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!