"Goin' West" Landscape and "Seaside" Coasters

**(Update on Seaside Coasters--they DID stick together using just the artist's Liquitex gloss varnish. So after that disappointment, I got out my small can of Varathane that I'm using on the chalk-painted chairs and brushed a coat of that on them. Worked great! No stickiness. I painted the sides like sand and they kind of also look like cork, even tho the coasters are hard inflexible material ( don't know what exactly..) Here's the final photo.

In the process of practicing clouds from a reference photo, I added land to the bottom. I heard that without a back, middle, and foreground, it is just a "study." Goin' West"---something I will be doing in the not so far off future.

And I was going thru stuff, trying to get rid of lots of things so our cross country move will be lighter and cheaper. I came across a cheap coaster st from Dollar General. I thought I could paint on those, so I gessoed them and today finished painting little seascapes on them. They are "reversible" because I painted a scene on both sides. I still have to do the edges and gloss them. And then make sure they don't stick together. I will probably make them available to purchase, but I don't mind keeping them!

Cherry Tomatoes painting

Cherry tomatoes. So much more delicious than grape tomatoes! Lol. I just finished this 11 x 14" acrylic paint on stretched canvas. Very happy with it! Mixing white is coming in handy.

7-4-16 Latest version: (It looked like it was missing something so I added a tomato top!)

(First version)

 (From this morguefile.com reference photo which I obviously cropped.)

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).

First practice of painting Clouds!

After years of avoiding them, I finally tried to learn how to paint clouds. There IS a method to the madness......

Jelly Donut Redo

Redid the background of this one. I think it raised the contrast and now the yellow in the donut looks more golden.

Before:

After:

Fortune Cookies Designs

I wanted a phone case with fortunes from fortune cookies on it. But I couldn't find one. So I made a few designs myself. These are on redbubble and look great on other products too. I bought myself the last one below for my phone. Link to see my portfolio =>

 http://www.redbubble.com/people/paintintheneck

Good Things Keep Happening

Good things keep happening in the area of my art. This morning I got an email from redbubble.com telling me that my painting "Ten Cardinals in Birch Trees" was featured on their homepage! It's in the form of an iPhone case, first one in the second row. It's listed on the Found! part. I guess one of their curators chose it and that's how it got there. I was so surprised! 

So it's a brand new kind of recognition. And nothing motivates me more! (aside from getting PAID) I can't wait to paint more paintings!

Next I plan on doing some stormy skies. Maybe with land, maybe with water. But definitely want to work on clouds. Try to incorporate the golden ratio and proportions into the landscape too. 

After that, I want to try impressionist cityscapes. Then night scenes, And of course I can always do more food!

Once I have a few series done, I will be trying to sell again. Or maybe even display them somewhere. IDK where exactly...

And I have to get going on making my website!!