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.

Finishing details and new starts

"Lucille" is down to details so changes come in increments and are sometimes hard to notice. Still some work on the glasses and eyes needed. Also touch ups on the afghan.

I decided to restart a painting that was giving me troubles. The first attempt was done on Masonite panel and the slick texture was very difficult when trying to blend. The canvas is so much better suited to my technique.

"Special Touch" does not yet have paint but I love this composition and the tenderness between mom and nursing babe.

Lucille

It can be so hard to get back to painting when the brushes gut put aside and the paints dry up. After a vacation to Florida, which afforded an opportunity for more beach pictures, it took me a while to get back into painting. There are a lot of things that seem to eat up my time if I don't make painting a top priority. 

I seem to always have something else that needs to be done. Unpacking, endless cleaning (how can kids manage to spill milk on the floor 3 times on the day I have moped the floor very thoroughly), remodeling a bathroom, laundry, books to read to kids, homeschooling nursing. Seriously how do I ever find time to paint? This evening I just left the mess where it was and got to work on the painting.

Grandma and Cherry Pie

 Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? the verdict is in... YES I can. Crust was the standard crust my mom always makes from Joy of Cooking and the filling was half fresh cherries and half canned. Would have been even better if I had enough of the fresh ones.

Continued progress on Grandma Lucille. She is looking a little sad here but should brighten up when her eyes have a little more twinkle.  A long ways to go and lots of challenging wrinkles.

Busy Summer

I have already had a very busy summer and there is more to come. We went to Indianapolis for the Indy 500 and went to my Parents 50th Wedding Anniversary Party.

Along with travels, we are remodeling a bathroom ourselves and rearranging rooms. With all of these activities it has been hard to find time to sit down and blog. I will fill you in with the hope that each of these pictures really is worth a thousand words because right now I am too tired to think of any more.

 

 

 At my parents farm I took some time to work on this painting of my son.

 I was using my mom's easel  so I had to cover it with plastic so that it would not get paint on it. I think it would be happier with a little paint coverage.  My mother is a wonderful painter but never works on it. The easel only gets used to hold a mirror so that she can cut her own hair.

 

Beginning of a new painting of my 98 yr old grandmother, just a first rough in of shadows.

Baby Shower Gifts

For My friends baby shower I made two gifts inspired by various pins on pinterest. One was a faux chenille blanket, and the other was an altered onesie.

 

 The blanket started with one layer of cotton quilt fabric and three layers of flannel. I pinned them together as I ironed them to keep them from shifting during quilting.

 Sewing diagonal lines approximately 1/2 inch apart (this took a lot longer than I thought it would)

 I cut through the three layers of flannel without cutting the top layer.

 I squared up the quilt and then added a satin blanket binding.

After the blanket was washed the edges of the flannel fray in this cool wavy pattern.

 I just added three layers of jersey cotton to this onesie to make it a sweet little dress. No one else will have this outfit.

 Blanket and Dress

And my Goose was happy to model for the picture shoot.

Baby Shower

 The last week has been very busy with projects, all of which I could not post to the blog. I was getting ready for my friend's surprise baby shower. She has two boys and is now having a girl and I wanted to use the opportunity to have a surprise party. I think there is nothing better than a surprise party. To not be expecting anything and then have something delightful happen. What fun.

I made the cake and had so much fun with the gum paste decorations.
The cake was a lemon box cake with milk substituted for water, butter for oil, and an extra egg. I also added the zest from one lemon. Between the 4 layers of cake I added a filling of seedless Raspberry preserves. The bottom of the cake had a trim of fresh raspberries.

 Thumbelina
 

My messy work area

 Flowers drying

 Finished Cake

 With cake work I did not manage to get my gifts completely finished. I will show pictures of the baby gifts once they are complete.

And I just had to share the joy of a good piece of watermelon.