Cutting Fruit

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BUILD-A-BLOG CLASS: If you'd like to start an art blog and sell online but feel intimidated by the idea, there is now an online class to get you started. My friend Jennifer is teaching one this weekend, so if you're interested, time's a wastin'! more info...

I went out to dinner last night with my Canadian kids and this time, in addition to forcing me to drink lots of wine and good food, they poured ice cream straight down my throat. Torture. And then, as I was walking home, the wind picked up, and a huge table umbrella flew away and hit me right in the head. So much for coming back to Canada. Here are a few pictures of the evil-doers. And here I thought they were sooo nice.

"Painting Cherries"

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I apologize for not having any pictures yet. As nice as these Canadians are, they are so demanding! It's all just ME ME ME with these gals. They plum wore me out.

"Cherry Cocktail"

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Since someone asked, I am in central Canada, Alberta province, near Red Deer. The weather is still absolutely glorious! And the kids are good so far. These Canadians are extra nice. I'll have pictures soon.

In the Harbor

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I am safely in Canada, where the temperatures are nice and cool - a lovely change from our 100+ degrees in Texas. Tomorrow begins the workshop. I will report on it as I am able. Until then, here is more cantelope. I was totally enchanted by the colors in this one.

Out to Sea

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Cantelope is not something I've tackled in a while, and I was feeling the need for something different. I love the glow, especially on the ends, when lit from behind. I tried a painting of the whole cantelope with just one slice taken out, but I couldn't figure out how to represent the outside with it's distinctive texture with my brush strokes.

I'm off to Canada tomorrow for a 5-day workshop. It'll be fun, eh?!

3-Legged Pig

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I found this 3-legged pig in Sedona at Tlaquepaque. My friends and I decided to pass it around so we'd all get a chance to paint it. It's supposed to bring luck.

Daily Paintworks has a new blog: http://dpwnews.blogspot.com/

Cherry Bird

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This is a cherry bird. Like a bird dog, this bird hunts cherries. Thank you, bird, for posing for me in front of your prey. And thank you, Carolyn, for the bird. : )

Ensemble Cast

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This is the last of the sunflowers, and my personal favorite.

Just Ignore Him

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Tonight I am posting a little early because my lovely husband is taking me out on a date! A much needed break for both of us. Toodles!

Putting Away Dishes

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I found this cool vase at Anthropologie awhile back. What a find! I am thrilled to add it to my collection.

Longing to Fly

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With all the new artists on Daily Paintworks, we've added some rockin' new search features. To try them out, go to the All Artists page and click "search art". You'll see you can search by artist, media, genre, color, size and of course keyword. Another great feature (I won't be humble - I thought of this one myself) is the favorites option. Just click on the little heart to the left of a name to add that artist to your own personal favorites list. Then click on favorites to view only those.

Also, check out this week's Challenge. It's upside down.

Clear Preference

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As you can see the sunflower has a clear preference for the cup with dots, and the pig is a bit put out.

Thank you all so much for the encouragement about yesterday's glass! In fact, thank you all, in general, for ALL the support and encouragement you give me. Honestly, it has gotten me through the tough times when I forget how to paint, and the times when my creativity fails me and I have no new ideas. Your comments and support mean more to me than I can say and I am eternally grateful!!

Sunny Both Ways

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I remember years ago being in a museum and seeing a Seargant painting for the first time. It was huge and hung above my head (why?) ... and the lowest thing I could see was a wine glass sitting on a low table. He had painted that glass with about 10, simple brush strokes. Maybe less. I turned to my husband (we had just met) and I said "I want to do that. I want to suggest things with paint." I feel I have really achieved that with this vase. It's really just a few simple strokes, strategically placed, but I think it reads like glass. Yes?

Balancing Dishes

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This is my entry for this week's Daily Paintworks Challenge: the Balance Challenge. The concept was put forth by Cathleen Rehfeld (check out the shoes she's been doing!!), and I was taken by it immediately. I admit this was my second attempt (the first being a dismal failure). I've always loved the whole stacking thing and seeing all the other submissions makes me realize I can stack lots of things other than dishes. Hmmm.....

Speaking of Daily Paintworks, check out our new widget (right side of this page, right under my bio). In case you'd like it on your blog, visit our widget page.

Sunny Snack

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I went to town with these sunflowers, so expect a few more. They were easy to stay loose with, and they were such a big, fun shape to compose with. I really enjoyed them.

Timid Sunflower & DPW NEWS!

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Starting tomorrow, June 14th, Daily Paintworks will be open for general membership! That means, if you are an artist and you've been looking for an online gallery to be a part of, this is it! The cost is $9.95/mo. All members can list their paintings for sale with DPW Auctions, and anyone can bid on them.

I just have to say here that I have been quite jealous of this website for the past 8 months. Sometimes it seems my husband is married to it instead of me. He certainly has been paying it more attention. In fact from the moment he wakes up in the morning, to the wee hours at night, he is on his computer making this site perfect. It's all he ever talks about. And if it wasn't such a kick-a** site, I would have kicked him out long ago. Ok, not really. He's way too cute for that. But seriously, what a fantastic husband I have!

Gifts & Grape

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Going back to gifts for a moment - I love the dichotomy of the silver and gold. And the single, reflected grape. Not much else to say about this one.

Appleweight

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My apple so heavy ... it can hold down anything you throw at it. My apple so strong it can beat up yo mama. My apple so cool ...

Overflowing Pink

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More fun with ribbon. I realize I might have sounded a little cocky in yesterday's post - I hope everyone understands it was completely tongue in cheek. Ribbon is one of the most challenging things I've painted yet. I was kicking myself for the complexity of the setup, but I was also really happy with the result. I'm pretty darn pleased with this one too. My proudest moment is where the ribbon reflects in the white side (front) of the cup.

Bowl of Ribbon - SOLD

After my fun with the tissue paper (did I say crepe? ... heh heh) I decided to have a go with ribbon. And because it just wasn't complicated enough already, I put it inside a metal bowl. And then just to make it at least a bit of a challenge I put the whole thing on glass. Easy as pie.

Flying Carpet Ride - SOLD

Recently I painted a little gift box with crepe paper in it. I really enjoyed the challenge of capturing the thin, delicate paper, so I ran with it here. I had to be really careful with the subtle shifts in value. Quite a challenge!

Junkers - SOLD

SPOT OPEN for upcoming Canada Workshop: Benalto, Alberta - June 27 - July 1, 2011. Please email me if you're interested!!

Above is the last painting I'm proud enough to show from my trip to Sedona, another 8x8 truck from the Gold King Mine. I thought of this trip more as a vacation than anything, with some painting squeezed in. A much needed vacation, with some truly wonderful friends! Here we are at Tlaquepaque, posing by the giant pig (which the photographer cut off - oops): Mary Sheehan Whinn, me, Penny Lentz (dropped in for a couple of days at the end) and Kelley MacDonald. (check out Mary and Kelley's blogs for their paintings in Sedona)

All Dumped Out

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I decided to take some larger panels with me on this trip to see if I liked that better when painting outdoors. And I did enjoy it, though it took longer to paint, which made things a little trickier since the light changed so fast. This is one of the old trucks from the Gold King Mine.

On the third day we painted at Slide Rock. We had a couple of extra painting companions that day. We had a blast, but all I have to show for it is this photo of us: (James, Mary, me, Nancy & Kelley)

Sedona Waterfall - SOLD

The first part of our painting trip in Sedona accidentally fell on Memorial Day weekend. Most of the places we drove by were full to bursting so we settled on Grasshopper Point. There we found, at the bottom of a cliff, this nice, little waterfall. The other gals set up at the top, and I, being the daredevil I am, scaled to the bottom. Ok, so it was like 20 feet down, but still. While I was putting the first mark down, I heard a crash, and then brushes started raining down a few feet from me. My pal Kelley's box had blown over and she barely rescued it as it clung to a branch at the top of the cliff. All was saved, not to worry. Here is Kelley contemplating the near demise of her painting box.

Gift & Grapes - SOLD

This is my entry for this week's Daily Paintworks Challenge - the Gift Challenge. I dug out some gold wrapping paper and went to town. It was a blast.

I am home from my trip but haven't processed photos yet - soon, I promise.

Shiny Three - SOLD

Our internet here has been spotty. It seems to come and go no matter where we try to get it. Today we're heading back to Scottsdale and then we fly out tomorrow. I will give a full report, with pictures, once I get home. For now ... apples that I continued from a value study I posted a couple of weeks ago.

Precious Plums - SOLD

Apparently the bugs that have been biting me (while doing plein air here in Arizona) are Buffalo Gnats. Not only are they annoying when they swarm around my face while I paint, I wake up each night with new welts that are amazingly itchy! And scratching them only make them more itchy. I had more luck today with the trucks. I will post them when I get home, so for now please accept more plums. And I thought I'd mention - they are teensy plums that I got from a neighbor down the road - he grew them on his plum tree. These plums don't have cleavage (see comment on yesterday's post).