LOL LOL LOL LOL..Sometimes it doesn't come out like you planned...

Well..I don't know what to say...She's pretty but DEFINITELY DIFFERENT...LOL Oh well..She was fun to paint!Live Artfully!!

GOOD MORNING!!!

Up and busy painting! It's the 2nd of August, I have 33 days before our next show!! WORK WORK WORK!! Have a Happy Day!! Live Artfully!!

TODAY

Whew..LONGGGGG DAY!!! This morning, Nature Boy (my husband) and I got up and went to the Chattanooga Market, not as vendors, but as visitors. We went early in an attempt to beat the heat, but it didn't work. It was a hot day in hades today! We actually went to pick up our new PINK Chattanooga Market t-shirts. Then, we went and hung out downtown for a bit, ate lunch and came back home. Our electricity was out when we got here...so we had to wait for it to come back on, and then it was NAP time...LOL..got to have my nap! Well...it was late when I finally got dinner cooked, and even later when I finally got into the studio..but, I did manage to paint this. It was actually two chickens, then this...LOL..don't ask how that happened!

I went and picked up my 13 pieces out of the gallery that they were in. I knew that I wouldn't be back in Chattanooga until the middle of Sept..or longer, and thought that I better go ahead and get them, so that I would have them for the two shows that are coming up. I am calming down about how many paintings I need, because many of the 13 were good sized pieces, so it will make the booth look fuller!

Anyway...long day..nothing exciting happened...Oh well...Live Artfully!!

ONE PAINTING..ONE WORK IN PROGRESS...

I lost my creative-ness...It died on me today. I am struggling like a babbling idiot to paint...Sigh...I honestly feel like my brain is drained. ...Oh well...The top one is a new take on an old subject--and the bottom one..well...I just don't know...Live Artfully!!

STRUGGLED WITH THESE LAST TWO...

These two gave me a fit. The bottom one was so difficult that I just left it as an abstract. Live Artfully!

AGAINST THE WIND--3 of 3 for today!

WHY?

I WATCH OVER THE NIGHT

This is a painting that I did this morning--I have 2 more coming up quickly behind it..but may not show them..hehehe. I am loving, loving, loving this "technique". It's fun and painless!! Live Artfully!!

1 OUT OF 5 PAINTINGS THAT I GOT DONE TODAY!

I managed to get 5 paintings done today..4 of them are 12 x 12 (including this one), and one is  8 x 8. I have literally painted all day...Out of all of them, I think I'll scrap one of them..it just doesn't have "the feel" to it...but that still makes for a fair day. Live Artfully!!

IT'S ALL OVER..MAYBE WE'LL TAKE A MONTH OFF!!!

The weekend show went SUPER! We sold a ton of stuff..Nature Boy (my husband) actually only sold about $40 less than I did. He is just busting out with his art. I am so proud that there is so much interest in his work. It's really cool to do our booth together...On one side you get ME...my art that slaps you in the face with vibrancy and color, and on his side you get earthy, antique-y toned down color. So, we appeal to a lot of people...(if they don't like one of us..they usually like the other). Our neighbors at the show didn't seem to fare as well. They were complaining that sells "weren't so good"..and I think one of them got a little tee-d off at me, because he wanted to trade and I wouldn't. My problem with trading is that I simply don't buy much art. I don't have the space for it, and it ends up getting lost in the art studio. YOU ALL KNOW how my studio EATS things...never to be seen again...Then I'll find it 2 years later..and wonder where the heck it came from.

I met one woman at the show that had a wonderful product. She made tassles, and they had really cool toppers. I fell in love with them..which shocked me, because I am not a tassle-y type. I am very basic in my decorating, but these things were GREAT. She said she was going to start a blog, so as soon as she does--I will gladly share her with you.

On top of it being HOT AS HADES this weekend, everything went pretty smoothly. One of problems was that I didn't have enough stuff. I thought I did, but I didn't. It worries me, because in Sept., I have TWO shows back to back, and therefore I will need a MEGA-TON of stuff for both shows. I am trying to figure out how many of different sizes I will need...and trying to figure out if I can do ENOUGH in one month to cover both shows. I think I can..I think I can..I think I can...(I'll just keep repeating this to myself!) LOL. I think the safest thing to do is take all of August off from selling, and just paint, paint, paint.

The painting above is another that I have done using the technique of painting the whole painting, then blocking out areas (similar to Jesse Reno's style, but much less complicated)...I was inspired to try to figure this out by a post on Facebook by Paulette Insall, which sent me to her blog post HERE, which then sent me to a woman's blog named Michelle. I loved both of the pieces that these women had done, and I have been working on the flowers using the same method before finding these two...so, finding them just helped me right along...and I found a video of Jesse Reno on his blog, and it showed a more in-depth style of doing it all...and now I am totally addicted to this method of painting...It's CRAZY FUN..and super easy until you get to the blocking out part..LOL. One thing I found (Jesse teaching a class somewhere) said to only use white,black, red, yellow and blue paints. He does A LOT of his painting with his hands and fingers only too..which is quite fascinating. Also, he paints over a lot of things. One lady that had taken his class said that she "fell in love too soon, and didn't continue to paint over her painting"...that happens to me with this style. I don't like to keep pushing it and pushing it like Jesse does. He is simply amazing, and definitely in my top 5 favorite artist! Another thing that I really admire about him is that he paints and paints and paints...Constantly. If you see pictures of his studio, there's always a gazillion paintings laying around...Anyway..enough rambling..I need to go back to bed...for stage 2 of my recuperation..hehehehe Live Artfully!!

I GUESS I AM DONE..LOL

I have done all I can do for this show. I have approx. 5 hours to get a shower, and get some sleep. I wanted to show this, because painting this way is SO MUCH FUN!! You basically paint anything in any colors, and then you start subtracting from the painting..and adding..and subtracting some more. I wanted to show you three very different stages of this...I am finally happy with the bird at the end...
Live Artfully!!

DRIVE BY POSTING!!

Wanted to show you these two..but am still painting, have to leave in the morning to set up for this weekend's show...Live Artfully..Both are 15 inches across....acrylic on wood.

15 NEW PAINTINGS

Hello! These are the newest additions to my inventory..The last one is called "SHE'S NOT SO PRETTY", and is basically me getting tired, and playing around. Though, in real life, I think she looks better..LOL. The one with half of the painting done in black is 24 x 24 inches, and it was a stinker to do...but it looks much softer and better in real life. The ten little ones together measure between 4-6 inches, and they are just some cute, inexpensive stuff to have...That's about all. I am rushing the clock..with only one more day to get ready for the show this weekend....Back to painting...
Live Artfully!!

WORKING..WORKING...I WILL BE IN MONTEAGLE TENNESSEE NEXT WEEKEND!

I have a show in Monteagle, Tennessee next weekend...Hope you will join me! Live ArtFully!!

FINISHED!

8 NEW PAINTINGS!! WOOHOOOO ON A ROLL!!!

WOOHOOO..I am on a roll. The top two paintings are LARGE 22 x 28 and 24 x 30..the others are 8 x 8. I have been a painting maniac today and yesterday! I have a show coming up in 8 days, and really have hardly anything to show...so, this work has helped me along tremendously!! I am totally loving the top piece--though it isn't finished quite yet. The second piece is cool..it's so BRIGHT. It also amazes me that the top two paintings are larger than the space that I have to work in, because my studio is a disaster area..heheheh.

Nature Boy has been steadily working too. Think of us as the tortoise and the hare...LOL..He is steady and works consistently...whereas, I play and nap..then whip out a ton of stuff in a few days..Anyway..got to get back to painting...I would like to be in bed by 4am...
Live Artfully!!!

TWO PAINTINGS

LONG, LONG, LONG POST

Where has this entire week GONE to? WOW. Last weekend, we had the delightful pleasure of doing a Fourth of July art show in Mentone, AL. Mentone is a small, quaint little town with a tremendous amount of personality and charm. We drove up on Friday to claim our spot--and then went to a wonderful place called The Wildflower Cafe for dinner. One of our friends had invited us, and the food was MAGNIFICENT, and FRESH..and absolutely delicious. They had live music, a singer named Mattie--who happens to be the son of the friend that invited us. We met the chef/owner, Ben and his wife Moon..and basically had a relaxing great time.


There was also this really cool woodcarver there. A real "down-home" boy, and his work was so cool! Chuck had looked at his stuff, and came back talking about this one piece--it was of a tree, and it had a raccoon in it, and at the base of the tree, there was a coon dog. The dog reminded me so much of my beloved (R.I.P) Petey the Wonderdog. So, as soon as my husband walked away, I ran over there and bought the piece for him. He rarely says that he likes anything, so I always try to buy him the things that he does like.

There were a lot of other artist there, but these two were just ones that really caught our eye. God, I love art shows!!

On the other side of things (I have fought with writing this on my blog)--you know--the real life side of things...I have been dealing with the death of my father (and I do use that term lightly here). He died, Wednesday was a week ago. It was not a surprise, as he has had a bad heart forever, and he had already had them turn off his defibrillator, and take him off of his meds. I can't honestly say that I have been sad, in fact--I have struggled more with the internal turmoil of feeling nothing. We weren't close. We had not spoke in many, many years. The few times that we have spoken since I was 15 years old, have ended badly, or with no emotion whatsoever..He was mean, and abusive, and never said a positive thing to me my whole life. But, you know..this is the best case scenario of taking a negative, and turning it positive. What he put me through (and I won't bore you with details)..it made me strong. It made me fight for happiness in my life. It made me see the good in the world, and seek out that good. It made obstacles seem like tiny molehills, and made them easier to climb. It made me spend my whole life to prove him WRONG....and I know I succeeded in that. So, basically--I thank him. I didn't go see him before he died, and I did not go to his memorial service. It's truly his loss. His loss that he never got to know me, or gave himself the chance to love me. There I have said what I feel I needed to say. Sorry to clog up this blogland world with it all...

On to happier things!!! Friday night, we decided to try a small show in Huntsville, AL..well, we got there, got set up, and then the skies opened up. All the other artist only had tables with their stuff on it, and they grabbed up everything and ran inside..(it was at a gallery/frame shop). We, on the other hand--had a tent, walls, the full set up...we had hung tarps on the outside, and rolled them up, in case of rain, but didn't expect the STORM that we got. It was hilarious, because at one point--we were certain that our tent was going to blow away. I was hanging onto one side, and Chuck the other..both of us drenched from head to toe..and laughing...trying to cram art into tubs...and doing all things possible to keep our Pro-Panel walls dry..LOL..we were not worried at all about the art--it was all about our beautiful dark gray walls..LOL LOL. Today, my arms feel like they have been wrenched out of the sockets, and shoved back in...but, looking back..it was funny and we didn't lose anything..

Today, I got a call from a collector/friend of mine--a wonderful, happy man named John, and he asked that I bring all of my paintings that I had left from the Mentone show. Well, he ended up buying 6 large paintings. WOOOHOOOOO!! Happy Dancing!!!! We needed it, since we didn't do Art Till Dark or the Chattanooga Market this weekend, just in case I changed my mind, and decided to go to Florida this weekend for the memorial service (which I didn't). That is my biggest single sale to date!! Thank you John!! You are wonderful, and we love you!!!

I did the painting above on Thursday night. I have been busy reading and doing nothing, so it's the only painting that I have done lately. Starting tomorrow morning--I will be working like a maniac again.

I have been reading my new book by Michael DeMeng--Dusty Diablos: Folklore, Iconography, Assemblage, Ole! 
Fantastic!! Wonderful!! I am really enjoying this book. Not only does he show you techniques, he shares with the reader, many Mexican folklores, and stories. It is wonderfully written, and you get the feeling that he's letting you KNOW Michael DeMeng. Some of the things that makes him and his art "tick". I am loving it!! I recommend it to ALL OF YOU!!!! You won't be disappointed!!

Well..I have caught you up with my life. Sorry, that I "dumped" on you--I had a lot going on this week..and I try to share the good, and the bad. Thank you for visiting, sharing my art with me, and always being there.
Live Artfully!!!

PAINTING

This painting is 12 x 12 acrylic on wood. It was fun! I was just pretty much watching TV, and wasting paint..dripping it on and smearing it around...and it turned into a very cool abstract...WELL..YOU ALL KNOW...that I couldn't be happy with that..so, I added more paint, and when I did, it totally messed up the "look"...So, I took a big brush, and just brushed over the whole thing...Then I had  a disaster!!LOL. So, I quickly grabbed my spray water bottle, and squirted about a gallon of water on this piece..and I liked it once again!! I added the number 4's, and then the crow..and I like this piece A LOT. I REALLY LIKE DESTROYING THINGS..hehehhe. Well..that's about it...nothing much is going on..Life continues for some of us.
Live Artfully.

HELLO!!

Whew..This heat is beating me up. I went to the Market to sell yesterday, and we nearly died of heat exhaustion! Luckily though, it was a WONDERFUL day for sales, and a couple of large paintings are no longer with us!

I was playing around and "piddling" tonight, and this is what emerged. I think it's a rather Happy painting..I hope you all have a wonderful, artful week!
Live Artfully!