"For No Reason, They Began to Dance" Small Naive Folk Painting

An odd shaped canvas 10.5 inches by 6.5. And I came up with this image.

I don't know where they came from, but the dancers make me smile. 

She probably has something cooking on the stove, too.

But it doesn't matter. Dancing comes first...

It Seems I've Got the Painting Bug Again

Once the urge hits, you can't stop it. I'm really painting again. Here are two of my latest, and there will be more. It's a funny old thing, the creativity virus.

16 x 20 inches

13.5 x 17 inches

(Squeakie is going to be so pleased with me.) 

Talk soon.

"Escape" Vintage Hot Air Balloon in the Night Sky Painting

So pleased to have another commission finished, that I quite forgot that I have a new painting in addition to the custom picture.

I haven't featured any wild skies for a long time, and had the urge. And night skies are wonderful. I'll probably do some more.

Until next time...

"Betsy's Quilt Sale" Latest Painting

This was a commission from Kentucky, completed yesterday. The nice thing about custom orders is that for a little while I get to "travel" to the client's world, via their special requests, and through my own research into their neighborhood.

I've become quite familiar with many towns in many states through commissions. Not that you'll see it all in a painting, but I need the "feel" of the place, local sports teams, restaurants, streets. It's fun for me, and apparently the client just loves it. Hope it's not too long before I get another order because I really enjoy doing them. So nice when the client says "Perfect!"

Below are two others with the same theme. 

Well, the same, but different...

"Pretty Boy" Colonial Rooster Portrait - First Painting in Eight Months!

So I goof off for over eight months, pretending to work on this novel I am publishing. The book is long finished, so it's the print formatting that takes up my time. I wondered if I would ever feel like painting again, and certainly the tubes of paint are looking a bit dessicated. Out of the blue, I had this urgent need to paint a rooster.

What on earth is that about?

Anyway, here he is, as he presented himself to me. It's a biggish canvas at 16 inches by 20. I usually work on something a bit smaller but he wanted it that way. Arrogance.

He's a handsome fellow. I think he would look lovely in a rustic kitchen. (Unfortunately, I have the other kind - the kind most people seem to want, but which I find clinical.)

So I guess I'm back painting. We'll have to wait and see.

Year End 2014 and a Salute to Some Favorite Artists

It's been six months since I last posted. I've painted nothing in that time - my mind has been focused on the next novel I'm publishing in 2015. But that doesn't mean I haven't been following art. The wealth of talent on Etsy, just one venue, is staggering.

So to close out the year, I'm featuring my favorite artists for the past twelve months. They are available for sale, of course, either originals or in print versions. I hope you enjoy them. (Click on the titles to link to each piece at Etsy)

"Queen Anne's Lace"

"Natalie"

"Miss Moon Was a Dog Governess..."

"Miss Mink Breakfasts in Bed"

"Floral Bluff"

by Michelle Morin

"Washington Square Park, NY"

by Susan Sumner
(Sorry, guys, I bought this one...)

"Ladies Night Out"

by Susan Sumner

"Fashionably Wrapped Up"

by Anne Meyers, KindredAnnes

"Milky Way"

by Angie Vandenbogaard

Monoprint "No.3"

by Angie Vandenbogaard

"Apartment for Rent"

by Wade Lincoln

"The Waverly Diner"

by Wade Lincoln

"Toward Tomorrow"

by Wade Lincoln

"Snowy Lunch Break"

by Mike Jones



"Osco Drug Store"
by Mike Jones



Textile Art
by Sue Forey



"Hare and Moon" 
Fiber Art by Sue Forey



"Cat Square Road"
by Arie Reinhardt Taylor



"Amish Country"
by Arie Reinhardt Taylor



"Seahorse and Ladies..."
by Judy Porter



"Nautical Fantasy Lady..."
by Judy Porter



"Day at the Dog Park"
by Erin Wagner



"Oaks Park"
by Erin Wagner



"Peg Mermaid"
by Juliette at Darling Romeo



"Nancy Mermaid"
by Juliette at Darling Romeo




"The Good Life"
by Juliette at Darling Romeo

I thought Juliette's froggie here makes a nice statement to end the year. 

Happy New Year, everyone. I'll try to post more often in 2015!

"The Farmers' Market" First painting in months...

I've been so absorbed in other things.  Even obsessed writers and painters have to involve themselves in the day-to-day stuff occasionally. (There's been rather a lot of that lately.)  So the country painting below would not have been painted unless it had been commissioned, putting me back into my painting chair. I was a bit grumpy at first...four months since I'd last sat there...but then I realized how much I'd missed it.

I had no trouble imagining this season, because it's winter here, and an Australian winter looks and feels surprisingly like a Canadian fall.

So why is the guy in the Hawaiian shirt if it's fall? Call it artistic licence.

Until next time...

Catch-Up - Recent Paintings

I've been so involved in publishing a couple of my novels, that I've shamefully neglected my art blog.

I apologize. I am still around, but a little obsessed with the writing part of my life. But I have found time for the occasional painting, especially when it's a custom order. Never turn those down.

To catch up, here are some recent paintings -- not all of them, because some were similar images -- commissions -- but the first two are new antique store paintings for sale, because I enjoy painting them so much.

If you click on each image, it will enlarge the picture.

Until next time. No orders at present, and deep into yet another book publishing project, so I'm not sure when the next painting will be.

I do appreciate your support. You hang in there with me, regardless of my absence from time to time.

My thanks to all of you.