Receding Tide

Here is another one that ​was incomplete for a few weeks until I decided to get things done! Again, it was a problem with the sky which I have now finished. I love how rocks reflect in the shallow water as the tide recedes. It is certainly fun to paint!

SOLD Zakynthos Cave

I've painted this once before, but it was in pastels and sold it to a repeat customer in Georgia.  Still playing with the palette knives and oils.  The palette knives are so much easier to clean!

6x6
Oil on Cradled Board

The Most Beautiful Village in Provence

Oops!  I forgot the picture when I first posted this!  Roussillon was one of the most beautiful villages in Provence. On our tour through Provence, our lovely guide, Virginia explained that there were quite a few villages boasting to be "The Most Beautiful Village in Provence". I, for one, could not choose. They are all beautiful in so many different ways. Roussillon is very unique with its ochre cliffs. I painted this scene before in pastels, and thought I would give it a shot in oils and with a palette knife. I'm pretty happy with this ... well ... except for that stupid shadow from my easel that I didn't edit out!  Doh!  

I titled this one Ochre Naturel (spelled the French way since this is from Provence)

Ochre Naturel
5x7
Oil on Board

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Lavender of Gordes

I think this is the largest painting that I have attempted and liked.
Lavender of Gordes
36x24
Oil on Canvas

Fuzzy Wuzzy Koala Bear - SOLD

I forgot to post this fuzzy wuzzy purple koala bear who sold pretty quickly.
He looks more purple in person.

Ole One Horn Bison

On my easel.  Honestly, I am not going to name this painting "Ole One Horn".  I just haven't painted the other horn.  :-)

On Alert - SOLD

Still on safari.  I haven't decided whether or not this painting is finished. I may go back into it to lighten up the background.  The reference photo I used had a really dark background.  I will list it on eBay to see if it gets any activity.  If it does not, then I will come back to it.

Peacock on Magenta

Peacocks are some of the most glorious birds on Earth, don't you think? With their bright colors and their fancy hats, who can resist a photo opp of them!

ACEO Unfazed

When in the Netherlands last summer, I snapped a picture of this egret who was completely unfazed by all of the people walking around his territory at the Volendam Harbor.

Stretch Harder

Holy cow! I just looked back in my blog to find my last still life, and it was November 13 -- 3 months ago!
Even though it had been months, I took the bull by the horns and went for glass AND a flower!  Probably my favorite color scheme:  turquoise and red.  The vase is actually greener than I painted it, but some Phthalo blue found itself in the green I was ready to paint.  I liked the way it looked, so I left it.

   

ACEO - Lily Zoomed

A return to oils, and I feel it was a happy return.

Over the weekend, I prepared a whole bunch of art cards (several layers of gesso, sanding).  I do prefer the oils, and using Galkyd speeds up the drying time with the added benefit of a lovely shine.

Lily Zoomed
2.5 inches x 3.5 inches
Oil on Watercolor Paper

Joys of eBay - Rooster On the Move

I sold a rooster painting on eBay, and upon receiving it, my customer realized she wanted a larger version of the same painting.  I sent her a photo of the finished product before mailing it, and she is very pleased.
1st version she bought:
"Volendam Rooster"
6x6
Oil on Gessoboard

2nd painting she commissioned:
"Rooster On the Move"
8x10
Oil on Linen Canvas

ACEO - Return to Oils - Antelope Valley Tree -- SOLD

I was having so much fun with the acrylics that I decided I could do the same with oils using the Fabriano Tela Oil Paper.  The scanner still picks up the texture of the Tela paper, but not quite as much as the canvas paper on some of the earlier ACEOs.

LONE TREE, ANTELOPE VALLEY, CA - Oil on Fabriano Tela Oil Paper

SOLD - Blood Red

I experimented with several things in this painting.  (1) I used a dark background which is a bit out of the ordinary for me, and (2) I used a new medium by Gamblin called Neo Megilp.  The Neo Megilp gives an incredible shiny finish to the paintings that I am very happy with.  I wasn't quite sure what to name this one, so Blood Red it is!

Also, I have struggled and struggled with getting good photos of my paintings, and I've resorted to scanning them after they have dried until I find another solution.

Pork Rose

It's been a few weeks since I've posted, and though I was feeling rusty, I painted my first rose and am pretty happy with it.  I thought the rose was going to be more problematic than the pig.  Boy was I surprised!  I had a few titles in mind:  "Pig N Rose", "Rosy Pig", but I am happy with Pork Rose.

Swim Charlie Swim! - SOLD

Has anyone out there seen JAWS as many times as I have?  When I set up this little still life, a scene from JAWS popped in my head.  Two guys are trying to catch the shark for the reward and one of them gets pulled into the water with a piece of the pier.  When he starts swimming back to the pier, the guy in the "safety zone" sees the ominous fin behind him and yells "Swim, Charlie, Swim!"  That's what I thought of when I positioned the one cherry so that the "pier" (or boat) is just a knuckle away from safety.

Barbershop Forkette -- SOLD

I was still having fun with forks yesterday, and found four very different types of forks in my silverware drawer. This painting is one of the ones that I have liked the most.  I like the composition and the highlights in blue.

Fork it Over -- SOLD

Yesterday, I went on another "Still Life Item Quest".  Initially, I only intended to visit what was an awesome Flea Market in Santa Monica.  At some point, the Flea Market changed locations, and can now be perused in less than five minutes!  Since that wasn't satisfying, I continued my quest to Out of the Closet thrift store, 99 Cent Store, and CVS looking for items to paint.  I found a vase, a few cups and plates at Out of the Closet, made my way home and painted this.  I'm pretty happy with it even though I fussed too much with the pear.

Mosaic Hippo

Oil on Fabriano Tela Oil Paper
7 x 9 1/2
This is the first post on my daily painting blog.  The reason I named the blog "Mosaic Hippo" is, well, because this hippo painting is the first painting to kick off this blog.  But I do have to give credit to my friend Cindy who suggested it.  My son Brendan concurred that it was a catchy blog name as opposed to "Donna Weathers' Paint Blog" or "Donna's Daily Paintings".  Yawn ... 

I work full-time, so my painting time is limited.  I try to paint every morning when I get up, and sometimes after I get home from work.  However, it is still not enough time, but it is what I have outside of the weekend, so I decided my lunch hour can be another slot of time to paint!

So, this is my first "lunch hour" painting.  I took on a Daily Challenge from Daily Paintworks. The challenge was posted by blogger artist Mary Douglas.  Basically, you choose your subject (in my case, a photo of a hippo), and limit your strokes to only painting rectangles.  Additionally, you adjust the color of each subsequent rectangle stroke.


I LOVED this challenge, and the results of the Mosaic Hippo.  I told my son how much I enjoyed it, and he educated me with a quote by T.S. Elliot that makes a lot of sense: “When forced to work within a strict framework the imagination is taxed to its utmost – and will produce its richest ideas. Given total freedom the work is likely to sprawl." — T.S. Eliot

I will be doing this challenge again!