Someday, I'll paint flowers

We have had a beautiful spring this year. It hasn't been overly hot (in the 100s last year) and my garden is healthy and in bloom. I'm not a flower painter; I usually take a lot of photographs of my flowers--but I'm tempted to paint some portratis of my lillies--they are breathtaking.

The Long Hot Summer

I haven't posted in awhile, tying up some loose ends before the long hot summer begins. I shared an open house with an artist friend of mine that was given by the Norma Arts Council. We had good attendance and received good feedback. The artists who participated also had two pieces in a special exhibit the weekend of the open house. I am pleased to say that both of my pieces sold. It always makes me happy when someone enjoys my work enough to want it in their home or collection. Right now, my husband is building panels for me in preparation for a very exciting solo exhibit in early 2013 (more on that later). I have to prep them and get them ready for paint BUT all of those pristine, empty panels scare me. I always have the pre-jitters of what if I ruin this panel--what if the painting is a failure, and so on. Once, I get in the "painting-groove" I'm okay and if probelms come up, I solve them.

Here are two little 4" x 4" barns that I painted during the open house. If you are interested in purchasing them, please click on DailyPaintworks.

Summer Barn SOLD

Summer Barn #2

Old Schoolhouses

As I drive along the backroads of our state, I often come across an old schoolhouse. Some of these wonderful old structures have been converted to churches or other uses, but most of them are abandoned and left to rot. Sometimes, someone will convert one into a family home, which I think is a great idea. I did find one that had been converted to a community center and another one in the northern part of the state that is part of a reconstructed prairie town, along with a church and railway station. This schoolhouse sits abandoned near a very busy interstate and is surrounded by industrial growth. It's a very impressive structure, larger than most I've seen, and I think its lines are beautiful. Of course, it is pretty much boarded up, but I decided to remove a few boards and paint it as it might have looked long ago (maybe a little more colorful). I will probably paint it several times from different angles, as I think its future is doubtful. Click Daily Paintworks for purchasing information.

Prairie School, acrylic on cradled wood panel, 6" x 6"

Condo Coop

Condo Coop, acrylic on cradled wood panel, 6" x 6"

As I said in my previous post, I'm amazed by the different shapes and sizes of chicken coops. This fancy little coop is on a farm east of town. It's not being using to house chickens any more, but I think the chickens who lived there were in a little higher tax bracket than others. This is why I named it "Condo Coop." Please click on Daily Paintworks for purchasing information.

Oh, those chickens

Chicken coops come in all shapes and sizes. I found this little coop between an old house and barn on one of my day trips. I have painted several coops; I guess they remind me of the chickens in the coop on my grandma and grandpa's farm. I used to help my grandmother gather fresh eggs when I visited. As a result, we always had a huge, tasty breakfast complete with homemade biscuits and jelly. Yummm. For purchasing information, please click on Daily Paintworks.

Big Sky Country

We recently drove up to Alva, OK to pick up some paintings from the Graceful Gallery. It is located in the northwest part of the state near the Kansas border. It was a beautiful clear day: brilliant blue sky and fresh green open pastures. The young soy carpeted the fields for miles and miles with its bright yellow blooms. My kind of day! When we do day trips I'm always on the lookout for interesting structures, especially old barns and abandoned houses. I spotted several on this glorius day and the little 4" x 4" paintings I posted yesterday and today are two of my discoveries. If you are interested in purchasing this painting, please click on Daily Paintworks for information.


Prairie House II



After the Storms

We had a very wild ride in Oklahoma this weekend. There's a Native American legend that says that our town proper will never be hit by a tornado. The tornado will always follow the river that runs south of town. Well, this has been true until Friday when a small tornado touched down in town and traveled across the central section doing a fair amount of damage. I was in the closet with my dogs, while my husband was sitting in his truck in the parking lot of the high school waiting to pick up our grandson. I was talking to him on the cell phone because my tv reception was down; I knew there was a tornado in the area and of course I was nervous. All of a sudden my husband said that the truck was beginning to rock violently; then his phone went dead. A few minutes later, the wind and rain began at our house. When I got him on the line again, he was okay. Later, we found out that the tornado went over him and the high school and touched down in the neighborhood just behind him. I don't think he ever wants to be up front and personal relationship with a tornado again. There was a lot of physical damage, but thank goodness, no lives were lost.

This litle 4" x 4" acrylic painting will probably turn into a larger painting at some point. If you are interested click on DailyPaintwords for purchasing information.