PaintedPlums

GRATEFUL FOR LEMONADE

2011-06-29T11:49:00.005-02:00

"Lemon Quintet"
9X12
Acrylic on Linen Panel
NFS

Sometimes life just throws lemons at you and you have to take the time to make lemonade with them before you can get back to your normal life. Such is the last few months at our house. In March I had surgery and came through that just fine after a few weeks of healing. Then came the first week of May. In the last post I described the heart attack that my husband gratefully survived that week. He was gradually getting back on his feet for the first four weeks when all of a sudden, on a Friday morning, he began suffering stabbing pain in his chest and abdomen. Thinking it was another heart event, we called 911 and got him to the hospital right away. After getting there, the diagnosis was not so clear. The cardio people said it was not a heart problem. The search was on for the cause while he still was suffering terrible pain. First they thought it was a gall bladder attack. Tests proved that to be wrong. Then, on Saturday, after 30 hours of this constant pain, they decided to take a look at his appendix. Sure enough...they decided this was the problem. Preparation was being made to get him into surgery when the appendix ruptured and then the pain, which was bad, became excruciating. This begat a race to the surgery where they first tried the laproscopic procedure and discovered they could not excise the problem that way. So, the surgeon went in with the full cut from his navel to his groin and thereby, did the deed. All well and good, but the repercussions from this made for a miserable week in the hospital and the following week at home was no picnic, either. Finally, here we are with nearly a month gone and he is finally able to drive and start gradually back to work. He lost 15 lbs. and is now back to eating more normally to try to gain some weight back. You can imagine that having a heart attack and an appendicitis attack all within 5 weeks of each other is a bit much for a good man to take.

In the midst of this, my son and his family, who can rarely visit us because he is career Air Force, descended for their pre-planned visit of 10 days, while in transit from Alabama to Washington DC. I hardly count this as a lemon, frankly, but they have four children ages: 6,4,2, and 2 months. They were some help with things around the house, so I am grateful they came and loved seeing them. There is never a bad time to have the opportunity to be with them...no matter how bad things are. This meant, though, that I was managing activities, meals, and beds, besides trying to have some quality time with the children...all the while trying to see to it that my husband was healing and getting enough rest and care from the appendicitis debacle. Throw in a couple of dogs, some furniture moving, non-stop washing of clothes and bedding, reading of stories, a couple of watercolor painting classes with the 6 yr. old, yard work and play, many trips to the grocery, a lot of cooking and dishes, and more. Should I use the word "circus?" It really was wonderful to see them, in spite of the constant activity. They have gone on their way to DC now and the house is quiet once again.

Needless to say, my paints, brushes, and easels have been sitting there neglected with no artist working in my studio. Hardly a thought of a painting has been able to penetrate my cluttered mind this past two months. All I could think of was getting the everyday necessities taken care of with some sort of sense of organization. Chaos is not my choice of status, so keeping calm and collected to some degree was the best I could do.

Here we are...survived so far. Now I'm gathering my thoughts on how to get back to painting. When you haven't picked up a paint brush in over two months, it feels a bit strange. It may take some warming up and fits and starts to get back in a groove. We'll see what happens...

Heart Attack Season

2011-05-04T13:45:00.006-02:00

Cindy Baron with Marsh Landscape - painted with her artist friend Jerry Brown, standing at the right, at the Walls Gallery in Wilmington, NC.

Hi Readers and Friends,
Just a quick note to explain my absence and lack of posting recently. My dear husband woke me up at 4:00 am Sunday morning and calmly suggested I take him to the hospital. First, he is not a complainer, so I knew something was seriously wrong. Inquiring, I found him clammy and he reported pressure and pain in his chest. The classic symptom of the pain starting down his left arm was also present.

We quickly sped off to the ER and were greeted by ready personnel in abundance who immediately did an EKG. After that, the cardiologist appeared and took a look at the report. The next fast step was to the cath lab where they unclogged a major artery that was completely occluded. Long story short, my husband felt immediate relief, but the Dr. informed him that two more arteries are 90% occluded also. Today he is having another catheter procedure to work on those.

My sweetie is a type A personality, but won't admit it. In fact, I think he may give me a heart attack with his quick approaches to situations and his energy level that never seems to slow. I like to take my time and think things over. He shoots from the hip and gets lots more done. He sleeps five to six hours a night. I need eight or more. Anyway, we are definitely in the assessment phase at the moment. The prognosis is good and we hope he'll be back up and running in a few weeks, though hopefully just a little more slowly. Turns out he has a genetic predisposition to this clogged artery, heart problem. His grandfather died of a heart attack and his uncle has had by-pass surgery. Were it not for the terrific advances in heart medical care, my husband would not be here. I have to say his care has been wonderful and the doctor who took this on is stellar!

Just a few days prior to this incident we drove to Wilmington, NC to visit with some friends. The husband there, who is older than we are, has just gone through heart surgery recently and had a pace maker put in place just ten days before we arrived. Happy to report he is doing pretty well, thankfully. But...his wife, my friend, had procured tickets to an artist demo at the Walls Gallery while we were there. This turned out to be a great lot of fun for me!

The art demo was done by two artists, Cindy Baron and Jerry Brown..both of whom are plein air landscape artists. The painting above is their demo painting which they accomplished in just an hour and forty-five minutes. Amazing. They are good friends to each other and actually painted this landscape together on the same canvas while answering questions from the audience. They were very entertaining in their approach to the piece. The most amazing thing to me was that they only brought pencil sketches with them and neither of them had any color reference to the scene as they painted. I honestly don't think I could ever do that in a million years. It was well worth the time to watch them both and I have to say, their paintings displayed at the gallery were very very good! And I thank my friend for arranging to see that demo.

So I came back inspired, but covered up with what has been chaos around here lately. The exterior of the house is finally painted. Spring is requiring yard and garden work. Moths attacked my pantry which needed painting, also, so just before the heart attack crisis I had started that project. So now I've spent several days in between visits to the hospital taking everything out of there, cleaning and moth proofing the whole thing, painting the interior of that. Not quite through, but getting there. I'm headed back up to the hospital in a little while for this next procedure of unclogging arteries.

So now you know some of what has been going on around here. I hope my studio time will be restored sometime soon. Crazy heart attack days.....!! Stay tuned!

MODERN VS CLASSICAL ART - Serrano or Sargent?

2011-04-20T12:34:00.008-02:00

Taking a couple of minutes here because of the recent news story of Serrano's "Piss Christ" piece being attacked, slashed, possibly destroyed last week. I'm hardly crying over this event, but I do find the discussion interesting. I came across a great article on the subject at American Thinker

Reading the comments section of the article I found a few gems. One of them is as follows: "Let's see these "brave artists" put an image of Mohammed in a jar of urine and see what happens. Christ taught to turn the other cheek and in the broad sense, that's what Christians have done with the Serranos of the world. But Christ also tore up the merchant's stands in the temple (around the time we're celebrating right now in fact) in a rage when he saw what they were doing to the great temple, the house of God/G-d. The Catholics in France took that as an example when this vulgar joke Serrano calls "art" was finally destroyed. I don't condone destroying private property but enough's enough. Come on Mr Seranno..make a really brave statement...put Mohammed in a jar of urine."

Let me say, right here, that I agree that Seranno's "Piss Christ" is not art. It is a religious and political statement denigrating Christianity..or at least Christians. I think he has the right to say what he thinks, but I don't believe it is what I would call art. Even if you do call it "art," it is so offensive that using Christians' tax dollars to pay for its display and tour...is a slap in the face of honest brokerage of art.

Another I especially like is here: "I don't believe art is defined by beauty per se. I think art is craft performed so well that it evokes emotion by its presentation regardless of the subject being presented. That might be beauty presented so perfectly that it gives you pleasure. It could be ugliness presented so starkly that it makes you wretch. It could be treachery presented so forcefully that it makes you angry. It could be tragedy presented so mournfully that it makes you cry. But the art is in the presentation not the subject. It is the quality of the craft not the nature of the subject that makes it art. That is where the slip occurs. The Piss Christ and other modern abominations and obscenity evoke emotion by audacity and insult not by craft."

Is art craft? I think you could argue it is, however not in the mundane usual definition of the word craft. It is craft taken to a higher level. I very much like what the gentleman above says on that subject.

And a thoughtful view here: "People don't fight over chocolate versus vanilla ice cream precisely because they can choose either or neither in a free society. Suppose a financial crisis allows Congress to slip into the resulting recovery package a rule that henceforth only one flavor of ice cream will be sold and determined by Congress. Imagine the lobby dollars spent to sway the decision. Imagine the fights that would break out between advocates for one flavor against those supporting another. In a collectivist society everything is political even the flavor of ice cream produced. We recently brought medical services into this morass. Ice cream won't be far behind. Now, I think someone should be free to produce offensive art and try to make a living selling it in a free society. Once we decide to collectively fund it, the choice of what to fund becomes political and the choices made are those with current political power instead of free individuals."
The author added this:
"There is no maxim, in my opinion, which is more liable to be misapplied, and which, therefore, more needs elucidation, than the current one, that the interest of the majority is the political standard of right and wrong." -- James Madison

I've had house painters at my house for a week (four experimental colors before the exact color was achieved) and too many distractions to describe. House maintenance projects are piling up. The powder room is in progress with wallpaper and paint that yours truly is supposed to apply. It's spring so the garden needs me. The dog is covered in pollen each time he visits the yard and brings it all back into the house. I also have some family obligations, a trip to the coast coming up, and a new grandchild to visit in May. Hence, my little gnome painting is sitting still without paint at the moment. But I will get to it as soon as I can.

Meanwhile, the discussion above is something with which artists sometimes grapple. Is it art? Is it a political statement? Is it a fad? Is it a classical theme? Is what we do really art? Are we half-heartedly perfecting a mediocre attempt at a craft? Or are we reaching for that higher level where craft meets art? Is public money the attainment of that higher level? Or is public money corrupting the process of artists? I think the latter. The artist who strives to get grants based on politically correct art is corrupting himself or herself for the sake of what? Collectivism? Using some other person's labor and money to support their own personal decision to become an artist? Strange and opposite bedfellows if you ask me. Is modern art the antithesis of classical art? What does modern art say about our culture? Is there a benchmark for distinction regarding art? Can you honestly say that current art critics and the NEA have promoted excellence in artistic achievement over the last several decades? I think the standards need raising and the NEA needs to be abolished. Just my opinion.

Reading Gnome WIP

2011-04-16T13:53:00.005-02:00

"The Reading Gnome" WIP Pre-lim Sketch
10X8
Oil on linen panel

Here is the beginning sketch of "The Reading Gnome." I know it looks really dirty in this picture...in real life it is not. This picture is much darker than the actual sketch..I darkened it in photoshop so it would show up better here. The sketch itself is 50% lighter at least. I try to get enough of a visual with the sketch, but not so much graphite pencil that the graphite will interfere with the paint. In fact, I will probably erase some of it as I dive in with paint and brushes.

About the subject: I can't help it. Gnomes make me laugh. I like the Roaming Gnome commercials. I have a friend who has two, rather large, garden gnomes. Recently I watched a great French movie called Amelie which had a gnome in the plot. (It's a great movie by the way. It came out maybe four or five years ago. I ordered it from Netflix. I liked it so much that I think I may buy it so I can watch it over again a few times.) So one day I came across this photograph of a reading gnome. It's someone else's photograph and I don't know whose it is. Otherwise I would give credit to the photographer for this gnome painting I am about to do. There are lots of gnomes out there with different themes, gardening gnomes, policeman gnomes, sunbathing gnomes, beach themed gnomes, and the like. This one is an older, possibly antique gnome figure. I just love the idea of a reading gnome...maybe because I love reading and do so much of it. Frankly, I just thought he was really cute.

As I think about this painting, I've been thinking of my grandchildren. (duh...I think about them often anyway.) They are happily being home-schooled by a brilliant mother and father. So a "reading gnome." when I think of it, seems like a mascot for their school room...a study buddy, so to speak. Any child's room or over their desk would be a good place to place this fellow. I just hope he turns out the way I want him. We'll see..

Stay tuned!

Hobson

2011-04-01T13:04:00.004-02:00

"Hobson"
12X9
Oil on Linen Panel
Commissioned

Click on image to enlarge the view.

So Hobson is finished and I am hoping my friend and collector, Bonnie, will like this rendition of him. I may have explained before that Hobson is no longer with us, so this painting was done from older photos taken of him. The photos cut off one of his paws, so I had to be really creative and pretend I knew what his left paw looked like. He is so cute...and I'm glad to have preserved him for my "Bonnie" friend!

Hobson WIP II

2011-03-28T14:22:00.003-02:00

"Hobson" WIP
12X9
Oil on Linen Panel
Commission

Click on image to enlarge the view.

Since I am still recovering from surgery, I have been slow at this one. He is too dark and too brown at the moment. Lots of light and more reddish tones to add. It is always just difficult when working from photographs where you have to add and subtract elements and fictionalize too much. But I'm not giving up....will post again on this one..
Thanks for stopping by!

Hobson WIP I

2011-03-21T14:15:00.003-02:00

"Hobson" WIP
12X9
Oil on Linen Panel
Commission

I've been down for a bit, had surgery last week and was not doing great before that. Now I am on the mend and slowly (emphasize the word "slowly") getting back on my feet. I am anxious to get going again, but having to pace myself. I'm not allowed to drive for 2 weeks and not allowed to lift much more than my tea cup..and of course a paint brush. Oh, the frustration.

Hobson has been waiting in queue while I finished up entries for the show at the end of February. He is a sweet fellow who is no longer with us, but his owner is wanting an oil painting to have him with her, at least on the wall, forever. I think he is darling. He was also a rescue and was a good companion all the way 'round. You can tell by his face what a good fellow he was.

So I'm back to the easel...just going ever like a snail. Will post as I go along.
Thanks for stopping by...

Red and White Pansies - Garden Painting

2011-02-17T19:43:00.004-02:00

"Red and White Pansies
8X10
Oil on Linen Panel
Available

Click on image to enlarge the view.

One of my favorite flowers in our garden is Pansies. Mostly because they don't fail me...except for the squirrels trying to dig them up all of the time. There is a garden supply company close to us who sells an antique variety that I particularly love, so that is what these are. Now that we are having a warm spell, the pansies are starting to perk up. If we are lucky we will have them through April before they take a nose dive. I usually plant them in October, but they don't look happy until spring.

Anyway, I took my camera out to the garden, which actually is in pitiful shape right now. But there they are, doing their best to come along and make us happy!

Hope you like them.

Off to the Pond

2011-02-08T01:03:00.004-02:00

"Off to the Pond"
12X16
Oil on Canvas
On Hold

Click on image to enlarge the view.

Finished late this afternoon. I'm holding this one back to consider it for a show entry. The only trick with that is all that white paint may not dry in time, but I'm hoping it will. Thick layers of white paint always seem slow to dry...at least for me. I did add some galkyd in hopes to quicken the process. The show entries are due in under two weeks now.

On to the next one...stay tuned!

Off to the Pond -WIP

2011-02-04T17:05:00.001-02:00

"To the Pond"
Oil on Canvas
©Cheryl A. Pass

Still painting options for the coming show. I've worked on this for several hour each day for the last 4 days. The trick here is going to be the details on the ducks, their feathers, their personalities. The upper background is finished for the most part. When my husband and I went to Blowing Rock a couple of years ago, I took several photos of ducks around the lake in town. This is a composite of photos from the inspiration of that trip. The plucky walk and the determined looks on their faces always make me smile.

Still working....will post when it is finished.

Landing In Honeysuckle - Bluebird Painting

2011-01-29T23:53:00.006-02:00

"Landing In Honeysuckle"
8X10
Oil on Linen Panel
©Cheryl A. Pass

SOLD
Click on image to enlarge the view.

One of the sweet surprises of living in the south is the wildflower, Honeysuckle. There's a fat bunch of it just down the street from my house and when I walk in the summertime the yummy smell of it wafts over to me as I walk by. It can get out of hand if it grows in your yard, but for obvious reasons, the bluebirds love it.

This painting turned out somehow different than I expected it to....or maybe that I chose a color scheme that is not my usual choice. The background gave me fits...I had to grey it down twice to make it fade back away from the Honeysuckle and the Bluebird which I wanted to pop. I put a few brush strokes in the background just to give it more of a feeling of movement, as if the leaves are shaking a bit from the recent landing. I had every blue tube of paint out of my paint box, from Manganese to Ultramarine to Cobalt. It is hard to capture the vivid blue of this gorgeous bird. We are lucky to have some of them living in our neighborhood. As it turns out, I think it has sort of a Victorian feel to it.

Once again, another attempt for the Nature Show. Not sure if I will put this one in. I'm going to keep painting from now until then to try to come up with what I would think is my best work.

Carolina Wren II - Sweet Tweet

2011-01-23T19:58:00.005-02:00

"Carolina Wren II
8X10
Oil on Linen Panel
©Cheryl A. Pass
SOLD

Click on image to enlarge the view.

The local, annual, Nature Show is coming up in one month at the Schiele Museum of Natural History. It's never hard to come up with subject matter for this show, especially if you love the natural world around us as I do. I painted a Carolina Wren last year and loved painting it. Happily, it was bought immediately. I had taken lots of pictures of these little darlings since they hop about out back feeders and bushes all year round. I also went looking for other reference photos to help me figure out a background for this one.

I'm having to back-track on the paragraph below....Donna emailed me immediately to say she wanted this painting, so I am just going to have to come up with something else for the Schiele Show and put this one aside for her. She's a very sweet collector of my work, and had asked me for a Carolina Wren last year...so it is her's! Now I'll have to speed up and get one done for the show!

There is a lady who wished me to do one for her.....so Donna, if you are reading this, I have not forgotten you. I need something to put in this show for now, but if it doesn't sell from there, you will have first dibs on it. If it does sell, I promise I will do another one just for you!

Bosley in the Hallway

2011-01-14T02:33:00.005-02:00

"Bosley in the Hallway"
6X6
Oil on Gessoed Board
Available

Click on image to enlarge the view.

Here is the little rascal who distracts me with those eyes. He also is just like the "Doggie in the Window" because he is the "one with the waggily tail." This is actually a warm up for another dog portrait I am just beginning to work on. I hadn't painted for a couple of weeks, so I felt I needed to feel the paint again before I work on a commission. Maybe I should explain the odd angle. I was once again trying to catch Bosley for a photo, when he decided to be camera shy. He headed into the hallway and I called him back. He reluctantly turned around, but his desire was still to go the other way. I barely caught the photo and it is really a blurr. So this is the best I could do with it. Little rascal.
Thanks for stopping by....

Cows By The Lake - Framed Finally

2010-12-22T14:35:00.001-02:00

                                                              "Cows By The Lake"
                                                                         24X36
                                                                   Oil on Canvas

Detail from "Cows By The Lake"

You may click on the images to enlarge the view.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of my Painted Plums friends!

This past year was a juggling match between various competing passions in my life. Because of that I have painted fewer paintings this year, but hope next year will afford me more time to devote to my paintings. I thank you all for your interest in my work! You are my audience and I appreciate you more than you know!

Bringing the year to a happy ending, I finally have this one framed and on the wall.

From having to re-stretch the canvas, to framing snafus, maybe the lesson for this one was "never give up." The painting part was fun, getting it framed was an exercise in "try, try, again. It took nearly nine months from finish to frame, involving re-ordering a frame from some distant foreign location twice. At the moment it is hanging on the wall next to our table in our kitchen. Inspiring Beef Wellington? or Prime Rib?? These bovines are too pretty to eat, frankly. Better for milk cream and butter, I think. This was the largest painting I've done to date. I enjoyed painting it very much. The canvas was very fine and was a delightful surface on which to paint. Now I am having a hard time finding the same type of canvas. Leave it to me to find something rare, fall in love with it, and then have to search forever to find it again. Those of you who know me will have a good laugh over that.

Here comes 2011 faster than a freight train.....Happy New Year everyone!!

Commercial Art - You Never Know

2010-12-14T16:24:00.008-02:00

"Goin's Ad for ARK SAFE"
18X24
Acrylic on Canvas Panel

©Cheryl A. Pass

Click on image to enlarge the view.
Note: The actual painting is quite a lot brighter and somewhat larger in real life. I cropped it here just a bit.

In earlier years in my art career I was a commercial artist. So occasionally someone approaches me to paint something that is totally commercial and totally fictional and totally off the wall. Since I devote most of my painting time to contemporary realism, dog portraits, still lives, and landscapes, etc., I'm a bit out of practice in the commercial art field. Given the economic climate our socialist government has created today, a lot of galleries have gone out of business and fine art in some sectors has taken a pretty bad hit.

So when a businessman approached me recently to do a commercial piece, I was all too happy to give it a shot. I know the guy. He is the roofer who contracted to replace our roof last year. He and his crew did a great job and we were glad to have them. His business is doing well....and that's a great thing! But an artist he is not, so he brought me an idea and ask me to run with it. Yikes! The problems of the piece were many.

As a side business, he has set up an insurance consulting business for inspecting roofs for insurance companies. Being a devout Christian, he decided to use the Ark as his symbol. His explanation is that the Ark is awash in the stormy sea and the roofer is there to save the day. Hmmmmm....o.k so far. How to depict that, I was asking my creative brain. The only reference he gave me to go on was a comic book line drawing of an Ark and that is exactly what he wanted for his Ark. O.K. says I, the ever intrepid artist thinking I can do anything. LOL.

So the research began. I went looking for pictures of stormy skies, rainy scenes, oceans roiling in stormy weather, and for a roofer who would be working on a roof in a good position to show up in this scene. I immediately determined that if I did the roofer to scale, he would not show up at all. Mr. Goin's, the roofer, also told me he wanted this art to accommodate billboard size and letterhead size. Whoa...that means it has to be blown up huge and shrunk down to very small proportions. That means details could be good, but also could be totally lost on the small version. He's looking for manly colors and strength in this painting to convey confidence and ability to "save the day for his clients." But he only gave me a cartoon line drawing of an Ark? (Oh, my...my brain did fry.) I hope the message is clear from the working roofer up there in the storm. Another requirement is to accomodate type to either be applied to the art or around the art. Sheesh...

Finally, today I have finished painting this completely fictional version of a roofer working on top of Noah's Ark in the worst of the storm. Whew. It took me a few weeks, off and on, to pull this off. He is coming this afternoon and I hope to heaven he likes it because I have stretched my brain and tried to put into this exactly his directions as to what he wanted.

I am picturing some family driving down the road and upon seeing this billboard, a child from the back seat will yell out...."Look, Mommy and Daddy, there is a man on top of the Ark!"

So, when faced with advertising and commercial art pieces, you never know what you are going to get. And I want to say that doing this was a small way of celebrating something that is left of our American economy! I was happy to have the job, and I am happy Mr. Goin's is doing well and ask me to do it for him.

Now you have the story of my side step into the commercial art kingdom for this week. Next up comes some more dog portraits that have been commissioned. I hope I can switch gears through and after the holidays. It will be fun to tackle those!

Oscar, Bella, and Odie Finished!!

2010-11-17T22:59:00.021-02:00

Oscar, Bella, Odie
18X24
Oil on Canvas Panel
Commissioned
Click on image to enlarge the view.

...Ta Da!! I am finished with these babies!! I don't know if I remembered to mention that these are rescued dogs. Oscar, in the middle, is no longer with us. Bella and Odie, left and right, are the current lucky dogs belonging to a darling family in Florida. The next challenge here, besides hoping it dries in time to varnish it, is the shipping. I have a Fed Ex account, but have never used it...and since Fed Ex brought me the frame in good time and great shape, I think Fed Ex is the shipper of choice on this. Meanwhile, it will be sitting here drying until the last minute before Christmas. Fingers crossed!

It has been a fun painting to do. I was stretched to do this format with the solid background...not something I've done before. There was an inspiration picture of a painting with this type of format and background, so that was helpful.

Onward to the next challenge!

Oscar, Bella, and Odie WIP

2010-11-16T19:10:00.000-02:00

Oscar, Bella, and Odie
18X24
Oil on Canvas Panel

After I posted this morning I spent the rest of the morning and two hours this afternoon working to get this more finished. I leaned the frame up there just so I could get an idea of how that will look in the end. Frames make such a huge difference. The khaki background was not as hard to mix as I thought it would be.

I have to say...I've been painstakingly slow with this painting. I've not painted three dogs in one painting before, plus the format is different from anything I've done before. I've been very tentative on the whole thing. I still will tweak the edges of the dogs and add some more red to the one on the right. But..I am glad to be nearing the finish. I think it is turning out just as ordered, which is a relief.

An aside to this whole thing is that the person who commissioned this piece is a dear friend from my childhood who grew up with me all through school. We had not been in touch for years and years, so we are catching up on a whole lifetime of experiences. She became a culinary arts teacher for her career, another creative creature from our beautiful home town. She is a very sweet person and commissioned this to give to her daughter for Christmas. The pressure was on to make this over-the-top wonderful for my friend and her family. I wish I could see the daughter's face when she opens this up on Christmas morning!

I'll post this one more time when it is dry enough to put into the frame and I have finished tweaking this and that..plus signing it. Now I am thinking of what the next painting will be...stay tuned!!

Oscar, Bella, and Odie WIP

2010-11-16T13:24:00.000-02:00

Close-up of Odie

I'm still working on this painting of the three dogs. Odie is not quite finished, but is coming along. I plan to finish him up today and then comes the ultimate challenge of adding the background color. We'll see how that goes....soon. I'll be back. :-)

Oscar, Bella, and Odie WIP

2010-11-08T23:28:00.001-02:00

"Oscar, Bella, and Odie
18X24
Oil on Canvas Panel
Commission

Blogger is acting very weird tonight so I have no idea if this will actually post. First the photo upload would not work. And now I'm getting a message about an HTML tag being broken...which makes no sense. I think Blogger has bugs, but I'll try this anyway.

I have worked on Bella, the black beauty here, for the past couple of days. Black is always tricky..at least I think so. Looking for the blue greys and the brown greys and the infinite value differences on black is just one of those things....you don't know until you've tried it. In color is not the same thing as with charcoal or pencil where you just deal with the values. In color. it is a matter of noticing the way light plays onto the fur and brings in those shades of lavender or blue-ish grey...and then there is a tad of brown tones on the edges of her ears. Yes, black dogs are challenging...but she is worth it in the end. I like her. She looks so earnest, I think..like she is trying really hard to stay still for her master's camera.
Now onto the cute, shy Odie on the right. We'll see if he comes across as well. Stay tuned...

Oscar, Bella, and Odie WIP

2010-11-04T01:07:00.001-02:00

"Oscar, Bella, and Odie"

18X24

Oil on Canvas Panel

Commission

I hope you will forgive the glaring photo. It is 11:00 pm and I just decided to take a progress photo to send off to the person who is commissioning this painting. This is the first commission for Christmas this year. I have not done three dogs in one painting before this...and we decided on just the head shots. Oscar, the one in the middle who is mostly painted, is gone now, sadly. Bella is the next addition on the left. And then Odie came along on the right. They are all rescue dogs much loved by the owners. It may take me a while on this one...and I am hoping the background, when I get to it, will be subtle and the dogs will still pop.

Long way to go...just thought I'd let you know I am still at the easel. Stay tuned...

Fall Art Show Time

2010-10-24T12:27:00.000-02:00

"Mallards Cruising"

12X16

Oil on linen panel

Click on image to enlarge the view

I was informed this week that all three of my entries were accepted into our local guild show by the juror. The painting above is one of them. Our local guild has two major shows each year and one smaller show. The fall show, "A Visual Harvest," is always held at Gaston College in a large gallery area that is quite nice for viewing the pieces. The show is simultaneous to the student art show held in a different building. Since I don't do a lot of shows, these local shows make me motivated, excited, and nervous all at once. We have no galleries in town for selling opportunities, though we have quite a few really good artists who live and work in our area. Given the economic climate today, it is great to have a local opportunity to display art and meet art lovers who will come to the show.

Here is the information on the show for all who read this blog and would like to come:

"A Visual Harvest" Juried Exhibition

Opening Reception: October 28, 2010 6-9 pm

Gaston College, Jeanne Rauch Gallery

201 Highway 321 South

Dallas, North Carolina 28034

The show will run from Oct. 28 through Dec. 15

Time Out

2010-09-28T13:46:00.002-02:00

"Apples and Pewter"

14X11

Oil on linen panel

Available

Click on image to enlarge the view.

I have not posted since early August for many reasons. Sometimes in one's life an avalanche of necessary duties comes crashing in. There are two art shows coming up in the next couple of weeks and at this point I am just hoping I can come up with some paintings for those. This past summer our lives have been turned upside down with various house repairs and the need to address the current political circus of impending communism. Both of these separate categories of life have overwhelmed me.

On the house repairs, as you probably know it isn't easy finding the right contractors to do the work both properly and within a budget. The search took long hard hours. Our repairs involve exterior siding, rotted molding, adding chimney caps, reinforcing structure, etc. Our garage interior was a disaster with drywall tape giving way and drywall coming down from the ceiling. And our garage was full...stacked to the ceiling with STUFF. All of this had to be sorted out and placed into a pod in our driveway to make room for the contractors to fix the ceiling and walls. The double garage door frame was starting to rot and was sagging in the middle. Then there is the old vinyl floor in the half bath downstairs and wallpaper that needs replacing. Then there was the shaky banister that had to be fixed. The downstairs millwork is all in need of painting....a job I have to tackle myself. My back screen door is also my job, needing wood putty, sanding and painting. The benches on the front porch need sanding and painting....my job again and I haven't even started that one. Etc. Etc. I did finally find some great guys to do the major exterior jobs and the drywall and tile work. But we are only part way through all of this. I am overwhelmed...to say the least. I have developed a lower back problem that keeps me from doing any of this without pain. That has slowed me down considerably. But all of these things must be done and have been neglected for the last several years while I have been in my studio painting.

On the political front, I am extremely concerned with the turn toward communism that our government at all levels has taken. This is beyond unacceptable. America is in great peril and being attacked from without and from within. For this reason I have been doing a lot of research and sharing information on my other blog, My Tea Party Chronicle I hope all of those who have been following my work realize that my art and our lives are depending on the freedoms found in the U.S. Constitution. Politicians for the last few decades have gradually, incrementally, and insidiously been undermining our freedoms and turning American into a socialist state. We cannot let this continue. It's time to go for the reset button and rid our government of all socialists and communists. So, besides working on the house repairs, I've been also doing all I can to help the cause of re-taking America from the clutches of these very evil un-American power elitists. I hope you are doing your part by getting involved in local elections and supporting those national candidates who are putting their lives on the line to save the country. That is what I have been doing.

So, while my mind and heart are still in the paints and canvases, my physical being has been taken away from my easel for a while. Not sure at this point how fast I can get back to it...but I hope you will hang in there with me. I plan on getting back to painting more regularly as soon as the way clears for me to do so.

Carolina Wren

2010-08-07T17:03:00.002-02:00

"Carolina Wren"
8X8
Oil on Canvas Panel
SOLD
Click on image for a larger view.

Hi all...finally back to painting, gratefully.
My dear husband loves to feed our backyard birds. Which, in turn, brings them in droves, which gives me lots of inspiration. In fact, just this morning there was a family of Carolina Wrens just outside my studio door, twittering and flitting about in the boxwoods and making me happy. Their little tails are so perky and I love the racing stripe across their heads. All of that made me cheerful as I painted this little one. Hope you like him...or her, as the case may be.

Life and Lemons - Just add Sugar

2010-08-02T15:49:00.001-02:00

"Lemon Quintet"

9X12

Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Private Collection

Crazy life. I have had no time for painting of late, so this is a reprise of one I liked from some time ago. The postcards arrived and they look really terrific...not so blue like my picture in the previous post. Just right actually. Yea, Vista print.

Since I wrote last, my son, Matt, decided to pay us a quick visit to divest our attic of furnishings that I had saved for future children. Since he has three little ones, and has now come back from two years of Air Force service in South Korea, the time had come to get those things from storage and put them to good use. A toy box, two twin beds, a double bed, a coat rack, a bookshelf, and a tween sized desk. We had fun reminiscing on the early days when he had great use of these things. The toy box was hand built by a friend of ours for Matt. It needs a new coat of paint, but otherwise is in great shape. All of the rest of the things needed dusting and some furniture polish, but also were all in good shape. Hard to believe we have come so far.

Then Saturday evening a knock on our front door produced a waif of a darling teenager who said she was looking for her teacher, but didn't know the address. This darling girl was so sad. Her name was Ivory. She said she had no where to go, that her family didn't want her, that she had spent the night in jail for assault, had abusive parents, that she had Bi-polar problems, depression, and a Medicaid card. It's a long story, but we tried to help her find the teacher, who it turns out was out of town. We then took her for some food and we ended up taking her to the Salvation Army...living up to the word Salvation, they kept her for the night. I left her with my phone number and the next morning she called to say the Salvation Army couldn't keep her and she was being sent to a shelter for teens. But she had no transportation and could I come to get her. I did this and spent the next couple of hours with her and talking to the shelter personnel. Ivory gave them the phone number of her older sister and it was granted that the sister would take responsibility and take her in. There is more to it than this brief description, but I re-learned why I am not in the business of taking care of lost souls as a profession. I cried all the way home after leaving her and was stricken with sadness the rest of the weekend. She seemed to be fairly smart and liked school..probably her haven from home. She has my phone number and I just hope and pray she will be in better hands and survive the life she has been given. 17 yrs. old, a rising senior, and lost. Good Lord, protect this child.

Friday, I was asked to be a contributing columnist for a North Carolina conservative website called PUNDIT HOUSE My articles are not there yet, but should be picked up sometime soon. As some of you know I have another blog on the politics of the day (see the right side of this blog: My Tea Party Chronicle I am writing that blog in hopes to help some others learn the dangers of oppressive government, to give other patriotic Americans the courage to speak up, to share news items of interest, and lastly, to VENT! I am privileged to be asked by Pundit House to contribute to their discourse. I very much admire their website and writers! Take a look and see what I mean.

So there you are. Crazy life. I hope to get back to the easel again soon. Stay tuned!!

Painted Plums Postcard

2010-07-21T18:30:00.006-02:00

Painted Plums Postcard

I love Photoshop. (which helped me place the type on this card) And I think Vista Print is pretty good, too. I had run out of promo postcards and decided I should order some. It took me a while to decide which image I wanted to use and how to do the type on the front of the card over the painting. The last one I did was an apple on a blue plate. The plums seemed obvious since it is the image and name for my blog. Vista Print sends out emails offering deals on various promotional products. I honestly don't know how they come up with such good prices, but this artist is happy about that. The back of the card has my contact information, so mailed or hand delivered, this card has everything someone will need to find me. The cards will arrive in 10 to 14 days...so now I am anxious to see them and start passing them around.

The picture at the top of the blog is more the real colors of the actual painting. That one was done with my camera. The picture for the postcard came from scanning the painting. I did that to get the 300dpi that Vista Print needed to reproduce the art. For some reason the scan came out bluer, even with adjustments in Photoshop. But I think it will work for the postcard. It just goes to show you how difficult it is to reproduce colors. So many variables come into play. Each time I go to reproduce a piece of art in any medium, I find it takes a lot of tweaking and time. Anyway, this is what I sent them. We'll see what comes back to me. Last time they did a terrific job.

Sunflower Nod

2010-07-03T22:48:00.003-02:00

"Sunflower Nod"
9X12
Oil on Canvas
Available

Click on image to enlarge the view

Contact to Purchase

Hat tips to Vincent Van Gogh who made everyone love Sunflower paintings. This is also my daughter's favorite flower and she grows them ever summer. They grow tall and heavy and nod over with the weight of the blossoms. (The goldfinches love them...yellow upon yellow.) She has loved the color yellow since she was little. Her bedroom was painted sunflower yellow, too. So painting sunflowers is always somewhat with her in mind.

Have a happy weekend...

Contemplating Liberty Poster

2010-07-01T13:07:00.005-02:00

"Contemplating Liberty 2010"
11X14
Oil on Linen Panel
Available / price unframed $525.00
©Cheryl A. Pass

Yeah, I know. The original tea party was ages ago. And tea party symbolism is ridiculed by leftists and progressives as so archaic and passe. Those tea party activists of today have been called terrorists, unhinged, delusional, every derogatory epithet the left can call them. But you know what? I've been saying to myself and to my family for about 20 years now that we need a tea party against the more and more oppressive government intrusions into our lives. About two years ago as the election (with no good choices) of 2008 approached I watched things go from bad to worse. I watched the media lie and create walls around the truths about Barrack Obama. I watched my country fall into an abyss of manipulated despair and vote for a cloak called "Hope and Change." That cloak was a ruse and a pathetic ploy to elect an anti-American to the highest office of our land.

Sometimes, as I paint, I listen to radio. Talk radio. Voices to keep me company in my studio and to fill in the blanks that are missing in mainstream news. While I try to keep my mind on painting beautiful scenery or still lives or animals, I listen. My head becomes two tracks. One on the subjects of my art. The other on the subjects of my heart. My country is indelibly imprinted into my heart. The original Constitution is the foundation of living in America and the blessings I have received by the fortune of being born American. This is something I never took for granted and have respected all of my life. Maybe because my father served America in Guam in WWII. Maybe because my son is career Air Force. Maybe because I know in my heart how lucky we have been to have been defended by courageous and patriotic men and women whose lives I revere for the privileges I have received.

So I paint. It is what I do. This one is for all of those who are working so hard to save us from the corruption and degradation of our founding principles. It is a tribute. And symbolically, it is also for God from whom our liberties come and for the Founders who recognized this so that corrupt politicians would not be able to take away those liberties. Unfortunately, tragically, I am seeing this basis for living taken away. First, it was inch by inch over many decades. Since Obama, it is mile after mile at breakneck speed.

And, no, to those liberal / democrat / socialist people I know out there....it isn't "for our own good." (While it isn't my desire to insult you, or anyone for that matter, there comes a point when paths diverge) It isn't "for the good of the world." It isn't "for the sake of the children." It isn't "for saving the earth." It isn't "for the turtles and the whales." It isn't "to save our economy" (not even close) It isn't "to save jobs." (obviously not) It is for the sole purpose of taking our country down and for the corrupt power of a few very evil people who don't believe in individual liberties or even basic property rights. You have chosen a path that never ends well....a path that ends in government control of every breath you take. I'm sorry you've been conned, but America needs you to stop the insanity, wake up, and start fighting back with the rest of us. As much as I love some of you, I respected your freedoms and I am completely and utterly insulted that you would not respect mine or those of each individual American. The privilege to vote was not meant to vote away what you don't own....my liberty. The U.S. Constitution was not meant to be spat upon, bent and twisted into contemporary socialist causes. It was written before Marx and does not hold Marxist tenets. It transcends Marx and every other failed state before and since. It is "Forever" because it derives from God's natural law and lives in the hearts of all who believe in the true America.

There you have it. My Fourth of July poster / painting. As an aside, I took some cyber trips to study Steve Penley's patriotic paintings to inspire this poster. I don't think I came even slightly close to his exuberant expressions, but I appreciate his work. You can see his work here

Change of Scenery

2010-06-17T13:13:00.013-02:00

From my yard to Jamaica...how's that for a change of scenery? An unheard of extravagance for us...going to Jamaica. There is a story here..having to do with my husband's niece and her wedding, plus her mother. My husband's brother, sister-in-law, and their two children have lived in Chicago for many years...and thus have been far away from us with few visits due to the distance. So last year, the niece decided she was getting married and wanted a "destination wedding" with friends and family. Meanwhile, her mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and has been going through many chemo treatments and bravely fighting off this cancer with an indomitable spirit. She is really energetic and amazing, and we are hoping she will win this fight. So...there was no question that we would do all we could to go to this wedding and spend some time with all of their family and friends.

We've never been to the Caribbean. And I have to say it was a resort destination, so we saw only a glimpse of Jamaica outside of the Sandals experience. And what we did see was a rugged island with a poor economy except for the resorts. The area around the airport at Montego Bay looked more like a flourishing city, but the area in between Montego Bay and Negril was pretty rough. The pictures here are of the resort. I was surprised, for some reason, to find the resort looked exactly like the advertisements for Sandals resorts. It is a playground for water sports and young sunbathers. And I am not a beach baby, so I had to be careful to not get too much sun. First thing in the morning was slathering up with spf 90 sunscreen, putting on a bathing suit, and loafing around in the pool until it was so hot outside I had to go find shade. A good bit of the time I was looking for photo shots that I thought I might use for paintings. The resort is manned with industrious and energetic lovely Jamaicans who were gracious and did all they could to make our stay wonderful. I was very impressed with them and have to say, besides the scenery, those people were the best part of the experience. (aside from being with our family, of course.) The resort does a lot of commercialization promoting itself over the week which I found to be annoying. But I realize these resorts are the backbone of the Jamaican economy and they need to do all they can to bring it on every chance they get.

Now for the next adventure. We returned on Saturday evening, unpacked and regrouped on Sunday and Monday, and Tuesday I had surgery. Sooooo, though I can type, I am still on pain meds and recovering and not close to going back to painting yet. It is not life-threatening or too serious, but will take me a few weeks to get back to normal. I am hoping by the end of next week I'll be able to get back to it. From spring, with adjusting to my Dad's death, this trip, the yard and house, changes with my husband's job situation, and now this surgery, I feel like we have been on a roller coaster. Not dull..certainly. For now I am heading back to bed and sleeping the rest of the day....but I wanted to share some of the scenes of Jamaica. The colors were fabulous and I will always be glad we went there.

'Til next time...

Around My Yard

2010-06-03T23:28:00.011-02:00

I'm going to be out of range for a couple of weeks...down the rabbit hole, up in smoke, into the wardrobe, missing in action, behind the looking glass, somewhere else, etc. So I was thinking about what you might like to look at while I don't post for a little while. I thought maybe you would like to see some of the pictures I've taken this spring around my yard and house for painting references. I usually don't show the surroundings very much, but I do live in the woods. My yard is a lot of work and yet I love the trees, the rocks, the flowers...everything but that dastardly red clay that is impossible to dig. It's like digging in brick. We have a compost system and over the years we have built up the flower beds with some better soil to assist the gardening. That has helped tremendously. As you can see, we have had some beautiful flowers this spring. There are more to come over the summer. Some Dahlias, Zinnias, and I am hoping for a few lilies. The Hydrangeas have out done themselves this year.

There is a story behind the cupola which resides on the very pinnacle of my studio. I used to own a company called Wild Hare, the logo for which was a running rabbit. This gave my family and friends the opportunity to give me rabbits for every occasion for several years. When we built the studio with a 4 hip roof, the top needed embellishment. My husband built the cupola and had a local sheet metal company make a copper roof for it. And then my children bought me the gorgeous weather vane with a running rabbit.....the icing on the cake. Ooh la la!! I love both the cupola and the weather vane and each time I look at them...I think about my dear family and I also think I should do a painting of that scene up there.

So there you are...hope you enjoy the scenery!

Picture are as follows:
1. Peonies
2. Irises
3. Begonia basket
4. Rabbit Planter by the studio doorway.
5. Piracantha by the Driveway
6. View from the Second Story - Hydrangeas
7. Cupola with Rabbit Weather Vane

Baby Watermelon

2010-05-30T01:09:00.004-02:00

"Baby Watermelon"
8X10
Oil on Board

I've been more than a bit stuck on another painting, but wanted to put something up to let you know I am still here. (By stuck, I mean I got part way through it and can't seem to land on how I want to finish it. It is sitting there nagging me and I should probably just put it away and move on. I may do that.) I've been more than distracted and busy with too many things to mention. Family things mostly...and house renovations, mostly in the manner of refreshing paint in my dear 30 year old house. Also the garden work, which, if I don't do it, I will have no flowers to enjoy or to make paintings. Preparations for a trip in the near future, too, so I'll fill you in on that later.

At any rate, summer weather has arrived here. Our dog, Bosley (in the previous post) just had a merry chase around the yard after a raccoon. We believe the raccoon lives next door, but wanders over here at night to steal bird seed. He's a pretty big one, too, so I hope Bosley doesn't get too close to him. (or her) We took the flashlight out there and sure enough that raccoon must have been really scared because he (or she) was in the very top of one of our very tall oak trees.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend. God bless our service men and women!!! And remember those who have given so much to keep us safe.

Bosley, the Fleeting Poser

2010-04-28T18:31:00.006-02:00

"Bosley at Four"
Photo

I was thinking I wanted to do another portrait of Bosley. This time I wanted to do one shoulders up and a dignified profile. Ha Ha Ha. Do you think I can get him to pose still enough for that? I get out my camera and sit him down. I tell him to stay. Which he does for about 45 seconds. Then I get him to sit and stay again, but he won't hold his head up and still in the right pose for the shot. Next, after my husband came home I tried to get my husband to help. LOL We end up scooting around, here and there around the kitchen floor, and still can't get Bosley to give me that pose. The picture (a little blurry) above is Bosley after we went through that circus. You can see that sweet, imploring smile, as if to say, "What would you like me to do next, Mom?" (who could not love that face!) The only time this fellow is really still is when he is down for the count. And I've already done a portrait of him asleep, so I didn't want to do that again. I have new found sympathy for all my clients who go through this process to get the right picture for a painting of their dog or cat. It isn't easy!

Anyway...that's what we did today. I'm searching around for subject matter besides Bosley, too. I'm still tired a good bit after my Dad's death and it is taking me a while to get back in the saddle. Working on it though...
Stay tuned!!

Patch And Beau Finished

2010-04-13T15:59:00.005-02:00

"Patch and Beau
20X16
Oil on Canvas

Commissioned

Click on image to enlarge the view.

Finito. I still have my ear, but it's likely that most of my hair fell out in this process. It was the background that drove me crazy. I'm wishing I could have done this differently...possibly a square format that would have eliminated a lot of the trees in the background, more like the top picture. As it is, getting the little guy to pop from that background is near impossible. I opted for a standard size in order to make it easier for the receiver of this painting to get a frame. At any rate...I'm glad to be finished. It took a lot longer than I wanted it to, but that is just what happens sometimes. I hope the owners will enjoy this painting of their two buddies.

Patch And Beau WIP 2

2010-04-12T17:43:00.003-02:00

"Patch and Beau" WIP
Oil on Canvas
20X16

Here is some more progress on Patch and Beau. I have to say this one contains thousands of conundrums, mostly because of the background. Excuse the glare from the lamp on the left side. If I don't cut off my ear, I'll be back with the finished painting in the next few days.
Thanks for stopping by...

Patch And Beau WIP

2010-04-09T12:02:00.004-02:00

Close Up of Patch - WIP

So....this is the painting that is commissioned by way of the Cancer Society Auction. The original idea is a painting of one pet...but the people who won the bid decided they wanted to give the painting to a relative who has these two cute canine friends. The border collie is Patch. The miniature pinscher is Beau. The pictures were a bit difficult, having been emailed to me by the owners...only because the background is very busy and I want the dogs to stand out as the major focus. Patch has one blue eye and one amber-yellow eye and since that is one of his unique traits, I am making sure that shows up also. I usually just do one dog (or cat) at a time, so this is a larger painting and more challenging to keep the composition cohesive. We'll see if I get there!

I'm finally back to the easel and getting back to work after a few weeks of working on my Dad's passing and the paperwork of winding up his estate. It has been a sad time, but you can keep reminding me that he was 92 and that is a good long life. At this point it all seems surreal. I'm sure others who have gone through this know what I mean...it takes a while to sink in.

"Patch and Beau" WIP
16X20
Oil on Canvas

Take a Flyer....All the way to heaven

2010-03-18T11:31:00.003-02:00

Dog Portrait Promotional Flyer

Click on image to enlarge the view.

Well, I'm trying to cover the bases and convey a couple of good thoughts today...though it is hard to try to move forward at the moment. My Dad passed away Tuesday morning and we are so sad to lose him. One of the things he asked for in his last few days was to see Bosley...he is the napping fellow on the lower left of the flyer. We took Bosley over to Dad's assisted living apt. on last Saturday so Dad could pet him once more. It was a tender scene and we are very glad we did that. When my Dad could still come to our house, Bosley would promptly hop up on the couch to sit by my Dad, so Dad could pet him. It made them both happy. I'm writing this for several reasons. First, my experience with our dogs has been so totally enriching and wonderful. Dogs give us so much joy and love. Today I am trying to think of our blessings and keep from crying over the loss of my Dad. We are missing him so much.

Another reason is to say something about cancer. It is such a hideous and ravaging thing and we can feel so futile in the fight against it. My Dad had prostate cancer and that is what killed him in the end. He also suffered through a melanoma several years ago and had surgery which saved his life then. My little contribution to our local cancer society is donating a pet portrait to their fund-raising auction this Saturday. So the first painting I will do after my Dad's death will be for the cause of helping to fight cancer.

The last reason I'm publishing this is to give other artists a possible idea for promoting their work. I have a program in my computer called Freehand which lets you import pictures and type copy without too much hassle. The picture importing is easy and there are selections of fonts to make your page look great! I have used this "flyer" to promote my work at various venues, leaving them with galleries, etc. Maybe this idea could work for other artists reading my blog.

That's it for now...
I'll be baaaackk......hopefully soon.
Thanks for your visit!

Two By Two

2010-03-07T13:07:00.005-02:00

"Two by Two"
12X9
Oil on Linen Panel

Sold

We are very fortunate in my local area to have a wonderful, judged and juried, art show each year sponsored by our art guild and The Schiele Museum of Natural History. We have only two other shows, one a miniature show and the other an open show at the local community college. I have been very fortunate to have been chosen to exhibit at the Schiele Show, titled "A Natural View," for the past few years. This year's show is on exhibit right now through April 2nd. It is at this address: 1500 E. Garrison Blvd., Gastonia, NC. So, if you are in the area, you are welcome to stop by and take a look at the show.

This year my painting "Two by Two" was purchased by a patron who also purchased my "Christmas Dove" painting last year. I am thrilled and so happy that my art has found a good home to a collector who likes my work. And also grateful to have the opportunity to exhibit in such a respected museum that is known nationally as a special resource for its knowledge on natural history. I have especially loved this show for the theme of it. All entries must reflect the artist's view of the natural world...and that is something so fun to contemplate and try to paint.

A couple of things....
One is that I really loved this painting. It was fun to do and expresses the cheerful, sheer happiness of being a duck in the water! It's a great thing to be in one's element...and that is what I felt as I painted this one.

The other is that I am not huge at marketing. I think that is true of a lot of artists, but I am not one to go around flashing signs and bragging about my work. I think I rely on the viewer to come to their own conclusions. If they like it...GREAT! If they don't, well...I didn't succeed at appealing to that particular person. Mostly it is easier for me to keep my head down and just do my work. The goal is getting it out there where it can be seen by a lot of people. That's why I do this blog and my website, so I can share my work with as many people as I can. When I owned my stationery company, Wild Hare Post, Inc., I had a contingent of 50 sales reps whose job it was to go about selling my work to retail stores. I will never get over how good they were and how grateful I was for them to do that job. They did what I just could not do.....national marketing. My relationships with them is something I will always carry with me as a great thing. I still miss them.

Now it is up to me. I forget to tell people that you can buy prints and cards of my work at Fine Art America. Here is a link to the page: Cheryl's Profile at Fine Art America From there you can choose a painting for either a poster, paper, or canvas print, or greeting cards (one or a box), where you can choose blank or create your own greeting.

Of course you can always contact me for availability of certain paintings or commission me to do a painting just for you.

Thanks for stopping by....

My Funny Valentine - Dog Portrait

2010-02-20T13:41:00.007-02:00

"My Funny Valentine"
10X8
Oil on Linen Panel

Click on image to enlarge the view.

Every time I paint a dog portrait, when I get it finished, I think it is my favorite. If you look closely you will see a marking in the shape of a heart on this fellow's nose. I didn't notice it when I first fell in love with him, but when I studied the photo closer I saw it. Hence, the title,"My Funny Valentine." I started him before Valentine's Day, but just managed to get back to him the end of this week.

The local Cancer Society Auction is coming up and, like last year, I am donating a dog portrait to the effort. I thought maybe another example of my work would be beneficial to them.

Adding a note here on March 5....My 92 year old father has taken another turn downward and has needed more care and help. Hospice was called in last week and we are doing all we can to help him through these hardest of times. Consequently my painting has taken a back seat to the necessary tasks at hand. I hope to get back to it as soon as possible.

My Funny Valentine

2010-02-08T21:09:00.006-02:00

"My Funny Valentine"
10X8
Work in Progress

As I am oft to do, I stuck the unfinished work in progress into one of the frames I had lying around here to see where the face was landing into it. (see below) This funny guy is unknown to me personally, but as you know, I love dogs and when I saw him I fell in love. Infatuation? From the photo I am working from, and you will see this later, he actually has a tiny pink heart shape right on his nose...besides that his nose is slightly heart shaped. I love his black and white colors and there is a bit of reddish tan yet to emerge....you will see that later, too. As he is right now there is a sort of intrigue and a rather modern sophistication. I hope I can maintain that, but if not I might just do this fellow again in just some abstract modern technique, if I can pull that off.....you know that isn't my forte usually.

"My funny valentine...you make me smile when I am blue....."
More later!

Water Lily

2010-02-06T23:29:00.005-02:00

"Water Lily"
8X10
Oil on Canvas Panel
Private Collection

On top of the skewed canvas, the sciatic problem and my Dad, we also had a recent electric gremlin hit our house which took out my printer and my USB hub. I guess when it rains it pours. Light bulbs blew, our rheostat in the dining room blew...all of this happened over about ten days. We called the power company and no one seems to have a clue what hit us. Had to be a gremlin....no other explanation and the power company was not taking responsibility. They checked everything out and said we are fine. Hmmmmmmm. Curious, eh? I have replaced the hub and the printer now. Expensive little fellow, that gremlin.

So....I needed a little something visual to cheer me up today, so I went looking around in my files and came across this Water Lily I painted a couple of years ago. My husband and I had gone up to Bass Lake close to Blowing Rock, NC on a beautiful September Saturday and walked around the lake. This was one of only a couple of the lilies still blooming. I was happy to grab a picture and have something to paint when we came home. Now when I look at it, I remember that happy September Saturday.

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

2010-02-06T01:54:00.005-02:00

"Wynken, Blynken, and Nod"
6.5X9
Mixed Media

Private Collection

Click on image to enlarge the view.

I did this piece some time ago for my first grand-daughter. (We were so excited at the time and I was waxing romantic with thoughts of childrens' poems to share with a new child!) This was also just as I was finishing up a more commercial part of my career, so I was thinking about printing possibilities and other applications. Last year my daughter-in-law took this art to some South Korean who turned it into a three dimensional 'paper cut' framed wall piece for the third child's nursery. I don't know the name of the technique, but they do this in S. Korea. It's not exactly origami, but they use colored paper and glue cut pieces onto a backing to create a picture.

I'm showing you this retro piece because I have once again been stymied by my back problem (sciatic nerve pain) and have had to lay low. I've had a third steroid shot today and hoping this will help.

I also had an unusual experience the other day I had not encountered before now. The "Cows by the Lake" piece was nearly finished and I decided to take it over to a frame store to see if I could find anything suitable for it. And behold....the painting would fit into none of the standard 24X36 frames. I tried one after another and they were all off on one side of the rabbet by a half inch. Hmmmmm....says I. What is this? Turns out the stretched canvas on its stretcher bars is ....what is the word...whopperjawed! (Skewed) Unfortunately I didn't notice this when I bought the canvas and merrily went on painting without discovering the flaw. After looking into custom frames with filets to try to offset the problem, and finding that none of that was going to work, I came home deciding that the only option is to have some professional re-stretch the canvas onto straight bars...someday. It isn't going to happen now. No idea how expensive that is to have done. I've set it aside and it will wait for some other day if I ever decide to do it. It's a set back for the moment since I have a show coming up and thought of entering that one. Now I am scrambling to come up with another idea for the show and have three weeks to do it. So due to the back, the frame, and of course we always have my elderly Dad's needs thrown in for good measure....I have been up to my ears in other stuff..

Will come up with a new one soon...Thanks!!

Cows By the Lake - Nearly finished

2010-01-25T17:04:00.004-02:00

"Cows by the Lake"
24X36
Oil on Canvas

Click on image to enlarge the view.

Larger painting than usual, which is why I haven't posted to you for a while. There are Work in Progress posts on this painting if you scroll down on the blog. I may still darken the water a bit and I haven't signed it as yet. Otherwise this is mostly finished.

Lots going on here with porch construction and taking care of my Dad's ailments, too, so the process has been slow. Since I love animals, painting the cows was a lot of fun. This time I gave them a nice place to be. At least if I were a cow I think I would like to be there.

Cows By the Lake -WIP - Stage 3

2010-01-16T20:36:00.005-02:00

"Cows By the Lake" WIP
Stage 3
24X36
Oil on Canvas

Finally today I had some time to work on the cows. Between the putting away of Christmas...and my 92 year old Dad, who has been needing a lot of extra help for the past few weeks...and the porch construction (contractors coming and going unpredictably)...and my daughter and her dog adding to the chaos, it has been impossible to find any time to paint. I think I had more time when my children were little. At least they took naps and went to school. Now it is interruptions all day long.

It's very grey and rainy here today, so this is once again a photo under incandescent lighting in my studio. The blue sky got totally washed into grey somehow and I was not able to get it back with photoshop. Anyway, here is another WIP shot.

Tomorrow I have a funeral to attend. A friend and fellow artist died Thursday...a lengthy fight with breast cancer. She was heroic. And a really good artist ....now we've lost her. Monday is when we are going to Charlotte to celebrate my daughter's birthday, which is actually Tuesday. Contractors are due back Monday afternoon, too.

So....I guess all I can say is I'll be back ASAP....

Cows By the Lake - WIP - 2nd Stage

2010-01-05T19:48:00.003-02:00

"Cows By the Lake - WIP
24X36
Oil on Canvas

Some more work on the trees today. Daylight photo, so you can see the colors better, but now the light from the windows in the back of my studio are shining through a bit...showing the stretcher bars through the canvas. Anyway...I'm about to dive into the cows and foreground.

More to come as I get to it...

Cows By the Lake - WIP

2010-01-05T01:34:00.004-02:00

"Cows By the Lake" - WIP
24X36
Oil on Canvas

(Took the picture at 10:00pm and the light is awful...sorry. Will do better in the daylight.)

Nope...I didn't fall off the planet. The holidays are just as busy at my house as yours, and even afterward this year. We are having a new front door and new porch constructed at the front entry of our house. Because the weather is just so frigid, the construction guys are hit and miss with their schedule. And who could blame them? They can only work outside in the cold so long and are coming in short intervals. This is making for a long project that was supposed to be done the week after Thanksgiving. The work-stoppage around that time was due to torrential rains. Maybe I should re-think my ideas of construction next time and plan for spring and summer? Eh?? Ya think???

So in between holiday duties, taking care of things for the 92yr. old Dad, keeping all of us in food, clean house and laundry, tending to the two 4 footed friends, and the porch construction, etc., I have managed to get this far on a painting. It's the largest painting I have done to date. There is a reason for this. Some few years ago, as I love to do, I was shopping the local antique market and came across the most gorgeous painting of cows in a Texas landscape...as large as this painting, but framed in a classic gold frame. The price was way out of my reach. So it haunts me. I remember staying a very long time studying it. And I went back to it two or three times just to look at it. The cows were white, relaxing by water, sky, trees, and depth with detail to make me swoon. A very adept hand had done that painting. I do not remember the artist, unfortunately.

So now....there is a wall in my kitchen that is telling me it needs a landscape with cows in the manner of that painting. This is the beginning of my shot at it. I expect this to take me a good bit of time due to the size....and including the interruptions. (The porch is not close to completion and with the cold weather I expect this to go on for a while yet.) So far I have been working in the trees and just sketched in the cows and water area.

Stay tuned...

Holiday Wishes

2009-12-17T12:10:00.004-02:00

"Pomegranate in White"
9X12
Oil on Board
Private Collection

What a fast and furious year this has been! This painting is the image I used for my greeting cards this year. As I am winding up the year, having finished the last commissions for Christmas, and trying to finish the Christmas baking, shopping, wrapping, decorating, etc. I am thinking about all of the blessings of the year, especially the new friends who have come my way through my blogs and paintings. And of course I am thinking about all of the paintings hovering in my mind that are eager to emerge in the coming year.

Thank you to all who have purchased paintings from me this past year. And also thank you to those who took the time to comment and email me. I wish you all Merry Christmas and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Blond Lab Named Lucy - Finished

2009-12-09T01:52:00.005-02:00

"Lucy, Blond Lab"
12X16
Acrylic on Canvas
Commissioned

Click on the picture to enlarge the view!

One more Christmas commission finished and ready to go! Makes me feel like one of Santa's elves....
It's pouring rain here and it is nearly 11:00 p.m., so the photo is under incandescent light. Best I could do this tonight, but I may take another photo tomorrow. This was difficult, but fun...if that makes any sense. I hope the owner will be happy with this portrait of their family pet, Lucy. She must be very sweet...I can tell by her eyes.

On to the next painting...stay tuned!!

Blond Lab Named Lucy - WIP

2009-12-06T15:48:00.005-02:00

"Lucy the Blond Lab"
12X16
Acrylic
Commissioned

Lest ye think I am sitting on my thumbs, here is the current project. Though it is a Work in Progress, I stuck it into one of my frames just to assess direction and cues on how it is going...and took a photo of that for you.

This is a jump from my usual in that it is acrylic. You see, it's a commission for a Christmas present and this one came in too late to do it in oils. That's fine..but I have not been working with acrylics for the past three or four years, so I am struggling a bit with technique and getting the fur to blend how I would wish. And the client wants geraniums in the painting that are not in the photo, so I am having to fictionalize flowers that are not there. The other challenge here is that the working photo was taken with a flash......aaaarrrrgh. My tip to any and all out there who wish to have paintings done from photos...please do not ever use the flash. It just takes out all of the natural shadows, inuendos, subtle softness of reality and natural color. So that is the thing that is driving me most crazy here. As always, I am delighted to take commissions. This one came through a third party, so I could not give instructions on the photography before the project landed. Hope I can achieve the desired painting for the client...

Will post the finished painting when I get it done.
Stay tuned!! :-)

Brutus - Finished

2009-11-20T15:11:00.006-02:00

"Brutus"
9X12
Oil on Linen Panel

Commissioned
Click on picture to enlarge the view.

I used to have cats. Over the years I gave homes to Spooky, Muffin, Ruffles, Levi, Alfalfa, and Oliver. That was the first half of my adult life. Then I went to the dogs...pun intended!! (the dogs: Harrison, Bailey, and now Bosley.) LOL Anyway, I love our furry little friends and love to celebrate the joy they give to us!!! On Thanksgiving that is one of the things for which I am grateful!

So here is Brutus, a fun-loving cutie pie whose family loves him! I had a great time with this painting. The challenge was to make Brutus "pop" on the fabric designs of the chair and ottoman. But that was also what makes the painting interesting to me...that and the adorable pose with his left paw reaching toward the viewer and the light falling across his adorable nose. I want to feel as if I could just reach over and pet him or pick him up. At least that is what I wanted to convey. I hope he is as happy as he made me feel while painting him!!!

On to the next thing...stayed tuned!!

Brutus - Work in Progress - Stage 3

2009-11-18T15:37:00.003-02:00

"Brutus - Work in Progress - Stage 3"
9X12
Oil on Linen

Commissioned

Still working on Brutus' fur, but I have finished the chair and ottoman upholstery and background for the most part. Now the fun begins to give his fur all the characteristics I can muster and make him "pop!"

Brutus - Work in Progress - Stage 2

2009-11-14T19:51:00.004-02:00

"Brutus" - Work in Progress
9X12
Oil on Linen Panel

Commissioned

I spent several hours this afternoon, most of it on that adorable face. He's coming along. Cutest eyes and nose any cat ever had!! :-)
More tomorrow...
Thanks for visiting!

Brutus - Work in Progress

2009-11-13T17:48:00.005-02:00

"Brutus - Work in Progress"
9X12
Oil on Linen Panel

Commissioned

Some projects are just too fun ...and this is definitely one of them. The owner of this adorable fellow sent me several pictures from which to choose. All of the pictures were great, fun, cute, and showed the personality of this guy so well that I just fell in love with him. Suffice it to say that Brutus goes wherever he wants to go...into the potted plants, sitting on all of the pillows, perched on the owner's shoulder, etc. But this was the pose I like the most for his portrait. I also chose it for the color combination against his soft grey and white fur. He has the cutest smile and owns his realm, that is for sure. So anyway, here is the beginning of his painting. There is a long way to go, but I thought you might like to see a preliminary stage.

Rose, the Border Collie

2009-11-04T20:02:00.005-02:00

"Rose"
14X11
Oil on Linen
Commissioned

Would tell you more, but then I'd have to kill you. This is a present for someone. Not saying who.

The photo has some glare from the wet paint...sorry about that. I will try to take a better photo when this dries.

Chipmunk

2009-10-28T17:34:00.005-02:00

"Chipmunk"
8X8
Oil on board
Available

Contact to Purchase
Click on image to enlarge the view.

The lowly little rodent denizen of our back yard: the Chipmunk. The few we have are fun to watch, scampering about and diving for cover when our dog, Bosley, goes out for the chase. We have predators, too. A large hawk comes through on the hunt every few days. And this past weekend we killed a copperhead that was thinking it was going to make a home in our garage for the winter. Fortunately we saw him just in time and that was the end of him.

I managed to capture this little guy with my camera in hopes to put him down in paint. I don't know if I did him justice here....he is cuter than this.

Hayrolls at Sunset

2009-10-10T15:57:00.005-02:00

"Hayrolls at Sunset"
8 1/2X12 3/4
Oil on Board
Available

I did a small watercolor of this scene some time ago, but had saved the photo for just this purpose. As evening falls and sun streaks across the fields, there was this reddish-golden light smack on the rolled edge of the hayroll. The background tells you of the light falling into the darkened woods behind. It seems a metaphor for a good day coming to an end, as if the sun is smiling on a golden treasure which came from hard work. Sometimes the reward is more than just the thing in front of you...it is the light shining on it!

That's what I see....and what I liked about it.
Thanks for visiting!

August Afternoon Barn

2009-10-02T16:33:00.007-02:00

"August Afternoon Barn"
16X20
Oil on Canvas
Available

Contact to Purchase

From a photo I grabbed last summer of a North Carolina barn. I love rural spaces in our state and when I am out and about I am always looking for scenes to paint. This is only the second barn scene I have ever painted. This one looks to be more storage than daily use, but it looked pretty sitting in that landscape with the gorgeous trees as its backdrop.
(My camera picked up a glare on the right of this photo.) If interested, I'll do another photo for you.
Hope you like it!
Thanks for visiting!

Feely Toady

2009-09-22T11:42:00.006-02:00

"Mr. Toad"
8X6
Oil on Canvas

I apologize for delaying a post for so long, but my back has decided to give me some real problems for the last month. Turns out I have a couple of tricky discs that are playing some gravity game and compressing on nerves. OUCH. I am in the process of figuring which way to go...pains shot and chiropractor? Or just a pain shot and take my chances. I could hang myself upside down, but I doubt my brain could handle the pressure...so...anyway, I will be back to painting as soon as I am up to it again. Hopefully soon.

This little fellow came to our backyard last year and I could not resist attempting a painting of his funny adorable self.

Thanks for visiting!

Little Red Hen

2009-08-19T22:56:00.005-02:00

"Little Red Hen"
5X7
Oil on Board
SOLD

Click on picture to enlarge the view.

Contact to Purchase

I drew this out a long time ago as a study for a painting I did at a larger size. But this morning I came across it underneath a pile of papers...don't ask...in my studio and was inspired to take it on. Since it was a little 5X7, I felt I had just enough time today to tackle it. (the other version I did was 9X12, but I like this one better.) This would look great on an easel in the dining room or kitchen! Anyway...if you like chickens, here is a little cutie for you.

Horse Pasture

2009-08-13T18:12:00.003-02:00

"Two Horses"
16X12
Oil on Linen Panel
Available

Click on picture to enlarge the view.
By the way..comments are welcome!!

There is a horse pasture just down the street from my house. It's a place I like to walk past as I walk my dogs. So when thinking of what to paint next, it was this horse pasture that inspired me. The interesting thing about this composition is the way the positions of the horses, the tree trunks, and the fence posts all mirror each other....as if two is the theme for the day.

I've been once again stuck with a thousand interruptions, but today I just stayed in my pajamas and locked myself in the studio to get this one done. Not a pretty sight..but now I'll go wash my brushes and regroup! :-)
On to the next thing..

Cat Oil Portrait

2009-07-30T14:35:00.005-02:00

Barnhardt's Cat
16X12
Oil on Linen Panel
Commissioned

Click on image to enlarge the view.

I've been having a busy month with relatives visiting, major projects here at home, and then fighting off some dastardly cold virus that hit both my husband and myself this past two weeks. Still not over it...but finally have been able to get back to painting this week.

This little adorable cat is no longer among us, so this commission is to celebrate her life. Her owners adored her and I can see why....she seems to be so sweet in this pose. I had to do some fictional background because the photographs had window glare and black shadows which made it really tough to see the details. But I think this has turned out well and I hope her owner will be pleased. This painting will allow them to look at her and remember how much she meant to them!

Nature's Fireworks

2009-07-03T12:50:00.008-02:00

"Highway Flowers"
8X8
Oil on Canvas Panel
Available

Happy 4th of July, America!! At the risk of sounding like a socialist, which you all know I am no where close to that label, I have to say I do like the flower program that Lady Bird Johnson began in the 1960's. Quite possibly, other than military defense and interstate highways, this is the only Federal program I do like. It's definitely not necessary. It's totally socialistic. Taking tax dollars to plant flowers on the highways is so frivolous, especially during bad economic times. But it is innocuous, too. It doesn't take away your choice of doctor or take away your choice of energy consumption. It isn't draining your bank account in order to give more power to the politicians who take your freedoms away. If we can afford it, it is nothing more than a little icing on the cake. Being an artist, I always admire the sweeping areas of bright flowers along the highways....and I am always looking for nature's beauty to remind me that there are still some of God's gifts I can enjoy under a totalitarian American government. Nature is my only refuge from man-made oppression.

So call me a hypocrite just this once. But don't try it on any other day.

Watermelon

2009-07-01T14:20:00.008-02:00

"Baby Watermelon"
8X10
Oil on Board
Private Collection

I recently read another blogger's description of the Green movement. He compared the movement to the watermelon...green on the outside and Communist Red on the inside. I agree.

I hope my fellow artists will love freedom more than they wish to attach themselves to this insidious "green" movement, which has nothing to do with saving the planet. It has everything to do with taking away the freedoms and independence that I so cherish and that benefit the creative spirit of any artist in America. It has everything to do with enriching some very evil people who, honestly, don't give a rip about the environment. Check out Al Gore, Goldman Sachs, General Electric, T. Boone Pickens, Nancy Pelosi, and others. All this Cap and Trade bill will do is ruin our economy, do nothing to enhance the environment, and tax the American public to death. Please email your senators and tell them not just NO, but HELL NO on Cap and Trade. Please do this today!!!! And while you are at it....tell them HELL NO on Nationalized Health Care which is another death sentence to America.

On the domestic front...It has taken me the last two months to get my Dad settled into assisted living, which I have discovered is both a huge relief, but also not complete absolution from my duties. It is better, however. Then, on top of that has been the organization and disposition of his household belongings. This has meant multiple trips to donation centers and reorganizing my home to accommodate some of the furnishings that, hopefully, my children will want someday. I've cleaned out three closets and made trips to the attic. The good thing about this, albeit very time consuming, has been the purge of things we needed to get rid of in our house anyway. And next up on our agenda, our daughter-in-law and three grandchildren are coming for a visit next week. This also means getting the crib ready, the high chair out of the attic, prepping the house to be child friendly as much as possible, and food planning! I am very excited to see them! It has been a year....except for skype. They are visiting from South Korea where my son is stationed..protecting the U.S. from the insanity of the North Korean nuclear threat.

So between my Dad, my kids, the house disruptions, and most of all, my dedication to attempt to save us from this Fascist/Socialist government headed up by the fraudulent usurper in the White House....I've written letters to the editor, letters to Congress, and kept up with writing on my other blog regarding government....a lot has been going on here. But not as much painting as I wish. I have finished three commissions in this month and another one is waiting on my art table. It's difficult to paint beautiful paintings while our country is being wrecked and stolen from us. My heart aches for these darling grandchildren and my children who are going to suffer mightily from the selfish and corrupt government in place today. Please speak out, write letters, and do your part to stop the insanity.

Bluebird On a Pine Branch

2009-06-20T23:00:00.005-02:00

"Bluebird On a Pine Branch"
12X9
Oil on Canvas Panel
Commission
Click on picture to enlarge the view.

This is the second Bluebird painting...since I have a client who loves them and another client who wanted one...I ended up doing two. They are similar, but different..heads turned different ways and the pine branches are configured differently. We are so lucky here in North Carolina to have many of these adorable birds. They are the color of sky in flight...and quick as anything. I think there is a poet who said they wear the sky on their backs. We love them...and it has been fun to paint them!

Perched in a frame for example....

Dog Portrait, Poncho, the Miniature Doberman

2009-06-10T00:53:00.005-02:00

"Poncho"
10X8
Oil on Canvas Panel
Commissioned

This guy has a story...so the owner tells me. He was brought here on a plane in a shoe, being a small fellow of under one pound, all the way from South America. The painting is commissioned for a birthday present for the lady of the house. Poncho is a well loved and apparently happy guy with quite a personality!! A challenge to paint and fun to get to know his cute face!!

After weeks and weeks of work, moving furniture, selling stuff, donating stuff, more Dr.s appts., filling out forms, working on financial arrangements, etc. etc., we finally have gotten my Dad settled into a very nice assisted living facility not too far at all from us. This isn't the end of my obligations for him, but it is going to save me from every day care, so hopefully I can get back to painting more frequently. I do still have a lot of his belongings to either dispose of or store for family, so I am still under it...so to speak. But we are getting there slowly.

On to the next one...stay tuned!

Bluebird Balancing Act

2009-05-11T11:32:00.004-02:00

"Balancing Act"
12X9
Oil on Panel
Commissioned

ADDED NOTE On May 23rd...
This past week and all of next are dedicated to getting my Dad situated into an assisted living home. He is 91 and a half...barely walking, suffering from several maladies, and needs more help now than I can continue to give him. So..we found a place and are in process of moving him, in between the continual Dr.s appts. This is very time consuming, selling stuff, moving stuff, packing stuff, etc. etc. I am exhausted and can hope that once we get him moved in, I will have some of my energy back and can paint again. I am looking forward to getting back to the easel after next week...sometime after June first or second. Thanks for checking back!!

I have a collector who loves bluebirds, so this one is commissioned for her. She and her husband have courted the bluebirds and been rewarded with a flock of them in their yard. Eastern Bluebirds are indigenous to our area and we all love them. I hope I did justice to the idea here. This painting is on spec actually, so if this one doesn't fit the collector's desire, then it will be for sale....and I will be doing some more bluebirds for consideration.
Balancing Act seems like a theme for my life lately....probably yours, too. We are all trying to find our footing and hoping we land in a secure spot. Our country's foundations are being knocked out from under us by a bunch of really bad power-mad politicians and a lot of misguided misanthropes. It's very sad, so the sight of a bluebird is a momentary bliss at least.

Sun Kissed Rocks by the Water

2009-05-05T01:50:00.004-02:00

"Sun Kissed Rocks by the Water"
12X16
Oil on Linen
Available

Contact to Purchase

What seems like a hundred years ago I had the opportunity to visit La Jolla. Somewhere along the coastal highway there was a restaurant called Charlie's Steakhouse. They had an open kitchen where you picked out your steak and could watch them throw it on the grill. And they had the menu written on some type of clay wine bottle sitting in the middle of each dining table. Very quaint, intimate, and fun. Outside, across the street was a view of the Pacific slapping up against the rocks and seals playing, basking, enjoying the day. It was this scene, looking down at the rocks, I had in mind while painting this one. It was a beautiful place and I will always remember it, wishing to relive the view....I keep it in my mind.

The Acorn Thief

2009-04-25T14:53:00.005-02:00

"Nutkin"
9X12
Oil on Canvas
Available
Click on Image to Enlarge the View.

Contact to Purchase

I must admit I'm feeling a little nuts lately, so I guess this is an appropriate subject reflecting my state of mind. This little guy represents all of those little rascals running around and having fun in my backyard. I am lucky enough to have some really big Oak trees....so the natural habitat is terrific for these guys. Some people find them to pains in the neck, but I just think they are acrobatic entertainment. Admittedly, an occasional raid of the birdseed in our garage is not helpful and they do dig up my pansies on occasions. But that's the price for entertainment...eh? Honestly, I do think they are cute and glad to have them happy here.

Pansies and Periwinkle

2009-04-21T00:46:00.006-02:00

"Pansies and Periwinkle"
9X12
Oil on Linen Panel
NFS

My pansies are having their last hurrah before the Peonies show up next month. I plant pansies in October and they sort of hang on in a lazy kind of way until March when they explode with glorious bounties of blossoms. This painting is of some antique variety of pansy that our local nursery has every year. And to be honest with you, since my Dad is still taking up nearly every day of my life lately, this is a painting I did a while ago. It sits in my studio, framed and on an easel, and it is one I especially like having around to remind that I can paint.

I did take a day excursion last week to Reynolda House in Winston Salem, the home of the R.J. Reynolds family, that is now a gorgeous museum home for tourists to enjoy. Attached to the house is an exhibit center. The reason for my visit was a current exhibit of American Impressionists' paintings. What a feast for the eyes! John Singer Sargent, John LaFarge, Childe Hassam, William Merritt Chase, Glackens, and more...it was truly a collection to savor. You can stand right up to the paintings and study the brush strokes. And then you can stand back from them and take them in for as long as you like. I hated to leave that exhibit hall...just wanted to look and look and look at them over and over. Very stunning. So that was my brief indulgence. If you get a chance to go see this collection, do it. You won't be sorry.

Tess, Finished

2009-04-09T19:38:00.004-02:00

"Tess"
14X11
Oil on Board
Commission

Finally had time to finish painting Tess today. She is really a charming little lady and I enjoyed painting her very much. White on White or Black on Black are always challenging fur colors to paint. You have to just put more color in there than you think you see in order to get the textures and the shadows. I really loved the soft green background and the red pillow bed she rests on with the whites and blacks of the dog and the foreground. It made for a really nice painting and I have to thank the owners for such a good photo from which to work.

This painting was a donation I made to the Cancer Society Auction. Tess' owners were so kind to bid and win, so this painting has a lot of meaning for everyone involved! Fun for me to do...good for them, and hopefully, someone somewhere will benefit from Cancer research.

Now on to the next one...still pondering what it will be. Stay tuned...

Tess, Work in Progress III

2009-04-04T22:38:00.004-02:00

"Tess" Work in Progress
14X11
Oil on Gessoed Board
Commission

I worked on her head mostly today...focusing on the details of her face, eyes, nose, etc. The blessing of great eyesight is that you see every hair....the curse of having great eyesight is that you see every hair. LOL Being a detail person, I have to force myself to not over do it on the tiniest details. But it is in the smallest details sometimes that you see the uniqueness in each special creation of God. So I have these conversations with God sometimes while I paint.....to paint this hair or that hair. Which hair makes the crucial statement of shape? Now that you know I am stark raving mad...I'll leave you to ponder this phase and tomorrow I'll get onto the next hairs.....
Stay Tuned...

Tess, Work in Progress II

2009-04-02T21:52:00.004-02:00

"Tess" WIP
14X11
Oil on Gessoed Board
Commission

Slower than mud...molasses, or however you'd like to put it. My Dad is having radiation treatments every weekday for three weeks. This and his other care is throwing me off so much that just keeping up with life in general is really a time squeeze you would not believe. I'm exhausted. So Tess is coming slowly. I was able to work on her some last evening and today....the background seems too loud at the moment and I will be trying to tone that down. Her eyes are so pretty..I've been having fun studying them today. Long way to go...but I'll get there.

Tess, Work in Progress

2009-03-23T14:54:00.003-02:00

"Tess"
14X11
Oil on Gessoed Board
Commissioned

This is just the beginning after my first session with Tess over the weekend. I think she is really cute! This gives you an idea of how a great photograph can be of immense help when doing this type of portrait. Back to it....
Stay tuned!

Spring is Almost Here

2009-03-18T12:34:00.003-02:00

"All Ears"
10X8
Oil on Canvas Panel

At least it looks like it around here....with lots of trees beginning to bloom and temperatures slowly coming back to mild. This cute fellow was in my back yard last year. He has to be quick and clever because my dog, Bosley, likes to chase him off. Fortunately for me, I was able to get some pics before he took off again.

In Honor of the Easter Bunny

2009-03-12T15:01:00.004-02:00

"Surprise on the Greenway"
8X10
Oil on Canvas

I did this one a while ago....I am still really scrambling here with other obligations. But since it is the Easter Season...the renewal of our spirits, plants and animals after the cold winter, I thought it would be fun to look at this guy again. He is inspired by the rabbits I saw on the greenway in Colorado Springs the last time I was there. This turned out more stylized than I wish. When I have nothing but a distant memory to paint from, that seems to be the outcome. I have another rabbit I'll post soon that is the real deal...a cute backyard visitor that I was able to photograph before he hopped away.

Daffodils

2009-03-05T16:44:00.004-02:00

"Daffodils"
13.5X15
Oil on Board

Totally slammed. I've been working on our local guild show which opens this evening. I did get two pieces, of the two allowed entries, into the show, so that's fun. We have 59 pieces total and some of the work is quite exceptional.

Other than this we had a substantial snow on Monday resulting in a power outage at our house for over 24 hours. Scrambling for candles and batteries, stoking the fire in the fireplace, trying to keep ourselves warm and going under those circumstances is challenging. We finally got somewhat back on track on Wednesday. We need to be better prepared than this. I'll make that a goal.

Today back to the Dr. with my Dad and taking care of my daughter's dog.

Obviously, no painting taking place with all of this going on. So the painting above is from last year. My daffodils this year were gorgeous until the snow storm took them down, sadly. This painting hangs in my guest room and is much better in person than this photo.

Hopefully I can get back to it pretty soon. Hope you will stay tuned.

Longhair Dachsund

2009-02-26T15:36:00.003-02:00

"Longhair Dachsund"
6X6
Oil on Gessoed Board
Available

Back to the dogs..our dear friends. I have committed to donate a painting for a fund-raising project to benefit the local Cancer Society. The event is an auction and will be happening the middle of March. Since that is soon, I thought I should start warming up to get myself back into the dogs...one of my very favorite subjects to paint. I'm looking forward to the commission and hope the auction works out great for all!

Stay tuned....and bless our dogs who comfort us in all circumstances.

Tribute to Rick Santelli

2009-02-20T14:06:00.007-02:00

"Tribute to the Wall Street Bull"
8X8
Oil on Canvas Panel
Available
Contact to Purchase

I had another title for this guy, but as I was painting him yesterday a wonderful outburst was taking place in Chicago by Rick Santelli, a commentator on CNBC. Watch him here The Wall Street Bull may be temporarily out to pasture, but I am a free market capitalist and am praying the he comes running back at some point in our lives, sooner rather than later. It isn't as if I have had tons of money in the stock market...just one small IRA that has been decimated by the Socialists who ruined the banks. (Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, etc.) What that Wall Street Bull represents to me is that American businesses are flourishing and people are living well. That, in my mind, is a great thing. While it doesn't fit the stereotype of "artist," I am an artist with a business. Besides art for art's sake, art is a business. No different than manufacturing any other product. The current bogus administration of our government is doing everything in its power to ruin freedom and the financial health of our country. I am watching a travesty beyond anything that I could have ever imagined. God bless Rick Santelli for his eloquent outrage at that moment yesterday. He spoke for the majority of Americans who are now held hostage to a Marxist / Socialist / Fascist tyranny. As Rick said yesterday, "Are you listening, President Obama???"

My first title was, "Beware of 'Being' Over the Hill." I was thinking it would make a funny greeting card for a guy's birthday. In fact, if you know a guy who is having a birthday soon, this would be a very nice present....he can hang it in his office to remind him of his strength!! I had a lot of fun painting him and love the strength he conveys. Art cannot thrive under tyranny.

A Flight of Fantasy

2009-02-18T14:39:00.003-02:00

"Mockingbird"
Available Painting
$550.00 (framed size 12X15)
Contact me to purchase.

USA TODAY
1/5/2005 3:23 PM

Wind turbines taking toll on birds of prey
By John Ritter, USA TODAY
ALTAMONT PASS, Calif. — "The big turbines that stretch for miles along these rolling, grassy hills have churned out clean, renewable electricity for two decades in one of the nation's first big wind-power projects.

But for just as long, massive fiberglass blades on the more than 4,000 windmills have been chopping up tens of thousands of birds that fly into them, including golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, burrowing owls and other raptors.

The size of the annual body count — conservatively put at 4,700 birds — is unique to this sprawling, 50-square-mile site in the Diablo Mountains between San Francisco and the agricultural Central Valley because it spans an international migratory bird route regulated by the federal government. The low mountains are home to the world's highest density of nesting golden eagles."

Here we are four years later and who is listening? The information above is not new. And it is ongoing. Meanwhile a whole lot of birds are biting the dust thanks to this insane push for "wind power." Not to mention the visual blight the turbines create. The so called 'environmentalists' have a huge hypocrisy problem. While they jump up and down and yell about "green" energy solutions, they are creating nothing more than fat bank accounts for themselves and their chosen few suppliers of this 'so called' "green" energy. They try to make you believe that they are on the side of wildlife and how the planet will collapse in short order if you don't buy into their schemes. The sorry thing is that they are stealing your taxes to support their very flawed agenda. By creating a false crisis, a lot of fat cat politicians and schemers are getting rich producing nothing of value from your hard work.

This Informative Article from the National Center for Policy Analysis

An excerpt here: "How many dead birds equal a dead fish equals an oil spill?" Ten thousand cumulative bird deaths from 1,731 MegaWatts of installed U.S. capacity is the equivalent of 4.4 million bird deaths across the entire capacity of the United States electric market (approximately 770 gigawatts). A 20 percent share of U.S. capacity, a figure that the American Wind Energy Association put forward some years ago in congressional hearings (see above), would equate to 880,000 cumulative bird deaths. Calculated on an average operating basis, the number would rise severalfold."

And this:

Other Environmental Drawbacks

"A distinct air emission problem of wind capacity is created when a new project is built where there is surplus electric generating capacity. Since large wind farms require thousands of tons of materials, virtually all of the air emissions associated with the electricity used to make these materials (such as cement or steel) must be counted against the air emissions "saved" once the farm comes on line and displaces fossil fuel-generated output. For example, a recently announced Zond wind farm of 40 to 45 effective megawatts is composed of 150 wind turbines weighing 35 tons each or just over 10 million pounds. The entire electricity requirement for these materials (cement, steel, fiberglass, etc.) must be estimated before assigning an air emission factor. To calculate a net emission savings, that factor must be subtracted from the air emission reduction once the wind project comes online."

The sad thing for me is twofold. First, I love birds. If I could grow wings, I would. Second, I know people who think they are friends of birds, who belong to "Bird Watching" organizations, yet who voted for this President and his "Green Energy" nonsense. I guess they don't realize it when they are at odds with their own goals and mindlessly vote for the "feel good" agenda. I wonder how the brain can disconnect from logical consequences. I am having a very hard time suffering these fools.

Daffodil Reclining

2009-02-14T22:52:00.004-02:00

"Daffodil Reclining"
5X7
Oil on Canvas Panel

I am surprised to see my daffodils blooming already....this being February 14th. Since it's Valentine's Day, I thought I would share one of them with you. I painted this one spring before last...but have enjoyed having it around. It sits in a very nice frame on a decorative easel in my studio. This way I get to enjoy a daffodil all year long...and that is one small bright spot in these dismal days.

SC Landscape Finished

2009-02-09T13:45:00.007-02:00

"Equilibrium"
16X20
Oil on Linen Panel
Available / A Natural View, Gaston County Art Guild Show at the Schiele Museum of Natural History
Dates: March 5 -April 4, 2009
Location: 1500 E. Garrison Blvd., Gastonia, 28054

That is.....if this painting gets into the show. (if not, you can buy directly from me) This is a judged / juried show and the requirements are stiff. We have a very qualified prestigious judge this year, Dee Beard Dean who is known for her beautiful landscape paintings and for founding the Plein Air Painters of the Southeast. In my estimation, this show is the best show of the year for the Gaston County Art Guild. I say that because I love the theme...all things in nature in North America. No manmade stuff, just raw nature.

If I were to describe my feelings about this painting, I would say it means "coming home" to me. It is a depiction of the type of scene I see from the road as my husband I drive home from somewhere...the farmland ready for planting, the pine forests in the background, the lush greenery surrounding the tilled fields, the Carolina Blue skies with some clouds kicking up, the sun streaking across the earth....all keeping me grounded and feeling balanced. That is why the title is "Equilibrium." Home is where the heart is....and this painting describes it to me.

WIP A Carolina Farmscape

2009-02-07T01:32:00.007-02:00

"A Carolina Farmscape"
Detail
Work in Progress
Oil on Linen Panel

It's been a week since I have posted and I hope you didn't think I was slacking away over here. I actually have been working on this 16X20 piece in hopes of coming up with something bigger for an upcoming show. What you see here is about the middle third of the painting. Many challenges here. First I normally work much smaller...so the size alone is daunting for me. Secondly, this thing has a lot of sky, a middle area of lots of details, and then the foreground is a tilled field that looks to be waiting for planting. That means a lot of dirt. And the sky...well, it is a spectacular sky and I don't know if I could ever do it justice.

Anyway, I've been working on this for the last three and a half days (in between Dr.'s appts. for my Dad and trying to keep my daughter sane since she is one of the casualties of the Bank of America job cuts). I hope to finish it up tomorrow or the next day.

I also want to announce that Peter Fiore has begun a new blog to share his landscape studies. He is one of the contemporary artists I admire very much, so I am happy to have him join us in the blogging world! Take a look and sign up!!

Of course the other distraction is the disaster in Congress. Now that the left wing has shown its real agenda in bankrupting the country with the so called "stimulus bill," otherwise known as the biggest socialist travesty I personally have ever seen. I hope some of my artist friends are finally seeing what a mistake they made in electing this bunch of thieves. Ever the optimist, I try to think that even people with no brains can see the hypocrisy and out-right lies in this "New Messiah and his cohorts in crime." As an artist, personal freedom means something to me. Having George Orwell's 1984 come to life before my eyes is not fun. Having the United Nations tell Americans how they are supposed to conduct their lives is not my idea of American values. Having a pig like Al Gore, who is a scam artist and the biggest hypocrite in the world, tell the rest of us how we are ruining the earth is disgusting at best.

So as I try to paint and capture what is left of family owned farmland, I am totally sad that the political elite are taking land and resources out of the hands of private citizens and giving the same away to groups like the Land Conservancy....taking your tax dollars to confiscate farmland and other open space, taking it out of the hands of American citizens forever. When I say confiscate, I mean confiscate. The government has punished farmers and taxed businesses out of business...so when the farmers can't keep paying the price of government, the Lands Conservancy groups step in and offer tax credits to take the land out of the private sector. What that means is that we lose the tax base of the farm, we pay for the maintenance of the land, and the land is no longer available for anyone for any reason forever. And you and I are then taxed higher in order to cover the loss of the farm taxes, and the maintenance of the land. In short, you and I are paying government bureaucrats to take away the farm / agriculture base that sustained the food supply of our country. The abominations go on and on and on....and I just keep trying to paint. And while artists sit around lamenting the loss of our beautiful farms, they do stupid things like voting in people who are planning to place taxes on farmers for methane emissions of cows and other livestock. They vote in people who create food shortages by pushing ethanol on the transportation industry.

Go figure...

Lambkin and Mum

2009-01-30T13:55:00.009-02:00

"Lambkin and Mum"
12X16
Oil on Linen Panel
Available

Contact to Purchase

I could have called this "Wool Gathering." As I paint, I am also thinking....about what I am painting and what it means to me.
Socialist government policies have been in the business of ruining family farming in America for years. It is a precious thing to capture one small scene of this dying industry and I am praying for a reversal of the mindset of our government which takes from people and produces nothing. Greenways do not, in any way, help the production of food or goods for our country. The Land Conservancy Group, and its friends, are in the business of taking privately owned land and giving it over to the government using your tax dollars to do it. Shame on you if you are participating in this unconstitutional travesty.

I know you will recognize the lamb from a previous post a week or so ago. I did the lamb as a 8X8 study before I began painting this one. I now think that was helpful...as it made me think through the composition and the contrast between the two subjects.

This piece is designated for "A Natural View," our show at the Schiele Museum of Natural History...unless it is purchased prior to that. I am picturing it above the mantel on a stone fireplace in a family room or on the wall in someone's guest room or bedroom. It has a rustic feel about it and reminds me of the houses in Blowing Rock, NC or in Cashiers, NC, those lovely places in the mountains we go for peace away from the cities. A country pastoral scene. That was the intent...I hope I got there.

(the colors in the painting are more true in the picture without the frame)

Peel Me a Grape

2009-01-27T14:21:00.002-02:00

"Peel Me a Grape"
5X7
Oil on Canvas Panel
Available

This is a reprise of a piece from some time ago...Still under time constraints..working on bigger pieces for the upcoming Guild show, "A Natural View" in collaboration with the Schiele Museum of Natural History. Entries are due the end of February, so the heat is on.

Lambkin

2009-01-21T14:45:00.006-02:00

"Lambkin"
8X8
Acrylic on Canvas Panel
Available

Click on picture to enlarge the view.

Contact to Purchase

Dropping back ten yards to punt...I have been so rushed and overwhelmed lately, that I decided to grab the acrylics to push myself to do something quicker. This is a scene I have been wanting to do...mostly because of the tranquility of it...a mood I am really needing right now.....in a big big way....

Hope you like it..

Stop The EPA From Taxes on Cows

2009-01-15T16:29:00.002-02:00

"Holstein Grazing"
8X10
Oil on Panel
Available

Click on picture to enlarge the view.

Contact to Purchase

Yeah, I know the drill. I am an artist so I'm supposed to be a flaky liberal, an emotional wreck, and on my knees to the environmental zealots who supposedly are going after the "bad" guys to save the planet. But, nooooooo...not me. Not playing that game. Do I love the planet? For crying out loud, what kind of question is that? Am I outraged at pollution? Again, what kind of question is that? Next you'll be asking me, when did I stop beating my dog? Give it up already!

So I bring you this adorable, valuable, wonderful creature....the Holstein! According to Al Gore's army of hypocrites, this is one of the horrible causes of his fictional global warming. The humble cow. Your great new President just appointed one of these zealots to head up the EPA. The plan on the table is to start taxing farmers for each and every head of livestock, including cows, pigs, goats, etc., to offset the "bad" emissions of carbon dioxide from these creatures. As if farmers are not having a bad enough time of it already. As if this money grab is going to make one iota of difference, except to further enhance the big government coffers. If this is news to you, I'm sorry to ruin your day. If you know about it already, please call, email, and write to every politician you know and tell them to STOP THIS NONSENSE!

I recently wrote an article with the truth on this issue, facts and more, that was published locally in our hometown newspaper. If you would like to read the entire article, I am about to publish it later today on my other blog: My Tea Party Chronicle

Like most artists I admire, I am inspired by the wonders of nature. That doesn't mean I ascribe to the idea that we should punish farmers and, in effect, raise the prices on necessary food supplies and continue to erode what is left of our agrarian communities. Did you really vote for this??? Is this what you think is an appropriate response to a false premise and a false prophet?

Back to the easel.... stay tuned!! :-)

My Tea Party

2009-01-12T18:06:00.007-02:00

"Queen's Cup"
Oil on Board
NFS

My Tea Party Chronicle
Click on Link Above!!

You're Invited! To a new blog I have established...which is just for the sake of getting it all off my chest and, hopefully, enlightening some people.
As if I have any time for another endeavor...but passion counts for something and I am just going to have to type faster if I am going to get it all out there.

I think I may be some kind of anomaly.....an artist who doesn't buy into the liberal, big government, global warming, peace mongering, guilt trips, whining and moaning about how bad Americans are, etc. Not only that, but I am becoming so so sick of hearing this nonsense and drivel that I can't stand it. I have no clue if there are other artists out there who, like me, are fed up with the liberals slant on the world. Nevertheless, I have decided to quit the silence and speak up.

Quite possibly I am taking on too much. As some of you know I have a very elderly father who is taking up a great deal of my time, a husband, a dog, an art guild, a house, a son (with family) who is in Korea, a daughter, and a lot of responsibilities. I have recently written and had published an editorial regarding the stupidity of global warming and the war on Carbon Dioxide. I care about our country, the environment, animals, and many other things...

Please click on the link above and you can come along with me as I periodically let it all out!! There are two posts and a link to a very important article by Al Fin on the reason we have an economic crisis.
Enjoy!!

'Magnolia Grande Flora'

2009-01-10T02:39:00.004-02:00

"The Crown Jewel"
5X7
Oil on Panel
Available

Contact to Purchase

I am lucky enough to have acquired two of the large Southern Magnolia trees with my property. They sit in a very wooded area of the yard, though one of them is on the perimeter of the woods so it gets plenty of sun and air. They are the original kind, not the newer decorative versions. Each summer we have some of the fragrance wafting across the front yard and a few blossoms that we can reach to cut and bring into the house. It's one of those gifts for a girl who grew up in the North but appreciates the Southern climate more than I can say.

If you are interested in purchasing this one...click on the link above and let me know! :-)

'Winter Berries'

2009-01-07T14:32:00.003-02:00

"Winter Berries"
7X5
Oil on Panel
Available

Contact to Purchase

Gloomy grey days of winter here. Actually it feels like an English grey, misty, foggy, rainy, snuggly sort of, "Let's eat scones and drink a lot of tea!" kind of weather we are having lately. It makes you grateful for the good roof over your head, the fireplace, the gas range, the quilts, the dear dog who looks bored....and of course the warm studio and paints. I'm glad for it all. We watch the birds diving in and out of the bushes gathering berries. It's a wonderful life when I get to stay home in my studio on inclement days. Cozy and wonderful.

I found this one to be more abstract than usual. My favorite part is the odd leaf just above the berries to the left of the stem...it had a bittersweet color and part of it was eaten away.

Mourning Dove's Nest

2009-01-02T17:43:00.003-02:00

"Mourning Dove's Nest"
5X7
Oil on Panel
NFS

There is a reason for this painting that looks like I am getting a jump on spring when, in fact, it is just the second day of January. Before Christmas I painted a Mourning Dove..."Turtle Dove"...for a nature theme of Christmas. Truth is I love painting nature themes a good bit of the time. There is a Guild show coming up requiring entries by the first of March. This Guild show is one of my favorites. It is held at the Schiele Museum of Natural History and the theme of the show is "A Natural View." None of the art is supposed to have anything man-made depicted. Au Naturel..so to speak. Back to the Mourning Dove...if you will scroll down a few posts you will see her. This painting of the nest is a companion to that. I am thinking I will have them framed in a double mat within one frame. I don't usually do that, but I wanted to celebrate the renewal of life with this idea. Hope I accomplished that. Can spring be far behind???

Rolling Hills Over Farmland

2008-12-29T19:21:00.005-02:00

"Rolling Clouds Over Farmland"
6X6
Oil on Gessoed Panel
Available

Contact to Purchase

Warming up with a small and simple landscape. This is one of those scenes that grabs you as you are driving along on the North Carolina roads. Red clay, green trees, and blue skies...and with luck, some really pretty clouds crossing the horizons. Having been away from my brushes for a couple of weeks has not done my skills any good whatsoever. Couldn't be helped, but now I hope the path is cleared somewhat and I can get back to it. Of course there is the task of putting up the ornaments and getting the house finished with the holidays and ready for the New Year. And the ever present care of the "ancient one."

One of my personal challenges for the New Year is to tackle my phobia of doing landscapes. I've been studying them over the holiday and having long hard talks with myself on the subject. I intend to conquer this thing and just plunge forward. I do still plan some still lives and animals, too....so it looks like we're in for a mix of different genre this coming year. In other words, you never know what you are going to get at Painted Plums. Hopefully, you'll find something you really really like!

Scottish Christmas Dreams

2008-12-21T14:36:00.003-02:00

"Scotties and Snowman"
6X6
Watercolor
©Cheryl A. Pass

Hey out there....still struggling with time constraints and family obligations, made even worse with Christmas activities. This little watercolor card design was inspired some time ago by the darling Scottie we used to have named Bailey. He was so cute and fun! We still miss him. We have some adorable Christmas Scottie ornaments on our tree because of Bailey. I think after I write this I will take a moment to go look at the "Barney Cam" at Whitehouse.gov so I can enjoy some more Scottie antics. If you ever want a great dog, the Scottish Terrier is the one. (Don't tell Bosley, our replacement who is an adorable rescued Mutt who makes us very happy, too! Besides, if you had to find a good replacement...Bosley is it!)

Hoping to get back to it soon with my oils. Just have had zero time lately. I know you also have holiday craziness at your heels, too...so thanks so much for stopping by and staying tuned!!

'One Turtle Dove'

2008-12-05T18:13:00.009-02:00

"Christmas Turtle Dove"
8X10
Oil on Panel
NFS (for now)

Click on picture for a larger view.

Commonly known as Mourning Doves....my mother used to call them "Rain Doves" because they would always fly into the yard just before a rain came. Now I know them to also be the classic "Turtle Doves" from the 12 Days of Christmas. We have them hanging around our yard frequently. They are so beautiful and I love them, in spite of the efforts they make at grabbing the seeds we put out for the smaller songbirds. They waddle around and flee with noisy flapping when I let our dog out. Their colors are so subtle, yet I think they look very sophisticated in their soft browns and black spots. The blue around their eyes is a very beautiful blue...recalling that softest of sky meets the sea kind of blue.

Sorry for not keeping up with posts for a while. This thing with taking care of my Dad has really cramped my time. And while I am not painting as frequently, when I do have time, I am researching ideas and thinking of what to paint next. I recently went to a gallery crawl in Charlotte and feasted my eyes on wonderful works by other artists. And I keep looking at the websites of artists I admire, gathering as much as I can by studying their works. In fact, I think I have come up with a new malady....I am calling it "Admiration Paralysis." I can get so taken with other artists' work that I hit my head against the wall asking myself how could I ever be THAT good and WHY am I even doing this!!! But after beating myself up, I force myself back to the easel and tell myself just to dive in there and keep going. I am running out of time for Christmas cards...but may try to get this image done on a card to send. If not, I'll just send out some other cards I bought on stand-by.

'Two By Two'

2008-11-19T12:31:00.005-02:00

"Two By Two"
12X9
Oil on Linen Panel
Available
Click on picture to enlarge the view.

Contact to Purchase

Since this is about water and a pair of ducks, it seemed the next progression (at least in my mind) was a Noah's Ark allegory. "And they came, two by two...." (This painting actually would be lovely placed in a child's wing of the house, but could work anywhere you have a collection of birds.) Mostly it is just about local wildlife which I love and enjoy so much. We are lucky to have some small lakes and a couple of big ones in our area, plus the Catawba River, so the birds are abundant. Occasionally I catch sight of some Great Blue Herons..so prehistoric and elegant.

But back to the ducks.....the water was a bit choppy and I didn't want the background to overwhelm the sillhouettes of their beautiful white feathers and charming, eager faces. It was a lot of fun to paint!! I was happy to have the time yesterday to paint most of the day. First time in over a week. Yippee!!

'Just Before the Fall'

2008-11-10T15:01:00.005-02:00

"Just Before the Fall"
5X7
Acrylic
Private Collection

I have been so slammed with my Dad's concerns, sorry to keep repeating this mantra, but I have had little to no time for my painting this past week. So this is a piece I did a while back. It is much more vivid in real life. The title refers to the fact that this lovely farm close to our town was bought out by a developer and a church and no longer exists as a farm. I had admired it for a long time. They had those wonderful Belted Galloway (Oreo) cows and fields of hay. It was beautiful and then it was gone. I know this is happening everywhere all over the country, but my heart breaks to see these smaller family farms bite the dust.

Now, hopefully, to squeeze in some time for new work. "Hopefully," being the operative word.
Stay tuned! :-)

'The Twig Thief'

2008-11-01T19:41:00.006-02:00

"The Twig Thief"
8X10
Oil on Masonite Panel
Available

Click on the picture for an enlarged view.

Contact to Purchase

It was the look on his face....so wary, as if he was going to be caught in the act or maybe the twig police were after him. I've been saving painting this one for Halloween weekend. I knew I would be in the mood for painting this beautiful black bird and the spirit he conveys.

The background color in reality is a much softer yellow than the greenish cast that came out in the photo. I tried it three times, but my camera must like the green shade better than my soft fall goldish yellow. The blacks are much darker black in reality, too. Sometimes the colors come out just right..other times you just know the camera isn't going to reproduce the painting as exactly as you would like.

'Cruising'

2008-10-28T00:07:00.006-02:00

"Cruising"
12X16
Oil on Masonite Panel
Available
Click on Picture to enlarge the view!

Contact to Purchase

I've been working on this one for the better part of two weeks. I know that sounds like a long time, but if you have been following my blog, you know that I am now very time challenged with the care of my elderly father. This has become nearly a full time job, so.....I am not giving up, just trying to keep up. And this is a bigger painting than I have been working on lately. I hope you will enjoy it!

Anyway, this scene is from this past summer's trip to Blowing Rock. As my husband and I enjoyed some gorgeous weather and walks around Bass Lake and the lake at the park in the middle of town, I carried my camera and took some shots as we walked. This was at the lake in town. Two very nice Mallards came by to greet us as we stood by the lake. I know Mallards are as common as dirt, at least where we live....but I like them nonetheless. They are sweet natured and only wish to hang out...cruising on a beautiful summer's day.

'Munchies before sleep'

2008-10-14T19:45:00.003-02:00

"Ram"
10X8
Oil on Panel
NFS

This one is a painting for a friend of mine. The story is this: Some years ago my friend and I were shopping, cruising around some antique shops to be more specific. As we looked around in one particularly nice shop, she spotted an antique painting of a ram and she fell in love with it. It had that presence about it...strength, patina, that air of confidence, a celebration of being. It was expensive. Really expensive for those of us raising our school age children at the time and not something she could justify buying. But years have passed and that painting sticks in her mind. She never got over it. A short time after we saw it she dragged her father over to that store to show it to him. I think she was secretly hoping he would buy it for her, but that didn't happen. She still talks about that painting. So here we are, all this time later and it suddenly dawned on me that, while I couldn't possibly replicate that exact painting, I could at least paint a ram for her for Christmas this year. She is in the redecorating mode for her bedroom and I was thinking this might be just the thing to gaze at while going to sleep....counting sheep? Only one, but what the heck! (if you happen to know who I am speaking of, don't tell her! It would spoil the surprise! So....shhhhh!)

Off to the next thing...
Thanks for visiting my blog!!

And the winner is....

2008-10-12T13:12:00.011-02:00

"Pomegranate in White"
9X12
Oil on Board
$625.00

What a nice surprise! I entered the Mooresville Artist's Guild Show, The 26th Annual Octoberfest, for the first time this year. I'm going to say glowing things about the Mooresville Artist's Guild, not because I won the show, but because they are doing a terrific job of showcasing their members' art and maintaining a lovely facility / art gallery. The guild is housed in a former train depot smack in the middle of a small, but booming, downtown area. As you know, small towns all over America have taken a huge hit over the years from the outlying shopping centers. The town of Mooresville has not let this demoralize them, from the look of it. The buildings are renovated and business appears to be thriving. It is a charming townscape and on last Friday night of the Art Reception for the Show, the main streets were alive with interested shoppers and live musicians performing along the sidewalks. I have to say, I was very impressed with the enthusiasm I saw in Mooresville, for the arts, but also for the ongoing life of a small town. The Mooresville Artist's Guild is certainly doing their part and have a very dedicated core group of people who are putting in quite an effort to make their guild a success. The depot has 4 large rooms for gallery space, three of which are rotating galleries each month for member artists. This show filled up three rooms plus part of another room. Very nice, Mooresville and Guild!

The icing on the cake was the scene I saw when I entered the depot. There was my painting hanging in the very front room with a blue ribbon next to it! Now that doesn't happen every day to this artist who spends too much time in her studio, away from the world. I was quite surprised and delighted, and have to say I enjoyed the evening.

'Silver and Seashells'

2008-10-08T18:49:00.005-02:00

"Silver and Seashells"
8X10
Oil on Canvas Panel

I must admit this is a re-post of a painting I did a year or so ago. It's hanging here in my house. It is one I particularly like and I don't think I can even say exactly why. It might be that painting that silver was something I dared myself to do. Reminds me I should try to do more silver/metallics.

There has been so much going on that I have had just a bare minimum of time painting. I do have one in process that I will post soon. My Dad's situation has escalated into more and more Dr.s appts. and more care-taking as time progresses.

So here is the news:
I am currently in two shows.
The first one is "The 26th Annual Octoberfest" sponsored by the Mooresville Artist's Guild, 103 Center St. Mooresville, NC. The opening reception is this Friday, October 10th, 6 to 8 pm and you are invited to come. I have three pieces in this show. I've been told I have won some award, but they keep it a secret until the reception, so at this moment I have no idea which piece or what award. Very suspenseful!

The second is "A Visual Harvest" sponsored by the Gaston County Art Guild, at the Jeanne Rauch Gallery, Gaston College, Dallas, NC. The opening for this show is October 16, 6 to 8 pm and you are also invited to attend this one. I have two pieces in this show. I spent most of Saturday assisting with the entries and the judge for this one.

Our local miniature show is coming up next month, too. That one is always fun and I love to participate in it. Stay tuned... :-)

'Preening Lady Duck'

2008-09-30T21:56:00.006-02:00

"Preening Lady Duck"
6X6
Oil on Masonite
Available

Contact to Purchase

I don't know if this is a quirk or something typical of artistic temperment, but when I am painting certain subjects, I seek allegory as I paint them. Does she have a Saturday date for a swim with a handsome Drake? Or is she merely picking at a bug in her feathers? Whichever it is, I also ask myself, "Where would this painting fit into someone's life?" Would you place it in a dressing room where it would remind you of primping? Or do you love ducks and would put it out with a collection of them? Would you give it to a friend with a card that says, "I hope things are just ducky!"

Silly artist....just thinking up reasons for someone else to love a painting that I enjoyed creating. I hope you like her. And I hope things are "just ducky" for you today!!
Thanks for visiting!

'Queen Anne's Road'

2008-09-28T16:34:00.005-02:00

"Queen Anne's Road"
5X7
Oil on Masonite
Available
$150.00 unframed

Contact to Purchase

One of the prettiest gifts of sight in the summer is Queen Anne's Lace along the sides of country roads. This particular place had a profusion of blossoms that made me stop in the middle of the afternoon and grab a picture. Queen Anne lives here! You can tell this painting is of an August day with wheat colors morphing into gold with just a hint of what September will bring us.