Some New Paintings To Round Out 2019

And what a year it's been. So very happy to see the back of it. My mood has been improving the closer we get to 2020. Not that 2020 will be particularly kind to me...but it will be fair. This is the year of a Very Big Birthday. I'll leave it to you to guess which one. As young as you feel, yes? Well, I felt around 90 for most of 2019. Today I'm back to being my forever-and-ever 38, which is a nice age - youthful enough to still enjoy everything. Wise enough not to try.

These paintings were just little asides. I wanted to paint a floral picture, but I wanted to do a vintage-style folk picture, and I really wanted to do a wild seascape. So I painted them more or less at the same time. I mentioned them to you in my last blog. Don't try this at home unless you're a very patient person.

"Early Bird"

"The Shepherdess"

"Can You See Me?"

I intend to lie low for the next 7 days. No visitors to speak of, just family. And the heat has let up, which is wonderful. Enjoy your holidays. See you in the New Year.

"Olden Days" -- 19th Century Australian Figurative Landscape Painting.

I had a lot of fun painting this. There is something therapeutic about the detail I incorporate. The work took ages to do, of course, and would have been finished much quicker if I hadn't constantly gone back to it and added a bit of this and one of those. The last thing I painted, before I finally forced myself to say "enough!", was the pigeon on the roof.

The whole time I was painting, I was working out little stories for the people I created. I suppose it's another form of writing, even if it remains only as images.

Thing is, I did say I would spend part of the week writing, and part painting, but that's not how it worked out. I don't seem to have much control in this area, although I did try.

I have another painting in the preparation stage, and I will try to get back to the  novel, really I will. It's just so much fun watching my pictures emerge on the canvas.

And writing, particularly in the revision stage, can be downright frustrating.


In closing -- nothing to do with art or literature -- a very mischievous cockatoo cruelly destroyed a plant I was nurturing in a pot in my garden. My "Silvery Moon" Convulvulus had survived our drought and the cold winter, and promised to bloom soon. It is, after all, nearly spring here. But when I took my coffee outside just now, I saw the remains of the plant scattered around the pot. All that's left in the soil is a stump.

I've put most of the stems in water and the twiggier bits in a small pot of soil -- perhaps they will root. As this sort of thing has happened before, I'm not too shocked, but it is a shame that for the first time in ages we are about to have a good solid rain spell. The convulvulus would have loved that.

Oh, if any of you can recommend a plant that these naughty birds would never touch, please let me know. I was thinking of chilli peppers. Probably too harsh. I used to enjoy cockies in my garden but I think they've outstayed their welcome.

Until next time.

Cindy Zoglmann at Daily Paintworks.

I used to post my favorite art at this blog all the time. I became so busy I just couldn't keep it up, but I am making a determined effort to start doing it again. We all need promotion. We all need to know that people are seeing our work. And please remember that your comments are so precious to us. It means we are not invisible.

Today I want to introduce you to Cindy Zoglmann -- gallery name, Zoggie -- who paints wonderfully zany and colorful pictures with a great emphasis on cats. As a cat lady, I adore her sweet felines.

Cindy paints other things, naturally. But I have this thing for cats. Check Cindy's gallery out at Daily Paintworks. It will put a smile on your face.

My Folk Art...Apology and a Reminder

Although I've prepared a few canvases for some new paintings, I have yet to actually start something. I do appreciate how patient some of you are when I see that you've visited, imagining that you probably shrugged yet again at my inactivity. I'm sorry I've been so distracted lately, but I promise there will be new work soon.

The next time I post, I should have some new images on the page!

Still Painting. When Will I Return to My Writing?

These are the paintings I've completed through June. I'm not prolific, but when I start, I can't stop. The varying subjects are an indication of where my thought processes are these days...unpredictable and inexplicable, but always spontaneous. I think Pinterest has a lot to do with it...

Click on the images to enlarge them.

"The Village House"

16 x 20

"Star Bright"

15 x 11

"Trifid"

16 x 20

(My first abstract ever. Will do more.)

"Buttercups"

15 x 11

"Sundown"

17 x 14

I've started a small oil painting. This is the first time in decades that I've messed with oils, and, believe me, I do get into a mess with oils. But I'm persevering. I admire the apparent freedom most oil artists seem to have, and would love to experience that. The image I've produced at present looks as controlled and contained as anything I do in acrylic...more so, in fact, because I'm trying so hard not to get messy! I guess my other complaint is that I have no patience with waiting for paint to dry, and I will not use turpentine to speed the process. Of course, I'll blog the result when and if I ever get the thing finished - and dried.

Until next time.

More Than a Little Craziness in Most Artists

Most artists are a bit strange. I mean, why are we compelled to create when there is just a slim chance of selling our work, and almost no chance of being paid for the hours we spend on each project? This applies to painting, and to writing...and acting, dancing, singing, stand-up, and all the other wonderful things that the creative world offers.

So this week's production is definitely a bit odd. Gran rushed into my head for a few days, and then I needed my favorite view of the sea. When Gran comes a-calling, you know I'm in the nuts zone.

Hope you like them.



"Shabby Shutters III"
Acrylic on 10 x 8 Stretched Canvas

(Yes, it's the third one I've done of this approximate image. I just love shutters.)

"Gran's Dude Ranch"
Acrylic on 10 x 8 Flat Panel



"Gran on a Wire"
Acrylic on 8 x 10 Flat Panel



"Gran and the Van"
Acrylic on 10 x 8 Stretched Canvas

As my beloved Seal once sang, "And we're never gonna' survive...unless...we get a little Crazy
Open the  link. It says it all.


Alan Moore Folk Art at Etsy

Well, here we are again, at the start of a brand New Year and Decade. Time to dust off earlier resolves and approach everything we do with enthusiastic optimism.

Alan Moore is an optimist. I know this just by looking at his art. Bright, joyfully colored, his paintings on recycled materials are cheerful and innocent. Who else would think of multi-hued alligators as subject matter?

Alan makes these comments at his shop:

"99% of what I create on is from recycled and salvaged stuff. Reused salvaged fence art from my older collections. I didn't sell the some of my fence art pieces so I chopped them up and reused them. Original art on sheet metal from the ole farm on Serenity Lane. I finish all my art with a fairly shiny coat of polycrylic stuff so it’s brighter-also for protection and durability.

Call it earth friendly if you want. Some of the paint I use is recycled too. I sign all the work on the back because I think names on the front of art are sometimes obnoxious. I choose to let my art tell who created it, not my signature. Also my handwriting is horrible."

Take a look at Alan Moore's shop at Etsy. Read his profile and his descriptions of the images.  He sounds like a thoughtful and interesting guy.

Oh, and Alan - have a happy birthday on Sunday! My timing with this feature was excellent, I think.

Happy, happy New Year, everyone! Don't make too many demands on yourself. Take it easy. Slip into this new decade with realistic goals, and just chip away at them, like a sculptor at a new block of stone that hides wonder within. Who knows what might emerge?