Sept 30/30 Challenge Day 13 Red Calla Lilys

Red Calla Lilys
9x12 by Wendie Thompson

Woke up on empty this morning. Nothing in the proverbial tank. Yet I had commited to go paint plein air with the League of Milwaukee Artists at the Boerner Botanical Gardens. It took me awhile to get going and I seriously asked myself if it was even wise. However, the day was a rare weather day in Wisconsin...I call them "winter in Phoenix" days...and so I hauled my stuff and me and a second cuppa coffee in the car. Drove The hour drive to the gardens. I am soooooo glad I did!

A Little Piece of my Mind: Day 16...30/30 Challenge

Day 16
4x4 oil by Wendie Thompson

Black eyed Susans are found everywhere around me this time of year. A last blast of yellow before the slow descent into the beige and then the gray. I have them solidified in my mind...a protection against those days...

A Little Piece of my Mind: Day 11...30/30 Challenge

Day 11
3 1/2x5 oil by Wendie Thompson

Purple underpainting...cold wax medium...palette knife. To the edge of abstraction...right where I want to be!

A Little Piece of my Mind: Day 10...30/30 Challenge

Day 10
5x3 1/2 oil by Wendie Thompson

"I will set you free in a wide open place"  Ps 31 v8

A Little Piece of my Mind: Day 2... 30/30 Challenge

#2
6x6 Oil by Wendie Thompson

I know! Your shocked right? I have flowers floating around in my head! But just keep following...I promise that is not all that's in there!!!

30 Day Challenge: Epilog

I sit today surrounded by the distinct smell of oil paint and 30 fresh new painting. I have most of them in frames which I did as a protective measure. For the most part I did not paint small. Five of them are 8x8 and the rest vary up to one 16x20 so storing wet painting with thick paint applied with palette knife was a bit of a challenge!

Starting next Tuesday you can find these paintings at Gallori in Oconomowoc WI:

And this piece has already found a great home!!

Day 27: Door County Dream

Door County Dream
9x12 oil on linen panel
$325

                                                           

Day 27: The day was throwing snow, ice and sleet at me in Wisconsin and I didn't want to stay here sooooo...I went to Door County (in paint of course!)! This delightful garden is in front of a beautiful restaurant in  Bailey's Harbor. Lush is the only way to describe it. 

Day 26: January Thaw

January Thaw
10x20 oil on panel
$450

                                                             

Day 26: OK so I went to the store and the tulips were on sale. So beautiful and such a song of new life. I live in Wisconsin and spring can come late here. Spring flowers in a vase can actually save us from the despair of winter!! 

Day 25: Redtwigs and Sunflowers

Redtwigs and Sunflowers
8x10 oil on linen panel
$225

                                                            

Day 25: This is the first painting in this series that I have painted from a photo...but I just had to do it. To keep it fresh I use a very quick sketch in clean pure chroma just enough to give me an idea of the space. Then I get out my palette knife and begin to lay in color...thick. I am really happy with this one! Hope you like it too!!

Day 18: The Oranges

The Oranges
8x8 oil on panel
$150

                                                            

Day 18: The Oranges... again small quick FUN!

Day 17: The Reds

The Reds
8x8 oil on panel
$150

                                                           

Day 17: The Reds....So after I painted all three color daisies together I decided to paint them individually and smaller. I wanted to do this quickly because these daisies are nice one day and the next...dead. And so I am a little more ahead but I have a very busy weekend coming up so we'll see if I stay there!

Day 16: Three Glasses Full

Three Glasses Full
16x12 oil on linen panel
$425

                                                            

Day 16: We are over the hump and I have a big problem. Where does one put 30 really wet paintings to dry??? If it was summer here they would be sitting outside in the sun...baking. Since I have used my palette knife and really thick paint on all of these even the first one still has some wet spots. I may have to stop and frame some of them just so I can stack them safely. This is a good problem right?? Of course I just might convince you to buy one...that could lighten my load!!! Come on...you know you want one!!!

Day 15: The Blue Vase

The Blue Vase
12x12 oil on linen panel
$390

                                                            

Day 15: Half way done!!! This one did not come easy. Don't know if I was just tired or what but I struggled. What a journey this has been so far. Good...but at times hard. What is driving me to paint everyday is the fear of getting behind. I HATE the pressure of that. I have stayed one day ahead this whole 15 days by painting 2 on the first day and then one every day since. I think on the next day that I am feeling really good I will paint two again so as to further relieve pressure. Stay tuned...there are good things to come!

By the way: Come see me at the Delind Gallery this Friday night for the opening of "Bare Walls" a nudes show in which I have one piece. Then have a blast at gallery night in Milwaukee!!!!

Day 14: Gerbera Daisies

Gerbera Daisies
10x20 oil on linen panel
$450

                                                            

Day 14: Guess who went to the store?? Me! I have a million vessels but I needed something to fill them with...Gerbera Daisies seemed perfect as the roses were done for.So for $10 bucks I bought 3 bunches...red, orange and pink. Wonder how long they will last???

Day 13: Off With Their Heads!

Off with Their Heads
12x9 oil on linen panel
$325

                                                             
Day 13: Yup...I lobbed off the rose heads and stuffed them in a blue pottery bowl...poor things. Even then I couldn't stop looking at them. Yup...I most definitely had fun with these roses!

30 Day Challenge: Day 11: One of the Crowd

One of the Crowd
20x10 oil on panel
$450

                                                            

Day 11: Roses again and I won't apologize. They just won't die! They were full out this morning and not one petal dropped...no drooping either. So it was roses again today. I sure have gotten my 10 bucks out of these!

30 day Challenge: Day 10 In a Different Light

In a Different Light
12x12 oil on linen Panel
$390

                                                           

Day 10: The roses....fully opened when I got up this morning...I never tire of them, But I wanted to change it up a bit so I put them in a completely different lighting situation. I have these great little battery operated spotlights in my kitchen mounted under my cabinets that can be removed and re-positioned as needed (see pic below) and they made the white roses glow. Tomorrow I may have to float the roses in a bowl to have anything fresh left...hope you don't mind!

30 Day Challenge: day 8: Ten Dollar Bunch

Ten Dollar Bunch
9x12 oil on linen panel
$325

                                                             

Day 8: WOW...heavy Fibro day. Every inch of me hurt today. I have said this before: I am an "A" personality in a type "B" body. Perhaps this is why I choose to use the palette knife so much as I have found a way to complete a painting with it before my body gives out. I also really happen to like the spontaneity that evolves as a result of racing the clock to the finish line. For me my most successful work is done as a "quick paint". I might paint these roses one more time before they are past the point of no return. Really...is there anything more beautiful than the immediacy of a rose?

An Honorable Mention and Two Fiery Dragons

My weekend began well when my painting "Porch Light-Study" received an Honorable Mention at the State of Inspiration awards ceremony on Friday evening. And that was followed by a fun dinner with some of my favorite kind of people...artists!

Honorable Mention at State of Inspiration
Porch Light - Study
12x9 oil on linen panel available
by Wendie Thompson

Saturday was an early start to get to the Bristol Renaissance Faire which is about an hour and a half drive for me. I wanted to get there about an hour before the gates opened so I could find where I wanted to set up and have them help me haul my painting stuff there in one of their carts. (This place is big and there are no carts allowed on the grounds after the gates open) I knew from painting there last year that painting it is like trying to paint swirling confetti! So for my first painting I found this large sculpture of a dragon...it was roped off and more importantly standing still and had wonderful light streaming down on it from the blessedly mild sunny day!!

The day continued to swirl around me with record crowds expected and believe me they came!!!

So when it came to beginning a new painting I decided to stay right where I was instead of trying to pull all my stuff through that crowd. The light had shifted and back lit the dragon which I was still fascinated with so I painted it again! Both dragons are available.

Cedarburg: Wow Scary Start!!!

Totally pumped about getting up early and heading off to the Port Washington day for the Cedarburg event I decided to load my car the night before. As I lifted my Art Cart to put it in something in my back well, snapped! OUCH! I really didn't know how bad I hurt it till the next morning when I could hardly move. Ice all night and a handful of Ibuprofen barely touched it. I considered not going but...no...that was not going to happen. I confess...I shed a few tears on the way. It hurt to breath and I was scared.

So I decided to paint small, unload my things one light armful at a time and paint only where I could be close to the car. Here is the result:

Fishing Buddies
6x6 oil

I did it but I was totaled. I went to lunch with some good friends. Then I took a nap in my car...do I just go home or try to paint another one? I decided to try to paint again. I had been itching to paint at the Port Washington Inn, a great B+B that I had stayed at before and I knew they had a great garden! I grabbed some more Ibuprofen and decided to try again. Here: is attempt #2:

Port Washington Inn: Roses
9x12 oil

I have to pick between the two for an entry for this portion of the competition. When I was done I high tailed it back home to an awaiting ice pack and some dinner. An easy, hopefully early night was on the menu!

I woke this morning feeling still a little twitchy but somewhat human again...I am SO thankful!!! I set off to Cedarburg again hoping for the best and trying not to put too much pressure on myself. I drove around some looking for the scene that screamed "paint me" to me. Then I decided to walk around this charming historic downtown area...talk to some friends...get some coffee. That's when I found the Schroeder House. Built in 1856 it is a real beauty. I set up and decided to do a small study first:

Schroeder House
8x10 oil

I struggled some with the architecture...not my strong suit. But I loved the baskets of begonias so I got out a larger panel and focused on those!

Swingers
16x20 oil

Again it wore me out. I had lunch, nap...and painted again...but I'm not ready to share that one with you yet...talk to you tomorrow!!