30 in 30 Something Fishy – Day 20

How about a sea of fish (no pun intended) to brighten your day?   My crazy, colorful fish seem to be popular so thought I should include at least one in this challenge.  No shadows, no dimension, just flat, VERY colorful, cheery, bright-eyed fish.

Something Fishy
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Since I’ve wanted to do a color chart for some time, decided to try it with this painting. Well sort of. Took paint right out of the tube then mixed it with white to see both ends of the value (light to dark) scale.  Turned out better than expected, plus I’ve learned a lot about color behavior. The fish are still not sure about it at all J

For the inquiring minds – the colors are:

Top row:

Cerulean Blue

Sap Green

Cobalt Teal

Second row:

Ivory Black

Dioxazine Purple

Permanent Rose

Cobalt Blue

Third row:

Cad Orange

Phthalo Blue

Cad Green Pale

Fourth row:

Radiant Magenta

Phthalo Green

Cad Yellow

Paynes Grey

Fun rediscovering some of these colors.  A real color chart would have mixed other colors vs. white, but still interesting.   

Reference photograph is from Abner T. Ibarra, Fan Fins Fishes. PaintMyPhoto.

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

30 in 30 "Persian" Hibiscus – Day 19

Okay, there’s no such thing in real life, but time for a little creative license – love this hibiscus photo and painted it before, but wanted to try out my new Radiant Magenta (Gamblin) and tried-and-true Persian Rose (Williamsburg). Well before I knew it, all my favorite reds, purples and pinks were piling on.  Just love the way the pinks and blues play together. 

Fearless at this point, so went out on a limb and tried a new multi-media thing – I guess that’s what it is called.  I have a tool that’s called an eraser – basically a rubber tipped “brush” that lets you remove paint.  In this case it came in real handy to carve out the tip of the stamens (yellow round things), creating a more pronounced 3-D effect. The panel was toned in hot yellow so the carving brings it to the surface.  Since that was so fun, I “hacked” up the background to give it more interest. Use the DPW zoom function to see how fun that part turned out!

"Persian" Hibiscus
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Saying goodbye to Stick a Fork in It and Lucky Ladybug who are traveling together to Texas.

Photo reference from PMP, Marsha Woods, Hibiscus

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

30 in 30 How Rad – Day 18

Okay one more fork with about the most perfect looking radish I’ve ever found.  Love painting rads ‘cause the color is so intense, the round shape so challenging, the quirky leaves and “rat tail” or whatever the root is called.  Strange and even stranger shadows on the tail, but I liked the way it's "pointing" off into space.

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

30 in 30 Lemon Tines – Day 17

Ridiculous, I know, but had to do a play on the fork part by emphasizing the tines!  You can talk about stabbing things for only so long, you know. 

This was particularly fun because the lavender background with the yellow lemon and lighting caused the fork to reflect blue.  I also like how the shadow of the tines is more noticeable than the last one. Marvelous looking at it now, but gave me a lot of trouble during the process.  Happy ending.

Lemon Tines

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A fellow artist stopped by today so I brought out the two forks - the comment was - gee the blog doesn't really show how great these are -- she's right, the web defuses and flattens photos (no matter what).  So I encourage a visit to the Daily Paintworks link for a better view and zoom feature.  Still, she says, the painting is even better than that!  Hmmmm . . . I rather like that the buyers will be pleasantly surprised!

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

30 in 30 Stuck on a Fork – Day 16

After receiving a few great comments on Stick a Fork in It – decided to do another one (or two perhaps). This challenge encourages artists to have a theme, but I haven’t been able to be very consistent on that point.  You might notice I do mini-themes for a couple days: yellow flowers, water lilies, windows, hanging fruit, and a few wild things thrown in – basically, I can’t even hold a theme together for more than two or three days! 

We love baby Bok Choy and while preparing it for a stir-fry realized how darling the center is and – uh oh – just about the same size as a fork!   Quick photo op and a star was born.  Did you know that Bok Choy is one of the healthiest foods? Exceptionally high for nutrient density even on the “powerhouse" fruits and vegetables list.   

Stuck on a Fork
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Delighted to report that Stick a Fork in It is leaving tomorrow for Austin, Texas.

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

30 in 30 This and That – Day 15

Halfway mark and need a pass.  Exhausting fitting a whole new “job” into your daily routine!  Love painting every day and the good-stress involved.  Finding something to paint, getting used to the color mixes, faster setup, quicker start, etc., but it takes a toll.  So today I’m posting a painting that I did in a class last summer.  On Daily Paintworks I have a separate tab called “This and That” where I’m listing other art events like shows and classes.  So the link will take you to that page. Who knows what will appear there in the future.

Turkish Delight (click here)
14 x 18"
This and That  (click here)

When someone you know buys your art – you are delighted because they know you, are supportive of your art journey, and love your art!  When someone who doesn’t know you buys, you know it is the art that calls them.  Not sure exactly what it is, but it is very special – I guess because it is an independent perspective that embraces your heartfelt goal to pursue art.  Feelings which are hard to put into words! 

Tangerine Tango is headed to Sacramento California and On the Edge is off to Peru, Indiana.

Thank you all for supporting this journey.  Breaks over, now back to "work."

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

30 in 30 Do You Want Cream with That? – Day 14

End of summer weather so just had to paint these beauties.  All I could think while painting from this photo was whether or not there was cream at the bottom of the plate.  I guess it will remain a mystery, but I did serve my special strawberries with sour cream and brown sugar for dessert.  Have you tried it?  It is really quite surprising how the sweet and savory goes so well with the tang of a strawberry. Dip in the cream and dab with the sugar – yum!

Strawberry Surprise
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Lillian Bell is one of my favorite photographers on PaintMyPhoto - I guess you’re realizing that too.   Lillian Bell, Strawberries on White Saucer.

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

30 in 30 Daylily Abstraction – Day 13

It’s always fun to paint something a bit abstract even though you hope that it has some semblance of reality when finished.   Loved this photo so dared to try it.  We’ll see what happens -- everyone has their own sense of what strikes them as art.  Personally, being this close to the inside of a daylily reminds me of how delicate and short-lived each flower is – only blooming for one day.  

Truly, being in the moment . . . . take a breath, right now, and have a mini-daydream on me. 

Daylily Abstraction
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The reference for this painting is from Barbara Swinton, Abstract Pistils and Stamens on PaintMyPhoto.

Exceptionally pleased to report that Daisy Divas, On the Fence and Waterlily in the Park are headed to Decatur, Alabama to one very, very special lady.  Watch out, she’s looking for more!

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

30 in 30 Tangerine Tango – Day 12

Painting this photo has been on my to-do list for awhile. To me, the leaves are more interesting than the fruit, just look how the tangerines are surrounded – must be time to tango!  Some of you are probably thinking, well she doesn’t care much for eating oranges, so that’s why she’s looking at the leaves.  It’s kinda funny because I LOVE the color orange and frequently paint things just because of the color.  

I do like how this turned out, but it took me three times as long to paint it which is not really a good thing for this challenge, but it is a good thing for me every once in a while.  Especially now - class starts next week so I need to switch into painting a still life for two weeks and a minimum of six hours "mode" using a more traditional style of layering paint.  I learn a lot from both perspectives.

Tangerine Tango

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In the big news department: Lucky Ladybug is at it again and snagged me a spot on the "DPW Facebook picks of the day!" list (click)  Not the first one I’ve received, but the second – which is pretty much the same to me – one happy & lucky girl.  I just love it when we share in this journey. 

  

Photo reference is from one of my favorite photographers on PMP, Viacheslav, Tangerines.

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

30 in 30 Orange is the New Lemon – Day 11

The inspiration for this painting is an amazing photo from Nicola B of PaintMyPhoto.  The photo is titled Orange in the Rain, but it sure looks like a lemon to me.  It’s possible I’m not seeing it right because I really don’t care for oranges.  Not sure why ‘cause I love lemon, lime, and especially grapefruit.  Not even in a cocktail – I’ll take a Lemon Drop, Gimlet or Greyhound over a Screwdriver any day!  

Orange is the New Lemon

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Oh yeah, I passed on the rain part since it rained here most of the day.  Tried to keep the dark background though because it really set off the. . . . shall we say “fruit.” 

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