here is the commission i’ve been working on this week
…finally finished today

“pensive thoughts bring a winsome smile”
15″ x 22″ graphite and gouache on paper

i’ve been busy the last few days with a new commission
i’m liking the way it is looking and can’t wait to share it with you
although it will be a few more days before it is complete

as i was cleaning my studio this weekend
a few beautiful things caught my eye

here are some byproducts of my art production

my palette

my cutting glass

here is the new oil that is finally feeling done
there are some new things happening in this piece
it’s kind of too new to analyze at this point
but like all of my paintings,
it will reveal itself to me in time

“holding the sky open
the sweet sounds…the fluttering
…it’s just a backdrop”
30″ x 36″ (oil on wood panel)

this was my last completed oil painting
i finished it right before my april show opened
since then i’ve just been painting in water
i have a sister painting to this piece that has been on my easel
for a few months now
i’m starting to finish it up…maybe i can get it on the blog in a few days

there is something about this one that resonates very deeply with me

“my mind wanders back to a time when thoughts were green
…is this my wonderland”
30″ x 36″ (oil on wood panel)

it started a few months ago when i offered
a very dear friend mine services for her upcoming baby shower
“anything you’d like me to create, cook, or help with?”
“…no, not now, but i’ll let you know”
we’ve all said it…we’ve all been there for the ones we love
i think the artists/creatives out there know this all too well
when you’re the creative one, the handy one…
you find yourself to sometimes be the only light out of a dark tunnel
to the left-brained, not very handy types

today, as i worked on this particular project
my mind recollected many past “creative favors”
some have been cute, or humorous, or just downright disturbing
…like the time my dad asked me to paint a picture of him with
a deer that he’d just shot, hanging in the tree next to him
i think the deer’s tongue was even hanging out
(…just couldn’t bring myself to do that one)

my husband gets annoyed at my laughs
he rolls his eyes at the “life of the serious artist”
compares it to one of our favorite saturday night live skits
where a group of goth kids are having a dark ritual in the park
as one of them gets hit in the head with a frisby
the contrast of the frisby football game and the goth ritual
….very funny

ok, so i got hit in the head with a frisby
it turns out my services are needed for the baby shower
in existence is a rubber ducky with the Union Jack painted on it
…how cute!…if we only had a rubber ducky with Old Glory!
(the parents to be are mixed nationalities- british/american)
what a perfect centerpiece this would be!

so, today i’ve been painting old glory on the rubber ducky
it has taken hours actually…too many hours
but when sincere love is involved, the time doesn’t really matter
i guess i just wanted to share this little work of art
with all of my bloggsters
now you all know that not all of my creativity
is used to create serious works of “fine art”

if you are a creative type
please share your favorite “creative favor”
don’t be shy, we’ve all done them