Better late than never :)

 I forgot to post my collage of all of the paintings I completed during the 30 day challenge.. but better late than never!  Here it is.. It was a FUN month and I had such a great response to all of my artwork.. I've sold 4 of them thus far, and most of the rest of them are already hanging in galleries.  So thankful for this artistic life that I am blessed to be able to live. ♥♥♥

Day 30 - Party Preparations

The last day of the January 30 days of painting challenge is here, and I am feeling it... I'm always so glad, at the end of these, for making myself do them.. but, in honesty, this one was particularly challenging.. Life is busy right now with many other important things that have challenges of their own, so juggling a painting a day has been a work out.

That said, today's painting is a visit to an old friend, the Highland Cow, also known as a Coo in certain part of the world.  I love painting these hairy guys, and love the fact that their face can carry expression even though their eyes are lost in their fur!   Birds often make it into my compositions too, as I'm sure you've noted :)  I wanted to put 3 little sparrows in this one, to create a dynamic story and after adding the colorful bunting, it looked like they were preparing for a party, and so a title was born. A party sounds like the perfect thing to me!

If you've come here to read my ramblings this month, I just want to thank you. With so much noise on social media, I am honored that you would take the time to visit my page and read my sometimes disconnected thoughts on my art, my life and why I do what I do. So, here's to you!  Thank You!

"Party Preparations", oil, 10"x10", click here to purchase

Day 29 - Fluffer Butter Berry

Hi :)  Today's painting is just a fluffy little hamster eating a juicy raspberry with a blue butterfly friend in tow...  It was a busy day today, and I painted her in the morning before heading off to my mom and dad's house to help them pack.. getting ready for a big move to a new home.. 

Hope you enjoy the cuteness! :)

"Fluffer Butter Berry", oil, 8"x8", click here to purchase

 

Day 28 - Day Dreaming

 Art has been a solace for me through my life. It is a place I can go when everything around me is sadness and pain, where I can find healing and peace.  Today's painting is titled Day Dreaming because when I paint, I can, if I'm lucky, achieve a kind of waking dream-like state, where I am immersed in the marks and the colors, the sweet faces of the animals I paint and the rich, juicy paint itself that is so satisfying to spread on my panel.. 

...and because this Bear is like a day dream, serenely sitting atop a giant cupcake in the sky...

Lastly, One of my favorite quotes about dreams...

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” 

 -Eleanor Roosevelt

"Day Dreaming", oil, 10"x10", click here to purchase

Day 27 - Freewheeling Spirit

 So, if you've been following along with me this month, you will know that I have spent some of it exploring different ways to get rainbows into my paintings.  This image came to me the other day, the turtle with rainbow skates and a little rainbow flag on his back, and toting around a snail friend.. it wasn't until I started painting him that I decided to also give him a rainbow shell.. 

Doing a 30 day challenge does so many things for you as an artist, and one of them is to help you to explore new ideas.. And while the work I've created is still rooted firmly in the whimsical and always designed for smiles, the rainbow is an area I wasn't sure about, but wanted to explore..  

(Here is today's painting, titled "Freewheeling Spirit" because, well, isn't he just?)

"Freewheeling Spirit", oil, 10"x10", purchasing details can be found here

One reason I hesitated using rainbow imagery is that the rainbow has strong connections with whole communities of people, such as the LGBTQ+ community.. And, to clarify, I fully support anyone's sexual preference, identity etc.. and have people in my life who I care deeply about who are gay or lesbian.. I'm totally down that the rainbow is a symbol that is used in their community. 

But, I am not LGBT or Q... so that is not why I wanted to explore it.. instead, the Rainbow resonates with me for other reasons..  I wondered, when I first thought of exploring the rainbow, if it perhaps has been too strongly branded LGBTQ, and therefore can only be seen as an LGBTQ symbol... will it work for my paintings???

...but then, I decided I was way over thinking things again... Geeze.. I simply wanted design paintings with rainbow elements for crying out loud.. (I  argue with myself a lot..)  Whatever the meaning is for you, that is great!  For me, I love COLOR... I love actual rainbows (I mean, who doesn't, right?)  and I have just loved the infinite design possibilities I've realized by adding the rainbow to my paintings. Alright.. enough of the blabbing ramble. 

Oh, wait.. one more thing.. as I was painting this guy, I thought about how he is a perfect companion for the Rainbow Roller-skating Rabbit from a few paintings back! You know, the Tortoise and the Hare, and all that..?

And here is "Roller Skating Rainbow Rabbit", also still for sale here :)

Day 26 - Chicasso

 This little dude is a companion painting to yesterday's "Artist Chick" and is titled Chicasso (of course!) :)  I love to paint in series (sometimes just 2 in the same theme, other times a whole mess..) and after designing the artist chick painting with red accents I knew I wanted to design one painting in blue.. I'm considering a green artist chick, but haven't yet designed her.. 

Somehow, I also have gotten into painting iconic shoes.. It started with me painting Converse All Stars years ago.. I painted them alone and then I started putting them on ducks (because, Ducks in Chucks..).. and they even ended up on bunnies and giraffes too! Then I opened up my shoe repertoire and added Mary Janes.. then saddle shoes, and wingtips and even Vans.. Shoes are just too fun to paint, and really, we all have a deep connection with our shoes.  The shoes we wear are, of course, utilitarian, but, it can't be denied, have a ton of symbolism that go along with them too.  I don't really want to explore the symbolism of shoes in words, but I do love to explore how different styles of shoes can change a painting. So this guy is wearing a stylish pair of blue wing tips, and if you compare yesterday's and today's painting, the red and blue give quite different feelings, and the shoes do too.. Hope you enjoy! ♥

Day 25 - Artist Chick

 One reason I've done so many daily painting challenges (this is my 13th!) is because I love the new ideas that come by pushing the creative flow.. To come up with new ideas every day, there is a degree of letting go you have to do.. letting go of censoring, letting go of control.  This little idea came yesterday and while it is so simple, the imagery and story are striking to me.

another point of interest, I had no blue or green on my palette for this painting.. Its probably obvious, but it was fun painting with what is known as an analogous color scheme, meaning all of the colors are next to each other on the color wheel (yellow, orange and red)

Oh, and how do you like the funky red saddle shoes?  (I love them...)

Last bit of commentary - by day 24, I am feeling the fatigue.. designing, painting and posting every day is a challenge for sure.  The posting in particular is hard for me, but also, I know, vital. Vital to get my art out there, and vital for myself, and others who care to come here and read my blab, to get a deeper insight into why I do what I do. I am so thankful to everyone who follows along with these challenges I do and of course for all of the kind comments and likes my paintings glean.  ♥  So today, this painting celebrates the challenges and rewards of being an artist chick :) Thank you for reading ♥

"Artist Chick", oil, 8"x8", click here for purchasing details