Song of Spring

Song of Spring
Oil on panel, 12x6

As a misty drizzle coats our streets, quickly turning to ice, I am toasty inside and painting the view from my window.  The cool, violet skies drew my attention, but the harsh dormant colors of winter really didn't.  Not today.  Using my artistic license, I simply painted the gardens coming into their spring glory - instead of their winter sleep!  The honeysuckle on the fence remains deep green in the winter, and the "dog path" is a little wider here than in reality, but all the new spring growth is completely from memory.  This is a plein air painting - in the warmth of my home and with all the extras I felt like painting today!  Who needs to stick with reality all the time, anyway?  This is painting number 396 in 396 days :)

January's Paintings - all but 2.....

January's 30 Day Painting Challenge
well....most of them....

This is January at a glance for 2014!  I am going to try to post one for each month - if I can find he time to pull it all together.  the only bad part is that my files are too large, and I run out of space before I can load all of my images.  So, I just have to leave off one or two a month - unless I reduce the size of my images.......It is fun to look back at the month's progress, and it inspires me for the coming month.  So many things to paint, so little time!  Now, back to work!

Teapot Geraniums

Teapot Geraniums
Oil on panel, 11x14

Full of energy this morning, I decided to follow my pilates class with a Zumba class - with weights.  Silly me!  I have been "feeling the burn" ever since!  Arriving home after shopping (it was all I could do to carry the bags), I started dinner in the crock-pot, and pulled out my paints.  I love this old teapot - it belonged to my great-grandmother Ethie and was passed on to my by my Grandma Frank.  The handle is a little rusty, and the patina is a wonderful, rough finish - SO paintable.  This time, I started with a panel primed in black - which I normally save for nocturnes, but as my supply is running low - I am using what I have.  My goal on this one was to give the feel of days gone by, as if seeing this teapot through a dream.  I used lots of loose, impressionistic strokes to add to the dreaminess.  Finishing later than planned tonight, this painting makes 395 paintings in 395 days, and finishing up with the 30th painting in the 30 day painting challenge :)

Charlie

Charlie
Oil on panel, 14x11

Today, I paint one of our sweetest cats, Charlie.  He is another rescue cat who came to us young, and with the sweetest, most affectionate nature.  He is always one of the first cats to greet us - and sticks like glue when given the chance.  He has the most fabulous long hair - very paintable.  I loaded this one up with thick, juicy paint!  It is exhilarating to push and pull the edges with such a thick application of paint!  Once I felt like the painting was complete, I pulled out my palette knife and spread on a few meaty highlight strokes - leaving them a bit choppy.  This makes painting number 394 in 394 days, and day 29 in the 30 day painting challenge.

In the Stretch

In the Stretch
Oil on panel, 12x6

After six days in a magical fairy land, I am returning to my comfort zone.  Sometimes images just float around the back of my mind, begging for me to paint them.  It feels so good to be painting on my wood panels again, I missed the drag of the surface, the way the paint pulls across the slight texture.  Once again, I begin to run short of panels.  I need to get some more cut, and get them primed before I run out of surfaces to paint on!  Getting back to what I am so comfortable with is just like wrapping up in a heated blanket, with a hot cup of tea!  Well, time to get back on schedule and pick up my youngest son from robotics.  Back to the real world!  Painting number 393 in 393 days and day 28 in the 30 day painting challenge :)

Fairies at Play

Fairies at Play
Oil on glass, 9x12
print available here

This is the final painting of six fairy scenes by special request.  I love the happy, playful energy of these little fairies - it makes me happy just to paint them.  Throughout these paintings I have sprinkled in a few single flowers of lily of the valley, and a few pink clover heads - one planted so many years ago by my grandmother, and the other popping up in the pastures every summer.  Each has their own distinctly sweet and heady fragrance, sending me back to childhood days rich with joy.  In this painting I have also added a dancing mouse!  Although a little morbid, this is a nod to the little creatures that feed my daughter's pet snake.  Perhaps one day, I'll paint her colorful corn snake.  Often has been the time where she doesn't eat them at all, but snuggles with them until they are both asleep.  Who knows why she sporadically spares their lives - but she does, so this one is dancing with his new found freedom!  Painting number 392 in 392 days and day 27 in the 30 day painting challenge :)

Fairy Dance

Fairy Dance
Oil on glass, 9x12
print available here

The weather was amazing today, and a spent some time on the front porch with the cats vying for my every attention.  As I looked into the gardens, I could just envision little fairy realms at every glance!  Little fairies dangling from the birdbath, riding an iron hummingbird, and encircling an old nest - all these sprang to mind.  With chores finished, and quiet stillness in the house, I pick up my brushes to work on the fifth panel of six.  Today finds me painting a fairy dance, complete with a couple of childhood friends in fairy form!  One is the piper and the other one dances with his wife.  It is illuminating, because doing this on purpose makes me realize that I often paint figures with someone I know in mind - without really thinking about it.  The fairy in the pinkish red is another childhood friend - Stephanie, who always had a perfect pixie haircut - although her hair is a little darker in real life!  Perhaps that is just the creative spirit in me that calls on the images of my past whenever needed.  More natural every day, this is the 391st painting in 391 days and day 26 of the 30 day painting challenge :)

Fairy Party

Fairy Party
Oil on glass, 9x12
print available here

I feel like I am really getting into a groove with these fairy paintings.  Being so unfamiliar with the subject matter at first, it was hard to resist the urge to tighten up all my edges.  As I move from painting to painting, I am not concentrating on the illustration of it all, but rather I'm "feeling" with my brush and paint.  Naturally, my strokes loosen up - adding life and movement as they do.  The little figures are also getting easier and easier to lay down in the landscape.  I hope to loosen them up a little more as I progress through to the sixth.  I have had more fun with this one - in the zone until I had to turn out the lights!  Today was super busy - up at 3:15 for an early Saturday field trip with Michael at KU - the Future Cities Competition.  Then home with just enough time to change - and off to a wedding!  So, arriving home just a bit ago, I finished these little fairies in time to post before I drop.  Some days are just like that.  This is the 4th in the series of 6, my 390th painting in 390 days and day 25 in the 30 day painting challenge.  I'm hoping for a little down time tomorrow :)

Moon and Fairies

Moon and Fairies
Oil on glass, 9x12
print available here

Another day in fairy land - this time with the smiling crescent moon.  Fairies play amongst phlox and sunflower, while another rests upon the moon.  The subject is fanciful, and I found myself loosing track of time.  So immersed I was in my work, I almost forgot to pick up my youngest son from an after school project session!  I really need to set an alarm when painting, I can't tell you how many times this has happened!  Thankfully, there are leftovers for dinner, so I won't be pulled to that chore, and i am jumping right into the next scene - the one directly under this painting.  I've fully sketched it out already - and indeed it is half painted from the top down!  Once I have finished all six panes of this window, I will spray them all with a quick dry oil medium that speeds drying time.  The glass may just slow down the drying process considerably.  This third part of six paintings makes 389 in as many days, and day 24 in the 30 day painting challenge.  This latest challenge has flown by in the blink of an eye!

Fairy Swing

Fairy Swing
Oil on glass, 9x12
print available here

This is my second day of painting in a fairy land!  It is a curious thing to just let the image evolve.  I have a simple sketch as a guideline, but each little part painted in seems to call for another thing....and so the painting grows.  I added onto yesterday's painting, as this one progressed, feeling the need to tie the two together.  When all six are finished, I will load the finished images with their little additions.  I wonder how long it will take the paint to dry on such a surface.  This one too, is primed with gesso.  I primed them all after the mishap of the first day.  And, as I worked these sunflowers, I also worked others that are in the adjoining panels.  In fact, I have applied paint to all six, working from the top down - stems of sunflowers, lower trunk of tree and phlox which I have added to the two sides.  This is such a challenge for me, not at all my regular plein air painting!  Learning to control the paint on such a surface is also challenging.  I reached for my palette knife - and had scratched right down to the glass with the first stroke.  Knives are a no-no on glass!  This second part of a series of 6 is my 388th painting in a row, and day 23 of the 30 day painting challenge.

Fairy House

Fairy House
Oil on glass, 9x12
print available here

Today I have tried something completely new - painting on glass!  I was brought an old 6 pane window to paint, each panel a part of a larger scene.  I drew out my sketch, keeping in mind the big picture, and started laying down paint.  It wouldn't stick!  It slid all around giving me a buttery mess.  I hadn't even thought about applying gesso first, but it was the only option I had.  So, I wiped the painting completely off, so I could prime the glass with gesso. It was so much easier to apply the paint.  There is no texture to work with, but at least the gessoed surface will pull the paint off my brush.  This subject matter is completely new as well!  I can't just go out in the field and paint this scene from life, thus my imagination has full reign now.  Once I get all 6 completed, I will probably need to adjust them, "marrying" the colors just a bit.  As the paint dries a bit, I will also go in and add a few strokes to define the faces better...or I may just leave them loose.  I'll cross that bridge when I get there!  Painting number 387 in 387 days and day 22 in the 30 day painting challenge.  It is harder to just pull this stuff out of my head!

Holstein in the Pasture

Holstein in the Pasture
Oil on canvas, 8x6

There is something so peaceful about painting a pastoral.  It takes me right back to the carefree days of childhood, picking little white clover flowers and tying them together into necklaces - while watching the cows on the other side of the fence.  I'm creating a tranquil mood here by calming down the colors and adding some carefree strokes.  This is also a good study for me on the anatomy of a cow, I don't think I've ever drawn a whole cow before!  Painting number 386 in as many days and day 21 of the 30 day painting challenge.

At the Barre

At the Barre
Oil on canvas, 8x6

With this painting, I am remembering the countless hours spent shuttling my oldest daughter back and forth to dance.  For many years, we attended every recital and competition - from Disneyland to the MGM Grand.  I never tired of watching Tiffany dance, the music, the excitement of shows and competitions, and the long hours of practice were all part of the game.  I have really been wanting to study the figure in paint lately, and here I work for looser, impressionistic strokes.  I like the drama of lost edges and irregular lines, as if viewed in a dream.  This painting makes 385 in 385 days, and Day 20 in the 30 day painting challenge.

Cantina Dancer

Cantina Dancer
Oil on panel, 6x12

With a busy day under my belt, the wise decision tonight would have been to choose a small, easy subject.......but my heart was leaning in another direction.  I took my first Zumba class on Friday - and it was SO much fun, and the images of dancers kept creeping into my mind.  I have never painted them, and have always wanted to - so, once again, I am experimenting with totally new subject matter!  Using loose, impressionistic strokes to show the movement, this was a constant push and pull with the temperature.  The darks of the background are reflecting the light too much, since I have finished this so late in the day.  I will try to take a better one in the daylight.  I'm letting this painting rest for the night, but I may very well make a few changes on the face and back when viewed in natural light.  This one makes 384 in 384 days and day 19 in the 30 day painting challenge.  I should totally choose an easier subject tomorrow!

Faithful Friend

Faithful Friend
Oil on canvas, 10x8

What pet is more faithful than a dog?  Belle was such a wonderful, patient, cheerful presence ever by our sides.  She would always put herself between any of us and the neighbor dogs, constantly our protector.  She did the same for our cats - in fact, they all slept together in a ball of tangled legs, heads and tails!  Many times, she let the babies climb on her, patiently putting up with their antics.  I never saw her growl or bare her teeth, though she would "murmur" a warning to other dogs getting too wild in our vicinity.  This is the first time I have painted a pet no longer with us, and it is a hard thing indeed.  Painting number 383 in as many days and Day 18 in the 30 day painting challenge.

"Choose Chicken"

Choose Chicken
oil on panel, 6x6

As a child, I loved visiting my Great Uncle Richard's farm in Adrian, Missouri.  He raised everything - beef cattle, dairy cattle, some pigs and other livestock.  We could always find kittens hiding in one of the sheds, and often there were baby cows we could feed with bottles.  Oh, how they slobbered all over everything!  My Grandma Frank always had black angus cattle, and their peaceful grazing was a joy to watch - unless they had jumped the fence!  Then it was "all kids in the house" while the grown-ups coaxed them back over with brooms or whatever was handy.  This was a super fun subject to paint today - I have never painted a cow close-up before!  Painting number 382 in as many days and Day 17 in the 30 day painting challenge :)

Catnap in the Sun

Catnap in the Sun
Oil on panel, 10x8

Yesterday, I caught this little darling napping in the sun and knew I must paint him!  He is such a sweet cat, though he is learning some bad tricks from his mentor, Wesson.  They have both been caught jumping on the hood of my clean car, leaving a trail of footprints from the hood, across the  sunroof, and finally finishing with the trunk.  They also like to sit on top of Michaela's convertible soft top Camara, leaving a bed of light cat hair on the black top.  It is silly to have to take a lint roller to the top of a car!  Silly cats!  Painting number 381 in 381 days and Day 16 in the 30 day painting challenge :)

Old Farm Truck

Old Farm Truck
Oil on panel, 10x8

While out shopping with my oldest daughter, we drove by the old barn north of the Dean Farm - and the light was perfect!  Golden light hit the old truck parked within - and had me turning on a dime to capture the moment with my camera!  My kids are used to me seeing absolutely gorgeous shots - and having to stop immediately.  They may even think that every mom behaves in such a way!  The bonus here is the calico cat that was parked on the tire.  This painting was complicated as I tried to work all the reflective colors into the whole.  I first started with the main block in, fighting against my normal inclination to keep every line sharp and straight.  I wanted it to be more painterly than that.  Softening edges, I worked in complimentary colors to give it life.  After pushing and pulling the paints, I feel like this is a good representation of the place.  I gave this a lot of time today, more than I really had - but it demanded my time.  Sometimes I am at the mercy of the work, it simply will not let me go.  I'm not quite sure if I am finished yet, but I am going to let it rest for tonight.  I'll look again with fresh eyes in the morning, to see if anything jumps out at me.  This one makes the 380th painting in as many days and Day 15 in the 30 day painting challenge.

On the Prowl

On the Hunt
Oil on wood panel

I am having fun with color on this painting!  We have the most adorable cats, and today I thought it a good time to start putting their images down in oil.  This dominant male cat came to us ten years ago, and was named by my oldest daughter "Soco" (it was her freshman year of college).  Among his many adventures was the time he hid in our van, only to jump out in a store parking lot!  We chased him from car to car, enlisting the help of three cheerleaders who had just left the store.  Finally, we caught him - scared out of his wits - and took him back home.  He never went near the van again.  Painting number 379 in as many days and Day 14 in the 30 day painting challenge.

Zinnia Impressions

Zinnia Impressions
Oil on canvas, 4x4

Once I had finished this 4 inch miniature, I thought that maybe I should paint something else to post today.  This is very loose, and left me searching for something else to paint.  Well, then the hours swept away with the many various chores of the day, and here I am - without something else to post!  Alas, I must go with what I have - and this crazy little zinnia is it.  I had the most amazing orange zinnias last summer, and this painting just does not do them justice.  I think I'll go a more traditional route on the next one, as this one has me feeling like I have been painting in someone else's skin today.  This is painting number 378 in 378 days, and Day 13 in the current 30 day painting challenge.

Rooster by the Barn

Rooster by the Barn
Oil on panel, 6x6

Today, it took me a long time to decide on what to paint.  I wanted to paint something new, I was thinking of the palette knife at the time......but finally decided on this glorious rooster set by our milk barn.  Then, off to a basketball game (where Michael was the basket king), lunch out, and then returning home to get started on my painting.  I had forgotten about the game, or I would have been sure to paint early!  I have never painted a chicken or rooster before - and it was fun!  It is always fun to put such thick. bold color on the panel, almost like I am carelessly breaking some rule and painting with reckless abandon!  This is painting number 377 in 377 days and Day 12 in the 30 day painting challenge :)

Path to the Old Barn

Path to the Old Barn
Oil on panel, 6x6, palette knife

I have taken so many wonderful photos during my journeys - I will never be able to paint them all.  I have a love for old barns, having played in them as a child at my grandparent's and my great uncle's farms.  There is nothing more fun for a child than to explore through old barns!  For this painting, I have once again used my palette knife.  I started with a 6x6 wood panel that I had previously primed with an orange color.  You can see some of it peeking throughout - especially in the sky.  I really like the texture that a knife leaves behind - the trick being to lightly skim the new paint over the previous layer.  I just can't get that look with a brush alone.  It is harder to wield the knife in small areas, and I wonder if I could master a portrait with just that tool. Painting number 376 in 376 days and Day 11 in the 30 day painting challenge.

Palette Knife Apples

Palette Knife Apples
Oil on panel, 6x5

It was so good to have my parents here for nearly a month!  Through the good times and bad - it was so much better to have them here with me, instead of 800 miles away.  They headed out this morning, and I grabbed my paints.  Wanting to break away from the norm - I pulled out my palette knife for this one.  I rarely do a still life, so this was fun and quirky for me.  That is the great thing about painting every day, I don't have to fit into a mold or restrict my creativity, I can simply paint what I want every day, and hopefully learn a little something from each stroke.  This is painting number 375 in 375 days and Day 10 of the 30 day painting challenge.

Vintage Daisies

Vintage Daisies
Oil on panel, 6x6
sold - print available here

Dreaming of summer, I am painting the daisies of a season past.  I planted two new varieties of these babies last year, and I am looking forward to their abundant blooms next summer.  I have many flower beds, but decided to give these a place of honor right next to the front porch - so I hope they don't let me down.  If they do, I will be transplanting them in the fall to a lesser location!  I wanted to put a dreamier, vintage spin on the otherwise vibrant color of these daisies.  Things are looking better for my dad, where each day he grows little stronger - strong enough to go out to breakfast yesterday and today.  I never would have thought it possible last Friday.  I am counting my blessings today.  This is painting number 374 in 374 days and Day 9 in the 30 day painting challenge.

Taking out the Tree

Taking out the Tree
Oil on canvas, 4x4 inch

One of the best things about having my parents stay so long for the holidays, is that I have heard stories I had never heard before about their childhood.  One such story was told by my mother.  Each Christmas eve, my mom's parents would take the kids out into the woods to pick out a cedar tree to use for their Christmas tree.  After dragging it back to the house, they would all decorate that tree in preparation for the coming day.  As a child, I remember that grandma's trees were always short and fat - bigger around the base than any other tree I saw.  Now, I know why!  My grandma always had the bubble lights on her tree, along with the big glass bulb lights - they were always hot to the touch.  I loved watching the bubbles rise along the glass tubes, it was magical.  Once all the Christmas get togethers were over, and decorations put away, the last chore would be to take the tree out and throw it in the pond - because "trees made good shelter for the catfish".  This is painting number 373 in 373 days and Day 8 in the current 30 day painting challenge.

Train through the Snow

Train through the Snow
Oil on canvas with easel, 4x4

 This clear, bright winter's day, has me framing and taking care of a few things I have lately been unable to.  For today's painting, I am taking a local steam engine and placing it on the tracks through the snow in Colorado.  This engine currently resides near the old depot in Belton, Missouri.  The surface is lightly textured, but the small 4 inch square size makes it look heavily textured on the large weave canvas.  I'm so thankful that my dad is so much better, and he is actually chomping at the bit to get started back home.  This makes 372 paintings in 372 days and Day 7 in the current 30 day painting challenge.  After painting daily for so many days, it really does become a force of habit to keep it up.  Each day has me finding my painting window, and adjusting my painting size to that window.  I'm looking forward to having a few days this winter when I can paint all day long!

Pulling the Sled

Pulling the Sled
Oil on canvas, 4x4 canvas with easel

Finally, after a few rather stressful days, dad is out of the hospital and steadily improving.  It was quite a wrench tossed in to the holiday fray, the worst part being just how scary Friday morning was.  I hope I will never again have to witness such a sight.  With so much of the country in a deep freeze, and we awoke to a temperature of -9, the sun which has been shining brightly all day is such a welcome sight!  It actually seems warm on the south facing front porch with the sun shining on my face as I remove a little snow.  I feel like a can actually breathe, the last few days behind me.  This painting makes 371 in 371 days and Day 6 of the current 30 day painting challenge.

Little Red Tricycle

Little Red Tricycle
Oil on panel, 6x6

Today's painting is a favorite childhood memory of my little red tricycle.  I remember the feel of the grips on the handles, and the way I felt so tall stepping up on the back.  Peddling up our long sidewalk felt like a little taste of freedom, with the wind blowing through my long hair.  The shiny chrome was slick and cold under my hand.  Isn't it funny how one remembers the simplest sensations of childhood, long before school days had begun?  This is painting number 370 in 370 days, and Day 5 in the latest 30 day challenge.  And one more day spent at the hospital.

Vintage Phlox

Vintage Phlox
Oil on panel, 6x6
sold
prints available here

This will be yet another day spent in the hospital, so I was up early taking care of all the things I was too tired to tackle last night.  So, posting early - this is my quick little impressionistic painting for today.  I have tried to grow various kinds of garden phlox through the years.  My most vigorous variety is the tall, old fashioned purple kind, my very first starts coming from Grandma Bessie.  I have tried the pink, but it was never very strong, and a nice white variety which is steady , but does not spread and multiply as the purple.  This painting is done from photos of the pink, before the hard freezes claimed it.  This is painting number 369 in 369 days, and Day 4 of Leslie Saeta's 30 day painting challenge.

Vintage Pond

Vintage Pond
acrylic on panel

One never knows what each new day may bring.  This day started abruptly.  After transporting my dad to the hospital by ambulance this morning, I find myself waiting for a room with my mom.  We are still in the ER, since the hospital is full.  Thinking of better times and longing for solace, this painting is of our south pond with the snow at it's banks.  Seize each day, cherish every moment you have on this earth, everything can change at the drop of a hat.  Painting number 368 in 368 days and Day 3 of the 30 day painting challenge.

Lake Quivira Morning

Lake Quivira Morning
Oil on panel, 14x11
Lake Quivira Paint-Out, Kansas

One morning, the Missouri Valley Impressionist Society hosted a paint-out in the fall.  After driving all around Lake Quivira, the two locations calling my name were only 50 feet apart.  They were along a path close to the water, where this inlet wound towards the lake.  At the same time, I started another, but it is not yet finished.  This painting and one other will soon be hanging at the clubhouse in Lake Quivira.  This peaceful painting makes 367 in 367 days, and Day 2 of the 30 Day Painting Challenge.

Snow by the River - miniature

Snow by the River
Acrylic on canvas, 3x3 inch with easel
Wolf Creek Pass, CO
sold

This is my late night posting after a full day spent at the hospital with my dad.  Thank goodness I was a couple of paintings ahead.  Since I am ready to collapse into bed for a few hours of shut-eye, I will make this a quick one.  Wishing you all a wonderful new year - and praying for quick healing for my dad.  This is painting number 366 (yes, I realized my count was off when I reached my original posting date last year - I'll try to keep better count in the future) in 366 days, and the 1st painting of the newest 30 day painting challenge by Leslie Saeta.