Two new paintings and some craft projects

Dang, the photos don't really do these justice...or maybe the photos are more honest than my filtered rose colored glasses will allow me to be. I've been working on several projects lately and these are just a few of them that I've finally finished.

The big painting of an ocean scene is my first ever attempt at painting water. It's VERY difficult and one I don't think I'll do very often. I'm planning on putting this painting on a wall behind a big soaking tub with a flanking window on the north side to emit a consistent natural light through the day. I plan to surround it with tropical plants and a collection of sea shells I've gathered over the years. I can't be near the ocean nor even visit much but if I had my dream beach house, it would be close enough to hear the waves crashing at night.

I live at 5,800 foot elevation though so it would take some very serious apocalyptic calamities and a whole lot of human death and destruction for me to have a beach view. I'm willing to just live with an artificial illusion, for the sake of humanity and all those people between me and the California coast.

This one is one of my first attempts at a landscape of the Grand Canyon. It's a place where shape, shadow, and composition challenge every part of the painting. I was trying to be a little abstract and loose to emulate several styles of landscape painting I've seen around the Southwest. I think I have a long way to go before I can actually put much of this stuff up for sale, although a friend has already purchased this one for a modest price.

These next four are just some funky playful photo collages I've put together for a friends back bedroom we're calling the "Bryce Bedroom" because of the orange and other earth tones and swirly laminate that's on the woodwork in that bedroom. I inserted photos of her and her husband just to add a little touch of playfulness and personalization to the project.

These next five are much more interesting in real life than the photo suggests. They're sea shell arrangements on mirror tiles glued down with clear caulk and embellished with various bits of colored marbles and smaller mirror pieces. They look spectacular in real life but the photos show every smudge and fingerprint. Mirror glass is really hard to photograph and bounces the light so that the image is blurry or grainy. I think I'm going to have to read up on how to photograph mirrors before I retake new photos of these.

Soon we'll be packing this house up and moving into the cabin where I won't have much space to do my art. I'm turning the school bus into my studio until we get the additon built but the bus isn't heated so I may not be doing much more art this winter. It's probably for the best, I need to finish the book anyway. Art is easier than pouring my soul out with writing.