What's up 2017?

Was there a January? I don't know. It's just a blur now. I know some amazing stuff happened like having some good sales from my oh so wonderful Signature Gallery. I can't even tell you just how much I love them! Thanks to them, I had to get busy painting some more - oh darn.

Paynes Prairie

20x20

The locals know this place. Sometimes on trips between Ocala and Gainesville I'll stop and walk out on the dock on 441 and take pictures. When I have more time I'll go into the park and climb the lookout tower for a different view.

Garage Apartment

12x24

Since starting this bird nest series I've been gifted numerous nests from friends. This one came from my neighbors garage. It really is this shape. It was high up in the rafters in a corner and it looked like the bird wanted to fill the entire beam. It included bits of white fuzz that looked like batting and some pieces of blue and pink yarn.

White Feather

6x6

I've also been given lots of feathers so I thought I'd play with those. This is the first one- starting small. I'm not sure yet where I'll be going with these so stay tuned....

So those are 3 of the 10 pieces heading up to the gallery in the next week.

Then.... I was contacted by the Macon Arts Alliance Gallery asking if I would send some work to them for their upcoming show in March. Yay! They specifically asked for nests and florals so....... 

These are 2 of the 9 pieces heading that way later this month. And in case you're wondering, no, I did not paint 19 paintings last month. I was busy but I do like to sleep too. Some of the work is inventory I already had here in the studio.

Cubby

8x8

This is a crazy little nest made from horse hair. My friend Jean brought a couple of these in to class one day. She said she can tell which of her horses sacrificed hair for the little bird by the color of the nest.

After the Blossom

18x18

This was actually done from a friend's photo. I don't usually work that way but she had some beautiful shots and she gave me permission to use them. I wanted to play with the combo of pink and gold. Gold, anyone surprised? 😁

So there ya have it. That was January. Unfortunately the first week of February kicked my butt. I was sick in bed with a rheumatoid arthritis flare up. Any other artists out there dealing with a chronic condition that likes to interfere with your life? I'd love to hear from you. How do you deal? Anyway, now I'm back to feeling human again and ready to go. It's time to get some work boxed up and out of here and then back to the easel. Next time I'll share the landscape diptych I'm working on. Would you believe it doesn't include gold leaf? 

Today's projects

 Canna Lily

5x5

oil on canvas

Clematis

5x5

oil on canvas

These are the two little paintings I finished today. The top one I did from a photo I took of the Canna in my yard. The second one is from a photo I took quite a while ago and I don't remember where I took it or what kind of flower it is. I was told today that it looks like Clematis. Since the picture was taken from the backside of the flower I have no idea what the center looks like or even what color it is. So apparently I'd better take better reference shots or at least take notes when I do them so years later when I use the pics for a painting I'm not clueless.

Anyway, it's still fun to play with cropping on florals and focus more on the abstract quality of the composition. I'll be adding these to the Etsy shop soon.

I painted it again?

Spiderwort

5x5

oil on canvas

These are a couple of the pieces I've been able to finish in the last week. The flower above is the seventh one I've done in the little floral oil group. It's now available in the Etsy shop along with most of the others.

 

Trinity River

10x8

acrylic on canvas

I should actually call this little landscape Trinity River Again? I can't even count how many times I've painted this scene. I just don't get tired of it. I'm not usually one to paint the same thing over and over again but for some reason this particular landscape just won't leave me alone. I figure if I can't stop painting it then I'll make some students paint it too. I'm going to use this painting for the workshop project when we do our painting party at the end of Oct. I'll post the details about it on the H & H Studios blog soon so check there to keep updated.