It's Still Winter

Pretty Eyes in the Teal Winter

12" by 12" acrylic on canvas board

April 10, 2013

He's back.  This one is part mine and part after Thomas Anfield.  Of course you should recognize Pretty Eyes by now!

Count Your Blessings

Pretty Eyes on the Drafting Table

11" by 14" acrylic on Everlast canvas panel

April 30, 2013

I tell you, Pretty Eyes is a silly boy, but he is getting a little prideful in his new found celebrity.  I may have to have a talk with him, I'd say "Pretty Eyes, keep it up"!

Tonight was Family Night here on Kings Road.  Over the last 3 years, Mary Ellen, Ron, Barbara and I have become very protective of our "little family".  We often invite others to join us, but there is nothing like just the four of us.  Everyone brings a little something and we all chip in to cook and clean up.  It is always a group project.  Tonight, I made a wonderful meat sauce I cooked in the crock pot all day.  We served it over Ziti.  Mary Ellen & Ron brought the salad and the wine.  Barbara brought some ingredients I needed for the Italian Green Beans and the bread and desert.

The food is always delicious and home made.  But the conversation and camaraderie is what we crave.  We even look forward to the dinner prayer.  It reflects the joy and love we have for each other and the family and always the military that is protecting us.  This year, our Alex is in Afghanistan,

something we are so proud of him for doing.  We asked him why he grew the facial hair and he said it was to make him look older as he is leading the projects.

He just sent the most wonderful photos of which I'll share a few.

He said  "A few day ago I took a helicopter to go see my project sites.  We flew over all of my projects and I was able to get these great pictures.  I had a great time.  Afghanistan is very pretty with mountains, canyons, green greass, horses, lambs, cows, hills.  It is spring time so everything is really pretty and green.  This will last about another month then it will all die off due to lack of rain.  It is really pretty right now."  Sounds like he had a pretty nice day.

Yes, we do have family Blessings to count at our house!

You Silly Boy

Pretty Eyes Caught Napping

10" by 20" by ¾" acrylic on cradled wood

April 29, 2013

This time, Pretty Eyes is lying down acting silly.  He is so much fun to paint!  In fact, he is just as much fun to photograph.  I pose him around the room in various poses and with different other dolls.  I plan on painting him many more times, I hope he will always be with me.

I decided to take this time to talk about my paint box. 

In the 1980's when I began to paint, I found I needed something to organize my paint tubes.  I worked in a place that wasn't threatened when you had time to work on personal projects.  Something unheard of today I believe.  I took large sheets of cardboard from the film boxes, I worked in Radiology.  Oh, I don't think they used film anymore, now everything is digital.  How times change.  Never think that something is a basic to life and won't change.  Take J.C. Penney's for example.  They are struggling to hang on but in the end, they will go and become a memory of something that seemed would always be here.

Anyway, I digress - again!  Back to my paint box.  I could place the tubes in it in such a way that you could cross match them to work with each other much as a color wheel worked. That worked as long as I had a limited number of tubes.  You can guess how long that lasted!  It is now only used to store some of my tubes, I have about three times as many tubes as would fit in it now.  It also has a drawer under the tubes to store odd and end in.  Of course that has filled many times over, too!

After I designed what I thought would make a good storage box, I went to my Father and asked him to make it for me.  Boy was I lucky and I knew it , not everyone could get something they designed made.  Now that he is gone, I have to store my tubes in plastic bins and baskets.

Even though it is filled and overflowing, I am still so proud of it.  It is just one of the things that make my studio so special.  I am really blessed, my studio is so much fun to work in and so well stocked.  I could use more room but who couldn't.  If it became necessary, I could take my family room which takes up about half the room, out and give that space to the studio, but I don't need that kind of space now and enjoy so much having my studio at one end of my family room.  I hate leaving my living area, always have.  When I've dedicated a room to a particular purpose, example an office, it hasn't worked.

I'm sorry!  I'm just rattling on and could continue but to what purpose?  Time to say Goodnight Gracie!

Prom Night

Date Night

6" by 8" acrylic on canvas board

April 20, 2013

Pretty Eyes is stepping out on his first date with Christmas Blue.  However, Blue was so excited to be stepping out that she wore her purple outfit!  I think Blue is a boy, but to keep this blog politically correct, in this painting we can think of him as a her!  For some reason I like to think of this as Prom night.

I had a wonderful date to Prom night with a young gorgeous man named Steve Albert.  He was a blind date I met just a few days prior to the Prom.  No matter, we had a fabulous time.  I had the cutest empire wasted pink cotton gown.  I looked like a dream in it.  Here, I'll show you.  It was May 1966, 47 years ago.  WOw!

You know, I got all this from Pretty Eyes and Christmas Blue going out on a date.  Boy, can I digress!  But from what you can see, isn't he gorgeous?

Above Tar Beach

Pretty Eyes Watches Cassie Fly

12" by 16" acrylic on canvas board

April 11, 2013

There is a reason for this composition!  Cassie Louise Lightfoot, age 8, can fly!  Here's the thing.  Cassie is one of my dolls and she is also the heroine of her own storybook, Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold.

I was looking around for other friends of Pretty Eyes, besides Rat, that we might paint him with.  What better than a favorite doll that can fly!  Ms. Ringgold is a gifted artist that paints quilt installations and has turned a few of them into books.

Tar Beach 2, 1990, Silkscreen on silk, 66 x 66"

I actually did not know any of this when I bought Cassie.  I only saw a small doll that appealed to me and happened to have a book to accompany her.  Who could resist that?

Something to Ponder!  I wonder if I forgot to paint a tail for Pretty Eyes or if it was tucked behind him and not in view?

Pretty Eyes vs the Dunked Sheep

A double treat today!  The reason is, the first painting will look like you've seen it recently, and for that matter, in the distant past, too!  But this will be it's last hoorah as far as I'm concerned.  However, it gets snapped up quite quickly.  The 1st one, in 1984 was snatched off my wall.  The second one, seen for the 2nd time was also snatched up without a moments hesitation.  That tells me, this one, mine again, could possibly be at risk for "snatching".  You never know around here!  It is a rendition of a wonderful painting done by Sally Wildman which I covered in depth on March 5 called, appropriately, "Sheep Dip".  I can not find Ms. Wildman's edition of this painting on line.  I originally found it in an art magazine and snipped out the tiny photo.  Also, unfortunately, I do not know what year Ms. Wildman painted Sheep Dip.  I would estimate somewhere between 1959 and 1984 as Ms. Wildman was born in 1959 and I painted my first copy in 1984.  Brilliant!  I should be a detective!  Momma would have been so proud, Daddy would have been skeptical.  Here for your enjoyment is my last, I hope, copy of Ms. Wildman's Sheep Dip.

Sheep Dip after Sally Wildman

20" by 20" by 1½" acrylic on cradled canvas

April 4, 2013

About the three I've painted, they very in size quite significantly.  The first was done on a 16x20 canvas board.  The second, given to my dear friend Ann O'Reilly, was done on a 10x10x1½ cradled canvas and this one is done on the 20x20x1½ cradled canvas.

Pretty Eyes Tabled

11" by 14" acrylic on Claybord

April 5, 2013

I'm going to write something about this in the next couple of hours, but right now, I just can't keep my eyes open.  Say Goodnight Gracie!

Whew, I'm back and so is Pretty Eyes. Don't you love him?

Some Days Are Better Than Others!

Pretty Eyes Ponders the Meaning of Cherry Blossoms

10" by 8" acrylic on canvas board

March 27, 2013

Nothing new finished yesterday as I expected.  Today, I'm hoping to finish two.  Again, we'll see!

Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea Sock Monkey

9" by 12" acrylic on gessobord

March 24, 2013

What a Monkey

 

Oliver Sock Monkey

8" by 16" acrylic on canvas sheet

March 23 2013

I'm working on friends for Pretty Eyes!  If I had to explain why I love them so much, I couldn't do it.  Maybe I just need a buddy and who can resist a Sock Monkey?

Studio Buddies

Pretty Eyes and Rat

11" x 14" x ¾" acrylic on cradled canvas

March 19, 2013

In case you haven't guessed by now, I love my Pretty Eyes!  I've had him most of my life.  I think I was about 7 or 8 years old when someone gave him to me.  I do remember thinking he had the prettiest eyes I'd ever seen - ergo, his name!

Recently I photographed him in many poses so I'm sure you'll continue to see him.  He and Rat, who came to live with us as a Christmas decoration about 4 years ago, sit on the drafting table that I work on.  I have two of them, side-by-side in my studio.  The second one has a table top easel which I used to use all the time.  For some unknown reason, I seldom use it now.  Makes me think, why not remove the easel and have the work space?  Great idea, now I know what I'm going to do tomorrow!

In addition to the great work tables, I have 4 art-quality lamps so when I paint, it is lit up like a football stadium!  I do have to say, thank you God for the wonderful studio I have to work in.  It is so beautifully stocked that I could probably paint for several years without having to buy additional canvas.  As far as paint goes, yes, I have a
wonderful supply, but that seems to need replacing either because of degrading or because it has been used.  What a problem!

I have bought canvas several times in the last year to get a specific type.  I am finding I prefer hard surfaces to cradled canvas.  Recently I found Cheap Joe's cradled hard wood surfaces.  I got a box of 10" x 20" x ¾".  They smell so good, like my Father's work shop, every time I get one out, I have to smell it!  That sounds ridiculous but I love painting on them.

Pretty Eyes, I love you!

Keeping Up

I'm finding it hard to keep up with it all.  It takes a little while to scroll through Facebook, translate & read my friend Amina's Blog, and emails.  Then there is varnishing and packaging recent paintings, canvas prep for future paintings, selecting subject of future paintings.  Then there is photographing and scanning paintings and entering data onto computer and blogging.  Besides actually turning out a painting, there is a lot of behind the scenes work involved.  I don't know, when you write it down, it doesn't sound like that much, but keeping up with it all is a lot of work.  And just think, most artists have families and full time jobs on top of all that.  Upshot, it's been 3 days since my last post!

Fleabus

20" by 10" by 1" acrylic on wood panel

March 8, 2013

This is Fleabus.  Yes, I choose that ridiculous spelling because I wanted to "punch" the name.  In approximately 1958, my sister and I enjoyed attending the movies at the local theater.  It took 50¢ to attend with a box of popcorn and a coke.

At one apparently memorable movie, the cartoon was about this funny little guy that raised his hand and open and closed his fingers waving to his companion.  For some reason, that little wave and his name stayed with both my sister and myself all these years.  All I would have to do is give the wave and my sister will crack up laughing and say "Fleabus"!

I really like this painting and besides, the wood it is painted on is really beautiful.  It has the aroma of freshly cut lumber and is so reminiscent of my Father's wood shop.  It brings back really special memories.

Pretty Eyes, my sock monkey

Pretty Eyes #1, #2 & #3

Acrylic on 6" by 12" canvas sheets

February 22, 2013

I was a young child when someone gave me this sock monkey.  I thought his eyes were just about the prettiest things I'd ever seen.  Hence, his name, Pretty Eyes.  I can't say why, but he sits on one of my drafting tables where I paint.  I actually painted him once before in a painting called "Pretty Eyes and Mouse go Fishing".  I have photographed him in various positions and hope to paint him many more times.