Trinidad Cuba

"Trinidad" 24"x30" oil on gesso board

     I started this painting over a year ago when I returned home from our big family trip (nine of us) to Cuba. When we visit Cuba it's to spend time with my husband's family, so since I only stay for a week, I stick close to them. This last time however, the nine of us, with my grandson along as well, piled into a too small van, and headed to the beautiful city of Trinidad for an overnight stay. 

     To make a reasonable income, many Cubans have fixed up their homes as bed and breakfasts. I highly recommend staying in one of these homes! You get more of the feel of the cuban culture and they bend over backwards to make your stay comfortable. The breakfast we were served on the upstairs balcony (remember, this is their modest home) was absolutely delicious! Abundant with fresh items and homemade care. Do not hesitate to stop where you see a sign hanging at someone's home advertising a meal or a place to lay your head for the night! Not only does it help the cuban people but the food is 100% better and the people are so appreciative. I read something once that said people traveling to Cuba should be prepared for bland food. That's for the people eating in hotels and fancy restaurants. Homemade cuban food is delicious!

     Sad fact: Many Cuban people have no idea how beautiful their own country is. Cubans themselves do not often make enough money for vacations and day trips, and up until very recently they weren't even allowed into many places like hotels, resorts, and restaurants.

     My husband, step-daughter and son-in-law stayed in Cuba for a second week and were able to take a few Cuban family members to some more of these beautiful places that they would never have had the opportunity to see. 

     Below are three photos from our trip to the beach with as many family members as were able to come. We rented a truck and let me tell you, not only was the beach beautiful and fun, but that trip bouncing along in the truck with the tropical air messing up our hair and the cuban songs being sung and the joy of being on a trip like that together . . . unforgettable.

Cemetery

     I went to the Greenville Cemetery last week with my art student. It was an overcast day - a quiet place to sit and sketch. Afterward, we walked around a bit admiring the statues and reading the tombstones. A cemetery can center me like no other place. It reminds me to go enjoy my day and live my best life while I'm still here. 

     The above piece is from a photo I took while we were on our way out. A few storms clouds were moving in and when I looked back over my shoulder I saw this composition. I loved the angel looking over the people at rest, ready to protect them from the elements.

     I painted it in a re-purposed book. I coated the page in a layer of gesso (primer), and when that dried I applied the acrylic paints. I always feel I do my best work on less precious surfaces with the most inexpensive materials. Go figure. 

Marbles, Marbles Everywhere

Marbles #12 (for lack of a better title) 12"x16" oil on Gesso Board

     Okay, I've now had my fill of marbles for a while. I am sure, however, that I will return to them again and again in the future.
     I've been drawing and painting marbles for years. Since so many of them were done before I had my blog, I'll go ahead and share some of them with you now.

Below is the first - done in colored pencil (approx. 8" x 10") 1994.

Then came this one - a friend loaned me a mason jar of marbles that her husband had collected. 

It is also colored pencil. My kids were very young and colored pencils are a no mess medium.

The quality of this reproduction is a little crummy. The original was not so bluish.

(This one is probably my favorite.) 

Next, I went big - 30" x 40" oil painting 1998. I used the same marbles but scattered them on my driveway. To get them completely round I traced around the lid from a tub of margarine. 

(An artist does what an artist has to do.)

5"x7" oil painting 2010 (You can purchase this image on notecards in my store!)

18x24 oil 2010 This is from a photo I took outdoors with the marbles sitting on a mirror. 

 I turned the bottom marble into our beautiful, big, blue marble - Earth.

This is a colored pencil piece that did show up on my blog back in 2015. http://tracyonoz.blogspot.com/2015/07/candied-marbles.html

And if you have yet to have your fill of my marble paintings, you can check out my post from a couple of weeks ago where you'll find one more! HERE

   

Day at the Park - mini

I was in the park last week with my art student, and as we sat in the shade drawing I took photos of different views from my vantage point. This little 2"x3" oil painting combines bits and pieces from four of them. 

Also on my easel (my much bigger easel) is a 2foot x 3foot painting that I have been dabbling at here and there for over a year! The time has come to get it done! I have set a goal for the end of this month and I'm pretty sure I'm going to make it. Below is an approximately 9"x11" area of it. A teaser to tempt you back here to see it in it's full glory in a week or two.

Marbles No.11

5"x 7" oil on Gesso Board

     I have had a fascination with marbles for a long time. I didn't play with marbles as a kid but many years ago my husband pushed back the furniture in our living room and gave me and the kids a lesson on how it's done. My husband grew up in Cuba where marbles were treasured, coveted, and won and lost in games on the street.

Fun facts: 

     Marbles and the games they bring have been around for about 5,000 years. They were made from stone, bone, and clay and maybe even marble if you were a rich kid.
     A way to make glass marbles by clipping pieces from a rope of molten glass was invented in 1846.
     At the beginning of the 1900s marbles were being mass produced, and in 1905 a company in Akron, Ohio was cranking out about 12 million marbles a year. (I think the factory burned down, but there is a museum there now, with some of those precious specimens, that I would LOVE to visit!!!)
   
     I found a quote when I was reading about marbles yesterday. It was in a comment section and I didn't see the author's name but I'll share it: "What a perfect toy! Give children colorful spheres and watch them declare values and create games. Pure human nature."

     For those who like to see the work in progress here's a couple of the steps:

      See you next Wednesday! There's another marble painting coming up sometime soon.

Checkerboard Seahorses

9 x 12 oil on Gesso Board.

First, Happy Fourth of July! I wasn't thinking ahead enough to realize that my post would fall on our national holiday and I was sorry this isn't more patriotic looking, so I did some quick digital magic. 

I feel better now.

I did this digital version in January 2017.

    I wanted to experiment with one on canvas. So I started the top painting right after the digital version was done, and it sat in my studio, and sat in my studio, and sat in my studio saying "enough already! Just finish me and move on." So I finished it this week. I can check that box. Done deal. Onward and upward. I'm movin' on.

     I came across the image below in my photos. This is the acrylic sketch that I dropped into the computer to end up with the digital version. It's pretty rough and more than a little scary.