I loved the photo of my bonus niece so much I can't resist trying to paint it. I think this will be the last sketch in my beach series for now. On to painting!!! Thanks for stopping by.

Sorry its been a while since I posted. I was having a very difficult time getting into my blog and posting. This was a sketch I did after coming back from my mini vacation to South Padre Island. Thanks for stopping by.

Another of my inner tube beauties enjoying the beach. Thanks for stopping by.

I've taken quite a few pictures of my husband at the beach. I figured it was time to do a painting of him! Hopefully, in about 8 days we will be at the beach!!! Thanks for stopping by.

Working on this sketch of a woman with her dog looking out at the islands. Thanks for stopping by.

The Glass Blower

 

 

Still working on the big studio clean up. I took a ton of pictures when I was at the glass blowing studio in Oregon. This unfinished sketch is from one of the pictures. I hope I can capture the glow of the still hot glass. Thanks for stopping by.

Spent a fun day in Stephenville, Texas with my niece, her friend, and my sister. It was fun to hang out for a while. Still working on getting the studio space together in anticipation of beginning to paint. Hopefully, it will be ready soon. Thanks for stopping by. (This is one of the paintings I did of my niece. It is the only portrait I attempted that I actually ended up liking.)

I love to see people and their pets enjoying the beach. Thanks for stopping by.

Still thinking about the beach, hopefully; I'll be there soon! Thanks for stopping by.

Started another pelican. I really enjoy these wonderful birds. Thanks for stopping by.

My fascination with pelicans continues. I've started the big studio clean up and I'm hoping by the end of the week I'll be able to get in there and start painting! I'm so ready!!!! Thanks for stopping by.

Beach Snooze

 

 

Another little session at the beach. I love taking a little nap by the shore. Thanks for stopping by.

I really loved the photo I got of this young woman splashing through the water, shoes in her hand. A wonderful day for the beach. I still have work to do on the hand that I hope will resolve itself prior to painting. Thanks for stopping by.

(I did a few subtle changes and re-posted with the changes.)

 

So,  today I had a little jaunt to the beach and a visit with a longhorn.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

This young fellow almost got out of hand. The figure seemed to want to cover the entire canvas! He also had some interesting angles to his limbs that I had to work out. You wouldn't think this would happen, but, sometimes, it's difficult to figure out which way a line is going. If you have an issue with proportion and sometimes perspective I know right now you're saying, "No kidding!". Thanks for stopping by.

After The Dance

Apparently, I have dancers on the brain. Does that mean I have Dancer's Brain? Never mind. This still needs a few more tweaks but I'm much happier with it than I was half way through it. Thanks for stopping by.

We Three Dancers

I've been wanting to paint some dancers for a while now. I'm hoping to simplify the background so the dancers are prominent. So, today for a little bit of a change-up, little dancers. Thanks for stopping by.

27 Sketches/Counting Down!

I did a large painting of this photograph several years ago but, I wanted to try it again but on a smaller scale, 10"x8". I'm thinking of ways I can change it from the original painting by trying a different color palette. Thanks for stopping by.

I am so glad I'm a compulsive photographer when it comes to grabbing moments in time when I am at the beach. It is providing a lot of material to choose from for my paint-a-thon. When I'm sketching out a painting, I don't like to define facial features. I want to look at the way light and shadow hits the face when I'm painting it. Another beach scene and I thank you for stopping by.

I took a picture of these two playing on the beach when I was vacationing in Oregon several years ago. All little girls should have a big black dog to watch over them. Thanks for stopping by. (P.S.:painting day is getting closer!)

Another beach sketch emerged from my trusty No. 2 pencil. I don't know about anyone else but, sometimes, I find clothing maddening to draw: the folds, the way it falls, the way it catches the light....Maybe I should try a nude. Thanks for stopping by.

I'm going to be challenging myself with a couple of landscapes during my paint-a-thon. Oh boy. Thanks for stopping by.

So, today's exercise in frustration at the drawing board...boats. I've never tried to sketch them before and I can see why. They are not quite as straightforward to draw as you might think. Thanks for stopping by.

Another beach sketch. Some of my favorite subjects to photograph are people enjoying the beach. Thanks for stopping by.

 

Sketching, sketching, sketching...I have noticed that the constant practice is starting to pay off. As I do more and more sketches, I'm getting a better understanding of proportion and relationships between the different bits and aspects of what I'm trying to portray. Thanks for stopping by!

I did a large painting of a portion of this sketch. I'm now interested to see how the full figure will turn out.

Now this is going to be scary: A landscape with a cow in it!! I've never tried to paint a cow. It should be interesting!

More sketching, sketching, sketching...getting closer to my goal of having enough paintings to work on for a month.

For several years my niece has been kind enough to be my model for my attempts at portraiture. I hope with each one I do I get a little better. I have been wanting to do this one for a while. It's always a challenge to try to capture a moment in time in a persons life. Thanks for stopping by.

Sometimes, when I do I sketch, I'm hoping it will work as a painting. Thanks for stopping by.

 

I'll be the first to admit that sometimes, I overwork a sketch. This is what has happened here. It is only a 6"x8" panel canvas but, a lot is going on in the scene. You have the woman sitting on the bench, the dog on a leash standing in front of her, the beach grass, the path, the ground around the area where the figures are, the ocean in the distance, and the sky. It will be interesting for me to see how it turns out. I hope I won't go overboard on detail as I am trying for a looser painting style. Thanks for stopping by.

I've had this idea for a painting for a while. It seems to me I've spent a certain amount of time in my life looking out of windows at the world and I wanted to capture that. I'm interested to see where this painting will take me.

 

I guess I have the beach on the brain because I continue to sketch pelicans. Herbie has wrangled his buddy and fellow studio cat, Lady Marbles, into helping out with the household chores. Here they are joining together to help fold yet more laundry. Thanks for stopping by.

 

As I continue to work on creating more sketches for paintings, Herbie is trying to help out the best he can with the housework. Here he is helping to fold laundry. Thanks for stopping by.

 

I'm continuing to make sketches to paint. I have discovered I am one of those people that needs to have everything sketched out and waiting before I can go forward. I sometimes like to use a white pencil on top of black gesso for my drawings. I'm disappointed that some personal things arose that interfered with my doing the 30 Paintings In 30 Days Challenge. I am so far behind now, I am unable to catch up. When I have 30 sketches completed I'm going to challenge myself to complete them in 30 days. Good luck to the artists that are succeeding in completing their paintings. I'm enjoying looking at all the wonderful work being done. Thanks for stopping by.

 

Here I am attempting yet another landscape. Eeeekkkk....

 

I also continue to prep canvases for painting. Thanks for stopping by.

Another canvas prepped for painting! I am a person who has to draw out what I'm going to paint. If I didn't have any guideline, I'd have a disaster! Thanks for stopping by.

I have found myself taking on the 30 Paintings In 30 Days Challenge only to have a temporary job come up that I need to take. This may put a crimp in my output, but I'm still trying. I may not get all 30 done but my goal was to start to painting every day again and so far, so good. These are what I have sketched out awaiting paint. Thanks for stopping by.

Ok, I got a little behind today and will have to make sure I catch up. Oh Boy!

Number 3: A little late but here he is, "Little Captain". If you are a Grimm fan you'll know what I'm talking about. Thanks for stopping by.

Number 2: "In The Distance". I'll be the first to admit I really don't do landscapes but, I wanted to try one. I'm a bit unhappy with the trees so I see revisions in the near future but, that's the wonderful thing about oil painting or almost any other type of painting, revisions are always possible. On to number 3 tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by.

Ok, .......30 Painting in 30 days, here we go. This is a very crude under painting of painting One, "Drifting". I probably shouldn't have chosen a 12x24 canvas to start! At the end of 30 days I will show the finished result. Again the most important thing for me, in undertaking the challenge, is to make myself paint every day. They say it takes 3 weeks to form a habit so hopefully, by the end of September, I will have made daily painting a habit again. (Remember this is the under painting and this painting will go through many changes before you see it again!) Thanks for stopping by.