Apples of Gold in Settings of Silver
Here is a collage of some of the paintings I did for the 30 day challenge.
As you can see, I painted mostly cows and teacups, so decided to combine them for my last painting, which was a blast to paint!
Here is the final painting of the 30 day challenge. I couldn't resist combining cows and cups! I think it worked. It was a lot of fun to paint this scene, and not the sort of thing I normally do. It was also much larger than all the paintings I did during the challenge! This one is 24"x24".
Day 30 of 30 in 30
24x24 oil on gallery wrapped canvas
This is a small commission I did for some old friends I recently reconnected with. It was fun painting this beauty! The reference came from a photo they took on a camping trip to Maine.
Day 29 of 30 in 30
6x6 oil on panel
Sold
This was painted from a photo sent to me by a subscriber. It's a lovely teacup with very graceful lines.
Day 26 of 30 in 30
6x6 oil on panel
Muriel's Tea
Meet Sophie, who belongs to a friend of mine. My friend asked me to do this little 6x6 of her in a similar way as the cows. It was a little bit more challenging than a cow, but I think I got her expression pretty well. She is a happy dog thanks to my friend rescuing her awhile back.
Day 25 0f 30 in 30
6x6 oil on panel
Sold
Day 23 of 30 in 30
6x6 oil on panel
This makes me think of Spring! It's months away in this part of the country, but it's nice to think about it's inevitable arrival!
Here's the Tramp. When I saw these two side by side on my drawing/drying board Lady and the Tramp seemed to say it all. The grass in his mouth reminds me of the spaghetti they ate in the movie.
Day 21 of 30 in 30
The Tramp
6x6 oil on panel
$125 unframed Available Here
Here's what they look like together and in floater frames.
I'm still loving painting teacups! And I think I'm improving. And I think I'm ready to introduce more items into the painting. So much fun!
Day 18 of 30 in 30
6x6 oil on panel
This was done from a photo sent to me by an artist friend. She told me the red glow in the background was light from a candle she had lit and set just below the table the cup was on.
Day 17 of 30 in 30
Tea at Penny's
6x6 oil on panel
It's the beginning of a new year and we're all ready for new beginnings. Organization seems to be at the top of the list for a lot of people. Maybe it's on your list. Over the years I've found some very simple and inexpensive ways to organize my art life. For the next couple of weeks I'll cover some of my favorite ways. If you have some great ideas I'd love to hear them!
This week, I'll tell you how I organize my painting photos. I'm sure there are many great and more sophisticated or high tech ways to do it, but I'm completely crazy about the system Carol Marine uses. I read about it in her book, Daily Painting. I can't believe I didn't think of something like it sooner! It makes so much sense and is so easy!
I have 3 folders on my computer. I keep mine on my desktop, but you can keep them wherever its convenient for you. The folders will be named
2016-ORIGINAL
2016-LARGE
2016-WEB-READY
Mine look like this, you can see I abbreviated a couple of them.
After I've photographed my paintings and before I edit them in any way, the pics go into the 2016-ORIGINAL folder. I do this when I've got the photo in my editing program, by clicking Save As, giving the photo an appropriate name and include the suffix ORIGINAL, or some form of that, at the end. (I don't have a system for naming. Mostly I just name them something to do with the subject), and saving it in the 2016-ORIGINAL folder. (Like this: black-baldy2-original.jpg)
An unedited photo that goes in the ORIGINAL folder
Next, in the editing program, I crop and make any color and lighting adjustments necessary, but don't resize it. This file goes into the 2016-LARGE folder. Choose Save As. It's name is the same except for changing the suffix from ORIGINAL to LARGE and saving it in the LARGE folder.
Now all I have to do is resize my large photo and Save As the same name, changing the suffix to WEB-READY, saving it in the WEB-READY folder. My standard resize format is 1000 pixels on the longest side. I don't have a great reason for this other than it seems to be easy to remember and it works.
You probably wouldn't have to start new folders every year, but I like to. It makes me feel more organized!
It's so much easier to find what I'm looking for whether I want to use it in an email or apply to a show online or any number of other uses. I've found I don't use the LARGE folder as much, but occasionally a show requires a larger file than my WEB-READY ones and then I go to the LARGE folder.
Next week I'll talk about my Show folders.
And if you have any great organizing tips I'd love to hear about them! It's hard to be too organized in my opinion and I'm always looking for ways to make life easier!
Wow! We're almost half way through the challenge! Tomorrow I announce the winner of this month's painting giveaway. But for now, here's another tea cup. I've been painting ahead and have discovered new brushes which have made painting cups much easier! I'm beginning to get the hang of these cups I think and will be adding more elements to the paintings in the future.
Day 14 of 30 in 30
6x6 oil on panel
Here is another of my grand daughters' tea cups. They're so cute when they have a tea party!
Day 13 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days
Tea Cup and Lime
6x6 oil on panel
Oh, this guy looks very grumpy to me. Or maybe he's sleepy. He was at my neighbor's place for awhile and I got some good photos of him.
Day 12 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days
6x6 oil on panel
This is the first tea cup I painted. In actuality it has tiny flowers scattered across it, but I didn't think I could put them on and make it look right so I left them off. For some reason I decided to put my paintings on in a different order than they were painted. I have painted a few ahead because of a busy schedule. So here's the first tea cup.
Day 11 of 30 in 30
First Tea Cup
6x6 oil on panel
How about those lashes? Wow! I am enamored with everything about cow faces - the planes, the color, the expressions, all of it. I always try to keep the apparent personality in mind as I paint.
Day 10 of 30 in 30
6x6 oil on panel
I love the expression on this guy's mug! And it reminds me of summer, which is a good thing! All of my cow paintings are done from photos I've taken. Other people stop for scenic photos - me, I stop for cows!
Day 9 of 30 in 30
Sunny Side Up
6x6 oil on panel
Here's Day 8. At the beginning of the second week, I'm switching up the format and making this tea cup available through auction! Check it out here.
Day 8 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days
6x6, oil on panel
$60 click to bid
This is the first painting of 2016! I painted it in my car at the park down the road on New Year's Day. I really enjoy painting outdoors, but Wyoming winters make it hard to do. This little set up has helped tremendously! It's a Strada Micro and so far I love it! It measures 7"x7" when folded up and fits in my cute purse from the thrift store!
And Day 7 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days
Day 7
New Year's Day
6x8, oil on panel
This guy looks mildly curious about me, the photographer. I think that's the way I feel about this day - curious to see what it will bring!
Day 6 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days
6x6 oil on panel
Painting "black" hair is tricky. And it isn't really black. It's usually a very dark brown which appears black until the light hits it. Then you see all sorts of reds and browns. And often it looks blue where the sun hits it the strongest. And then, there's white, which is similar. Not really white, but a combination of very light colors which appear differently, depending on how the light strikes them. And the dark color in light is still lighter than the light color in shadow, which seems contrary to the way our brains work. Are you confused now? Well, you're not alone if you are! That's some of the things to consider when painting a "black and white" cow!
Day 5 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days
6x6 oil on panel
Tea for One is another painting of my Christmas present. I have quite a collection of tea cups right now, grouped together on my painting table. It looks like a nice get together. Perhaps I'll paint the gathering at the end of the challenge. I find these very hard to paint, but I'm hoping I'll be better at it by then, good enough to paint more than one in a setting!
Day 4 of 30 in 30
Tea For One
6x6 oil on panel
Here's to Day 2 of the challenge. Herefords are my favorite! Black Baldys run a close second though. 
Day 2 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days
Hereford 2
6x6
oil on panel
And we're off on the January 2016 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge. This is my first painting for this challenge. It seemed like a good way to start the challenge and start the new year!
