Broken Conch

I didn't do quite one a day last week, but I'm right on target this week. I need to download some pictures from my camera from last week.

This is Monday's PAD. It is a 4"x6" acrylic painting. The broken conch shell is a subject I've done many times in pastel. I really struggled with the paint to get the look I was trying to create. I kept thinking, "I can do this so much faster in pastel! I keep trying with the paints because I can't always achieve the richness of color that I want in pastels. So even though the paint is a challenge for me, I'll keep going until I feel more confident with that medium. Besides, if it was easy it wouldn't be fun, would it?

Waay behind!!

Ok..blogger followers have gently pointed out to me that I've not had any updates in a while. Sorry, sometimes real life kicks in detours me from my career path. A combination of a canceled class for my eldest child, snow days for my younger two, out of country traveling for my husband, and out of state visitors here (yay!) have left me a little..well..dizzy!

But I have been painting! Not quite a painting a day, but I'm not giving up yet. Here is a large watercolor I was inspired to create last week. These are the moments that an artist lives for. I was doing some art related paperwork one evening and just decided it was time to paint! It probably helped that my usual distractions were either in bed or Portugal but I didn't take time to analyze..I just searched through my box of photos, grabbed some paper, and completed most of this in less than 2 hours. The next morning I spent about an hour touching it up. It measures about 17" x 29" and when matted will fit into a 24" x 36" frame. It is titled Currituck and those North Carolina natives will recognize it as one of their coastal lighthouses.

I have a couple more paintings I finished last week I'll upload later. I'll also be doing a big web update over the next month so keep hitting "refresh" and see what I and my students have been up to!

Helpful Studies

I skipped yesterday but made up for it today with 2 PADs. These are both studies for a painting I am planning. I'm working from a couple of photos and like the layout of the 3 horses under the tree (although I've flipped the direction of one horse from the original). The original photo is taken in the spring with the main tree green. Although this helps provide more contrast between the trees and the horses, I don't think it as interesting picture as using the fall colors. These are both 5 1/2" x 7 1/2" pastels. Comments?

Won't be 365 but close enough

Well, after 4 days I slipped. No PADs Friday, Saturday or Sunday. I think it will be rare that I will be able to paint on weekends but I don't have a good excuse for Friday (I have excuses..just not good ones!)

Today was my first day back full-time to the studio since the holiday break. I got 3 hours of painting in and some lesson planning. My classes start today with an Elementary class and an Adult Pastel class.

Painting wise I worked on a cat portrait I've been commissioned to do. I've been taking photos during the process in hopes of a doing a post of how I paint but I've been working so slow that I'll wait till closer to completion.

I did get my PAD done. I stepped up the size to a 5"x7" The 4"x6" is very, very small to me, especially with acrylic paint! The background to this lighthouse was done with a small palette knife. I really like the texture the knives create. The lighthouse and seagrass were done with a brush, but in a loose, impressionistic style to complement the sky.

PAD before midnight! and I'm a ??

Okay..vacation is over..back to studio time. I got today's PAD done in the morning instead of last thing before bedtime. This is a small study in acrylic of a cat of which I'll be doing a full-size portrait of in the next couple of weeks.

I'm still not painting other things because of lesson planning for next week's classes. My first adult class starts next week & I'm very excited. I have two students signed up so there is room for more! I also am doing projects with a local preschool this month so I have quite a bit of planning (plus art supply buying!) to do. I don't have anyone signed up for the Wednesday morning Collage Class, which is disappointing since I LOVE doing collages! I'm considering keeping that time as my own "collage" time.

Not doing collages is part of a artistic "career dilemma" I've been struggling with since I jumped back into art full-time this past fall. Most successful artists have a "look" or theme by which they are recognized. Other artists also label themselves this way as in "I'm a pastellist." or "I'm an oil painter." or "I'm a portrait painter." I am interested in way too many things to figure out my look or label.

So far, I have identified that I am an artist. I also do pastels and watercolors fairly well. I'm struggling and learning with acrylic paint, but I know I'll get there. Plus, I enjoy collages a lot..for me it is the "fun" side of art! With subject matter, I lean towards coastal images but I also enjoy animals and some landscapes. Throw a few still-lifes and people in there and I'm all mixed up!

We've all heard the phrase "Do one thing and do it well!" but what happens when your "thing" is art and "doing it well" means following your heart and creative inclinations...even if it is all over the spectrum of mediums and subjects?

Finding a look for myself is a focus for me this year. I'd love to hear your input! (You don't have to be an artist to have an artistic insight!)

More challenging

This is an acrylic painting from a photograph of my husband sail-boarding years ago. Skin tones in acrylic is going to be a personal challenge for me this year. This small format is also difficult, I like painting big but it is nice to complete a painting in one sitting. It normally takes several days of work to complete a full-size acrylic.

The First Couple of PADs

So far I've kept true to my commitment for A Painting a Day (hereby refered to as PAD's). The first two are still-lifes of fruit. The painting with the lemon is pastel, the painting with the 3 tangerines is acrylic paint. It took two whole days for me to get bored with fruit and now I'm searching for subjects a little closer to my heart...water..animals..etc. All the paintings are 4 inches by 6 inches.