Just brushes this time

It was another full class for the Friday Night Painting Party! 

I think they were relieved that we weren't using palette knives again.

It was getting serious when it was time to paint the sunlight on the road.

Ta-Da!

What a fabulous job. 

For the August Painting Party on the 24th, we're doing another landscape but this one will include flowers. My mother took a photo at Calloway Gardens in GA and she let me use it for reference. The lush hot pink azaleas with the sun just hitting the tops of the bushes really appealed to me. I painted a 12x12 acrylic of the scene and have gotten many compliments on it from students so I thought they would enjoy painting their version of it.

Hope you're doing something creative and staying cool.

Peace,

Carlynne

February in Florida

No writing in this post, just a lot of photos that I took in my yard today. Camelia blooming time ~ my favorite time of year.

Peace,

Carlynne

A new series, a new venture

Wow, where have I been? Hard to believe it's been since the 8th that I've posted. Where did May go? I've either had my nose buried in a book or I've been at the easel. These are good things!


In the last post I mentioned the new series I'm working on about adoption. The above piece is the beginning of that series. The canvas is 3' x 4' and I'm using acrylic, collage and gold leaf. Since I took this photo I added the gold leaf to the web pattern. There's still much to do. There's some issues to work out on the flowers but for now I'm going to continue layering on the background - right now there's bible pages attached but I may add some other elements too. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Mosaic 10

24x24

Now this one in the Mosaic series is one of 4 pieces that is being included in Bentley Publishing Group's summer line. They will be on the Designer Services website around mid July. They will be available as giclees on paper or canvas. This is a new venture for me so it's very exciting! Of course now, it means patience. It's time to just focus on new work.

And it's time to turn up the music to drown out the sound of my neighbors and their lawn mowers and blowers. Why can't they just let their yards be wild and free like mine.

Have a great weekend,

Carlynne

Mindfulness

Hi All,

Recently I realized that whenever I am doing something, I am not really there. You know, I'll be washing my hair and thinking about what I need to take with me to class, (is my hair washed and rinsed or did I just wet it?) Eating breakfast I am thinking about the new student we will have and what she might be wanting to do today, (where is my egg? did I already eat all that? I've only been sitting here for 5 minutes. Sorry I missed it. Maybe I should have another one.) In bed at night I am thinking about whether I will get my taxes done on time this year, (I wonder if I remembered to list that receipt, I wonder where I put it. No wonder I am so tired during the day.)

So, I have recently been trying to bring myself back to the present moment and be mindful of what I am doing in any given moment. Now that spring is here, I am noticing the flowers as I drive around town. (I know what you are thinking, shouldn't she be mindful of DRIVING while she's driving?) But these are right at my front door, so no humans were injured in the writing of this post.

Enjoy and don't forget to stop and smell the azaleas. (I am really glad spell check has azaleas because I didn't feel like looking it up and yet I know that I could possibly be an example to a young person out there and should not spell it wrong.) And if you have time, join us in downtown Ocala, FL on the square for First Friday Art Walk.

Peace and love,

Kelli

It was a pleasure - kind of

Well, this morning was my last radiation treatment. What a great feeling to now have that in the past. In a previous post I showed you these beautiful bird of paradise from the lobby of North Florida Radiation Oncology so I thought I'd put up a couple more. I'm bringing up the cancer center again because I want to share with you just how wonderful these people are. I can't remember ever being in a medical facility that made me feel so cared for. I want to say a very special thank you to Laurel who took good care of me and kept me company while waiting for treatment. Laughing is always a good thing. Dr. Hayes and Jen Stover, her PA were absolutely outstanding! I just can't say enough good things about them. It's so difficult to go through this kind of diagnosis, surgery and treatment so it means the world to a patient when the doctors and staff can make you feel so calm and comfortable. To go from terrified on the first day to hanging out at the Bella Cafe in the lobby (great coffee by the way, roasted on site) says a lot about a facility. If you or a loved one has to go to NFRO you'll be in good hands.

Tomorrow I'll talk about art stuff,

peace,

Carlynne

Artist Within Part 8

We're almost done!!!! Julie and I are really pleased with how the painting is coming along. This week we added some more flowers, reflections and did some adjusting in the greens. I think next week will be the final session - we'll look at it again and do the last of the tweaking and touch ups. This calls for a bottle of wine to celebrate! Now we need to come up with a title for the piece, any ideas out there? This is a scene from a photo I took of Paynes Prairie but I don't want to just call it that. If you have any thoughts please leave a comment. Julie, you have final say on the title.

This piece along with the other Artist Within pieces will be on display at Brick City Center for the Arts in December. When I have more info such as reception date I'll post it.

Til then, keep creating and be happy.

Carlynne