems very much in keeping with Halloween where we can try out oddity and villainy with no regrets.

Next

My favorite jack-o-lantern ever painted up. I've got a new pet portrait to share and I'm antsy to start up on the Whole Piece series again. I'm hoping to get many more daily paintings in soon. That's the scoop for now.

"Murdoch," Pet Portrait

"Murdoch"

9" by 13"

Mixed Media

All Scruff

My friendship with Murdoch made the process of working on this piece more meaningful. For me Murdoch is all scruff. His unusual wiry mane of neck and back hair gets fuller as he gets older and emphasizes he isn't like other dogs, he is wilder, more independent, and just stubborn. With all that comes a lively spirit that bounds through the outdoors and hunts with vigor and less than precision. He is a small dog, but you wouldn't imagine him with a sweater on. But when he wears a sweater what is exposed of his mane just looks bolder stand up straighter. I pushed color and allowed the surface texture of the canvas to show through to give the whole piece a slightly rough and textured look befitting Murdoch's strong personality.

Next

Currently I am working on another pet portrait and I am near completion. I'm looking forward to more daily paintings next week. 

"His Home," Daily Painting # 48

"His Home," Available (Click Here)

5" by 7"

Oils on Panel

A Galapagos Tortoise

I decided I had to catch the quiet giants (they are the oldest creatures at the zoo) before my Mom and I left the San Diego Zoo on our latest visit. It was twilight and a bit cool. It seemed all the tortoise's had just bedded down for the night, and in such an odd way. At the back of their exhibit is a cave like area with heat lamps and hay that looked perfectly cozy for tortoises to rest in, but none of them were in there despite the cooler night. They were all pulled into their shells, a few of them had wedged between a plant and the edge of their exhibit huddled together, another was just pressed against another wall, a couple were pushed up against each other, but this guy was in the middle of the exhibit just tucked in his shell all alone. He seemed the least tucked in.

We were chatting about their surprising arrangement and to our embarrassment we woke this guy up. He looked confidently at us, like he knew we were there on his time and in his space. We hushed ourselves, duly reprimanded. My camera was out to take pics of them sleeping so I snapped a couple of quick pics and we left this guy and his friends to sleep.

Next

I think I'll do a portrait of one of the apes I photographed on a recent field trip with my husband's Anthropology class. The apes were absorbing, we got lucky. :)

30 Paintings in 30 Days Achieved!

Here is a rough compilation of my last thirty days of painting! Today has been joyous because it was full of the moments and activities I had been missing in order to get those paintings done. I still found myself wanting to paint by the end of the day, just too tired to do it. I will be back to painting and posting, but perhaps for more like five days a week. ;)