Sliced limes and cocktail

I am still on a quest to alter my painting style.  I'm trying to use more colors.  By that I don't mean more colors on my palette, but trying to see more colors in the objects I am painting.  I used a lot of alizarin crimson in this painting for the darks and shadows.  In the past I would have used ultramarine blue and burnt umber to make a dark.  I like the tint of red that the alizarin gives to the darks.

(This is a fake cocktail.  It's colored water.  But that doesn't sound as good in a title!)  Anyway, there's a chilled bottle of Riesling wine in the fridge, and my hubby just called that he's on his way home.  Have a good weekend!

8 inch by 8 inch oil on canvas panel

I Feel Better Now

I gave up that big brush and went back to my favorite filbert.  I also tried to suggest rather than be so literal..  Some of the artists whose work I really admire paint in that style.

Kathryn Townsend paints beautiful paintings that I just love.   See an example of her lovely flowers on her blog here.   I would love to  be able to produce those gorgeous subtle colors.

Sally Rosenbaum is another artist whose work I can look at forever.  She paints the most gorgeous scenes of women reading or drinking wine usually in a garden scene.  She has published a small book of some of her works, which I bought and have just about worn the covers off.  See her beautiful work here.

8 inch X 8 inch oil on canvas panel

Paint Like You're Rich!

Paint like you're rich!  That's what my painting instructor told our class this week.  She was urging us to use more paint.  So today I squeezed out double the usual amount I put on my palette,  grabbed that honking big brush and went to town.

I have to admit that I have been in a painting funk lately.  I hate everything I paint.  I told that to my husband, and he said, "you aren't going to cut off your ear, are you?"  No,  but I've wiped off lots of paintings that I never posted.   Luckily, I was born with the "happy gene", as my brother puts it.  I wake up happy every day.  But my painting lately doesn't make me happy.  I want to paint loose and lush.  My careful, tidy nature collides with that at every turn.

Jeff Mahoney has one of the best posts about the self-loathing I'm going through, called "what I've learned".   I had to go back over and re-read it today to kick myself into painting.  Basically he says that you have to learn to accept the negative thoughts and keep going.

So, I asked myself, is there anything I like about this painting?   Well, the background is nice.  And I like the water glass.  I guess it isn't a total loss.

The flower and leaves are a mess.  All the paint I was using turned into a kind of sludge that I was pushing around.   Argh!   Lucky for me, I'll wake up happy again in the morning!

The "My Seven Links Project"

There is a project spreading around the blog world that asks bloggers to list links to seven of their posts in different categories.  Then you are asked to tag five of your friends, who in turn list seven posts and tag five friends.  It's sort of like a chain letter, but you aren't threatened with dire luck if you don't pass it on! 


I was tagged for this project by Carrie Waller  from Carrie's Creations.   You can click on her link to see the posts that she chose.  


Here are the categories: 

– Your most beautiful post
– Your most popular post
– Your most controversial post
– Your most helpful post
– A post whose success surprised you
– A post you feel didn’t get the attention it deserved
– The post that you are most proud of


Here are the posts that I've selected:


Your most beautiful post:  Poppies in Vase 

Beauty is subjective, of course.  I really loved the colors in this one.  I liked the vase and the dappled shadows. 

Your most popular post:  "I'm saying this one is finished" 

This post received the most comments of anything I've posted.  This was my attempt to paint in the style
 of David Leffel.  I have learned a lot by attempting to copy another artist.  


I love that feeling of "oh look how he did that!"  

Your most controversial post.  "Wine Bottles"


I got nothing for this category!  I just want people to come by, maybe enjoy the painting or the post.  
No controversy!  So I'll just post a little painting that I like.  I liked the point of view on these wine bottles. 

Your most helpful post:   "I Got a New Book Today" 


I don't think I've been painting long enough to be very helpful to other painters.  I'm still learning myself!  
However, in one post I recommended a beautiful book called Painting the Still Life.  
Several people liked that recommendation.  I wish I could paint like this! 

A post whose success surprised you: "Pot of Geraniums"


Being such a beginning painter, I'm pretty surprised every time I receive positive comments on my paintings!  
This was one of my first attempts at painting flowers. 

A post you feel didn’t get the attention it deserved: "Lemon Trio"


This little painting was one that didn't get a lot of comments, but I liked the effects in the cloth. 

 The post that you are most proud of:  "My First Painting - 2007" 


My very first post of my very first painting! I started this blog in June 2010.  
It took a lot of courage for me to take that first step. 
I was so nervous about posting my very amateurish paintings and probably not very interesting comments.  
But I'm so glad I did.  I have found the most wonderful world of generous and helpful artists.  
It has been one of the most fun things I've ever done! 

Now I'm passing this challenge along to the following five people.
(And it's hard to choose just five.)


       1. Kathy Cousart
       2. Linda Popple
       3. Karen Werner
       4. Lorraine Shirkus
       5. Claire Christinel.

Have fun!

Carrie's Creations

Gather Around

8 inch by 8 inch oil on canvas panel
(Click on painting to view larger.)

I had about an hour to paint this yesterday afternoon.  I forced myself to use that big brush again.  I like the effect on the plum and the side of the pitcher.  I realized after posting this that the ellipse on the pitcher is wrong.  Oops.  Loved getting to paint again.

Plate of Figs

When figs first appeared in the market last month, I thought $7.98 a pound was too much to pay.   Now they are more abundant and the price has been reduced, so I bought some to paint.   After I finished painting, I ate them with honey.  Yum.

I used a different brush today, a bright, very stiff.  My usual go-to brush is a filbert, very smooth, and the paint goes on like butter.  But I'm trying to paint more loosely, so I changed my brush.  I liked some of the effects I got, but I found it very difficult to mix paint with the brush.

Pears morning light

This is pretty sad.  I think I've forgotten how to paint.  I don't seem to be able to make any grays in my colors.

I left the set up overnight and painted it again this morning.  The light was coming in from a big window.  I have great light here.  I need some more practice!

Pears and blue bowl

My first little painting in over a month!  I would have wiped it off, but I just wanted to get back to painting.  My daughter took the two little boys (my grandsons) to a movie and I had about an hour to get set up and to paint.

I forced myself to use a number 10 brush to try to keep it loose.  The left pear and the blue bowl sort of worked, but I couldn't get the front pear.  After working on it a while, I realized I had picked up a smaller brush and was blending and moving paint around, so I quit.

If you want to see a beautiful pear and blue bowl, look at Nancy Franke's painting,  Leanings.  Gosh that's beautiful.

Hydrangeas and Wine Bucket

12" X 16" oil on stretched canvas

The only painting I have done for the past several weeks is in my weekly art class.  I worked on this painting over three class periods.

I painted the background of hydrangea shrubs first, and while I was painting I experienced that wonderful feeling of joy that is the reason we all paint.  I loved the colors and forms in the background and couldn't wait until the next class to continue on the painting.

Alas, I think my muse deserted me, because the next sessions were nothing but struggle, disappointment and a lot of wiping off.  I'm not pleased with the final result, but it's the best I could do at this point in my painting  journey!

I've really missed painting and visiting your blogs.  Only within the last few days have I begun to recover from the move and spend a little time on the computer.   I told my husband I haven't been this tired since I had a baby!  The garage is still full of boxes, but we can move around inside now.  For me, one of the hardest parts of moving is making the decisions of where to put stuff!

We have had so much company, also--with cookouts and overnight guests.  All our family and friends are excited about our new house and want to come for a visit.   My grandson from Houston has come to  visit for a month, so I've been busy with two little boys this week.  Next week they each will have a day camp, so maybe I can get in some painting!

Thanks to everyone who visited my blog and wished me well in the move.  I think the worst is over!    Now it's time to enjoy the house.

Wildflower photos

Turk's Cap  -  Hummingbirds love this flower! 

The yellow flower is a Huisache daisy (pronounced wee-satch) 

The red and yellow flower is a gaillardia, called Indian blanket.  The purple is Horsemint. 

Since I haven't been painting, I thought I'd share a few wildflower photos.  These are on a vacant lot on our block.  I stopped my car one morning and took some pictures.  I was amazed to see anything blooming, as we are in a fierce drought.  

I'm so busy trying to move--we have to clear out the house we sold and move into our new house next weekend.  My only painting time has been my weekly class.  I'll make time for that no matter what!  I'm not ready to post that one yet. 

We are scheduled to move on Saturday, June 4.  Just a few more days!  

My first cat painting

And it may be the last!  I painted this in response to the Daily Paintworks challenge.  I started out wanting this to look like the cat in the reference photo, but I ended up just hoping it looked like a cat!

I have a new-found respect for those artists who paint animals.  I thought portrait painting was difficult, but I think this is just as difficult.

I had to smile at myself that Carol Marine wouldn't be pleased at the number of brushstrokes in this painting.   There are hundreds.  I had no idea how to paint fur.  I started out with a number eight filbert, but it makes such smooth strokes I couldn't get any indication of  "furry-ness".   At the end, I switched to a small bright brush.    Well, this was my adventure for today.   Now I'm going out to dinner with my husband.  Probably even enjoy a glass of white wine.

Tomato Medley

I painted these tomatoes as a response to the "Paint Your Vegetables!" challenge on the Daily PaintWorks website.

I bought a small container of tomatoes at the market, and when I opened it I found that there was a variety of shapes and colors in the box.   My favorites were the small, brownish-red ones.  They were almost maroon.   It's a good thing I painted them quickly,  because I left the plate on the kitchen island and they were quickly eaten as snacks.  Every time someone walked by, they'd pop a tomato in their mouths.

Pot of Geraniums

At the risk of repeating myself, I'm posting this again.  Blogger deleted it yesterday.  If they add the orginal  back, I'll just delete the duplicate.

I managed to make the time for myself to go to my painting class this week.  I had worked on this for several weeks in class.  The hardest part was the leaves.  I couldn't make them look like geranium leaves, and I kept wiping and painting again.  I'm mostly satisfied with these.

I did several small sketches before I painted this larger one, so I'm a little tired of geraniums.  I have started my next painting for class, which will be some hydrangeas.  They are cluster flowers like geraniums, but at least I'll get to use some different colors.

Click on the painting to view larger.  12 inch X 16 inch oil on stretched canvas.

I'm still here

I'm so busy!  We are building a new house and selling the one we are living in.  Both transactions are going to be completed this month.  I have had so much paperwork and meetings and inspections that I seem to meet myself coming in and going out the door.

I sometimes have to go to the new house several times a day to look at how the lights are being installed, or what the color of the grout looks like with the tile, etc.  So many decisions!  After the kitchen tile was about half done, we all agree we didn't like it and couldn't live with it.  So that came down, and we had other meetings to choose new tiles.

But we are getting close.  The flooring is going to be installed this week.  That will really make it look finished.  After that it should just be touch up work inside and the landscaping.

We will have to move out of my daughter's house, and all my stuff is in storage in Austin.  So we'll have the time consuming chore of unpacking and finding places to put things.

With all this, I haven't painted in days.  I did make my weekly class, but that painting is still unfinished. We are all so looking forward to living in the new house.  Particularly, I am looking forward to having a space of my own in which to paint!

Thanks to everyone who has come by and commented.  I really appreciate each and every one of you. I'm so looking forward to painting and posting regularly again.

Geraniums, Too

Another practice painting for the larger painting I want to do next week.  I think I did much better on the blooms this time.  However, I still can't paint leaves!

I think I need to practice painting nothing but leaves for a few days.

8 inch by 8 inch oil on canvas panel

Geraniums and shadows

I mentioned that I want to learn to paint flowers, and I want to thank Janice Warriner for suggesting that I look at Helen Van Wyk's work and lessons.  I found a copy of Van Wyk's book "Color Recipes" online, and I'm loving it!  She gives actual mixtures to use for a painting.

This sketch is a practice for a larger painting I want to do in my weekly class.  It's from an illustration in the book.  She tells step by step what she mixed for the painting.

I don't have some of the colors she used.  Van Wyk says that Grumbacher Red is the closet tubed red to true spectrum red.  I don't have that color, I have cad red medium.  She used cadmium red light, but that's the only cadmium red she used.  She said cad red medium doesn't mix as well with white.

Something about this sketch isn't quite right, and I think it's values.   I was concentrating on trying to mix colors and make it look like a geranium, and I neglected values.  So much to think about!   Rather than try to tweak it,  I'm going to try another sketch.   I need to practice on leaves, too.   But I was pleased with the shadow on the wall.

8 inch by 8 inch oil on canvas panel.
Click on photo to view larger.

Poppies in Vase

I finished this in my class this week.  I posted the start of this painting last week.  I'm happy with the way it turned out.  The colors are even more intense than they show in this photo.

I wanted to keep it loose (for me).  My fear was that I would work and work on it until I lost that feeling of spontaneity.   It is so hard for me not to get bogged down in details.  That's why I always make myself paint with a large brush, even in the small daily paintings.  I painted this primarily with a number 8 filbert.

This is a 12 " by 16 " oil on stretched canvas.
Click on the picture to view larger.

Red Pears on Red Stripes

These are red Bartlett pears that I bought yesterday at the market.  The color is amazing.  They are almost the color of cordovan leather.  Two of them have a touch of pale green on them.

I put them on a red striped tea towel that I picked up at Tuesday Morning to add to my hodge-podge collection of things to paint.   This was my first attempt to paint stripes.

I really enjoyed painting this.  None of that kicking myself around the room feeling.  I am slowing letting go of the feeling that every daily painting needs to be a finished painting.   Trying to relax and enjoy the journey.

8 inch by 8 inch oil on canvas panel.

Tulips and apples

When I first started this blog, I mostly painted fruit.  That was a big enough challenge for me.  I avoided more complex subjects, because I didn't think I could paint them.  I kept telling myself that I can't paint flowers, but that when I become a better painter, I'd try.

So something shifted in my brain this week.   If I want to learn to paint flowers, I need to start trying to paint them!  Doh.

I realized a couple of things while I was painting this:

1.  It's really too large for a small canvas.  I should just try to paint a couple of flowers instead of a large vase full of them.   Next time I'll do that.

2.  I spent 90% of my time on this painting on the tulips, trying to make them have volume and "read" as tulips.   I painted the apples and fabric in less than five minutes.  That was an eye opener to me.  I knew how to paint them!   All that practice.  Maybe after another six months I'll know how to paint flowers!

8 inch by 8 inch oil on canvas panel

Summer breeze

My mother used to hang laundry outdoors on a clothesline in our back yard.  We lived on the Texas coastal  plains, so we had coastal breezes every day in the summer.  Sometimes a summer shower would come up, and we'd run outdoors to gather in the clothes before they got wet.  Nothing smells fresher than sheets that have been dried outdoors.

On the downside, every single stitch I owned had to be ironed.  The clothes smelled good, but I didn't enjoy ironing.  I had to sprinkle the clothes with water so that they'd be damp and then iron them dry.    It was the only way to get all the wrinkles out.   Nowadays I enjoy having a drier and not having to iron!

I painted this for the April challenge on Daily Painters International.  The theme is The Wind.  The artist can choose any subject that evokes wind.  I decided on this scene of clothes drying in the breeze.

8 inch by 8 inch oil on canvas panel

Work in Progress -- Poppies in Vase

This is a work in progress from my painting class last week.   This is the underpainting.  I blocked in the colors and will work on adding detail this week.  I hope I don't overwork it.  I always start out  thinking big strokes, keep it loose.  But my own personality kicks in and I overwork the details.  

I am in love with cadmium orange light!   I haven't used it before.  I always use a limited palette, because that's what my instructors told me when I first started painting.  

And they wouldn't let me use black, either. I sometimes cheat a little by using black, though.  Not in this painting.  But a couple of paintings with lots of dark background just needed black. 

12 inch by 16 inch oil on stretched canvas 

Pear study

I wanted to try something different with the background, here.  I wasn't able to achieve what was in my head, but I like this blue and yellow together.  

This is a picture of my latest purchase.  I'm always buying something that I "need" for painting--new brushes, new books, etc.  This is a tabletop lighting studio.  It's a white nylon box, and came with two spotlights that I shine on the sides of the box.  The fabric diffuses the light, so I don't have the problem with glare that I have with a flash.  There's enough light that the flash on the camera doesn't even go off.   It's 16 inches square, so it won't work for large canvases, but it's great for daily painting.  Now I don't have to wait for a sunny day.  It was $45 on Ebay. 

This wasn't even my own idea, but now I can't remember who recommended it to me!  My apologies that I can't give the credit where credit is due.  

Apricots and pitcher

At long last.... I finally have started painting again.  I have really missed painting, and especially my class. We have about six women in the class, which meets weekly in Boerne, TX.  They are all so supportive of each other, and I enjoy the laughter and fun we have together.

I went to my class yesterday and finished this painting I started almost two months ago.   My reference was a David Leffel painting from Oil Painting Secrets from a Master.   My favorite part was trying to figure out how he made his background.  I'm not sure what he did, but I eventually used a palette knife to get the texture.

I should know better than to varnish the painting before trying to photograph it!  There's quite a glare, and the colors aren't really true.  However, this was the best photo I could get.

11 inch X 14 inch oil on stretched canvas  (Click on the painting to enlarge.)

Color of White Challenge

Today is the first day in several weeks that I have felt well enough to paint.  I decided to try the challenge on the Daily Paintworks website called the Color of White Challenge.  The idea was to paint a white object on a patterned fabric.  Only white and primary and secondary colors could be used.  No black, brown, burnt sienna, burnt umber, etc.   A reference photo was provided, or you could use your own set up.  I decided to use the reference photo.

My biggest challenge in this was trying to paint the fabric!  I've never painted a patterned background before.  It was trial and error.  I couldn't figure out if I should put in a color first, or the white background first.  I started in one corner, and finally liked the results better when I put down a light background and then painted the pattern on that.  I also wanted to keep this to about an hour, but that was too optimistic!

I'm not lovin' it.  But hey, I painted!

8 inch by 8 inch oil on canvas panel

Apple study

For this study, I was trying to do something that is foreign to my soul---mix each stroke separately.  So hard for me to do.  I usually blend on the painting. I actually cheated a little on this, but not on purpose.  I'd just catch myself blending a stroke into paint already on the canvas.  Habits are hard to break.

To all those blogging comrades who came by and offered kind wishes during my husband's recuperation from heart surgery, I want to extend my heartfelt thank you!  All those thoughtful notes meant a lot.  Both of us contracted some wretched virus after he'd been home about two weeks, so we were both in bed with chills and fever, feeling very weak and sickly!  I was reading and cruising your blogs, but not feeling up to commenting much.

We are both much improved now.  He has been checked out by his doctors and cleared to drive again!  So first thing this morning, he took his car to fill it up and get it washed.  We are ready for the weekend!

Hope you all have a great weekend.  I am so looking forward to getting in some painting time.

8 inch by 8 inch oil on canvas panel

Pitchers and Lemons

I painted this in response to the challenge on Rookie Painter.   Like several others, I rearranged the vases---primarily because I had a square panel, and I didn't think the original version would fit very well.  I'm okay with the red pitcher, but not too pleased with the blue one.  I kept re-doing it.  But at some point, I have to quit for the day!   The red pitcher was primarily cadmium red light, which I darkened with alizarin crimson and burnt sienna.  I lightened it with cadmium yellow, as I had done with the plums.

This painting is very tight.  The more time I have to paint, the tighter and fussier I get.  I keep talking to myself about it, but I seem to ignore myself.  

 That reminds me of a song from Alice in Wonderland called "Good Advice".    I always thought it was so cute!

8 inch X 8 inch oil on canvas panel

Red Plum Studies

I haven't painted in almost two weeks.  When I squeezed the paints out onto my palette, I had a feeling of greeting old friends.

I decided that since I'm so rusty, I'd try painting some quick studies of a red plum that was in my fruit bowl.   One thing I learned was that I didn't like the effect of lightening the reds with white.  I started using yellow to lighten the reds, and I like that much better.

I really want to thank everyone for all their kind comments while I've been out of the loop.  My husband is getting better each day.  Both of us are still pretty tired, though.

What a week!

Last Thursday I drove my husband to the hospital for what we thought would be an overnight stay. He was scheduled to have a stent inserted into a coronary artery.  However, the procedure was not successful.  The cardiologist wasn't able to insert the stent because of all the plaque in the artery.  His artery closed down, and he suddenly had to have an emergency bypass surgery.

So his overnight stay became his (and my) five day stay.  Thank goodness for family and friends who supported us during this scary and tiring event.  I'm happy to say that we are home now, and he is recovering nicely.  We are both still tired, but sooo happy to be home.

I hope to start painting and posting soon.  Thanks for stopping by.   You guys are awesome!

Stacked Mugs

I would have wiped this one off, but I already wiped it off once.  Today was one of those days when the voices in my head kept asking me whatever made me think I could learn to paint.  I made every mistake that I have ever made, and I felt like I just couldn't do anything right.  This painting beat me up!

So I quit painting, and I feel better already.  I don't like THIS painting.  But I like some of the ones I have done before this one.    So although I may have lost the round today, I'll be back in the ring tomorrow to give it another go.   But right now, I have to go tend to my black eye!

8 inch by 8 inch oil on canvas panel.

Lets Par-tay!

I thought these limes looked like they are trying to organize a party.  Maybe for the Super Bowl.

The weather in San Antonio is back to normal.  It's up to about 60 degrees and all the snow has melted.  We had a rare snowfall that closed all the freeways through the city.  Actually, it drizzled first, then snowed, leaving a treacherous sheet of ice on the streets.   The neighborhood kids loved having the day off from school.  There is a small hill in front of our house, and they had fun sliding down the hill on makeshift sleds like plastic garbage can lids and even a laundry basket.   They didn't seem to mind that it was only about 20 degrees.  Yikes.  I stayed indoors and made hot chocolate and baked sweet rolls.

8 inch by 8 inch oil on canvas panel