day ninety

another painting of miss lake... i was just thinking of her today and it's been a while since i visited her so i thought i'd paint her.

i think it took me a little over 30 minutes. it's another small one.

4.5 x 4 " watercolor

day eighty-nine

christmas gift posted: this is a painting from a photo my mom took of my dad & nephew. can't go wrong giving pawpaw a picture of his only grandson! :)

8x10" watercolor

original post: i just looked at the calendar and we're less than 4 weeks- 26 days- until Christmas!  on that note, i painted another gift tonight.  for the first time in my life, i don't want to be making or shopping on Christmas eve.

for the record, i sat down and made a plan for when i'm painting commissions and gifts. that way, they're interspersed throughout the next month & hopefully won't happen two days in a row.


thanks for hanging with me during this process. y'all are the best followers!

day eighty-eight

after watching eat pray love (not impressed) tonight, i was rushing to paint something. once i finished, i realized that it would make a great gift for someone. so... tonight's is a gift. :)

day eighty-seven

another thanksgiving-inspired post... although i didn't take many pictures on thanksgiving this year, here is one i did take. it's of my great-grandmother (NanNan) after we had finished eating and we were all sitting around chatting.

for this painting, i did not sketch her out like i usually do with my paintings. it was a little experiment inspired by a conversation i had with my older sister. she simply asked if i draw before i paint, which i normally do, so i decided to challenge myself a little. just keeping things interesting....

3x5" watercolor

day eighty-six

i don't know what it's like at your house on thanksgiving day, but at my grandparents' house it is a little chaotic. you hear the electric knife carving the turkey, the oven beeping, my mom and grandmother talking to each other across the house, the TV (or deer hunting video game) in the next room, and family walking in and out of the house.  that's a normal holiday for us. 

i hope your thanksgiving was filled with giving thanks. in honor of this day, here's my grandfather carving some turkey.

4x6" watercolor

day eighty-five

I forgot to paint until 11:45 tonight. Luckily have been looking through old pictures and ran across one I liked! It's of me and my great grandmother, nan nan, when I was around one year old. I spent about thirty minutes on it- it's tiny!

Also posting was difficult because my internet doesn't work correctly when I'm back in Denver of the east. So, all this was made possible by my very special phone. However, for whatever reason,I'm not able to post pictures to my blog from my phone, so I'll post it in the morning! Sorry!

3x5" watercolor

day eighty-four

can i just take a moment to tell you that i love jimmy fallon. i watch his late night show every night and think it's so cute when he gets really tickled. (wittle!!!!!)  his show is always so entertaining and fills my daily laugh quota.

tonight, i painted a little one again... it's of a sweet little boy i know jumping puddles. everyone in the world should have puddle-jumping boots!

4.5 x 6" watercolor

day eighty-three

and so tonight i begin my christmas gifts & commissions (they will not be every day!).

i'm so thankful for the support i've had and the talent the Lord has given me. i am able to gift people a little piece of myself with each painting.... and truly do something i love. 

day eighty-two

hey, tonight was a quick painting- completed in a little over 30 minutes. it's the Charlotte skyline from Cordelia Park, which is just down the street. i took this photo in the spring, i believe, so the greens were really rich.

4.5x6" watercolor

day eighty-one

i'm a leeeeeeeetle late tonight... sorry, folks! i spent the evening celebrating a couple birthdays with some friends. and i'm sitting here smelling like campfire and feeling all good inside, so i figured i'd paint some friends. now, this goes against what my rules.... while i love painting friends, i do not love posed pictures. however, these are two very loyal friends & very loyal followers (who keep making comments about not being painted yet). i present to you my beautiful friends, megan & kristin. (happy birthday, kristin!!!!)

4.5x6" watercolor

day eighty

wooooooo, eighty days in & still going strong. let's just hope i can make it through this holiday season! :)

another secret commissioned work completed today, but check out day 69 & day 72, because i posted those commissioned paintings!

day seventy-nine

when i go on walks, i pass by a house that always has random objects in the driveway. on this certain day, after a good rain, this house had a small camper. in front of the camper sat a toilet bowl, some boxes, a chair, mini fridge, and wooden crates. in a weird way, the house is a bit comforting...

6x12" watercolor

day seventy-eight

it has been a great day; i completed & sent out 2 commissioned works... and got many more inquiries. oh, the benefits of social networking!

tonight i was feeling a bit nostalgic, so i painted one of my favorite photos of myself! i am 2 or 3 maybe, and "playing" soccer in my grandparents' backyard. they've always lived on the lake, and i have so many memories of sitting on the shore, making little bowls from the red clay and watching them bake in the sun. when it was time to leave, we had to be hosed off and get completely dry before we went inside to change clothes. so, my cousins, older sister, and i would run laps around the house to dry off quickly.

So, i will leave you with a short lyric that this day has reminded me of (from the band i saw last night-- The Weepies!!)... 

Empty your hands and look up

6x9" watercolor

day seventy-seven

i'm going to see The Weepies in Chapel Hill tonight, so i had to paint much much earlier than i'm accustomed to!

however, it is another hush-hush painting..... oh, the anticipation!!

day seventy-six

hindsight's always 20/20, right? well, this painting is a bit regretful. although i really like it, i should have been a little more careful with my color choices! this is my nephew, but it looks more like a little girl!! primarily because of his pink top & those red lips. he's still cute, though. :)

also, i believe i spent less than an hour on this one.

9x12" watercolor

day seventy-five

yay!  i'm almost finished with my commissioned pieces due before Thanksgiving! i can't wait to reveal them. :)

day seventy-four

i hope i learned a valuable lesson tonight: never paint in your bed.

i guess i thought since i'm painting with watercolors it would not be as bad if i spilled some paint on my sheets, but i splashed blue all over my sheets & comforter.

here, i painted a scene from my grandparents' house on Lake Norman. it's not quite finished, but i'm very tired and couldn't paint any longer. i only spent about an hour on it.

9x12" watercolor

day seventy-three

happy weekend!!

call me lazy, call me tired, call me deep, call me whatever you want... but i did another "out of control" painting like day 70.  i will admit that i enjoyed the process and end result much better, but it still feels very out of my control....  what's a girl to do!?

i scavenged through all the photos i have in my possession with no success in finding the "right one" to paint tonight.... and it was already midnight when i finished! so, i decided to have a little fun.

9x12" latex paint on watercolor paper

day seventy-two

a commission: rainbow row in charleston, sc.

9x12" watercolor

day seventy-one

good evening, folks.  i feel like every year, i complain about the time change like it's something new. it's just gets dark so blasted early and throws my whole day off! and now i'm waking up before my alarm, which is never good! something you will not hear me complain about is the weather. yes, i'll whine when my bones ache because it's so cold outside, but i LOVE this weather, this season, in NC. it's beautiful.

tonight's painting is a work in progress, i guess. i worked on it longer than i normally do, because i was experimenting with some new watercolor brushes i bought. (if you paint with watercolors, you should really try a watercolor brush- it's fantastic!)  however, i did not really finish. i actually cropped out most of the unfinished parts! haha.  i especially like how the sidewalk turned out.

8x6" watercolor

day seventy.

hey! today's post is a bit unusual for me. short story: i got called out on my perfectionism & need to control today, so i thought i'd experiment a little with lack of control in one area of my life- tonight's painting. i did not enjoy the process or result; it was painful, actually.

my process: i just took cans of paint and poured them onto the paper (lying on the ground). i used a paint brush for the white paint because it was pouring too slowly. then, i took yellow spray paint and covered the painting.  i suppose it's Pollock-esque, but i have a hard time even remotely comparing this garbage to Pollock. he was a genius. nevertheless, it was a release for me, took off some self-afflicted stress, and was kinda fun. :)


my result: this yellow-tinted mess on a small piece of paper (what was i thinking?!) that is so thick it will take 2 weeks to dry.

9x12" acrylic on watercolor paper

day sixty-nine

 a commission: from a photo of cinque terre, italy. you can see my initials on one boat & DAY 69 on the other. :)

9x12" watercolor

day sixty-eight

i thought i would do a really quick one tonight, but like with most things, i have a hard time stopping if it's not 'just so'... still, i only spent an hour on this one. this painting is of my Papaw at a 4th of July. He was holding some type of sparkler or firework.

also, allow me to share a quote from a book i began tonight:

"Imagination does not breed insanity. Exactly what does breed insanity is reason. Poets do not go mad; but chess-players do. Mathematicians go mad, and cashiers; but creative artists very seldom."
Orthodoxy, GK Chesterton

12x9" watercolor

day sixty-seven

hi!! real quick- i was in my hometown of Denver all day today, so naturally i visited my little nephew. he's just the sweetest babe ever, and i had to paint him. after i finished, i realized it looks really unfinished.. oh well!

9x12" watercolor

day sixty-six

{{ today's painting will not be posted until tomorrow night. it is a secret. for the next month, this may be a common post... i've gotten some commissioned works on the horizon that are surprises! so, i'm sorry if this disappoints you, but that's just how it is. }}

so, this painting was late because it was a gift for a dear woman i've known for over 14 years, Julie Gaddy. Her daughter and dear friend of mine, Kate, died tragically in 2000. Today, some of Kate's family & friends gathered to hang out and remember Kate's life. it was great to catch up with friends and see Kate's amazing & strong mother, Julie. this painting was from a photo of her in her dance costume. i just thought it was sweet & adorable. :)

12x9" watercolor

day sixty-five

only 300 more days left!!

my brother has been on my mind a lot lately, and since he hasn't been the main subject of any of my paintings so far, i decided to paint him! this is of TJ looking at my nephew, and they're both wearing baseball uniforms! my brother is so good with babies, loves history & baseball,  and is very particular with his clothes & shoes. he is also the only boy with 3 sisters... heaven help him.

9x12" watercolor

day sixty-four

today i learned a valuable lesson: upon moving into a house with a new heating/cooling system, make sure both the A/C and heat are working.  i haven't needed to turn on my heat yet, but today was especially cold & my space heater just wasn't cutting it. so, i turn on my heat... and nothing happens! hopefully it will get fixed by the weekend. until then, i'm suited up in sweats and scarves and several blankets!

tonight, a friend and i were at Amelie's feeling extremely unmotivated. we talked mostly, even though she had a paper due and i was supposed to be painting. as i was drinking my coffee, i decided i should paint my coffee cup. now, i must admit that i totally botched the ellipse on the cup, but i didn't feel like correcting it. thus, it appears that i drank out of a wonky coffee cup- sorry!

12x9" watercolor, graphite

day sixty-three

so, i decided to try something a little different this evening. just so you know, the reason i've shared musical selections i paint to is because it directly affects my mood & painting style. tonight was no exception. i was listening to the newest sufjan stevens album pretty much all afternoon & again tonight. the chaotic use of instruments, voices, and whatever else is really captivating to me. this painting is 3 different paintings: a small realistic abstracted one; a composed, cleaner, more design-y one; and, a large, piece-y one. they are all of an apple- abstracted in some way or another. good luck figuring them out! :)

9x12" watercolor

day sixty-two

i'm seeing a trend in my work... lack of inspiration! i think i need to go to the mountains or somewhere different & sketch. nevertheless, another day passes with another painting.

tonight, i present a pretty terrible close-up painting of an apple. Georgia O'Keeffe painted and drew many close-ups of flowers. i actually began with a flower & quickly lost interest. moral of the story: i'm not O'Keeffe. it could also use a lot more work, but it just wasn't worth the time.

9x12" watercolor