LOBSTER BISQUE

4x4 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

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Lobster Bisque ..... is there a better soup?  I had this wonderful delicacy in Portland, Oregon at Higgins.   The fragrance of the lobster, cream, sherry and a hint of garlic was enticing. I thought of this soup when Some Texas Artists Like to Paint offered this month's challenge, "Fragrance."  Please take a minute and look how other artists have interpreted fragrance.

BRA

4x4 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

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This month's challenge for Some Texas Artists Like to Paint is "BRA."  I submitted the challenge and I'm happy that it was chosen.  It is a different still life that most artists paint and that is one reason I thought it would be a good subject.  In addition to that reason, I chose this topic because back in June or July when we were asked to submit challenge topics my daughter-in-law had been diagnosed with breast cancer.  Bras were on my mind!  By the way, she has completed chemo and breast reconstruction and is doing great!

JEAN TOWNSEND 2 - ANOTHER TEXAS MUG

8x8 oil on Ampersand Cradled Panel

This is another painting of Jean Townsend.  I wanted to paint her again and decided to use a larger support.  It was a bit of a struggle, but I am satisfied with the result.  I'll post this again in Some Texas Artists Like to Paint.

To view Jean's blog click HERE.

GOT SUGAR?

6x6 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

This is my grandson, Ben, wearing an old hat and after eating cake with powdered sugar on it.  He had sugar everywhere!  I had to take a photo and I had a lot of fun painting his little sugar mug!

Some Texas Artists Like to Paint

JEAN - A Texas Mug!

6x6 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

This is Jean Townsend, a fabulous Texas artist (an introduction, just in case you haven't met her).  We've been promising each other to send photos of each other to paint and we finally did.  And I have to tell you that I had a blast painting Jean's mug.  She sent 3 great photos (and, yes I am going to paint them all - maybe more than once).  In this reference photograph, Jean wore a huge frown and smudged lipstick.  Just wonderful!  I've painted this not only for my pleasure and blog, but for Some Texas Artists Like To Paint.  The January challenge is mug shots.  Please check out these two blogs!

Jean Townsend

Some Texas Artists Like To Paint

VINTAGE CHRISTMAS

4x4 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

Do you remember bubble lights?  These were my favorite a very long time ago, many years before the white, twinkling lights became so popular.  Along with the bubble lights were the large bulbs in lots of different colors.  They made for a delightful Christmas tree for children.  I painted this for the December challenge - Vintage Christmas - for Some Texas Artists Like to Paint.  Although, these decorations are vintage and I remember them, I am NOT, and I repeat NOT vintage!!

PLIERS & PAINT

6x6 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

The challenge this month for Some Texas Artists Like to Paint is "tools" suggested by Lorraine Shirkus. It's a fantastic subject and fun to find a tool that would be good to paint. My problem was narrowing down what I found! I want to visit this subject again as the tools just around the house are endless. I had to make a decision and because I use these pliers often in the studio to remove stubborn caps on paint tubes I knew this would be the first tool for me to paint. Sometimes our everyday tools are over looked. What tools do you have that you would paint?

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FULL OF EMPTY PROMISES

6X6 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

Empty/full is this month's challenge by Jean Townsend in Some Texas Artists Like to Paint. I thought I would do something a little different and take a saying and apply it to a person and what better person for "full of empty promises" than Bernie Madoff. I found his mugshot on the internet and painted. I'm not a portrait painter and so, not only the subject was a challenge, but also what I chose to paint. Please visit Some Texas Artists Like to Paint to see what others in our group did .... they're fantastic!

ANNOUNCING NEW BLOG!

Angela Elledge had a wonderful idea for the Texas artists involved in Some Texas Artists Like to Paint. She was a member of The Flying Moleskins and wanted to do a moleskin project in Texas. There are seven of us taking part in the Texas Moleskin Round-Up ... Angela Elledge, Kay Wyne, Ann Rogers, Jean Townsend, Carol Morgan, Sharon Hodges and me! Each of us has a different theme and we will paint in one moleskin and then mail it to the next person. At the end of this project we will each have seven paintings from different artists. We've begun by painting the first painting in our own book and now they are off!! Click HERE to see what has begun!

CABBAGE ROSETTES

6x6 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

I found these flowers at Central Market. I bought them to paint for this month's Some Texas Artists Like to Paint challenge. Nancy Medina chose to paint flowers for the month of February. It's a good subject for this month. Click HERE to see some great flower paintings!

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COWBOY UP ... HAT

6x6 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

The January challenge for Some Texas Artists Like To Paint is Cowboy Up. This term originated in the rodeo. When a cowboy was ready to leave the stall it was yelled, "Cowboy Up!" From there it has come to mean that when life is tough, you don't complain and whine, but you pick yourself up and keep going.

This hat reminds me of my grandfather (we called him Dad) who was a rancher in Gustine, Texas. Dad wore a white Stetson (this hat is not a Stetson). He had difficult times in his life. Work was hard and he took his responsibilities seriously. Dad was a respected and loved person. "Cowboy Up" was not in his venacular, but believe me he did "Cowboy Up" every time a problem crossed his path.

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$20.00 CHAIR

6x6 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

What idiot chose "chair" as a challenge on the Some Texas Artists Like to Paint site? ......... Oh, that would be me! What was I thinking? This was not easy, so I guess it definitely was a challenge for me. Despite the fact that it was a struggle and there were two wipe outs, it was really good to be painting again after a fantastic holiday. Click on the link above to see some really good chairs.

After the wipe outs I thought about posting this clever joke with a blank canvas. I can leave the blank canvas, but laughter is always welcome!

An eccentric philosophy professor gave a one question final exam after a semester dealing with a broad array of topics. The class was already seated and ready to go when the professor picked up his chair, plopped it on his desk and wrote on the board: "Using everything we have learned this semester, prove that this chair does not exist."

Fingers flew, erasers erased, notebooks were filled in furious fashion. Some students wrote over 30 pages in one hour attempting to refute the existence of the chair. One member of the class however, was up and finished in less than a minute.

Weeks later when the grades were posted, the rest of the group wondered how he could have gotten an A when he had barely written anything at all. His answer consisted of two words: "What chair?"

SKY

8x8 Oil on Canvas

This is a painting for the November challenge of Some Texas Artist Like to Paint, which is "sky." Check out the site for some great sky paintings!

PINK

6x6 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

I have not been productive at the easel this past week. I can't even remember how many times I took a rag and wiped out a support and those that I didn't wipe out are now in the trash pile. I would like to say I learned something. I suppose I did reinforce my feelings for painting, because I would have surely given up entirely if I didn't love it so much!

The challenge for this month's SOME TEXAS ARTISTS LIKE TO PAINT is pink. I found this little pink take out box and finally I was able to paint something and it remained on the canvas. :-) Because the package is all one color it was a good exercise for values, which I always seem to need.

Next Monday Carol Marine's workshop in Jacksonville, Florida begins. I am very excited about attending again! Is there anyone out there who also will be going? If so, I would love to hear from you.

HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU, KID

6x6 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

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While Phil and I were in Philadelphia we visited a fantastic market - wish I could remember the name. There were counters full of flowers, pastries, meats, cheese and fish. Shapes and beautiful, vibrant colors were everywhere. It was a delight for the eyes and such a treat! I took lots of pictures and several at the fish counter. This painting is done from one of those photographs. I painted it for SOME TEXAS ARTISTS LIKE TO PAINT September challenge, which is FISH. Stop by and take a look at some creative interpretations!

DREAM THERAPY

7x5 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

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This is my submission to SOME TEXAS ARTISTS LIKE TO PAINT challenge for August which is Dreams. There are so many thoughts and ideas about dreams that it was difficult to decide what to do until I ran across an old black and white photograph of Sigmund Freud. I need practice with values (as always!) and thought this would be a good exercise and also a really fun painting to do. My husband's undergraduate degree is in psychology and I typed up many a paper with Freud's name in it. I felt I ran across an old friend. Click HERE to see the creative Dream paintings at SOME TEXAS ARTISTS LIKE TO PAINT. I think you will enjoy it!

TEXAS BOOTS AT THE MET

8x10 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

While in New York City I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I took many photographs outside the Met and inside the Met. This young woman was wearing cowgirl boots and, of course, my thoughts turned to Texas. I finished this painting late this afternoon and there are some touch ups that need to be done, however, I am pleased with it and it is a nice reminder of a great visit.

This photograph will be added to Some Texas Artists Like to Paint in the anything Texas category. Please visit this blog for some great art!

LONGHORN CADILLAC

9x12 Oil on Canvas Board

This is my submission to Some Texas Artists Like to Paint for the June challenge of anything Texas. This car is located in the Fort Worth Stockyards with the license plate of BLE BOB. Texas is known for its longhorn cattle and big, fancy cars. Here is both! Texas is huge and has a huge number of icons from which to choose. Not an easy task as there are so many choices. We have beautiful rural areas with so many species of wildlife and also thriving towns and cities. I could go on and on. All I can say is I love Texas!! Take a few minutes and visit Some Texas Artists Like to Paint.

NEW ATTIRE

New!!! Boating attire for this season in the Gulf of Mexico. Brought to you by BP.

What a sad way to introduce you to a new blog. I was invited to be a part of Some Texas Artists Like to Paint. We have two challenges for the month of June. One is "anything Texas!" and the other is "Oil Spill Sorrow." I did this sketch for the second challenge and as you can imagine it was not easy. I will spare you and not get on my soap box about this tragedy, but focus on something positive. Some Texas Artists Like to Paint has a fantastic group of people - Gwen Bell, Ann Rogers, Angela Elledge, Mitzi Easley, Nancy Medina, Roxanne, James Parker, and Kay Wyne. I am honored to be part of this talented and creative group. Please take some time and visit Some Texas Artists Like to Paint. You are going to see some great art in the coming months!!