Lion 3

Courage ~ fear that has said its prayers.

Dorothy Bernard

Well, with a little reshaping Leo is starting to look more like a lion and less like a monkey. I reshaped his snout and enlarged his head giving him a whole new profile. Now its just a matter of getting more and more texture in his mane and adding some more detail to the area above his mouth (what is that area called anyway?)

Lion 2

Everyone is a genius at least once a year; a real genius has his original ideas closer together.

G. C. Lichtenberg

I am used to going back over my paintings many, many times but when it comes to painting fur it's a whole new ball game. I don't know how many layers are on here but to my mind it still needs a lot more. He is starting to look quite fluffy though.

The above quote has nothing to do with this painting but everything to do with this blog. For days I have been going around and around trying to sign on using my user name and changing my password over and over all to no avail. Finally I just went to the blogspot website and signed on through that and it worked! I may not be a genius everyday but every once in awhile the light bulb does go off.

Anyway, back to this painting. I'm still not happy with the background ~ not happy with the shade of green. This week my art classes start again so I will ask my teacher for a little help. The green really makes the yellow in the lion pop but it's just not the right shade.

Bowl of Grapes 3

Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together.

John Ruskin

I am having major issues with my blog server. As usual somebody wants to fix what isn't broken. Hopefully, I will be able to figure it out but for now this is the last post of the grapes.

Lion 1

Dogs come when they are called; cats take a message and get back to you.

Mary Bly

We are not a "cat" family. After one disastrous attempt to have a cat which resulted in a major flea infestation we have had only one pet, a lovely little Cocker Spaniel named Maggie. However, when I came across a photo of this magnificent lion I couldn't resist painting him. How regal and uninterested he appears. After painting feathers it seemed like a good thing to give fur a try. Once again I've found it's a matter of layers and layers.

Bowl of Grapes 2

Whether it be to failure or success, the first need of being is endurance ~ to endure with gladness if we can, with fortitude in any event.

Bliss Carman

It is amazing to me what one little bit of knowledge will do to change things drastically. I am contemplating buying a video painting workshop on color. The free introductory lesson taught me that the part of anything in shadow will have a touch of color that is opposite its main color on a color wheel. For example, the shadow side of the swans were grayish-purple. The shadow side of the grapes, above, therefore, would be reddish, orange. I'm not as brave as I know I should be but I'm working up to more and more contrasts in my paintings. That's what makes them pop. Anyway, the grapes are done for now ~ on to the pears!

Bowl of Grapes

In creating, the only hard thing's to begin;
A grass-blade's no easier to make than an oak.

James Russell Lowell

Although I took some quick photos of this painting earlier on this is the first time I have gotten to my computer to post anything. I found this photo on-line and fell in love with ts simplicity immediately. Of course, when I started to paint it I quickly realized that it is not simple at all. Each grape had a personality all its own. It was a real joy to tackle each one. I'll probably go over them all at least one more time but for now, I'm just happy to have this one sitting on the easel.

The Mating Game 11

A work of art is a corner of creation seen through a temperament.

Emile Zola

My computer was in the care of Best Buy for over two weeks and I cannot begin to describe how happy I was to get it back. At any rate, I am happy to post another rendition of the swans. I took them to class today and my teacher feels they are finished. My favorite critic does not. I will try to add a few more touches to them but actually will be quite happy to see them swim off into the sunset. While I feel I learned a lot about painting water, feathers are a whole other story! The quote above seemed to fit perfectly with this painting. Every time I approached it I had a different idea of the feeling I wanted to give to it. I'd try to give it one type of atmosphere at home only to have my teacher suggest something to give it a completely different feel. That little bit of still water in the lower right hand corner is me clinging to my original idea of still, placid water counterbalancing the tension between the swans. My teacher kept at me to swirl that water up but I hung tough. Today he didn't mention it all ~ maybe (probably) he was right, but it's my painting.