Chilly Hummingbird

Chilly Hummingbird

Acrylic on canvas, 5 x 7 inches. $95.00 Sold

Hello. Just like clockwork, the Rufous hummingbirds came back when the Red Flowering Currant (Ribes Sanquineum) started to bloom. It is still pretty cold here in the Pacific Northwest. These tiny birds, which are usually so sleek, puff up their downy under feathers to keep themselves warm. I think it actually serves two purposes, it helps them keep warm, and causes the backyard birder to rush out with fresh nectar to reward them for how cute they are. Hope you like it.

Penelope

** The 7/8" sides of the painting are painted in blue and the framing hardware is included.

Sarcococca Branch

Sarcococca Branch

Acrylic on canvas, 8 x 10 inches. $125.00

Hello. The common name for the Sarcococca shrub is Sweet Box. It blooms in Winter with tiny white flowers that have the most amazing scent, a sort of blend between lilac and vanilla. Heavenly! The birds agree. They love the gorgeous blue berries. I am not sure if I am finished with this painting. The upper branch that I chose did not have a berry on it. I decided rather than to ruminate on--berry in? or berry out? for a second longer, I would sign it, back away slowly, until a decision comes my way. Thanks for looking!

Penelope

I Am Now On Etsy!

Hello! I have decided to start selling some of my smaller paintings on Etsy. You will find me there at: http://www.penelopearts.etsy.com. When I started my blog on January 1, my goal was to begin selling online. Listing some of my work on Etsy is the next step toward that goal. Please take a look! Thanks!

Penelope

Sunbather

Sunbather

Acrylic on canvas, 4 x 4 x 2 inches. $55.00

Hello. I painted this charming little bird last summer. Relaxing has always been a little hard for me. Even when I appear to be relaxing, my mind is usually in some kind of dither over what I should be doing, what I want to do next, where I should be going, oh, and --isn't that a weed that needs pulling over there? Several years ago, I decided to set a goal of doing absolutely nothing for five minutes. Five Whole Minutes! Impossible. No reading, ruminating, or, renovating. Well, last summer, I was finally able to go out on my deck, recline on my chaise lounge, and just do nothing. It was during those times that I became most in touch with nature and particularly my backyard birds. In the beginning, all I saw was a flock of something or others. Over time I learned that the "yellow guys" were in fact our state bird, the American Goldfinch, and that the delightful little black and white birds, that come back to my bird house every year, are Black-capped Chickadees. I also learned that if you look closely enough, they each have their own personalities and that their relationships with each other are complex and fascinating. They have a lot to teach. "Sunbather" was so content and happy in her moments in the sun. I am learning to be the same.

Penelope.

Spring!

Spring!

Acrylic on canvas 5 x 5 inches. $95.00 Sold

I love Spring! Although it hasn't officially arrived, the return of the Rufous hummingbird, drawn back to my yard by the Red Flowering Current, brings the certainty that Spring is on the way. It is the fifth sunny day in the Pacific Northwest with no rain in sight. I am off to the corner of my yard to snip a Currant clipping to paint. Glorious!!!

Penelope

Crescent Lake

Crescent Lake
Acrylic on canvas, 5 x 7 inches. $95.00

Hello. I have painted several small landscapes lately and I am really enjoying them. I am currently painting a hummingbird. A young person, who is very dear to me, has asked me to paint a hummingbird wearing very large glasses. I thought I might give it a try. One would think that after painting and drawing many many birds, I might have noticed that most bird's eyes are on the sides of their heads, and, that they do not wear glasses. Occasionally a bird will fly into one of our windows. While they almost always shake themselves off and fly away, it is a pretty painful event for all concerned. So, I am thinking glasses on hummingbirds may be a really good and necessary accessory. The difficulty is how to put glasses on a bird with an eye on the side of it's head that does not look odd. Okay, I know the whole idea is a bit odd but there is a real perspective puzzle here. I have drawn more than a few pictures, nothing I am happy with yet, but if I could just get a hummingbird to hold still for a bit...

Penelope

A Little More Yellow

A Little More Yellow

Acrylic on gessoboard, 4 x 4 inches.

This painting is currently in the Parklane Gallery International Miniature Show in Kirkland WA. View all of my miniatures in the show at www.parklanegallery.com/miniatures2010/ My work is on page 37.

Hello. "A Little More Yellow" is one of the miniatures that I will be entering in the Parklane Miniature Show in Kirkland, WA. Please ignore the shadow in the picture caused by the frame. The competition is a bit daunting as it is an international show and much of the art is amazing, while the rest of the show is just really really good. I don't paint miniatures too often, but I really enjoy doing it. Painting on such a small canvas, or board, can be quite the challenge, especially with brushes the size of a hummingbird's eyelash. It takes a bit of getting used to, but apart from the usual hair-pulling angst and plaintive cries of "Why Me?" it is actually kind of relaxing. The show is in the Summer and I will be posting more of my entries in the future. Oh, I did finish and send in my entry into the Kent Show. Ta Da!

Penelope

Valentine

Valentine

Acrylic on canvas, 5 x 7 inches. $95.00

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Penelope

Visionary

Visionary

Acrylic 16 x 20. Entered in Show.

Hello. "Visionary" is the last of the five paintings I am entering in the Kent show. If I am really drawn to a subject or pose, I will paint it several times, in several sizes, until I feel I have reached an inner goal that, for now, eludes me. Sometimes I am very clear about what each element in a painting means to me, the colors, shapes, placement, etc. and I paint them with intent. At other times, I just don't know why I make the choices that I make. What I do know, is that in art, as in all aspects of life, more will be revealed.

Penelope

Pear

Pear

Acrylic 5 x 7 inches. $95.

This is "Pear". It is the last of my fruit paintings for a while. I am still working on my entry into the Kent show. I am finding it hard to maintain my focus on the entry details, in part because many of my backyard birds have found their way back. There are lots of Pine Siskin finches at my thistle feeder, the gorgeous Stellar's jays , with their black crests and deep blue bodies, (why haven't I painted this bird?) are eating the winter berries, Juncos and Chickadees too, Oh my! So, when I should be focused on how many ppi's my CD image must be stored at and that the image can only be 9.5" on the longest side, I find myself noticing that the native Red Flowering Current in the corner of my yard is beginning to "leaf out" which heralds the return of the Rufous hummingbird back from the South. I imagine painting a currant shrub, lush with pink flowers and surrounded by flitting hummingbirds, when I should be deciding whether to include the Optional Artist's Resume in my entry. And now I am thinking maybe I should include "Open Window" in my entry with its Rufous hummingbird and single currant flower. Okay, enough. Back to the studio.

Penelope

Waiting

Waiting

Acrylic 16 x 20 inches. $325.

"Waiting" is another painting that I am planning to submit to the City of Kent jury as a possibility for their 2010 Kent Summer Art Exhibit. The big presence of this tiny bird captures how I feel about hummingbirds. I have finished my pear and I will probably post it tomorrow. I have a good start on a small landscape. The goal, as always, is to keep the spontaneity while making the necessary improvements. Wish me luck!

Penelope

Painting is difficult.

Coneflowers

Acrylic, 16 x 20 inches. $325.

The first line of M. Scott Peck's book, "The Road Less Traveled," is "Life is difficult." I first read those lines more than twenty years ago. I return to them often when I become overwhelmed by the task at hand. Although I know that I am being overly dramatic, especially when I am referring to painting, and he was referring to living with integrity when faced with living life on life's terms, his words have always spurred me on when I wanted to throw in the towel, or in this case, brush, when things get really hard. I am, of course talking about painting a Pear. It is my Moriarty. My nemesis. My Achilles heal. My.... Oh, whatever.

I am taking a break from painting my pear to work on the entries I am submitting into upcoming juried shows that I am interested in. Currently there is a "Call to Artists" to enter into the Kent Summer Art Exhibit. I exhibited in this show last year and it is a very good one. I am planning to enter about five 16 x 20 inch paintings and hope that the jury will accept one or more of my pieces. "Coneflowers" is one of the pieces I am entering. I also plan to enter "Fall", and "First Flight", both of which I have posted before. I am not all that tech-savvy so I will be spending time filling out forms, composing my artist resume, editing photos, burning a CD, etc. I will post the other paintings I am thinking about over the next few days. After that, I won't have many more excuses for not finishing my pear.

Penelope

Limes

Limes

Acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6". $55.

We have limes! Whew! Fruit is still hard. I didn't help myself by painting a striped support. For some reason, I did not figure out until after I painted the stripes, that it would have been a whole lot easier to paint one solid color and then paint stripes on it, then to paint the dark stripes, let that dry, then paint the light stripes, let that dry, then clean up the dark edges, then clean up the light edges... Oh well, I will just file this experience under "new things learned" and then hope that I remember it. I do like my limes. Now onto pears!!!

Penelope

Apricots

Apricots

Acrylic on Canvas, 6 x 6 inches. $55.00

I painted Apricots yesterday and a little bit this morning. I know that I am psyched out by fruit so I tried thinking of them as really exotic eggs. I love painting eggs. Today, I am starting on a pair of yellow/green eggs. They are actually limes, but I am hoping I am on to something here. I'll let you know.

Penelope

Apples

Apples

8 x 10, Acrylic. $145.00

I have decided to try to stay with one subject for a while. For those of you who know my work, you know that I paint a wide variety of objects, including, African collectibles, birds, landscapes, decoys, vintage collectibles, etc. It has been a while since I have painted fruit. I don't know why, but, for me, painting fruit is very difficult. I have heard it said that "anybody can paint a pear." What could possibly be the difference between painting a pear, and say, painting a fish decoy? They both require a lot of color, their shapes are interesting but not impossible, they are both small and charming in their own way. I don't know what it is except that fruit psyches me out and decoys don't. So I will work on fruit for a while, alas.

Speaking of psyching out, I have discovered that I am unable to finish a painting in a day. Adding the pressure of finishing a painting every day ups the angst ante to a level that negates the reason I paint. I do paint everyday. Well, almost everyday. When I am not painting, I am reading about painting, or researching painting at galleries or museums, or buying supplies, or blogging, or, well, you get the picture. I think the value in finishing paintings more quickly, is that it does not allow you to spend endless hours massaging every bird feather and nest twig. Two of my favorite daily painters are Qiang Huang and Carol Marine. Although their styles are different, they each paint quickly and loosely, a painters holy grail. I haven't given up, but for now, I just need to have an extra day, or two.

Penelope