My Early Days-11

This was a picture on a shopping bag given when you bought a certain brand of hosiery.  I thought it was such a fascinating picture, I painted it for my bathroom.  It is done on a 16x20 canvas sheet and I painted it in 1987.  It was from an artist named Sandro Chia but I never knew the name of the piece.  Here is a sample of his work.

pittore 50x40 cm oil 1978

pittore nello studio 102x76 cm oil 2001

Mother and Son in Blue 106x130 cm oil 1990-91

Speed Boy 204x205 m oil 1981

Tre teste in campana 170x156 cm oil 2001

Yesterday, Sheila and I took a one hour drive to the Oconaluftee River.  The park was fairly well attended for this time of year.  The water was sensational and the park itself, just outside of Cherokee, was beautiful.

  It was a beautiful drive, especially coming home.  Instead of driving on the interstate highway, we drove on the older state highway on the way home.  The scenes were breathtaking.

My, my my!  It is certainly wonderful being in North Carolina for vacation!  It is heaven on earth!  I'm so glad my friend Sheila is here with me.  She has inspired me to get out and about in ways I would not have done without her.  We are having quite a time!

My Early Days-10

a floral, water color 2006

a floral, water color 3-24-06

a plum, water color 3-22-06

after Waiting, acrylic on 12x16 canvas sheet 2005

I've done almost no water color in my painting attempts.  This was just such a rich source to practice from.  And practice is the operative word, I wouldn't get these out to show to an army of ants!  Anyway, when I found Colette Copeland, she had dozens of wonderful fairly simple paintings.  I was in heaven!  When I looked her up now, she seems to be doing more crafts than paintings, but still showing the talent she has.  Here is a sample of what I found.

Brooch $20

Ghost Gondolas 28x22 acrylic $450

Heart II 8x6 acrylic $25

i moved forward when there was no path 9.75x7.25 cloth $50

Poppies 9x12 water color $42

Red Beaked Strutter 6x3.5 felt $15.50

Sampler with Red Thread 10x7.5 embroidery $35

Yesterday, Sheila and I went to Herren Bed & Breakfast to have a "Ladies lunch".  It was such a sweet place and we had such a wonderful lunch.  Here are some pictures of us.

Sheila in front of Herren House

Sheila at our table

Me in the outdoor garden

Sheila in the outdoor garden

We had a lovely time and shopped a little in Waynesville, too.  Then we picked up a couple of ingredients at Ingles but then couldn't find the receipt and couldn't make the penna and asparagus dish we intended to make.  But Sheila did make a wonderful taco soup.  We had another wonderful dinner and the best part was it is a low-cal dinner!  Enough good times,  I'll make you crazy if I keep telling all the great food we are having!  Until tomorrow...

My Early Days-9

This is very dated with the avocado green background but the stitch work is still beautiful.  It is a form of embroidery called Crewel.  Here is what Wikipedia has to say about it:

Crewel embroidery, or Crewelwork, is a decorative form of surface embroidery  using wool  and a variety of different embroidery stitches  to follow a design outline applied to the fabric. The technique is at least a thousand years old. It was used in the Bayeux Tapestry , in Jacobean embroidery  and in the Quaker Tapestry  sewn in the 1980s.
The origin of the word crewel is unknown but is thought to come from an ancient word describing the curl in the staple, the single hair of the wool. Crewel wool  has a long staple; it is fine and can be strongly twisted. Modern crewel wool is a fine, 2-ply or 1-ply yarn available in many different colours.

I made this for my Mother in 1971-72 and it was a true labor of love.  We were allowed to do hand-work or read between cases at work.  I was an X-ray technologist at the time and I do believe that is no longer true in most cases.  All my co-workers were doing this or that and I became interested in stitch work.  This was by far my most ambitious project.  There were so many different types of stitches and without the instruction sheet, it would never have been possible.

I don't know what to do with it now.  I keep it "just because" I made it.  It does not fit into any room nor do I wish to display it.  However, I am proud to bring it here and discuss the whys ans wherefores of it all!

My Early Days-8

In 2006, I decided to paint my body.  I bought a large sheet of paper and lay down on it and had Mary Ellen trace my body.  We laughed until we were rolling on the floor - Really!  I then selected my favorite pair of Chico's blue jeans and a really old wool jacket I had from the early 1980's.  I thought the jacket was really wonderful, but Mary Ellen hated it, said it looked like an old Michael Jackson throw-back.  Well, it did, but when I bought it, it was very trendy and very expensive.  I'm sure that is why I thought it was so wonderful!  Once completed, I rolled it up and never looked at it again. So much for a Full-Body project!

In a way, 2006 was a good year for me.  I did what I called "Coloring by TV".  What I did was take mostly oil pastels and in my lap, while watching TV, colored.  Here are some of my 2006 projects.

after Badar, Woman in Yellow Dress 1-20-06 oil pastels

What I did with this one is set my reference image as far away as I could reasonably see it, and paint what I saw.  Then move it closer and fill in again, what I saw.  After completing this, I painted it again - below - with the reference image at hand.

after Badar, Woman in Yellow Dress 1-20-06 oil pastels

 I found an artist named Badar Artist.  His work is magnificant and he couldn't possible have painted something so simple as this.  Maybe?  But when you see his work, you will know what I mean.  For instance, he did a photo retouch of a baby's hand and an elderly woman's hand.  Oh my is all I can say.  Wow!  So, I'm not really sure where I got this reference painting in the first place.  Maybe him, maybe not.

after Eric Fischl, unknown title, 3-18-06 water colors

Eric was born in 1948 and is an American painter, sculptor and print maker.  He lived and worked in New York until recently moving with his wife to Sag Harbor, Long Island.

after Arnold (Aaron) Friedman, Man Rowing (Sculler) 3-11-06 pastels

Arnold was born in 1874 in Corona, a densely populated lower middle class nieghborhood in the New York city borough of Queens.  In 1909 he was introduced to Impressionism and Cubism.  He died in 1946.

after Didier Lourenco, Parada 3-12-06 oil pastels

Didier started working in the studio of his father, where he learned the craft of lithographer.
 

after Miguel Dominguez, Serene Shore 3-10-06 pastels

Miguel was born in 1941 and lives in the Monterey Peninsula.  He paints from childhood memories as well as from present experiences.

after Erika Oller, Shaken with a Twist 3-13-06 oil pastels

Erika is now firmly established as an artist and creator of witty captions. She is also a successful author and illustrator of children's books. 

after Walasse Ting, Girl's Face 3-14-06 water colors

Walasse Ting was born in 1929 and died in 2010.  He was a Chinese-American visual artist and poet. His colorful paintings have attracted critical admiration and a popular following. Common subjects include nude women and cats, birds and other animals.

My Early Days-7

It's funny how things turn out.  I actually painted this painting to give to a girl I worked with to hang in her new office on her first job.  Then I never saw her again!  I've had it hanging in my home ever since.  It is a painting called Into the Cool of the Evening after Barbara Gallagher.  I painted it in 1986 and it is painted on a 16x16 sheet of canvas.  Here is a sampling of Barbara Gallagher's work.

1997 Christmas Angel 13x13, $35

The Carnival Was There 48x48

The WestSide Doorway 36x48

unknown

unknown

I know Ms. Gallagher passed away a few years ago, but her work will stand the test of time.  I hope you get by to see photos of her work.

I spent yesterday, Sunday, rather quiet.  I went to church with our neighbor Frances C. Then I napped and painted all afternoon.  At 5:55, Sheila arrived from Carbondale, IL.  She made better time than I thought she would.  Today, we went to the grocery store and are now cooking lots of food for the week.  It should be a good week judging by the food we are cooking!

My Early Days-6

This is another one that hangs in my entrance hall and I love it.  My husband Paul and I were visiting a frame shop where I did a lot of business.  I asked the proprietor of the shop if I could take a photo of what turned out to be a small sized limited edition by artist Dan Goad.  He said, don't worry, just borrow that one and bring it back.  Well, I was whipping my acrylics this way and that not realizing it was a fairly expensive piece.  At one point I said to Paul, we should just buy this one, it is only $25.  Well, I missed the zero at the end of the price and when I realized it was really a $250 limited edition I was "borrowing" I was really nervous!  Mine is painted on a 20" by 36" canvas and I painted it in 1990.  That was the year Paul died.  By the way, he didn't want to buy anything.  He wanted mine. I shopped with that store for years trying to pay back the favor he did me by loaning me that print.  Here is a representation of Dan Goad's work:

Egret with Frog

Isle I

Scarlet Ibis 2

White Egret With Fish 1995

Original from Jacksonville FL  12-16-05

On Friday, Mary Ellen and Ron and I went to Sylva to look around.  We found a wonderful little antique store/meuseum.  There we found 3 local men enjoying the day.  I told them I wanted to paint their picture and the man on the far left, apparently the owner of Jones Country Store said, bring it back, I want to see it!

Jones Country Store

County Seat and Court House

We also saw the most beautiful court house.  I had to get out to photograph it.  Ron wanted to go to a specific German pub that made their own beer.    It turned out to be a really cute town that we really enjoyed and the pub was excellent.

Mary Ellen & Ron in the Heinzelmännchen Brewery

The proprietors there were terrific and full of wonderful stories.  We ate at a darling little restaurant called Lulu's took photos as often as I could snap the shutter!

When we returned, we were invited to a neighbors, Frances C.,  for cocktails and snacks.  Her home and view

were wonderful and again, we were regaled with wonderful stories.  We had a wonderful time and were so glad to get to know her a little better.

On Saturday, sadly, Mary Ellen and Ron returned to Jacksonville.  I am on my own for only two days.  My college roommate, Sheila, will be joining me today.  So, my stories can begin again!