Monday, November 28, 2011

Moving my Blog Site

Dear friends, I appreciate your encouragement by looking at my blog!

However, it will be more efficient for me to move my blog to my own website, www.portraitsbymarilyn.com. If you are interested in following my artistic journey, you can go to my website, and "subscribe" at the upper right hand corner. If you choose, you will be notified each time I blog or add a picture, which will be nearly daily.

I'm excited to share some paintings from my workshop taught by Catherine Hearding. I expect my paintings to begin to have clearer colors with more subtle variations. Painting is SO MUCH FUN!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thankful for all things... even football!


I hope my pumpkin pies are good... the pumpkin was grown in my garden, yielding 6 quarts of pumpkin! Looking forward to time with my family... counting our blessings.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Thankful for First Responders


This practice sketch of a fireman seems appropriate to post today, to honor all the "first responders." God bless you all.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Watercolor Workshop class


This scene was painted following a class taught by Catherine Hearding. She is teaching techniques on painting trees, rocks, water and snow... painting shapes rather than objects. This is a stretch for me... a lifetime sketcher! This painting turned out well. The one below, not so well!


As I said... it's a learning process!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Sketches of children

Here are some small sketches of children. I may do a series of little ballerinas.



First Snow

We had our first snowfall yesterday... not much snow, but everything is white, with a layer of ice beneath. This small painting is a study of negative painting, with some fun orbs, which I love.

Walking Scared


As a child I imagined the trees were upside down creatures, planted in the ground, that could reach up out of the ground and grab people at night. This painting describes that fear.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Friday, November 18, 2011

Blind contour drawing



This blind contour drawing was done on a drive... I was riding, not driving! I like the randomness of contour drawing, which is done by looking at what you are drawing, not at the paper. You can look to place your pencil on the paper, but you don't look at the paper until the object is drawn. This accounts for all the wacky shapes, and the signs in the road. I look at the paper when I'm painting... only the drawing is blind.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Duet


This delightful and whimsical painting was accepted for the Xanadu Gallery, Scottsdale, on-line catalog.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Forest Critters


This is my Halloween painting... all the forest critters are hiding from us... hoping not to be seen. So if you go into a forest, don't scare the critters.

Commission Finished

This painting illustrated a special memory of when my friend was a 10 year old girl.  Her dad taught her chopsticks and he played chords on the piano for a little duet.  The music on the piano is "Daddy's Little Girl" which dad sang at her wedding.  I had to "beef him up" as he wasn't a skinny guy!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Moonfish

Sometimes, even  as a Christian, the world doesn't make sense.  It's not a matter of faith... it's realizing we're not in control, and we cannot understand.  Tonight's picture is "Moonfish" which also doesn't make sense.  In the light of today's mood, my bio doesn't make sense either.

11/15/11 Remembering Sean

It feels like winter when a friend dies.  My cousin Eric's son Sean died yesterday, at age 33.  
John 11: 33 & 35.

Monday, November 14, 2011

11/14/11 Painting

More recently the paintings have become more whimsical, out of my imagination.

Today's painting.

In the beginning, as a new artist, I painted very realistic paintings, and they were good.  The eyes were expressive, and the paintings portrayed the person's personality.  In this blog, I will post a painting a day.  I hope you enjoy them!