Whimsical, Colorful Paintings

I have always wanted to add more color to my paintings but haven't quite taken the full plunge.  Recently I decided to close my eyes to the local color and just go for it.  Here are just a few of my whimsical paintings.

The Joy of Paint Parties

So often people are fearful of taking an art class but who can resist a paint party?  A paint party is an informal opportunity to gather with others in a non-competitive setting to have fun with paints.  I especially enjoy these parties as I hear comments like "this is so much fun" or "wow, this is really relaxing."  My favorite is "I can't believe I painted that!"

Our parties last 3 hours and consist of an introduction to the artist quality materials that I provide, showing how to make your own transfer paper then transferring an image to the watercolor paper, and then a step by step demonstration of how to paint the subject.  We end with matting the paintings and taking photos.  Parties last 3 hours.  Yep, those new to painting can actually do a painting in 3 hours!!!  We all paint from the same reference photo which I provide and all photos are from my own collection or photos that are in the public domain.

Here are some examples of the work produced by these budding artists. MOST had never painted before!

Artists Make Terrible Bloggers

The subject title says it all!  I'm obviously not great at keeping my blog up to date.  I mean, I have all good intentions of blogging at least every week but fall far short of that goal.  I'd much rather be painting.  At least I'm doing that on mostly a daily basis.

I am continuing to have fun painting our furry kids although I occasionally throw in a painting of a flower or a person or even a landscape now and then.   Here are a few of my more recent paintings.

Portrait of a girl

A number of years ago I told my youngest son that since he hadn't found himself a steady girlfriend, I found one for him and that I had painted her.  I sent him a photo of my painting.  Within a very short time and before I had a chance to introduce him to the woman I chose for him, he found Lucy.  They dated a couple of years and finally married a year ago.  I painted this portrait of her around the time of their marriage.  Can you guess which one is Lucy?

Andy and Lola

As you saw in my last post, I was commissioned to paint Andy, a Nubian goat.  Actually I was asked to paint her "grand kid" who turned out to be a goat.  What fun that was.  When doing commissions, I ask for numerous reference photos and stories about the person or animal.  This helps me get a sense of the personalities and help make them more real to me.   I discovered that Andy had a girlfriend, Lola.  As soon as I saw the photo of Andy and Lola, I knew I wanted to paint this adorable couple.

These two are among hundreds of other farm animals that have been rescued and are now living in a Farm Sanctuary on the East Coast.

I've donated this painting to that Sanctuary and wonder what Andy and Lola think of it.

Dogs, dogs, and a Goat??

There is a special joy that comes when someone asks me to paint a special person or animal for them.  Often they are pets that have now passed on.  Cameras do wonderful jobs of capturing the likeness of our pets, but paintings seem to capture the soul.  Among the dogs and cats I've painted recently, one woman asked me to paint her GrandKid!  

Watercolor or Oil? Tough Choice

I started out as a watercolor artist and a few years later I added oils.  People ask which medium I prefer and I actually have a hard time deciding which one.  Some days, I'd think it was oils because I can easily go back in and change something mid stream.  Other days it is hands down watercolors.  I love the look of watercolor and my ability to put multiple, thin layers over and over to get just the right intensity of color.  Oh wait, I can do that with oils, too.  I love how easy the clean up with watercolors is.  Just wash my brushes out with soap and water and I'm ready for the next day.  Oh wait, with oils I can wipe my brushes clean, swish them through odorless mineral spirits (Gamsol) and then dip them in a waterless hand cleaner another artist told me about and let them sit and dry until the next day.  A quick swish through my Gamsol and I'm good to go.  So, you say, the ability to make corrections is much easier with oils.  Well, yes and no.  You can make adjustments with watercolors, too, by lifting or painting over with a more opaque color.  Hmmmm, I guess it's a toss up.  I love them both and will continue to paint with both mediums.  Oh wait, what about acrylics. Yep, you guess it.  I haven't met a medium that I didn't like.

Can you tell which is painted in oil and which in watercolor?  Both are framed without glass.