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!