Docked at Phillips

6 x 6 oil on canvas panel

I finally got back with my painting group today after being away for several weeks.  I really get inspired there but I am SO rusty.  I just haven't been in the groove lately for painting and I have had many wipe offs!   I finally decided to just keep going with this one.  It needs a little more work and I see, after photographing, that I must have scratched the surface on the lower left some how so it will have to be repaired.

Mac's WWII Combat Boots

 6 x 6 oil on canvas panel

This is one of my Dad's World War II combat boots.   He was in the armored division and saw LOTS of combat - something he would never talk about to my sister and me.  My sister has one of his boots and I have the other.  They are really brittle and I don't know how much longer mine will hold out, so I decided to paint one.    This is actually my sister's;  mine doesn't look this good.  The photo was real dark so I just made up colors and highlights to please me. 

Pres' Shoes

6 x 6 oil on canvas panel

Our painting group finally got back together today after the holidays.  It was great to see them.  There are 8 of us but only 6 were able to be there today.    Everyone was basically starting a new painting.   It's fun to see what each is working on - some prefer landscapes, others flowers, then others more contemporary styles.   I had started this one over the weekend and finished today with highlights, etc.  These are my grandson's bebops.  My son used to wear these when he was 2 or 3 with little white knee socks.   I painted them for a children's store here that sells my art.

I had to re-paint my Cardinal I.  I dropped it in the dirt and had grit in the background so decided to change it some - I think I like it better than the plain green I used before but the photo isn't as clear.   Happy New Year!

Neely's Shoes

6 x 6 oil on canvas panel

These are my daughter Neely's baby shoes.  She took her first steps in these 34+ years ago.    I couldn't bear to throw them out and they are mostly hard and brittle now.  I thought they needed to be painted.  It seems like just yesterday but then again at other times it seems like eons ago--miss those days!

Hand Study

 6 x 6 oil on canvas panel

I realize that there is not a big market for paintings of a hand however hands are a HUGE challenge for me so I thought I needed to work on one (I was overwhelmed by the thought of painting two).   I asked my patient husband (Blitz) to model for me one night when he was enjoying a glass of wine.   This was a difficult study for me because they are so hard to do - keeping the fingers from looking like little fat sausages.  Hands and fingers have so many joints and bones and it's tough to make them believable looking - but here is my attempt.

Imperial Revisited

6 x 6 oil on canvas panel - SOLD

This is another version of the first Daily Paintworks Challenge.  I sold the original painting in a recent art show and another person wanted it so I re-painted one for her.  I actually like this one better.  I approach each painting differently and I couldn't even remember the colors I used on the first one, so I feel like this is an entirely different painting although it's the same subject.

Home Again

6 x 6 oil on canvas panel

Hot, hot day again in Ridgeland, MS - 100!  This is a scene from the front entrance to our subdivision.   Right now it's lush and green but if this heat hangs on I'm afraid everything will start turning brown.  I have been studying other painters I admire and am attempting to pile on more paint, very difficult for me though!  I love palette knife work but so far it just seems awkward when  I try it.

Texas Hill Country

6" x 6" oil on canvas panel

We went to San Antonio in January and on a excursion out from there, we wandered around the area that is referred to as the Texas Hill Country.  I took the reference photo for this painting then as the trees had some unusual branching that I thought was interesting looking.  The trees were smaller and shorter than ours in Mississippi.   I think these are live oaks but I'm not sure.  

Mama Crowson's Thread

6" x 6" oil on canvas panel - SOLD

Today was a "wipe-off" kind of day.  I wasn't pleased with anything I did and totally wiped off several attempts at a kitten and this.   I felt compelled to post something, so here it is but it isn't exactly what I was striving for.  These are spools of thread that belonged to my grandmother - the old wooden kind - and I thought it might make a neat still life but I fiddled with them too much.   We are leaving for Atlanta to see our grandchildren on Thursday so I will get a painting break and maybe a fresh approach for next week.

Pirate Study

6" x 6" oil on canvas panel

This pirate and I fought for a good chunk of my morning and I'm not sure who won the battle.   My reference photo wasn't too good - not enough color and I had to make it up as I went.  Last summer,  I was in Houston, Texas visiting my sister and we decided to go to Whole Foods where they were celebrating "Pirates Day" or something like that.  This was a customer who was dressed to the nines in pirate costume and he was really into his character.  I asked him if I could take his picture and he was more than eager to oblige.  He was a pretty convincing pirate - never once did he really smile.  I had my flip camera and I was able to film him.   This photo really has a glare, but now on the left side.  I still can't figure out how to photograph these.  The light reflects off of the oils and I am always experimenting with different areas of my house to take these in.  I welcome any suggestions in the "comments" section.

Mug Shot #1

6" x 6" oil on canvas panel

I've been getting ready for a show this weekend and haven't had time to paint today so I'm posting one I did a few weeks ago.  This is painted from a mug shot.  The idea came from another daily painter who painted a different mug shot each day for 100 days.  They are really fun to paint because there is such a variety - male and female,  they aren't "posed" and none are smiling.  Interesting faces and of course each with a story!  I probably won't be able to paint this weekend but I will continue to post with some daily paintings I did last month.