Uh Oh!

I guess it's a really bad sign when your blog notes fall off your "recent documents" list (of 20)!   Definitely need to get a plan together as I am going to a new job in two weeks and want to make sure there's time for work and art!  Hopefully the colder weather and changing seasons will trigger some inspiration.  Thank you for hanging in there through the dry spells!

The funky green heirloom pumpkin finally hit the easel and is headed to a new home as soon as it dries.  

Green Heirloom

This wonderful "patron" (JF) picked up a few other gems during her visit here - I guess a little like being "a kid in a candy store - irresistible!"

She made a great point that using my "system" of framing the paintings makes it quite easy to have one frame and change out the panels when you're in the mood for something different.   Now that the system seems repeatable, I will add the info to the blog.  Getting good photos of the frames is the hard part.  

Other cuties she's about to snatch from the DPW auction are below.  I have to say the High Heel on Deck in a gold and black frame is fantastic!  Off to Austin Texas to keep warm for a few more months. . . wish I was there!

Fuji Persimmon

High Heel on Deck

Happy Halloween!  Be silly, make some memories!

Two Off to Mysterious Homes

Picked up the unsold paintings in Waterford yesterday during a huge rain storm.  Let me tell you the sheep next to the barn/gallery were NOT happy campers.  I was almost positive one of them was begging me to take him home!  Ha, ha.  I guess we all take a little time getting used to the change in seasons. 

Although no prizes were won, my art buddy (KR) and I each sold two paintings.  Always love that!  My two are below and I guess I have to assume they now live in Virginia because they won't let you know who bought them.  Apparently the country folk, lovers of historic homes, and civil war reenactments have a few wild ones amongst them. . . .see below.  Seriously, these are two of my all time favorites so more likely kindred spirits!  I hope you're reading this, so I can thank you from my heart!

Outrageous Red Suede Shoe
somewhere in Virginia

Me and My Shadow 
VA

I just love knowing there are people who love this as much as I do!

Enjoy, life is joy we make one moment at a time.

Aftermath 30 in 30 . . . .

During the 30 in 30 I really wanted to paint a yellow pepper (for "Y", of course) and I've always wanted to paint one of those darling mini-eggplants.   At the farmer's market last Saturday they had both so as fate would have it. . .  . I don't know anything about eggplant (other than some awesome Ratatouille I had in Italy years ago) so I asked the farmer, "is there a name for these small, beautiful ones?"  After a bit of discussion, we decided it would be called Purple Passion since they knew I was just going to paint it.  Ha, ha, clever farmer.  Credit where credit is due, it came from the McCleaf's Orchard near Gettysburg, PA.  I'm amazed at how farmers and food artisans travel so far AND ready-for-business by 8:00 am on a Saturday!   I don't even want to think about how early they start their day -- my grumblings about getting there before noon just pales in comparison.  My thanks to them all. 

Okay back to the painting part, the pepper and eggplant looked so lonely that I decided to paint them as another complementary pair.  How fun.  The yellow pepper was rather short and a tad on the orange side so I hope it doesn't look like a pumpkin, seeing how it's October all of a sudden!  I love the shadow that spontaneously happened.  The eggplant is a jewel of a subject and model.  

Complementary pair - Yellow Pepper and Mini-Eggplant click here to bid

Oddly enough, I also found a small heirloom pumpkin that is an amazing shade of green so hopefully he'll get a shot in front of the hot lights in the next few days. 

Too long, but one more thing -  I'm picking up the paintings from the show in Waterford this week and expect to put most back on auction.  

30in30 - Final Persimmon

Well I got one last one in - so 15 of 30 maybe is not so bad for a beginner.  Quite a challenge painting every day!  I learned a ton and built up some much needed confidence.  It was truly a great experience.  The plan is to take some of the key concepts and keep it going.  My biggest challenge is what to paint, so found that getting prepared up front really worked well.  Once I got on a roll though, I stopped the pre-planning and I think that's what derailed my progress.  After all, I had ideas through "P" and thought that would be enough.  Lesson here is, never stop planning for what you want!

Fuji Persimmon
30in30 Day 30

At the end of the challenge Leslie shared a cool site for making photo collages.  It is free and simple.  Just go to PicMonkey and select "create a collage".  Here's mine.

Click here to see the final page of artists and their collages.

Thank you for sharing this adventure with me and reading my blog.