Three Bags Full

"Three Bags Full" is a 12" x 16" oil painting that I finished Wednesday afternoon in my painting session with my painting buddy, Carla. I thought I really liked this painting but now that I see the photo I'm not sure I like it after all. Maybe it will grow on me. I took this photo with my IPhone, it's not a bad photo but it's not the quality that my camera will produce.

I've started a smaller 8" x 10" sheep that I plan to work on this afternoon. I guess I'm on a sheep kick again.....I think it's because I'd like to do some felting. I have a piece started but haven't taken the time to work on it and it's been calling my name.

On the Lamb

On the Lamb is a 12" x 12" oil painting that will be up for auction at OVAC 12 x 12 exhibition in OKC on October 1, 2011. I absolutely love this event!

I was going to name this piece "Counting Sheep", then my sister suggested I name it "Mutton Head" and I liked that name. Then a Facebook Friend, Theresa Hurt, suggested "On the Lamb" and that name stuck! Thanks Theresa! Theresa runs Pirates Alley frame shop on Britton Road in OKC. They take care of all my framing and I can highly recommend them.

White Tulips and Carla

This oil painting is 12" x 16". I don't have a good title for it so I'm currently calling it White Tulips. I need to get more creative on my titles! It took me several weeks to finish this painting because Carla hasn't been coming to paint with me very often. Since I moved I haven't felt like staying after work to paint in my studio and my apartment is too small to set up a painting area. Hopefully all that will change soon.

Carla didn't want me to take her picture but I had the camera out and couldn't resist this shot of her with the paint brush in her teeth squeezing the paint tube. We must get the very last drop of paint! We have so much fun painting together and I have learned so much from her over the last 2 or 3 years.



Family of Flower Pots

This is a 12" x 16" oil painting that I finished about three months ago. The rocks were a real challenge for me. I've tried painting rocks and stones in the past and have failed miserably.....these aren't perfect by any means but at least they look like rocks! My dear friend, Erika, bought this painting from me when she came for a visit. She now owns 5 of my paintings and has requested that I paint her a courtyard scene as a companion for this painting. So I must get busy and start painting again, which is my favorite thing to do!

OKC Reunion w/college roomies

Carol Lyons, Erika Folmer, Me, and Paul West

First night of our reunion we ate at Ann's Chicken Fry, which is Erika's favorite place in OKC to eat. The food was great but not very healthful.....but what the heck this was a special occassion. I picked Erika up at the airport that morning and then we met Carol, who was driving her car, at my parents house for a nice visit then proceeded to OKC where we met Paul for dinner.

Ann's Chicken Fry has all these old cars and gas tanks in front of the place so it made for nice photo opps.

Saturday we went to Guthrie to shop. Carol and Erika absolutely loved this Glass Gallery and purchased several items.

We ate lunch in Guthrie at Geno's and the food was great!

Richard Goad, Linda Goad, Me, Carol, Erika, Susie West, Laban West, and Paul.

All good friends from my college years. It was fun to see them all after all these years. Richard is the minister at River of Life church so we attended the Sunday morning service and ate at the church afterwards.

Later Sunday afternoon I took Erika and Carol to Carla's house. I wanted them to meet my painting buddy while they were here. We ate at Ted's and then went downtown OKC to the bombing memorial. We took photos but it was at night and they didn't turn out very well. Here we all are standing behind Carol's car getting ready to say goodbye. Carol is driving back to AZ by herself.

We sent Carol off then I took Erika to the airport. I hated to see them go! We had a blast again this year and I'm already looking forward to our next reunion. Maybe we will have it at Erika's new house in Montana next year!

Blogger Problem

I haven't posted anything in a long time. I've tried to upload photos and for some reason it doesn't work anymore. Since I'm a visual artist and not a writer I don't have a reason to post unless I can also upload a photo.

Tiger Lilies and Friends

Tiger Lilies and Friends is an 11" x 14" oil painting that I finished last night. Carla and I are finially getting back into a schedule of painting and it feels great.

Precious Tulips

I finished this oil painting last week. I'm enjoying my flower still life paintings and I'm particularly attracted to tulips. We always had a few tulips that would pop up every year in our yard next to the house when I was a kid. I found it fascinating because they just seemed to magically appear. My parent's never had a garden and didn't work on landscaping our yard but we had a rose bush by the porch and a few tulips in the spring.

Painting of Flowers in a Jar

Carla and I haven't had much time to paint lately and the last few paintings that I attempted were horrible. However, I'm pleased with the way this one turned out. I'm trying to apply what I learned in my workshop with Carlene Reeves last October. There are so many different things to think about when your painting so I'm trying to learn to slow down and think about what I'm doing. This is a difficult task for me!

January 2011 FAD Group Meeting

We had our first FAD Group meeting for 2011 Monday night at my studio. It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone. Pictured above is Marie, Shirley, and Stephanie. Marie brought a new embroidery piece she has started and it is setting on the table in front of her. The base consists of a photo that she took, then transferred it to a piece of muslin. I didn't get a photo of Stephanie's little knotted piece but it is gorgeous and bound to be another award winner. Stephanie has a piece in the Materials Hard and Soft exhibit that will be opening soon in Denton, TX. I think I foresee a road trip in the future for our group!

The beautiful flowers in the vase at the end of the table was a gift from my friend, Paul. Carla and I tried to use them in a still life setup but failed miserable to capture their beauty on canvas. I took photos of them so maybe we can paint them later.