Isn't it great to welcome a new year?

It is normal for any artist, in any genre, to have unfinished paintings.

I have been a fan of Tueller Wall Easels (paperbirdstudio.com), even before I returned to painting full-time. 

Advice I wish I had taken.

 

Looking at art in a museum is always the beginning of great conversations, not just about who painted the artwork, but how it makes you feel?.

Does it make you happy, sad, indifferent?  Does it stop you in your tract or do you just walk on by?

Shadow Dancing, Medium: Oil on linen  Size: 12hx24w"

The results are in - Shadow Dancing is going to be exhibited in Georgia later this month!  Happy dance!

If you follow me on Facebook, you will see that I am now choosing a frame for her, as she has to be shipped ready to hang on the wall.

The next question is whether to attend the opening on June 7th, or not. Stay tuned!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Shadow Dancing 12x24", oil on linen panel

I try not to get myself attached to a painting that will be juried, but I don't always succeed.  After spending hours in front of the canvas creating a vision, I have a tendency to fall a little in love with a work that goes right.  Shadow Dancing went really right!

The angst that accompanies a juried competition is high.  I felt it when I entered Shadow Dancing in the Oil Painters of America annual salon competition, at the last possible moment.

Being juried is not so bad, being accepted is the first challenge. I sometimes think that not being accepted is a relief, but should you be lucky to have your painting accepted and displayed at Quinlan Visual Arts Center in Gainesville, Georgia, then the real worry begins.

Will it go to a good home and be loved, or be returned home?  Artists are sometimes torn between keeping a painting or selling it.  The problem is that we have favorites, and some of us have plenty.  

The very best thing that can happen is that you get a prize and your painting finds to a good home. That's a win-win.

In a time pre Covid-19, I was a photographer with my own studio.  I photographed kids, moms and dads, and pets, in particular dogs.

I love, love, dogs and over my life I have had many share my journey and love me unconditionally.  Then, I became allergic to them, but, I still wanted them to be a part of my life.  I then photographed them under seriously heavy medication under supervision of my doctor.  That was such fun.  They are such a joy that I cannot imagine a life without them. I miss those days.

I have decided to make this year the year of the dog, not the Chinese year of the dog, but the year that add them to my portfolio.  I will be accepting commission for dog portraits starting this year.

This is Miss Lola.  She stole my heart and she will steal yours.  She's very good at it!

The joy and heartache of finding something special for someone you love can be palpable.

What to give is the BIG question. How many times can you give chocolates or roses?  Dinner out, in this time of Covid, can be a dubious adventure at best.

Many of us have trouble thinking up a gift, I do, too.  It is agonizing, with the endless internet searches.

When I was painting my last 5x7" red rose, on copper for my Valentine's Day promotion, my husband fell in love with it.  Guess what, this is will be his unusual, unforgettable, present.  Why, because he will always remember it.  It will be THE art piece on his desk. This rose will never wilt and will live on for generations.  

If your husband/partner/lover is a procrastinator, share the Gift Guide with them.  Let them buy an original one-of-a-kind art piece, have it show up at the door for Valentine's Day and they will feel like a hero!  You will have an original art piece that will bring you joy for years.

Dinner out, chocolate and roses will be forgotten one, or two, weeks later, but art is the gift that keeps on giving - forever! 

Putting brush to canvas. Oil Painters of America.

It has been ten years since we have had a snow storm in December.  Winter has arrived in full glory!