I finished the tea cup and really like it.  After taking it to the framer, I decided I would like to do a series of antique tea cups (found and awesome frame so went ahead and ordered for entire series - guess that shows my committment to finish the series!).  I have several other concepts under way.  Starting April 4 (I hope), I will start posting 50 paintings in 50 days $50 per (unframed) painting.  They will all be on primed masonite 6x6 size (my personal favorite!) and will be available for sale first come for $50.  Please sign up for my newsletter or for blog updates if you would like to receive the daily paintings.  My theme for the first grouping (I already have ideas for future groupings) will be "foods"....   

I didn't get to spend as much time today as I should have working. Sometimes the muse just isn't there.  I hope to finish this tomorrow and will have to decide the next painting.  Am tossing around in my head several paintings for upcoming series "50 in 50 for 50" which will feature 50 6x6 oil paintings on gessoboard, painted over 50 consecutive days and offered first come for $50 each (unframed).  If you would like to receive a daily update when this series starts (around April 4), please sign up for my email newsletter.  The series will focus on foods and already have several ideas, maybe that was part of the reason couldn't concentrate on the teacup today....

this is an antique tea cup I got from a local Antique Store. I am thinking I might do a series depending on how this one turns out.

this is a tribute to one of my families favorite sports! We love watching every weekend and my son loves to play.  I made prints of this for his coaches as a thank you for a fantastic season.  It's nice to be able to provide something different than the "usual" thank you note.  Hope they liked it as much as I enjoyed painting it.  The folds in the uniforms and colors in the ice were challenging, but as artists will do - I tackled one shape at a time.  My only regret is that some of the painting had dried prior to my finishing and I would have liked working more wet on wet.  I will investigate some new mediums that might slow drying time for me.  It would be nice to always finish a painting in one sitting, but not always practical.

Another bi-weekly painting challenge from www.differentstrokesfromdifferentfolks.blogspot.com site. This one was fun! Challenging but well worth the effort. I learned alot and felt very motivated after finishing. It's amazing how much more relaxing the process is when you have a piece that finishes to your liking.  Definitely motivates me to do more.  I have another 1/2 finished that hopefully will post tomorrow and several prepped ready to be started.  Now if I can get dinner and laundry to wait while creativity flows!

I was able to finish the tulips.  Challenge to get the leaves "transluscent" with the sun shining through them.  I think I was able to capture the effect.  I really liked being able to see the colors of the flowers repeated in the stems.  I have always heard there are many colors in white, but I am finding when looking closely, there are many colors in everything!

Another underpainting completed.  I had so much fun with the last one, will see where this one takes me.  I have another small floral rose ready to paint if this one is not dry tomorrow.  I was able to spend alot of time today prepping my next pieces so hopefully will be able to post more completed ones soon.

I finally found the time to finish this.  It took longer than I thought, but I do like the finished piece.  I would like to try the underpainting again and see if the step of adding color goes faster when I take the time to actually work on it and not try to paint in between other projects.  I'm sure there would have been ways for this to progress faster than it did.  Each painting is a learning experience!

update on Lilly.  I found I had to spend some time this week preparing my files to meet with the accountant for taxes, so I did not get to finish this as planned.  However, I couldn't walk by the easel and not want to work on it.  So, I allowed myself "breaks" from the books to paint for a petal, then back to the books.  So far, I'm really liking this, still need to punch up the lights and darks, but it is on its way (as am I - to meet with the accountant)...

Grisaille underpainting completed for Tiger Lilly. This is the first time I have tried this technique.  Don't know if I will be able to apply color glazes tonight or tomorrow.  Stay tuned...

Thanks to surgery, I have been unable to post/paint for a little while.  I am doing much better and hoping to make up for the lost time.  This piece was great fun to paint.  I have friends who love sushi and it always makes a great ladies night out (since the men don't like it).  This was actually from a reference picture provided on the www.differentstrokesfromdifferentfolks.blogspot.com blog.  It is a great way to practice your interpretation of a reference photo and then see how that compares to how others interpret it.  Now, back to the easel...