Sunflower Study...

Sunflower Study 3
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I picked these happy sunflowers up at Trader Joe's this week. They have so many beautiful flowers right now! These actually lasted long enough for me to capture them in paint, 

so now they'll last forever. 

If you'd like to purchase these for your home just click on the title in the first photo and it will take you to Etsy. From there you can purchase it throughout Pay Pal. You can also click on the link to my Etsy shop to the right.

I had a wonderful, but super fast, week with my daughter, who was home from college for a week. She had to leave before Easter, so we had a family Easter dinner yesterday, which was really Good Friday. If I remember correctly you're only supposed to eat fish...well, we had ham. But to us, it really was Easter. It's so nice to get together with family.

While we were at my mom's I had my daughter pose for me in a beautiful red kimono. I think I managed to get a few photos that I'll be able to use for references. She's such a trooper! It was actually pretty funny and she had a hard time keeping a straight face through all the poses. 

I'm still working on a large Hawaii piece of Maui, it's slowly coming along. It's hard to keep working when my daughter is home. I just want to go play! So now it's time to get busy! One good thing about working from home is you can take time off whenever you want...that can also be a bad thing. I always need to keep disciplined or I'd never get any painting done. And there's so much more to being a working artist than just painting. Not complaining though...I love it!

Gifts From the Heart

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Sometimes it's hard to find the perfect gift for someone who has everything. But they could just have many materials things that they've bought themselves, and would never think to have a painting specially made for them. It's a personal gift of love that comes form the heart and will always be cherished and used (or seen, I should say). I mentioned in my earlier post that I have done a few commissions over the years and this is one of them. I was commissioned by a gentleman to paint this portrait of his father, as a gift to his mother. His father had past away not long before. Handsome man, don't you think? The gift was received with great love and I was told how visitors often admire the painting. I think this has been my most special painting to date. 

Here's another commissioned piece I did. This one was for someone who wanted to remember a beautiful place she had once lived. Beautiful place indeed! I was just noticing this one reminds me of my latest piece. This one was 11x14 though and my latest is only an 8x8. I think I prefer the larger size. 

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If you are interested in having a special piece done, just email me at jbboutique at yahoo.com and we can chat. I just received a new commission I'm excited about. 

It's of someone's young son and his friend and should be fun to paint! 

Black Rock View Maui...

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This painting is another one from my enormous collection of photos I took last year. I hope I'm not boring you all with my Hawaii dreaming! I have one more large piece to do of this photo below.

I'm not sure if you know so thought I'd mention, I do commissions! 

If you have a favorite spot and have a semi good photo of it I can bring it to life and create a memorable keepsake for you or it would make a great wedding gift or realtor house warming gift! I will post some that I've done in the past some time soon. I hope everyone had a great weekend! I had a nice one with a visit to my mom's house. She and her husband just got back from their winter in Mexico! 

They were gone for about three months and it's sure good to have them back in town again! 

Happy sunshine day with spring so close!

Dreaming of Hawaii...

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If you've been following my blog over the years, you know just how much I love Hawaii. I really can't choose a favorite island, although, I have yet to stay on Oahu. I've flown in there and have seen the busy freeways, so that has always detoured me, but I'm sure it has it's unique characteristics just as each island has. This particular painting came from a photo I took on my last trip to Maui. I can't believe it's almost been a year since we were there! I need to put it out there that it's time to go again. Maybe the next time we'll be searching for our new home, or at least dreaming about it. I would really even live in a hut if I could live there! 

I find the idea of growing my own food and picking fruit of the trees, collecting water from rain, and maybe having chickens, so cool. 

This painting is of the upcountry in Maui. There are quiet meandering roads up there and they're lined with jacaranda trees. This is one of my favorites so far. I hope you all like it as much as I do! Sometimes it happens that the paintings that I'm the most please with aren't the most popular but I usually have a pretty good idea about it. 

I have so many paintings in my mind and just can't get them done fast enough! I love painting! I love bringing the ideas in my head to canvas and coming up with a finished piece that will be

around forever. It's such a feeling of accomplishment. And if somebody decides they want to live with it forever, well. that's even better! This is the best job ever!

A little bit of purple...

being revised 

This was a little different for me because of the odd size of canvas. It's 18x36 inches so it's pretty long. It's hard to see the details here so I've added some close ups on my Etsy listing here. I used a palette knife for most of it and a brush to fill in small areas and soften a few things. The grass in the foreground is showing up the wrong color. It's a little more yellow green instead of that brown color. This one is definitely for a purple lover! 

Bather

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I just finished this painting for the weekly challenge on DPW. Carol Marine supplied this wonderful photograph which has inspired me to do some more like this. I found out that my mom has a wash bowl and pitcher very similar to this one. I'm going to have my mom and my daughter pose for me. My daughter is coming home on Spring break soon so hopefully I can get her to do that for me. 

I'm working on a large 18x36 canvas right now and it's coming along ok. I'm not use to this large so I have to remind myself that it takes time to finish something of this size. It's lavender fields, which I love. 

Have a great week!

Jennifer:)

Spring Botanical

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This just says Spring to me! I traveled down the mountain the other day and on my way back up, noticed a tree starting to blossom!

 I was so happy to see that and since then we've been enjoying beautiful weather and walks on the trails just about everyday. 

My puppy dog is sure happy too! 

The Luck of the...

It's a little early for St Patrick's Day but I wanted to share some of my luck. I hope I don't jinx it! I am grateful for all the abundance in my life! This is just one of them and I will be posting more to come.

A few months back I commented on Diana Mieczan's Express-o. You can see her blog here. I've been following her blog for years now and always enjoy her posts about fashion, movies and the simple little things in life. She has such a positive outlook on life and her blog reflex this. As soon as I saw the giveaway I knew it would be perfect for my daughter. The shop is called I Adorn U by Mary Beth Heishman and she's on Etsy too!

I had just talked with my daughter about how she liked all the geometric influence in fashion lately. So when I received an email from Diana telling me I won I was so excited and new instantly this would be going under the tree for Christmas. I finally got the photo of it so I could share it with you. You know how busy a college girl can be... She absolutely loves it and wears it almost every day! It fits her dainty wrist perfectly and the coral color is just perfect! The quality is wonderful and the packaging was so nice. I would definitely recommend this shop for anyone looking for cutting edge fashion. And believe me, my daughter is cutting edge. She's the girl that likes a band before anyone has ever heard of them and I don't know how she does it but she knows what's going to be in style well before any of the stores do. I keep telling her she needs to have a blog but she's so busy getting A's! Ok, yes, I'm a proud mom...but it's true; she's amazing!

Thank you so much Diana and Mary Beth for a wonderful surprise!

Another lucky thing that happened to me was a few years back now. I don't think I ever blogged about it so I'm doing it now. I was so happy and surprised when Simone from Beach Vintage bought one of my paintings and if that wasn't enough she showed it off in her blog here.

It might seem like a small thing to you but it meant a lot to me. 

Spring Musings...

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on my easel 

close up

The sun came out again today was welcomed with open arms and smiling faces. This painting is another in my Bloom series. I however, did not use a palette knife for this one, just my brushes and lovely poppy red! I'm inspired by the pantone colors for 2013. I'm loving all the colors this year! 

I can't wait for the Spring fashions to be released! 

Looking forward to some nice weather here. I'm not sure about my trip to Mexico now. I haven't been feeling very good lately and don't want to buy a ticket and not be able to go. I'll keep you up dated if things change. Check back here for more Spring musings!

click here for the full view

Field of Poppies...

On Etsy Here

I like the close up

on Etsy here

Canyon
8x10
acrylic

Circus
16x20
oil on canvas panel

So these are my new abstracts. I've been wanting to venture in to the abstract world for a while now and have finally done just that. I'm hooked! I imagine the more I do, I will develop more of a signature style, but I'm just having fun completely freeing myself to discover new things. It's not as easy as thought it would be though. I had to completely paint over a few. I find it more challenging than

painting any real subject. It is so therapeutic though and I can't really put it into words. I reminded of my days in art class. So much inspiration and energy there!

If you have tried abstract painting yet, you definitely should! You just might like it!

I was planning on putting a piece in the local art cruise for this weekend but the paint is taking longer to try because of the weather. The theme was Absolutely Abstract. 

So I won't have any new pieces this month but you can still see two of my 

paintings in the Highland Art Center if you're in town!

I'm also having a very difficult time capturing the fresh colors of my paintings on "film". It's like this every winter and I have yet to splurge on some good lighting. I use the sun because it's free, but not always reliable! I just had one of my collector's inform me of how much better my paintings look in person. She went on about how absolutely beautiful it was when she received it. I really wish you could see them in person, but until then I need to work on getting a better representation of them online.

I have another piece I just completed of some more poppies! I'm thinking of Spring and they're so sunny! It's a smaller 8x8 impressionist style. I'll be taking some good photos

 of it tomorrow and posting soon!

If you're interested in purchasing any of these that aren't on Etsy 

you can contact me on my email or Facebook

Roses are Red...

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Here's my latest of the Bloom series, done with a pallet knife. I have a few more to post but am not quite ready for whatever reason. I promise to get to them though. My next one I'm working on is a little different. Kind of abstract with mixed media. 

I just found out that I'm going to Mexico soon. I'm going to be painting a commissioned piece while I'm there so it should be fun. I'll have to post photos when I get back.

Looking for Spring Blooms...

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I can't wait for Spring so painted these to help. I used a palette knife for this one and realized I really like the texture and depth and that loose feeling I'm after. I'm working on a floral series all done with a knife. They are different sizes but all of beautiful flowers. Did I ever tell you I was a floral designer for a while? I love flowers! I only wish I could grow them! I'll never give up trying. 

If you've been following me through the years you know my daughter is away at college and that it was a very difficult time for me getting used to her not being around. I go through a mini empty nest every time she comes home for break then leaves again. Now she has a boyfriend and is even further away from me and so so busy. I know she's grown now but I still think of her as my little girl. 

This series I'm working on is a reflection of what I'm going through and I will call it Bloom, referring to my daughter blooming into the beautiful girl she has become and of her mother 

blooming into her new life. I'm still struggling with the later, trying to define what exactly that is, but I'm moving in the right direction. 

Waimea Abstract

Still continuing with a painting a day, I've completed a few more today and revisited my favorite place with this one. I think I might like this version more than my first. I will be retaking the photo and post it on Etsy or DPW tomorrow. Hopefully there will be a little more light. I'm trying to loosen things up and I find using acrylics can really help with that. I feel less committed to a painting and more free to try new things, because of the cost and the fact they dry so fast! I had forgotten how convenient acrylics are. As soon as I'm ready to take it off the easel to start another, it's dry! No messy wet paint all over. 

I'm starting to work on some abstracts and feeling a little out of my comfort zone. I sent photos of them to my daughter and am awaiting her opinion before I show everyone. I like them...but who knows what they really look like. It's a lot more difficult to go abstract then it looks. It's all about color harmony and design. But it can go bad fast! I had to completely paint over one that I did. I've been working fairly small to start but eventually (when I get some really big canvas) I plan on going large!

I really appreciate your comments! 

Branches and Lemons...and Peonies and a starfish

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I'm doing the 30 in 30 painting challenge from Leslie Saeta. I've been following her blog for years now and love her pallet knife paintings and her amazing show, Artists Helping Artists. I always get so much inspiration listening to her radio show and the information is endless! Only problem is I can't keep up with it! Just as I'm having a hard time keeping up with posting a painting a day. I've done about two a day but posting them each day is the hard thing for me. It's great to have goals though, and the new year brings fresh ideas and inspirations! This painting is acrylic which is not my normal choice of medium. I enjoyed the quick drying time for a change and liked the results. I have a few more to post of a few barns and another landscape so look for those in the next few days.

A little bit of Italy...

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I love New Year's. It's a time for fresh starts and new plans. I can reflect on the past year and all it's joys and maybe think about what might make it a better year to come. I have lots of plans and am going full steam ahead! I welcome in this new year with open arms! Hello 2013! 

You're ring to be the best year yet! Happy New Year to all my blog readers! Thank you for sticking with me through the years and welcome new readers! I hope you find something interesting enough to keep you coming back! :)

Misty Hanalei Bay

no longer available 

I just finished this one for another workshop from Richard Robinson. I'm really enjoying doing his workshops and am learning new techniques! I also started using walnut oil instead of linseed oil. Walnut oil is non toxic so I love that! The workshop focused on little figures in landscapes being made with simple brush strokes. 

If you've ever been to Kauai you know how misty it can get over on the North side of the island. It doesn't matter whether it's rainy or sunny, though...it's always magical. 

I've been selling a few paintings and prints these last few weeks. I hope to keep up this momentum 

in the coming new year! 

For the new year I plan on keeping up with the workshops and

getting in some more galleries and boutiques, but I also want to get back to doing more paintings like I was doing when I started. Think more floral still lives with a whimsy feel (and more watercolors Vicki). I noticed I've been getting away from florals and whimsy feel. I guess the workshop and comparing my work to other's is what's happening and while it's good to improve my skills I don't want to lose my expressive touch, which is where I started. I'm working on another Venice, Italy piece right now and am conscious of this thought. I think it's looking a little Monet like. 

But you'll have to tell me what you think! 

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Ok..I'll add more later:)

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!