I’m getting ever closer on finishing this acrylic on wood painting! It will hang in a research and development lab when complete. Let’s hope it inspires some creative thinking.

I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving – spending time with family, friends or doing whatever makes you happiest.

If you recall, about a month back I mentioned how proud of myself I was for beginning to make Christmas-themed art stuff for a sale I have coming up December 7th and 8th. The results of my attempts were less than phenomenal, but I assured myself I would feel the holiday spirit in me as the date got closer. Who was I kidding?

I have always stuck to my guns in believing one does not gear up for the Santa Claus holiday until the Turkey holiday has passed. My Christmas inspiration has been nowhere to be found. I’ve decided to work on things that would make great art gifts instead. These tiles (which will become trivets) are the result. I painted the elephant for a friend and it may or  may not be finished – I haven’t decided if color should be added or not. Thoughts anyone?  

For those of you who think painting tiles or ceramics of any sort sounds like fun, these are the paints I use.

The boyfriend has always contended that he “does not do gifts” for birthdays, Christmas – any special occasion, actually. Instead, he buys gifts if he sees something that is just perfect for a person. So when a package arrived for me this weekend – a few days before my turning 36 – I was assured that it was “not for my birthday.” Coincidentally, I have been told this same thing around this very same time for the past few years. The package contained a microscope! Today I began a painting based on the motor neurous slide I looked at. I love my not-a-birthday-present, present!

I had another request to create more bird and bike pieces. This one is nearly done – a few tweaks to the goggles, maybe an addition of an aviator’s hat and perhaps a glaze of color are needed yet.

I finally finished up what I have decided is the most non-traditional, traditional portrait I have ever done (not that I do a ton of portraits, but nonetheless.) After much contemplation I opted to stick with the flat, primary colored background. It feels unexpected and a bit uncomfortable to me, which I really like. I’m hoping Dave will like the choice as well. I also chose to include another goat in the piece. His placement and cropping makes it appear as though he kind of walked in, in the middle of the painting. The piece feels pretty unique in both subject matter and approach, which always makes me happy.

I have to say I think this is one of the most interesting requests for a portrait I’ve ever had. I still have a lot of work left on it – including adding a horn and making some decisions regarding colors. Because it isn’t your traditional portrait, I’m leaning toward using some really bright colors in the back and foregrounds (the yellow and bright green are my current experiments.) We’ll see if I continue down that road or not.