Marbles...

I've begun painting small to tiny oil paintings on marble and slate tiles for my Etsy Shop. They are a ton of fun to make, good practice and adorable if I do say so myself.... This one above is 2 x 2 inches and about 3/8 of an inch thick. I include a double sided 3M sticky tab to mount them on the wall. Oh - the ideas are just endless...
Will put more up as they become dry enough to scan.

New Painting -Plein Air

This little painting, 8 x 8 inches, was finally dry enough to photograph for posting. I painted it across from where I do most of my scenic work - see two posts back from Oct. 24. Been painting out quite a bit lately - more plein air posts to follow.

PS - This painting is now available from the wonderful ladies at the "Art on the Avenue" Gallery in Macon, Georgia.

What We Don't See

I've been thinking much lately about the fact that our eyes only see a small portion of what we humans call the Electromagnetic Spectrum.

This is usually depicted in books in a linear configuration, though I suspect that it's more three dimensional in reality and that there is much we don't understand.

So my point is - we're looking through the "filters" of our eyes. We're not seeing 99% of what is around us. The only difference, for example, between what we see and what we hear is time; albeit an imperceptibly small increment, but absolutely unmovable in its imprint on our perceptions.

At times, I feel as though I'm walking blind. As incredible as my eyes are, what is "really" there in front of me???

This to me explains the part of the Bible where God "opened" the eyes of the servant at Elisha's request. (2 Kings 6:8-23) I believe there is much going on that we're totally unaware of.

Field Painting

We had a gorgeous day here last Thurs.... warm and almost balmy for autumn in Northern NY. I had an opportunity to spend a couple of hours painting outside - soooo quiet and a fresh breeze that can't even be described!

As you can see, my field box - Ben Hagget's Bitterroot - has built in brush holders..... wonderful! : 0 )

Will post that little painting when it is dry enough to handle a bit.

Brush Frogs!

I use frogs in my studio for my brushes with paint on them - the ones that I'm using and are thickly loaded. "Frogs" are those wonderful glass things that people used to put in the bottom of a vase to stick the stems of flowers in to keep them nicely composed - standing up straight. They work great for keeping my really wet oil brushes from getting all over each other and take up a lot less space than laying them down on brush holders.

The one below I just found in an antique store - it has 11 big holes for bigger brushes - quite the find! I put marbles in the silver tray under the glass to hold the bottoms of the brushes more firmly - so they stand up straighter and don't flop around.


If you go looking for frogs - the taller - or the thicker the glass, the better. Of the ones I saw this weekend, the most expensive was $8.00 - some are clear and others are awesome colors. Have Fun!

Color Reel

I used to have my tubes of paint hanging on a line just behind where I stand to paint - like you see in the photo below. But the line kept stretching and I kept knocking them off with my head - and - as I paint more and more away from my usual spot, it was becoming darn inconvenient to traipse back and forth for tubes of color. So........

I took a lovely empty copper reel that wire had come on out of the garbage at work and my sweet husband built me a stand for it. Now I'm portable with the color tubes! I'm going to get a screw-in handle at the hardware store to make it even more movable - fun!

Goings On...

Been a busy week here - back at work doing scenic painting. Bad for studio time, good for the paycheck. I've also been in the process of applying for a grant. If I get it - a big "if" - I'll be posting the project and it's process here on my blog. If not - I'll be posting whatever I'm doing next! S0 - it's all good......

This little sketch above is available in my Etsy shop.

Thanks for stopping by -