Proud Rooster Painting

This little guy is only 6" x 6" but I really like the way he turned out. I have a frame on order at Pirates Alley and hopefully it will arrive in time to include him in with my other work that will be on display at 50 Penn Place Art Gallery May 1st. through the end of June.

Susan Carlin's Workshop

I painted practically all day yesterday and it was a perfect day to spend inside since it was raining. I promised to post pictures from my online class with Susan Carlin so here they are. It was really fun and I learned so much....Susan is an excellent instructor and I have a beautiful painting to prove it! Just look how much I have improved, it is amazing. I had to move my easel and painting station closer to my computer monitor and keyboard for the class so I included a photo of that as well. (I removed this photo because it contained the original image that Susan sent us to paint from and that wasn't supposed to be displayed on the web).

Susan broadcast the class on UStream from her home studio. We started at 9:00am and after everyone that was enrolled checked in on the computer she started showing us how she sketches the subject on the canvas. She video tapes it all so we can watch it again later which is also very helpful. We did our sketch and painted until around noon then we took photos of our work and emailed them to Susan. She critiqued each painting on the screen so we could all see what everyone else was painting....just like in a real classroom situation. Then we worked on our paintings until 4:30pm so it was a full day of painting. Susan is amazing....she is the Queen of Multi-Tasking! She sets up the video equipment, works on her painting, talks to us, reads the chat screen, and answers emails all at the same time! I don't know how she does it! Anyway it was a lot of fun and I'm very pleased with my painting!

Second Painting of Man From Lahore

This is the second painting that I have done of this man from Lahore, Pakistan. I gave the other painting to Ken since he is so kind to let me use his photos. He is currently in Nepal on a mission trip, hopefully taking more photos that I can use! Just kidding, he is doing a great work for the Lord so, of course, that is more important that taking photos for me. I still have a little work to do on this painting but it is 97% finished. This painting is larger than the last one, it's 12" x 16" and I think it works well with this subject.

I'm working on another painting that I hope to have finished before I hang my work at the 50 Penn Place gallery on May 1st. I probably have enough paintings finished but I like to have a choice.

Tomorrow I'm taking my first online class on painting portraits from Susan Carlin from 9 to 4 so there goes my Saturday! I'm looking forward to it and it should be lots of fun. I rearranged my painting station last night so I will have access to my computer while I'm painting. My keyboard and mouse should be covered with paint before the end of the day! I'll post the painting that I produce in the class tomorrow. This will be a hard one because it is of a young boy and children are difficult for me to paint. They have smooth skin and smaller features whereas more mature people have nice character lines that are fun to add.

Will Rogers Park

I didn't get a chance to do any plein air painting this weekend but I did go to Will Rogers Park and take photos. It's still early spring and all the trees aren't green but the Red Bud trees and azaleas are in bloom.

Good News!

There is an art gallery in Oklahoma City that is owned and operated by local artists that I have admired for years and years. It's the 50 Penn Place Art Gallery located on the second floor of the gorgeous atrium in the 50 Penn Place building. It's located across the street from Penn Square Mall and is in a great location. Years ago all the high end retail stores were located in 50 Penn Place on the two floors of the atrium and the multi story structure above was leased to businesses. Sadly most of the high end shops have either gone out of business or moved to other locations leaving many vacant spaces.

The art gallery is still there and it is a beautiful space so I was very honored to find out yesterday that I have been accepted as a guest artist to display my paintings the month of May and June! This is something I have dreamed about doing for years so I'm really thrilled for the opportunity. I was nervous about submitting examples of my work when I applied to be a guest artist but I'm glad I found the courage to do so. They have several small areas that they lease out to other artists for two months at a time so hopefully I will sell some paintings to help defray the cost. There will be an opening reception the evening of May 14th at 6pm so I hope if you live in the area that you will be able to come.

Two More Paintings

I just finished these too paintings. I haven't given them a title yet, I find it hard to think of names for them so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know. I wanted the flowers to be abstract but the painting just wouldn't cooperate with me. I'll post my photo reference below. I love roosters and have tried to paint them several times before......unsuccessfully in my opinion.....but I like this one so I guess I'm improving.

I took this photo last year when I went to New Braunsfel, TX to take a plein air workshop with Ron Rencher. My sister likes to see my reference photos so Sue, this is just for you.

Cousin Trent

I took this photograph of my cousin, Trent, last November on Thanksgiving Day. I thought he would make an interesting subject to paint because he was wearing three sets of glasses. The painting doesn't really look like him, what do you think? It's really difficult for me to paint someone I know.....especially someone I've known all my life. You would think it would be easier to paint a familiar face but it's not for me.

Oops! My sister just pointed out that I took this photo in October not on Thanksgiving Day. We had a family gathering after my Uncle Clyde passed away and Trent came for that. I'm getting forgetful!

Man From Lahore

Man From Lahore is my latest portrait painting. A friend of mine, Ken Womack, took this photo on one of his many travels around Lahore, Pakistan. Ken is a preacher and works for Mission Catalyst International as the Director of Pastoral Training so he has the opportunity to travel around the world.

Here it is the first day of Spring and we get a snow storm! I took advantage of the bad weather and worked in my studio all day so I'm not complaining. I finished this painting, started another one of my 'hippy' cousin, and did some hand embroidery on a felted piece that I'm trying to get finished. I enjoyed my day...let the snow keep falling!

Cats

My cats never share the same chair so this is a rare shot. Dudley (the seal point Ragdoll) found Tiger (the orange and white one) sleeping in his favorite chair which is located close to my desk in the office. Dudley didn't like that because he considers that chair his personal property. Needless to say, it wasn't long before Tiger jumped down and let Dudley have his chair.

My last two oil paintings aren't good enough to upload to my blog so that's why you are getting to see photos of two of my cats. I'm currently adding some hand embroidery to my latest felted piece so I'll post a photo of that when it's finished. I really enjoy hand stitching on wool felt.....it's much more enjoyable than hand quilting.

Birthday Party

Ron and I went to my sister's house Sunday to celebrate Mother and Ron's birthdays. Sue fixed a wonderful dinner and made a super delicious Italian Cream Cake. Laryssa talked her Aunt Rebecca into painting her finger nails and toe nails.

Daddy does his favorite thing.....sleep! He sleeps (and snores!) while sitting up. He was sleeping while Mom opened her birthday presents.

My mother opening her presents. She turned 75.

My husband, Ron, will have a birthday next week. Here he is reading his birthday cards. Of course, he must have that blue tooth device in his ear.