Mad Blue Bird

Birds have suddenly become a thing with me. Just before Christmas my husband and I visited the Town Of Mineola, Texas which is only about 26 or so miles from Canton and went into a store that sells all kinds of bird gifts and books and such. There was a garden flag with a photo of this adorable bluebird called Mad Bluebird that I just fell in love with, so I just had to have a picture of it. And then I just had to do a painting of it for my bed and bath. As a matter of fact I have decided to make cute birds the theme for each one of the rooms starting with this mad bluebird. I plan to buy all of the mugs, pillows, and garden flags of this little guy to decorate the first room, and of course, do a larger painting of him too. There is a whole story behind the photo of this little bird and the man who took the picture and I will come back later to give more information about it. But I am out of time to work on the computer right now, so see you later!

Little Orange Breasted Bird

Although I usually paint from photos, this is painting was done from a printed page a friend brought me that she found on the internet. I don't know who the original artist is, but I sure wish that I could take a lesson from them. My interpretation is no where near as wonderful as the original. I can only hope to be as good a painter as the artist who did this little bird originally. Because this is a reproduction of another artist's work it is not for sale. This is just a study for me to learn from. I painted this in oil on a 9" x 12" page from a canvas pad. I will probably frame it and hang it in one of the rooms of my Bed and Bath which I am redecorating.

I found the cutest little bluebird photo and decided to do a theme of different cute little birds for each of the four rooms. I am sure that is why my friend brought me this little bird to paint. I just hope that the guests I have at the b&b will like my new theme as well.

Water Lilly

Water Lily is approximately 4" x 4" oil on canvas. Price is $45.00. I found a photo of this water lily in Texas Highways magazine. White flowers are a challenge for me to paint. I struggle with finding just the right color for the shaded areas. I do think it turned out nice. The actual painting is much prettier than the photo shows.

If you would like to purchase this painting email me at pyrmom@yahoo.com.

Coral Mountains

One of my students brought me this wonderful photo and I just had to paint it. It is a 9" x 12" oil on unstretched canvas. Price is $95.00. To purchase email me at pyrmom@yahoo.com. Please put "PAINTING" as subject for your email.

This is the same rose I had painted earlier in a deep red. I decided to try it in brighter reds this time. The photo does not do it justice as you can't see all of the detail and color variation that is in the actual painting. The deep red one is now sold. I hope this one will sell as well. It is a 10" x 10" oil on canvas panel. If you would like to purchase this painting email me at pyrmom@yahoo.com with "red rose painting" as the subject of your email.

Serenity

"Serenity" is a 16" x 20" oil on canvas. Price is $125.00. It is one of the paintings I did for the class I teach on Monday nights. The lesson for the students in this painting is learning to paint reflections in water. To purchase this painting email me at pyrmom@yahoo.com . Please put regarding painting as the subject of your email.

Sculpture of Belinda

As a change of pace I thought I would post a picture of one of the sculptures I have done in the past. This lifesize bust was created using a white ceramic clay that was kiln fired. Then a patina was applied to give it a bronze appearance. This sculpture of Belinda was on display at The Warehouse Gallery in Fort Worth, Texas where it was purchased by the building owner for her private collection.

Creating portrait sculptures for individuals by commission is what has been the mainstay of my art career for the past seventeen to eighteen years. With the economy the way it is right now I find myself doing more painting than sculpting lately. I do have a portrait sculture of a child in process at the moment, so I will post a picture of it soon. Okay, enough posting for today. I have to go paint now!

If you are interested in having a portrait sculpture done email me at pyrmom@yahoo.com with "portrait sculpture" as the subject of your email.

Macaws and Orchids

My friend and also art student, Sandy, brought me a blouse and asked me to paint something tropical or exotic on the back of it. Knowing her love of bright color I chose these two Macaws. They are painted in acrylics on a chambry fabric. The picture just does not show the true brilliance of the colors, but at least you can see most of the detail in the painting. Sandy was ecstatic over it. I hope it brings her much joy when she wears it. It certainly was alot of fun to paint.

Cowboy Sunset

Being the Texan that he is, this is one of my husbands favorite paintings. (I can never seem to do enough western style art for him). Sunsets with the forground subject in shadow is a favorite thing for me to paint. It turned out pretty good. I may spend a little more time with this type of theme in the coming weeks.

oil on 11" x 14" canvas panel $65.00. To purchase email me at pyrmom@yahoo.com.

Frozen River

Frozen River is a 16" x 20" oil on canvas. Another one of the paintings I taught to my Monday night oil painting class. Just about all of the studentss went home covered in blue paint. I guess it is part of the process to learn how to keep your elbows off of the paint pallette. Still, they have so much fun and are learning alot about color and brush technique.

If you would like to purchase this or any of my paintings email me at pyrmom@yahoo.com.

Still Lake

Still lake is another painting I did along with my students that I teach on Monday nights. The rocks in the forground brought alot of groans from the ladies as they tried a new double loaded brush technique. What is a simple thing to me sometimes causes alot of anguish to my students. It is all part of the learning process. One day they will wonder why this seemed so hard to them.

This was done on a 16" x 20" canvas in oil. It is not for sale as my grandson has placed a claim on it. He likes the quiet stillness of the mountains reflections in the water.

Well this is the last post for a couple of days. This is First Monday Trade Days weekend here in Canton, Texas, and I own a small bed and bath business. I am totally booked from Thursday night until Sunday, and I have to go clean rooms and get ready for my guests. So it is no painting for me for the next couple of days. (I bet I do try to find at least an hour somewhere to paint something!).

Country Road in Spring

Today is a cold wet dreay day, so I painted a Springtime scene of a country road with flowers blooming in the field and along the roadside. The rain did sneak in though as there are puddles of water on the road. It has made me feel a little lighter in mood. I hope it does the same for you.

This is a 16" x 20" oil on canvas. Price is $125.00. To purchase this painting email me at pyrmom@yahoo.com .

Peaceful Waterfall

Happy Thanksgiving! Today I recieved an email from Rhonda Byrne (she wrote the book "The Secret") about gratitude and how just the two words "Thank you" can change your life. She is correct in that. We get so caught up in our day to day lives that we just completely forget to stop and say Thank you for even being alive! So today I share with you a painting I call "Peaceful Waterfall". It is from a photo I took on one of my forays in to nature. Just the sound of the quietly rushing water from this little fall soothed my soul and made me feel so alive in the moment. I am grateful to God for giving me artistic abilities to do my paintings and sculptures, and making it possible for me to share them with anyone who comes along to look at them. To me, art in it's simplist form brings light and beauty to our sometimes dreary world. I hope that viewing my paintings on this blog will bring a little brightness to your day as well. Have a joyous Holiday season .

Color Variation Study of Roses

Today I am posting two small rose studies. I still have to put dew drops on the round pink and lavendar rose. These are both oil on wood. The yellow rose on the oval measures 5" x 3 1/2" and the pink rose on the round measures 4 1/2 ". They will be listed on ebay after the Thanksgiving Holiday. If you would like to purchase them before hand email me at pyrmom@yahoo.com. Purchase price is $45.00 each.

Deep Red Rose

Roses are my absolute favorite flower to paint. I learned a wonderful technique quite a few years ago from a wonderful lady named Joan Johnson. She taught me just how to look at real roses and come up with the perfect color mixtures to create realistic roses on wood and tin surfaces. I also use this same method on canvas (if truth be known I will paint a rose on anything that will sit still long enough). I feel so fortunate to have taken lessons from this very talented artist when I did. Joan is no longer with us. She passed on about seven years ago. I do charish the knowlege she left with me and many other artists that were lucky enough to have learned from her.

This rose is painted on a 10" x10" canvas panel. SOLD.

Kalahari Sunset

This painting was done from a photo I took while watching an episode ofMeerkat Manor on The Animal Planet network. I was surprised that I could actually take a digital photo of my tv screen. I used it as another subject for my painting class. I am always looking for new and different things for the ladies in my class to paint. This one is on a 16" x20" canvas.
Oh my goodness! I just looked at the clock and it is 1:38 a.m. I have alot to do tommorrow (I mean today) so this is the last post for tonight. Tommorrow I will post Roses!

Mountain View Lake

I teach an oil painting class where I live in Canton, Texas. This is one of the paintings that I did while instructing that class. And because it was done while instructing there are things that are a little off kilter in this painting. I have found it hard to keep things in perspective while standing to one side or the other of the easel so that the class can see what I am doing. Some times I feel like I am hanging upside down from the top of the easel just so they can see!
It is as much of a learning experience for me as it is for them. This is a beginners wet on wet class, and I have to keep it simple for them as most of them have never picked up a brush before. You would be amazed at what these ladies have learned, and how beautiful their paintings turn out.

My First Post

Posting a blog is a new experience for me, but I have been so impressed by all of the wonderful artwork I have viewed on so many painting a day blogs that I decided to join in the fun. It may take me a little time to get the hang of this, but here goes! My very first post!