Bag-o-Peppers, Do I really want to go there?

I've been posting lately on Facebook so I thought I'd come back to my blog tonight.
Just a little study...don't care enough about it to redo larger. Sometimes a little bit is all you need to know you don't really want to go there.

A face takes me back.

Doodling with paint on a 12 X 12 canvas brought out this face. Then I remembered, this is very similar to the first oil painting I ever did, way,way back in high school. Except that one was done, for some reason, all in reds. Then it was stolen. Maybe that was a good sign.

For Shoe Freaks, Old Shoes and New Shoes

For the "Shoe Freaks" out there I just thought I'd post my 2 favorite shoe paintings. Jess's Shoes is a pastel, done last year, from my neices "collection" of shoes. The other painting, Pom-Pom shoes is a recent piece. I've been drawing a lot of shoes in my sketchbook and for some reason, I keep putting pom-poms on them. They just wanted to be painted.

Jess's Shoes • Pastel • 12 X 12

Pom-Pom Shoes • Oil • 8 X 8 

Four Paintings, One Palette

This was a busy week, with many distractions but I managed to paint right through all the visitors and conversations around me. Quite a feat! A few years ago I would never have thought I could do it. But being at the Foundry has taught me to breathe deep and persevere rather that pulling my hair out. These are small simple studies but they do seem to have a nice freshness about them. And I don't feel resentful as I do some weeks when I've wasted too much time.

Different Strokes Portrait

This painting was done from a photograph provided on the blog "Different Strokes From Different Folks", where artists are encouraged to paint or draw their own interpretations. This month artists from all over did paintings of another randomly chosen artist. What fun! Check out the link by clicking on the post title above. It's interesting to see the interpretations. I'd love to do more.

Two Small Ones for the Week

The plan was to do one hour paintings again this week, one as a warm to start each day and get me
in the zone to conquer larger pieces. Well, I just couldn't quit. So I spent 3 days on these two 8 X 8 paintings.

My daughter asked me for a Santa painting. So here it is Betsy.
Here's Santa • Oil • 8 X 8

This Thanksgiving once again I brought out and used my grandmother's china. It always brings back memories and makes me think of my loved ones who used these pieces. I love how the light hits and reflects and the way the shadowed curves accent the gold trim. It's part of the holidays.
Grandma's China • Oil • 8 X 8

Last Figure Session

I'm taking the week off to work on a home project. But couldn't miss our last figure session of the year. We'll start up again in January. Can't wait! This latest entry isn't finished but I may just do a larger one from it later.

Figure Painting

Above are images of my last two weeks of figure painting. Just for a change, I've been doing them in oil at 12 X 12 inches.
What fun!

Different Strokes, Too Late!

This is a small piece I did last week. It was done from a photograph provided on the blog Different Strokes From Different Folks, where artists are encouraged to paint or draw their own interpretations. Waited too long and missed the deadline but it's still a nice piece. I'll try to get the next one in in more timely fashion.

Chicago Street Scene

Here's a piece done recently from a photo taken on our last trip to Chicago.
Every time I looked through my reference pics, remembering this little guy just got me.
Had to get it out. Titled it "Walk On By".