#37 Dressage

 Dressage, Oil on board, 5x7 

#34-36

 Grass is Always Greener

 Flat Out

 My Neighbor's Mare

Bird Watching

The thing about this challenge is, not everything has to be a painting. I was recently hit with a couple of unreasonable deadlines, and I am doing my best to do them. I am working 12-14 hour days and by the evening, I am exhausted. So this weekend I grabbed my sketch book and pencil and did gesture drawings, then came home and used a paper stump and powdered graphite to fill them in as I watched TV and unwound. This is the result.

#32 Calla Lilies

Callas are my favorite flower. If I am in the store and they are there, I will get them. They are hard to come by here in Minnesota as they can not survive the cold, so I keep them in pots and bring them in during the winter.

This is Callas, 5x7, oil on black gesso

# 31

#31 My Neighbor's Dog, 5x7,  Graphite

These are 26-30. Because of the holiday, I was unable to paint or even go into the studio. So I decided to keep a sketch book with me at all times and sketch what I saw. It was refreshing to do gesture drawings again. These are graphite and wax pencil.

#25 Iris

This is #24 Iris, 4x4, Oil on board

# 24 Rose

Day 24, Rose, Oil 3x3

#23 Orchid

This is #23 Orchid, oil on board, 5x7

#22 Orchid

When you take on a challenge, you challenge yourself...right? But sometimes you try to tackle something way beyond your means. I have several boards that I gold leafed, and decided that was my a great substrate. Even though I like the look of it, it took way too much time. I will have to simplify the process here just a bit... This is 

#22 Orchid 5x5 Oil on gold leaf

#21 Orchid

I have a black thumb when it comes to growing things. But the one thing that I can grow is orchids, because the more you leave them alone, the better they thrive. My orchid bloomed last week, so this is #21 Orchid.

#20 A rose is a rose

A Rose is a Rose, 5x7, Oil

75.00 + 5.00 shipping

# 19 Make a Wish

# 19 Make a Wish, Oil, 3x3

SOLD

#15 Tulips

Tulips, 5x7, Oil on board

# 14 Tulips

There are many wonderful things about this challenge. I get to try new things, explore the light, and my husband buys me flowers to paint. These are the most beautiful tulips I have ever seen, so I put them on the back porch and painted them.

This is Tulips, 5x7, Pastel

My other cat, Burbank, is persistant about getting onto my desk when I am working. I have to draw the line somewhere...so I have a footstool that I put next to my easel for him to lay on. I glanced over at him and saw the way the light was hitting him and painted this. This is Burbank, 5x7, Oil on cradled board.

# 12 Origami Cat

This is my cat, Suki. She sits almost as still as fruit and Hershey kisses.

This is  Origami Cat, 5x7, Oil on cradled board.

# 11 Glass

# 11 Glass, 5x7, Pastel

75.00 + 5.00 shipping

# 10 Orange You Glad? 4 3/4 x 3 1/2 Oil on board

50.00 + 5.00 shipping

#9 Kiss Me Three Times

Kiss Me Three Times, 4 1/2 x 2 3/4

SOLD

#8 Kiss Me Twice

Kiss Me Twice, 4x2 3/4, Oil on board

SOLD

#7 60/60 Kiss Me Once

Kiss Me Once, 4x3 1/4, Oil
SOLD

#6 Escapee

There is a local feed store, Martie's, run by Beth and Rusty. I absolutely love these guys, they make me laugh every Saturday when I pick up my corn, sunflower seeds and peanuts. (We have very happy birds and squirrels) They sell fresh eggs right from the ones that they own and I am so spoiled by them, I will never eat a store bought egg again. This is from my weekly Sunday morning Huevos Rancheros that I make for my husband.

#6 Escapee, 4x2 1/4, Oil on Board
50.00 + 5.00 shipping

#5 Quail

There is a wonderful bird farmer I met online and she raises many different kinds of birds. I was intrigued to use her eggs in this challenge, so I bought a few of all of what she had available. She poked holes in these and blew them out for me and I will do as many of them as I can before I tire of painting eggs!!!

This is #5 Quail, 3x4, Oil on board

50.00 + 5.00 shipping

#4 Lobster

Not completely happy with this one yet. I may go in and tweak a few things. I am working on black gesso board which I have never done, I love it, but it does add a different look to my usual work.

#4 Lobster 5x7, Oil on Board
75.00 + 5.00 shipping

#3 Salsa

The same tomatoes that I posted yesterday, just a tighter view of them.

#3 Salsa, 5x5, Oil on Board

75.00 + 5.00 shipping

#2 Salsa

Number 2 down. One of the wonderful things about this challenge is that I can set up my still life, paint it, and then eat it!!! Not a bad deal. Still life is something that I have not done much with, but I am always looking for a challenge.

#2 Salsa,  7x4 1/4 oil on board
75.00 + 5.00 shipping

#1 Cheers

This is the first of my paintings in the challenge. It was a bit ambitious, I will admit. Maybe the next one won't be so shiny and have so many straight lines.

"Cheers" 5x7 Pastel on Wallis Paper
SOLD