A little bit of organization

ORGANIZING MY TOYS

The month of January usually propels most people to organize, de-clutter and rearrange.  I am no exception and decided to tackle a portion of my studio where many of my "toys" are.  My paint tube supply has grown and grown and I felt the need to group them by color so I can easily reach for a color that I need.

The fabulous Dreama Tolle Perry has a category on her website with a listing for her "Favorite Things" and I have been eyeing this ArtBin IDS box and felt this was my solution to group all my paints so they can be easily seen.

I ordered two ArtBins from Amazon for my smaller tubes of paints and then discovered some very similar plastic containers in our garage that were not being used that would be perfect for my larger tubes.  I have positioned this small bookcase to the left of my easel so all my colors are readily available.  Of course, artists who use a limited palette of colors do not have this problem but my collection of paints was getting out of control and this solves my dilemma.

Dreama uses this box to stand her tubes up so she can easily squeeze out more paint on her palette while she is painting her demos at her workshops and if it is good enough for Dreama, then it is good enough for me!

Morning Light

Morning Light

16"x16" Oil on gallery wrap canvas

$425.00 

     Have you ever looked through a clothing catalog and see a photo with a color palette that really catches your eye?  That happened to me when I looked through one and came across a photo with a woman wearing a winter coat and hat sitting in a grassy field with mountains off in the distance.  I really thought the colors were so eye-catching that I decided that I would love to incorporate those colors in my painting and that is how this painting was created.  I am rather pleased with how this turned out but I hate to shop and therefore rarely look at catalogs.  Maybe I should to get some more color inspiration!

     Today marks my one-year anniversary blogging.  I don't blog on a weekly basis but feel I need to get more regular with my posts.  I owe it all to attending that fabulous workshop with Dreama Tolle Perry and Leslie Byrd Saeta just a little more than a year ago.  They stressed how important it is to SHARE your art and I must say I love looking at what others share with me via Facebook or through the numerous blogs I subscribe to in my e-mail.  Art enriches my life!  I hope you enjoy some Morning Light!

Sprinkles

Sprinkles

8"x8" oil on panel

$150.00 framed

     Ever since my recent workshop earlier this month with Dreama Tolle Perry, I have been wanting to paint a cupcake using all my transparent oils.  Dreama always has photos for us to paint from during our musical easels time on the last day of the workshop  and several other artists chose the cupcake.  They all turned out so well that I wanted to try one.  My friend/family member Asheley told me about a store only three miles from my house that runs a $2 special every Tuesday.  Off I drove to SAS Cupcakes and bought this creamy cupcake with sprinkles.  Guess what's for dessert tonight!!!

Autumn

Autumn

24"x18" oil on canvas

SOLD

     I feel like I have been missing in action for the last three weeks!  I have not been very diligent in posting to my blog lately but I have been very busy painting, entering shows, attending art classes and attending my second Dreama Tolle Perry workshop in Cary NC.  It was a fabulous three-day workshop and I learned so much from such a giving teacher.  If  you love color and lots of it, I highly recommend her workshops but you have to act fast because they sell out as soon as they are posted! 

     This painting was entered into "A Natural View", a yearly juried art exhibit presented by The Schiele Museum of Natural History and the Gaston County Art Guild.   I have been fortunate enough to have at least one of my two entries accepted each year for the last four years.  Both of my paintings were juried in this year and this painting was purchased by one of the five sponsors.  In the last few years, Steve and I have visited Grand Teton National Park two times and each visit has given me hundreds of photo references of some of my favorite things to paint-trees.  This grove of trees is near the Gros Ventre Slide area of the park near Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Hanging Out

8"x8" Oil on panel

$150

This is a story about "firsts".  Welcome to my first blog post.  Hanging Out is also the first painting done on the first day of a recent fantastic five-day workshop that I attended in Atlanta with Dreama Tolle Perry and Leslie Byrd Saeta.  These two energetic ladies gave me the boost I needed to get started with blogging about my artwork.  I hope you come back for SECONDS!