Alyssa's Painting a Day

New Website

2011-03-27T14:37:00.003-04:00

Hi!

I will soon be blogging on my newly updated website
alyssawatters.com

please visit my main site for all new work and posts.

Thank you!

mini cupcakes

2009-05-13T22:34:00.002-04:00

My first painting after the portraits. Bright and edible! Exactly what I wanted to paint! These little mini's were homemade by my mom for my birthday. I had to take a picture so I could paint them later on. I need to get a picture of this hung, because it is one of my paintings where I continued it onto the side and it looks really cool!

Fortune Cookie Break!

2009-05-13T21:56:00.002-04:00

I had to take a break in between painting portraits and this is what I came up with! I LOVE it! Could be the fact that it doesn't have a face, haha or maybe my love for chinese food?! It was just really fun to paint. My favorite part is that when I was done painting them I opened up the cookie and no lie the fortune said: "happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort"
how cool is that?!?

All 3

2009-05-13T21:49:00.002-04:00

This was the one that I've been working on for what seemed like FOREVER. I am really happy with it though. I figured out while painting this that I definitely enjoy doing my smaller scale pieces better than larger ones. I think I just get bored looking at the same thing for too long and I also just love the feeling of finishing. So when I work on something that just seems like I will never finish it gets a bit daunting. I am happy that I stuck with it the way that I did and I have to say it is probably my best portrait(s) so far. I really think that the entire piece works really well together. Tighter in some places, looser in others.
It was finally shipped today and it feels great!

This painting is 18 x 24 inches, the small ones are 6 x 8.

3 Seperate Portraits

2009-05-13T21:43:00.002-04:00

This is what has really been keeping me busy! A commission to do 3 seperate portraits and then one large scale portrait of all three kids together. Portraits are fun but A LOT of work. Definitely something I would only want to do a couple of times a year!
I really enjoyed the one of the little girl. It was great to do a painting that was less serious, which all of these were, but that one even more so. I would much rather paint goofy faces then the normal posed ones. I also really like the way the hair came out in the oldest boy. I felt like I stayed looser with it. When I wanted to go in and mess with it more, I stopped myself and I like that about it.

Baby Fenway

2009-05-13T21:41:00.001-04:00

Sandy and Merlin's nephew, Fenway! This is my best friends puppy. Fun to paint because he is so fluffy and cute!

doggies

2009-05-13T21:33:00.002-04:00

So...what have I been up to! So much!! These were commissioned by my best friends dad as a gift for her mom. It was fun since I had grown up with these dogs. I think that the one of Sandy (the more red of the two) is fun because it captures how happy and tolerant of anything he was. The one of Merlin (the more golden) is great because it just captured him in his hyper playing state.
They were fun!

Last Cardinal

2009-03-01T20:53:00.003-05:00

I finished all of my paintings....and I just didn't feel done. I was really drawn to painting a cardinal on something larger than the 6 inch squares. So right when I was about to put down the brush I got back to work! This one is roughly 6 by 12 inches. I really like it, I feel like I was a bit looser with it and it's probably cause the stress of finishing was gone! It is still available and it is 200.

Bluebird in Berries

2009-03-01T20:50:00.001-05:00

This is the largest of the birds. It is a one foot square. I think my favorite birds to paint are chickadees and bluebirds. Both so fat and cute! This one is sold.

Dark Eyed Junco

2009-03-01T20:48:00.002-05:00

This was the second large one I did. It is a dark eyed junco and I think he's so cute!! I enjoyed this painting a lot and it's one of my favorites. It is still available and it's 250.00 if anyone is interested.

The Rest!

2009-03-01T20:38:00.002-05:00

Finally decided to put the rest of my birds up. I ended up selling 2 of the other ones that I had posted before my show so I decided to wait until after opening night to put up the rest so I would have some available for that night!
These ones are the rest of the 6 x 6 inch birds which are 100 a piece. Many have sold and will probably continue but if you are interested in any, please email me: awatters9@yahoo.com. From the top, they are: Towhee, Robin, Redpoll, Indigo Bunting, House Finch, Red Breasted Grosbeak, Goldfinch, Chickadee, Bluejay and Baltimore Oriole.

Birds so far

2009-02-02T15:26:00.003-05:00

Here are the birds I have so far (well the ones that were dry enough to scan)
Starting at the top: Winter bluebird, Downy Woodpecker, House Wren, Tufted Titmouse,
Spring Bluebird, Red Breasted Nuthatch, Female Cardinal and finally a male Cardinal.

Chickadee in Mist

2009-02-02T15:21:00.002-05:00

As I said before the bird show is coming! The final decision on a date was made! It will be up from February 26th-March 26th at the same location as last year, Scribe Paper and Gift in the Hamilton Shopping Plaza, South Hamilton, MA. This year I am excited to be having an opening reception!! It will be on it's first day, Thursday, Feb 26th from 6 - 9 pm. If you are around, definitely stop by. I'll be serving refreshments and light snacks. It will also be an opportunity for purchasing prints, handmade greeting cards and my famous bird calendars. Keep checking back to preview the paintings. I will be adding more and more as I finish them.

fluffy chihuahuas

2009-02-02T15:19:00.001-05:00

These guys were a commission I got and they were definitely fun! So cute!!!

Hot Cake Fashion

2009-01-04T12:48:00.009-05:00

Here is a link to a page where I was featured as artist of the month! Alice Rooslien, who runs the site, contacted me about featuring my art on her page. The name of the site is Hot Cake Fashion, so she thought my painting of a piece of cake would be great for it! The site is based on fashion and design. It gives tips on what to wear, budgets, how to get yourself out there and more. It's a nice site and now she is getting involved in all different types of art and how to succeed at what you love. So thank you to Alice and please check out my feature and the rest of her site!
fashion forum
On the right hand side click on how to make a living with your art, and then scroll down to recent blog posts and click on artist of the month, December.

last two Christmas Commissions

2009-01-04T12:42:00.000-05:00

My last two commissions

last of the silverware

2009-01-04T12:32:00.002-05:00

I just found this last silverware image that never got posted. I really like this one so I wanted to get it on here. When I took all of the silverware out of the store in December I ended up hanging them in my kitchen and it looks pretty awesome!

Two more clocks

2009-01-04T12:29:00.001-05:00

These were two more Christmas presents and of course with the holidays I didn't manage to get a finished picture with the clock hands. The birds just had black hands to compliment the painting but I used bright orange/red hands on the cookie clock which looked really cool! Funky and bright!

finch clock

2009-01-04T12:26:00.002-05:00

This was a Christmas present for my boyfriend's parents. His dad made me a ton of great wood panels like this and I couldn't be more thankful! They look great with the paintings finished onto the sides and eliminate the need to frame. They also create a hollow space in the back that make it easy to drill a hole in the wood and make an awesome clock! This was fun and I hope to make a whole bunch of different clocks later this year.

Eric's Bike

2009-01-04T12:22:00.002-05:00

This one was also a fun one. It's nice to get commissions because they make you paint things that you normally wouldn't. This is my best friend's brother's bike. He had been wanting one of my paintings forever so she decided to have me do one for him for Christmas. He loves to bike and has a really nice one so we thought that would be a good subject. It was really fun to paint, challenging with all the lines and lettering but in a good way.

Paper Crane

2009-01-04T12:17:00.002-05:00

This was also a commission from November. When I got the job I was really excited about painting origami. I thought, what a fun and different thing for me! Once I got started it completely brought me back to my very first drawing class in high school! I had completely forgotten, but that was our first assignment! It really is a great assignment for a drawing class because it makes you look to see where lines are coming and going without getting to confusing. I have to say it was quite a bit harder than I expected. Getting the paint to do what I wanted with this one was difficult, but in the end I think it came out pretty cool.

Rondo

2009-01-04T12:12:00.002-05:00

A commission I did back in November. I'm not really a fan of crows, in fact I kinda hate them...long story...anyways going into this painting I was a little worried about my feelings towards crows getting in the way but I have to say I LOVED painting this! There was something really fun about getting all of the different colors in the black feathers, which is probably hard to see in the digital image. I also liked the simplicity of the composition and background (which is what the client wanted). It is a one foot square and really holds it's own when displayed.

Birds in 2009!

2009-01-04T12:03:00.002-05:00

So let's see, maybe a couple of months since I last posted! Ugh! sorry! Today, I'm catching up!
After many requests, there will be another bird show this winter. Now that the holidays are finally over I can get to work! I am aiming at February 19th as the opening date, but there will be more information as the date draws closer. Here are a few to preview.
Last years show consisted of only winter bird scenes, but this year will be a mix. Most likely I will end up with more winter birds anyways because I do like my birds fat! haha, but the goal is to have a little bit of everything. If you would like to be added to my mailing list to receive a postcard please email me your contact info. awatters9@yahoo.com
thanks!

spooky painting

2008-10-13T12:45:00.003-04:00

I am making some halloween cards and decided that I wanted something spookier than my pumpkin paintings to put on them. So I painted a spider. Yuk!!! I hate spiders and this was a really weird thing to paint. I now have the painting flipped over in my studio because it was scaring me everytime I walked in! I need to get it in the store and try to sell it! I don't want it!! haha. It is one of my small paintings, 6 x 6 inches so if anyone is interested, it is 100.00. Just email me.
I think overall though, it must have come out good since I can't even stand to look at it! haha

knife on red

2008-10-13T12:42:00.002-04:00

I hadn't done much with the knives, and I actually had a lot of fun with this one. I liked the scrolly design at the bottom of the handle. I also think I have a lot of fun using these little scraps of wood, they make for really cute paintings. This one is only about 1.5 inches wide!

fork and spoon on long green

2008-10-13T12:39:00.002-04:00

This one is 6 x 18 inches roughly. It is an interesting composition and I'm still not sure whether I want it upright like this or on it's side. I originally painted it on it's side but when I was done, I turned it to get it out of my way and really liked what I saw. I haven't painted much in the last two weeks....I think the silverware is just getting boring for me. I have another one to post that I have already done, but I think I might just do one or two more to finish the series, there is no point in doing a lot more, if it isn't exciting me.

Foster Landscape

2008-10-13T12:35:00.003-04:00

A recent commission I just finised for someone. This was done on a 6 x 8 inch panel with the nice wood sides, so I continued the painting onto the edges. It came out really cool! I hope to soon switch over to doing all of my larger paintings on these. I think that it looks very professional and I love the way they stick off the wall a couple inches. Plus, there is no need to frame them!

White Gourds

2008-09-30T20:48:00.004-04:00

I finally got to participate in my favorite painter, Karin Jurick's new blog, different strokes by different folks. Each wednesday she posts a photo for whoever wants to take it and make a piece of art with it. Then you email her your work and she will post it on the blog with a link to your site, which is really nice of her! This is her fourth week and I finally had the chance to do it! I am very excited about it because gourds are something that I would normally paint, but the fact that they are on a gray background is HUGE for me. I always stick to bright colors and this showed me that I should really experiment more with the neutrals. It's amazing how many colors you can pull out of neutral colors when you really look at them!
Make sure to check her blog: www.differentstrokesfromdifferentfolks.blogspot.com

spoon on orange

2008-09-29T12:16:00.002-04:00

This one is definitely my favorite so far. I love the variation in the background and I'm not even sure how I did it. I just put the color down quick and it pretty much looked like that. Since I liked it so much I tried not to change it much when adding more paint too it. This one is also 6 x 6 inches and when set next to the fork on yellow, creates a great little set.

fork on yellow

2008-09-29T12:12:00.002-04:00

Just experimenting with bright colors and how you can mess with them in backgrounds. This one which is 6 x 6 inches pairs well with a similar spoon painting. Overall this series is going to be a lot of different colored backgrounds, so when hung together they will bounce off one another.

Cropped fork on red

2008-09-29T12:08:00.002-04:00

This was the first (after Matt & Michelle's silverware) in my silverware series. It's on a teeny piece of wood, only about 1 inch by 6. I'm not sure about the cropping, but I had wanted to try something different. I think it might be a bit harsh on it's own but when mixed with all the other silverware paintings in the show I think it might work.

Matt & Michelle's Silverware

2008-09-26T23:03:00.004-04:00

I decided to do a silverware series this fall and before I got a chance to start it I wanted to do a painting for friends of mine that were getting married. Their colors in the kitchen are cobalt and stainless steel so in deciding what I wanted to paint them, I guess I just couldn't get silverware out of my head and it just seemed too perfect to do bright silverware on a cobalt background. So this is my first silverware piece. It is 12" x 12". It was fun to paint them giant. The rest of the silverware I have done since then have been closer to actual size so I'll have to find time to do some more giant ones!

Cupcake Convention

2008-09-07T11:02:00.002-04:00

I LOVE to paint Cupcake Cafe's cupcakes! they are so fun! This is a larger painting, roughly 12 x 18 inches. I am really happy with the way it came out! It is hanging in my Bevtown Gallery show right now. The Bevtown Gallery is located at 197 Cabot Street (across from where Bell Market used to be)

Some Fall Landscapes

2008-09-07T10:59:00.002-04:00

I really enjoyed doing the small landscapes, so I decided to continue with some fall related ones. I really like the way all of these small landscapes have made me work and I hope they will effect the way I paint a larger one. I will definitely continue to do a few more fall landscapes because the colors are too much fun!

The rest of the mini landscapes

2008-09-07T09:41:00.002-04:00

Here are the rest of my mini landscapes series for my show at Bevtown Gallery. I have been so busy getting ready for that and my fair at the Wenham Museum that I haven't been able to put any of them up. Starting from the top: This was found while driving down a road in Wenham on a beautiful puffy cloud day! I loved the reflection that the bright day was creating in the little stream. The next one was a picture I had taken 3 years ago out in Upstate NY. I just think it is so pretty there, especially all the bright red barns that pop out of the beautiful green and yellow landscape. The third one was from a recent trip to Spectacle Island off of Boston Harbor. Another beautiful "puffy cloud day"! The next barn was one I had passed right after a crazy storm while driving through pennsylvania. I like the color of the sky as the eerieness was going away. The last one was from a farm up in Woodstock, VT. Just thought the path was so cool.
Thanks for looking, sorry it's been so long!

Clouds

2008-08-03T23:02:00.001-04:00

I was having a lot of fun with the clouds in all of my other mini's so I decided to do one that would be more "about" the clouds. This is what I came up with. It was a fun one!

NY Hay

2008-08-03T22:58:00.002-04:00

I actually did this painting 10 times this size a couple years ago and I was never happy with it. Doing this version showed me why. I have a harder time getting the loose strokes with big brushes and with all the trees in the background it definitely needs the right kind of strokes.

Appleton Path

2008-08-03T22:55:00.002-04:00

This one is definitely my favorite one so far. I feel like I was able to stay really loose. Another great thing about doing these is that if I find that I really love one then it will almost act like a sketch for doing a larger version.

Dodge Street Barn

2008-08-03T22:52:00.002-04:00

I have been driving past this barn for over a year now. It is along my beautiful drive to work. I took some pictures of it last summer and just now got around to attacking it. I think doing these small landscapes will give me the opportunity to tackle landscapes that i've been trying to do and just never get around to.

Appleton Tree

2008-08-03T22:44:00.002-04:00

The first in my mini landscape series. I've always been a bit scared about doing a landscape on one of my 6 x 6 panels. It just seemed crazy to do something so large on something so small! I am so glad I finally took the chance! I have done 6 now and they only keep getting better and better. They are making me work much looser since it would be impossible to get all the fine details. I will have a grouping of 9 hanging in my Bevtown Gallery show coming up next month. I was only planning on doing these but I am enjoying them so much I'm sure I will continue to do more.

Hot doooog!

2008-07-06T20:11:00.002-04:00

I love this painting!!! so summery! I have always wanted to paint a hot dog with the ketchup all zig zaggy. I finally had some extra left over hot dogs and figured it was time! This will be in Gallery Della-Piana in August.

Strawberry Shortcake

2008-07-06T20:09:00.001-04:00

Another cupcake. This one was hard to paint....because I just wanted to eat it!

Jenny's cupcake!

2008-07-06T19:51:00.002-04:00

A cupcake I did for a friend. There is a place in my town called Cupcake Cafe and it's amazing! This lady makes all different kinds of delicious cupcakes and they are so fun to paint!!! as well as eat! I look forward to painting some more.

daily paintings

2008-07-06T19:49:00.001-04:00

Here are a bunch of new 6 x 6 daily paintings. They were in beverly arts fest a few weeks ago.

sprinkle cookies

2008-06-05T19:50:00.004-04:00

I love these cookies! They are soooo good! Super soft, lots of frosting, it's almost like eating a flat cupcake! They were a lot of fun to paint and I love all the colors. I added some crumbs to this painting, my Nana had given me the idea, and I'm glad I listened!

NYC cookies

2008-06-05T19:48:00.002-04:00

So I definitely haven't kept the updating going as I'd hoped but here are some of my new ones. These are two black & white cookies I got in grand central station back on Mother's Day. I knew they would be a ton of fun to paint, it was hard though because I really wanted to eat them!

M&M cookies 2

2008-05-15T19:13:00.002-04:00

My second painting a day for my June show. I'm on a cookie kick right now. I also have one of some black & white cookies and some yellow frosted cookies. They'll be showing up as soon as they are dry enough to be scanned.
I painted these M&M cookies last year when I was doing a painting a day, so it was fun to do them again a year later and see how much easier it was.

Rylee's Alphabet

2008-05-15T19:11:00.000-04:00

This was the finished gift. They looked cute all tied together

Little Sweets

2008-05-13T23:26:00.002-04:00

The first of my new painting a day series. I have the beverly arts fest coming up at the end of June and I want to have many small painting a days for it.

Rylee's Alphabet

2008-05-13T23:19:00.002-04:00

So this is what I've been busy with. My good friends just had their first baby, a beautiful little girl. I've been very excited since I hadn't had any friends with kids yet. I really wanted to paint something special for her room and ended up doing these. The "A is for apple" concept. Possibly a little over done, but it's always fun to put a fresh spin on an old favorite. I enjoyed doing these so much and I think I might have come up with something really great. I plan to keep working on building an alphabet and we'll see where it takes me, but it would make a nice little company for small gift shops to carry.

Sugar Star

2008-05-13T23:18:00.001-04:00

This was a commissioned piece that I ended up really liking. I definitely think it's my best sea piece yet

grapes 2

2008-05-13T23:15:00.001-04:00

I was in the mood to do a painting a day back in the beginning of April. This is what happened. I like it, it's fun painting grapes, lots of colors you never notice when eating them.

green apples

2008-05-13T23:11:00.002-04:00

I did this painting a couple of months ago, just finally getting around to putting it on here. It's 12x12. I loved the colors for spring, but painting apples can be quite a challenge. If you don't get your strokes in just the right direction they can look really flat.

framed shells

2008-04-25T00:13:00.002-04:00

Here they are framed and in the window. Once I get them back I'll take a better picture of them.
If anyone's interested they are $100 a piece, the frames are ready to be hung, but also come with a stand on the back so you could set it somewhere. Email me!

shell series

2008-04-25T00:06:00.003-04:00

Here are the 6 shells I did for my show. They are roughly 4 inch squares done on mat board, then glued to a bigger piece of mat board and framed, I'll add a picture to show how they looked finished

daffodils

2008-04-25T00:03:00.002-04:00

Here is one of the paintings that was in my Marblehead show a couple weeks ago. I really have been busy painting even though I haven't updated in so long. I'm going to try posting what I have saved up tonight and then hopefully I will get back into a routine of blogging!

more mailbox

2008-04-04T23:27:00.000-04:00

mailbox

2008-04-04T23:15:00.002-04:00

So I've been so busy! I just realized it's been more than a month since I've been able to update this! I have managed to get one of my giant food pieces done, probably back in February, just haven't had the time to scan! I was busy for a couple of weeks doing this mailbox for someone. I can't say it is something I would do very often, but it was a nice challenge. Working in acrylics instead of oil...it's been awhile and i forgot how quick they dry! Anyways, enjoy these pics and I swear I'll post my new paintings soon! I do have a bunch!

One last nest!

2008-02-28T23:29:00.002-05:00

So I decided to do one more! I love this one and I'm glad I ended up doing 3. You really learn a lot when you work on one thing a few times. I feel like painting the nests has let me be looser, which is definitely a good thing.

Nest 2

2008-02-28T23:23:00.002-05:00

My school's big art auction is coming up and I really wanted to donate something this year. I think I'm on a nest kick right now because that's what I decided to paint. I like the way it came out and I hope it makes lots of money for the school!

mojito

2008-02-28T23:21:00.000-05:00

Just a fun painting I did for a friend, but it definitely makes me want summer!

New Website

2008-02-28T12:56:00.005-05:00

Thanks to my wonderful boyfriend my website has been updated!!!!!!
Check it out, I'd love some feedback

Spring Nest

2008-02-21T23:00:00.002-05:00

something I have been dying to paint ever since I did my birds! It was fun and I actually had a harder time with the tree then I did with the nest. This will be hanging at Scribe in the next two weeks, along with some other spring paintings, but if anyone is interested now, it is 12 x 12 inches and it's $200., email me!

2008-02-21T22:50:00.003-05:00

These were the two commissioned dog portraits that I had been working on. I'm not always a fan of painting dogs, but I had fun with these, especially compositionally.

Bird Show comes down

2008-02-18T13:23:00.005-05:00

After a very successful Winter Bird Show, I am thrilled to say that there are only 2 paintings left! If anyone is interested in these last two (titmouse in pine and big fat bluejay), please contact me. The titmouse painting is 18 x 24 oil on masonite and it is $300.00 and the big fat blue jay is 6 x 6 oil on mdf and is $100.00

I have been busy working on some commissioned pieces which I haven't been able to post because they are gifts. They are coming soon. Also stay tuned for some new spring paintings and "Giant Food"!

Robin

2008-02-04T23:27:00.000-05:00

It wouldn't be spring without a robin, and whenever I think of robins I picture them out in the grass snatching worms. I never realized how many colors can be found in there seemingly black backs.

spring bluebird

2008-02-04T23:24:00.000-05:00

So this is my third bluebird. They are fun to paint, the colors are vibrant yet subtle. This one looks really spring like to me with all the little buds.

hermit thrush

2008-02-04T23:23:00.000-05:00

I did the hermit thrush because it is Vermont's state bird. Very cute too!

little goldfinch

2008-02-04T23:19:00.000-05:00

This is the first of four spring birds that will be hung and sold at Simple Nest in Manchester, Vermont. I am very excited to have my work displayed in another state, hopefully this is the first of many. It was also very fun to paint some spring birds, but it really made me want spring!

first chickadee

2008-02-04T23:15:00.001-05:00

This was my first bird. It was a commissioned christmas present. It was fun, I like the way the red brightens it up.

Emily's bluebird

2008-02-04T23:11:00.000-05:00

This was a christmas present I did for my friend, thought I would post it along with my other birds

winter birds

2008-02-04T22:44:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of the birds in the window. It was really hard to get a good picture because of the glare on the window. They have been really popular, I only have 3 left (lonely bluebird, big fat bluejay and titmouse in pine) so if you're interested, contact me soon!

lonely bluebird

2008-01-19T18:12:00.000-05:00

This was my final painting. I originally didn't think I would have time for it, but I did and I'm glad. This seems to be peoples favorite. I decided to keep it very empty to contrast with busy pine in the last two and overall I think the bird has a very powerful presence. It almost looks like he is guilty of something, which is cute.

Three little chickadees

2008-01-19T17:58:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite. I especially like the chickadee to the far right and the way that he hides in that little area. I love the background too. It was a great series for me to do, because it broke me away from always using really bright colors. I learned how to work with murkier subjects (winter colors), but also keep with my style. When you look at these as a whole, they still have my light style and I think that is cool. Unfortunately this digital image is slightly blurry.

Cardinal love

2008-01-19T17:54:00.000-05:00

This was my first big bird painting. It is roughly 12x24. I like the warm color scheme even though it doesn't give the cold winter feeling. I think the emptiness and twigs make it winter like. I like the female bird a lot, the male seems not as "realistic" but I couldn't quite figure out how to change it.

Titmouse in Pine

2008-01-19T17:42:00.000-05:00

This was my least favorite to paint, but I like how it turned out. Those pine needles took forever!!!! It is 18x24

Chickadee and Berries

2008-01-19T17:41:00.000-05:00

I love chickadees, probably cause they are so small and cute! My grandfather used to paint chickadees, I think that is another reason why I like them and want to paint them.

textured towhee

2008-01-19T17:27:00.000-05:00

As I was painting this I didn't think it was going to turn out good. It was one of those paintings that really came together at the end. I think that this bird has the best texture out of all of them. It really looks like it has it's winter feathers. It is also one of those paintings that looks so much better when you stand back, you see more of the depth in the background.

little nuthatch

2008-01-19T17:16:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed this painting, I think because I saw one in person for the first time right before I started painting the birds. I had no idea how tiny they were. I always thought they were the size of a blue jay or cardinal but they are actually really tiny like chickadees. They are so cool how they like to be upside down and I definitely wanted to paint one that way.

Cold Cardinal

2008-01-19T17:13:00.000-05:00

This one was the last small one I did. It is probably my least favorite, probably because it seems simple, but I still like it. I think it rounds out the collection. They can't all be full of stuff.

Titmouse

2008-01-19T17:04:00.000-05:00

I love these cute little birds, this is my other favorite small one. It is also the one I chose for advertising my show. I was originally going to go with the blue jay, but I liked pulling out the red from the berries for text more than the blue.

Porch Garden Lovin'

2007-09-27T22:56:00.000-04:00

I love this painting, one of my best since the sunroom, I think. I was doing the dishes and I kept looking over at all my fresh picked tomatoes squeezed together on the counter. I couldn't get over the way the light when in and out of them and the variations in color since some were more ripe than others. I decided I had to paint them. I had already planned on painting something else, but I was just so inspired. It shows what can happen when you really are inspired to do something. I think this one's going in the illustration alumni show. oh and it's 6" x 12" by the way. I feel like the perfect size for the subject.

Where are the acorns when you need them?

2007-09-27T22:49:00.000-04:00

Let me just tell you, I never thought I would get to paint these acorns! It took me 2 and a half weeks to find them! I'm not used to living in the city, and I'm not even in a real city! I just knew I wanted to paint acorns, and I wouldn't let it rest until I found some. I drove my poor boyfriend crazy! Finally I got some, and I'm glad. They were a ton of fun, just like I thought they'd be. Love all the fall colors!

First Gourds of theYear

2007-09-27T22:44:00.000-04:00

Gourds are definitely something I have been looking forward to painting for awhile now! I almost couldn't wait for the season just so I could paint them! I really like the way they came out, I did this one really quick and I like the looseness in the yellow one. The stem is also really cool. I didn't actually mean for the background to be so crazy bright, infact all I could think of when I was painting, was Fred telling me I don't need bright backgrounds. haha, sorry Fred. I still like it though, fun for the season and it looks great with all the halloween stuff at work.

ghost peeps!

2007-09-27T22:41:00.000-04:00

Just a fun painting I did for the store. I did get the 6 done that I had planned, I just haven't had any time to post them! This is probably my least favorite, it's a bit harsh and there are things I can see that could be fixed but I think the ghosts are funny.

Commissioned Portraits

2007-09-24T20:38:00.000-04:00

This was quite the job. I definitely thought these two would be a lot easier than they were. Don't get me wrong, I love to draw, but when it comes to portraits : I NEED PAINT! There is something about it that just helps me, I don't really get it, but it has now been confirmed! Overall they did come out good, they just took much longer than expected. When framed with a white matte in a black frame, they really looked good!

2007-09-17T22:51:00.000-04:00

The second one. I like this one better, the conte did something nice.

Apple

2007-09-10T23:20:00.000-04:00

This is actually my second attempt to do an apple painting. I don't know what went wrong with my first one, apples should be easy especially after doing 100 of them for illustration 2! Anyways I am very happy that I tried again because I really like this painting.

Canoli

2007-09-10T23:15:00.000-04:00

This has absolutely nothing to do with fall, but I was way too inspired not to paint it. This is actually the first one and I love the way that it came out! This will definitely be hanging in the store even though it's not "fall like".

candy corn

2007-09-10T23:07:00.000-04:00

So normally I don't paint things way before the actual holiday, but I am finding that since I am hanging them in a store I have to be ahead. I thought that it would be hard for me because I wouldn't be "in the spirit" but it's not that bad. I am trying to get 6 paintings done and dry by Friday so I can hang them in the store. This was the second one I did, I am up to 5 but only 3 are dry enough for me to add tonight. I was most excited about painting candy corn, but I don't feel that this is my strongest piece, I actually think it's my weakest. I may try another one if I get a chance.

Gennaro

2007-09-10T23:00:00.000-04:00

This is the finished portrait. I am very happy with the way it came out, and I would defintely paint a child again.

2007-09-04T22:10:00.000-04:00

This is my most recent painting. It is a commission for someone as well as being my first baby portrait. I am very happy with the way it turned out. I spent a lot of time sketching in order to get the "baby" proportions, and it definitely payed off!

nectarines

2007-08-28T22:53:00.000-04:00

I love this painting! I did it a couple weeks ago when I first found Carol Marine's work. I was looking through some links on another artist's page when I found her's. I was so excited to find her work. It is really bright like mine, and she likes to paint some of the things I do. I love the way she keeps her fruit blurry, you can really see the way she lays down blocks of color and it is amazing how they come together and make sense. I definitely did this painting in my own style but I worked with a bright background the way she does, and I really like the effect it gives. Another thing is that this painting is twice the size of my usual painting's a day, 12x12 instead of 6x6. I liked that as well, I will definitely be doing more like these soon.

Mojito Season 2!!!!

2007-08-28T22:50:00.000-04:00

Mojito season is coming to an end. This was a commission I did earlier this summer to be hung along with the limes I painted.

peppers

2007-08-28T22:48:00.000-04:00

These I'm not so sure about, I did these a few weeks ago and they were my first painting a day in awhile. I feel like I lost the looseness that I had gained from doing them all of the time and then tried to recover it after. It came out alright but it's not my favorite

butterscotch

2007-08-28T22:39:00.000-04:00

This was a commission piece that I really enjoyed. I have fun painting candy and it always comes out bright and cheerful, just the way I like stuff!

lollipops

2007-08-21T22:19:00.000-04:00

This was a painting that I almost didn't finish. I did not like the way it was coming out, but it made such a difference once I got the sticks down. It was hard to get them to pop on a white background, but I didn't feel like any other color would have worked as well. I am definitely happy I finished it.

mini shells

2007-08-21T22:16:00.000-04:00

This was a tiny painting a day that I tried. I actually did it in the beginning of the summer and just got around to scanning it. It is roughly 2 X 6 inches. It was interesting to do it so small it made it impossible for me to get to involved in the details

Happy Fourth!

2007-07-21T19:21:00.000-04:00

Here is a little patriotic one I did right before the 4th. I wanted to put it up earlier, but I have been having problems with my files.

green sandals

2007-06-09T00:40:00.000-04:00

I like this painting a lot. It is funny because it makes me realize that I have many pairs of green shoes, but I don't actually wear green that much. strange. I like the cropping in this image.