To get you caught up....

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! To bring you up to speed, below are several Christmas commissions. I'll walk you through them.

A friend commissioned this as a gift for his wife- it is a tree that is very special to her family. 16x20 acrylic on stretched canvas.  First the photographs: 

The painting in progress:

 and completed: 

Closer view:

The next painting was a commission from a friend for a family member. I loved the photograph with the trees in the background. This is 11x14 acrylic on stretched canvas.

Next: a friend commissioned a painting of their dog as a gift for her husband. 11x14 acrylic on stretched canvas.  I painted the whole canvas gray/blue, then transferred my drawing to the canvas with tracing paper which helped so much! Sometimes I erase so many times and redraw that by the time I get  around to painting, there is so much smudge and so many lines I forget what is what!

Background in:

Beginning the darkest parts of the coat:

Finishing up the head:

Finished:

Closer view:

This was commissioned by a friend getting married as a wedding gift for her husband in November: 11x14 acrylic on stretched canvas. I love dogs on the beach! First the photo:

Then the painting:

Next is a pair of paintings commissioned by my aunt as a gift for my uncle- love them! One is of second battalion, one is of the chapel. Both are 11x14 acrylic on stretched canvas (the most popular size right now).
I began by painting the background blue before I did the drawings.

I ended up making the blue a little more gray, I guess after I took the photo. I painted these side-by-side, working on them simultaneously, so that the colors would be the same. Unlike oils, acrylics dry in minutes, so I didn't want to remix colors- I want them to read as a pair. The underlying blue is left in spots shining through, which not only unifies the composition of the individual pictures, but ties them together.

Finished pair:

Closer views of each painting:

This next painting was commissioned by a friend as a gift for her boyfriend- of a cabin that is particularly special to his family! Also 11x14 acrylic on stretched canvas, I began with a red base before the drawing:

I got pretty nervous about the red, thought I might have to go back and redo it because it was too bold, but then I fell in love with it as i started layering the colors on top of it! I chose red because I wanted it to feel very warm and inviting!

Sorry this one rotated itself in uploading!

And here is is finished:

Closer view:

A few paintings I was working on at once in the corner of the studio:

This is a 36x48 acrylic on stretched canvas painting, a Christmas gift for my maternal grandparents for their place at the beach! This is the photo I worked from:

This is actually more coral/less red. Nana has pillows this color in her living room, where I knew the painting would hang. I did the drawing on top of the wash. THIS was a stretch, because the photograph is predominantly cool colors. I really wasn't sure it would work.

Background water wash:

blocking in the heron:

Some feather detail:

Adding marsh and mud:

working some corals into the heron:

Finishing the head and working some coral into the background:

A zoomed-in view:

Special thanks to my Dad for holding the painting so I could photograph it outside:

A 36x36 acrylic on stretched canvas painting- more blue herons. These were a Christmas gift for my parents! I didn't document the early progress, but it was very similar to the one above. This is where it was before the finishing touches:

And finished:

Closer view of the herons:

The full painting finished:

Next is a 36x48 acrylic on stretched canvas- a Christmas gift for my paternal grandparents. I began with a brown wash, no drawing.

Blocking in the composition and the shape of the marsh by painting in the sky and most of the water.

the pluff mud:

the base layer of marsh grass:

lightening up and adding some trees in the distance:

darkening the water in the foreground:

I thought I took a better final picture of this last one- next time I go to Dillon I will, and will post!

Thanks for hanging in there with the really long post! I have 2 commissions to get going on in 2013, but hoping at some point to get caught up with them and maybe develop a body of work that isn't 100% commission driven. THAT'S my new years resolution! Thanks for reading!

Its beginning to look alot like Christmas...

This is an 8x10 acrylic on stretched canvas painting- A friend commissioned this for her parents' anniversary. This is the church they were married in, which has since burned down. We were working from a few old photographs and meshing a few angles (you can see the photos below on either side of the painting... this is how I normally work). We wanted to soften the colors and the background. It doesn't have to be EXACTLY identical since it isn't there anymore- it granted me a little freedom to romanticize it! Don't we do that in our memories anyway? 

This next painting is MUCH larger- a commission for a similar painting to one a client saw on a wine bottle (I've searched high and low for the talented artist's name to give credit where it's due, but I can't locate it. I even called the winery and no one returned my call) This is 40x40 acrylic on deep-cradled gallery wrapped stretched canvas. I really enjoyed working on this, the large expressive strokes were so much fun!

Lots of layers here. I began with a background wash of a medium brown. Normally my favorite is a raw umber, but for this I used a richer burnt umber mix. I think I'm going to start using a color wash behind all of my paintings before I sketch, it just gives it a cohesive undertone, leaving pops of the same color throughout the painting. It really unifies things.

 Finished here, with a few zoomed in shots so you can see the detail!

Thanks for following, posts will be sporadic until 2013, due to the nature of what I'm working on being predominantly GIFTS at the moment!

Another abstract...

This is a 30x36 (I think?) acrylic abstract painting on wooden panel. October 2012. I LOVED doing the abstract for Anna a few months ago, so I decided to do one for us- though they are very different!This is right outside our kitchen- I love navy, red, white and green/gray. These are the colors in the kitchen/dining area... and throughout our house really.  I'd like to do more of this in 2013.

 This is closer in, though you don't get the full width:

 and on the wall:

 I'm kind of in a holding pattern right now- I have a few more things to post in the next month (waiting for gifts to be given to post), but I'm working on Christmas commissions- Sooooooooo expect some larger uploads in January! Thanks for reading.

A few weeks ago I posted the unfinished Angel Oak. It then progressed to this: less bushy leaves, and more blue shadows.

 Then this: the final painting- I really didn't like the blue shadows so intense, which surprised me. I am usually all about ultramarine blue! I just wanted it to feel softer and more natural. Also, the sky became a less saturated blue.

A closer view: Again this is around 3'x4' acrylic on canvas.

This pair was done in the same sitting- birthday presents for two of my favorites! 5"x7" acrylic on canvas panel. August 2012. These scenes are recalled from many trips in the marsh, rather than a photo- also unusual for me.

 Dock Street Theatre- 16x20 acrylic on wooden panel. September 2012. For a silent auction raising money for the beautiful theatre.

 Closer shot:

 In the frame, which I might add was too thin for the screws that CAME WITH IT! So the screws came through the front... Don't buy the new gold plein aire open-back frame from Michaels. It used to be my very favorite, and a bargain. The wood is thinner and they have started covering it with a wrap that bubbles instead of actually painting the wood. Also, the finish is dull- not comparable! Ok, I'll quit ranting about it.

Happy birthday Daniel- For a friend who BARELY lost another marsh painting at a silent auction. Again, this scene was the product of many memories in the marsh, rather than a photograph. Sounds like I need to go have a marsh photo-shoot. 18x24 acrylic on stretched canvas. September 2012.

Just thought I'd give you a peek at a large painting in progress: 36x36" acrylic on stretched canvas. These blue herons are not finished yet. I was VERY frustrated with the background at one point (ask my poor husband) but I'm pretty pleased with it now. More work to be done on the birds. This was originally intended as a comission that ended up changing directions.... I'll post more on this later as it progresses.

Quick photo of my studio supervisor: Sadie.

A sweet birthday gift for a sister. I KNOW how much these dogs are loved, and though I haven't had the opportunity to meet them yet, I have heard some funny stories! 11x14 acrylic on canvas panel, October 2012. First the photo, then the completed painting followed by a close shot.

11x14" acrylic on canvas panel. September 2012. This was a wedding gift for a friend, whose wedding I was heartbroken to miss. It's been so neat to see her grow in her faith over the 5 years we've been friends, and I'm so excited for  her and her husband! This is the church they were married in just over a month ago. She loves bright colors and I experimented a lot with the background colors, and making the grays blue, but again... didn't love it. 

This is finished:

Thanks for following- more to come. Some gifts that have been completed but not yet given are to be posted soon!