Blog

Day 26 I decided to try a rose study. I have learned so much in this daily painting challenge. I have concentrated on flowers in oils this month. It is amazing how much I had gained in knowledge and skills. I recommend everyone try the daily painting challenge. You can do it for a month , several months or a year. It has been so much fun and interesting, that I had decided to do another month of daily painting. I may change my medium and substrate to pastels for the next challenge period. What has been amazing is that I have found time during my day to do the daily paintings and learned so much. It's like practicing piano or golf or, well just about everything in life. Some days I produce great stuff but all days I produce good stuff. It has been a learning experience in more ways than one. I have learned more about how the oils work, feel, and perform. I've also learned how to control the use of medium and which substrates I enjoy working on. Each day I have to plan what I want to paint, what size canvas I'll use, and then schedule my day to accommodate that painting. I think everyone should try a daly painting challenge, even if for a short period. It is so worth it.

Day 21 finds me looking for the wild roses that grown in Missouri. Our native wild roses are pink but you can find a few white wild roses by old homesteads also. They have a distinctive smell but it is really faint. What they make up for in scent, however, they more than make up for in quantity. These I found in my favorite spot in Lake Jacomo along the roadside. With all the great spring weather we had this year they were blooming in abundance fueled by rain and gentle temps. You should really "stop and smell the roses" when you chance upon these wild beauties.

Day 19 finds me among the hollyhocks. When I was a child growing up, these were a favorite in my grandmother's garden. The old gardens had delightful flowers that you don't always see as much today. I have a friend however, that loves old fashioned plants and willingly lets me paint in her garden. It's like reliving my childhood with sweet memories of my grandparents and their gardens. Hope it brings back memories for you too.

Found out tonight at the reception that all three of my paintings were judged into the show at the Tomahawk Ridge Community Center show which runs thru July 30, 2017. Part of the proceeds from the sale of the paintings goes to support the arts in Overland Park Ks. My paintings along with other artist's beautiful work can be purchased thru the Center. You really need to go and check this show out. It's just a beautiful show and well worth the drive there.

Day 16 found me back among the roses. Our next door neighbor has a new blooming of pink roses and they were calling my name. After all, what girl doesn't like pink? Again, I used the pastel board and found it works better with each attempt. At first it didn't seem to lend itself to my technique but with a few modifications, I'm finding it works pretty well. After all, the thirty day challenge is all about adventure, learning and trying new things.

Day 15 finds us in the garden admiring the blooming daylilies again. I love all the colors they come in and that they bloom almost all summer with all the different varieties. I tried a new substrate on this one also. I have always wanted to try Ampersand pastel boards with oils. So, since I'm waiting for my shipment of canvases, I decided to give it a try. It really has a different feel which was a little hard to maneuver my paint onto but in the end, I think it worked. I will try it again tomorrow on another flower.

Day 14 finds me back among the lilacs. This spring was perfect weather for lilacs and mine and my neighbors bloomed in abundance. The smell in the house was intoxicating as I brought in lilacs to paint and photograph. Painting this brought back that memory of the scent in the house. What a lovely way to spend a day!

Day 11 of the daily painting challenge brings out the tulips. Tulips are The harbinger of spring along with daffodils and crocus. I love all the colors they come in and the shape of the flowers and buds. These were an absolute delight to paint. Hope you enjoy the harbingers of spring. All the daily painting piesces are unframed.

This is Day 10 of the daily painting challenge. What I have discovered in this challenge is that some days are harder than others to sneak in some painting time. This one was created in late afternoon using the pansies on my pots on the deck as subjects. Thought I'd better paint them before they are gone as it's heating up here and the pansies are waning. They can't take the heat but that will give me a change to change them out to more flowers to paint. Woohoo!

This painting is Day 5 of the daily painting challenge. These are growing in my wild garden down by the lake where we live. This year has been super for all my flowers and truly is a "bumper crop". They are growing profusely in my garden and makes for a very pleasant place to paint.

This is Day 4 of the daily painting challenge. This was taken from a photo I took out at the water gardens at Powell Gardens in Kingsville, Mo. I left out the water snake that was gliding among the lilies that day. When I enlarged the photo to select an area to paint, there he was big as life. Sometimes when you're taking reference photos you never know what is going to crop up.

This painting is Day Three of a self imposed dailey painting adventure. After painting in the Stems Plein Aire Event and having a ball, I decided to try and paint something every day. This month I'm concentrating on Florals.