Brad's Martini

Brad's Martini
6"x6" Original Oil on Archival Board
Click for a Closer Look or to Purchase
 
Those of you who have been following me
know that I've been focusing this year on learning to render glass in oil paint.
And for the ones counting this would be lucky #13.

My husband Brad and I enjoy cocktail hour frequently
and he loves martini's with olives
well shaken with one or two ice cubes.
I will say, I make one mean martini.
One evening while I was making his drink I decided to
take some photos at differing angles and light
and have been wanting to paint this glass for a while.
However, it's a tricky one as the glass is clear
as well as the liquid in it.
I finally decided to throw caution and
the little voice in my head to the wind and go for it.
I think I must have succeeded as every time I look
at the painting
I want to reach out and take a drink.
Cheers!

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Jelaine's Cup, well sort of.........

Glass Study #12, Jelaine's Cup
6"x6" Oil on Archival Board
Click for a Closer View or Purchase Info

One of my FAVorite contemporary realism artist is
Jelaine Faunce.
I've been following her work for a couple of years
and absolutely LOVE her paintings of glass.
I had the opportunity to meet Jelaine last summer, while
talking with her, I asked if she would do a
tutorial on how she paints her glass paintings.
After a LOT of patience she finally did one.
As you can probably guess, Jelaine's technique and mine are
at 2 ends of the spectrum.
She paints with ultra fine brushes and I paint
with a palette knife.
At first I tried my hardest to use a paint brush, but
to keep my sanity after 2 days I
turned to my beloved palette knife to finish the tutorial.
Definitely not the ultra smooth realism
that Jelaine gets but for the first try not to bad.

Jelaine's Website
Glass Demo Tutorial

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Emerging ~ Original Oil by Karen Balon

Emerging
8"x16" Original Oil on Archival board
$200
Click for a Closer View

After doing "traditional" type paintings in February
I felt the strong desire and need to get back to my Roots.
The longing to paint something from my own
creative visions.
I've been playing with this piece in my sketchbook
and it kept calling to me,
Paint me, Paint me.
So I did.
I originally thought of it to be not only a sensual piece
but also a very feminine piece.
Then after it was painted I realized there was a
definite combination of Both
male and female qualities in this painting.
However, for me, there is definitely
a female emerging.
I also see myself playing with the theme more
in the future and seeing
where it takes me.

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February's Original Oil Paintings with Palette Knife

GameFace 8"x16" Oil on Archival Board
Sherman Zwicker 12"x12" Oil on Archival Board
Rule the Roost 12"x12" Oil on Archival Board
Click for a Closer Look

Here are February's Paintings.
Just about one a week.
Yes, I know there are 4 weeks in February
but I had a good friend from out of town
visiting the last week of
the month so didn't get a painting done last week.
Scroll down the page for a more in depth look at each
painting individually. 

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Rule the Roost

Rule the Roost
12"x12" Original Oil on Archival Board
Click for a Closer Look

A friend of mine who use to raise chickens said this guy 
would win top prize at the fair.  

Decided after painting the very traditional
 Sherman Zwicker boat
that I needed to paint something loose, fun and fast. 
There are a lot of new Rooster colors in this one for me
but I loved using the blues.  
Not sure when the next Rooster will be painted,
but a fair warning,
I found a great book of chickens in the
bargain isle at Barnes and Noble last week.  
I would venture to guess that I'll be painting more roosters
in the near future.

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me and my art. 
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Sherman Zwicker ~ Original Oil Painting

 Ghost from the Past

The Sherman Zwicker
Original Oil Painting on Archival Board
12"x12"
For a Closer Look, Click Here

From out of the Fog

As it the two boats pass

In Boothbay Harbor.  My reference photo

The Sherman Zwicker became a fascination for me the day she
appeared out of the fog quite close to the Balmy Days.
We were on the Balmy Days on our way to
Monhegan Island off the coast of Maine.
It was June of 2009 and I was heading to the
island for a week
 of rest, meditation and getting away from
the "normal" world.
As you can see, it was a gray foggy day,
kind of like pea soup.
When all of the sudden there was this
Ghost from the Past Schooner by the side of our boat.
It was quite an eerie feeling but
fun and exciting at the same time.
Somehow I managed to get 2 pictures of her before she passed.

After my fabulous week on Monhegan,
thankfully the weather improved and no I was not a painter at the time;
I was heading back to Boothbay harbor and as we got
 into the harbor all of the sudden there was
the Sherman Zwicker.
So I got my camera out and took a couple of pictures of her.
I have always longed to paint this painting.
but as most of you know, I am not usually
a traditional painter and I
did not have success painting boats when I took a
workshop this past September.
However, the Sherman Zwicker kept calling to me
and I just had to paint her.
For my first "real" boat I am pretty pleased with her.

What do you think?

By the way, the Sherman Zwicker was built in 1942,
she is considered a tall ship and is the last of her kind.

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I enjoyed sharing my Sherman Zwicker story and spending a few moments with you.

Glass Study #8 ~ Aqua

Study #8, 9, 10 & 11......

Glass Study #8 ~ Aqua
8"x16" Original Oil on Archival Board
Click for a Larger View

As some of you know, I've been painting a few glass studies.
HOWEVER,
This particular one gave me a wee bit of
Frustration!
Technically it IS glass study #8 but it took me 4
attempts to complete.
Hence the 9, 10 & 11

I literally wiped the paint off of this panel 3 different times.
Honestly, I gave serious consideration to chucking the
canvas in the trash.
Sometimes you just come across what feels like a "Cursed" canvas.
I was beginning to think this was one of them?
But I decided that there was no way I was going to let this
glass jar/vase beat me on the canvas!
So determination took over and I gave it one last go.
I am glad I did, as I am pleased with the outcome.

What do you think?
I love comments and followers so don't be shy.
Thanks for spending a few moments of your time with me.