SOLD - "Turnip Trio"

"Turnip Trio"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

SOLD

After going back to my usual pears yesterday, I thought I'd try a totally different subject, one that I never painted before. I had to wipe this painting a few times and start over, but I'm really, really pleased with the end result. I love the green background against the purples of those yummy turnips. 

"Backlit Pears"

"Backlit Pears"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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I'm baaaaacccckkk! Okay, after a few days of "iffy" paintings, I'm glad to say that I haven't completely lost my ability to paint. It can sometimes feel that way for us artists when things don't go quite right. When that happens, I usually revert to a subject I really love and am familiar with - pears! I think these are Bosc pears, which are taller and slender, and more yellow. I love how they contrast with the darker, grayer background.

"Any Way You Slice It"

"Any Way You Slice It"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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I've painted oranges a few times, but this time I wanted to try and make it looser and more painterly. I had to admit, this was a tough one... But I love the colors here - they kinda make me want to be on a beach in Florida right now!

"Egg for One"

"Egg for One"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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The empty shells were surprisingly easy for me to get right - but that ramekin! Woah, that was a tough one... it still doesn't look quite right to me, so I think I may need to try my hand at that again. I do love the color palette on this painting, though. Feels very soothing.

"Superbowl of Apples"

"Superbowl of Apples"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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Some paintings are just harder to photograph than others, and this is certainly one of those! I'm a day late on this one because the lighting was just awful last night in my studio. But I am very pleased with the painting! This is my first attempt at painting fabric folds, which wasn't easy!

"Leaning Tower of Cups"

"Leaning Tower of Cups"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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I squealed with excitement when I came across these awesome vintage diner mugs at a thrift store last year! My favorite color is teal, and it's one of the primary colors in my studio as well. When I saw these ceramic beauties, with their shiny teal interiors, I just had to have them!

"Stir Fry Prep"

"Stir Fry Prep"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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More red peppers! Thought I'd have another go at these beauties. I especially love the juicy shine on the pepper, and the bright background underneath it. All in all, I"m pretty pleased with it.

"Paint The Town Red"

"Paint The Town Red"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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Wow, I had a really hard time photographing this one - so much glare!  I had a fun time painting all these reds, though. They certainly were a challenge!

"Our Family Bond"

"Our Family Bond"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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Is it okay for artists to be completely in love with one of their paintings? If so, this is one of them! I'm so happy with how this one turned out. The only part I struggled with was finding a title - then I realized it represents my own family (my parents, myself, and my two siblings). We certainly have a special bond, even though we refer to ourselves as "The Griswolds" every so often ;-)

"Cherry Love"

"Cherry Love"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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I'm really liking painting cherries, especially these beauties. I love how cherries look like hearts when propped up this way, and I also like how they contrast nicely against the bright white background. And of course, the intertwining stems are super cute :)

"The Third Wheel"

"The Third Wheel"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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Whoever said that doing daily paintings would get easier by the day was completely wrong! Had a really tough time with this one, but I'm okay with how it turned out in the end. When does it start to get easier?

"The Conga Line"

"The Conga Line"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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Yay, back to the fruity stuff! :) I always love simple compositions, but this one was especially fun. I like how the stems are reaching out for the cherries, almost as if they're dancing the Conga ("I know you can't control yourself any longer").

"Tea Time"

"Tea Time"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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Can you tell I ran out of fresh fruits and veggies at my house? I finally went shopping, so you'll hopefully start seeing more food paintings soon. Although I'm really enjoying painting these everyday objects, too!

"Golden Boy"

"Golden Boy"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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Well, this was already a better attempt - only had to wipe down once! I imagine that it'll get increasingly difficult to find new things to paint every single day, but my studio is filled with inspiration. I guess just have to look!

"Lead the Way"

"Lead the Way"

6" x 6" Oil on panel

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It's official! I've started the Daily Painting challenge, and this is #1 of 30 (but hopefully I can keep at it much longer than a month). This was harder than I thought! But I'm sure it'll just get easier as I go... I had to wipe this one down 3 times before ending up with this final painting. 

30 Paintings in 30 Days

Since attending Carol Marine's workshop in Toronto this past August, I've been really wanting to get into the Daily Painting habit once and for all. More than once I've said "Alright, this is it! I'm really doing it this time!", only to get sidetracked 2-3 days later.

So in the spirit of New Year's resolutions, I decided to take on Leslie Saeta's 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge. I'm a fan of Leslie and all that she does to help artists market themselves, and I listen to her all the time on the Artists Helping Artists podcasts. So when I came across her challenge on Pinterest, I figured I'd make a go at it. Anyone can do something for just 30 days, right?

The challenge officially starts on January 2nd, so keep an eye out! I'll be painting mostly 6 x 6" paintings and posting each one here on a daily basis. It won't be easy, but hopefully knowing that all you people are watching should provide the motivation I need to stick to this! Wish me luck! :)

Before/After Studio shots

I still need to compile the progress shots of my studio/office renovations, but in the meantime, here are some awesome before & after pics I put together. It's hard for me to imagine what this place used to look like before the big transformation - and seeing these photos reminds me of all the blood, sweat, and tears we put into this place last year!

Remember: this started out as a lakefront camp, which is right next door to our home. After we bought it (for the extra frontage), we decided to convert it into my office/studio since my home office wasn't quite cutting it anymore. I love seeing how it started out!

What used to be the living room is now my painting corner.

The entrance - I found this awesome bookshelf at a garage sale. After a couple good coats of paint, it also made for a wonderful entrance divider/half wall.

Just removing those top kitchen cabinets made a huge difference! I made the sink window taller, removed the appliances, and painted the walls/cabinets.

One of the bedrooms is now my office. Again, I made those corner windows much larger, which means I can now look outside while I'm working at the computer - finally! :)

My third solo exhibit is coming to a close

It's been a busy summer of art fairs and gallery shows! Tomorrow I'm heading to the Galerie Henri Nadeau in St-Francois, NB to take down my solo exhibit. This is my third solo show already, and 15 of my paintings have been hung there since July 5th - a whole two months! Here's a photo from the main entrance.

I also participated in the Rendez-vous des Artistes in St-Leonard this year, which is always an amazing time!! It's my 5th year in a row there, and it's something I look forward to the minute it ends.

I sold 6 paintings already, just in those two venues alone... I also sold "Rolling Clouds" and "Irish Moss" this summer on Etsy. I really need to get painting so I can fill up my walls again!

I'm back.... from my Carol Marine workshop!

It's pretty sad when I finally log into Blogger tonight and see that I had only one blog post in 2011. ONE! How does that even happen? Am I that busy that I can't spare a few minutes for a quick update? Truth is, I have been extremely busy this past year - so much has happened (all good, I assure you!) - but I promise to make a better effort this time. I hope :-)

But why now? What's motivating me this time? Well, I just got back from an amazing painting workshop in Toronto, ON, by one of my all-time favorite artists: Carol Marine. I've been an admirer of her work and her techniques for many years now, but her workshops always sell out so fast. After 3 years of trying to get in, I finally made it and it was worth all the wait. This might just be the push I needed to get myself in the studio on a more regular basis (and updating this blog!)

One of exercises she made us do was to take a simple object (I chose a pear), and to paint it in just 10-minutes. After time was up, we had to do it again - up to 4 times. The goal was to simplify our strokes, and really focus on seeing the bigger shapes, values, and colors. We actually were supposed to get better with each one, but as you can see I was clearly getting worse! Still... it was an amazing learning experience :-)

On a side note, I also owe you some updated studio pics!! I'm finally all moved in now and am loving the new space. Keep an eye out for those in the next week or so! :)

En Route to my second Solo show...

Well, it seems that keeping a regular blog is not as easy as it sounds. With work, life, and everything else that comes up, it always seems to take a backseat for me. I always have the best intentions of keeping it up, but maybe the third time's a charm! :)

Suffice it to say that I've been extremely busy these past few months. But I *have* been painting - quite a bit, actually. I'm preparing for my second Solo show this summer... so exciting!! This one will be at the Bibliotheque Mgr-WJ-Conway, in Edmundston, NB (Canada). So I've been frantically painting, trying to produce enough works to make up for the many that I've sold in recent months.

This is a sneak-peek at what you can expect to find at my next show (this one is so fresh-off-the-canvas, that I don't even have a title for it yet!):

I'm also excited to announce that I sold quite a few Original pieces recently! 4 paintings sold during my last Solo exhibit at UMFK in Fort Kent, ME ("In the Spotlight", "The Cuddling Pair", "Wild Daisies", and "Gossip Queen"), and I sold 2 more in my Etsy shop shortly afterwards ("New Laces" and "Frog Pond, Boston MA").

Needless to say, I have to make up for a lot of wall space now, with so many of my large pieces gone (not that I'm complaining...). I'm having a blast with these new paintings. I have a good mix of Still Lifes, Landscapes, and Florals so far!