Painters Block

I took a week and a half off from painting for a trip to visit family and celebrate a Mobile style Mardi Gras.

My kiddos loved the kids parade and throwing beads.

The cousins in matching Mardi Gras outfits.

 

 

We also celebrated my oldest's  fifth birthday.

 

Tonight's painting session did not go well. I don't know if it was the time off or something else but I am having a very hard time progressing any paintings. I worked on three separate paintings tonight and was frustrated with all of them.

 

I am trying to paint this image of St Francis De Sales from an old etching. My church requested the painting because the priests are the Oblate's of St Francis De Sales. It is very hard to paint someone long dead from very limited resources.

I have been working on this painting off and on for well over a year. the background has been painted and repainted many times. Most of my time tonight was spent working on it. I changed the background at least three different ways just tonight.  

 

I only made minor changes to the painting of Grandma and Goose. Added a stack of books on the left side, other than that I did not want to carry on any of the bad energy from the other paintings into this one so I quit while I was still OK with what I had done.

I received a letter in the Mail today informing me that two pieces have been accepted into the Art at the Mill Spring show. "On the Fence" will be in the show/sale and "Antiquing in Vienna" will be on their reserve list.

While in Alabama I said a sad farewell to "Shades" This painting has had mixed reviews. My mother in law does not like it. It does not come close to capturing her beauty and her loving personality.

 It was one of the first paintings I finished after I started painting again and was a breakthrough for me. I painted it without a preliminary sketch or transfer of a drawing.  I usually struggle when painting directly but was very pleased with my efforts on this painting. I also love the glasses and the texture of the hat. It does capture some of her personality because she is a very strong woman who can run her entire hospital. I was still learning and continue to learn how to capture form without such harsh shadows.  Making flattering portraits that the subjects like is truly a difficult task.

This painting also won my first painting award with an honorable mention at last years Vienna Art Society Spring Show.

I guess she wanted me to give it to her so that no one else would see it . Because I love the painting and focus on the breakthroughs and the painting process, it makes me very sad to give it away to someone who focuses of the flaws of the painting. But I love my Mother in Law and if she wants the painting and if it will make her feel better to control who sees it I am happy for her to have it. I just hope that seeing it more often will not make her more frustrated with me.

 

For more artwork or information on commissioning a painting please visit my website at www.debbybirdart.com

Grandma's Legacy

Today I set up and painted my first still life. I chose things that I received from my Grandma Hall. My Grandmother Hall had a beautiful house full of amazing spaces. The window sills were filled with colored glass and the attic contained perfect childhood treasures. I remember so many favorite locations in her house.
However she also was my strict Grandmother. She expected my dinner plate to be cleared and if not it would reappear for breakfast. We were not allowed to slide down the stairs on our bottoms and she did not understand my jokes. I was the youngest grandchild and I always felt she enjoyed the older grand kids more. By the time I was around 8 years old she was developing Alzheimer's and I don't think we ever really got to know each other.
She had done many paintings when she was younger and studied art in college. Several of my paint brushes are actually handed down from her. I like to think that if we had been able to know each other as adults we would have had a lot to talk about and would have gotten along famously.

In other news, My painting of my daughter on the beach "Tide pool" has been spoken for. It is currently in a show at the Vienna Arts Society and will be going to a new home at the end of the show!

From beginning to end.

It is always interesting to me to look at the full evolution of a painting.  Sorry to those of you who have seen these and don't really care to see them again but I am putting them all in one post for my own viewing and analysis.

The difference in the last two photos is from taking the picture inside vs. outside. It is amazing how different the lighting makes the painting look.

 

 

I began this nursing painting and have realized after working on about half of it that I should have probably done a background layer of color to unify the painting. I need to darken the whole face, which became obvious after adding the dark hair and background. It can be so hard to judge tone before all of the context is in place.

I am hoping that this painting develops along standard lines of high hopes, frustration, fatalism, hope and then delight.  I often feel like giving up on paintings mid progress, and if I manage to push past the issues they do often work out.

Grandma Lucille's Hands

 It has been a very long time since my last post but I have gotten alot done. Primarily bringing a new little beautiful life into this world. My baby girl was born in August and then after two weeks of recovery the 3 kids and I went to visit my parents farm in KY for 2 months while my dear husband traveled for work .  We had a great time helping with farm chores, getting to know new friends, and exploring at the cabin in the woods.

Before the baby was born I completed Grandma's hands and made several quilts.

I designed this quilt for my son because the kids room has a bird theme and he likes the color black. what better bird to go with black than these adorable owls. The quilt is machine peices and appliqued, machine quilted with hand quilting details around the stars and inside the window.

I am currently working on many quilting projects for christmas presents and getting into the swing of being at home with three little ones. I am eagerly looking forward to starting several new paintings soon, There were several great photo opportunities on the farm that might make nice paintings.

Lucille's Hands Continued

Lucille's Hands

A new Painting class session has begun at Reston Community Center and I was able to get some painting done, even though my worries were on the work that still needed to be done for my daughters 2nd birthday party the next morning.