Vintage Marbles

Vintage Marbles

Oil on Masonite Panel  6X6

Time to get back to painting.  It seems that since the holidays, there has been a steady (but VERY welcome) stream of house guests!  Now I need to put painting time back into my regular schedule.  I have plenty of new art supplies to keep me busy.  I stocked up on canvas of all sizes and lots of masonite panels- along with a good supply of watercolor paper.  No excuses.

The painting above is a small part of the jar of marbles my mom has from her childhood.  It is times like this that I am so happy that my grandparents had a basement AND the desire to keep so many of these little treasures from long ago!

Painting Roadside Americana- Vintage Neon

Shell Beach Inn   8X10 Oil on Masonite

I haven't been getting a lot of painting time in lately, and have been painting in spurts instead.  I am trying to alternate between oils and watercolors when I do have time.  This week is an oil painting week.  I just got a great package of  art supplies in the mail- including a stack of masonite panels.  I love to paint on masonite since the paint just glides over the surface and it makes it easier to get those fine details.  Canvas is great, but the texture can make it tough to paint the smaller details.

I am not sure when it happened, but most of the great neon signs that we used to see along the roadside are just gone.  I have become a bit obsessed with these retro neon signs and take photos of them whenever I do see them.  They are my kind of painting subject- full of great detail and history.  Sometimes, the more beat up they look, the better.  This one is great looking, and far from worn out- maybe it isn't even that old.  Don't care- love the look.  

The Shell Beach Inn is in beautiful Pismo Beach, California.  I have not stayed there, but love the sign. We spent Fourth of July in Pismo and had a great time so this seemed like a good place to start painting my set of neon signs!  I apologize for the image quality here, the painting is too wet to scan yet, and this is just a photo.  Will post the scan soon!  

100 Paintings Challenge #32, #33

 oil on canvas 5X7"

Oil on masonite 5X7"

These are the last two paintings I posted for the 100 Paintings Challenge.  Every time I am ready to post, I get stressed out.  The blog suggests that you stick with one medium instead of trying to "master" more than one.  When I started the challenge, I had intended to just use my watercolors.  I have been taking some time with the oils also, and when I paint with oils for a few weeks, I don't have new watercolors to post.  Why waste the oils and not count them?  They are still paintings that I am painting, and learning from.  Many/most of the main ideas of painting are shared between mediums such as perspective, value, shadows, etc.

Well, as you can see, I did decide not to discount the oils I have been doing since they are definitely learning experiences.  Some of the other participants have included sketches, pen and ink, acrylic, and watercolor- so why not oils and watercolor?  Why must I over think everything, anyway?

Now that I have had my morning stress, time to enjoy my coffee and crossword puzzle!

Cherries Painting- Oils on Masonite

Finally got a good photo (actually a scan) of the finished cherries. I had a lot of trouble since the finish is reflective and I kept getting glare with my photos even with the flash off. So much for taking a quick photo to post! Fortunately, my scanner has a professional mode and definitely gave me a perfect image. There isn't much difference in the two photos, I just put some final touches on the glass to give it more of a shine- but it was definitely worth it!

Thank you for visiting and for any (much welcomed) comments-

Sheryl