Bigger Palms & Mr Lucky

This is from the same study that produced the first palm painting this week. It is larger, 30x30, oil on canvas, and I like it. I usually do not attempt pictures of nature because they often look like a poor imitation of the real thing (nature that is). I do not paint landscapes or seascapes (ewww!) for that reason. There are painters who do it really well, but even then it is not my cup of tea. This crazy kind of nature image I enjoy because it seems to be an interpretation of the thing, not a copy of it at all. The big azalea on the right was the hardest object to depict in this picture. It is one of those ginormous, indian azaleas that thrive in this part of the world. This one has been neglected, which is good, and allowed to grow every which way. I did not want it to look like a dotted blob. Here is retains its "bushness." My constant companion on the walks that lead me to these kinds of images is Mr. Lucky, a large border collie. Here is a rare shot of Mr L playing in the back yard. I am going to put this picture up for bid on ebay just as an experiment. Use this link to bid on Bigger Palms. Happy Sunday! MEK

After The Flood

We had a big storm here yesterday. The sun did not shine and going outside was not a possiblity. Just to get out of the house I went to an estate sale on Dauphin Street, where I purchased the open vessel and the two orange dogs that are in the foreground of this painting. The flowers are leftover from the breakfast party on Wednesday. They are about to go over but I wanted one more shot at them. Hope you are well. Today is beautiful and sunny. Perfect for painting. MEK.

Breakfast With Friends

Three of my good friends came over this morning for breakfast. Often we meet at the Tiny Diny for a visit and breakfast, but today I was off work so I cooked. We had quiche with swiss chard, mushrooms with green onions, fresh fruit, bagels, and cheese grits, oh and some coffee and V8 juice, too. What a nice morning it was...just to be at leisure with friends. Lydia and I painted after breakfast, right there in my dining room, the leftovers and the flowers were on the table. Here is a picture of the dining room with our pictures in progress, as well as my finished painting. I am happy with Breakfast with Friends because it it probably the only time I will ever include bagels in a composition. Also it is a record of a wonderful time shared with friends. Use this link to see Lydia's painting, and this link to bid on Breakfast with Friends, which, BTW, is 16x24, oil on hardboard. Be well. MEK.

Love Letter mixed media collage

It is a soggy day here on the gulf coast and the light is not good. Therefore it is a perfect day to work on collage! This one is called Love Letter and it is 8x8, mixed media on board. I am thinking about the image of text combined with the reading of text....plus playing with the idea of home and community. To bid on LOVE LETTER use this link....working on another palm that I hope is finished tomorrow. MEK

Porch Palm

This is right up the street from my house. Everything is blooming and the palm sits so nicely in front of the porch. Porch Palm is 12x16, oil on canvas, extremely colorful. To bid on Porch Palm use this link. Happy day from mek!

Palms

This is the corner of Woodlands Avenue and Spring Hill Avenue, in Ashland Place. This is right around the corner from my house, and it is a rare vacant lot in midtown Mobile. It is a riot of spring color, with wild palms, wild flowers, wisteria, and trumpet vine. It is 12x16, oil on canvas. To bid on Palms use this link

Trumpet Vine and Wisteria

Picked trumpet vine and wisteria this a.m. while walking. I love these invasive vines when they bloom! I have seen trumpet vine cultivated and espaliered in France. Here they just take over. This is small, 12x4, oil on canvas. To bid on Trumpet Vine use this link! Happy Day!

Rusty

I decided to make a mixed media piece today with acrylic and collage. This one is kind of a mess. I am rusty. I am going to keep trying though because I think this could be fun. I will post a regular picture tomorrow. Today, you can shake your head and wonder why.....

Pictures from Divine Bovines Opening

Here are some pictures from the opening of Divine Bovines. Top is my painting "Classical Cows," with friends Gail and Claire in front. Directly above you see Lydia's cows. I like to think of the one in front as "Bossy," the lavender cow. To the left is the organizer of the show, Joanne, with friends, in front of her swell cow. Ummm love the complementary colors Joanne!

Free Flowers

I try to take a walk every day. This time of year the pollen is brutal, but it is worth sneezing to see the extremely decadent display of color that my city produces. If Vegas has a garden it would look like Mobile in March and April. Yesterday I picked a bouquet of free flowers, some wild and some not, and brought them home to paint. I was attempting to created a very light (I mean weightless) picture today because that is the kind of day it is. This is 12x16, oil on canvas. I also downloaded a few pictures (I thought they were lost) from the cow show opening. Get out to the Grelot library before the end of April to see Divine Bovines. Also I will be teaching at Paint Party Studio on Friday night. Give Renee a call to sign up for the class if you are interested. Here is the link. You can drink while you paint! Should be interesting. To bid on Free Flowers use this LINK.

Still Life with Blood Oranges

Yesterday's picture is finished so I guess I should call it half a painting a day. Today is gloriously sunny. All the flowers in my still life are glowing! This composition is about circles, circular bowl of chopped up circular oranges, circular vase, and flowers coming out radially. This is 16x12, oil on canvas. To bid on Still Life with Blood Oranges use this link.

Half of a Spring Break and Half of a Painting

This is a gloomy March day in the heart of dixie. I am excited by this still life specifically because of the colors and the break up of negative space. It looks a bit Japonais. Unfortunately there is very little light today so I am stopping. I will finish tomorrow and show you the results. Painting a day makes me work really fast and you can see the drawing here. This canvas was gessoed with a deep brown gesso (Daniel Smith). Drawing was done with a gold oil pastel(Sennelier). One coat of rather thin paint, mixed with liquin and Dorland's wax medium has been applied. Tomorrow I will probably spend less than an hour getting this finished. The Liquin and Dorland's will make it dry quickly. Thanks Jami for inviting me to Joanne's birthday lunch. I had so much fun with all of you ladies! Art is not likely to make you rich in money but if you do it right you will be rich in friends....and not a one of them will bore you!

Making Art in Tough Times

I went to a meeting yesterday afternoon with a bunch of other artists. I talked with a few about sales during these tough economic times. One artist, who is very successful financially, talked about this being the time to paint what you want to paint, to experiment, to make what pleases you. I loved these comments because after years of being an artist for hire, I now have an income. I can make the art I choose to make. If someone wants to purchase it, well that is wonderful. But I do not depend on that for my income. Historically tough times in general tend to produce art that is new and different. I am hoping for that. There is also the hope that with a change in our country's attitude towards material goods, i.e. granite countertops and botox being items that were formerly important and now expendable, we may come to a more introspective place where the arts are recognized as an important aspect of life. Here's hoping!

Opening at Michael's

Today was one of those days. I got up, went through some unexpected steps to get my Dad's truck, and headed for Fairhope to pick up the show at the Unitarian Church. Thanks again to Jean and all the great folks over in Baldwin County for that show. They are having a photography show opening tomorrow from 3-5. Check it out if you are out and about. Home to Mobile, taught a class, pant pant pant ( you know that sound the Beatles make in A Day in the Life)....showered, dressed, and headed for the opening at Michael's. We really did not expect too many folks to show up because we were off the beaten track for Artwalk. It turned out great though...I sat down with my friends and had a swell dinner and some much needed wine. Ended up with a great group at the table. I am exhausted but gratified. The show is lovely. I can stop panting, but not painting!

Tiny Sunflower

That is one of those phrases like "jumbo shrimp," that really contradicts itself. My day was full of delays. I did not have time to do much, just this very small, 12x4, sunflower. I had primed this canvas with red because I was going to paint artichokes on it. I ran out of time and just decided to go for the single sunny. You can see in the detail photo that there is quite a bit of scratching in this petite picture. It has a ton of color in it, too. To bid on Tiny use this link. Our opening at Michael's (corner of conception and st michael) is tomorrow night at 6. Come by and have a glass of wine with us. Michael will be serving dinner so plan on that as well. He does not take credit cards but is proud to accept cash and checks. How old school is that? Besides does anyone still have/use credit?!?

Whitey

I was trying for a white picture but what I got was a picture with a ton of white and a ton of color as well. I picked this cotton near Grand Bay back in the fall. I have wanted to paint it for a long time. It looks kind of Japanese in the picture. The daisies were fun to paint. They are thick and textured. I do not know if this picture hangs together at all, but it is my painting for today. BTW Lydia and I will have an opening on Friday night during the LODA ARTWALK at Michael's restaurant. It will start at 6. The restaurant is located on the corner of Conception and St. Michael, just around the corner from the Athleston club. Come on by. If you have not had dinner at Michael's you should! The food is fantastic, fresh, healthy, and pretty. Our paintings will surround you completing the buffet for the senses! I will tell you more tomorrow. Remember to support our local merchants during these hard economic times (and artists too for that matter). Be well. To bid on Whitey use this link.

Pitcher Collection

This red pitcher was part of my grandmother's pitcher collection. When I was a kid I would look at it up on the shelf and wonder about it. It did not look like anything else my grandmother had. When she died I brought it home. Every now and then I like to paint it and wonder why she had it. The small Paris pitcher my mama got for me. We have spent many happy hours in the city of light! I am so glad that we have made so many trips there. I no longer feel like a tourist when I visit Paris. If I win the lottery I am getting an apartment there. This is 12x16, part of a bigger still life that I set up over the weekend. I was kind of stressed all weekend. However my nervous state led to me completing three paintings and starting a fourth. Maybe I should stay nervous! The stock market went up today....let's all celebrate and be optimistic. To bid on Pitcher Collection, use this link. And thank you BGT. You are a lifesaver and I love you!

Queen of The Kitchen

Sometimes thematic pictures just come together, seemingly on their own. Now that Queen is finished, I know what it is about. When I put the objects together, if felt random. Here the sunflowers from last week are framing the picture. They have a good bit of texture under them. The Botticelli picture is here again, only more detailed. Strawberries are in the center, honey to the right and hyacinths to the left. It all sits on an apron with the words Queen of the Kitchen and Her Majesty on it. Somehow we get the transfer of the ancient feminine brought into the mid twentieth century as a kind of joke. All the sensuality had been removed by the time the apron was made. By putting these objects on top of the apron, I am attempting to put the sensuality back in. Happy Day! This is 20x20 oil on canvas. It is not going up on ebay. If you are interested send me an email. MEK.

Art History Lesson

I made this little 10x10 this afternoon. I wanted it to be about the color red, but I veered away from that concept a bit when I chose to include the book with the detail of the painting Las Meninas. This is a painting I love, probably because it is one of my first memories of painting. I used to study it in my Mama's art history book when I was small, before I could even read.

so this little picture is an homage to Velazquez and his magnificent pictures that inspire me every day. To bid on Art History Lesson, use this link. Cheers!

Boisterous Bouquet

I stayed up late working on my paper, which is about a very heavy topic. I felt good about what I did though and slept in this morning. I felt energized after my long sleep and decided to tackle this boutquet of sunflowers and rununculus. I went to an estate sale yesterday and got some interesting stuff, including the little pitcher in the right bottom of this picture. It has Eastman Kodak Rochester NY written on it, and some lines for measuring. I think maybe it was something for mixing photographic chemicals. None of that shows up here since I painted it quickly, way too quickly for that sort of detail. Sometimes I have to remind myself that this is painting a day, not a long drawn out process! To bid on Boisterous Bouquet use this link...and this is 12x16, oil on canvas, with some sgraffito, some knife work, some encaustic. Also there is one shot that is a detail. Enjoy. Peace!

Photos from Divine Bovines Opening

Thanks to Jami Buck for the pictures!

Coming Along

I want to thank Joanne Brandt and Kathy Friedline for getting the Divine Bovines show organized, publicized, and hung. Our opening was last night.
We had a great turnout. If you did not make it last night, get out to the library any time. Our show is on the second floor. You can't miss it! Some downtown and midtown friends made the trek out to wemo so I want to give a shout out to Douglas and to Karen and Michael. It was also great to see my folks, Bryant, Mark, all the Friedline children, Whitney and Daniel, Mark, Bryant, Clair, Mary Ellen, and Lydia's entourage. Do you watch "Entourage"? Well Lydia could have her own show about her own special entourage! I am also including the Sausage Ball recipe I used for the opening. It is good and easy and economical to prepare. Enjoy. Sausage Balls(Old Timey)

2 cups Bisquick

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 lb pork sausage (ground like Jimmy Dean)

Preheat oven to 400

Mix all ingredients. I put on surgical gloves and mix by hand. Get it all mushed up together. Also if you like it spicy add some cayenne pepper. I do.

Line a cookie sheet with foil. Form the mixture into balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake approximately 15 minutes. Drain on a paper towel. This makes about 4 dozen.

The past few days I am working on this picture, a 20x20 oil and encaustic on canvas tentatively titled "Queen of the Kitchen." I should be finished tomorrow but here it is in its current stage.

Divine Bovines Opening

The Divine Bovines show opens this evening at the West Regional Library on Grelot Rd in west Mobile. The opening is from 6-8. We will have refreshments...I am bringing that old timey appetizer Sausage Balls, which I though would not insult the bovines (it is port sausage not beef) and would provide some protein and a respite from cheeses and sweets. My painting is an old one. For about two years I did pictures of cows. I liked using them as a symbol of "western civilization." By that I mean that the bull/ cow image has been with us since archaic Greece. Somehow that image, combined with the idea of the American west, made me think about the strange and wonderful cultural and historical connections that images contain. I do not want to leave out the fact that I attended two (yes two) universities with agricultural schools. At Auburn my friend Alicia Macbeth and I went up to look at the cows. Alicia made a wonderful little mixed media piece for me titled "Cows Lurking as Cows are Want to Do." At the University of Illinois, we had what was referred to as the south farm. This was a giant farm on campus that served as a classroom for the ag students. It had some giant cows, and even more giant pigs, which could always command my attention. Agriculture is so old and so necessary. We tend to look at it nostalgically these days. I think that with the slow food movement and the fears we have about our food supply, that agriculture will rise again. Hope to see you this evening! MEK

Primavera

Spring is really here, in the deep south, where I live. I have had these hyacinths in my studio for a few weeks. Their smell has permeated the room. It is sweet but not sickly sweet, just sweet. I had used the book image (a graphic rendering of Botticelli's Primavera) in a still life for my drawing students. So I used that, my hyacinths, some strawberries, and a jar of honey that I have been jonesing to paint, for this still life, which is all about the sweetness of spring. It is 15x18, on canvas. To bid on Primavera use this link. Have a sweet sort of day!

Slow Food/Fast Painting

I have been offline for a few days due to a nasty computer virus. I was having withdrawal! I made this picture on Sunday and I like it. It came out very quickly and naturally. It is always so nice when I do not have to struggle with a painting. It does not happen often so when it does, I am appreciative (to who? me? or what? the god of painting? hummm this introduces a whole new topic for me...). This will go up in Michael's when I get a chance to hang it. Go by and see our show and enjoy some terrific "slow food." This is 12x24, oil on canvas. To bid on Slow Food, use this link. Thanks and I am so glad to be back online.