Gay Pride Cake painting

I did this original 12" x 12" x 1" painting in reaction to the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. It will be going on ebay for auction and part of it goes to charity in support of the LGBT community. I kept the theme of this a happy one even tho I did it with the victims in mind.

The sides have the words "Love is Love" and "GAY PRIDE" on them.
(I think I may include words more often on my paintings in the future).

All five small donut paintings

Acrylic paintings on 6 x 8" canvas panels.

French Honey Dip Donut

The last in this group of single donuts. I want to move on to other subjects. These were fun to do and it helped me with self-discipline and speed. Maybe now I can focus more on slowing down and doing more involved work.

Glazed Donut painting

I did this today from life. It doesn't look like the actual donut, but I still like the end result. I guess i still have to work on better color matching. Neatness doesn't matter, but color and value do. And try to pay attention to brush stroke textures.

Jelly Donut Bite and Cream Donut Bite paintings

I did these in the last 2 days. I've been trying to improve my self-discipline. Finishing these in a short time made me feel great. I was experimenting and practicing with style, color combos, and values. The cream one is from my reference photo, and the jelly is out of my imagination. Each acrylic painting is on a 6" x 8" canvas panel. Happiness is always donuts!!!

Pizza Box and Menu painting

12 x 16" still life painting of a pizza box and menu. Abstract style, acrylic paint done on a stretched canvas with sides painted black. It's ok, but there were many mistakes, so I learned a few things.

Fortune Cookies and Rice painting

Still life painting done yesterday afternoon at my kitchen table. I only had one cookie, so painted one, then broke it and painted the other one, lol. Acrylic on stretched canvas, 12 x 12". I had to adjust the cookies toward the end because the one in shade was too light and the other was a bit too dark.

Peanut Butter and Fluff Still Life Painting

I've been so depressed for a week now. None of my paintings I started in the last few months are coming out. Seven failures. I felt like giving up. I wrote some not so positive sentences in my journal and then wandered into the kitchen to make a list and go shopping.

But I'm too depressed to go anywhere. I stood there looking at the loaf of bread on the counter. I opened the lazy susan. There was a jar of peanut butter and the fluff to go with it, sitting there, looking quite attractive. The next thing I knew I was setting up a small still life on the table and painting...and this little 9 x 12 acrylic still life was the result!

I took photos every 20 minutes to see how much progress I made in intervals. I did it in one sitting too! I've also never "painted from life." I'm glad to see I can do it! And I love this messier style. Total time was 2.5 hrs. Yay, I'm out of my slump.

Changed the muddy background.

For The Birds painting

Originally I did this large abstract landscape triptych in 2007. It was a creepy tree on a hill against a green and yellow sky. It hung in my living room for years, then I packed it away. Recently I got it out and decided to add some birds to the branches to add life to the painting. It's for sale on ebay.

Steps in making it.

 

2 New Paintings

Two recent paintings, using new tools and techniques to create original abstract paintings. 

Colorful Cityscape 18x24"

Non-representational Abstract 12x24"

Donuts

Here's my latest painting, Donuts, just finished today. I'm very happy with it. It took 4 hours of painting time, and a whole week of artist's block! :) Here's the evolution of the painting. It's based on a photo I took (last photo). And it's 12" square. Kind of small for me, but I think I like this size!

Peanut donut

Cinnamon bun and cream filled

Chocolate frosting

Darken darks and work on cinnamon bun

White cream, hilites on chocolate, and glaze on bun

Add a few crumbs, and sign!

And here is the reference photo I used. It was dull, so I "ortonized" it to bring out more vivid coloring.

Photo I created and used to do this painting.

Ten Cardinals in Birch Trees

Newest painting on 18x24" canvas. This is the first time I have tried painting birds and it was kind of fun. They are nice and small and I can only see them clearly with my glasses on. And as usual, I see when I crop my painting to give a close up view, it looks like another painting composition I could have or even should have used, lol. 

 Close-Up

Birch Tree Paintings

It's amazing how fast I can do a painting when I'm free of self-criticism. I did each of these in one day and I'm very happy with them. I will do more and want to add little animals like squirrels rabbits chipmunks and groundhogs or birds to them someday to give them more character and life. They're 18x24".