Babar Sher Familia

Babar Sher Familia

14" by 18" by ¾" acrylic on cradled linen

March 19, 2013

Another Babar Sher painting from a photo taken by Daniel Dolpire for the National Geographic Magazine in the Serengeti in Tanzania.  The father of three, from South Africa, snapped the three-year-old males, from the 30-strong Black Rock pride, during a trip around Tanzania and Kenya.

A friend indeed

401 N Poplar Street

12" by 16" acrylic on canvas board

March 19, 2013

I think I'm going to give up painting from Google Street views.  It is really hard to get a good picture.  This one was very dark from shadows and possibly the weather.  I had to guess at most of it.

It is supposed to be the home of a friend of mine.  I painted it to give to her as a surprise when I see her this spring.  Now, I'm not sure she will even recognize it!  Oh well, this is one of those "at least I tried" paintings.

Butterflies

Disney Butterfly #1

8" by 8" acrylic on canvas board

March 17, 2013

I spent all afternoon and evening in the studio and don't feel like I have that much to show for it.  I do, really, but I like to see more done, I'm getting spoiled!

I had to do a lot of prep work and even day 2 on a couple of canvas.  They will probably be completed in the next day or two.  Wahh, wahh, I'm whining over nothing!

Disney Butterfly #2

8" by 8" acrylic on canvas board

March 17, 2013

The inspiration for these two butterflies came from a Disney Vacation Magazine advertisement.  I actually found four photos including Day Spa from yesterday and a turtle yet to be completed.  Great luck finding these reference photos.  I have such a hard time finding original photos I feel I can paint.

I liked both of these paintings.  Number 1 is very unusual and Number 2 is just so darned colorful.  I've painted a number of butterflies and they are the first to go.  Everyone seems to like them.  I wonder who will ask for these and how long they will stay getting dusty in my studio?  Not long, I hope!

St Patrick's Day

It is fitting that I choose "Day Spa" to post today, you can't get much more green than that!

I just wanted to mention that today would have been my 23rd Wedding Anniversary to Paul Leone.  He died shortly after our marriage, but I remember the time we had together and I remember him.  He was a real character!  I can't help but wonder what our lives would be like today if he had lived.  I can say, it would have been a far different life.  You can't underestimate the power of one in a relationship.  Compromise changes everything.

I also can say we were very much in love.  I choose to think that would still be the case today.  So I warp myself in a sweet comforting embrace.  Happy Anniversary, Paul.

Day Spa

Day Spa

8" by 10" acrylic on canvas board

March 16, 2013

I can't think of a thing to say about this painting.  I found the reference photo in a Disney magazine.  I guess they want you to think of all the wonderful things you can do on vacation.

I'm ready and anxious to hit the studio today.  That is such a wonderful thing for me, to actually want to do something!

Lovely Afternoon

It was such a nice bunch of women gathered to celebrate the upcoming marriage of my sister Beverly!  The food was amazing and the room was perfect.  I was really impressed with the gifts.  Lovely Afternoon!

Mary Ellen, Beverly, Beckie, Barbara

Barbara with new daughter-in-law Jennifer

Bride-to-Be Beverly with niece Mary Ellen

Beverly with sisters Elizabeth & Susan, and friends Sharon & Kathy

Susan and Elizabeth are Bob's daughters.  Sharon & Kathy are long-time friends.

"The Core" Beckie, Barbara and Mary Ellen

The three of us are "the Family".  Barbara is my sister-in-law.  Mary Ellen is my daughter.

Beverly opening gifts

I'm so excited for Beverly.  She is one of the best people I've ever known, my sister!

Wedding Shower

My sister is the best friend I've ever had and I've had some really good friends.  I respect her and love her more than I can tell.  And now she is getting married.  She and Bob Benson have quite a story and they are so good together.  Their wedding date is May 18th and today, we are giving her a bridal shower brunch.  "We" is the core group of "Family", my sister-in-law Barbara, my daughter Mary Ellen and myself.

Mary Ellen has done all the planning and shopping and now, Barbara and I will go in and grab a little credit!  We have no shame!

Mary Ellen asked me if I thought I could paint something, so I decided to paint Beverly one of my "Number Girls".  I painted Mary Ellen a "39" for her birthday recently and I have a "13" from 2009 on a Friday the 13th.  Beverly's is an "18" for the date of her wedding.

The Bride in Black Slip

6" by 6" acrylic on canvas board

March 11, 2013

It is a lingerie shower, so she is supposed to be in a black gossamer slip!  It is one of those things you have to use your imagination for!  This little painting will be on a table easel.

I will take a couple of photos and will add them later this afternoon.

Re-Post

With just the addition of 6 lines and blunting the "go-nowhere" street, it is a little better.  I still don't want to hang it in my gallery, but at least I can accept it as finished.  I may sleep tonight after all!  Ha! Ha!


Wal-la:  A few lines here & there.

The Good, Bad & Ugly

Just when you think you're doing a good job, you reach dismal failure.  I can't help but wonder if any of the wonderful artists I follow ever have those failures?  I'm sure they did, but they have honed their craft and I suspect their waste can is full of dust now!

I, however, have not come close to honing my craft.  However, I will say of the paintings I painted in 2009 and repeated now, the former were the better projects and my cooking hasn't been all that great lately either.  What's up, is it just a slump or is the best NOT yet to come?

Here is what happened with this painting.

I wanted to paint something for the Virtural Paint Out this month.   The place is Vilnius Lithuania.  I spent about an hour driving around the country and picked out a couple of possibles.  I finally decided upon a trolly which is rather ironic in the first place.  A trolly is a trolly in any country.  But I was really not finding anything else.  Well, when it was completed, I hated it.  I told my daughter Mary Ellen, it was certainly destined for the burn pile.  She happened to drop by after work today and was surprised I felt that way.  I said, look, no one would want this painting to hang anywhere.  I still hated it.

My dilemma was in order to remain true to the map photo and qualify for VPO, I felt I shouldn't make any significant changes.  But since I don't want to post it, I can "fool around" with it all I want now.  OK, I know you're dying to see it so here it is ... but I'm sure you'll hate it, too!

6 Kalvariju gatvė, Vilnius, Lithuania

12" by 16" acrylic on canvas board

March 14, 2013

That is the Good - I'm willing to share my mistakes
That is the Bad - I'm willing to share my mistakes
That is the Ugly - I'm willing to share my mistakes

AND, I will NOT be posting this to the Virtual Paint-Out!

Butterfly to be...

Caterpillar

6" by 12" acrylic on canvas paper

March 13, 2013

Got lots of painting done today.  I only put about a quarter of what I post on my blog.  Then of course, there are other pieces in progress, too.  Busy, busy...

Live-A-Little

My daughter Mary Ellen and long-time beau Ron enjoy wine.  I never acquired that taste, it always left a metallic taste in the back of my mouth.  My pleasures ran to Tequila and Gin - that may be why I no longer drink!  Anyway, most weekends, we get together for a meal, good conversation and their wine ... my coffee.  Maybe I should write a post about how much I enjoy coffee!

Last weekend, we call it Family Night, they had a sweet little wine called "Live-A-Little" and they liked the picture on the label.  Ron asked me if I could paint it and this is what I got.  I hope he likes it!

Live-A-Little

9" by 7" acrylic on canvas board

March 11, 2013

An Elephant?

Klondike

12" by 6" acrylic on canvas paper

March 9, 2013

This painting is after a really beautiful painting by artist Julie Hill.  I didn't think mine turned out even well enough to throw in the fire, but my daughter Mary Ellen liked it well enough to ask for it!  You never know?

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.

Happy Bee

Happy Bee Approaches Mariposa Lily

11" by 14" by ¾" acrylic on stretched canvas

Marcy 7, 2013

I'll say one thing, I like doing bee's a whole lot better than I like painting flowers!  Will I ever find my niche?

I've been having wonderful days spent in the studio.  There is so much else to do than just paint.  It is amazing!  However, I have been able to get several paintings done in the last couple of days.

Problem, I left my camera in my daughters car last night.  The family, all 28 in toll, met to send my nephew off for a great adventure.  He is a wonderful young man and has many many people in his corner.  People come from South Florida, North Carolina and Oklahoma just to attend this dinner!  Now that is family love!

Alex leaving for nine months was the reason for me trying to complete his graduation painting.  What I did do was give him Pretty Eyes #3 as a going-away-card.  It has large arms to wrap around him until his return!  Both he and his wife Jenn seemed really pleased with it.

I know I haven't said where Alex is going.  There was some degree of privacy associated with this trip and I'm not sure if it is public knowledge, so, I feel I should say as little as possible about Afghanistan.  Alex is a civil engineer with the Corp of Engineers and with that, is going to north Afghanistan to help rebuild the country.  Boy, are we ever proud of this fellow!  They haven't been discussing it on Facebook but Alex told us that will be how he keeps up with his family and friends while he is gone.  That is why I thought it would be OK to mention it here and now.  He is leaving in two days.

OK, off to pick up my camera and then back to the easel!

Ducklings

I'm not proud of todays work.  I feel like I'm going from bad to worse!  And you know what?  I don't mind.  I mean, I still haven't thrown away my first 500 as Edward Gordon told me to do.  I'm beginning to understand why he said that!  So, since these are in the "throw away" count anyway, I don't mind that they aren't fine art, and only one step above kindergarten art.

Swimming Ducks

6" by 12" acrylic on canvas paper

March 6, 2013

Duckling and Lamb

4" x 11" acrylic on canvas sheet

March 7, 2013

ADDENDUM: I just realized I didn't give the lamb a mouth, no wonder he looks so pitiful!  Guess I'll have to fix that! 

I receive Blog posts from several artists.  Belinda Del Pesco recently painted a beautiful retriever on a 4" by 11" support.  I was really intrigued by the size and placement so I took a 16" x 20" canvas sheet and cut it into one 5" x 12" and three 4" x 11" sheets.  How darling they are!

Great Day in the Studio

Yesterday was a great day.  I prepped several canvas', varnished a few and painted two.  I just hope today is half as good!

Calliope Metal Mark Butterfly

6" x 12" acrylic on canvas sheet

March 5, 2013

Sheep Dip

In my early painting career, I painted this fun painting and hung it on my own wall.  A friend from work, Jackie Bridger, whom I have completely lost touch, loved it.  She asked me for it over and over and I realized that is when it is time to let one go.  I give most of them away now, but back then, I used them myself and giving one away was giving away my friend.  However, I've never regretted giving it to Jackie, I still believe that it was hers from the time she asked for it.

It has stayed on my mind though along with another I gave away under similar circumstances.  Maybe those first babies were just too dear?  So, I decided to repaint it, it has been 29 years after all!  The first one I painted was on a 16" x 20" canvas board.  This time, I want to paint it on a 20" x 20" x ¾ stretched canvas.  I will be giving Alex his painting soon (I hope!  If I can get that face on!) and I want to put the same size on that easel.  It has been nice as a decoration in the room.  But, I don't know, for practice or as another give-away, I first paint it on a 10" x 10" x 1½" stretched canvas.  It was pretty easy and I liked that!  Oh, by the way, the original I painted after was done by Sally Wildman and she painted it on a 42" x 48" with oil pastels.  Now that was a big undertaking!  I found it as a tiny clip in an art magazine.  I have not been able to find it on line although I have found Ms. Wildman.  She does not appear to have her own Blog but you can Google her and find a few paintings including mine!

Here is a bio about Ms Wildman (1939- ) :
Sally Wildman is a graduate of OCAD in the 1960's. The subject of her drawings are mainly everyday objects and animals seen through a whimsical filter. She is greatly influenced by a long love affair with rural environments in England and Canada. Using pastel, she finds there is a freedom to manipulate images by introducing a note of humour in a surreal narrative. Her work is included in many public and private collections including Dofasco, Xerox, Langdon Hall, Redpath and the Government of Ontario.

What I see in her work is much more detail and control.  They are beautiful fine art and I wonder why she would paint something as simple as this "Sheep Dip"?  Maybe, as her Bio stated, it was just a moment (on such a large canvas) of whimsey!

I'm going to post both my original and today's.  My observation is that my first one was better than todays.  I would like to think I've grown as an artist in 30 years, but it doesn't look like it.  I am grateful though, if could have been worse!  Always the optimist.  Here they are:

 Sheep Dip (1984)

16" x 20 " acrylic on canvas board

 

Sheep Dip (2013)

10" x 10" x 1½" acrylic on canvas
Sides painted Phthalocyanne Green (Blue Shade)

March 5, 2013

It's pretty nice ... and available!

Face Update

Well, I gave myself an idea in the first post.  His head is too big and that is where I must start.  Luckily, very luckily, I had not mixed the paint and had used Brilliant Blue straight from the tube with a little white knifed through.  I think it is good enough and maybe now, I can put a decent face on him and get rid of that goiter!

I mean, you can tell, if you know to look, but I think I can get away with it and move on.  His shirt collar is probably now too big, but I've actually seen men wearing them like this, and I suspect Kelly is a slight man based upon his sports prowess.

Back to work!  I'm stoked!

Difficulty with FACE

Well, I do have a couple I could post, but I'm struggling with a face on a large canvas.  This is a really special, to me, project.  I started it in 2009 when my only nephew graduated from college.  It has been sitting on an easel ever since.

I decided to finish it this week and all went well, really well, until I got to his face.  It is so bad, I have actually wished I knew an artist that could come over and paint in his face for me.

Finally, my wise daughter told me to slow down.  I didn't need to finish it this week, after all, it has been sitting on an easel for 4 years!

I'm going to show you my pitiful attempts at his face and you can see for yourself.

 

This poor guy looks like he is wearing a Freddie Kruger mask.  His nose has been amputated and his neck is enlarged with a goiter.  Oh dear, what a mess!





So, I got out the paint and tried again.

He is better, but just not something you'd really want hanging on your wall.  You know what I mean?

I wish his face was smaller, but I began the background 4 years ago and cannot rework that now.  Or can I?  Think I'll take a look at that!


This is when Mary Ellen said, slow down, Mom!
Hos did she get so wise?

I am going to continue to work on him.  Who knows, maybe something will work if I keep at it!  And maybe not.  There are no guarantees when it comes to painting and every artist has a barrel full of rejects.

Thanks for looking.

Babar Sher Desire

In 2009, I began a series of Lions I called "Babar Sher".  Babar Sher is an Urdu word for lion and I liked that.  This was to be the last of that series, but I wonder, when you let 4 years go between them, can it still be called a series?  Oh well, a series it is and if I ever feel like it, I will add to it!  So, here, without further ado, is #4 of a series of four.

Babar Sher Desire

12" x 16" acrylic on canvas board

March 4, 2013

I thought it would be fun to see them all together, so here are the rest.  The one called simply Babar Sher was not part of the series but was the "prototype" that started me painting them in the first place.

Babar Sher (Urdu)

Babar Sher Crimson

Babar Sher Grande

Babar Sher Fierce

BTW, today's Babar Sher's name came about this way.  I wanted to name it after my dog Stella.  That brought on the idea of "A Street Car named Desire".   I mean, what else could it have been?  I've always felt bad that the Blog is named after the other two, Erin and Annie.  I had had them about 6 years when I started the blog and they were already my faithful friends.  It was only after the Blog was started that Stella came to live with us and therefore, she was left out.  Frankly, the name of the Blog would have become a little awkward anyway, Ha! Ha!  So, there you go Stella, you have a painting in your honor now.