Autumn Glee

 An acrylic extravaganza

Grandma time

 I try to nourish artsy-craftsy inclinations in my grandkids. We always have great fun! The product is not as essential as the good time. Here are some of this weekend’s efforts 

Wreath made with plastic flowers from the bin store. I still hope to hot glue seashells is to make a creamy, rich looking wreath. 

Aqua paint to help with the right shade. I had failed to mix just the right color, so I finally just ordered from Amazon. 

Found a frame! This lovely Post card-sized painting made by Asher in summer of ‘22. The gold frame was in a box of random unused stuff. It picks up the color in the grass and really provide a finish. 

Dean’s glitter wreath

Jack’s toy collage wreath

I promise, we had glitter everywhere. This work by Jack gave him such joy! He gleefully glued and glittered to his heart’s content. If you can’t make a mess in the basement, where, then? 

Basement essential! The mosquitos are ruthless and bloodthirsty this fall. How can they be so thick in December? They sneak in every time we step out to wash paintbrushes. 

Little black stool, will be my temp nightstand. I squirted Aqua, green, and white directly on the surface, then used a crumpled grocery bag to distribute the paint. 

Close up, Asher’s Tree

Hill country

In the most beautiful spot in God's green earth, I love to paint.  We also like to walk and read and cook, work on house projects, and enjoy each other.  But everywhere you look, the trees and the light are ethereal. 

Massive bald cypresses hung with Spanish moss stand sentinal along the cool rivers.  Scrubby cedar interspersed with prickly pear dots the yards and grows into woods. 

I have involved all my grandchildren in painting. They have an eye for beauty and color. 

Several of my loves in one setting! 

I continue working on deer.  Several sites offer sketching tips; I am not a great sketcher! Acrylic is a very forgiving medium. So I views some helpful links, then sketched these deer in paint.

Canvas Size

I started this painting of a Florida beach quite some time ago.  It was a different challenge to fill such a large space in any kind of interesting way.  The shape being so oblong, I messed around with trying to fill in the blue without overwhelming the space.  This one is about 24" by 48". 

When I was finished, Sam really thought it needed some focal point. So there.  A parasail.  And golly, I'm going to have to practice that, because it ended up a little lame. 

Now, I'm working on some itty bitty canvases.  The challenge there is to be bold enough without underwhelming the viewer.  

On the other hand, this one is 8X10. 

Not a masterpiece, but it conveys the message.  My main goal is to get my reading students to put their thoughts into words and pictures. 

Prints Available

Cypresses at the Frio River

This week, we were painting at the Frio in the Hill Country.

We were painting the outside of our double wide trailer, not daubing at canvas with Acrylic.  Nevertheless, I took a swim and also a good look at the cypresses in summer.

Their greenery is unexpectedly lush and soft looking.  The cypress height is alway the most stunning, compelling feature, but in summer, their leaves--needles? --are so feathery.  Bare branches extend beyond the green.  It's very hard to capture in paint.

The really great feature of this is that there is water in the Frio!  Texas has suffered through several dry years.  We've had a lot more rain so far this summer. 

I noticed that the tips of the cypress are darker than the trunk.  The water reflections are usually smooth and calm, but if there is wind, it's wavy. 

There is something soothing about sitting by a stream. Or painting a stream, or viewing a painting of that body of water!  It's as if cares are being washed away relentlessly.  

The water is the Frio is always cool.  You can look up the flow, river temperature, etc. 

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=08195000

We also saw more inspiring flora and fauna: 

Prickly pear--my intrepid friend borrowed her husband's pen knife, and we tasted the meat.  They taste sweet, but seedy, like pomengranite. 

I would like to paint the cacti, too! 

Key West Inspiration

This island off the coast of Florida is a lure to the sea.  Everywhere you look, palm trees sway, colorful shops and cottages brighten the town, and pale aqua water begs for company. 

We've eaten breakfast at Blue Heaven, dinner at Sunset Pier, supper and Kelly's Grill.  We've shopped at Earth....something. I forget. The art is wonderful.  There are those street artists offering character sketches, tiny tile prints with palms, and also more serious art galleries where the Caribbean scenes are still fun but overlaid with Van Gogh type interpretation. Or a side of Monet. 

Then there are the wall murals. 

I love these giant sculptures placed on Higg's Beach.  

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

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?

Collaborative Painting

My friend and "sponsor" came over last night to try her hand at painting. Since Dr. MG is the creative drive behind many of my efforts, it made sense that she should pick up a brush and go to it. What fun we had! Later in the evening, C. Came by and added to his canvas. I am ending up by finishing off the doctor's tulip path.

So why do I see online artists hating on the wine and paint clubs? I don't get it. You resent someone enjoying a night with brushes, pigments, and socialization? We can't all be trained at the Sorbonne, and few of us will take the art world by storm. We aren't hurting anyone, and it keeps us out of the malls and off the streets. Have a sense of humor, and admit that amateur artists are experiencing enough creativity to appreciate true and trained genius.

Kids show their style and color sense.  This kiddo is careful to never overlap, to never mix colors.  My other grandson splatter paint all over the canvas. 

Paintings for Good Homes

TJ looked longingly at my rendition of Starry Night. Yet again, he asked if he could have it. And once again, I explained my terms. "Just bring me a canvas to replace it."

The other day, he had grumbled that teachers are rich, why couldn't I give him a painting. Since I have students who ask me for money, for my IPad, for my jewelry, and for the paintings on my classroom wall, I must draw parameters around my stuff. I give away pencils pretty freely. Painting supplies, however, must be replaced.

TJ asked the art teacher for a blank canvas. Last Friday, he went home with my Starry Night.

Then Kristen came into town. She had written me a check and also sent a very nice set of acrylics through Amazon. She took away 7 paintings. She liked all the tree paintings.

I feel oddly like a pet owner who hopes her kittens or puppies will be treated well in their new homes. It's not wrenching, as yielding a child for adoption must be. It's more a nagging doubt. That realization dawns that you can't possibly keep stacks of canvases around the house--or kittens, or gerbils, or dogs. Someone else who will love your creature should have that chance. And now I have wall space in class, and storage space at home to start the next sets!

Grand Times

The most fun is painting with someone else. We are so intent here! The end is not a paper or canvas product, but a forged link over the time shared.

Painting the Ocean

I'm finding this to be a challenge.  You have sun (or moon) and waves and water.  You want to paint some people walking on the sand.  The sand has wet places, dry places, and foot prints.  There's the shoreline where the foamy little wave puddle slightly.

    It helps if you've recently seen those waves, dug your feet into the sand. If you can still see that the movement is constant and dynamic.  The clouds float, the surf churns.  I'm trying to paint this convincingly.  I want to hear the pounding and swish of the water, feel the wind on my face.  I want my little figures to brace slightly against the wind.  Their hair and clothing should be a little mussed.
     We saw a semi-professional photographer shooting a pretty female showing a lot of skin on the morning we snapped these photos.  The girl's hair was stiffly sprayed, her clothing carefully arranged.  I'm not going for that.  (Ahem!) I want to portray normal people having a good time chatting and slogging through the sand. They are enchanted with the sunrise and each other.  Then, there's the guy under the palm trees who is raking up the seaweed and debris blowing around.  He's amused by all the tourists, but this is a job to him.  He's willing to work at it, enjoying the coolness, maybe, but this is where he spends all his mornings.  His head is down, looking at his work.  He's thinking about his workday, and is a little immune to sunrises.

Peachy pink

Channeling O'Keefe--I will probably give this to a friend at school who had surgery recently.  In lieu of flowers...if she likes vivid colors!

Holiday fun

I painted a lot over the holidays.  I painted for fun. I painted to relieve stress.  I also learned how to upload to FineArtAmerica.com.

So maybe one day, I'll also paint for profit--or at least to keep my hobby from infringing on my bill money.