Food and Culture Magazine

"My" new gallery, Art on the Avenue, is running this ad in the January issue of a really fine middle Georgia magazine, Food & Culture. The painting to the right is "The Bird Bench", so I thought I would give y'all another peek at it here.

Portrait Swap for Jan '09

Portrait Swap Jan '09
Different Strokes from Different Folks Challenge
9"x12" oil on canvasboard

I have no idea who she is! That was the whole idea behind Karin Jurick's challenge for us. This way we could view the photo reference objectively and use it the same way you would use a reference for oranges or apples in a still life. I took some artistic liberties with it, as with any reference, but stayed true to the lovely fellow artist that was in the photo. Hope she likes it! Keep a look-out on Karin's blog for the portrait that this artist does of me... and the names will then be revealed. What fun!!!
Update!!! The mystery artist is Kate Merriman... check out her blog and see the terrific portrait that she did of me. Look at all the wonderful use of vibrant color in her paintings and you'll see an obvious zest for life reflected in her work. I feel lucky that she got me to paint!

Daisy

"Daisy"
11"x15" acrylic on gessoed birch panel

Daisy belongs to Karleen, my 8-year-old granddaughter. . . or should I say that Karleen belongs to Daisy?! She has a sweet disposition and has grown up with the grandchildren, so she is a terrific playmate. That said, know also that nothing gets past her keen eyes and she knows instinctively when something (or someone) does not belong!

Merry Christmas, Karleen!

Callie

"Callie"
9"x12" acrylic on canvasboard

This painting now belongs to my 5-year-old granddaughter, Evie. Her sweet little kitty, Callie, has a great personality and was a pleasure to paint, but don't let her cuteness deceive you... she is the birds' nightmare! Merry Christmas, Evie!

Gabby

"Gabby"
9"x12" acrylic on canvasboard

This portrait is of my granddaughter Brooke's new best friend, Gabby. A mixed lab, she was a shelter pup and is still a little shy but is warming up fast in a home with four children who love her. Merry Christmas, Brooke ... I hope you enjoy Gabby for many years to come!

Christmas Eve

Painting most of the day today... pet portraits for three of the six grandchildren. Will post them later as time is precious right now. Lots of cooking yesterday and tomorrow. I feel so blessed to be able to have all of my children and grandchildren celebrating Christmas together at our house! I do hope you are able to be with family, too... in your heart if not in person.


My wish for all is health and happiness...

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

Art on the Avenue Gallery

I am so-o-o-o excited!!! I am now being represented in Macon/Middle Georgia by Art on the Avenue Fine Art Gallery! They are located in the Ingleside Village Shopping Center at 2368 Ingleside Avenue in Macon, GA. I would be so pleased for you to check out their website and visit their gallery to see ALL the great art. Owners Debbie Anderson, Ginger Concepcion and Mary Jane Venrick are extremely talented artists with a real gift for helping their clients find that special piece of art to express the personality of the home or office. Other special services they offer are commissions and art classes. There is also a frame shop on the premises for your convenience.

When are we going?

"When are we going?"
Art on the Avenue Gallery SOLD
11"x14" oil on gessoed masonite
in rustic barnwood frame

This painting is another in the "Different Strokes from Different Folks" challenge by Karin Jurick, where many artists take the same reference and make it uniquely their own. In this case, the photo was of a worn pair of boots that looked remarkably like mine! My dog, Spaz, knows when I pull them out of the closet that he is going to get to share time with me... either in the garden or hiking through the woods. He can't wait for me to put them on and gets so rambunctious that I have to tell him to "WAIT!" This is his 'waiting' expression... ya gotta love him!

Robin

"Robin"
16"x20" acrylic & oil on canvas

My sister-in-law, Robin, died this past Sunday from cancer. I painted this for my husband, her older brother, to help him deal with her loss. It was a healing day for me as well as I tried to capture her likeness. At first I envisioned a pastel color scheme, but any woman in her fifties who would ride a Harley through the North Georgia mountains is simply not a pastel personality! So I painted Robin as vividly as I remember her.

The left-hand portion of morning sunlight coming through the pines represents her birth in middle Georgia, which is where she spent most of her life. The right-hand portion of the sunset over the mountains represents the last decade or so that she and her husband spent in North Georgia, with the chapel depicting her belief in Jesus Christ. The lower portion is a soft depiction of Robin's hands as she applied lotion to my husband's hands in the hospital as a way of consoling him and wordlessly letting him know that "All is well with my soul".

Time Spent

Time continues to be spent on family and renovating the little rent house. Somewhere in there I need to squeeze in a few small paintings for my own Christmas gifts, so the blog will be slow between now and New Years.

Please continue to pray for Robin and her family. Sadly, the chemo treatments were ruled out and she is in hospice at the hospital in Blairsville, GA.