This little painting was an exercise in color; honestly, I was just playing with color. To keep my creativity flowing, sometimes I have to paint even when I don’t have a good subject, so I make them up. As are most of my paintings, this one is for sale. All proceeds go towards endangered species conservation. For $50.00, this painting could be yours.
An artist on the loose with paints and paper can be a dangerous thing. I was looking for something in my bookcase, and I came upon a book that used to belong to a deceased friend of mine named Lori. I flipped through the book and discovered a postcard reproduction of a Frida Kahlo painting called “Diego en mi pensamiento.” It got my attention, because my friend Dale has spoken of this painting more than once, but this was the first time I had ever seen it. So.. I thought, what the hay, why not copy it? And well, it was fun!
What do I do when I don’t have a model? I often use myself as the model, and this time, I painted my right foot. Since I’m left handed, I found it too difficult to paint my left foot.
What do I do when I don’t know what to paint? I often seek inspiration from other artists; and yesterday, I saw several of Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings. In her work, I saw these colors, and I remembered them from when I visited her ghost ranch. This little painting is from a photo I took right near there last summer when I was in New Mexico.
My sister is on vacation in France, and she sends me daily updates of her adventure. She saw a pretty garden in Amboise, France, but couldn’t get close to it because a cat growled and hissed at her. She managed to take his picture. The little black cat behind him seemed friendlier, but the first cat didn’t allow closer proximity. Thanks to modern technology, my sister shared her photo with me, and I was able to paint it (using paint, brushes and paper) and then take a picture of my painting and send it back to my sister. She exclaimed, “this is better than my photo!” and that, my friends, is what makes a good painting. This painting is 11″ x 15″ and is for sale for $175.00. All proceeds go to endangered species conservation.