DSFDF-NOT FOR SALE

I am sure most of you are aware of Karin Jurick and her fun and instructive blog "Different Strokes from Different Folks". The end of the year challenge was to send a photo of yourself to her and she would send you a photo of an unknown (to us) artist. We would paint each others portrait and return it to Karin to post on her blog. This, of course, is my attempt to paint a very beautiful lady who was unfortunate enough to have her photo sent to me.

If by chance, this unknow artist, should happen to find my blog, view her portrait, and wish to obtain it, her wish can come true! Just send me your name and address and I will be happy to send it to you at no charge.

I want to say just a few words about Karin. I have always been astounded by her painting skills. Now I am even more astounded by her willingness to take on this additional work with, as far as I can tell, no benefit for herself. Well, she does get lots of publicity among us artists but maybe not so much outside of the blogging and artists communities. I find it to be completely giving of her to take the time and effort required to run this blog, and post all of our blogs under our entries week after week. She is also very willing to share advise with us. If there is one thing we need more of, positive role models is near the top of the list and Karin has proven herself to be one. So, thank you Karin! I only hope that were I in your position, I would be as willing as you to share.

PS:  This lovely lady is Annie Salness from Oregon, a wonderful artist.  We have since exchanged our portraits.

THE BLUE PALMETTO

A few weeks ago I posted a painting I did of palmettos with strong sunlight on them. I was trying to do plein air that day, but was soon reduced to taking photos. I was lucky enough to get a couple usable photos and I got excited as soon as I saw this one. When the camera flashed I could see the strong blues on the palmetto. This is a 16x20 oil on stretched canvas. I painted it with an idea in the back of my head to have three palmetto paintings to hang as a group. So far I have one in landscape form and one in portrait and I am still musing over the third.

16x20 oil in canvas

inc. freight to cont. USA $395.00 Option 2 $395.00 Option 3 $395.00

DAYBREAK, SOLD

We travel from Florida to North Carolina several times a year. Often, we get a late start, drive five or six hours and spend the night. We try to get on the road early the next day, as we are always excited and anxious to get to our vacation home in the mountains. This particular morning, we were driving through Georgia when the sun started to come up, and I caught this scene with my digital camera.

This is a 4x12 on stretched canvas. The sides of the canvas are painted so it is ready to hang without being framed.

includes ship. to cont USA

Option 1 $75.00Option 2 $75.00Option 3 $75.00

SHADOW DANCE

Living in Florida, it is a good thing that we do not have a lot of direct sunlight streaming into our home most of the time. This time of the year, when the sun in low on the horizon, we have a month or two of direct sun in our dining room. I usually get inspired and try to set up some still lifes with all the action. This is from a photo I took several years ago and never got around to painting until this week. This is an 8x10 on canvas panel.

inclues shipping to cont USA

Option 1 $165.00 Option 2 $165.00 Option 3 $165.00

ART SHOW

This is a painting I did in 2006 as the poster art for ArtWorks, our local art show. The neat thing about ArtWorks is that the artists who have a booth there must demonstrate their art during the two day sale. The painting features an artist, with easel and artwork, on his way to his booth to do a demostration. The location is perfect, in old Eau Gallie, Fl, right next to the inter coastal and it is always the weekend before Thanksgiving so we usually have lovely weather in the 70's. This year I went with my granddaughter and we had a great time, strolling the streets and watching painters, jewelry makers, potters, sculptors and more making their art.

This painting is 12x16, oil on stretched canvas, and comes with a ArtWorks 2006 poster,featuring the painting,and autographed by the artist (me).

inc. shipping to cont. USA

Option 1 $325.00 Option 2 $325.00 Option 3 $325.00

PARTNERS

There is something special about children and parents at the beach. It seems all that water and sand give parents permission to be children themselves. It is so much fun to watch them, building sandcastles and other sand masterpieces. Too bad we cannot all spend more days at the beach, especially with a little one!

I have been tagged again! This is such a great honor, this time given to me by Atul Pande Atule is a physician and researcher with a incredible work load and still finds time to paint. I urge all to visit his blog as he always has a new challenge for himself. Thank you, Atul.

This is a 5x7 oil on panel.

inc. shipping to cont. USA

Option 1 $50.00 Option 2 $50.00 Option 3 $50.00

This is a 5x7 oil on panel. Enjoy!

CHRISTMAS CACTUS, SOLD

The other day, while trying to organize my studio, I came across an old painting that I had buried behind everything in the closet. It was a still life of a beautiful Christmas catcus that I attemped many years ago. Although the painting was a failure, I still have the photo, which was one of my favorites, and I decided to give it another try. Not wanting to do a large, detailed canvas until the holidays are over, I decided to try just a detail of the original composition on a 5x7 panel. So, here is my offering for today, not sure I like it any better than the original, but it does speak to the season.

inc. ship. in cont. USA

Option 1 $45.00 Option 2 $45.00 Option 3 $45.00

LUCY - SOLD

I hope that none of the PETA people come after me for this post. This is a commission that I recently completed. My customer requested a portrait of her beloved Lucy, a wire haired terrier. Lucy loved to catch squirrels, which is hard wired into the breed, and this is how my customer wanted her painted. I am happy with the results. This is a 9x12 oil on stretched canvas.

DAYDREAMER-SOLD

TAGGED AGAIN!!! See previous post! Actually, one of my favorite artists, Kathy Weber has tagged me this time. Kathy is a master at capturing light. Her paintings always give me a "sunny outlook" and I highly recommend a visit to her blog. Hopefully she will forgive me for not following through with the "tag".

This post is a 5x7 on panel.

inc. shipping to cont. US

Option 1 $50.00 Option 2 $50.00 Option 3 $50.00

THE RED SKIRT - SOLD

It has been an exceedingly busy week with no time for painting, but lots of time chasing three grandchildren, cooking turkey and baking somewhere around 140 dozen Christmas cookies. Sooo, I am repeating this painting, which is one of my favorites, and was the first one I posted when I started my blog. I don't imagine anyone saw it the first time around anyway.

A few weeks ago I was tagged by two of my favorite artists, which I enjoyed and was happy to pass on. I really like going to all the blogs and reading about everyone's interesting lives. Now in the past week I have been tagged by the wonderful artist
Debbi SmithRourke and given the Premio Dardos Award by two great and prolific Great Britain artists, Sharon Wright and CarolAnn. This award requires I nominate 15 artists (each time). Thanks so much to all of you. I cannot express how important it is to me to read your comments and positive reactions to my art. As you know, being an artist can be a lonely business, and when you don't sell much, that often translates into not getting much acceptance of your work. So, I appreciate it greatly. However, I don't know another 37 artists to nominate, so I hope you all will understand when I chose not to participate this time around.

INCLUDES SHIP. TO CONT. US

Option 1 $395.00Option 2 $395.00Option 3 $395.00

MORNING LIGHT

A few weeks ago, my paint group, Pieces of Eight decided to paint plein air at one of our members homes. Cindy lives in a lovely wooded area that was an inspiration to us all. I ended up wiping off two 5x7's, but I did manage to take some good photos. This is a 16x20, oil on canvas which I painted from one of the photos.

includes ship. to cont. US

Option 1 $395.00 Option 2 $395.00 Option 3 $395.00

JUST AN APPLE, SOLD

The title says it all! This is a 5x7 on canvas panel.

I have had a very busy day and am soooooooooooo tired. Next time, I'll try to do better.

includes shipping to cont. US

Option 1 $39.00Option 2 $39.00Option 3 $39.00

AT WATER'S EDGE-LOW COUNTRY MARSH, SOLD

Yesterday was a busy day for me and two of my paint buddies, Donna and Denette. We installed over 70 pieces of art for our paint group's (Pieces of Eight) exhibition. We call it "At Water's Edge" so every piece has a water reference. The highlight of our exhibition "Eight Points of View" features 12x16 paintings that we each did of the same scene. It is a scene from our vacation in Spring Island last September. My piece is pictured above. It is so very interesting what eight people come up with when they paint an identical view.

The exhibition is located at Suntree Cafe,a fantastic little place, owned and operated by Chef Bill and Donna. They are two transplanted Bostoners who serve up the best seafood in the area. If you are in this area, stop in, have lunch, view the show, enjoy! 718 South Patrick Dr., Satellite Beach, FL

includes shipping in cont. US

Option 1 $195.00Option 2 $195.00Option 3 $195.00

THE BOYS

This was quite a challenge as I was asked to paint this double portrait with nothing but a 2x2 inch 20 plus year old snapshot to work from. My first thought was "no way" but, I gave it a try and it worked. You will have to take my word for it, but, it is a pretty good likeness of these two boys, who are both college graduates now. I surprised myself! 5x7 oil on canvas, NFS

TAGGED

No painting on this post. I have just been tagged by Theresa Rankin and also by Art with Liz . These are two wonderful artists and I am humbled that they follow by blog. What, you ask, is being "tagged"? This is a really fun way to get to know your blogger friends in art! The rules of this great game are:-
1. Put a link in your posting to the person who tagged you.
2. List 7 unusual things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 other bloggers at the end of your post and comment on their blogs to let them know.
I think I have lived a pretty uneventful life, but, rules are rules,so here goes:
1. I was an only child until I was a senior in high school.
2. My son was born in Okinawa, my husband was in Germany at the time.
3. One of my favorite meals is beef with home-made noodles over mashed potatoes. (an old Amish meal)
4. I married a man I knew for 10 weeks and we are still together 45 years later.
5. My youngest grandchild was born 10 weeks early!
6. I am addicted to the blogger art world.
7. My daughter and I toured Paris and Rome together last spring.

And here are the seven artists I hope you will check out.
1. Diane Hoeptner
2. Milind Mulick

3.Kathy Weber
4.Susan Greaves
5.Robin Mitchell
6.Carmen Beecher
7. Barbara Newton
Somewhere I messed up. Another artist that I love and want you to check out is Paula Villanova. I guess it is okay for me to list 8 artists as I was tagged twice!

CARMEN MIRANDA, REVISITED

Does anyone out there (besides me) remember Carmen Miranda? For those of you too young, she was a South American (I think) dancer who always had a huge headpiece of fruit. Pineapples, bananas, oranges, etc. towering over her head as she did a sort of koochy, koochy type dance in a very koochy, koochy type costume. Sort of a Las Vegas showgirl with a Latin twist. Get the picture?

Anyway, this is a 9x12 on masonite.

includes S&H in cont. US

Option 1 $159.00 Option 2 $159.00 Option 3 $159.00

SHADOWS

This is the weekly post from Karin Jurick's blog "Different strokes from different folks". She is such a killer artist, so creative. I am impressed that she could think up such a great name for her project. Thanks Karin, for creating this project and taking the time and energy to impliment it. It is so interesting to see 50-60 artists take on the same photo each week.

includes S&H in cont. US

Option 1 $75.00 Option 2 $75.00 Option 3 $75.00

THE CATCH-SOLD

My oldest grandson, Kevin, has played in little league for several years. I did three paintings of him showing off his baseball skills. The first was posted several months ago, call "The Stink Eye". This is an 8x10 oil on canvas.

THE ROOT OF IT ALL

Today is election day, so I decided to post this painting from the Karin Jurick challenge on Different Strokes from Different Folks. It is a wonderful sight to see the wheels of our country in action. I get so inspired when I see all the people standing in line to vote, the volunteers working the polls, and of course, the demonstrators on the sides of the streets, waving their candidates signs. I so prefer it to the apathy I have been witnessing. Let's hope the guy who wins is able to unite our country and better our international standing. And I hope his color is ultramarine BLUE.

includes shipping in US

Option 1 $75.00 Option 2 $75.00 Option 3 $75.00

SHOW AND TELL SOLD

Last summer my daughter and her children spent an afternoon with me at Port Canaveral. It is usually interesting with all types of ships, cruise ships, fishiing boats, tugs, even an occassional submarine coming in or going out. Not to mention all the fine resturants where you can enjoy a seafood dinner on the water. This day we happened by just as a charter boat was unloading their trophies for the day. We watched in awe as they continued to hang fish after fish on the racks. Then the big boys stood on the stage and posed for pictures of them holding their best catch of the day.

This is a 24x30 oil on stretched canvas, $1450/includes shipping to continental US.

SOLD

inc. ship. to cont. USA

Option 1 $1,450.00 Option 2 $1,450.00 Option 3 $1,450.00

PLUM BRANDY, after Manet, detail

I mentioned on my post yesterday that my paint group "Pieces of Eight" is exhibiting at the Melbourne Beach Library. We are showing our exhibition of impressionistic master's which we refer to as "Friends and Faux". We had a great time reading about each artist and trying to duplicate their paintings. Most of them had very dysfunctional lives. It made me wonder if I am as weird and as out of step with society as most of them were. I think not, as I did manage to raise two wonderful children and commit to one relationship for over 45 years, which they seemed unable to do. Of course, their personalities are also what made them so committed to art that they could not function in society, and also made them the fantastic artists that we love today. I guess that means chances are good that I will not be as successful as an artist, but, I can live with that.
So, I decided to post one of my paintings from the exhibit. This is my version of a detail of the Manet painting "Plum Brandy". It is 10x10 on stretched canvas, $195./including S&H to continental US. If you are interested in viewing more of our master replicas, go to the sidebar on the right and click on "Pieces of Eight".

includes shipping to US

Option 1 $195.00 Option 2 $195.00 Option 3 $195.00

CAROLINA WATERCOLOR SKY - SOLD

This is the last study I did while in the mountains. I just had to give it a try. This is a 4x12, oil on canvas. The canvas sides are painted, so it is ready to hang. $99/including S&H in the continental US.

If you are in the Melbourne, Florida area, my paint group, Pieces of Eight, is showing a new exhibition at the Melbourne Beach Library. We are showing our versions of famous paintings from the Impressionists Masters including Gauguin, Monet, Manet, Degas, VanGogh, and more. Stop by and check it out. If you are not in the area, click on "Pieces of Eight" on the right sideboard and check out the website which displays many of the paintings.

includes shipping in US

Option 1 $99.00 Option 2 $99.00 Option 3 $99.00

BLAZING MOUNTAINS, SOLD

This is the third of four studies I did last week while in North Carolina. The mountains really were blazing, and the weather was glorious. This week they are having freezing temperatures, so I am happy to be back in Florida. The river you see is the Tuskaseegee, close to Bryson City. I hope I spelled that correctly.

This is a 5x7 oil on canvas panel, $75.00/including shipping in USA.

includes shipping in US

Option 1 $75.00Option 2 $75.00Option 3 $75.00

CARLA'S VIEW - SOLD

This is another painting from my trip to North Carolina. I love the mountains, they are so peaceful and beautiful and such a nice counterpoint to the beach. This is a view from the deck of my friends lovely home. Both the earlier post and the next one are also views from their home.

MOUNTAIN SUNRISE - SOLD

We just returned from Bryson City, North Carolina. We spent almost 2 weeks there, admiring the leaves, loving a break from the heat and humidity and closing our house for the winter. While there, I managed to get a little painting done. This is a view of the Smoky's as the sun is breaking over the mountain. This is a 5x7 on panel. The $75. cost includes shipping to the US.

If you are going to be in the area, stop in at "The Artist House Too" and say hello to Peggy Duncan. She is a wonderful artist and has recently opened a gallery on Everett Street in Bryson City, chock full of wonderful hand made goodies. Everything from paintings to hand made furniture. Visit Peggy's website at www.theartistshousegallery.com.

includes shipment in US

Option 1 $75.00 Option 2 $75.00 Option 3 $75.00

CONCHY JOE'S - SOLD

This is the second in my two piece commission of "restaurants by the water". This is Conchy Joe's, another favorite hang out in our area. Unfortunately, during the real estate boom, a few years back, Conchy Joe's closed and the site was slated for a condo project. This same thing happend to several waterfront establishments in the area. Of course, before they could be build, the market went south and now they all sit unused. More victims of our economy! This is an 18x24 oil. It was used as the poster art for "Artworks" art festival in 2005.

REGATTA - SOLD

One more nautical painting. This was a regatta we watched from our boat one weekend.The little Sailfish (?) were swirling all around us racing from one point to another. I painted this in oils and had lots of fun with texture and thick paint in the water. This is my one and only knife painting. 12x48

A special hello and hug for artist Sharon Wright from the United Kingdom. The best thing about blogs is the ability to meet and interact with people around the world who hold the same interests that I do. It's so nice to have these cyberspace friends.

MELBOURNE HARBOR - SOLD

Can you tell I have been in a nautical frame of mind lately? This is a 24x30 pastel that I did several years ago. It was the first BIG painting that I sold and I was really thrilled. Actually I would be just as thrilled to repeat the sale today! I have been unable to paint for several weeks, so I am relying on some of my earlier paintings to post. I hope to get back into the swing of things in the next week. I have severe anxiety when I go more than a few days without getting paint smeared on me!

CAPTAIN HIRAM"S - SOLD

This is a local hangout, Capt. Hiram's, in Sebastian, Florida. I had a commission to do a pair of "restaurants on the water" paintings. This is a 18x24 oil.

A GOOD DAY - SOLD

We live close to the intercoastal on the Florida coast, and my husband and I like to think we are sailors. The weekends usually include a few hours on our sailboat which sometimes give me a good view of passing vessels. I try to always have my camera ready! This 20x24 oil is one of my favorites. I painted the canvas and took it to Suntree Cafe, my favorite breakfast hangout, where they hung it on the wall. Within a few weeks the owner of the boat wandered in and bought the painting. Talk about karma!

GEISHA - SOLD

When I first started painting, I worked with an incredible instructor for years, Sandra Johnson, a wonderful artist who works primarily in oils and pastels. Sandy started me off in pastels which I learned to love. For pure color, they cannot be beat. This is a 14x18 pastel on Canson paper.