Commissioned piece

     This is a painting that was commissioned by my step-father.  I'm not really a car painter or a landscape painter, so it is what it is.

     Time is short.  I'm considering carrying this goal into next year...before I turn 41.  What do you all think?

He's so fluffy I could die!

Just finished a quick one yesterday and started on an entirely new challenge that I feel underqualified to do.  You'll see what I'm talking about when I'm finished.  The drawing is of my only boy, Nibbler.  He's a sweet lil fuzzy guy and much much easier to raise than my girls.  Now if I could just potty train him and get him not to chew on the furniture... ;)

Sad update on Nibbler.  He died just a week ago.  I'm still not sure why.  I'll miss the little guy. :(
 

Number 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23

k  I'm totally cheating here...but I think I'm gonna count this painting as five. It certainly took as long as five. ;)  I'm still not completely pleased with it and I know that I'll still find things that I missed on it for years...but here it is.

Months later...

I know, I know. I've been negligent in my blogging duties.  Really no excuse except that I'm feeling overwhelmed being so far behind my goal.  This painting is finally within reach, I think.  Should hopefully be done with it this week...

Strange picture

Kathryn Irvin Lee

Yes, I'm a slacker

Alright, I know it's been a while.  I have two new pics to post.  My mom came to visit, so I got a bit behind.  We had a nice time though and I got some good photos of my nephew for some future paintings.  :)  Anyway, the first picture I'm posting is a drawing of my dad's mom when she was a little girl.  I know, I know, I'm stealing the photo for a reference.  My time machine is broken so I had no choice.  I gave this drawing to my dad for his birthday.  The next piece is one that I did for a short course that I took from my favorite professer in college, Adrian VanSuchtelen.  It's a conte crayon/chalk pastel drawing on a prepared ground.  I've not done anything like it since my college days.

I'm still plodding along on this painting.  I sure hope that it's worth it when it's finally finished.  I'm starting to think that 30 by 40 might've been a better name for this blog...  ;)

You know that you've chosen a bad painting for a deadline when you're thinking "Maybe I could get this done in a few weeks."  I'm thinking I might need to do some other paintings as I'm working on this one to just give me a break from it. Tedious doesn't begin to describe this painting.

I'm two days into this new painting and it's not too bad.  It's not nearly as bad as I expected it to be...yet.  I'm guessing that I have a few more 8 hour days left 'til it's done. 

My good friend came over and painted with me today.  It's nice to paint with someone that has a completely different style.  You can really learn things that way.

On a different note, my favorite art teacher from college is going to come to town and do a three day class on drawing. I'm stoked.  Can't wait to learn from him again.

Frightening: What I see in the Mirror Every Day

Here's a quick number 16.  This is a live view, not from a photo, so it's not as realistic as some.

Number 15

I finally buckled down and finished it.  I think I'll do a quick one next and then move on to something challenging again. :)

Buckling down

Ok, no more high hopes...just need high speed.  I'm sorta liking this painting though. It's coming along pretty quickly and I've decided to leave it painterly.  It just feels like that's what it needs.  I'm pretty sure it'll be finished today.  I'll upload it as soon as it is. :)

I've decided that "High Hopes" should be my theme song. :P  Sometimes paintings just fall together so quickly in the first steps that I assume that the rest will go the same way.  It's funny that after 14 paintings, I could forget how tedious the final steps to a painting can be.  And still, I'm hoping to be done with this one by tomorrow....  See?  I never learn.

Number 14

Well, I don't like it at all, but I need to move on.  I'm getting to the point that I'll have to whip out 7 paintings a week in December if I keep going this slowly.  :P  It reminds me of something that would be done with craft paint, so be prepared...

It's a crazy week this week.  Between G starting school and various visiting teaching appointments, I have a back to school night to go to, a couple of bishop's interviews and the occasional supper to make.  *sigh*  I was hoping to crank out this new painting but my picky self just won't settle.  Well, hopefully I'll be able to finish it sometime tonight...  If not, it'll for sure be done tomorrow.

I'm so happy to have finally finished that painting that I'm feeling rather lazy today.  As usual, my in-between beasts painting will be...flowers.  :P    I know, I know, cop-out, but they're relaxing and beautiful.  What more could a stressed-out artist ask for?

Painting del Diablo

ZOMG, the beast is finally done!  I can't wait to get it off of my easel and figure out what's next.  Here it is, slightly cropped but you get the idea.

Well, we got back from a week's vacation down in Las Vegas, Arizona and Bryce Canyon and my painting STILL makes me want to cry. I'm making some progress on it and am hoping that I'll have it done by Tuesday or Wednesday.  I'd like to say that I expect it to be done by tomorrow but all that would do is make me giggle with the absurdity of it. I think my husband is afraid that I'll start hating our youngest daughter since this painting is of her.  lol  No worries there.  I'll save my loathing for her teenaged years.   ;)

There was much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth...and still the painting wasn't finished....

The new painting has brought me to tears more than once today and I just barely started it. lol The angles are strange and being lazy isn't working. Time to buckle down and figure it out. Hope I can finish it in a day or two. Wish me luck.

Water Lily

I slowed down a bit recently. Lots of stuff going on. I had a great visit with an old friend of mine who came to stay for a day. So, I took a hiatus for a few days. Anyway, here's my newest painting. I'll get started on another tomorrow. Don't ask me what. I have no idea. :P

A Walk in the Tulip Festival

This painting was my new headache. : / I'm still not excited or happy about it but I need to declare it finished and move on. I'm running behind now. Here it is.

Yeesh, this new painting was a poor choice for someone with a deadline. Maybe it'll help me loosen up a bit though. : ) We'll see. I'm hoping that I'll be able to finish it in another day or so. I'm gonna have to choose an easy subject after this one to make up time. :P

The Pigeon Master

I finally had time to finish another one after the 4th of July weekend. I enjoyed nearly every minute of this painting. The colors are just my thing. I was once asked by a college professor if I was color blind. NO, I'm NOT color blind. :P I just like bright colors. Here's the painting. I hope you like it as well.

Bavarian Man

He's not the greatest but I really needed a break from my migraine work. Thanks, Amy, for the picture. I changed his expression a bit. Wish I could've changed the lighting but I'm just not that good. :P

German Village

I'm calling it done but I can picture myself coming back and fixing things that bother me later. Right now though, I have to stop. This thing is literally giving me migraines. So, here it is. Time to move on to something that I don't dread doing. :P

Number 7

Well, I went to my friend Amy's house yesterday and had a great time painting together. I didn't finish my main piece but I did do a still-life while I was there. It's not the greatest painting ever but it'll do. She had some beautiful irises growing still, so she plucked one and we went to work. Here's my result...

Yeah...still not done with this new painting yet. : / It's a lot harder than I thought it would be. It's starting to remind me of the old ladies that I painted. lol Anyway, I'm hoping that I'll be finished today. I'm heading to my friend's house to paint and am looking forward to it. She always has good insight into what I'm doing. :)

This new painting is really tedious. I'm sorta liking it though. I'd say I'm about halfway through now. Maybe I can finish it tonight. I'll post a pic of it as soon as it's done. :)

Arrgh, this new painting is all straight lines and angles. Straight lines and I don't get along very well. I sure love the subject though. Hopefully, it'll all turn out well and will be worth it. :) Go me, go me...6 months 'til your birthday...

Sexy Beast

I decided to do a drawing this time. This guy was just begging to be drawn.

Old Man and the Sea

Another one down. I was a little out of my comfort zone on this one, but I really did enjoy the watercolors. 35 to go!

Moving on to my next painting now...and I'm a little intimidated. I'm going out of my comfort zone here and will be doing a watercolor painting. Wish me luck!

Sorry this took so long to post. I had a terrible time getting it to look right on camera. Even now, the picture is actually a cropped version of the painting. I gave up after about 12 takes. lol Anyway, this is it.

Well, I finally finished my 4th painting but I'm having a hard time taking a picture of it. It's waaay too light on the computer. It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I'm going to have to step it up to catch up to my timeline. : /
Between helping my daughter with her project to make a doll house out of cardboard for her English class...and taking said daughter to the hospital for stitches after she cut herself with a box cutter and various other time-consuming activities, I didn't get as much done as I would've liked. Still I'm better off than I was a few months back. ;)
This new painting was really a step outside of my comfort zone but people seem to really like it. I'll try to get a good picture taken of it in the morning and post it then. :)

The Alps - finished

Well, here it is, finally finished. There are parts that still bother me but I think that that will be the case with ALL of my paintings. It's the hazard of being a perfectionist. :P I have no idea what I should call it. Any ideas? :)

It's been a crazy week. I spent many, many hours helping out at my youngest's school and helping my oldest with her project to build something out of recyclable material for her English class. She decided on a doll house...and cut a nice long, deep gash into her thumb with a box cutter while she was trying to cut the floor for the second level. Sooo, I took her to the nearest hospital and got her some stitches. I barely managed to look at my painting, let alone work on it this past week but I declare it very, very close to done. Just a few small details and I'll be posting it. :) I'll also be hoping that the weather will realize that it's summer (oh, ok, not OFFICIALLY summer but close enough) one of these days. I'm tired of the dreary, rainy days. Makes it hard to get started. Here I go, though. Wish me luck. :)

Monday

Ugh, Mondays are so hard to get started on. I have no excuses. It's been a quiet day, though quite dreary. I feel like I'm just a few hours away from finishing my Alps picture, then I'll be moving on to something new. Not sure what it'll be yet, but I'm looking forward to the change. In the meantime, I'm hoping my desire to work will kick in and I'll get this finished.

I'm struggling today. It's dreary outside and hard to see my painting...therefore it's hard to work on it. I'm working though. I'm hoping this one will be done in a few days...less if possible. I ready Stephen King's book on writing and one of the things that he said in there was that he refuses to show his work to anyone until after the second draft. I think there's wisdom in that. I've shown my paintings to people before they're done and the reaction is typically, "Um, nice." So, I think I'll keep my paintings largely to myself (as much as is possible in a household of 5) until they're finished. Maybe I can get my mom to send me a picture of the painting that I sent her for Mother's Day though. That is one of the three that I've finished thus far. Yeesh, 40 seems like an impossible amount. I think I can...I think I can...I think I can...

Making myself go

Well, I'm on the downward spiral to my 40th birthday. As many people know, hitting 40 can really hurt. You tend to look at where you are and say, "What the hell happened?" Well, 7 months from now, I don't want to feel quite that way, so I'm setting a goal for myself that I'd hoped to accomplish in my 20s...I want to have enough paintings done to be able to have my art displayed in a gallery. Why are you putting this in a blog, you say. Let's keep it short and sweet: I'm lazy. I have good intentions but am easily distracted, so I'm hoping that having to account for what I'm doing will keep me on track. I have finished two paintings since the beginning of the year and am well into another one, so I'm going to count those as part of my 40. Only 37 1/2 to go. ;) My criteria? Art that I feel good about. It doesn't have to make YOU smile or weep tears of joy. It only has to make me feel like I've accomplished something that I can be proud of. After all, you can't please all of the people all of the time. I'm hoping that I CAN please some of you (and not just you faithful friends and family members) because that's really the point of putting it into a gallery, isn't it? I will post each painting as I finish them and maybe a few in progress. I guess I shouldn't say "painting" because I think that some of the pieces will be in other media. In any case, I hope to finish 40 pieces of art before December 31st...my 40th birthday. Wish me luck!

Here is my first painting that I finished this year. I saw these old ladies sitting on a bench outside of a restaurant near a small town in Germany. What can I say? I fell in love with them. The expressions on their faces and their postures made me want to sneak over and listen to what they were saying. You may not love pictures of old ladies but I hope that you'll want to make up a story in your mind when you see this.