The Meen Green Machine...

This is the car painting that I did for my boyfriend, Mr. Motorhead, for a Christmas present.  I was so nervous about giving this painting to him because he's such a Mopar Muscle car fanatic.  And I titled this "Meen Green Machine"; rather than what I really wanted to call it--- "The Other Mistress".  LOL!  I figured I better keep myself out of trouble, if I can. ;)

I struggled to do this a little different but still try to stay close to the true-ness of the car.  I kept it to a limited palette of greens and blues; a masculine color pallet.  I thought that the smoke coming from the tire area would bring it a little more alive in the painting rather than just a static car sitting there.  Then, I felt it needed a bit of a Mopar logo-like for Mr. Motorhead.  After all, he is a Mopar Man!  I also felt like I needed something more in the upper left hand corner too.  I tried to kind of replicate a Mopar badge like logo that I found on-line.  I think it turned out well.

Mr. Motorhead was happy with it.  In fact, it is already framed and up on the wall in his living room.  The only item on the wall; which makes me feel special that he wanted it there for all to see.  Here's the painting...

"Meen Green Machine"; Watercolor on 11" x 14" Paper.

The car is a 1971 Scamp.  As to the engine and more specifics, I'm unsure and still learning.  But I have spent some time strapped in the passenger seat and I can tell you it has some real muscle!  In fact, I was in there once when he did peel out and burn some actual rubber on the pavement.  It was an exciting experience!!  But here's a photo of the actual car...

I welcome any feedback you may have and thanks for stopping by!

Dogs Resting...

I did this painting as a Christmas present for friend's, a married couple, that have become some wonderful new friend's to me since I have moved back to the Eastern Iowa area.  This painting is based on a photo that they shared on Face Book and it just caught my eye as a potential painting right away; some photos do that.  I felt safe to share it, now that they have received their painting.  I'll be sharing another car painting soon that I did as a Christmas present for Mr. Motorhead, my boyfriend.  But in the meanwhile, enjoy this one...

"Dogs Resting"; Watercolor on 11" x 14" Paper

Here's the original photo that I used for the painting....

Are they just not adorable?!?

I will say that Mr. Motorhead helped me.  He was wonderful and offered to get it framed.  I was rather glad because otherwise I would've been in the store trying to narrow down frames forever and ever!  It always helps to have another perspective when trying to chose a frame and matting.  I think that Mr. Motorhead has a real eye for color.  Here's a picture of it framed....

My friends have been sharing a new picture of the painting on Face Book and have been very happy with the gift.  That's always wonderful to hear.  Now, I just hope that Mr. Motorhead likes his painting!  Thanks for stopping by and please feel free to leave a comment.  Merry Christmas!

Stormy Duo Glide

Yes, the last Duo Glide motorcycle painting was a bit "girlie" as I was told by one male friend.  I will admit that the colors did give it more of a feminine type feel.  I also had more of my female friends on Face Book that liked it than the guys.  

So with that in mind, I thought that I would do another painting of it but with more "male" colors; blues, browns.  So this is the result of doing that...

"Stormy Duo Glide"; Watercolor & Ink on 14" x 22" Paper.

I call it " Stormy Duo Glide".  I welcome any feedback or comments.  Thanks for stopping by!

A Duo-Glide Dream,,,

And yet, another motorcycle painting.  This one is based off of another photo that I took while visiting the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, IA.  I call this one " A Duo-Glide Dream".  The motorcycle is based on the front end of a Duo Glide motorcycle; anyway, that's what it says on the motorcycle in the picture.  I need to learn more about motorcycles and maybe by painting them I will pick up something's along the way?  Well, one can hope? :)  I call this a dream because of the dream-like quality that I did in the background.  I really just wanted to focus on the front of the motorcycle.  But here it is.....

"A Duo-Glide Dream"; Watercolor on 14" x 22" paper.

I would love to hear any feedback you may have and thanks for stopping by!

The Old Indian...

Earlier in the year, I did a motorcycle painting for my brother.  It was a gift for his birthday.  I had so many of his motorcycle friends that were giving me compliments about his painting that I thought it be fun to try another motorcycle.  

About 2 months ago, I went with my boyfriend on a Sunday drive.  Our destination was the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa.  I took several photos at the museum hoping to use the photos as subjects for further paintings.  Meanwhile, I was constantly reminding my motor-head boyfriend about the “do not touch” signs that hung on each motorcycle.  I was concerned about either his drooling or touching harming these bikes.  But I will say that I took a ton of photos because there were some pretty amazing motorcycles at the museum.  I would highly recommend visiting the National Motorcycle Museum for anyone that is even remotely a fan of motorcycles.  

Among the motorcycles was this older Indian Motorcycle that I was just enamored with the head lights and a round metal piece that had an Indian’s face in.  It almost looked like a face plate for a horn or something like that.  I’m unsure what exactly it was used for, or perhaps, it was just for decoration on the motorbike?  Who knows?  But I had to paint it!  I played with a great deal of colors on this painting and it was rather fun.  Here is what I call- “The Old Indian”…

"The Old Indian"; Watercolor on 12" x 18" paper.

In fact, I had so much fun painting this motorcycle I think I would like to try some more.  So don't be surprised if you see some more motorcycles in the future here.  Thanks for stopping by and I would love to hear your feedback.

The Cougar!

Yes, here's another painting based on a photo I took at a car show in Vinton, Iowa.  I saw my boyfriend admiring the car, and thought he would like a painting of it.  Come to find out that the car is not a "Mopar" and will not qualify a spot on his wall.  Talk about snobs of another breed! LOL!  I guess I still have a GREAT deal to learn about cars.  AND here, I always thought of them as something to get me from Point A to Point B.  Well, it looks like I may need a bit of an attitude adjustment. But here's the painting that I titled: "The Cougar" which I find even a more ironic title when I myself am the "cougar" dating a younger man.

"The Cougar"; Watercolor on 9" x 11" Cold Pressed Paper.

Yes, it is in fact a Mercury Cougar.  Please don't ask me what year but maybe someone out there can let me know.  Or I could break down and ask my boyfriend but where's the challenge in that.  Here's the photo that I based it off of, and I tell you I struggled with how to paint this car. 

It's a very unique shade of "gold" and I'm still not quite happy with it.  But I guess that an artist is always their own worst critic.  But I welcome any feedback you may have and thanks for visiting.

Old Blue & White Buick...

It has been awhile since I have posted any paintings on here.  Yes, in general Summer is a busier time of year with me cycling. But, also, I have acquired a boyfriend and haven't had the time to paint like I normally would have either.  Still that shouldn't be an excuse. 

I recently went to car show with him in Vinton, Iowa.  I should clarify and say that it was actually a car drag.  I rode with my boyfriend in his "Green Machine" and it was like a parade of sorts through the small Iowa town.  A new experience for me and no I did not get the "Miss America Wave" down during the drive.  Though, I did manage a few waves as we drove along. 

Afterwards I went through my photos and I rather got inspired to attempt to paint a car.  I've done one before but it was a background to a duo of my nephews in front of a car.  But this car really kind of drew me to it.  But I always was partial to the color blue. 

This is the first time that I have just focused on the car.  So here is a old blue and white Buick that I'm guessing is a 1955 or 1956.  I still have a lot to learn about cars and my new boyfriend is very much into them.  He's a MOPAR man, and I can rightly say that I'm not exactly sure what that means.  Let's hope I have a fairly good learning curve at my age. LOL!  But anyway, here is the attempt to do this old Buick...


"Old Blue and White Buick"; Watercolor on 9" x 12" paper.

I would love to hear you input on it, and please realize that this is really a first attempt at actually just painting a car rather than something else with a car in the background.  Thanks for visiting!

A Poured Watercolor: Red Tulips and Bicycle...

I had a bit of fun with this poured watercolor and you will be able to see it in person if you happen to be in Fairfax, Iowa this Saturday.  I'll have a little booth there for the Fairfax USA Days.  So I invite you to come swing by for a bit of art and some Patriotic FUN!  But I call this painting: Red Tulips and Bike.  It's a bit more abstract and I kind of like it that way...

"Red Tulips and Bicycle"; Poured Watercolor on 9" x 14" paper.

I would LOVE to hear any feedback you may have and thanks for stopping by!

Barn Through the Poplars...

I've been driving by this barn for almost 4 months on my way into work.  The barn lies behind a row of poplar trees.  It's rather a common scene here in Iowa to have a row of poplar trees on one side of the large buildings on a property.  The trees grow fast and serve as a wind break; especially during the cold snowy times of year. 

The sight of the hidden barn rather reminds me of a Bev Dolittle painting.  I love Dolittle's paintings with the horses and Indians in amongst the winter landscape and birch trees.  You really have to hunt to see the horses and Indians through all of the trees.  Seeing this barn day after day made me think and roll the thought around in my head of challenging myself to paint something like that only with my own touch and my level of experience in that style of art. I will admit that I am not as detail orientated as she is and it would take me years to get to that level.  But I thought it might be fun to play on the concept of the Bev Dolittle style. And so here it is, a painting that I call "A Barn Through the Poplars"...

Photo: "A Barn Through the Poplars"; a watercolor on 13" x 21" paper.

Right away I decided to place the barn scene that I painted to be among the colorings of a sunset.  I thought that it was more in fitting with a Bev Dolittle sense of style.  The red color of the barn would be more lost in among the skies of a colorful sunset.  I also chose to keep the cornfield in front of the populars and barn in a loose feel and not be tied down to more of the details that  should exist in a foreground of a painting.  I wanted the whole focus to be the trees and the slight glimpse of the barn peeking out behind them. 

Photo: A Barn Through the Poplars in progress.

I would love to hear any feedback you may have and thanks for stopping by.

Cedar Rapids: A Bloom Among the Cornfields...

It has been awhile since I've finished another painting.  But I did managed to put the finishing touches on this painting this last week amid working 70+ hours between two jobs.  But soon hopefully, I will have more time to afford doing some more painting.  But anyway, here's my latest painting that I call:

" Cedar Rapids: A Bloom Among the Cornfields".

Photo: "CR: A Bloom Among the Cornfields"; Watercolor and Ink on 16" x 20" cold press paper.

I wanted to try to capture the essence of my hometown.  Coming back to the area made me think about what is really unique to this city; call it a bit of nostalgia for my lost childhood or pride about the city of my birth rite.  But outside of a tall cement tree down by the Cedar River that's called the Five Seasons Tree, there was not a symbol or painting that said Cedar Rapids to me .  So I embarked onto an idea of painting something that says Cedar Rapids to me.

The painting rather evolved as I thought about it.  Cedar Rapids is the 2nd largest metropolitan area of Iowa.  It was a given that the background area would be corn.  Iowa is the corn state after all.  I ended up choosing a simplified Easter lily with 5 petals to stand for the 5 seasons.  It also rather stood for the city rising out of the cornfields to arrive at its present state of bloom; a risen metropolis.  I placed the City of the Five Seasons Tree at the center of it all.  The Five Season Tree stands near the center of Cedar Rapids along the bank of the Cedar River; a river that runs through the heart of the city.

I then thought about what makes Cedar Rapids unique.  First and foremost what came to mind was the American Gothic painting.  Yes, the famous iconic painting of the farmer standing with pitchfork, next to a woman with the steeped roof house in the background.  It was painted here in Cedar Rapids by Grant Wood in his art studio located in a carriage house that's tucked in along an alley way only about a block from 1st Ave.  The house in the background is located in Eldon, Iowa.  The man in the painting was actually Wood's dentist and the woman was Wood's sister Nan.  The original painting hangs in Chicago at the Art Institute.

Cedar Rapids buildings came to mind like the Veterans Memorial building that stands at the heart of the city and contains the only commissioned stain glass done by Grant Wood. Then there's the large red roofed National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library that is located down by Czech Village.  Then there's the  world's largest cereal mill in Quaker Oats.

Photo- Close up of Brucemore and the Paramount in "CR:A Bloom Among the Cornfields"

The Brucemore Mansion had to be in there too.  At one time the Victorian Mansion was know as "the grandest house west of Chicago".  It's become a landmark of the area and is setting back amid 26 acres of sculpted garden and lawn just off of 1st Ave.  Quite often there are different cultural and art events that occur on the lawns of the famous house.

I also wanted to acknowledge the wonderful history of cultural arts within the city too. I added the iconic marquee of the Paramount Theatre which is a restored example of a 1920's movie/vaudeville palace.  It first opened in 1928 as the Capital Theatre but in 1929 it was purchased by Paramount Pictures and given its current name.  The Paramount serves as the home to the Orchestra Iowa, the Cedar Rapids Area Theater Organ Society, and a series of Community Concerts.  You can also catch an Opera there too.  The Theatre Cedar Rapids is another cultural jewel of the area and live theater can be enjoyed there.  In fact, I remember years and years ago watching movies as a kid among its seats.  It has been restored to its former glory since the 2008 flood. 

AND that is another item that I want to share about Cedar Rapids.  I think it gives even more significance to the city and its rising out of the flood to still continue to bloom as the metropolis that it is.  It says a lot about the community and its people.  All of those citizens of Cedar Rapids should be proud for what has happened since the flood.  When the 2008 flood hit, there was a HUGE impact on the area but the city has made an amazing rebound from that flood.

Photo: A close up of the Newbo Market, the Czech Museum, and Czech Village
in "CR: A Bloom Among the Cornfields" Painting.

Newbo Market is a dynamic new addition to the city; it contains fresh food vendors and handmade goods with a mix of activities and music thrown in.  It's just a place full of activities and fun on Thursday nights and the weekends in Cedar Rapids. 

Lastly, I had to of course acknowledge the sport teams that are in Cedar Rapids.  The Kernels baseball club, the Titans Indoor football, and the Rough Rider's hockey.  All of these things and more sum up to equal what Cedar Rapids is.  Who knows I might even see about some postcards and  t-shirts? :)

A Brother's Birthday Painting...

My little brother whose six foot frame towers above me has a birthday coming up later this week.  He's really into riding his Harley motorcycle when the weather allows and he has the free time.  I thought he might like this painting for his birthday.  It's based off of a road trip photo I took when I was at Cannon Beach.  I hope he likes it and doesn't mind that I don't know if either of these motorcycles are Harley's.  I'll admit that I don't know my motorbikes because I'm much more into the two wheeled unmotored bikes.  But here it is with a bit of a glimpse into the background of how it evolved into the finished piece...

"Cannon Beach Bike Break"; Watercolor on 12" x 23" cold press paper.

Here's the beginning drawing with masking...

Then the first bit of washing of the background and some prelim painting done...

And a bit more of painting done...

And here it is all finished again....



 

Thanks for stopping by and I would LOVE to hear any feedback you may have!

 

 

A Hot Pinkie!!

I'm dreaming and painting bikes as the snow continues to fall outside.  It's just a bit of a case of " cycling on the brain".  Here's my most recent painting that I call "A Hot Pinkie!"  Enjoy!...

"A Hot Pinkie!"; Watercolor on 14" x 17" on Paper.

I used a bit of poured watercolor on the background of this painting.  Then, I used some puddle painting for the bicycle. I will admit that this picture doesn't quite do the original enough justice.  One of these days I need to take a photography class.  I would love to hear any feedback you may have!  Thanks for stopping by.

A Bicycle & Bollywood...

I've recently kind of settled down enough to find the time and space to do a bit of painting.  I sat down the other day with a bit of Spring fever and hopes of getting out on a bicycle soon.  So needless to say I had a bit of bicycle on the brain when thinking of painting this painting.  I also had thoughts of the Little Red Riding Hood theme on the brain too.  So here is the result of having bicycling and Bollywood on the brain...




"Red Bollywood Bicycle"; Watercolor on 8.5" x 11" paper.

I would love to hear any feedback that you may have and thanks for visiting!

A Doorway & a Dog...

(***Editor's Note- I held off on putting this write up due to problems with Google blog and MS Internet Explorer not playing well together.  But I guess that problems have been resolved.)

It's been awhile since I have updated and added any paintings.  I'm sure some of you have been wondering.  Currently, I'm taking a bit of a break from traveling.  I had hoped to have more time to do some painting while I was traveling but that has not been the case.  But I have been lining up quite a few photos that I would LOVE to translate into a painting.  So here I am catching up on posting of some paintings that I have managed to fit in here and there while on my road trip. 

This doorway is based on a photo that I took while I was in Taos, New Mexico.  I love the adobe colors and there always seems to be these bunches of peppers hanging around.  I started with a flat wash and then used puddle style of watercolor.  So here is my translation of a Taos Doorway...


Photo- "Taos Doorway"; watercolor on 9" x 11"paper

Next, here is a painting that I did of a friend's dog.  I have been holding on a copy of this picture for sometime and one night in a hotel I decided it might be fun to give it a try.  I did it in a puddle style of watercoloring; mixing the colors together in small "puddles" of water right on the paper.  Here's the result and she did indeed think it looked like here cute little pooch.

Photo: "Sad Puppy Eyes"; watercolor on 8" x 10" Paper.