Wow the Holidays are over and now I can post a commission that was to be a surprise Christmas present. I love to paint pets and a woman commissioned me to paint her boyfriends Golden Retriever. She didn't want a frame so painted it on a cradle canvas. It has a 1.5" wooden border and I painted the edge to look like leather. I hope he liked it.

Ornament at the Smithsonian

Members of the National Society of Decorative Painters (SDP) were asked to paint an ornament for this year's Holiday tree in the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian. Artists, who are also members of SDP were sent a small 3x5 piece of wood and asked to paint an ornament using one of the paintings in the Renwick Gallery as inspiration. The paintings in the Gallery are canvases done by 19th Century American Artists. I painted and submitted an ornament and it is one of 500 placed on the tree. Probably hard to see but at least I can say I have a painting in the Smithsonian. Wow. I used a painting called The Bride for my inspiration and painted a modern 21st Century bride. I banded the ornament with gold leaf and put traditional decorative artists' roses in the corner. The attached picture is a copy of the Smithsonian picture and my ornament. Of course the copy of The Bride has a big water mark on it because it sat in my studio while I painted.

original oil painted canvas bookmarks

i'm still painting -and typing- one handed. here are some pics of a few that are close to completion. they will have to dry for a few months (the downside of using oils) but the effect is worth it. once dry i will spray vanish and add a beaded tassel to the tops.

rotator cuff sugery

i am typing this one handed a with one finger. caps are challenging and therefore are being left out. its been six days since my surgery and i am like a caged animal. there is so much that is taken for granted when one is well. brushing teeth is a piece of cake but forget wringing out a wash cloth. i tried to do some base coating on some functional pieces but it was impossible to hold things still and paint. so taped 10 2x6 inch pieces of canvas to Masonite and placed the Masonite on the easel. it works...so i am doing original oil paintings for book marks. i am staying with flowers and will sell them next spring at the bloom show. they are not looking too bad and i hope someone would enjoy an original canvas that doubles as a bookmark.

Painting loosely without a drawing.

As promised here are a few pics of the painting I did this past weekend. Our geriatric cat helped with the pics. One is a large oval table "runner" with a holly deco on one side and a summer theme on the opposite. I also painted a place mat on two sides. When I take a decorative painting class I recently have painted canvas place mats as a practice piece. I am up to six finished place mats. That's twelve classes. I keep them stacked on my breakfast bar and enjoy pulling out a few when needed. We designed as we painted adding elements where we thought our piece needed them. It was an interesting approach for me. It helped a lot as yesterday I painted a branch and with full bloom maple leaves on a clients wall. I free handed almost all of it and I was on the top of a ladder reaching the ceiling and wall edge. But more of that project later.

Painting Dolph Schayes for the Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame

One of the most challenging commissions I painted was a life size (6'9") portrait of Dolph Schayes. Dolph played for the Syracuse Nationals in the 50's and went on to coach the Philly 76'ers. The Syracuse Nationals eventually became the 76'ers. The owners of the Nationals created the 20 second shot clock and to commemorate the 50 year anniversary of that event they had a call for proposals from artists. While my proposal was not accepted it did connect me with the director of the Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame who asked if I would paint Dolph life size so kids could stand next to him to see what it would feel like to defend against him. I spent more time prepping for the project than the actual painting. I read several books about the Nationals, met with Dolph (who is in his 80's) and researched uniforms, shoes and even basketballs. Dolph laughed when I asked him if he had a pair of sneakers that he played in. They played in Converse high tops and he said they tore them apart in every game. It was not unusual for the soles to be pulled off in a game. Trying to determine if Converse high tops were any different in 1955 than today was very challenging. The biggest challenge was to take a small grainy photo (provided by the National Sports Hall of Fame) and convert every feature accurately to Dolph's young 6'9" frame. One of Dolph's favorite moves was to muscle into the net and take a hook shot. That is what I painted. It was painted on a 10' Masonite board so it can be moved (The Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame is in a temporary location). I hung "Dolph" so his feet were 20" off the ground. His height is impressive. In the jump I come to his waist when standing next to the painting. It was a memorable experience on a grand scale.

More painting

I spent the weekend painting at a decorative arts seminar taught by Ros Stallcup. Ros teaches a method of design and painting loosly. We painted holly, cardinals, black eyed susans and red grapes. I tend to be a tight painter and designing and painting to fit the funcional piece with lots of paint stroked on with transparent glazes and thick paint was a challenge. I need this kind of painting weekend to lossen me up a bit. I painted two sides of a canvas place mat, two sides of a canvas table runner and a bowl. Pics are to come when I get a chance to photograph them.



Presently I am working on an oil painting of a bottle of white wine, a wine glass with white wine, red grapes and a crusty roll. The white wine is a challenge to make it look thin and not like olive oil. I have just based in value and color. More layers to come. I love to paint glass and that is not the problem. So far its the wine that is challenging.

Will keep everyone posted on my progress.