Cherry Cherry - Acrylic Painting on Canvas

"Cherry Cherry" 4X4 Acrylic on Canvas

I have been spending many hours over the last few days getting started on Daily Paintworks -and there is so much to learn.  I have posted countless items on Etsy and, while it is time consuming, at least I have it figured out!  There is always so much to learn on a new site and each one seems to have different listing procedures. 

One thing that is completely new to me is using the auction feature.  I know I will learn as I go along and it will become easier.  In the meantime, I have a lot of computer work to do so I can get some paintings listed. No time for painting for a few days!

Sea Shells!

oil on canvas 8X10

oil on canvas 5X7

These are #37 and #38 of my 100 Paintings Challenge.

http://www.100paintingschallenge.com/

  I was taking my time and in no rush at all since I have a year to do this challenge- well, I guess I really need to get with it or I will be passed up very soon by a participant that is on her second 100.  Should this worry me?  Maybe I should just let it happen and continue to have fun!  I am enjoying the challenge because all of the artists participating have different styles and there really is much to learn from the experience.  So- back to the easel!

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

Tootsie Pops and Painting Ideas

This week, I was having trouble coming up with new painting ideas. That is when I start looking around my studio at things on my shelves. I have a supply of Tootsie Pops- a sand pail full and a mason jar full, to be exact. They are great little sugar fixes while painting- no hands required after unwrapping and only 2 points on WW (used to be only 1 point, but I will deal with it). So, I decided to do a 20 minute challenge with a Tootsie Pop. I kept painting for longer than the 20 minutes because I got caught up in the little wrapper details, but it was fun. Next, I am working on a watercolor of the Mason jar with Tootsie Pops inside- plenty of interest for me with the colorful wrappers and the shininess of the jar surface.

I came up with a lot of new still life ideas also, so hope to get some reference photos taken this weekend for at least a few. I spend so much time trying to think of what to paint- even though I have lists of ideas. So much painting time gets wasted. I hope if I have some good still life ideas ready to go, I will just sit down and paint. Then, I think I will paint at least some of these still life paintings two ways- in oils AND in watercolors. One of my other problems is deciding which medium to go with. I really enjoy both and some paintings are an easy decision. Beaches, and garden types are watercolors to me- but I love still life and there my decision can go either way. If I plan to paint a still life both ways, I won't waste the time choosing a medium PLUS I will have 2 paintings and I am bound to like at least one of them! I know, I know- most of this dilemma could be solved by just being a more decisive person, but that will never happen to me.

Any other of my artist friends have these problems in their studios?

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." Pablo Picasso

I am having one of those weeks where everything goes right! This is starting to make up for that last week that went exactly the opposite way. I have gotten lots of painting done and that, in itself, makes for a perfect week. I am counting from the middle of last week when things started to turn around. I was soldering charms and couldn't seem to get anything right- after I got them all in the mail to their new owners, things started to go my way. I started on a group of canvases (mostly 4X4", a few 2X2", and a couple others). I like to put the base coat on a bunch at one time, so they are ready to go when I decide what to paint on them. I usually put the base coat/ background on in acrylic so it is dry and ready faster than if I use oils. In this case, I was planning some still life paintings with dark backgrounds- my favorite. When I really want to paint a serious still life, I start with gessoed masonite- these were for fun, and on canvas. When one painting is too wet to work on, I go to another- working on a group of paintings seems to work for me, and my attention span. Anyway, here are a few from my latest batch. I will be listing these on Etsy now, and then it is watercolor time again!

Thanks for looking!

Sheryl

This week in my studio....

I spent all week soldering charms to fill Etsy orders. I really do enjoy soldering the charms, but sometimes when I am in a rush to get the orders filled, I get a little crazy. The orders got filled and sent out, and this week is for painting. I work better when I can focus on one medium at a time and that means one mess at a time! Art is not neat and tidy - at least not in my world. It just doesn't work well when I have soldering to do, but also want to work on paintings. They both require lots of supplies and different types of work areas. I got my soldering things put away last night and my work area is already littered with paint tubes, canvases, dirty brushes, etc. At least now I can focus on oil painting for a day or two. I am working on a variety of canvas sizes- mainly one of my favorites- 4X4". I am concentrating on still life paintings for the most part (this week, anyway). Then, it will be on to the unfinished watercolors that are waiting a few feet away. Looks like this will be a fun painting week!

Thanks for looking!

Sheryl