Well, I am fluent in English and music (considered a language), adore old English, am pretty dangerous in Spanish and Italian, fascinated with German and completely stymied by Dutch, and spent about five years intensely studying and teaching Latin. But did you know I can read paint palettes? Looking at this one, I can clearly see that someone was definitely painting an animal’s nose.
Well, okay, it’s my palette. But I can look back at any photos of my palette over the years and clearly remember exactly what I painted. Cool, huh?
As a professional artist I’ve created paintings and said goodbye to them as they have all gone to various new homes around the world. Over the years I’ve watched as my style has changed. I look back at paintings I’ve sold and think, ‘hmm... I guess that’ll never happen again, I don’t even paint like that anymore.’ I change, I grow, I move on to new ideas; after all, I have an entire world of creativity to explore!
All this to say, if you are eyeing art by an artist, ANY artist, whatever medium, BUY IT. You are not buying Walmart (fake, reproduced, fall-apart) art, you’re investing in an artist’s life. You’re purchasing an heirloom, a legacy and it’s not going to come around again. If you miss your chance, that particular piece will never happen again.
You can join the artist in that shining, creative moment in time and enjoy a beautiful, unique piece that can never be reproduced. Now THAT is special. Yes, Mr. Bear is long gone, but I DO have small posters of him at
colorcatstudios101.etsy.com
Here’s a super-closeup of a new painting I’ve got up my sleeve. Since it’s 24x30”, I guess that means I’ve got a big sleeve, huh? Can you guess what it is? This painting is a friend of another I recently painted as they both have the same subject; but that one was based on a linear concept with a strong emphasis on drawing and lines. For this one I first laid down a heavy layer of textures and words to be the base for the painting itself. My goal was to layer the colors in very transparent glazes so you could see how the glazing reacted with the textures and so you enjoy how the colors interact with each other, changing and mixing as they’re either layered or not layered. Goodness, this painting is as complex as expensive, aged wine! You’ll get the big reveal SOON! Hope you like the little sneak peek!
Wouldn’t you like a wolf under your tree this Christmas? Well, maybe a wolf PAINTING. Here’s a section of my wolf which I named ‘The Better to See you With, My Dear.’ You can find full pictures on my website colorcatstudios101.etsy.com. This painting is done in layers with much of the painting close to abstract and dripping with golds and blacks. Striking, the glowing eyes follow you. This beautiful acrylic painting is 24”x30” and FILLS the room!
I painted him on a heavy gallery-wrapped canvas and he’s ready to hang. Check him out at colorcatstudios101.etsy.com or email me at colorcatstudios@gmail.com.
I guess I always go for the mutts. This was an in-class demo using five different mediums, i.e., mixed media. Pardon me, but he’s a little ‘ruff’ around the edges as I didn’t spent a lot of time on him. Cutie pie. Just let me know if you want a quick sketch of your pet!
It’s time to celebrate! Whenever I use up a sales receipt book and have to buy a new one it’s time to celebrate. Thank you, Lord, for directing me into this profession! How can I help YOU?
This little cutaway is your hint of the piece I finished last night. Can you tell what it is? Take a guess! I’ll reveal tonight. I’m really excited about this one which I did in layers of glazing color upon transparent color. It’s downright luminous. My only hint is in a previous post where I showed my palette; I was choosing colors for this painting. Now... if I can only get a good photo which is hard with all this rain. My day’s work is set.
Natural light is best for photographing art. My natural light, outside, is not cooperating. It’s raining. It’s supposed to rain all day. We shall see what happens.
The colors in this painting are really luminous and glow through each other; this being said, they are very hard to photograph. Because I used the glazing technique (layer upon layer of glossy, transparent color, it reflects a shine back to the camera. A professional photographer would set up his little reflective umbrellas and have the light diffused but I don’t have that stuff. Professional photographers everywhere - I respect and salute you! I just can’t afford you. Blah.
All this to say, when I DO get good pics, they still won’t be nearly as beautiful as the painting itself. They never are.
Don’t we all just love to get fun stuff in the mail? You, too, can get fun stuff, but first you have to ORDER it! Outgoing!!! Get on my website and find something fun to find in your mailbox besides bills and junk mail. #reallycoolartcancometoyoutoo!
SOLD! This is a small cutaway of the larger painting. I named it Well Placed Hope II. I did a similar one, its mate, as a commission several years ago and loved it so much that I decided to paint another ship, hence the addition to the name, “II,’ which is fitting after all, for ships! The Well Placed Hope part insures that even when things are at their bleakest, there is always Hope. This ship will not sink! Yes, I do commissions.
If you look closely in the area of the moon you can see some pretty cool textures. These things are difficult to photograph, but make my work oh so much more beautiful in person.
Here’s the painting in its entirety. The size is 30”x24”.
Here’s a tiny cutaway of my painting, ‘Well Placed Hope’ which is for sale on my website. This is one ship that is NOT going to sink! There is ALWAYS hope. It has been in a traveling exhibit and is now looking for a permanent home.
colorcatstudios101.etsy.com is where you’ll find more pictures and all kinds of info about this gorgeous painting. I really love this one.An artist can take cleaning her desk to an entirely new level. Scrape, scrape, scrape. As an acrylic artist I usually just wipe it away or level it off when I’m done working. Over time the layers get so thick I can pull them off pretty easily. If I ever get to a point where I’m really tired or uninspired I’ll clean off some of the layers. Gives me some productive thinking time. What do you do when you need time to think?
As an artist, I consider my body another canvas upon which to work, and what I wear often reflects who I am. A self portrait. Because it’s easy for me to get a little crazy, I sometimes wear black to tame it down a bit.
Here my leather and pearl necklace remind me of the nice time Noah and I had at the science museum. The crazy leaf scarf came from a great trip Gary and I took to Florida. My Packman earring I got at the Mall of America in St. Paul (biggest mall in the States) and the feather earring connects me to our daughter, who wears its mate. The gold band is from my dad who found it metal detecting - very special. My black bracelet was at a dollar bin at Goodwill, where we love to kick around for good deals. You would notice the many-stoned ring - that’s my paternal grandma’s mother’s ring. She had NINE kids!! The mother’s ring has may purple and green stones; I got the topaz (the big one) because it has purple and green and blue in it and matches my grandma’s ring so beautifully. Plus, I love anything big and sparkly.
If you look closely, you will see the big gouge in my left arm - a reminder of my melanoma and how precious life is - a gift from God. I don’t mind the scar as it reminds me of this. One more detail in this self-portrait - I got caught in the rain today, so I cut off the top so you wouldn’t see my frizzy wet hair!
Does what you wear reflect you?
Oh... and... here’s more of my self portrait - I do my best to surround myself with flowers inside and outside the house.
And the best flowers of all, peonies. Yummy!
Now my self-portrait is much more complete. :)
What’s in your front seat? This is very typical for me. Art Supply and Art Teacher Transport Vehicle is at your service. There is paint all over this car, in and out. What do you carry in your car?
I teach classes in two locations, The Woodlands and Conroe. In The Woodlands it’s with the HIS Classes,
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.
I set aside a project and the paints I’m using for it to paint a commission. There’s a subtle hint here as to what my project is!
