Three Still Life Paintings, A Portrait, A Sketch and Scenes from Riverside

This week I painted three still life paintings.  It all started with this jar.  My aunt had it in her apartment and when I commented on how it was pretty enough to paint, she gave it to me.  This is the way of the elderly in my family.  My grandmother used to say at every single visit, "now when Granny croaks, be sure and take that music box" or "that vase", etc.  I'm not kidding.

Terracotta Keepsake Pot
acrylic on paper 6 x 6 inch

The scan of the terracotta pot came out very yellowy, but it is actually olive green. 

Carafe With Two Cups
acrylic on paper 6 x 6 inch

 The carafe painting was inspired by an espresso machine ad.  Go figure.  It is how my mind works.

Clay Pitcher With Two Roses
acrylic on paper 6 x 6 inch

The clay pitcher was a gem I purchased at an estate sale near our home. The couple of the estate owned 7 houses and the sale was the compilation of those homes. The husband passed away 4 years ago and the wife was planning to settle in one of the houses with hired caregivers. This clay pitcher was one of the beautiful gems I found at the sale. I wish I knew its story and from which of the 7 houses it came. 

Young Mabel Musser
acrylic and ink on paper
4 x 6 inch

Young Mabel Musser was inspired by a vintage photo that had Musser and also Harrisburg printed on it. The photo was not dated, but looked to be around early 1900's.  This sort of thing always leads to a google search and in that search I learned there were several prominent "Mussers" living in Pennsylvania.  I found an interesting family photo while searching.  So I picked the youngest girl in the photo (who was named Mabel) and voila!  I had a title.  

sketchbook sweetie
graphite in a tiny Moleskin

My art instructor loaned me his book titled From Van Eyck to Bruegel:  Early Netherlandish Painting in The Metropolitan Museum of Art  and I love to do sketches from this book.  The above is my simple pencil sketch of Gerard David's Four Heads (about 1495) which is a "metalpoint over traces of black chalk on prepared paper"...whatever that means.  All I thought was that it was beautiful.  Not the head in the upper right though.  That one is plain scary.

That is all I have accomplished this week artwise.  I am still pecking away at my 9 x 12 inch oil painting of six people.  I have only been working on that one in my class though, which is why it is not done.  Soon!  The above paintings are in my Etsy shop if you are interested in purchasing.

Scenes from Riverside This Week

Forget-Me-Nots on the riverbank

These are photos taken on my daily walks.  I still walk two to four miles every day and my love for this activity is renewed with our new surroundings and this lovely, vibrant season.

Arkansas River on a gorgeous Spring day

I hope you have a beautiful weekend!  Thank you for visiting!

♥ Lisa

Around Here Lately

Sketchbook 8.5 x 11"

acrylic

Working in sketchbooks a bit lately to try out some ideas.  I love interior paintings and would like to do a few of them.  

Hurley at home

The above photo was the inspiration.  It sure is difficult to paint light.  

graphite and pastels in 8.5 x 11 inch sketchbook

I have also started some sketches, but left them unfinished.  I became bored with this one.

sketchbook sweetie

graphite and tinted graphite in tiny moleskin

Very few sweetie sketches these days.  I swear I am still pretty worn out from our move in December.  It feels like I am in recovery.  All I really feel like doing is taking walks and watching movies.  Of course that's not all I do, but if I could I would.

sketchbook sweeties

graphite

These are scribbled ideas for paintings inspired by Riverside, the neighborhood we now live in.  I also bought a HUGE canvas to paint a Riverside theme for our house to go above the couch.  I have no clue exactly what I will paint, but the canvas will be waiting for me when I finally decide.  It may take a year to make up my mind though.

acrylic and pastel on 6 x 8 inch linen

Of course it just wouldn't be winter without a girl in a beanie and mittens.
:)

 photo edited with distressedfx
View of trees on the Arkansas River
pronounced Ar-Kansas not Ar-Kan-Saw

I walk every day for at least two miles.  Lately though it's been more like three or four because I don't want it to end.  The sunsets have been so nice to watch from the walking paths and parks nearby.  One night I saw a fox.  I called my husband to ask if they were dangerous because I didn't know.  I wanted to get a picture of him, but by the time I finished my call he had run off.  Beautiful red creature!  I learned they are common in this area.

photo edited with distressedfx
bike path along the Arkansas

This photo was taken on a warmer day and just after I snapped this picture a family of four passed by on their bikes, and I also passed two joggers.  I just love all the activity here!  What's nice is that there are certain times of day when it's very quiet and you see very few people, it goes both ways.

 new palette

I finally broke down and bought a Masterson's Sta-Wet Palette that I saw last year on Gillian Lee Smith's blog.  This photo is day four and my acrylic paints are still wet!  The palette does water them down a bit, but if you blob on a lot of paint, then not so much as you can see in the titanium white pile.  I should have bought one ages ago.  The lid has compartments for watercolors with three mixing areas.

 current state of my art studio

I really should straighten up my work area today, but I don't feel like it so it probably won't get done.

 Hurley

The animals have adjusted nicely to their new surroundings as you can see.  I don't have a photo of our other cat Peet, however he seems to like it here too.

growing Mitsou

Mitsou thinks this blanket is her mommy.  She sucks on it and then curls up and falls asleep.  She cracks us up.  She is quite the mischief right now.  I will be glad when she matures.  I am constantly picking up after her...knocked over plants, spilled water, broken coasters, I even found her dangling from the window shade the other day.  She is an absolute mess, but she's extra sweet when she is calm.

moon glow out the studio window 2 weeks ago

I have also been organizing my photos on the computer.  I take so many pictures with my cell phone these days and there isn't any rhyme or reason to them.  So I simplified and put them into folders labeled family, friends, pets, scenery, artsy, videos, and misc.  That is at least a start, right?

I hope whatever you have been doing lately has been all that you find inspiring and good.  Until next time...

♥ Lisa

A Sketch in Oil and Other Artful Things

oil in 8 1/2 x 11 " sketchbook

There are still pencil marks visible in this sketch which for some reason seem like they belong. And there's another bunny. Perhaps that's a sign we should get a pet bunny.

Hurley

But this beautiful creature might hunt it. He is a retriever and retrievers like to retrieve things, especially ones that are running (or hopping) away.

wildflowers on the Arkansas River

I hope your first day of Summer was a special one.  We spent it taking a lovely morning walk on the river...

backyard beauty

and lots of yard work was done...

graphite, tinted charcoal, pastel pencils
3 1/2 x 5 inch sketchbook

and the day was finished with some sketching.

What did you do for the first day of Summer?