Bike Love

I just love to paint bikes.  Really.  There is something about the nostalgic feeling of riding a bike that makes painting them such a joy.  Arms up or feet out, the wind making my hair a matted mess, the whirly tummy when pedaling over a hill.  It's a great childhood memory.  And one I will continue to capture in my paintings.

"Orange" You Glad it's Wednesday?

Did you know that my favorite color is orange? Yep. Yummy, citrus, tasty orange. Here are a few favorite images where I let my love of orange take over!

And today I am thinking orange flowers and birds are in order. So what's your favorite color?

Trucking on a Journey

I've been wanting to add to my "wanderlust" series. And here it is: A truck AND a bike. An orange bike to be exact. Since it is my super fav color, I just had too. The words have been added in photoshop for a new card series I'm making. This is definitely a mixed media piece....a little map, a little paper, a little paint. It's on the small size too, 8x10" on gallery wrapped deep canvas. So, this weekend, take life a little slower and enjoy the journey.

So, wanderlust on your mind now? Did you know that is a real word? Vero over at Naked Art had wanted to use it in my solo show title and I was like "heck no!". I am a good little southern gal who does not talk about lust in public. Much less have it blaring in the title for my solo show. (I'm also a little sheltered I suppose since that word made me totally blush.) And then I looked it up, and there it was in Webster. It says, "strong or unconquerable longing for or impulse toward wandering." Yep. And since this little art journey of mine could be on the verge of wandering without an end in site, I am thinking that maybe wanderlust is the perfect word to sum it all up.

Whew.......

Yes. Whew. I just finished up a large body of paintings for an upcoming show. I was asked by Matilda's Cottage two weeks ago to join her booth at the Folk Fest here in Atlanta. Sure I said, knowing that I had very few paintings available at the time. So I "put on my big girl panties" and dove right in. As you know, my texture paintings are time consuming. I've learned that starting a bunch at once helps the momentum and keeps me excited about the end results. Last week I had the wood cut, laid the texture and drew the compositions. And since the compositions are sometimes the biggest hurdle to overcome, it is always nice to get this part of the process over with! Once the bases are dry, the fun part of painting begins! I used an entirely new color palette for this series. All spicey colors- paprika, dry mustard, pepper, Lawry's, and more! I just love this palette. I also tried to add more collage to the texture series. It's a bit challenging, but adds such a nice new dimension.

This is my favorite I painted. The streamers and bike bell really bring back the nostalgic days of summer gone by. Now I have to photograph, sign, name and frame them all (all 12).

So now I am off to add beaks and legs to these girls I made coming and going to Saint Simons. They are just cracking me up in the studio....yes, my work speaks to me. It speaks volumes about me too!