ORIGINAL RAVEN PAINTING "HOLD THAT THOUGHT"

Hey Friends,  And here is my fifteenth Raven !  It's a long running series.  And he seems a bit rude or self absorbed like his message is more important than yours.  So I gave him the title "HOLD THAT THOUGHT"!

He is up for auction on Ebay-available HERE.

And the South Peak Paint out is this Saturday the 10th, from 9 until 6pm.  The DLP and I will be there in the afternoon, from >< 1pm to 6pm.

Hope you will put it on your to do list for Sat.  Should be interesting and fun.

Click Here for more info

Happy Trails

ORIGINAL RAVEN PAINTING "The NOSE"

Hey Friends,  A bit of whimsey coming up.  This is my fourteenth painting of Raven's.  I think his title should be "The NOSE".  His beak looks more like a nose, don't ya think?

He is available HERE.

Another reminder every day until Sat. the 10th.  Please come say HI! to me and my Friends, the Double Line Painters of the Blue Ridge at South Peak.  The hill top village across from Tanglewood.  We will be there in the afternoon, I will need to get the exact time.

Happy Trails

SUMMER VACATION IS OVER !!!

 

Hey Friends,  It's true.  It's Over.  I have been silently working in the background.  Been getting ready for the festival type art shows coming up very soon.  In Lynchburg, Pearisburg, and right here in Salem, Va.

I have worked on a couple smaller pieces for my ETSY shop.  Click HERE for the above.

 

I went with my paint buddies, the DLP's, to Buchanan, Va. this morning to enjoy painting in this beautiful weather we have been having.

Enjoyed every minute of it !  Only managed to paint one.  But I have a few decent photos to work from.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Happy Trails

Ebay Auctions Ending Soon on Original Art

 

Hey Friends, I don't know why I can't remember to post on this blog every single day or at least when some auctions are about to end.  It takes blogger a day or so to send new post out, and I KNOW that.

 

I'm gonna blame it on my GranBabes.  When they are here one part of my mind just finds a little spot in the closet to wait for them to go home.  The other part of my brain is joyful they are here to drive me crazy.  Love them dearly.

Anyway these two pretties will find new homes in the next few hours.

Thanks for stopping by but go to EBAY before leaving.

Happy Trails

No. 18 in the Pollinator Series and Plein Aire at Evergreen Lavendar Farm

 

Hey Friends,  Moving on to #18 !  A gorgeous Raven waiting on a branch for a French fry !  This was started on a base of dictionary pages.  Up top left is the dictionary's definition of raven.  This pretty boy is for auction on EBAY, Click here.

 

But the good news of this day is We, the DLP's finally got to the beautiful "Evergreen Lavender Farm" just this side of Appomattox, Va. on Rt. 460.  Bonnie the owner, said "Sure come on over and paint.  She was happy to see us and a gracious host.

 

This is my first painting of the day.  I started with a magenta base instead o white canvas.  That is a beautiful pond in the distance.  With rows of lavender between us.

 

Here I'm pretty much finished.  Made a couple adjustments at home.

 

And here is one of Bonnie's donkeys.  She said they (there were 2 more hiding) did not like the heat so they hang out in their Donkey House during the day.

 

Here is a shot of the beautiful Bee Hives.  Can't wait to paint this !  Bonnie said she does not mess with these hives.  She has enough going on with the farm and making lavender products.  And I bought some really heavenly smelling stuff while there.

Check out their website at www.evergreenlavender.com

 

Happy Trails

Travel Well

the Best Things in Life are Free

 Hey Friends,  This piece started with the printed paper from my GranBabes piano practice book.

 Thought a few process shots might be fun.  The paper has been gelled to the thick canvas and starting with the blue acrylics.

 The stamp I carved myself and I added the vine  so it could be green.

 Here I have finished with the stamp and painted in the utility wire with the blackbirds resting.  I don't know if you can tell but I really like the finger prints I made all over the piece.  Kinda like certain brush strokes but made with the fingers.

And I have found quite a few feathers this year and I like them a lot so I use them every chance I get.  And here are the edges of the piece.  Did you notice how stained and worn my table is?  I like to put paint right on the table instead of the palette, especially when working with a tiny brush and very small strokes.   I shall put this in my Etsy Shop.
Happy Trails
Travel Well

the Raven and Japan

Hey Friends, OK, here is my beautiful Raven and one messy small greenish blob. I'm always surprised how quick and easy these guys are to paint. Kinda like cows. I like the yellow background. I was shootin' for happy. Makes me happy!

Now this one is a happy painting too. I'm going to list it in the Daily Paintworks challenge. ALL the funds raised will go to help out in Japan. Isn't it wonderful they figured out how to set this up so quickly? David Marine is his name so go check out the site and buy something !!

Now what do ya think of this painting? You supposed to paint something that reminds you of home. These are the mountains here in SW Virginia and the Roanoke River. I painted it as if I were in the top of a very tall tree, looking over Greenhill Park, because that park is close to home. Obviously the rest is a good dream.

Happy Trails.

the Raven and the Frogs

Hey Friends, A change in scedules at work gives me this oppurtunity to post here on my blog.

Coming home two nights ago there were lots of frogs on the road. They do this every year, I just don't remember it being so early-March! It had been an usually warm day so the road was still warm at 10 pm. I always drive real slow so I don't smash them but SOME people don't care. So the next morning I'm able to see the dead frogs and a couple of Ravens cleaning up the mess. I got a few photos.

So I scratched one of the beauties out on this 11x14. I just scanned the bird not the entire canvas. I'm thinking I want the background to be mostly yellow. Yellow is a happy color and you know these guys were really happy to find an easy, free breakfast. Yuck !

What would we do without the scavengers though. Have a beautiful Sunday.

Happy Trails.

My Efforts Today

Hey Friends, A couple bits to show for my 11 hour day. Actually, I spent most of my day on another Peacock ! But I've got to hide her for a few days to see if she's as homely as I think she is right now. Whew, why do I torture myself with such hard, picky subjects? I suppose I just like testing myself every now and again.
The raven above is from yesterdays efforts. Not much time spent in the studio yesterday, so I kept it simple. I like simple. And you can't usually screw up such a beautiful, simple bird too badly.

This (above) is an under painting I thought you might like to glance at. I scanned at 72 dpi but I should have done it at about 200 so you could see the glass beads a little better. I used a palette knife to apply the glass beads at the bottom, in a sort of flower shape. It's pretty thick.

Then painted on an under coat of Acra Gold.

Can you see a faint line sketch in the smaller image? I'm going to make this a bee and flower painting. How common you say. But I really ENJOY painting Bee's.

Maybe I'll be able to show you this finished tomorrow.

Happy Trails and Happy Dreams

Original Painting of Raven-Details

Hey Friends, I think this post may turn out to be pretty funny. You know how you have a choice of putting your photos in the middle or on the left or right? Well, I've seen others put the image on the side and the verbage on the other side. Thought I'd give it a go. I clicked the left and you see what I got!! It's always a mystery how I do these things. I'll try to work around this.

Theimage above is just acrylic splattered with alcohol and then more acrylic layered on, transparent acrylic. And more alcohol. If the acrylic is somewhat dry, you get the tiny marks. Then in the corner I laid down a pink layer and swirled a comb through it.

The image on the left above is the limb the Raven is sitting on. Painted thinly or transparently. It has a watercolor look. The orange dots were placed with the brush handle. Obviously the other is the Raven's tail.

The images above are details of the beautiful birds features. The background was painted in blocks. Taped off, then paint was dripped and rolled with a brayer and alcohol, etc. in layers. I'm not doing so well with getting this verbage where I want it. HA! My daughter still needs to fix this thing. I'd love for it to be done before that Baby Boy arrives!!! Hint Hint!

I realize I didn't post the full image but I dare not go back and try to add something else. I'll just do that next time. It's more fun trying to put this puzzle together anyway.

Happy Trails.

RAVEN Original Painting Details

Hey Friends, I have a friend, Kelli, who lives in Alaska! She was curious about a couple of mypaintings, so I thought I would show her a few close ups. I thought maybe you would like to see also. This is a contemporary twist on the famous Raven. Ravens are so smart and good looking.

In this close up, you can see one section of the Real Gold Leaf and the Ravens tail feathers.

This close up shows a stamp I hand made from a sheet of foam. I like to make my own stamps.

Here is the famous nosy face.

This section just shows the effect you get by dragging things through the paint. Here I used a comb type thingy for decorating cakes! This style or technique is one of my very most favorite ways to create.

Tomorrow I will post another Raven, but right now I must get going to see my daughter in the hospital and take her some PB&J sandwiches.

Happy Trails!

TREASURY!

Hey Friends, Another post! Two in one day-wow. I was included in a treasury on Etsy. If I knew what I was doing, I could capture the treasury image and put it on this screen. Hey, don't be mean, I've learned a lot in this past year. Treasuries don't stay visible very long on Etsy, so click HERE now to see it.
Happy Trails.