Christmas Time

Christmas Time is such a wonderful time of the year!  For me its a time to be with family and friends and most of all to thank the Lord for all of the gifts in my life.

"Christmas Time"
17 x 22 - original oil painting on canvas








The Christmas tradition of cutting a tree and bringing it inside the home makes for an interesting read.  Here is a link to that history if any of you are interested...

http://www.history.com/topics/history-of-christmas-trees

GRANDMOTHER'S NEWS BLAST!!!

On December 22, a special gift arrived ... our fourth grandchild, Mattie Jayne, was born.  We were all very excited and waiting patiently, well maybe not patiently, but waiting none the less.  The day was finally here and she was well worth waiting for.



Mattie Jayne Wilson
7 lbs. 3 ozs.
20" long


Isn't she beautiful!












Being a mother and a grandmother makes me so happy!  I am so very thankful for the wonderful people in my life... my husband Clay; my children... Jason and Kristen; Matthew and Kayla; Sarah and Mark and the special gifts they have given to me... my grandchildren.

My three special grand baby boys in my life were photographed together at our recent family visit to the beach in August (see previous post).



Clayton, Jackson and Aiden




Such handsome little guys, aren't they precious!












I hope that each of you is able to spend some time with those special people in your life this Christmas.

Merry Christmas Everyone!  

Sunshine

This painting began this weekend when the weather was raining outside.  I don't know why but when the weather is bad I love to paint sunflowers.  Sunflowers seem to make the mood not feel so dreary and call in the sunshine.  The lemons and tangerines are from the trees in my back yard which I combined with the sunflowers to make this still life setup.  The sweet little vase was given to me for Mother's Day by my children and the bowl I made in pottery class about 2 years ago.

I toned the canvas with black and turp then came in with my lighter browns.  I wanted the background to be kind of dark to make the yellows and oranges stand out.

"Sunshine"
22 x 22 - oils on loose canvas















This is painted on loose canvas and can be mounted or stretched for framing.

White Poppy # 2

It's a quiet Sunday morning and the sun is trying to peek through the clouds.  I get a glimpse of it every now and then.  The weather is crazy here.  One day its cold (for South Louisiana - 35 degrees) and the next day its in the 70's.

This is the 2nd rendition of my poppy study.  In this painting I've added painting knife techniques with a concentration on pushing value and keeping the color intense.

White Poppy #2
16 x 18 - oils on canvas













This painting is on loose canvas and can be stretched and/or mounted on panel board.

Roses in the Window

This painting was done from a photograph.  It appeals to me because of the window.  As an artist I often work alone in my studio and I paint in front of the window looking out to the world.  It's a happy place because I am doing what I love, but it is often lonely too.  I am very thankful for my painting time but most of all for the times I spend with my family and friends.  They are the roses in my life and are all very special to me.

Roses in the Window
15 x 18 - oils on canvas mounted on masonite

Flower Fade

In Southern Louisiana, we do not have much of a winter.  This morning its 43 degrees and expected high is 69 degrees.  Just enough for the leaves to fall and the flowers to fade away.

This floral painting was painted on canvas using brush and painting knives.  Concentration in this painting was on palette knife techniques, keeping the mood loose and the color vibrant..

The Fade
15 x 18 - oil on canvas











This painting is on loose canvas and can be stretched and/or mounted on panel board.

Rip Van Winkle Gardens

I love Rip Van Winkle Gardens! Every time I visit I have such a wonderful and relaxing experience.  The grounds are so beautifully maintained and everyone is always so friendly. We had a great time that day painting and visiting.  We had lunch at the little cafe on the grounds looking out onto the lake...beautiful!

The 2 paintings below were done while plein air painting with a friend, (Denise Broussard), during our last excursion to  Rip Van Winkle Gardens in Jefferson Island, Louisiana .  

Garden View
8 x 8 - oils on canvas panel






















Bamboo View
8 x 8 - oil on canvas panel





















 I've painted here before and have blogged about them previously.  These are the links to those other posts: peacock;  friends;  plein-air-painting-in-rip-van-winkle

Palmetto Island State Park Adventure

I was looking around on Facebook last week and spotted this photo from Palmetto Island State Park that was posted showing the fall color there.  After sending it to my friend and plein air painting buddy, Denise Broussard, we decided to paint there this week.  

                       

Sunday afternoon, Denise and her husband brought their motor home to the park and spent the night at the park and I met them there.  We  had a great time painting, visiting and enjoying the beautiful area.  We setup and painted around the pond.  It's such a great place to relax and enjoy nature.

Palmetto Island Pond
9 x 12 - oils on canvas panel















During the week this park is not very busy and the serenity here is wonderful except leaving the park after dark to go home was pretty tricky. It is very dark and the roads are winding and like a maze back in the woods, but I made it home all safe and sound for the night.

Next morning I got a late start from home but headed out to meet Denise at Palmetto Island State Park.   We headed up to this quaint little weir on the grounds that I have painted several times but the water as murky and the vegetation was not as lush as it usually is during the springtime and summer months.  We chose a different spot in the park near the boat launch to the Vermilion River access.

By the Dock
8 x 10 - oils on canvas
$100

Plein Air Painting Downtown Lafayette Update

I previously blogged that while painting with a friend downtown we were photographed by the Advertiser and our picture was in the Friday edition of the Accent in the local paper.  I am finally getting around to posting the painting I did that day.  We were painting a little restaurant on Jefferson Street called Pamplona Tapas Bar & Grill.

Pamplona Tapas Bar & Grill
10 x 14 - oils on canvas panel

Sunflower Study

I've been practicing sunflowers again.  This is painted on un-stretched canvas and may be something I want to paint many of.  I am happy with the value in the leaves.  Sunflowers remind me of sunshine and vitamin c which is what I need right now.

I must have the lowest resistance to colds there is because I have this crud again.  Meanwhile I am cancelling all activities, staying home and drinking plenty of liquids.

Sunflower Study
16 x 16 - oils on canvas















This painting is on loose canvas and can be stretched and/or mounted on panel board.