Merry, Merry and Cha-Ching

A fellow artist put together their 2014 Most Viewed paintings on DPW.  What a great idea!  My ah-hah moment was to twist it up, exclude those already taken (this is about you not me), discount the price for holiday gift giving (not sayin' who should get the gift, if you know what I mean!), and put these gems on auction along with the added plus of a buy it now price that's especially low since we're all hurrying and need to get gifts in the mail asap! 

So here's my Most Viewed 2014 - all are 6x6 except the handsome fox which is an 8x10 and comes with a low profile floating frame.  I was sure that cutie pie would run off during a show west of Leesburg this year, but he insisted on coming home. 

All of these paintings are being offered at a 40% reduction (gallery commission that now THEY don't get, but YOU will!).  How great is that?  Please go here  for the latest list of auction/buy-it-now prices.  Another insider secret to my loyal blog readers - this is slow auction season, so if you have time to wait it out, you'll save a few bucks. 

Oh yeah, if you've read this far, Cha-Ching. . . Shipping is half-price! 

Click here for the Auction deals

p.s. DPW made me spread out the auctions so some start on Friday, then Saturday and Sunday.

Feel free to email me with any special requests - packaging, handling, etc. and I'll get back to you right away - see the email option at DPW under my gallery - here.  I'm planning to chill over the holidays so happy to accommodate any and all requests. Art is so much more fun than work!

As always, thank you so much for reading my blog!  

Happy Holidays and Enjoy - life is joy we make one moment at a time - all year long,

Johnna 

 

Undercover in Vienna Virgina - The Traveling Chicken

Hi all - I've been asked to provide a link to my Traveling Chicken blog entry and remove it from my blog.  So here you go - the lively Ms. Chick and her adventures while visiting with me.  Isn't she adorable?

Click here to see my journey

Final Post-Easton and More to Come

Finally, the post Easton Workshop painting tweaked a bit more.  Biggest change was the olive oil bottle and pushing it to green than blue (duh, it is olive oil!).  Also added more orange to the front left persimmon (my fav - glazing some bits) and dulled the light on the "perp" in the bowl to shift the focus to the front right persimmon - a Fuyu - who even knows what that is?  Lovely still life object - hot, luscious, plump. Google it if you must know - I do not, and okay with that  :D  I saw it in person and absolutely had to paint it!

Overall, I am thrilled with this piece - bought a frame and hung it in my home until there's a call for art or gallery that wants to show it, or someone who has to have it (email me).  What do you think?

Persimmons and Pears

Before Preview

I am loving the "bits" learned from the Easton workshop and know it is each artist's goal to knit those bits together into what you create as an individual.    One of my artist friends (GL she knows who she is), uses the term "bits" and I rather like it.  She is very creative, profound, and a phenomenal artist!

Lastly, leaping into deep space, I signed up for a class that starts next week with a young, crazy-cat so I can only imagine will have a few more bits!    SRLY, he graduated from art school in 2012!  Have no fear, bring it on!

More bits to come. . . .

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.

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

Post Workshop Mash Up - Dance On

Finally got the nerve to combine my recent workshop techniques with my regular painting (small, hard panels).  What a joy to go back to the familiar, but another challenge combining the two processes.  Amazing how every tweak makes for yet another challenge!  I have no idea when all this will become routine - although pretty much guessing NEVER!

I wanted this painting to be very loose and include the workshop instruction to go abstract.  It seems to have an "air" and looks ready to embrace the change of seasons.  Me not so much - I love summer, period.  I will admit, the changing seasons help me appreciate the summer even more (happy/sad face) . . . .

The workshop focused on creating a dark, muted, abstract "stage" in the background to make the star of the show stand out even more.  The workshop artist used color, contrast, sharp edges, soft edges, light vs. dark, thick vs. thin paint and every other striking combo to give the foreground diva her moment!   I hope the persimmon stands out as that was the goal.  

Before my time, but maybe this painting should be called Fred and Ginger. Two in lockstep - doesn't it look like they are dancing? One of Ginger's quotes was - "The most important thing in anyone's life is to be giving something". . .  Great advice - so here's my gift today.  

Persimmon and Pear
click here to bid

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

Thanks for stopping by. 

Johnna

Easton Workshop   

Somehow, another month has zoomed by and I don't have much to show for it, but I've learned a lot.  In early September, I attended Qiang Huang's workshop in Easton MD.  What a wonderful town!  It is on the eastern shore and specializes in great food, art/artists and quaint shopping.  I am still raving about the amazing food and had so much fun with my fellow artist who recently moved there (KR you know who you are!).   

This blog is kinda long, so I'm going to start with the end and work my way back to the start 'cause I want to show you what I'm learning.

Here's my first solo run with the workshop process after returning home.  It's a big thing for me to put together a set up as I believe it is an art form in itself.  I had one art teacher say she spent more time putting the setup together than actually painting it.  Uh, oh, probably more to learn there too.   This painting features two types of persimmons - regular "flat" ones and a stunning orange "long" one called a Fuyu.  Google it if you need more info - I just liked how orange and plump it looked.  Kinda makes the regular persimmons a bit bland though.  Bottle on the right was from our wonderful trip to Spain with an incredible olive oil.  Bought it for the bottle, but the oil is astounding.   Personally I can't believe I painted something with seven items in it!!!  Would love any and all comments. The technique is to have one highlighted item and blur the rest.  So in this one, the fat Fuyu is the highlight.  You decide, kinda complicated!

Pears and Persimmons

Okay back to the start of this adventure. . . . .

It's true that the ridiculously scary Chesapeake Bay bridge wasn't as bad as expected (as in expect THE absolute worst)!  You be the judge, here's how wiki describes it, "Because of its height, the narrowness of the spans (there are no hard shoulders), the low guardrails, and the frequency of high winds, it is known as one of the scariest bridges not only in the USA but in the world.^" Huh?  Seriously?  On top of that, I can't even begin to describe driving on the left-hand span facing oncoming traffic with NO barrier.  This is a little trick they use to manage the volume of traffic headed to the eastern shore.  Survived it twice and willing to do so again 'cause Easton is so wonderful ;-) 

Here's a pic of the beast.

Qiang has a five step "method" and complicated set ups, but it got me back into painting on canvas and working with a lot of different dimensions in the same painting.  On the second day, Qiang demoed his first stage then we would try it out on our own setups, then demoed stage 2 - we try - repeat to stage 5.  An excellent way to learn his method and wish we had more time to practice and get his personal guidance.  Here's his demo and my run at the process.  Hmmmm. . . . more to learn.

Qiang Huang - Easton Demo Day 2

My stab at it - Inspired, so hoping to paint more - maybe a combo of my former daily painting and this more complicated, yet intriguing venue!

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

Johnna

Day 2 2014 30-in-30 Cuatro

Thank goodness for the PaintMyPhoto (PMP) folks - they've come to my rescue again!  Here's Lemon, Pear and Grapes, a still life photo taken by Anna Davies (Essex, UK).  

Lovely composition - I'm trying to find multiple object / groupings to get ready for the workshop this weekend so this really fills the bill.  Quite a challenge with the red pear AND red bowl not to mention the literally BLACK  grapes, oh yeah a lemon is always a challenge, period!  I love the reflected light on the lemon next to the bowl (the little dab of red).  I hope I did it justice.  

Cuatro is the word for four in Spanish, so four items, Cuatro it is!  Guess you can tell I'm still loving the afterglow of a week in Barcelona Spain!

Cuatro 
Click here to bid

In keeping with the "what did I learn" concept:
 1) avoid black grapes, 
 2) PMP rocks and 
 3) Painting = Happy!

p.s. found out today that both of my previous auctions have been tagged as "One of our DPW Auction picks!" by the owners of DailyPaintworks -- wow!

Anna's awesome photo:

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

Johnna

Day1 2014 30-in-30

OMGosh It's September already and I am nowhere on getting started for Leslie Saeta's September 30in30 challenge.  This is where you're supposed to do a painting a day and post it with the hundreds of others who have joined in.  A lot of planning needs to happen to have a chance at making it through this "boot camp."  On top of the challenge, I'm in a workshop for four days, out of town for a wedding and called for jury duty -- that's only the first half of September.  Yikes!  

Let's see, if i subtract those days and add the fact that I'm in between consulting gigs, maybe I'll get through it somehow. Hmmm . . . .  oh yeah, don't forget to subtract the enormous amount of job hunting time! 

"Trio" is of a late summer nectarine, an awesome water bottle collected in Barcelona Spain during our most fabulous summer / birthday vacation and a silver bowl from a little antique shop in Middleburg Virginia (horse riding trophy from 1953). 

Trio
click here to bid

The challenge website is here  where you can see all the artists and their daily submissions. 

Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it!

Johnna

Yet Another Experiment!

Well my little plan to get re-auctioning had a glitch, so attempting it again.  Apologies but have to include the painting from earlier this week. 

Pepper Refined
click here to bid

Somehow, I managed to paint today -- mostly to keep from frightening Mr. Huang next week!  Don't want him to think he has a clueless, crazy lady in his workshop.  So I did my best to set up multiple objects (egads, not used to that!!!), and went with a hard panel to keep from adding too many variables.  Admittedly, I'm in total denial about using actual canvases again. . . . 

After the paint-a-thon, I'm pretty happy and will photo/post it later this weekend.  Artist KR that I mentioned in an earlier post, says her new art instructor makes them report on what they have learned.  Sounds like a good idea to me, so in this painting session I learned: 

1) challenging/uncomfortable subject forces my brain to go into artist mode,

2) keep painting what you see not what you "think you see" and 

3) just paint. . . happiness is sure to follow!

Enjoy, live is joy we make one moment at a time,

Johnna

p.s. thank you for taking the time to read my posts and for your delightful and encouraging comments, much appreciated!

Regrouping

Apparently my last blog and "rough couple of weeks" caused a commotion -  it's just life's bumps in the road --- nothing at all that can't be handled.  I'm delighted that people read the blog and checked in.  How great is that?  Great friends, great community, priceless.  What a new found pleasure to me for taking the time and energy to create a blog (insiders will say, and it's true, more work than one would imagine).  

I'm still working my way back to painting (artist block I guess. . .  don't have a good explanation) but really looking forward to seeing my great friend and fellow artist (KR) in Easton MD next weekend for a workshop hosted by Qiang Huang - check out the link, his work is stunning (we signed up almost a year ago!).  Will be quite a challenge for me shifting from 6x6 hard panels to a mushy soft canvas that are more than twice my comfort size. Okay, Alice get with the program! Maybe the shift will start a new commotion.  Fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, I'm going to auction a few of my most popular, favorite available paintings.  Here is the first one.  Over 600 hits vs. the last sold painting that had 135.  I read an article recently that said one of the worst mistakes an artist can make is to keep their favorite paintings --- aargh that is a hard pill, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.  So I'm taking the leap and making these lovelies affordable and available.  

Pepper Refined
click here to bid

As always, Enjoy, live is joy we make one moment at a time,

Johnna

Flying Fish

Much to my total delight, the Cube Fish aka KalidoFish was purchased and should have landed in Tucson, AZ by now.   A former buyer, which is always a super-duper added pleasure. It has definitely lifted my artistic spirit, but still find myself struggling to get back into the groove.  It's also been a rough couple of weeks, but sparing you the details since I only want to think about the positive!  Not all that bad compared to most, but a reminder to appreciate each day and realize how wonderful life is!  

Here are the darlings flying to Tuscon. 

Enjoy, live is joy we make one moment at a time,

Johnna

Current Events

This month's art group challenge was to paint in the style of Cubism.  Not a particularly comfortable topic for me, but bolstered with the Barcelona Art Nuevo get-out-there-influence, managed to pair a favorite PaintMyPhoto pic with my newly found knowledge.  The idea is shapes / angles and uncomplicated colors.  Kinda crazy, but I really like it.  Now that the insider art group has met, I can publish it.  It's become a favorite of mine.

Cube Fish
click to bid

How's this for an interesting perspective.  You-know-who came up with the idea and called it KaleidoFish!  Love it so much I might make it into an art card.  Please comment with your vote and maybe I will really turn this into a greeting card.  

KaleidoFish! 
please comment with your vote

Photo credits go to Ruth Archer of PMP - her photo.  I was also inspired by several artists who saw this in a colorful and abstract way! 

Enjoy, live is joy we make one moment at a time,

Johnna

Geez Where Does the Time Go?

Has it really been since April that I posted???  Hard to believe, but see that it is true - er, I guess April would be the time Mr. Fab (rockin' spouse) surprised me with tickets to a birthday-of-a-lifetime trip to Spain!  Guess I don't have to mention that a birthday with a zero in it - and it's after 40 - has to be cause for commotion!  With the planning, trip in early July and now the awesome afterglow, it's just gonna have to be my excuse for the lapse.  I am seriously hoping to get back into the art / blogging program.  Fingers crossed!

Quick note about the trip to Barcelona - highly recommend, lack of Spanish is not a problem, food is amazing, art and architecture is over the top.  Epitome of Art Nuevo - Gaudi is a true phenomenon and so under known.  Barcelona is unlike any European city I have been to -- they embrace the very modern, progressive yet maintain a love of both old and new.  Big, bustling city yet quaint old quarter, endearing people, marvelous metro, stunning museums and such deep roots.  Apparently, Barcelona is the third most visited city in Europe (after London then Paris). Go travel - I've missed it for a long time.  Just go.  Nothing is better than challenging yourself with something new, daring yourself into discovery and delighting yourself with unknown wonders.  It really does "change you" in a number of ways - just GO somewhere different (on your next walk/drive take a left instead of a right and see what happens!).   I want to copywrite the phase "you just don't get it until you go, so just go!"  

Yellow Pepper Refined

Cutting to the chase - not sure what happened.  I painted this pepper last January and then decided to fix a few things so changed the status to Not for Sale.  Fixed it and then forgot all about it.  Now I see my number one highest hit rate for painting views is none other than this guy!  So it's time to get the new photo posted, re-blog, re-upload, re-connect, and re-auction the new version.   

Yellow Pepper Refined
click here to bid

Reminds me how much I love the dark background and my peeps at PaintMyPhoto.  A great site, no matter what  your interests may be! Check it out here - free to browse and free to register - a fun bunch to connect up with.

Photo credits go to Lilian Bell here 

Enjoy - life is joy we make one moment at a time.  Let the game begin!

Thank you so much for reading my blog and taking the time to make comments.

Interesting Experiment - Is it Spring Yet?

Welcome to the lab-or-a-tory!  An artist's playground when one doesn't have much time for painting, but a place for experimenting and trying out different things.  I liked this painting so much but thought it too white, too raw, so started trying out my new found glazing technique - loved the process and think the results aren't bad either.  

So here's a before and after -- since it's a painting, only the after exists in the real world.  What I would love to know is which one do you prefer?  

Original Painting

I'm split - loved the first one, but it didn't seem quite right and then fell in love with the second one but seems like it should have lighter colors.  

Glazed Painting and final product
Daffodil Two
click to bid

Oh well. Insiders, let me know what you prefer.  I seem to be falling in love too much and becoming a bit fickle! 

Photo credits go to Nicole B  at PaintMyPhoto for the inspiration. Here's her photo:

thanks for reading my blog,

Red Hot Hibiscus

Okay, before we get started, yesterday moring I woke up to quite a thrill - DailyPaintworks selected my coneflower pic as:

"You're one of our DPW Auction picks!"  

That's a first for me!  Funny how something like that just makes your day!  Now back to business. . . .

Was so tired of winter that I started looking around for anything hot, flowery and reminder of my favorite season - summer.  Found this wonderful hibiscus on PaintMyPhoto.  Compelled me into glazing again and love how the layers and layers of red worked out.  I never noticed before, but hibiscus is kinda strange with the pronounced stamen -- finally, thank goodness for high school science/botany class!  I guess they were right - we need to know this kind of stuff! Ha, ha.   

Red Hot Hibiscus
click here to bid

Kudos to marsha woods photographer

see the pic here

Enjoy,

Johnna