Alan's Post Office (New Trenton, IN)

A couple of years ago our local Postmaster retired suddenly due to illness. He was a warm and friendly guy with a real great sense of humor and everyone in town loved him. We were sorry to see him go. As a token of our appreciation for his years of service I painted the post office on a half sheet of paper and our new Post Person (she does not like being called Post Mistress!) asked everyone from town to sign the painting (so many signatures it covered front and back and you can see some of the signatures around the building). I used my “artistic license” to put Alan’s name and the year of his retirement on the sign. When we delivered it to his home he was very touched. A copy of the painting hangs in the post office to this day!

Last year a painting friend asked if we would like to paint pictures for an auction, using photos taken by her granddaughter, a medical student, who had travelled to Africa. All benefits from sales would go to fund a mission for AIDS patients. Even though I'm not a portrait painter I selected these two photos. I'm told that all of the paintings sold (even these!!!).

The painting at the top was done with watercolor, the one on the bottom with fluid acrylics.

The Kennedy Heights Arts Center Spring Guild Show is coming up - April 12 is opening night with a nice reception from 6-8 p.m. - wine and munchies - makes a nice evening.

The show is only open on Saturdays (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) from April 12 through May 3.

This is one of my paintings entered; the apples in a bag on the previous post will also be hanging.

Hope you get a chance to stop by.

Peony, 14x18, Fluid Acrylics on Canvas.

Casein - Applies in a Bag on Lace

This is my most recent casein picture – and my husband paid me a very high compliment – he said he didn’t think I could improve on it! Wow, very high praise indeed! He even commented on the depth in the shadows – perhaps he really is “Mr. Art Critic”!

I like to paint in series and apparently I now have a “thing” for lace and fruit – hmmmmmm!

It’s good to be painting again and, even more good news – finally got my Kodak Easyshare to work – only 3 calls to Kodak (read that 3 hours on the phone) and the receipt of a CD from them – but it’s working – thank goodness!

And – the best news – my husband bought a laptop and one of those wireless cards – which works on my computer also. So I now have semi-high speed internet – hey, anything over 24.0 bits per second is fast (yes, that’s correct – 24.0) – so if I get 200+ I think I’m flying and it’s already been up to 500+. I can even see videos! Hallelujah!

Apples in a Bag on Lace, Casein, 16x20

Competition Entry

I entered a picture into the Creative Catalyst Productions online show. By my count there were 115 entries - and I won an honorable mention! – so I felt good about that! Check it out at: ccpvideos.com/artshows/.

The judge was Janie Gildow who has some amazing colored pencil work and has written some very informative (and beautiful) books. I had originally thought to enter a picture of marbles – until I saw her picture of marbles and thought otherwise. Figured she would think I was copycatting her to get entered – and let’s face it, compared to her marbles mine were nothing special.

My picture is of my grandfather’s shaving mug and roses on lace and is casein on watercolor board.

More Beginning Casein

Here are a few more of my very first caseins. I was starting to get a handle on blending, and I think the blue/white one looks the best. My daughter likes them (they were from some pictures she took in Venice) so at some point I will just hand them over to her.

The black here was black casein mixed with the emulsion, so it looks somewhat like acrylic.

Sorry about the photos - I can't crop them since my Kodak still is not working. After an hour on the phone and no matter what she told me to do nothing worked, the tech finally got the drift that I had downloaded the update via my dial up, so finally the solution is to send me a CD to download from. If that doesn't work, I'm going to re-load my old, original version and live with the consequences ("Well, ma'am, that's your choice, but you won't be able to get tech support for that older version") but I won't worry if it comes to that since I never had any problems with the old version.

Like I said previously "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" - so why, oh why, didn't I listen to my "gut".

I've got another casein pretty much done and maybe some day I'll be able to take it's picture, download it to the computer and upload it to my blog and you will be able to see it (ahhh, some day . . . . . .)

And while I'm on the topic of computer stuff, here's another bizarre thing (is it just me???). The color had been "off" on my computer for a few days and I've spent lots of time trying to get it back to the way it was. Well, all of a sudden, a little bit ago, the screen kind of "blipped" and my color is all back to it's original color!!!

I'm just to old for all this!

Casein 3

This image is my mother's fiestaware pitcher on my grandmother's garden quilt, with roses.

I think the roses are a little too red, but once it's varnished you are DONE! So, they will just have to remain that way. I had some trouble getting it dark enough on the neck of the pitcher, but with the help (push!) from some friends, I kept going and going and going and finally got it dark enough.

I just finished another one that I'm pretty happy with, which I will live with, get a couple critiques and then varnish and (hopefully by then my Kodak will be up and running) put it on for your review.

Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society (GCWS)

This Wednesday was the monthly Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society meeting. It was “out with the old and in with the new” as we installed a new president and paid tribute to our out-going president, Sandy Maudlin, whom some of you know.

I was in Sandy’s first watercolor class she taught in this area, so I’ve known her many years and have watched her grow as an artist and a teacher.

Some years ago she was invited to give a workshop in Savannah, GA and she invited me and another friend to go along to act as “go fers”. (What the heck – a free trip to Savannah – I’m in!!) I can still remember sitting her paintings up around the room and being absolutely amazed at the progression they represented. There were the paintings I had admired a few years before alongside her more recent endeavors – it was like watching an evolution - just amazing!

While I will probably never achieve the same level of art that Sandy has, I can now see that same progression in my own paintings!

No matter where our lives take us, my thanks to her for opening up my world in ways I could never have imagined all those years ago.

And, by the way, congrats to our new “Madame President”, Shirley Knollman, who I know will do a great job. Shirley is energetic and gregarious and will make the next two years of the GCWS a fun ride!

Casein 2

Another of my casein paintings. This was actually my first series painted with casein.

I had purchased some watercolor canvas in pad form and found that I hated it! What to do now with all those sheets? I decided to try the casein out and had my husband cut me some small pieces of plywood over which I stretched the watercolor canvas and began painting. Not too bad.

These pieces were also created with the original sampler pack of paints, wherein I immediately realized how different the paints were compared to watercolor. They dried quicker, and did not blend the same at all! However, after some struggle I managed to create these pear paintings and I was hooked! Following these I painted some leaves (which sold) and some Venetian masks and then some cute little quilt squares which also sold.

The beginning of my casein paintings

I decided to put up some of my older works, since I still have not resolved my Kodak problem (thanks, Rhonda, for your suggestions!).

So, the image here is of one of my earlier casein pictures. When I first tried it I had just bought the small set and immediately found that it handles like watercolor – except when it doesn’t! After playing with it a while I became hooked on it.

I had already done a picture of tulips in watercolor and decided to try them in casein. This picture is on an 11x14 canvas and not a lot of change in colors, since I didn’t have that many and, as mentioned, had some problems mixing colors in my new medium. Overall, I am still happy with it.

I also work in fluid acrylics – just can’t do well with regular acrylics, don’t know why.

It’s fun now to pick and choose which medium to work in - casein, fluid acrylic or watercolor - for each piece.