October ~ Bouquet #15

October  Bouquet #15  12x9

Back at the bouquets.... A quick one this evening.

#15 - any occasion

#15 "Any Occasion" - 15x11 Acrylic on paper

It's hard for me to keep up when I'm traveling. This is an iPhone photo. I'll have to re-shoot when I get back to the up north studio. Go ahead.... buy yourself some flowers because it's Friday. Or because it's sunny. Or because you made your bed. Or because your dog loves you. Or because you love your dog. Or.....because.

bouquet #14

bouquet 14 ~ 12x12 acrylic on canvas ~ hot and cold

I love this palette.... :-) That is all.
(Pardon the glare at the top... I'll re-shoot later... on to an abstract painting!)
Don't forget to check out Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days blog... It's fun to see what people are painting!

bouquet #13

bouquet #13 ~ 9x12 acrylic on panel

I'm trying to push myself out of my comfort zone... today was using unfamiliar colors.

Bouquet 12 ~ sunshine on an overcast day

Bouquet 12 ~ sunshine on an overcast day ~ 7x5

I have one of these old galvanized watering cans that was my husband's Grandma's. It's a treasure.

Bouquet 11.....

Bouquet 11 ~ 9/11 ~ A tough day for us all...

A lily, poppies and forget-me-nots seem like good choices for this bouquet on this day. ....xo

Bouquet #10

Bouquet #10 ~ 7x5 

This is sort of an interesting palette.... a bit patriotic. Number 10 out of 100 in the books.

Bouquet #9

Bouquet #9 ~ 7x5 Acrylic on paper $54

Bouquet # 9 began it's life as a demo piece for the Acrylic 101 classes that I teach. She got shined up a bit and completed. I'm especially pleased with her table cloth. 

I was thrilled to learn that 2 of my paintings (below) got into the Oliver Art Center's all media show. I'll be anxious to go to the opening on Friday night! 

"Hook Line and Sinker" 12x12

"Too Much Information" 36x30

too much information

Too Much Information ~ 36x30 ~ Acrylic on canvas $1890

This one has been festering for a year. I decided to finish it up this week. I've been bouncing from bouquets to this one for days. Keeping my tiny brain working overtime!
This is day 5 in the 30 in 30 challenge (Leslie Saeta)...since it hit the finish line today.

number 8 ~ succulent bouquet

Bouquet 8 Succulent ~ 7x5 Acrylic on paper $54

I love this one.... :-D  Love the colors.... Might have to do this BIGGER for me. This one is day four of the 30 in 30 challenge over at Leslie Saeta's blog... patting myself on the back.

texture! bouquet 7

Texture and movement bouquet 7 ~ 12x12 acrylic on canvas

I don't often use texture medium... It's not that I don't like it...  I'm just too impatient to wait for it to dry. It was a lot of fun to play with though. (Golden light molding paste) This one is another example that will be up at Crooked Tree Art Center in Petoskey, MI toward the end of the month. I'm teaching Acrylic 101 there next month. Hooray!

bouquet 6 not watercolor

Bouquet 6 ~ 11x14  ~Acrylic on watercolor paper

I'm teaching Acrylic 101 at Crooked Tree Art Center in Petoskey and in Traverse City this fall. The Petoskey location invited instructors to show paintings at the end of the month. Since the class explores acrylic, beginning with really watery applications to thick impasto; I decided to show examples of this versatility. This is the "watercolor-y" example. This certainly reminded me of how impatient I've become.... lots of layers of watery color on this one....cue hairdryer noise.

Collage Bouquet #5

Collage Bouquet #5 ~ 7x5 ~ Acrylic and Collage $54

I have a lot of bouquets going at the same time...but this one hit the finish line first today. I'm a bit partial to the two eyed bloom front and center.
I'm participating in Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days challenge... Not positive that I'll be able to post all 30 days, but it should be close. Care to join me?

100 bouquets

My friend  Kim Santini is painting 100 toys along with her regular (and might I say BEAUTIFUL) animal portraits. She's inspired me to do 100 bouquets. Here are my first 4! 

You can follow along here on the blog... or on my facebook page here.

#1   11x15 Acrylic on paper $249

#2  7x5 acrylic on paper $54

#3 7x5 acrylic on paper $54

#4 7x5 acrylic on paper $54

painting in a crowd

Afternoon day 2 in Mark Mehaffey's plein air workshop. We headed over to my neck of the woods, in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore... Where the Platte River flows into Lake Mi.
It was incredibly crowded, sunny and challenging! This gentleman was sitting reading a book...until he wasn't anymore...:-) Oh the challenges of plein air! Painting live in a crowd is not for wimps!
Full disclosure...I did fix a number of things back in the studio.

Big Week....

Had a great surprise last week with an article written about me in the Northern Express... Thanks Al Parker! You can read it HERE.

And then I spent 3 days at Interlochen, learning plein air painting with Mark Mehaffey. 

This is one of my attempts.... (pardon the glare... tough to photograph) Mark gave great instruction on simplifying what's in front of you. (Which is easier said than done) A real challenge with all the activity around the Interlochen campus. 

I also need to give kudos to the Interlochen program... so accommodating. Beautiful campus, and so inspiring to paint to all the snippets of music being played around you all day. Creativity permeates and pulsates throughout the grounds. Highly recommend.

My Minions

"My Minions" 12x12 Acrylic on canvas 

I dropped off 7 paintings to Synchronicity Gallery in Glen Arbor, MI.  A sure sign of spring, no matter what the weather is. (As it happens, it's quite nice and springlike here today)
Here's to new seasons!

simply and deliberately

6x6 warm-up ; Acrylic on paper

I'm back painting... and I'm a bit rusty. (I taught a 3-day workshop in Aberdeen NC last week...Fun!) I seem to be less decisive after I've had a break from working. ...and I just push the paint around and fiddle more. I just made myself a big sign...

SAY IT SIMPLY AND DELIBERATELY. 

Yup... I'm shouting at myself. There is no room for wishy washy in the studio.

hair-do ladies

"Red" 12x12 Acrylic and collage on panel

It's all about the hair.
I've been having the best time creating these portraits. Acrylic painted faces and collaged hair and brows using the paper I made with the Gelli Plate. Reproductions of them will soon be in a hair salon! Perfect, right?
Actually the series came about from a conversation with a friend of mine that owns a salon... he was looking for artwork after a re-model and had seen this older painting-

"Is My Hair too Blue?" acrylic and collage on paper (sold)

We decided that a series of "hair-do ladies" would be fun salon art... Can't wait to see it placed!

bursting

"Bursting" 12x12 Acrylic on Watercolor paper

This painting is a result of a process that I call... "Make a mess and then cover it up." I start with a mess of reds, and then negative paint (paint the background) with various whites.  I love the smudgy bits that show up in the white areas... mysterious!

warming up

"Hot Climb" 6x6 Acrylic on paper

I start each painting session with a few small "warm-ups"... (I learned this from Robert Burridge's workshop) This is when you can play with colors you don't normally use....They are quick and unconscious works for me... fun to do!

gifts

I gave a gift... and received a bigger gift.
I painted a watercolor of our daughter-in-law's bridal bouquet for Christmas. She was absolutely delighted, and touched, which in turn delighted and touched me.
A happily tearful, big hug was one of my best gifts Christmas morning. :-)

Cristina's Bouquet ~ 12x12 ~ watercolor