Ceramica Mexicana

Ceramica Mexicana
oil  11" x 14"
click here for Paypal
$395.00 + $10. s/h

Day 5 of 30
Once again I'm participating in the 30 in 30 painting challenge i.e.:  paint 30 paintings in 30 days.  I'm not able to paint every day for 30 days in January, but I'm going to paint as much as I can.  My theme for this challenge is "Paintings From Mexico."  My husband and I love Mexico, we've been there many times and we'll be there much of this winter (we are so lucky to have the most wonderful house sitter), thus, my theme.  I'll post as often as I can.  When I don't have new paintings from Mexico I'm going to throw in some oldies but goodies on my blog.  But, to stick with the challenge I'll only post the new ones on the challenge blog.  Enjoy!

All paintings sold will be mailed in April.  I apologize for the big delay and inconvenience.

These Mexican pots were found here in Colorado Springs at Hillside Gardens.  They are a beautiful garden store and wedding facility that has a wonderful view of Pikes Peak.  There is so much Mexican pottery in every color imaginable that there are path ways which you can walk through the pots!

Terra Cotta Pottery

Terra Cotta Pottery
Oil  11" x 14"
click here for Paypal
$395.00 + $10. s/h

Once again I'm participating in the 30 in 30 painting challenge i.e.:  paint 30 paintings in 30 days.  I'm not able to paint every day for 30 days in January, but I'm going to paint as much as I can.  My theme for this challenge is "Paintings From Mexico."  My husband and I love Mexico, we've been there many times and we'll be there much of this winter (we are so lucky to have the most wonderful house sitter), thus, my theme.  I'll post plein air work while in Mexico, some paintings (like this one) of Mexican objects, some paintings from photos that I've taken in Mexico.   I'll post as often as I can. When I don't have new paintings from Mexico I'm going to throw in some oldies but goodies on my blog.  But, to stick with the challenge I'll only post the new ones on the challenge blog.  Enjoy!

Paintings sold this winter will be mailed in April..I apologize for the inconvenience.

This painting was started at Casa Crystal Store here in Colorado Springs.  The store has every thing Mexican that you can imagine...rugs, pottery, sculptures, masks, glass ware, carved wood.  I love this store.  I've taken many guests there.  These pots were among hundreds in the out door area of the shop.  I wasn't able to complete this in one plein air setting, so finished the last bit of it from a photo.

Hillside Pottery

8" x 10" oil on canvas on foamboard
nfs

Yesterday my plein-aire group painted at Hillside Gardens. We paint there about once each month and have our show there annually. There are always hundreds of pots. I've painted them many times over the years, but am always fascinated by their colors, shadows, reflections, and the way they're displayed which allows for constant variety in composition. As always w/ plein-aire painting, the light changes so quickly which forces me to lay in my big shapes and paint only what's important.



I recently received the Bella Sinclair Award from Laurel Daniel. Laurel was the first person that I didn't know personally who commented on my blog. I always appreciated that. This award is for "Friendship, Sisterhood, Sharing & Caring." I want to share this award with the following artists: Debbi Smith-Rourke who regularly comments on my blog, Kimberly Conrad who started Daily Painters of Colorado, and Natalie Italiano teacher at Studio Incamminati and soon to be blogger.

Creamer

6 x 6 oil on canvas panel
$100.00 + $10. s/h
contact me if interested

This is the creamer from our daughter's teaset which was my mother-in-law's. I spent almost as much time setting this up as I did painting it. When I painted one of the teacups (2 weeks ago) I had it on an older green placemat. So, now I wanted it on a different, warmer, background. I thought of what our daughter played with it on...a garage sale plastic table covered in flowered contact paper. That wasn't quite the look that I wanted. I wondered what my mother-in-law would have set her teaset on in 1925. Probably a linen tablecloth or a wooden table or floor. I got out all the old linens, looked through them all, tried the creamer on several, decided I didn't want white on white, and didn't want to iron. I chose the wooden table. It was fun working with the reflection in the wood.

Flamenco Dancer

6" x 6" oil on canvas panel
$100.00 + $10. s/h
contact me if interested

My husband and I went to Sevilla, Spain last year to visit our daughter during her semester abroad. It is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen. Flamenco dancing originated in Sevilla. The Flamenco Museum was well worth the visit. This (and a scarf) were the only gift items we purchased. In case you are wondering...there used to be a dancer on the mug. I noticed after about 3-4 times in the dishwasher that the dancer was disappearing. So, I had my choice, use it and watch her wash away. Or, not use the mug and let it sit around. I decided to just use it. And, now I have a plain white mug: still good for my morning coffee and now great for painting white.

Tea Cup

6" x 6" oil on masonite

$100.00 + $10. s/h

contact me if interested

I wanted to continue studying white. My studio used to be our dining room. There are still some remains of a dining room: the china cabinet, the table (now covered with a plastic cloth and my supplies), the chairs (pushed to the side.) In the corner near my easel is my late mother-in-law's high chair. Sitting on the tray is her childhood tea set which she gave to our daughter when she was small. My mother-in-law was born in 1919, s0 the tea set was probably given to her in about 1925. I'm not sure why I didn't pack it up and put it away. But, there it's been, in my peripheral vision, all this time. I've been looking at this nice, little white tea set. Perfect to paint. Fun to paint. The glaze is chipped and worn and there is no longer a perfect dark blue ring around the top. There are four tea cups and saucers, a creamer, a sugar bowl, and a tea pot. I see many future paintings here.

18" x 24"
oil on canvas

Once again I started this piece with my plein-air group and finished it at home in my studio. On some of the pots there were glaze imperfections and the clay peeked through. I liked this effect, so I blocked the pots in in a close compliment and let those colors show through on all the pots. Initially I painted the background a true gravel gray, but changed it to make the pots stand out more.

Pottery 2

12 x 16
oil on canvas

This is another of the pots I painted in the summer with my plein-air group. I love all the colors in the terra-cotta. The pots were stacked on gravel, but the gray tones didn't work with the clay tones. So, I made the gravel/background blue-violet or the complements of the main colors of the pots. I still have to decide which pots to submit next week.

Pottery

18 x 24 oil on canvas

My summer plein-air group often paints at Hillside Gardens and Nursery. We also have our annual show on these spectacular grounds. Hillside is a combination nursery, garden shop, architectural salvage, and event center. They always have pottery, in dozens of colors, creatively displayed along the paths and walkways. I've painted there many times over the years and am always drawn to the colors and reflections of the pots. I usually start a painting there on location and finish it in the studio. I am entering one of my pottery paintings next week in the Cottonwood Artist's School member juried show.