Get a Kleenex before clicking here.

In case you have not seen this video, I want to share it with you, but before you click make sure you have a Kleenex handy. There won't be a dry eye, I'm here to tell you. sniff sniff




Now that you are all sniffly, I will show you a painting I just finished:

I will talk more about it in a different post, with more detail.

Woman in Progress

As mentioned, here's the WIP of the portrait I'm working on, before painting the eyes:

And with a few more details:

There's a lot of texture on this acrylic painting.

Gardening, summer lovers and a toad

Gardening is fun. Well, most of the time anyway :oP I have been working on the yard and it's been 102 to 107 out there (39 to 42 C)... imagine me. I cleared one flower bed and clipped ONE little bush, I was red, sweaty, suffocated, trembling, palpitating and I was so sure it was my last day on Earth (...and it was not going to be posted online!!) LOL :oB
So, I have been doing the rest very early in the day when it is only in the 80's (almost get a sweater, really)
I have to deal in the front with kitty Panzón, who is sure his potty room is getting bigger by me clearing the flower bed, he sniffs around and leaves a sample... and in the back I have to convince Scruffie that not every stick I toss is for her to bring back or turn into 50 pieces.   Oi!

Lately I just get tired and sweaty mainly by adding dirt to holes that Scruffie keeps making bigger each time. The neighbors have a big new male dog, and the summer lovers have this ardent passion to meet in person. Is it still "in person" when they are dogs? Should it be dogson? doggedly? Well, lets say that they want a face to face visit and it has to be through the fence, so they are digging in both directions. Imagine my delight.
Ugh! A visit to the vet is overdue :o(

Well, anyway, look at the treasure I found hidden in the philodendron:

Such a beauty! I think I'm going to paint it. Feel free to do the same if it inspires you! I was so sad to have to remove my other philodendron from the front yard, but it had grown out completely out of the flower bed, leaving only the roots in there and it looked terrible. I still don't know what to put in that flowerbed, but most likely will be a big pottery with something in it, not on the ground.

And tonight we had a night visitor, Mr Sapo. A big fat toad that comes for dinner by the front door:

There's at least 4 of them, but this one is the biggest. Great bug killer, talk about an organic solution :oD

Tomorrow I will post pictures of the portrait I'm painting. I'm liking her so far :o)

Tuesday, tuesday....

I'm having a Monday feeling on Tuesday. Why oh why you might ask. Well, we spent the Monday as a Sunday, doing all kinds of fun things, and the result is that today the kids are smashed on their beds still LOL I am just happy they don't have a class today, because they are completely and totally tired.
We went to my MIL (3 hours driving north), then went south shopping in another town (hours walking) then like if we had all the time in the world (which always feels like that in summer) we went to Tehachapi. Now let me tell you, we were 102 in my little hot part of the world... but in the mountains they were 71. And it smells so good! The only thing is that mosquitoes seems to think the same when they see me and try to bite me every where at the same time, (most have been all that ice cream I ate on father's day!) so today is a scratchy Tuesday. :oP
News! The adobe house painting found a home in Mexico with Naomi! It was a fun painting to do, lost of soft smoothing, then lots of impasto. Rich dessert colors, inspired on an image I wish I knew from where...

Now as for the angel painting. That is too muted I think. I wanted like always go and add strong color, but my instructor at that workshop wanted all muted colors. I'm always looking for some contrast, even if I like soft calm paintings as well. When you see it by itself it is a very pretty face of an angel. Not too closely resembling the original picture I took of my broken sculpture over a rug (Oh! for those asking about the angel, it did get the wing back! it is a wooden sculpture and I hammered it to place).
This could be one I can keep painting on top, as it is very lean oils. If by the end of the month it is still here, I think I will play with the sky color and highlight a bit more.

OK, I never click publish post so here I am again. It is 105 (41C) out here.... No wonder I was feeling kind of tired! I still went around doing some errands just before it was oven hot and now I have dinner ready. I should have made just sandwiches, but I had planned on turkey "guisado". Here's a picture:

Turkey cooked on olive oil, add 1 bag of frozen green beans, tomato sauce, and simmer for 20 mins.
I am not crazy about cooking so everything I make has to be fast, yummy and easy to clean :o)

Now I will enjoy some well deserved ice tea! Cheers!

Updating stuff

I have been updating things in my blog (see my new widget to the left?), and figuring stuff in tumblr. If you are in tumblr let me know and I'll follow!)
Even with the heat I have been taking the kids places ...and thinking what to paint. Have I sit down to paint...? no, not yet :oP But like the pinguin in Toy Story "I feel a song coming on!" in my case it would be a painting. You don't want me singing hahaha

I have in mind to paint something based on Bright Star. I am still fascinated with that movie! I made a couple of sketches but nothing scanned yet. In fact, I'm not sure if I want to do it that way, because that is my most usual way of painting. I want to know the end before I even start. Does that happen to you?
Probably that's more for realistic painting, where you have a fixed idea of what and where you will paint. But I want to go more into the abstracted, unexpected path, which is a bit scary for me :o0

For now so far I have done some texture on wood and a portrait outlined. I will splash many more layers and see where that takes me :o)

OK. I hope everyone has a happy Father's day. And have some ice cream!

Wasn't it just yesterday...?

I took my baby daughter to register for a summer class in high school. Feels to me it should be kindergarten! Even if she now is taller than me, it just doesn't feel right that she will start high school... Too soon! Too fast! Some one please, pass me the salts!

Well, I will skip the fainting to say thanks to my buddy Karen Anne! She will have Sasha with her soon. I am so happy it goes to her home!  The angel and the adobe house are still up for grabs HERE

I have some ACEO in the making, but somehow my muse lost her GPS again so here I am simply waiting for her to arrive to her destination.  I blame it on Panzón. He is enjoying his summer a bit too much.

 Another paparazzi interrupting my nap...

How is your summer so far?

It's not you, it's me. . . . .

Over time we change, right? Our style changes, our likes and dislikes change... What you loved to do once, it's not "you" any longer... What you painted before has transformed to what you paint now. It's still a little bit of you, but there's more new you to come.
What do you do with old paintings that is not "you" anymore? Destroy them? Donate them? I don't think I can repaint, at least not all of them.

I don't see myself burning them like Gary (I'm not that brave plus I live in California and don't want to get a fine for burning!) lol I know some artists routinely go and destroy what they don't like anymore but I don't see myself doing that any time soon.

At this point I am thinking of giving them away to someone that likes them, just pay the shipping....? If anyone is interested that is....! :oD

It can be anyone from anywhere, just as long as they like the painting, they want to have it and they agree on the shipping, which I am not planning to charge handling or anything..
Each is an oil on canvas, gallery wrapped.

This angel was painted after a wood sculpture I had that broke, and they way the wing broke looked cool to me so I painted it. It is a 18x24

This second one was actually painted on top of another painting I had made, but the first was a lean coat. 16x20 Portrait based on a singer named Sasha. Update: Sasha is not available anymore, she is going to Oregon :oD

Next is an exercise on texture with impasto, an adobe house. 16x20 oil on canvas:
Update: Not available anymore, it's on it's way to AZ and then MX :o)

I am not painting realistic anymore. I guess eventually I will go back to it, but for now I want to free up space and let them go.
So, if anyone is interested please make a comment saying which, separately give me the address so I can check the shipping (I am not going to publish the info here, don't worry) and will let the person know what the shipping is. Remember that if you live in another country you might have to pay some fee, some countries charge it, some don't.