Around Here Lately

 

Simply Worth Noticing
oil on canvas 20x16 inch

It has turned so green here in Kansas.  I have been buzzing about the house and yard, planting flowers in pots and planters, and taking long walks in my neighborhood and nearby parks.  

Room With Yellow Chair and Shadows
oil on canvas 18x18 inch

I was painting a lot, but that has slowed down quite a bit.  The warmer weather always beckons in both work and play.  And I am working on other projects which I will share about in the future.

Interior With Two Cats
mixed media 9x12 inch

The above painting was inspired by scenes from my own house.  We sadly had to say goodbye to one of our cats in March.  Our sweet Peet was 17.  

Peet
2005-2022

I wish to close on a lighter note to share a short video of a hike I went on recently.  It is at Swanson Park which a nature preservation area close to my home.  I hope you enjoy it.  

Until next time.
♥

Great Grandma's Kitchen and Around Here Lately

Great Grandma's Kitchen
oil on panel 16 x 20 inch
available here

A while back I painted an image in my sketchbook of my great grandmother's kitchen from memory.  All I really remember is that there was this very bright red and white checkered floor that felt like you were stepping into some sort of candy land or something.  I also remember there was a dark back room where there was a bed and coat rack that always had a hat on it and it scared me enough that I never went into that room.  My older siblings said that my memory was pretty close to the real thing so I decided to do an actual painting of it.  I did not make the back room a scary one though.

Gabriel's

Yesterday was my birthday and Vic surprised me with a dinner reservation at the most romantic and quiet restaurant I have ever been to.  It is called Gabriel's and it is only a 15 minute drive to the small town of Sedalia, Colorado.  The food was amazing.

Chandin's cows

A couple of weeks ago I went back to Kansas to watch over my grandson for a week while his mom traveled.  I took him with me on a photo shoot with one of my friends and loaned him my little Powershot camera.  My friend and I like to roam around in her truck looking for interesting things to photograph, hopping in and out each time we see something.  After giving my grandson a quick lesson on the rule of thirds, finding interesting subjects, and paying attention to light, we meandered along backroads all the way to Douglas, Kansas.  He really got some great shots.  Once we got home he picked his favorites and edited them after I showed him how to use a simple program on my laptop.  He is only ten years old and is very artistic.  I asked him if he enjoyed photography and his reply made me laugh:  "yeah, but it really isn't my thing".  He prefers to draw marvel characters.  :)

I love this kid.  He was a trooper for going along and joining in the fun.

Chandin's woods

Chandin's closeup  of growth near the river
(his favorite)

Here are a few of  the photos that I took.  It was a very cold day.

Until next time!

♥ Lisa

A Lot of Snow and What I am Working On

I am sitting here on a cold day recovering from some oral surgery I put off way too long.  I am full of pain medications, so I hope whatever I write here makes good sense.

We have had so much snow here in Colorado and the locals tell me it is just getting started.  Most of it occurs in February and March.  I love snow, but the late ones take some getting used to for me because in Kansas it starts to feel like spring in those months.  The birds are starting to show up, the days are longer and warmer and the air smells like spring.  Not that Kansas never gets snow in those months, but the usual is what I just said.  I am pretty sure I will adjust just fine.  It is lovely here.

I am working on a painting containing geese and another surprise in the composition.  The surprise is the fun part and I don't want to give it away.  It's taken a long time because I have been layering the oil paints and glazing quite a bit, so it all needs to dry between the layers otherwise it becomes a muddy mess.

In the meantime, I've been sketching a lot with acrylic paint in my hardback sketchbooks.  The above was done after a neighborhood walk.  The one below was done while cooking dinner.  I love olives and munch on a few while I cook...along with a glass of wine-yum!  The olives on the left were painted with care and the ones on the right were blobbed on with my fingertip.  I think I like the one on the right best.  Friends on my Instagram said the same thing.

I have enjoyed sketching these so much, I decided to try to do this more regularly.  It feels more free to paint in a sketchbook where you know it will not hang in a show or sell online.  

The above photo was taken last year and I just came across it.  The painting is one I did called They Have Come to Bring Us Spring and it's going to be shown at the Art on the Mesa show at Gold Hills Mesa Community Center in Colorado Springs.  The opening reception is February 7,  5-7 pm and the show will be up through May 1st.  This will be my first Colorado show so I am very excited to be participating with two wonderful artists:  Lelia Davis and Phyllis Davis.  I met Phyllis at Julie Ford Oliver's workshop years ago and it was Julie who helped reconnect me to Phyllis so that I could be a part of this.  I am so grateful!  I will share photos of the show after it happens.

This is a view from our backyard deck.  Snow snow snow!

But isn't it beauitful when the sun is shining?  This is a scene on a neighborhood path I take during my daily walks.  Sometimes I just can't believe what I am seeing.  The mountains have such a presence.  So quiet, yet so rugged and wild at the same time.  I am enjoying leaving footprints everywhere I go here. :)

I hope you are having a good month of January.  I am going to close for now and take a nap!  

Until next time!

♥ Lisa

Around Here Lately

Picasso Colored Fields
mixed media on panel 5 x 7 inch

Lately, I have been doing a lot of painting.  And I've felt inspired by some of the colors in Picasso's work.

And it got me thinking about color mixing which made me watch this video by Gillian Lee Smith (Cox now).  

Then I kept thinking about all those pretty pinks on the palette which made me order this pink strawberry cake at a women's fair with a friend the other day.  Yummo.

Katie is Protective of Kendra
mixed media on panel 5 x 7 inch

 I began experimenting with my Shiva Oil Paintstiks once again and loved the tones they gave to these faces.  

I have been painting mostly in the early hours of the morning.

I was involved in an art auction to benefit those suffering from Juvenile Arthritis.  This is me and the sweet 12 year old I worked with this past summer.  We worked on one 16 x 20 inch together (left painting) and I created one that went with the theme she chose.  Our pieces auctioned for $350!  I love that she chose happy colored flowers to reflect her happier days...she has been in remission for some time now which is wonderful.  I wish it was that way for all the children that were there that  night.

Enjoying the Fall colors along our street.  

And watching the sky and the river at The Keeper of the Plains bridge.  

Taking bike rides with a long time friend.

And conquering Kansas mountains...which is a lot harder than it looks.

Making comfort food.

Ordered a bohemian art pillow from Sparkle Day Studio  AKA Corrine Gilman.  

And more walks on the river...

and down the streets...

and the sidewalks...

taking it all in...

with my furry walking companion Hurley.

and listening to Philip Glass' beautiful theme music from The Truman Show. 

And enjoying the blue Morning Glories and the other flowers I planted in the back yard this past Spring...getting ready to say goodbye to them.

What have you been up to lately?

♥ Lisa

Around Here Lately

Around here lately I've been painting on 20 x 20 inch canvases...this is just the start.

Reading a Pulitzer Prize winner -  this one is on the bestseller list at Barnes and Noble right now.

Tried my hand at making mushroom bruschetta. 

Sketching and jotting down ideas for paintings.

Beating the heat by spending the cooler mornings on the patio with coffee and book in hand.

Taking long walks along the river.

Making regular time for the studio...even on dark and drippy days.

What have you been doing this week?

♥ 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