"Variable Cracker" Butterfly Paintings

Yes, more butterflies!  This variety is called "Variable Cracker", it is from Central America.  The top side is blue and the underside is orange.  I decided to do them as a set on 8" x 10" canvases. 

"Up Seems So Down" Album Cover- Part 3

 
Here is the finished album cover painting.  I decided the trees didn't add to the overall look enough so I took them out.  I painted the whole sky red and then went back and added cobalt blue and yellow to tone it down and create more depth to the sky.  I also put rings of color around the stars and added more light blue to the horizon line.  The sun was also brightened with a stronger yellow.  I love the overall effect.  I hope it makes an impact for Robb's album.  I can't wait to hear the songs!

Below I played with some potential fonts for the cover to see how it would look with the painting.

Here below are all of the work in progress photos.  It shows the changes I made to it before it was completed.

"Up Seems So Down" Album Cover- Part 2

 I worked on the album cover some more today.  I decided to change the font, so I took the words out for now and made the sky a darker red for more contrast with the moon.  I also added some trees to make the landscape more obvious. Pine trees have an obvious direction, almost like arrows, so I think they work best for this kind of alternate up idea.

 

Here it is after I played with some fonts on PhotoScape.  I love the double image.  

"Up Seems So Down" Album Cover

I started working on a painting for an album cover today.  Robb McCormick (aka Some Guy Named Robb) is releasing a new album in December called "Up Seems So Down".   I'm really excited about working on this.  The theme of the album is based on confusion.  The moon is mentioned in some of the lyrics so I wanted to use it on the cover.  The idea I had was to have the sun and moon swap positions in the sky.  Moon at dawn, sun at night.  Hopefully it will translate to canvas like I am picturing it!

Bordeaux Horse Fountain Painting

My husband got his own office a couple of weeks ago, so I thought I would make him a painting for the walls.  We took a trip together back in 2004 to Bordeaux and Paris, France.  There was an amazing statue in Bordeaux of horses/seacreatures.  I have always wanted to paint something from the photos we took.  So I figured this would be a good subject for his office, especially since he works for a French company.  And horses are much more manly than butterflies!

Here is the initial sketch with the background blocked in and details started.

And here it is with a bit more detail painted in.

I decided to change the angle of the legs.  The photo I am working from cut off the legs, so it is tricky getting the correct angle worked out from other photos.

I love how the hair is coming along.  I am going to change up the angle of the neck.  I think it is too narrow.  The head seems out of proportion somehow.  So I am going to fiddle with it some also.  And I am going to thicken up the leg muscles, they are really bulging in the statue photos.

I made some subtle changes.  Mostly in the face and legs.  I like it much better now.  I love the lines in the hair.  And the colors are looking good too.  I may add some washes of color here and there.  My 8 year old says it looks "really cool".  So far so good.

There are splashes of water in the photo and the fountain has water shooting out of the horse's nostrils.  I think I might add that after I finish.  I don't want it to detract from the finished look though.

 Here is the completed painting.  I added some rough patches with a palette knife to give it the aged metal look and deepened some of the shadows.  I also added splashes of white at the bottom to indicate water from the fountain.  I really like how it turned out. 

Sunday Morning Paintings - "The House of God"

The theme of today's sermon was "The House of God".  It was a tricky theme for me because everything I thought I might like to paint was going to take too much time to finish in an hour.  So the idea I came up with was a good solution and also interactive, which I love. I painted colored blocks and at the end of the service people came up and added their hand prints to represent themselves as part of the house of God.  It was a lot of fun for me.  I love it when art becomes accessible and people can feel connected to what I'm doing.

Sunday Morning Paintings - "The Gospel"

My husband Mark brought along our camera today and took some shots and a little video while I painted this morning.  I am really enjoying painting during the service.  Today's message was about the gospel.  I painted the crown of thorns and added sprouts of flowers coming from it.  I thought it was a good way to symbolized the life that comes from Christ's death.  

Sunday Morning Paintings

I am doing a new series of paintings for my church (Fellowship of Christians).  I am painting them during the service.  I have a new theme for each week.  It has been a wonderful atmosphere for painting.  It is a bit hard on my perfectionism because I have to sort of let go and be in the moment.  The paintings aren't perfect, but they have an honesty and rawness about them that is nice I think. 

The first week's message was about "Relationship".

Today's message was "A Prophetic People".  My oldest son Nathan gave me the idea for it.

Next week's theme is "The Gospel".

Pasta Grill Mural - Searcy, AR

I worked on a mural for the Pasta Grill in Searcy, AR this week.  Here are the pictures of the work in progress.  I have a little more work to finish on it.  When it is all done I will do a white wash over the whole thing to make it look soft and aged.