Southern Peaches

My latest oil painting is "Two Peaches".  I'm working in Johnston, SC, self proclaimed "Peach Capital of the World."  Every day I'm surrounded by images of peaches, orchards of peach trees, and since it's peach season now I was inspired.  I reworked the background and peaches a few times to come up with the image I'm now happy with.  Thankfully oil paint allows you to do that.

11" x 14"

Oil on Canvas

I posted it on Fine Art America where it is temporarily featured on the South Carolina Artists group home page.  After the original sells I think I could have good luck selling prints.  I played around with Fine Art America's site and came up with a mat and frame I like too.





Paintings on eBay

"Seaside Sunrise"
     11" x 14"
  Oil on Canvas

I recently read an article by artist Jack White about selling art on ebay.  Although he is a famous and successful artist, he experimented with ebay as a fictional unknown artist to find out just what could be achieved by a newbie.  After three years of selling his art through auctions only, he knows now that he could make a decent living through selling art on ebay should he ever need to.  Through his writing about the experience he shares his newfound wisdom with others like me and coaches all who want to take his advice.

Well I've taken his lessons to heart.  I started listing some various pieces on ebay using his tips.  This beach scene is the first oil painting I've posted for sale.  I will be doing lots of new works as well as selling some drawings and prints I've completed in the last couple of years.

Find me on ebay as "sweetteadesigns12"

Animal Portraits

"Casey & Charlie"

      10"  x  8"

  colored pencils

Casey and Charlie are my latest pet portraits.  This was the pet portrait I donated to the Heartworm Project fundraising auction this year.  I donate a gift certificate for a free portrait and the winner/purchaser gets a custom picture.

This two were a lot of fun to draw.  Especially the black dog's hair.  I was a little uncertain of the task.  I used indigo blue and tuscan red in layers with some dark purple and black, then highlighted with white.  The little beagle was actually more difficult. 

The reference pictures that I worked from were taken on the beach, so for the back ground I wanted to represent the water and the sand. 

Look at these Heartworm Project dogs available for adoption!



Wolfie

Lorax



Sawyer



Gypsy





Graduation Painting

"Columns of Davidson Hall"
             12" x 24"
         oil on canvas



My daughter graduated last month from Coker College in Hartsville, SC.  These are the columns at the front of Davidson Hall, the centerpiece of the campus.  They are also on the college logo.  I really enjoy decorative works in architecture, be it columns, gables, millwork, arches or whatever.  The buildings and landscape of Coker are so beautiful.  It's classically charming and southern. 

I started thinking about painting this for Haleigh last year at a graduation we attended there.  The students face this building during their outdoor graduation ceremony, and I thought how the white columns and blue sky would make a memorable painting for a graduation gift.

Anyway, a year later I painted it.  Although I didn't get the blue sky in the composition I did get the blue reflection.  I framed it in a soft silver frame.

Hopefully she will be able to hang it in her home or office for many years and have fond memories of her college days.



Collies

My daddy loved Collies.  This picture was from the early 1950s, I don't know the dog's name.  Later on Daddy and Mama raised purebred collies.  I grew up with many many cute little puppies.

Now that Daddy is gone I always think of him whenever I see a collie.  Working at the animal hospital I see a few, but not many.  This sketch from my sketchbook is about

5" x 7" in graphite.



Studio Update

  Sheetrock up, mudded and sanded.  A counter/desk will go across the back wall.

The back wall is a beautiful dark indigo, much darker than appears in this photo.  Blue has always been my favorite color even though I've also gone for purple and green at times.  Indigo is also the the colored pencil I used the most.

Here is my first attempt at faux finish painting.  I blended a color wash of three colors over a base coat of yellow.  Three walls will be painted in this way, complimenting the dark blue.  We'll see... 

Closer view of the mottled effect.

I've also painted a work table that Dondi made for me in indigo and yellow.  My plan is to paint it with sunflowers.  This will be one colorful room, and I'm loving it!

Water Buffalo

"Everybody's got a water buffalo, Yours is fast but mine is slow, Oh, where do you get them I don't know, But everyone's got a water buffalo!"...Larry the Cucumber, Veggie Tales.

I've noticed that the views of my cape buffalo drawing on fineartamerica.com far outnumber the views of any of my other pictures. I mean 300% - 400% more! I don't understand it. Is there a high demand for these creatures, or are there not enough pictures of them online? Out of curiosity I did a google image search for cape buffalo and my picture shows up on page 13. On other searches for gorilla and lion images that I also drew, my pictures didn't show up even after 30 pages. Perhaps the internet is over saturated with pictures of the more common or popular animals. hmmm....

I'm pleased that someone found my cape buffalo drawing at fineartamerica and asked my permission to use it. He teaches self defense courses and has watermarked the image on the completion certificates.

A Place for My Stuff

2011 is going to bring something new for me...a STUDIO! My husband has graciously split his shop with me. My area will be 20' x 10'. I am very excited to be getting a designated place for my art work. Works in progress can stay out of the kitchen, and drawing paper and canvases can leave my daughter's bedroom.

After some structural repairs my husband and son added new steps and railings.

Just for Fun

These are a couple small pieces I did just for the fun of blending colors. I enjoy the bold colors that other painters use but I have difficulty spinning the color wheel. I should probably try some using totally unrealistic colors and see if I struggle or loosen up...hmmm.

"...And HOT"

colored pencils

A tribute to one of my all time favorite shows, "Twin Peaks", and I love coffee and coffee cups.

"Falling"

colored pencils

Putting Ward on the Map

Having a small rural address has always been cause for questions and comments like, "Where is Ward?" or "I've never heard of Ward". Growing up it was exiciting if I found a map large enough to include Ward. But with today's satellites I can see my house with the truck in the yard on Google.

I added my name to The Art Map. I'm the first artist of the Ward area to do so! How cool is that! I don't expect to gain anything from placing my name on a world map of artists, but it was fun placing that little push pin in to mark my territory. Like staking my claim or conquering the world, one pencil stroke at a time...ha ha ha!

2nd Place

I just won 2nd place in a just for fun contest on Fine Art America for my fossil sketch!

Quick and Easy Oil Painting

My latest oil painting was quick and easy.....and fun! Maybe it was the heat that caused the paint to dry so quickly, but I think it was because I changed my medium. I used linseed oil and mineral spirits. I've only used mineral spirits before in painting a wash.

This is the second picture inspired by a brown shell. I like it. It's different for me.

"Shell on Blue, Part II"

16" x 20"

Oil on Canvas

$240

"Shell on Blue"

2.5" x 3.5"
Colored Pencil

$21

Devastatingly Handsome

In March I donated a couple of pieces of art to charity fundraisers. One way of putting my talents to good use. A "Tiger" print went to an auction for the Red Cross, and a custom pet portrait went to an auction for the Heartworm Project. Two handsome kitties!





"Tiger"



8" x 10"



Graphite





















"Cooper, the Most Handsome"



8" x 10"



Colored Pencils

Ch ch ch ch Changes

I can't believe I haven't posted since January. I was very caught up in facebook and etsy for a while, though I have deleted the facebook and closed the etsy shop now. Necessary, but I miss them.

My first love of drawing, painting and just being an artist is what my creative side is about. I can create...I do it...therefore I am. However, the ego enjoys sharing and hearing the applause and praise. That's just not what I need to be caught up in right now in my life...(dang, that's hard to give up)

I will continue to draw, paint, learn, improve my skills, and blog about it all. Change is often difficult, even just changing focus. It's not much fun...

Last Picture of 2009

"Archie...Looking for Love"

12" x 16"

Colored Pencils

I started 2010 by finishing my portrait of Archie. All that white hair! I believe Archie is still available for adoption through The Heartworm Progect. He is such a sweetheart! He likes to grab your hands and lick you then won't let go, sort of like "Pepe Le Pew". He also hugs your neck and climbs up on your shoulders. Very affectionate!

I used a terra cotta colored paper which may not have been a great choice for white but it still worked. I tried a different technique for the background by squiggling lines in a few shades of greens first. Then I layered reds, oranges and yellows. I really like the outcome.

UPDATE: Archie was adopted! Yaaaayyy!!! But I miss him.

Underwater Commission

16" x 12"
colored pencil

My latest commission was more of a challenge than I expected. I studied pictures of aquariums, underwater photos and paintings for the effect I wanted. After sketching the composition I jumped into the watery background quickly...too quickly. The pencil pressure was too hard and wouldn't blend. I just started over on clean paper and was thankful that I had not worked on the animals yet. Even after lightly layering the colors I had trouble blending the transitions from light to dark. My base was blue paper rather than white, so maybe that had something to do with it. Whatever the reason, I spent a LOT of time on the water. The dolphins and turtles were fun.

This will be a Christmas present for a 3 year old girl. I really hope she will like it.

Murals and Signs

I just like the names

Dealer in mules & autos...reminds me of "Lonesome Dove"..."we don't rent pigs"


Thanks for the warning!

"Civil War R-E-N-A-C-T-O-R-S" Hope they studied harder in history class than in spelling.

Some signs, advertisements and murals.

Archie - Pet Portrait

Archie is a "vet pet" I've fallen in love with and wanted to draw. He's such a sweetheart! It was difficult to get a photo of him for a reference because he moved constantly trying to get to me.

He's a work in progress, so no whiskers yet. I think whiskers will sweeten his look some.

I'm using Prismacolor pencils on Canson terra cotta colored paper.