Rice and Beans Still Life Painting

Another still life done at my kitchen table. I like doing this "pairs from the pantry" art!

Acrylic paint on a stretched canvas, 12" square. Textured with gesso then painted from life.

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.

 

Gumball Machine Art Painting

Inner child inspired painting of an old Gumball Machine. Acrylic paint on a 12 x 24" stretched canvas.

Chocolate Lab Painting

Commissioned painting on a 16 x 20 stretched canvas, acrylic paint.

Here are some of the steps.

Recent Practice Paintings/Drawing, 4 good, 3 not so much

 From a lesson on how to paint "Sand and Foam" in an art book I bought at Michael's. Very happy with the bottom 1/2 of the painting! Top would be better if I wasn't painting on top of an old textured painting.

A pencil sketch that I then edited in Picasa to increase the value range, and I added a frame and matte effect. I did this to see if I could still draw. Took about 75 mins. Good, but I don't enjoy drawing. I'd rather paint.

This is an exercise in value range for myself. I finally got around to testing out the 2 free Atelier Interactive Paints I got last summer. Pthalo Blue and Titanium White. Done on paper. Frame and matte from Picasa. 

A quick painting based on a lesson I purchased from a great Australian artist online.

Next was trying out painting the patterns of the surface of ocean water. I don't like it.

And this was based on a YouTube lesson. I hate it--they look cartoonish with the black.

More surface waves--I don't like them at all. 

Learning GIMP

Here's a couple designs I made on GIMP.