Thanksgiving and an Announcement

Happy Thanksgiving!  Hope your day was a special one!

If you are thinking (or not) that Black Friday is way too complicated - then

POP on over to my Etsy shop for some great art and some special 'HAPPY HOLIDAYS' prices -

prices good for the next couple of weeks.

Click HERE

Figurative Portrait in Oil

"Ädvice from the Little Black Dress"

Painted in Oil

on Arches oil paint paper

8"x 8"

I had some leftover paint on my palette that was perfect for skin tones, so I grabbed this Arches that I had toned with red oxide and painted a quick one.  I liked the attitude that came forward and therefore the title.

Floral REVISITED

Spending these last few days looking over some of my paintings that have always seemed sooo dark and leaning toward that mid to dark - ONE VALUE..like the hollyhocks a few days ago.  In a room with not much light, these two got lost - they just didn't stand out at all.   This one is big - 18"x 24" - and it usually hides behind others because I have never liked looking at it. 

These past two days I have tackled it - and now I think it will be able to be out in front of some of the others.  I find it interesting that I always knew what these two needed, yet I didn't seem to care to stretch myself JUST a little more as I left them to dry. There are more like this.

Maybe there is some learning here - hope so. 

As I worked on this I was reminded of the quote I recently read ~

"Colour is the fruit of life." Guillaume Apollinaire

It is fun painting on really dry paint.  I like this enhancement (2nd photo here)!  Do you?

old one

updated one
I have lost that light hitting the red rose behind the left side purple tulip.
I will try to catch it soon,
the reds are pretty wet.

Art Contest

Just entered these three pieces...

in a online contest at Daily Paintworks.

Odds and Ends

It amazed me - when I recently dragged out a bunch of unframed art to show a client I saw a blatant need for some do-overs and correcting on some of my paintings - starting with this one - which I think was a little photoshopped to make it look better when I finished it the first time. Glad I took it off of 'selling sites'as it was really tweaked from what it actually looked like - that just happens sometimes. 

The background in this original painting was about the same value as the flowers and leaves, the reds didn't seem to pop as much as they do in the photo above and there seemed to be no contrast,

so I added some lighter background today.

"Hollyhocks"

I liked the first one, but when you looked at it, it all seemed like a dark jungle.

I like it better now, I don't know that this photo does it justice.

I also tackled the wrapped edges of three larger paintings, that I never had dealt with before - as the surfaces were so wet with oil paint when I finished them.  It's a little tricky matching the same color on the sky or a field surface, for instance, for a wrap around 

but I am liking how they turned out.  

Now for sale at my Etsy shop

Click HERE.

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