Joint effort

I always like to give credit where credit is due. Every day we see things that inspire us and get the creative juices going.
With the invention of the internet...well...there's no limit as to where these bits of inspiration can come from.
My latest painting of Buoys came from another dear artist friend of mine Terri Kahrs who lives very far from me, but whom I can talk with "online" every day. Not only is she a terrific artist...but she also is amazing with a camera. Always taking beautiful shots as she travels.
When she posted her shots of the buoys I had to ask her right away if it was alright for me to use this in a painting. Yes...she was delighted to pass the image on.
Here is her photo....
 






Well...you can see from the beautiful colors why I might have felt the need to paint this one!!
It was a longer project than some since I didn't have the time to devote on working on just this piece...but I love the end result.
I have lots of little surprises throughout this one...but I'll show you just a few.
Wish I could show you all the hidden gems...but wouldn't want to spoil that for those who get to see it in person!
Terri, thanks again for letting me interpret your beautiful photo.

Series

Once again I find I'm working in a "series". Thought you might enjoying seeing a pic of the group together right now. The latest...lawn/beach chairs.
There really is something to be said for doing art in a series. It makes for an actual collection of similiar images, which is great for showing.
It also takes the pressure away from the question, "what will I do next?". You're already excited about the subject you're doing and can't wait to get to the next.
I spent a long time doing the series of beach toys, buckets and shovels. While there may be more to come down the line...I'm now really enjoying this new subject and I know there are more of these.
I have some other subjects in progress, but just this weekend I was down on the dock behind my house taking more reference shots of my chairs.
Yep...there's more coming!!

Back at it...

After having been out of sorts for a number of days with a bug, I finally managed to feel normal enough to get back into the art room. I had started the underpaintings for some smaller pieces with one chair after I had done the piece with the two chairs. I just knew a series was coming from that!

So...back on my feet I've gotten the first one finished.

On to the next!!

Flip Flops

Having done a number of "Beach Toy" pieces with a pail & shovel....I switched it up just a bit by adding another one of those summer icon images...Flip Flops.

Honestly..is there anyone who doesn't have a pair of these in one or more colors during beach season? Nope...didn't think so.

Here is a shot of some of the work in progress. Fun to see it come together.

Harry & Sally

Yep...that's their names. For some reason, the moment I finished working on these two, that's what I looked at them and called them....sooo...guess that's what they wanted. Who am I to argue...lol

Well....they now have a new home!

I finished working on them the night before I was due to drop off a piece of work for the local art group show.

Today I went to the art show late this afternoon as it was ending figuring I would be picking these guys up to take home....after all, they hadn't even had a full day of living at my house yet. When I walked in I discovered that they had already found a new home to fly off to!! The couple who purchased them had let them stay in the show until the ending...so I was lucky enough to be there to meet them when they returned. What a lovely couple they were. We had a nice chat and I was able to answer all their questions about my process and point out a few tidbits in the piece to them as well.

Soo...looks like Harry & Sally will be a couple of happy birds. Guess it was all for the best that I didn't get time to bond with them :)

End result....almost

Since I'd shown you an earlier pic of this piece when it was just being worked on, I thought it only fair to show you the end result...of the piece....not the project.
The project this was made for will have to wait till about the end of the summer to be revealed...but it will be worth the wait.
Until then, here's the finished piece.

Work In Progress....

Yes.....I'm still here and still creating!! I've been in the middle of a project that I can't talk about just yet...but I'm excited!!!!
You'll just have to wait to hear about it. This pic of the work in progress is actually a peek into the secret project.
Yes..I know...another beach pail. However, this one is much larger, 12x12, than the others which were all 6x6. There is also something else about this one.......opps....can't tell you any more....LOL
Well...just checking in to let you know I'm still around and will show you more later ;)

Back at it....finally

After what seemed like forever that I was sick with a bug and unable to do much of anything....I'm back !!
I had sketched this piece out and done an underpainting ages ago...but was unable to get to it until now. As I felt better I would go to the art room each day and see how much time I could put in on my feet. Every day I made a bit more progress. Last night...I finished it!! Varnish and all.
Today I took a drive to The Little Beach Gallery in Hyannis and brought some new work to freshen the wall for the upcoming season! Jen just actually purchased the building and it's looking really beautiful!
Since this little piece was ready to go...I took it along, as well as some of the new beach toy pail & shovel pieces and the cabanas. The walls are about to have "summer" written all over them!!
I'll post a few progress shots of the lighthouse on the Torn Paper Paintings FaceBook Fan Page soon, as I did with a few other pieces recently.

More Boats

Just finished another beachscape...this one is 12x24". Nice big size.

After having done the two  pieces with boats in them for the Boston Childrens Hospital (see previous post), I liked the idea of adding that element in more often.

Along with the boats I popped a few birds, gulls, flying overhead. Not sure if the pick will allow you to see all three boats as well as the birds....but you get the idea.

Now that this one is finished....I need to do something a little different. Love the beaches...but may take a short break from them. Hmmm....we'll see.

Beaches everywhere

There has been such a demand for torn paper beaches that my art room is overflowing in the theme.

As you can see here...there's always a batch of beachscapes hanging on my easel....with more that you can't see in the works on my drafting table.

I'm almost caught up and have some new pieces all sketched out and ready to start playing with....can't wait.

Vineyard light

Using a photo I'd taken in Martha's Vineyard, I just finished my latest Torn Paper Painting.
I've included a close up of the lighthouse to see some of the text that has been incorporated. There are some other little surprises throughout....but I'll leave those for the folks who see it personally! :)

Evolution

As with all things, there is a natural progression and evolution.

This is now true with my art pieces as well. I have been doing my torn paper art on a heavy 200lb watercolor paper and then framing them under glass with spacers between the art and the glass. A very time consuming process to say the least.

I have wanted to experiment a bit more to find a process I liked that would allow for less framing time and more art time.

I may have it. Stretched canvas.

I've just tried my first experiment with this and I like the effect. This beachscape is on a stretched canvas. With the protective coat of varnish over the work it is able to skip the framing.

I quite like the less formal look of this and the more casual "beach cottage" feel.

Onward....more experiments to come!