Winter Green - Small Floral Still Life Painting

Winter Green

5 x 7 inches

acrylic on archival canvas panel

A little break from my Fun-a-Day paintings.....I painted this piece at an indoors "Paint-In" at Nunan Florist and Greenhouse. Ir was a lot of fun - so much good material to choose from. And nice not to be outdoors here in the Winter. It was interesting also because with 100% humidity inside the gerenhouse, my paint wouldn't dry! Kind of an interesting dilemna for an acrylic painter!!

Pokey - Small Acrylic Still LIfe Painting of a Toy

Pokey

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

It's Pokey - Gumby's skeptical little friend. I am having fun with these - I will be sad when the month is over!

Greeting - Mini Potatohead Still Life Painting

Greeting

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

Yes, I keep going back to Mr. Potatohead. I actually debated doing my entire challenge just Mr. Potatohead - really, 31 days of Potatoheads! But I figured even my MOST loyal followers would give up long before that was over with.....

This painting is part of my Fun-a-Day project and 30 Day Painting Challenge.

Here are the first 6 being varnished:

Lollipop Woods - Mini Painting from a Vintage Game Board

Lollipop Woods

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

Gotta love Candyland! I found it pretty mind-numbing to play with my boys, but I always loved the graphics on the game board and the cards with the colored squares. I was so disappointed when I bought the game for my kids that the game board had changed so much from when I was little. When I first decided that I wanted to paint a little scene from Candyland, I was lucky enough to have a friend with a vintage board which she lent me for a photo shoot.

This painting is part of my Fun-A-Day project, as well as the 30 Day Painting Challenge.

Downstream - Mini Painting of a Rubber Ducky

Downstream

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

Another rubber ducky for my Fun-A-Day project! Gotta keep on swimming.....

Joe - Small Still Life Painting from a Classic Board Game

Joe

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

A smaller, squarer version of the "Cowboy Joe" painting from a few days back. This one is part of my Fun-a-Day project where I am painting a 3x3" painting of a classic toy or game. Cowboy Joe is a piece from the old Chutes and Ladders game. I borrowed a couple of vintage board games from a friend - the graphics on the ones from the 60's-70's are far better than the modern version!

Dots - Small Acrylic Still Life of Candy

Dots

4 x 6 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

I like doing these little paintings on watercolor paper, where I leave the white of the paper for a background. When finished, I then varnish only the painted areas, and the color really "pops". it is a lot of fun to experiment with different surfaces!

This painting has SOLD at the Newburyport Art Association.

Cowboy Joe - Small Acrylic Painting from a Classic Board Game

Cowboy Joe

7 x 5 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

available at Newburyport Art Association Gift Shop

Do you recognize this classic game? One of my favorites as a child!
I am currently working on a little 3x3" version of Cowboy Joe for my Fun-a-Day project.

Ric - Mini Still Life Painting of Classic Toy

Ric

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

I have fallen behind on my Fun-A-Day posts.... I will have to get caught up here somewhere...

And if you follow me at all, you know that this "Fun & Games" series will have to contain not only many Mr. Potatoheads, but a number of Lego guys as well! I have a Cars song stuck in my head tonight, hence the name "Ric" (yes, I have odd ways of coming up with my titles!)

Double Ducky - Original Acrylic Painting of Rubber Ducks

Double Ducky

8 x 8 inches

acrylic on canvas

Because two ducks are better than one, right?
This painting is framed in a nice black floater frame is is available here.

Downward Duck - Mini Painting of Rubber Ducky

Downward Duck

4 x 4 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

available at the Newburyport Art Association Gift Shop

I found a couple of little rubber duckies when I was cleaning out some of my kids' stuff recently, This painting started an entire round of rubber ducky paintings (and ornaments!). Lots of fun to paint. This one is available at the Newburyport Art Association Gift Shop.

Surrender - Small Acrylic Painting of Mr. Potatohead

Surrender

4 x 5 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

I still can't get enough of Mr. Potatohead! I like playing with the edges of the panels, and the negative space - makes the image more dynamic.
This fun little piece is available at the Newburyport Art Association's Gift Shop.

Drive - Small Acrylic Painting of Classic Toys

Drive

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

Day 6. I tell you - this month is going to fly by! I have a larger painting due in a few days, so I am splitting my time here a bit. And, yes, this painting of Fisher Price Little People will be done as a larger paint....I've already sketched it out!

St. James - Mini Painting from Vintage Game Board

St. James

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

Hey, I don't know about you guys, but I am sure having fun with this Fun-A-Day series! This is for Day 5, and I am getting all kinds of ideas for larger paintings from these....

Night Drive - Small Acrylic Painting of Toy Car

Night Drive

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

For Day 4 of my "Fun & Games" Fun-A-Day project and the 30 Day Painting Challenge. I loved these wood cars and trees when my kids were younger. We had signs and couple of buildings, too - maybe I should look around to see if we have any left - could be some more ideas for this series there!

Fowles - Small Acrylic Painting of Neon Sign Newburyport Landmark

Fowles

6 x 6 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

available at Pop Gallery

Always fun to go back to this iconic sign in Newburyport. Great shapes with the letters, and then really fun shadows from the neon tubes. I love how I can crop this sign down to only a couple of letters, and people still always recognize it.

Part of my series of small paintings of local signs available at Pop Gallery in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Your Move - Mini Painting from a Vintage Board Game

Your Move

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

"Moving " along on my Fun-A-Day project and the Painting Challenge. An old Parchessi board makes for some fun abstract art!

George's - Small Acrylic Painting of Coffee House, Retro Sign

George's

7 x 5 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

available at Pop Gallery

Switching back and forth a bit with my posts since I still have a number of paintings left to catch up on.
This is part of the series of small paintings of local signs and buildings that are now available at Pop Gallery in Gloucester, Massachusetts. George's is a great little corner coffee shop in Gloucester. Soon after I took the picture for this painting, they replaced their sign. The new on ehas a lot less character - I am glad that I was able to capture the old one!

Dotty Duckie - Rubber Ducky Mini Painting

Dotty Duckie

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

A little rubber ducky for Day 2. So many ideas floating in my head for this series....I think it will be a really fun way to start the New Year!

First Challenge Day - Looking Forward Mini Painting

Looking Forward

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

Well, I do know that is it actually the SECOND day of January, but I really wanted to squeeze in yesterday's post, so I am posting for my challenges a little bit late.....

This January, I am participating in BOTH the Fun-A-Day project and Leslie Saeta's 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge - kinda killing two birds with one stone, right?

The 30 Paintings in 30 Days is exactly as it sounds - around 1,000 artists from all over the world have signed up with a goal of completing 30 paintings in 30 days. I have done this challenge in the past and have found it to be a great way to jump start my year.

The Fun-A-Day Project is just a really fun and creative way to see what other artists are up to. People all over the country pledge to do something fun and creative each day in January, document it somehow, and then participate in a show creatively exhibiting their project. People paint, write poetry, draw on bananas, take pictures of strangers in coffee houses, do landscape art, creative stitchery, all kinds of incredibly fun and different "creative" acts. It is really neat to follow along online to see what people come up with! I've exhibited with a great group in Boston for the last three years - I am looking forward to seeing what projects are done this year. Mine always seem kind of boring in comparison to some of the others, but they mean a lot to me and I have fun doing them (which is the point, right?!). This year, my project is called "Fun and Games" and I am doing little paintings each day on 3 x 3 x 1/2" MDF blocks of classic toys and games. I am sure I will repeat some subjects - like Mr, Potatohead, of course - but I already have a ton of ideas and can't wait to get going on this. I am kind of informally planning to do 33 3x3" paintings and eventually exhibit them at one of the Haverhill Art Markets as well.

Of course I will  be keeping up my regular exhibition schedule with all of this, so there is a lot of painting to be done. I have also just found out that I will be needing to move out of my studio space suddenly, so if someone knows of a small space with cheap rent in Haverhill, Massachusetts, please get in touch with me  :-(

So - here is to starting off 2016 full of fun and lots of painting!!

"The Best" - Happy New Year!

The Best

8 x 6 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

available at Pop Gallery

Happy New Year! Here's hoping that 2016 will be "The Best" for you!

Hard to believe that 2015 is over. I'm trying to think of 2016 as a clean slate - I've got lots of big things planned!

2015 was a pretty big year - I was hoping to have the chance to put together a retrospective post about all the things that happened (or a great video like my friend Linda Germain!), however 2016 is really starting off with a bang and I am not sure that I will get a chance to do it in detail.....

But in a nutshell -
-October of 2015 was the end of over 18 straight months of small venue solo exhibitions. I exhibited in libraries, banks, community centers, stores and the like for over 18 months, one show right after the next. I painted larger than I have for a long time. And I learned a lot about exhibiting, hanging, and promoting these little shows - so it was really a great experience for me. And hopefully good preparation for bigger things.
-I also won awards - 3 in juried shows at the Newburyport Art Association, 1 in a Greater Haverhill Arts Association show, and a ribbon in the Professional Art Division at the Topsfield Fair,
-I did 2 online interviews and a published magazine interview (with pictures!) - kind of a big deal for a total introvert like me!
-I helped (with 4 other local artists) start up a new monthly venue for artists on the northshore of Massachusetts - the Haverhill Art Market
-I did more exhibitions, shows and markets then I care to count right now  ;-)
-And I painted more than 150 paintings! Being that many of them were much larger than the 6x6 (and smaller) pieces I had been doing in the past, I am quite pleased with that number!

And many sincere thanks to YOU for following me and keeping up with the craziness! You all are truly "The Best" and I wish for a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year for everyone. Here's to a wonderful 2016!