Working Hard

I haven't posted anything in a while but I have been working hard! I finished this gorgeous portrait and more fish than I can download right now to this blog. Don't you love the snapper?? Some of these are going to Lyon's Share, some to Templeton Gallery and some to my studio stock.

Also, I will be displaying some artwork at LODA on October 10th, so I am going to be painting a lot getting some small and medium size pieces (mixed media and canvas work) ready for that. I will call it an "open studio" sale - there will be old and new works available at good prices. The display is going to be in the Dauphin Realty Office at 410 Dauphin Street (Mattress Factory Condos). These are really rustic, studio condominiums for true downtown living. Check it out, if you can! Other fall venues are posted on my website www.southernoilportraits.com

Painting A Day - 3 oysters on Tin

"3 Oysters on Tin"

I didn't quite finish my "painting a day" today - I was working on an 8x10 of a pier on the bay - so I am posting this instead since I finished it today as well. It's three oysters, cut out of tin and hand painted. I used real shells for the shapes and colors. I mounted it on an antique tin ceiling tile. I love any type of antique architectural element! These ceiling tiles are from a retail store from 1895. Great "peely paint" adds to the rustic oysters. This could sit on a small easel/plate stand or could be hung on the wall. Was rainy today so I had to take this photo inside. It's a little dark but I think you can see the colors well enough.

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Daily Painting - Okra

"Okra" 5x7 Oil on Canvas

I think I have a mild obsession with okra. I did not grow up eating it because my mom did not cook it for our family. I don't know if that's because I wouldn't have eaten it (picky) or because her parents came from Texas and California and they didn't fix it for her. Regardless, when I started eating it a few years ago, I found I love it! Fried, in gumbo, or stewed with onion, tomato and fresh corn - Yum! I've even been know to eat it raw when chopping it up. Maybe it has some vitamin in it that I lack? I've been wanting to paint okra for a while, so I stopped in at Jimmy Lowe's and bought some. My grandmother over in Elberta grows it, and maybe I should plant some, too.

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Oyster Shell

"Oyster Shell" 5x7 Oil on Canvas

This is my very first "Painting A Day"!!! My mom and I have just started getting together to paint once a week and this is what I created last night. I have been painting oyster shells on tin for my mixed media artwork, but really wanted to try it on canvas. What's neat about oyster shells, is that at first glance, they look gray and white, but when you really look at the "pearly" part of the shell, there are all kinds of subtle colors there. That's also why I love painting white clothing in my portraits.

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Mixed Media Artwork

I brought a few pieces over to the Lyon's Share Gallery on Friday. The above is a "wahoo" cut out of tin and painted in oil. Then, mounted in an antique window frame backed with vintage tin. It will supposedly hang in a new restaurant in Fairhope called "Wahoo's" (old Point Clear Tennis Club) although it will still be available for sale through the gallery.

This is a smaller piece - a little chapel. It's mounted on some of the lumber salvaged from a 1790's North Carolina cabin.

I love these oysters. I looked at real shells for the shapes and subtle colors. I like to paint them but it's my husband that actually eats them (raw on the half shell).

New Portrait Style

I am introducing a new portrait style reminiscent of the early impressionists. The subjects are usually not looking at the camera, but are naturally engaged in something other than having their portrait done. The painting style is less detailed and more loose. You are able to see the brush strokes and marks made by my palette knife in the oil paint. This is a great casual portrait and a nice piece for any art collector. Here are a few of my latest paintings in this style.

"Stephen" - This little boy was playing in the sand at his bay house. When he looked up, my friend Kristin Smith (http://www.kristinsmithphotography/) got the shot. I love it because on one side, it has all the warm colors from the sunlight, on the other side, it's dark and cool.

"My Boys at FYC" - This photo was taken (again by Kristin Smith) during a formal photo shoot for our Christmas cards last year. After I let them change back into casual clothes, they were on a balcony, looking out at the sailboats at Fairhope Yacht Club. I love to paint fabric - so these t-shirts and jeans were fun! And the light in their hair is wonderful.

"Kids on the Pier" and "Feet!" - These shots (also taken by Kristin Smith - can you tell that we work together a lot? She is an amazing photographer) are great because Mobile Bay is muted and hazy in the background, but the bright colored bathing suits "pop". I don't get to use my "lime green" paint tube very often, so this was great.

After their photo session, they got to dive in the water. Thick, white "splashes" of paint makes this one most appreciated when seen "in person".