exists to create art which reflects the beauty and the glory of God, to use art to comfort and encourage people, and to inspire others to pursue the arts.
Some more fun with oil painting. I am painting over some acrylic disasters while I am practicing my oil painting, so that is why there is a ridge down the apple picture. LOL! No, it is not some obscure emotional symbol. The apple, with it’s green companion of the other day, may well adorn my kitchen one of these days. The cottage, below, was fun to paint. I held my long brushes at the very end and tried to make it loose and painterly. I think I got it. LOL! Nothing great, but great fun.
“Her modest looks the cottage might adorn,Sweet as the primrose peeps beneath the thorn.” — Oliver Goldsmith
Yippee! I feel like I have finally gotten something good with oils. I am now working on a red apple to go with it. LOL! (The reddish apple at the bottom is an acrylic painting that I did a couple of years ago.)
“If I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint.” — Edward Hopper
I have a table set up on the back porch with scattered bird seed, a couple of saucers with seed, a flower pot with seed, and a nice artistic piece of firewood standing in one of the saucers. The birds apparently agree with me that it is quite appealing. Out of 500 photos taken so far, I have gotten about 15 good ones. Here are a few:
Mr. Nuthatch was the one that landed on the wood most often. I had the camera focused on the wood and the bird had to land right on the right spot to be focused. That is why the Caroline Wren on the bottom is not sharp, but the wood is sharp. LOL! Well, I have begun trying to learn colored pencils with my own reference photos:
“It’s impossible to explain creativity. It’s like asking a bird, ‘How do you fly?’ You just do.” — Eric Jerome Dickey
This is from one of the colored pencils courses at The Virtual Instructor. I have some Berol Prismacolor pencils that are about 30 years old and I have tried and tried to use them and was a dismal failure. I just bought a complete set of new Prismacolor Premier and wow! They are wonderful. I guess my old ones were…well…OLD! LOL! I have a lot of practice to do to get good with these things, but I have some hope, now. This hummer is on black paper.
I have been wanting to use colored pencils, because, as much as I love pastels, it is a bit difficult storing them or framing them. I believe storing and framing colored pencil artwork is much easier.
I watched the videos several times and then turned them off, pulled up the reference photo, and went for it. I tried to match the teacher, but that is stressful. It is more fun for me, and easier, to learn how and then go off on my own. LOL! Matt is a great teacher and I appreciate him very much.
A flash of harmless lightning, A mist of rainbow dyes, The burnished sunbeams brightening, From flower to flower he flies."
Well, I finished my end of the swap. I can’t wait to see his portrait of me. Vanity, vanity! All is vanity! LOL! This portrait swap is almost like doing a self-portrait without that particular angst. Anyway, here he is. Mixed media on Strathmore toned mixed media paper. I hope he likes it.
“I tell you it’s no joke to paint a portrait. I wonder that I am not more timid when I begin. I feel almost certain that I can do it. It seems very simple. I don’t think of the time that is sure to come when I almost despair, when the whole thing seems hopeless.” — William Morris Hunt
I thank God on this Thanksgiving Day for being my God. I thank Him for choosing to sacrifice His Son to save anyone at all, but especially this ridiculous rebellious sinner! I thank Him for lovingly and generously providing for my needs, which includes food, clothing, shelter, friends, family, and bunches more. I thank Him for His mind-blowingly complex and overwhelmingly beautiful creation. I thank Him for art and giving me a part in it. I thank Him for Mr. Beloved. I thank Him for my church. I could go on forever… Give thanks. To whom? To the Creator and Sustainer of all. To the Giver of all good gifts. To the One True God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thank you, Lord.
The First Thanksgiving Day
By Alice Williams Brotherton (1848-1930)
In Puritan New England a year had passed away Since first beside the Plymouth coast the English Mayflower lay. When Bradford, the good Governor, sent fowlers forth to snare The turkey and the wild-fowl, to increase the scanty fare: --
“Our husbandry hath prospered, there is corn enough for food, Though the peas be parched in blossom, and the grain indifferent good. Who blessed the loaves and fishes for the feast miraculous, And filled the widow’s cruse, He hath remembered us!
“Give thanks unto the Lord of Hosts, by whom we all are fed, Who granted us our daily prayer, ‘Give us our daily bread!’ By us and by our children let this day be kept for aye, In memory of His bounty, as the land’s Thanksgiving Day.”
Each brought his share of Indian meal the pious feast to make. With the fat deer from the forest and the wild fowl from the brake. And chanted hymn and prayer were raised – though eyes with tears were dim – “The Lord He hath remembered us, let us remember Him!”
Then Bradford stood up at their head and lifted up his voice: “The corn is gathered from the field, I call you to rejoice; Thank God for all His mercies, from the greatest to the least, Together we have fasted, friends, together let us feast.
“The Lord who led forth Israel was with us in the waste: Sometime in light, sometime in cloud, before us He hath paced; Now give Him thanks, and pray to Him who holds us in His hand To prosper us and make of this a strong and mighty land!”
From Plymouth to the Golden Gate to-day their children tread, The mercies of that bounteous Hand upon the land are shed; The “flocks are on a thousand hills,” the prairies wave with grain, The cities spring like mushrooms now where once was desert-plain.
Heap high the board with plenteous cheer and gather to the feast, And toast that sturdy Pilgrim band whose courage never ceased. Give praise to that All Gracious One by whom their steps were led, And thanks unto the harvest’s Lord who sends our “daily bread”.
I was privileged to be able to install some of my artwork in a beautiful home, yesterday. I love to see my art hanging and being enjoyed. Who doesn’t, I suppose? LOL!
These are prints from photos that I took on their farm a little while back. You can see the post here and here.
This one, below, is easily recognizable if you have been following my blog. You can find related posts here, here, and here.
The following two photos are of prints of a couple of my birds hanging in the kitchen.
I have been assured that the new owners are very happy with them. Yay! That makes me happy, too!
I have been reading, as usual. I have gone through so many recently that I will just give you a list and, if you are interested, you can look them up:
Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball (Autobiography)
The Creative’s Curse by Todd Brison (It’s real. How to deal with it.)
Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland (This is about what it feels like to sit in your studio trying to do the work that you need to do.)
The Divine Artist by Stephen Bennett (So far, I have read this twice. I have the audio and the paperback. We all know who the Divine Artist is… SO GOOD!)
Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough (About 17 years in the early life of Theodore Roosevelt from age 10 until 27. SO GOOD!)
Walking on Water by Madeleine L’Engle (Essays on art and faith.)
Goliath Must Fall by Louie Giglio (Freedom from strongholds.)
The Victory Garden by Rhys Bowen (Novel of England during WWI.)
Meet the Austins by Madeleine L’Engle (Book one of the Austin Family Chronicles.)
The Moon by Night by Madeleine L’Engle (Book two of the Austin Family Chronicles.)
Climbing with Mollie by William Finnegan (A father and his daughter discovering rock climbing and each other.)
All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriott (I am working my way through them all for the gazzillionth time…)
I also have two poetry collections by my chair and I read a few poems every once in a while.
And I am slowly working through The Elements of Landscape Oil Painting by Suzanne Brooker (Such beautiful landscapes!)
I am working on my portrait for the swap. He is also working on my portrait. He is doing an oil painting. I feel a little guilty giving him a pencil drawing when he is doing such a beautiful painting…
Mr. Beloved, Toby, and I took a walk, today. We saw a nifty twisty sycamore tree.
I have set up my bird feeding station so as to capture birds unawares with my trusty camera setup. (I hope…)
And I leave you with this image. The sun was rising over the pine trees and Toby just happened to pose in such a way as to make it look like the aliens were landing to take him away. LOL! He was actually looking for one of the local stray cats.
‘Tis sweet to hear the watch dog’s honest bark Bay deep-mouthed welcome as we draw near home; ’tis sweet to know there is an eye will mark Our coming and look brighter when we come.
Okay, this is the final portrait in this particular commission. 8×10 Canson Mi-tientes paper with graphite and white charcoal. She is such a cutie with beautiful eyes and smile and a glorious messy mop of curly hair. It was a joy to draw her.
Next, I need to get the frames put together, painted, and the portraits framed. Then, I need to work on getting some photo prints made and framed for another commission.
And, in the meantime, I need to get some photos made of myself for the annual portrait swap with the artist’s forum that I follow. And I need to receive the photos from my swap partner. The annual portrait swap is really fun, although this is only my second one. LOL!
Fun, fun, fun! It is good to be busy.
I tried to get some photos of the full moon, the other night. I was walking Toby out front, when I looked up and saw the moon through the tree branches. So pretty! I took Toby back in, got my camera, zoom lens, tripod, closed the garage door to cut out that light, and set up. I could not get a clear shot no matter what I did. I don’t know what the problem was, but I am going to have to figure that out. Then there was a big coyote howl that sounded very close and moving. It started loudly behind my right shoulder and it sounded and felt like it was moving around behind me to my left shoulder. Weird. Well, I decided I had had enough and it was time to go in. What a waste of film! LOL! Isn’t it great not to have to worry about film, anymore?
“Grace was in all her steps. Heaven in her eye. In every gesture, dignity and love.” — John Milton
I took a break between portraits to make an autumn inspired painting. I was wanting to get my fingers in some paint. Yes, this is fingerpainted. No brushes, but the occasional scrape with a palette knife. I so enjoy getting paint all over my hands, and my clothes, and the room, and the easel, and even, every once in a while, on a canvas. LOL! This was inspired by my walks in the woods, this fall. I was even briefly lost in Wolf Run Park with Toby the Wonder Dog. He was no help at all, though. I knew that if I kept walking, I would eventually end up somewhere, but I was toying with the idea of panicking at various times during the walk. This painting has some of that dark dread, but it also has some of that wonderful light whereby I knew that the Lord was there. I love Autumn! So beautiful!
This is acrylics on a 16×20 canvas.
“It is a surprising and memorable, as well as valuable experience, to be lost in the woods any time.” — Henry David Thoreau
This is the second portrait in the three part series. This is graphite and white charcoal on Canson Mi-Tientes grey toned paper, 8×10. Isn’t it funny how different brothers can look? Baby Brother with his dark curly hair and brown eyes and Big Brother with his straight blond hair and blue eyes. Well, their sister is next…
“I grew up with six brothers. That’s how I learned to dance – waiting for the bathroom.” — Bob Hope
Virginia C. McCoy Fine Art 
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