Sky

Lake Moraine

I'm repainting a mountain view.  I had done it on a smaller level, but now it's time to increase the scope.  This is what I have so far:

There are pines in the foreground, but I'm waiting until I get the water right.  

{This is finished, and reprints are available in FineArtAmerica}
Finished Lake Moraine Painting

This original, I gave to my dear friend in Alabama. 

This summer, I took a cog train to the top of Pike's Peak.  On the way up, the guide pointed out Lake Moraine!  I almost yelled, "My lake!  That's my lake!"  Hmmm, a puzzle!  But there's also a Lake Moraine in Colorado.  I simply fell in love with the view.  The mysterious evergreens--many varieties, by the way--the impossibly blue lake reflecting the achingly blue sky.  Little drifting puffs of clouds.


However, upon close examination of photos of the two lakes, I conclude that the Lake Moraine in my painting is the Canadian one.  

My first sight of Lake Moraine was on a Pinterest post. I subsequently had to search for views in winter, in fall.  It would be lovely to go camp there (were I the camping type) but I think this is restricted military area.

See?  Wouldn't you like to paint that in all the seasons?

More lake paintings

Thankful

In an imperfect world, there is still so much beauty. 

I'm thankful for: 

The miracle of a new baby

The God of second chances

The opportunity to begin each day with fresh eyes

Daybreak, even a pale, feeble sunrise where the sun attempt to pull clouds close like blankets

Seascape started!

More gold leaves

Really can't get enough of these. So hopeful. As soon as I painted this, K. claimed it for her sunny spaces.

More Fall Artwork

Of course, the leaves in Texas get more beautiful as you head west.  

Texas Paintings

Quads

                                                    I need to do another quad like this.

More Night Paintings

Glorious morning

And another<a href="http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/fall/prints" style="font: 10pt arial; text-decoration: underline;">fall prints</a>

Leafy details

Green! This was one of my favorite projects.

Artist Cards

At school today, my little sketch club will be designing artist cards due to the inspiration of the talented math teacher, Ms. P.  She makes amazing little anime-style characters!  It's amazing the creativity in teachers.  

Last week, we made Halloween-style pumpkins.  We even had some students write stories to go with their pictures.  It was fabulous!  

 

My new paint finally arrived!  I tried Zinc White from Golden, then Dick Blick's brand of Blick Artist's color.  My question was whether the pricier paint is superior to the students' acrylics. I'm thinking that it's a tad smoother and more blendable, less opaque.

I really had very little time for painting today.  I cleaned house, did laundry, grocery shopped, wrote some IEP goals,  compiled PLAAFPs from teacher input, etc.

And I watched the Mermaid, A Body Found special.  I was very tempted to put some mermaids in the sea scape!

More painting projects

http://beth-waltman.artistwebsites.com

One of my teacher friends had a birthday this week.  I offered her any painting from my wall at school. And, wouldn't you know it?  She chose my sanity picture, the lake surrounded by mountains that hung by my desk!  I'll have to finish another.

Sometimes, you'd like to dive into that lake--at least in your imagination.

Rich, golden leaves look a little like pumpkins or lemons. 

I'm experimenting with some glaze here. Paintings

Texas Hill Country Painting...trying to get the bluebonnets just right. 

The thing is, even from a distance. bluebonnets don't look like solid blue.  They have tiny dots of white on top of blueberry colored bases. And the sky--it can look a little like orange sherbet. 

Autumn Walk

Pelicans at dusk

Mountains

I started a new painting of mountains.  I'm using the fan brush for the pine tree branches.

Quaint Little House

At the plantations in Virginia, we viewed this charming little house.  It was one of the outbuildings, and may be more modern than the imposing brick structures.  Here is the photo:

You can see that I changed the roof angle and showed more of the house.  I need to highlight the trees and brighten the sky.  My goal of learning to paint architecture is progressing.  It's much simpler to splash on leaves for trees and flowers. 

Waterfall

More golf

Beauty on the Green

In the photograph, here dress matches the clouds. 

Since I did the two golf course pics, I'm

enamored of the look of golf courses

Fall foliage

Fall Paintings for decor

I've put all my fall paintings in one place. Growing up in Pennsylvania, I lived for the fall.  Football, the beginning of school, my birthday...long walks in the woods.  I miss all that color.  So I paint them as much as possible.

I originally painted this for my classroom, but my husband thinks it belongs in our home office!
I had a little trouble getting the particular blue of the sky.

This is one of our favorite beaches in the Caribbean.  We spent several days there, snorkeling and reading and relaxing.


<a href="http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/palm+trees/all" style="font: 10pt arial; text-decoration: underline;">palm trees art</a>

I took my paint set along to the beach and practiced people and palm trees.  Lots of fun!  One of the employees asked me to paint her child from a cell phone photo.  I did, and she was pleased with the result! 

Texas Hill Country

http://fineartamerica.com/saleannouncement.html?id=311bea123cae25e50390f9f78b2875f1#comment8343630Fine Art America makes it so easy to sell paintings.  I know I should be looking for galleries in which to hang paintings, but I like the control I have over selling this way.

Pelicans

The sea is serene, the pelicans are sociable. Still working on spacing of the reflected, weakening sun.

What color, Galveston?

I'm starting a family painting for a friend. They had a wonderful day in Galveston, TX. If you've romped on that beach, you know that clear water is hard to come by.  Some days, a lot of mud flows in with the waters that spill into the Gulf.  There are also seaweed-y days, and they tell us that it's better for erosion resistance to leave it. 

However, John's family found the beach clean and the water apparently a deep blue.  I'm working from a photo, and, yes, the water looked like this! 

Amen Corner finished

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/amen-corner-beth-waltman.html

The Amen Corner is famous to golfers, I'm told.
"Amen Corner (golf), nickname given to the extremely difficult 11th (White Dogwood), 12th (Golden Bell), and 13th (Azalea) water holes at Augusta National Golf Club"  from Wikipedia
 I can see why purely on an aesthetic basis.  The trees, the light and shadow, two stone bridges that remind one of Monet! Flowers and pines against the grass that is so many shades of green...and the water reflecting everything.

I can only imagine the challenge for golfers!  While beautiful to view, it must be a real dilemma to golf accurately to that small spot where the hole is located.

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/reflections-beth-waltman.html

This week's painting activities:
Painting with Dr. Mercado-Garza; I'll post her very fine sunset swing picture shortly.

I sold a painting this week on my Fine Art America site. Thank you, kind buyer!

I painted these modest green hills with one clump of flowering trees. 

I'm nearly finished with the "Amen Corner" painting for Paul.  I keep having golf-related questions:
How big is that sand trap?  What height should the flag be?  The far bridge--how small is it in relationship to the bridge in the foreground?

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Please "Like" my Facbook page!

I'm working on this very large painting of the "Amen Corner"for Paul.  

This has light spring greens and strong daylight.   

Moody skyline

Sawgrass, 17th hole

This will hang on Paul's office wall so he can take a mini- break. 

Bowl of lemons

Phase 2. I'm imitating someone else's very nice arrangement, not marketing this, but trying a new approach. Plus, K likes lemons in her kitchen. These are clearly not trees.

Now, how to give the bowl depth?  How to make the fruit more 3-dimensional? 

I like working out these problems. 

I continue to get interest on these.  I was not originally going to sell, but the questions continue.  So, here's a possible price list. 

My current prices are as follows: 

For a finished product that I dreamt up, 40$ plus shipping for a 16X20.  

For a custom 16X20, $50. For a custom 18X24,  $70. 

If you have already purchased the canvas, $30 plus shipping. 

Does that sound fair? 

Now, if it all gets out of control and I quit my job and buy a studio, then take a vacation and study in Paris, paintings will cost much, much more. And if I buy a villa in Italy to support my muse, I'll need an Art History degree, and more canvas.  And maybe an assistant.  So prices will continue to increase. 

And if I default on the villa, become homeless, live on a street in London, prices will go down. 

Fall foliage, Frio River

For inspiration, I have photos and memories of the most beautiful place on earth. 

Dogwoods

A prelude to worship this morning--
Dogwoods in bloom. I'm noticing the creams and pinks, silvery upswept branches, the way the petals float in the air.

Fall foliage

This weekend's finish

Art Shows

I've been asked by two people this week to participate in art shows.  One is a craft fair in Katy, and one is a show for September in Fulshear.

While that's exciting, and I might send a few things to the Katy show, I'm not selling art at this time.  Maybe in the future?

I wonder how real artists do it? I can't imagine piecing enough commissions together to make a living. How many people are out there who appreciate hand-painted items, and are willing to pay?  And if they have the cash, where will they spend, and on what?  And that probably applies to top-level, professionally trained artists, not li'l old me.

At this time, I'm not selling paintings.  The materials are so pricey that people are blown away when I ask them to simply replace my canvas if they want a painting.  When friends are serious about wanting a piece of original art, they happily buy me supplies.  When they are just looking for a budget-minded way to decorate the house, they do better to visit Hobby Lobby.  Or make their own attempt.  What I do is not that hard--a few trees, a sunset, a beach.

At any rate, I already have a job.  But it makes me wonder whether this might be a fun retirement hobby?

Whoville

Another effort at Dr. Seuss. This is for a friend's dining room.
I used Liquitex basics, some Dick Blick acrylic, and for the gold, one of those little bottles of craft paint.  It's metallic enamel by FolkArt.

Now, please don't tell me that no serious artist uses craft paint in their projects.  I am not a serious artist. Just having fun here!  

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This is so funny to me that this whimsical painting is a favorite for many people! It ws so much fun to do.

Frosted Trees

A little reminder of Christmas; I used a dark gesso and worked up.  I'm still trying to finish it with a sheen. My middle daughter has dibs on this one.

Krystal hates the sun in this. She says it looks like a nasty yellow spider with a fried egg center.  So I'm painting it out and painting in stars and a dark, snowy sky.  We'll see.