Kokeshi Doll DPW 10-minute painting challenge!

"Kokeshi 10"

12"x9" oil on canvas sold

I couldn't help but admire the submissions to Carol Marine's DPW challenge to painting a small painting for 10 minutes and do it 8x.  I haven't been to the store due to inclement weather we've been having in Northwest Arkansas, but I wanted to paint something red.  So this is why I chose my nodding kokeshi (Japanese wooden doll) for my subject.  

 

Above was the first half.  I am left handed so I had to start at the bottom right.  The 2 hours I allotted for the process didn't work out because I had phones calls which I ignored, and a neighbor dropped in on me which I didn't ignore.  Then I had to run to an appointment!  So I finished the rest when I got back.  I found I was more effective when I wasn't so rushed and overwhelmed by time.  So I took a short break after each rectangle to finish the rest of the painting and told myself I was approaching the canvas for the first time :)  Cleaning the brush to dip into another color was the worst part of it because it took over a minute sometimes!  I was happy that some of my watercoloring habits did help me paint it :)

Had a productive birthday! :)

"Friendly Play on a Sunny Day"

11x12 watercolor on paper

A couple hours ago I celebrated the anniversary of my 29th birthday :)  The week has been busy with my appointments and with storms and tornado warnings so there was no point in making definite plans to go out.  My husband had an bit of emergency work to do for the morning but he hurried home to cook us a nice brunch which allowed me to keep on painting for a change!  It's been a busy week with not enough time for focused painting so I was pleased to stay home :)

 "Thanksgiving Orchid" 

ACEO 2.5"x3.5" watercolor on paper

This piece was also some sort of a celebration - a new bloom from my orchid Scott bought me last Thanksgiving!  I was both cheering the new bloom and the fact I've kept the plant alive this long!  I was painting from life,so with the orchid sitting under a light it had completely opened up by the time I finished the painting!

I received tons of birthday greetings on Facebook so I was very flattered and happy that over 120 people took the time to greet me especially with the holidays and families getting together this week!

Happy Passover and Happy Easter to my friends and readers!

Cloud lesson from Ann Templeton and Abstract art

 "Multi-level Cloud" 12x16 oil on canvas

According to the weather forecast we're REALLY about to have some bad weather this evening! You'll know if I survived if/when I post again!

I'm enjoying once again putting into practice lessons from Ann Templeton on myarttutor.com. This is literally my first sky painting and I'm surprised that I like it!  I painted this after one of my cloud photos, and if you're my Facebook friend, you know I'm an avid cloud photographer!

I can't forget one flight back from California.  I was in a shuttle plane.  We were entering a cloudy section and i was so in awe to be in the middle of a multi-level cloud formation!  Gigantic clouds!  If it were a skyscraper, I was on the third floor or some mid level because I could see levels of clouds beneath us and above us with sunlight filtering in and out hitting what seem to be solid walls of clouds.  It's the closest I'll ever get to flying among them :)

 

"Wheels of Life" 4'x5' acrylics on canvas

I attended an art meeting yesterday and I was delighted to see my painting hung so proudly by the art director!  This must be the only abstract art I have "in public view" HAHAHA  I love the freedom, texture and dimension I can embrace with abstract art.  I grew up admiring my dear brother in law, Raul G. Isidro's work.  He is very successful in Asia, especially in the Philippines.  I'm sure you'd easily see the influence!  Now I'm sorry I played with dolls and toy guns as a kid instead of sitting in his studio watching him work!  If I only knew what amazing resources I had within my reach I would have changed so much!  But because of him I was painting at age 6 and drawing real life drawing models at 15 among college students because he was the dean of Fine Arts :)

Detail of "Wheels of Life" click on image

Go ahead!  You know you want to ask if I ran over the canvas!  :D

DPW Chicken and ACEO still life

"Puck Puck Puck" SOLD
9x12 watercolor on paper

This week's Daily Paintwork's challenge was brought to us by Carol Marine.  The challenge was simply to paint the photo of the chicken she provided or use our own reference.  I chose her photo because I felt like dealing with the challenge of painting something white.

These next ones are ACEO 

 "Simply Iris" 2.5x3.5 inches watercolor on paper

Usually after I paint my small format art like the ACEO, I like to press the painting between two pieces of wood overnight.  I painted the sunflowers the other night... just to seize the day and before the flowers was about to be offered to the birds. As I was supposed about to press it, I was surprised by the iris painting I had in between the woods.  I think it's been at least 2 years...probably more.

"Sunflowers" 2.5x3.5 inches watercolor on paper

I think I enjoyed painting this looser piece.  Painting tight was probably what made me stop painting them before!

I have been redesigning my blog.  I hope to get done with it soon because it sure eats up my art time!

Poor Richard's Art makes 2nd gallery for me!

For many years I've considered applying to be a member of Poor Richard's Art in Rogers, AR, because it seems like such a cool place with its eclectic selection of artists and fine arts and crafts. But something always delayed me. For instance, I missed a flight home from a Cancun vacation last year so I couldn't make the meeting with their Artist Selection Committee. But this year, I visited the shop again and I was particularly impressed and very eager in pursuing showing there. So I made another appointment and met with a the panel last Saturday of March. Thursday I received email from committee chairperson Erin Neal (innovative mosaic artist) that I was indeed accepted!!! YAY!

Do click the above image which will take you to a cool artist page fellow PRA (Poor Richard's Art) artist Dave Clark (very unique abstract artist) made for me on the PRA website.

I matted and framed my latest piece so it is one of the paintings I dropped off yesterday. A wonderful jewelry artist and my good friend Mary Stewart was kind enough to drive me. Then we stopped a few doors up to Iron Horse Coffee Co. for a little coffee clutching :)

Jan Ironside and Erika Nelson photo by Mary Stewart

Here you see a new colleague Jan Ironside, and wonderful impasto artist, helps me get started in the new gallery. There I am big, as life, in my bright orange cargo pants! HAHAHA I'm calling it artist license, that's my story and I'm sticking with it ;) But if one would pick a theme in this post, it would be orange lol Not intentional, but my random choices tend to follow a color theme OYE! May this new endeavor be a blessed one too!

MyArtTutor.com's Ann Templeton and DPW landscape!

"Green of Spring" 5"x7" oil on masonite

What an absolutely victorious painting session to be able to combine work and art play! I created this painting to fulfill an assignment in a landscape online workshop offered by the legend Ann Templeton through MyArtTutor.com. It also fulfills my challenge submission to this week's Daily Paintworks.

I am not a landscape artist, but Ann Templeton took the fear away and put fun and sense of victory in my painting session. Here is her website : ANNTEMPLETON.COM

For DPW, this is a challenge offered by Carol Marine who wanted us to see how we would paint from her photo taken in Germany. Thanks Carol that was fun! :)

I work for MyArtTutor.com as creative "film" editor so why not check out my latest creation which happens to be a trailer for Ann Templeton's class using the technology of VoiceThread.Com
Click here Ann Templeton "Aspens" :)