November 18th-Twilight Treehouse

I started this painting about four months ago. After creating the background layers, I must have lost momentum, because I put the piece off to the side, not sure what else to do with it.
I didn't want to paint over what I started, as I liked my treehouse idea and the possibilities of where it could go. As time when time and I worked on other things, I became inspired again and had a better understanding of where to take it. I added the trees in the front to give it a more foresty feel. More treehouses to come!
Title: Twilight Treehouse
Size: 8 x 8 inches
Medium: Acrylic on canvas

November 11th-What About The Cooler?

 This was just meant to be totally silly. This VW Buses were really popular beach mobiles where I grew up. It was so awful to make the long trek down to beach only to realize you forgot something like the cooler!

Title: "What About The Cooler?"
Size: 5 x 7
Medium: Acrylic on canvas

November 4th-Twilight Village

This painting measures in its entirety 5x5, so you can imagine what a small scale piece this is! I finished this painting in one day, which for me was a big accomplishment. As you may know I have spent a big part of the year toiling over minute details in pieces. I've had a hard time letting go at times and saying I was "finished".
For me to be satisfied so quickly this time makes me feel like progress is being made. I'm getting better at my craft but I'm also getting better at enjoying where I'm at on the journey.
Title: Twillight Village
Size: 5 x 5 inches
Medium: Acrylic on board

October 28th-Around The Bend

I started this painting before I really decided to get serious about layout and design, but I think it turned out good. I knew I wanted to start out with a pink sky, and let the landscape gradually cool (meaning more blue), then let the scene warm up again from the light of the sky and the heat of the lamppost. I'll be doing more of this pink toned sky in the future.

Title: "Around The Bend"
Size: 8 x 8 inches
Medium: Acrylic on board

October 21st-Composition Drawings

Composition drawings

I've painted over a ton of work this year, mostly pieces that were somewhere in the middle of completion. I usually give up on something if I can't see potential emerging. One positive aspect of my dissatisfaction is I've gotten much better at color harmony. I've practically used the same five colors throughout my work this year, mixing nearly everything. 

I'm telling you all of this to share that my struggles have helped to guide me toward where I'm headed. I've been spending the past week just doing some drawings; ones that are strictly focused on improving composition and design. I'm now seeing that if I don't have a good design from the get go, I can almost promise the work will be scraped. Here are a few of the drawings I did.

When I wrote songs I used to make song maps. It helped me know where I wanted to go with a song, instead of just ending up with a tune that was all over the place. I'm seeing how that is true with art as well. Otherwise it's just wasted paint.

October 14th-Pink Rose

Pink Rose

This was a painting I did earlier in the year. I wasn't going to include it as part of the project for vain reasons. Although it is my first official rose, I didn't think it was good enough so I had planned to carefully exclude it. One grand thing I've learned this year through this project is that mediocre or sometimes poor pieces help guide me to the good ones. I heard someone say the other day that failure is an essential ingredient for success. Agreed.

Title: "Pink Rose"
Size: 4 x 6 inches
Medium: Acrylic on panel

October 7th - Nancy

I’ve been wanting to do a female cardinal for some time, but just hadn’t gotten around to it. Well, I finally finished her, and named her Nancy after my mom. I put this bird behind some branches and leaves to add some dynamics. If you take a liking to these particular paintings I do, you can now find them at Erabellum in Nashville. I will also have some at the Edgehill Artisan Fair in October.

Title: “Nancy”

Size: 4 x 4 inches

Medium: Acrylic on wood