Big Ben Painting

Here are some super-close closeups of my Big Ben painting.  I love the perspective lines.  Originally I laid these down with the thwunk of a carpenter’s chalk line, and liked them so much that I decided to make them permanent and laid down paint on top.

This was painted for our daughter’s show ‘Reconstructing Alice,’ hence the painting’s name. She has her own dance company, Refine Arts, and writes her own shows, choreographs and directs shows for theaters, choreographs shows for schools, on and on. This and its mate were painted to grace the ticket hall so patrons could see them when they came in. For sale colorcatstudios101.etsy.com.

Oh my goodness, I adore the colors in this painting!!!

Art Class Signups!

All in a day’s work.  And this is AFTER the cleanup! I am so thankful that part of my job is to play with kids! Our 2018/2019 class schedules are up in both locations and I added an Advanced Art Class as well.  Check out  Tc classes.com and www.hisclasses.org for schedules and registration. 

www.ttcclasses.com

www.hisclasses.org

Trust me,it takes my entire car to accept all this stuff.  Art supplies are practically brimming out the windows sometimes.  And note my coolio gum wrapper purse that one of my students gave me.  She said it’s from Cozumel.  Some people travel on spring break.  We clean our house.

Maxfield Parrish Fan Here!

If I was forced to choose, I could pick ten of my most favorite artists of all time. Maxfield Parrish always floats to the top. 

This popular American artist painted in what I call a color-saturated on-steroids classical style, became a household name and introduced beauty upon beauty into American homes. 

He achieved great heights (pun intended) with his mountains, and used props - a mirror placed on his table upon which he placed well-chosen rocks and hit them with a strong side-light. Perfection.  

Oh,my goodness, the colors are so stunning I can hardly breathe!

Most of his scenes work was done later in his life.  He earned his (very rich) bread and butter working for magazines, illustrating calendars, illustrating books, etc., until his name became common.  As he got older, he had the luxury of being able to paint exactly what he wanted.  And boy, could he paint.

How many artists have the privilege of having a color named after them?  Look up Parrish blue.  It’s close to the colors in the first picture I posted at top.  Glorious.  These colors were achieved by his layering.  Rather than mixing them in his palette, he layered them on, adding clear layers of glaze in between.   

Pardon me, I’m going to leave now.  I’m going to wander around and find some cool rocks to light up.

My Palette

I’m working on a commission right now in blues and golds. The colors are so gloriously beautiful together that even my palette looks good! WhenI get a little further, I’ll be adding the complimentary colors to this,and hopefully soon showing you the painting. 

Magnets, Posters and Art Cards

Brighten up your home with magnets, art cards and my mini-posters.  You don’t have to spend a mint to own cool art!  Lions and tigers and bears... oh my! colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

The original painting, which measured 24x30”, is sold, but was so popular I made mini-posters, magnets and postcards.  Check them and my other animals out on the website I noted above.  I also have bears, lions, wolves, owls, cats... :O ❤️ 

Bright Colors and Flowers!

I love color so much that even my color testing charts end up with art on top of them.  Actually, I think they make a good base for art, and would love to have a dress that looks like this.  What do you think?

Here’s a nice closeup of the cool color area; ooohhh... makes me feel peaceful.

I like this little hotspot too.  Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘hot spot,’ huh? Hmmm... maybe that’s what I should name this little piece.  Done!  Hot Spot!  Yep.  That’s how an artist’s mind works!



(If you have any hot spots, I can paint them for you.  Just ask!

Art in the Mail

More sales are going out the door today.  Pretty sure you wish you were getting cool mail, too!  It’s possible.  Check out my website for everything from original paintings to posters, magnets and stickers.  You’ll be glad you did! 

colorcatstudios101.etsy.com is the place.  Pretty soon you’ll be getting cool stuff in your mailbox as well!

Owl Stickers!

You should know I have a shop.  Here I’m showing my fun owl stickers. LOVE!  My owl painting has been so popular I finally made stickers for the masses. Find them on my site, colorcatstudios101.etsy.com. All kinds of fun stuff there, from paintings to posters, magnets and stickers!

My owl’s name? Horatio, of course!

Tiny Art

Finally! And once again, it’s... bum de da bum... Teeny Tiny Art Time! Hooray! This little baby reflects just how much work it takes to 1-grow things, and 2- make art. Oh the things we create when the wheels in our little heads spin. Colorcatstudios101.etsy.com is my website if you’d like to check out my other work.

Portrait of a Son

Ah! Haha! Our oldest son has a great red beard of which he is deservedly proud. I included maps in the collage because he travels a lot and a crossword puzzle which my dad worked. He aced those puzzles until he died at 96. Seemed fitting to honor that creative, intelligent and ever curious heritage of ours. I love that I captured his wry sense of humor and beard-pride. 

Yes, I do commissions large and small.

Mixed Media Flowers, Sketchbook

Sketchbook moments. My sketchbooks are my idea and recipe books which I refer back to all the time. Here, experimenting with some neutrals using Pitt pens, QOR watercolors and those awesome Molotow chrome markers. The neutrals make those little bright spots all the more sweet. Like coffee and chocolate. Uh... hold on, I hear the coffee and chocolate call....

Anyway, I tossed some salt in as well to add texture and interest. I like it!

Mixed Media Art

I’m leading my students through mixed media and we are layering it on. First, a quick sketch, then words, watercolor, gesso, textures, more color, gel medium and those awesome Molotow chrome markers. A tribute to my personal favorite, the buckeye butterfly. I love the way those textures separate the mixed paint pigments.

The blue pigment is sedimentary. It separates out on top of gesso. ❤️ 

Artistic Inspiration

A couple times a year I enjoy spending a REALLY long time at a nice nursery, this one, Arbor Gate. Walking around, sketching, petting cats, smelling roses and taking pictures. It’s like a little personal mini-vacation. One of my simple ways of staying inspired. Do you give yourself a little mini-getaway now and then?

Watercolor Sketch

I love doing quick watercolor sketches of people. This was a demo for mixed media in my classes. First, I laid it out with a fine point pen and went to bigger nibs as I corrected. Not much into the erasing thing. The background and hair were layered with gesso and painted. Nice textures and interest are created with gesso and it moves and separates the sedimentary paint pigments. I like it!  Yes, I do commissions.