Day 11 - Good Eatin

Day 11 -Good Eatin

First and foremost,

May everyone remember 9/11 today

as we mark the anniversary of one of the worst days,

in my lifetime, in America.

I pray for the families, the first responders and our nation as a whole as we continue to feel the effects of that day.

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My son was in last week and one day we went to Cincinnati, OH to Findlay Market and to Jungle Jim's, so much more than a grocery store.

Findlay Market has been around for well over 100 years

and it is so charmingly beautiful 

and I knew when I was there I would be painting from the reference photos I took.

 Let's Eat

10" x 10" Acrylic on a Panel

$75 (Only during the challenge) FREE Shipping

 

I remember going to Findlay Market as a child,

and it was impressive then.

I was very young and I still remember looking up at sausages hanging all hooked together in a long rope.

Here are a few process pics.

(I'd do more, but it's taking my computer forever to download).

 Putting buildings in.

 Doors and sides of buildings.

And right in the middle,

this happened.

Broke one of my fav brushes.

 I glued it back together .

 Putting details on doors, awnings, door handles.

 Shadows, signs, getting ready for the star of this show,

the lamp post.

That's right.

I did all that work so I'd have a back drop for a lamp post.

Findlay Market is in the old German section of Cincinnati,

(I know, which section of Cincinnati isn't an old German section)

The buildings are tall and skinny,

quaint,

beautifully painted,

and there are lots of flowers, flower boxes,

even flowers on lamp posts.

Findlay Market has food, glorious food

in all shapes, sizes, colors and smells.

The smells are incredible.

You can buy any kind of:

meat,

bread,

candy,

produce,

cheese,

fish,

ethnic food,

and the spices are incredible. 

We had a wonderful day,

and I'm sure I'll be going back.

Soon.

Till then,

I'll have to be content to paint from the reference photos I took.

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Blogaversary Update

I just notified two people of their winnings

and they both claimed their prizes!

I still have lots of paintings and online painting classes and a full blown art course to give away.

Scroll back up to the top on the right hand side and put your email in the box that says

(wait for it)

"Subscribe To My Blog"

(get it - Blogaversary)

Put your email in the box and then when you receive an email asking you to confirm you actually did sign up,

confirm it.

Then you're in and there's nothing more to do.

If I draw your name out of my virtual hat,

I'll send you an email with 

"NO Joke! YOU WON!"

in the subject line.

Answer me in 24 hours and you get the prize.

  

Spppring!!!

Spring is Uplifting!

Wow!

The spring bulbs are up and beginning to open their beautiful fragrant blooms.

Why do I care?

It is just so wonderful to go outside and see all these beautiful flowers and colors after a long cold winter.

 Yes!  It's spring

Can't you just feel the warmer fresh air?

 Hyacinths!

Does anything smell better than hyacinths?

Not in my world.

What about yours?

I love crocus.

They are like a little surprise package popping out of the ground.

  And I have clumps and clumps of all different types of daffodils in my yard.

And I'm not even talking about the tulips.

Tulips are usually a little later than the daffodils.

Spring is so uplifting!

You just feel a renewal of life and with these beautiful flowers, I am sure I will be painting many of these flowers.

Just when you think winter will never end,

Up comes these beautiful flowers. 

It's a an affirmation that things will get better,

warmer, sunnier, and beautiful.

So on this Motivation Monday,

I hope you look at what motivates you,

what inspires you,

and what makes your spirit sing.

And then, remember it,

when things get tough,

sad,

hard,

and terrifying.

Remember that thing that makes you feel light

and happy and alive.

Let it carry you through the hard times.

Have a great day!

If you're interested in learning how to paint with acrylics, please take a look at my beginning online painting course.  

Click HERE to check out the course. 

 

  

 

30 in 30 Challenge Wrap Up.

Looking Back on the Last 30 Days

I really can't believe it's over.

I made it through another 30 paintings in 30 days challenge.

This is the third one and before it began I was sure there was no way I could do it.

And yet, I did.

Need some proof.

They're not all on here.

The template I use for these does not have one with 30 spaces.  

But it has been great

and I learned more this time than the other two challenges I participated in.

I learned to draw or sketch out my painting first.

I changed the composition of several paintings once they were on paper and I could see some of the problems.

I learned a lot about brush strokes in oil,

I learned a lot about shadows in acrylic,

I learned to let go and have some fun.

I can almost look at every painting and point out something I learned.

I even have some I want to explore further and others I want to go large with.

This month has been stressful with the marriage of my daughter,

5 family birthdays, and the final days and death of my sister in law, Ann.

But painting every day actually kept me focused and on track to not waste my time.

Thank you all so much for following me on this journey, for commenting about my art and encouraging me to keep going.  Every single comment lifts me and makes me want to keep working.      

Day 17 Market Day

Day 17 Market Day

Market Day 20" x 16" 

unframed acrylic on a stretched canvas

$200 + $20 shipping.
 

 We have two market days in Carrollton, KY.,

Wednesday in the afternoon and Saturday morning.

We also have a huge variety of products at our market.

But these two were spectacular this past fall.

Beautiful hardy mums and every kind of fall decorative imaginable.

Great job Monica and Mandy.

 

Day 16 Beauty on Display

Day 16 Beauty on Display

We're on the down hill slope in the 30 in 30 challenge.

6" x 6" unframed acrylic on a panel
$50 + $6 shipping. 

My husband and I have been farmers marketers for years.  We have raised everything you can grow, including four kids, in Kentucky accept for tobacco.  We've raised vegetables, fruits, berries, herbs, flowers, and even peanuts.  We've had green houses, gardens, and even built our own market on our farm in another part of Kentucky.  We belong to our local RiverView Farmer's Market here in Carroll County, KY. and have for years.

This is not our booth.  This belongs to another fellow farmer, Mandy, and she had the most gorgeous booth this past fall.  She brought in corn shocks, hay bales, all these pumpkins, squash and other kinds of fall decorations.  Mandy does all this work with two small boys who come and "help" her at the market.  They are old enough now they really do help, but she's been bringing them since they were in diapers.  Give a shout out to Houston and Patrick.  If you know them, leave a comment.

Hopefully where ever you live you regularly visit local farmers markets in your area.  Your food will be fresher, last longer, much longer, and have delicious taste you cannot get in a grocery store.  Besides, it is beautiful.

Growing - Painting - Eating

Another Thing I've Never Painted

I've been trying to get out of my artist malaise

by trying new things and incorporating them in my art.

I've never really painted still life before.

I've painted vases of flowers, but to me if it doesn't have several different types of items in it

it's not really still life.

We grow a lot of produce my husband sells at the farmer's market in Carrollton

so I have access to a variety of fruits and vegetables.

I tried some peppers a few weeks ago and they were horrible.

We have an abundance of them, so I thought I'd give it another go,

but first I thought I'd draw them first.

Drawing is one of the things I'm trying to improve on,

so I laid them out on the table in what I thought was an interesting arrangement

and then I drew them and then I painted them.

  I drew the peppers and added some broken lines for the shadows and tried to get some highlights

on the peppers and then some shading and highlights on the stems.

Then I painted them trying to get the colors and the shadows to look like the real ones

and the drawing.

I was pretty happy with the result.

Then, I was able to use the peppers in my salsa.

Leave me a comment about what you think and how I could have improved it.

I always struggle with the background color.

 How do you select a background color?

Do you use a complementary color or what?

I always tone my boards with a mix of burnt sienna and white

and then I used ultramarine blue and white for the background.

I don't mix it very well so it has a streaked look 

and I paint it on the bias.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Art, Jelly and Nascar

Carrollton Welcomes Race Fans

The Quaker State 400 comes to Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, KY. and it's just up the road from us.

The Chamber of Commerce puts on Race Fest with

entertainment, food, vendors and of course race cars around the Court House.

We belong to RiverView Farmer's Market and we always set up on the Court House on Wednesdays. 

We set up our produce, which in this heat isn't much,

our jellies, herbal vinegars and soaps,

and what else, but my art.

My husband's wonderfully sweet and clear jellies cause he's so sweet,

and my herbal vinegars, cause I'm a little spicier.

We also make soap and lotion bars, which I love.

Here are some of my crafts and my art.

There were lots of activities, an idol competition, corn hole, classic cars and race cars.

Nice night in Carrollton, KY.

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