Happy Halloween from the House of the Kracken!

Digital image done in Procreate

I saw this house a couple of weeks ago when I was out for a walk.

It was so cute! I had to take a photo.

I did this small study in a watercolor sketchbook, making the tentacles larger and more threatening. 

But, that wasn't enough! I put a photo of this watercolor onto my iPad in the Procreate App and drew over the top of it, stretching the height of the roof, and making it a nighttime scene.

This was FUN!!!

 

I wish everyone a safe and Happy Halloween!

Thanks for stopping by!

My new studio!!!!!!!!

I am beyond grateful. At last I am out of my basement and its occasional puddles of water, the fear of mold, and the lack of natural light or fresh air to boost the spirits. 

On June 18th, I attended a council meeting to apply for a variance

to be able to put the studio up in my back yard. 

On June 21st the gravel pad was laid. 

That's my husband enjoying a beer there after all the hard work that someone else did. 

On July 11th Waymire Utility Barns put the structure up in half a day!

Here's a photo of the interior.

My husband and grandson did most of the work from here out. 

They painted the exterior on July 20th. (photo at top of page)

On August 4th a friend of ours began helping with the electricity.

Once wires were in place, they were able to put in insulation.

It was a tricky ceiling to finish. My husband is not a carpenter but he figured it out!

I am so proud of him and feel so blessed. He made it happen for me.

On September 11th the studio floor was laid. It is vinyl but looks like a beautiful wood floor!

This was professionally done by G & G Flooring. They took care to do all the necessary insulating, etc.

On September 30th they began painting!

Another reason for a beer!

On October 5th I moved my studio things in.

Throughout this last week I've brought out more and more each day, making it my home away from home.

 It's hard to get myself out of there when I have other responsibilities - like my job! Haha!

The last thing needed is a mini-split (heating/air conditioning unit) that should be installed in approximately a month. 

Such a huge difference in my mental state while I'm working!

I hope to be much more productive, so there should be many more posts coming up in 2025!

Thanks for stopping by!

p.s. Here's the first sketch I finished from my new place.

My grandson Novan. - graphite

Carousel Horse - Done At Last!

 24"x36" oils

This has been a long time coming. Back in June of 2021 I posted about this carousel horse. This is the large version that has been on my easel since August of 2020. I have dabbled with it on and off for over 4 years! So much experimenting! So many different color combinations! If you have clicked on the June of 2021 link you know that the original photo was black and white so the sky was the limit for me. My imagination could take over and do what it wanted. Well, I'm not great at skies being limits. I need boundaries. Haha! That is why it has taken me so long to just get it done.

Here are some of the directions I went in. Mind you, these are all the same canvas. I just kept changing my mind. It would sit for about a year and then I would paint over the top.

August 2020

June 2022

Also June 2022

April 2023

June 2024

Here I took an old toothbrush, loaded it with a light, creamy color paint, and flicked it all over the canvas.

Still June 2024

This is where I got excited about it. I really liked this. But, I kept changing things because this piece had become one huge experiment.

July

August

Okay, so now I'm second guessing myself. Did I go too far? Looking at these, I wish I could go back to August. Oh well. Still, a painting I'm happy with. It's for sale for a million dollars.

Thanks for stopping by!

Anniversary #34

5"x7" oils

This is a small painting I did to commemorate my 34th wedding anniversary. My husband and I went to Glen Miller Park in Richmond, Indiana. This is from a photo he took of me. We had a nice picnic spread that attracted a few too many squirrels, and took a walk through a beautiful rose garden. A lovely day! 

 Here are a few of the steps:

The idea sketched out in acrylics in a repurposed book.

Step one on the canvas -laying it out.

This was a wrap around canvas, by the way. So, I had to paint the sides as well.

Step two

Step 3 The fun step.

Adding the flowers and making things sparkle.

Then step 4 at the top. Simply more details.

Here's a photo to show part of the wrap-around.

Thanks for stopping by!

Water Park

 "Water Park" 8 1/2 x 11" graphite and bleach (with a little bit of colored pencil) on gray paper, 

with a black and white filter.

Below is the original. The bleach turned the gray paper yellow. I just went with it. What do you do?

I knew I could just pull up a black and white version. But, how cool is bleach?! I dipped a small paint brush in bleach and ran it down a ruler for the streams of water, then grabbed an old toothbrush, took the drawing to the bathtub, and started flicking bleach all over it. After it dried I added some more graphite and a bit of colored pencil. 

Before the bleach:

Thanks for stopping by!

Negroni

 Negroni - 12"x12" oil on canvas

This one has been hanging around my studio since I started it last September. I was doing a nice amount of painting last year and then life got a bit wonky. Good wonky, but I got distracted, busy, and stopped spending time there for a while.

Here's the first couple of steps from '23:

Both of these steps are in acrylics, just to lay out the composition. I didn't take it much further than this before I lost interest in it. I'm glad, though, that I didn't completely give up on it.

Starting back with the oil paints in June:

Once I added the Florence Duomo in the background, I got more excited about it. (The Negroni is said to have originated in Florence). The detail on the bottles was a challenge. You just have to have patience to copy labels like that. I also elongated the rocks glass in the foreground. 

Shout out to my son, Dylan, the bartender. He introduced me to the Negroni and it's one of my favorite cocktails!

Thanks for stopping by!