Vintage Sand Pail Watercolor- "Pig Family at the Beach"

I collect vintage sand pails and I think that probably makes me crazy, but whatever.  For some reason, I am drawn to all kinds of vintage items- I just love the history.  Sand pails are particularly interesting to me because I love the colorful designs. I can justify (or at least try to) buying them, since I paint them- sort of a "business expense".  Of course I am only kidding about that, and nobody (especially my husband) buys that as an excuse!  I am not as crazy as some of these collectors who will pay hundreds for them- I only buy them if they are a GREAT deal(in the tens, not the hundreds) and I REALLY love them.  I got this one for $35 at an antique barn on Long Island AND it included the shovel.  The rusted edges only make it more interesting to me to paint.

This watercolor is 18X24" on 140 lb. cold press paper - rough surface.  The sand pail is a vintage (1940's, I think) T.Cohn pail. It was completely fun to paint, and I often go back to painting these sand pails when I just want to paint for fun, and for me!

Wine Cork Watercolor- Parador "Castle"

I haven't gotten any painting done and realized it has been a week since my last post!  I have been waiting for my face to stop hurting after an especially "uncomfortable" 3+ hours at the dentist last Friday.  I was going in for an extraction and thought I'd be a little uncomfortable for a day or so and back to painting. Wrong.  Be very wary if you ever need to have a tooth pulled that has had a root canal.  Brittle roots- need I say more?

I did this cork watercolor a few weeks ago for #47 in my 100 Paintings Challenge.  I love the castle stamped on the cork.  I don't know if it represents the winery or another castle, but I loved it.  It is always a surprise to get a great cork, since you can't see it until you have opened the bottle.  I haven't been to this winery yet, it was a nice delivery from our Napa wine club.  The wine was very good, so it isn't all about the great cork!  Just a bonus if you are an artist with a thing for painting corks.

Fun with Watercolors and ACEOs

ACEO, ATC, whatever you call them- they are fun to paint!  These papers are 2.5 X 3.5 inches.  They just seem like pure fun to paint since you don't have a large piece of watercolor paper in front of you waiting to turn into a "serious" painting.  I have also been trying out the canvas ACEO papers for oil paints.  I have been seeing many artists on Etsy putting these tiny paintings in their shops and decided to give them a try.  I painted more of them, but didn't want to post too many at once, so will post more later. I found some small frames just the right size for them, and if you are like me, you probably like your paintings more once they are matted or framed.  The small size is also just right for painting two of my favorite subjects- wine corks and sea shells!

Displaying Our Artwork- When does "just enough" become too much?

I have some recently finished paintings to hang.  My dilemma is a recurring one for me.  Are my walls too full of art already?  The thing is, when I finish a painting, hopefully I like it.  But I like the ones that are already being displayed on my walls also!  Most of my paintings have memories attached for me... places I have visited... such as Paris, Italy, the beach, etc.  The paintings, like a photo album or scrapbook, bring back memories.  It would be easy if I just took down the older paintings to add the new ones.

One of my art blogger friends, Pat, showed some of her walls with paintings recently and it got me thinking.  Who better to get feedback from than fellow artists who may go through the same problem with art display!  As you can see from the third photo, I have a batch of newly framed paintings (oils) waiting for me to decide where they will go.  I am not a speed painter, these were finished over a period of time and just needed framing.  I found some frames I love- plein air frames with gold or silver leaf- so, now they are ready to go up.  The wall in the top photo goes up another 10-12 feet and my husband and I thought we might just continue to hang them higher up the wall.  I am lucky in that my husband does not think there can ever be too many paintings on the walls and keeps pointing out blank spots.  Magazines and TV always seem to be showing me rooms with empty walls or maybe one or two paintings. That is simply not going to happen at my house.  So- my question is this- what do you do, rotate your art, just stop framing?   I am not going to stop painting any time soon, so our supply of artwork won't suddenly dry up!  I have been sharing with family and friends for years as gifts, and whenever I am lucky enough- I sell them...

Thank you so much for your input-

Sheryl