On the Farm

I'm late in posting this painting but I wanted to share a plein air painting I did a couple of months ago. I've been very busy these last few months but I'm grateful I found a little time to sneak away and get some plein air painting done.

"Farm Tractor"

11 x 14 - oil on canvas

$160.00 (unframed)

I headed out one Sunday to The Guidry's farm searching for subject matter to paint, with Lucy in tow. They were cutting rice on the farm at the time, so there was a tractor up in the front of the property...perfect.  It was a little windy that day so I setup under a tree for shade and positioned my car to block the wind.

Lucy loved the fresh air and getting out to enjoy nature. While we were there she spotted a huge egret (which was bigger than she was) and had lots of fun running after it.  I'm so sorry I didn't get a photo of her doing that but I guess I was having too much fun watching her.

This painting may be purchased from my website www.mariarandolph.com

View of the Pond

This painting is a view from the pond area in River Ranch, Lafayette, Louisiana and is also painted from Google Maps Street View.  I love being able to position myself in the spot I choose.  I can then look at the panoramic view and get a feel of the area...all from the convenience of my studio.

For this painting I toned my canvas, drew in the major shapes, then applied a very thin coat of local color with a palette knife.  I then added darks and lights, adding details as the painting progressed.

"View From The Pond"

24 x 24 - oils on gallery wrapped canvas

$385.00

This painting can be purchased from my website. (www.mariarandolph.com)

Collage pics

There are several sites you can go to that will let you create a collage of your art and/or photos you choose. When I create my newsletter from my website, the amount of photos are limited because of mailing size, so this allows me to display my art better.  For these collages I used pic monkey.  Pretty colorful when they are all combined together I think!

Entries for 6 x 6 Fundraiser

Every year the Lafayette Art Association and Gallery has a fundraiser that is a lot of fun.  They ask area artists to paint something on a 6 x 6 gallery wrapped canvas.  Those completed canvases are placed on display until the night of the fundraiser.  Tickets go on sale the month of September until the night of the fundraiser.  The tickets are $45 each and for each ticket purchased you can take home a piece of artwork.  To purchase a ticket for this event, contact the Lafayette Art Gallery (337) 269-0363.

Each ticket has a number printed on it.  During the night, random ticket numbers are called.  When the number on your ticket is called, you can pick your painting.  So you look at the paintings and make a mental note of which ones you would like to have and hope someone else doesn't pick your favorite.  There is also a silent auction going on of 12 - 12 x 12 paintings.  It is a fun night!

Below are the paintings I have donated:

"Volkswagen Bus" 

"Volkswagen Beetle"

"Blue Cadillac"

"Model T"

"Old Red"

Below is a collage of all of the little paintings.  I think they are so colorful...makes me happy!

To see more of my art go to my website:  www.mariarandolph.com

A Grasshopper's Journey

I have an art exhibit currently hanging at Versailles Center, 102 Versailles Blvd., Lafayette, LA until September 15, 2014.

Two very nice ladies who work in the building, Jane and Teri, sent me pictures they took of a little admirer of my art, I thought I would share.  Evidently, a little grasshopper got into the building and found this painting.  I think maybe he wanted to live there.

Can you find him?

Thanks Jane and Teri for sharing your photos!

Cheers!
Maria

City Club in River Ranch

This painting is of the City Club in River Ranch, Lafayette, Louisiana.  This was painted much the same as indicated in my prior blog post....from Google Maps.

The City Club is the center hub area of River Ranch.  The building in centered around Degaulle Square where many activities take place.

"The City Club at River Ranch"

24 x 24 - oils on gallery wrapped canvas

All completed paintings will be posted for sale on my website www.mariarandolph.com.

I've already started my 3rd painting of this area...more posts will follow.
Thanks for reading my blog!

Village Cafe

I am working on a few studio paintings in the River Ranch area of Lafayette, Louisiana.  The Village Cafe is the first one completed, which is also the place I have a few of my paintings on display.  I needed to go by there to take a few reference photos to paint from but time allocation was my dilemma. So, as a solution I decided to try a different approach.

I downloaded an app on my ipad called "Mobi Maps" which is the same as Google Maps for tablets. It has the street view option just like the regular version of Google Maps.  Some of the advantages I found painting from Google Maps was that I can move around until I get a view I like.  I was able to pan 360 degrees, zoom in and out and change my vantage point a little.  It almost feels like you are standing right there.  It is obviously much better to paint from life but I think this is a great alternative.

"The Village Cafe"

24 x 24 - oils on gallery wrapped canvas

The following photos are my painting progression photos:

1.  This photo was taken in a very early stage of the painting.

2.  This next photo shows the painting progress a little further on.  Even though the table by the front door is in the right place according my perspective view, I didn't like the way it hid the front door so I just removed it.

3.  This photo shows my progress with the table edited out.  Since my vantage point didn't show the front door, I went to the Village Cafe to take a couple of photos.  I made front door changes, added the little tree in the front and final tweaks to get to my finished painting (see above).

Note:

I have more of these I am working on and will be posting soon.  

This painting is for sale and can be purchased from my website www.mariarandolph.com

Happy Painting!

The Shane Joseph - Lafitte Skiff

Here is another shrimp boat skiff from Lake Arthur Louisiana, The Shane Joseph.  The net system on these smaller boats are very different from larger boats.  The skiffs have an L-shaped net system and the larger offshore boats have 2 straight boom net systems, both drop down for fishing.

I've been trying to paint chunks of the boats on square 12 x 12 canvas.  I think it adds more character/interest to the painting. I have painted about 8 of these and I think it helps me to repetitively paint the same subject matter.  I like the way they look hanging together as a group.

"The Shane Joseph Lafitte Skiff"

12 x 12 - oils on gallery wrapped canvas

Artist Note:
I've been trying to make the nets look see through.  My process has been to paint what is behind the net a little darker than I would normally paint it.  I've used thalo blue, veridian, alizarin and raw umber mixes to achieve the color of the nets then lightened with white.  I brush the paint over the background using very very light strokes with the side of my brush to try to resemble the light see through nets.  The loaded brush barely touches the canvas.

Happy Painting!

Lucy Anna

I don't paint a lot of animal portraits, but in saying that I have completed a few including some pet commission work.

This is my sweet baby, Lucy Anna Randolph.  Lucy turned 1 year old in February and has been a total joy in my life.  She is a beautiful miniature schnauzer we bought from Cajunland's Miniature Schnauzers and is so sweet and so smart, its scary.  Lucy doesn't know she is not human and I'm not telling her.

She loves to go painting with me and gets so excited, she can hardly wait to get in the car.  Anyone who has followed my blog knows what kind of attention she gets when we are out and about.

Can you guess why?

Lucy Anna

10 x 10 oils on gallery wrapped canvas

The Shrimp Boat Cabin

This was a portion of a Shrimp Boat I painted from a boat docked in Lake Arthur, Louisiana. Lake Arthur is a beautiful area, especially around the lake.The shrimp boats docked in this canal were mostly bay boats/skiffs used in more shallow waters.  These are much smaller than the huge boats I've painted from Intracoastal City, Louisiana.

As I walked by this boat the light striking the boat and the way the willow hung down blocking my view just a little really caught my eye.  With the air condition running and the curtains drawn I imagined a weary fisherman inside taking a nap after a busy morning.

Shrimp Boat Cabin

12 x 12 - oils on gallery wrapped canvas

Until next time...

Volkswagen Beetle Parked in the Flowers

This old Volkswagen Beetle is the same car I painted the rear of earlier.  It was actually sitting on a trailer when I took the picture.  When I passed by the yard a couple of days ago it was gone.  I wonder where to...

The trailer was not very attractive so I edited it out and opted to put the car in a field of yellow flowers instead.  I choose to imagine she is resting in a field of flowers.

"Volkswagen Beetle in a Field of Yellow"

8 x 8 oils on gallery wrapped canvas

I've been painting indoors in my studio lately and my heart is longing to paint outdoors.  I love to be in nature...to be outdoors painting but the temperatures have been in the lower 90's and with our high humidity, it feels even hotter than it is.  Guess it will be a long hot humid summer in South Louisiana.

I added pinks in the sky to help break up the blue and add contrast since the car was blue and I like it much better than a blue sky.  I used a mix with prussian blue for the car color.

Happy Painting!

Lunch in the French Quarter

This little cafe was painted from a photo I took in New Orleans during one of my trips there.  I live about 2 hours away so its a great day trip for me.  These people were having lunch at a cafe somewhere in the French Quarter.  I was stopped in traffic when I spotted these people and just took the shot from the vehicle.

"Lunch in the French Quarter"

11 x 14 - oils on canvas

This and other paintings you see on this blog may be purchased on my website.

www.mariarandolph.com

Until next time...

Versailles Exhibit

My solo exhibit went up today at the Versailles Center, 102 Versailles Blvd., Lafayette, LA (corner of Versailles Blvd. and St. John Street).  This building is a satellite exhibit area for the Lafayette Art Association of which I am a member. You can view the exhibit during normal workday business hours.

There are 57 framed original oil paintings in the exhibit, all for sale.  It will be up until the end of September. Included in this body of work are plein air and studio pieces of landscapes, florals and boats.

Here is the very nice security guard who works here.

Versailles Center (Exhibit on first floor)

If you have a chance to stop by and check it out, send me a message and let me know what you think.  I would love to hear from you.

The Andy Vo Shrimp Boat

The mighty Andy Vo shrimp boat hangs out in Intracoastal City, Louisiana.  I often see it when I am out plein air painting in this location.  This  boat belongs to the owner of the property where most of the shrimp boats are docked.  There is a shrimp processing plant in the background that these shrimp boats bring their offshore catch to.  This painting was painted from a photo I took one day while painting there.

"The Andy Vo Shrimp Boat"

12 x 12 oils on gallery wrapped canvas

Exciting Website News!

I've moved my website over to a new host which has better opportunities for me as an artist!  I've integrated my domain name with the site so my website address still remains the same and you can continue to find me on my same website, www.mariarandolph.com.  I'm in the process of uploading my images to my website and there are quite a few so it may take me some time, please bare with me.  There are a lot of exciting things that will be happening so you will want to check back often!  Here is a sneak peek of what you will find when you click my website link:

www.mariarandolph.com

AND

I will be sending out a newsletter with information on what is happening in my creative world, so be sure to sign up when you visit my website to not miss a thing.  All you have to do to sign up is enter your email address in the "Join My Email List"  and click submit.  This "Join My Email List" is located on every page of my website at the bottom right hand corner of the page and looks like the picture below.  This list will never be shared with anyone else and you can unsubscribe at any time.

I have also decided to keep my Google Blogger  and there is a link/tab on the navigation bar of my website that says Google Blogger.  I felt it was still something I want to hold on to, so please continue to follow it either from my website or directly on blogger, www.maria-randolph.blogspot.com as this is where I will continue to journal about my day to day painting.  My new service also has a blog that I will be writing to in the future.

I've also linked my website to my other social media accounts and you will see the icons below on the top of every page.  Those are my Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ account profiles. You can also follow me there too!

I look forward to connect with each and every one of you!
Happy Painting!

Volkswagen Bus

This Volkswagen Bus is another painting in my "Eclectic Vehicle Series".  This was another picture taken in the "old junky place"...LOL

The Volkswagen bus or Volkswagen Type 2 had many nicknames along the way "minibus, microbus and hippie van" to name a few.  It originated in the 1949.  I would love to have one of these!

"Vintage Volkswagen Bus"

6 x 6 - oils on canvas panel

Happy Painting!

Volkswagen Beetle

How many of you remember the look of the vintage Volkswagen Beetle car or "Herbie the Love Bug" movie?  This year the Volkswagen Beetle celebrates 65 years since it first arrived in the United States. It was designed in the 1930's and is the longest-running and most-manufactured car of a single design platform, worldwide.

About a 10 minute drive from my house is a Volkswagen repair shop with several vintage cars stored out front.  I've been meaning to stop in and take a few pictures of some of the vehicles. My grandson, Clayton was with me the day I stopped in to snap a few shots.  After I took the pictures and while on our way back home he asked "Nana, why were we taking pictures in that old junky place?"  Guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder...lol.

Here are a couple of paintings I did on the Volkswagen Beetle...

"The Beetle-1"

6 x 6 - oils on canvas panel

"The Beetle-2"

6 x 6 - oils on gallery wrapped canvas

Stay tuned -- more "junky cars" to follow...

Happy Painting!

Watching Lake Arthur Activity

While visiting Lake Arthur, we turned down a street called Pleasant Street and a very pleasant street it was.  The houses were across the street from the lake and most of them had some sort of structure like this one where you walk across the street and out onto a wharf/boat house.  This little round structure really caught my eye because of the colorful bricks in the front, the large cypress tree and the wharf that led into this sweet building full of windows.  I could just picture its owners gathering there at dusk to take in the beautiful sunsets on the lake.

"Watching Lake Arthur Activity"

11 x 14 - oils on canvas 

Lake Arthur Tidbit:
The Lake Arthur community is nestled on the shore of the largest body of water in south Louisiana. The lake, one mile wide and nine miles long, bears the same name as the town, and is fed by the Mermentau River leading to the Intracoastal Canal.

More to come...stay tuned...
Happy Painting!

Never Home

This old boat is another one I took while in Lake Arthur, LA.  It looks like it was some sort of work boat once, but I have no idea.  I liked the name "Never Home".

"Never Home"

5 x 7 - oils on gallery wrapped canvas

Lake Arthur Tidbit:

Lake Arthur has a regatta every year in June with sailing competitions...well at least that is how it used to be.  Seems like it has turned into a festival with boats:

http://www.lakearthurfestivals.com/

More to come, stay tuned...

Happy Painting!

Sarah Ann

Here is a Lafitte Skiff design boat that caught my eye while I was in Lake Arthur, LA.  My husband and I often take day trips for me to take reference photos to paint from.  I was looking for shrimp boats and found this little boat.  I'll be painting more boat finds from these photos...

I did a little research on this boat and thought I would share this info I found:

"The Lafitte skiff, developed in the 1930s by Emile Dufrene of Lafitte, LA, changed the shrimping and crabbing industry of south Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Originally built out of cypress, the semi-V design of the bow tapers to a flat stern. This provides stability and versatility, allowing the skiff to navigate the shallow waters of the coast to trawl for shrimp and crabs and to rush the perishable seafood to market."

"The Sarah Ann"

5 x 7 - oils on gallery wrapped canvas

Artist Note:
I picked up a couple of these little canvases at Michael's one day.  It's their Artists' Loft professional quality and it's really rough.  I toned my canvas but as I painted on it, I wished I had put my usual couple of coats of gesso beforehand.
I can pretty much paint on any surface but I really like the feel of linen.  I'm not a canvas expert but I like the Centurion brand oil primed linen from Jerry's Artarama.  I recently decided to try "The Edge" by Creative Mark a pre-stretched cotton gallery wrapped canvas and I really liked the smooth feel of this canvas also.

Until next time...

Happy Painting!

The Glen Dale - Lugger

This old lugger boat was sitting in Lake Arthur just waiting for someone to notice it.  It looked to me like it was once sunk and its owner is trying to refurbish it.  This antique boat was probably built in the early 1900's.  I climbed over a fence and took my chances to snap a few quick pics of this boat.

Here is a little tidbit of history I found on these boats:

"Early French settlers designed small boats that would easily navigate the waters between ships and in Louisiana's swamps.  These boats were called French canots; they had a rounded bottom and a small fin that allowed them to go in shallow water.  They became popular fishing boats and then oyster boats.  These canots eventually became known everywhere as New Orleans Oyster Luggers."

"The Glen Dale"

12 x 12 - oils on gallery wrapped canvas

My husband loves boats and wants to learn how to paint, so while I was painting this boat, he worked on one of his own.  His is not finished yet, but I have to say it is looking good.  Maybe he will let me post it when he is done...

Happy Painting!

Boats

Anyone who has been reading my blog lately knows I've been into painting boats and with all the rain and flooding we have had recently in South Louisiana, its kind of fitting.  We had about 6 inches of rain yesterday but other areas near here had up to 14 inches with more rain today. Thankfully we did not get the deluge of yesterday.

Here are a grouping of boats I completed recently.   The photos I painted from were taken on my plein air excursions.  All boats, except the black boat on the bottom left, were taken in Intracoastal City, LA.  The bottom left boat was taken in Ft. Meyers Beach, FL.

"Boats"

11 x 14 - oils on canvas panel

On another note, here is a picture of a visitor we had in our back yard Tuesday.  Maybe he was trying to tell us something.

This was the rain we got the next day...

Anyway, rain is over and the sun is out...
Happy Painting!

The Captain James

I headed out to paint last week with a friend, Kaye Landry, searching for shrimp boats in Intracoastal City.  The days here are getting a little warmer so we decided to leave earlier.  We arrived on location a little after 8 a.m., set up in the shade and enjoyed a nice breezy morning of painting.

There weren't quite as many boats as last time, maybe six or so.

After a few hours we packed up and headed home. Below is my finished painting.  I added my final details out of the wind...

The Captain James

12 x 12 - oils on gallery wrapped linen