Friday, January 8, 2010

BIRD SERIES - "THE BIRDS & THE BEE'S"



THE BIRDS & THE BEE'S

This is a "detail" of a painting in progress from my "bird series".  There are just a few finishing touches before I post the entire painting, which is 48"x 48".  It is painted in oil on gallery wrapped canvas.  "The Birds & The Bee's will be on display at the Celebration of Fine Art show which opens on January 16th.  (There is a collectors night event, which actually opens on January 15th.)  It is the 20th anniversary of this wonderful show and there is so much to do before it opens.  It brings 100 artists from all over the country together under one roof to set up their own studios to work in over the next ten weeks.  Each year we come together at this time to begin the overwhelming task of the construction of our individual studios.  Some of the studios themseleves are literally works of art.  The construction begins on Monday morning early...then we work like mad all week to the piercing sound of drills, saws and hammers....just in time for the "Opening Event at the end of the week."   It is just amazing to see the empty shell of 40,000 square feet transformed into a premiere art event which truly is a "Celebration of Fine Art."

For more information you can contact me at:  br1fineart@cox.net

Visit the Celebration of Fine Arts website:   http://celebrateart.com/

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

BIRD SERIES - "High Tea"



HIGH TEA

This is my new oil painting on canvas called "High Tea."   It is a little bird sitting in some of my favorite tea cups.  The pretty tea cups have been in my family for a long time, and really are hardly ever used...that is until I decided to start "painting them.  You can see a previous post of mine titled "Nana's Cup" to see another recent painting.  "High Tea" is 12"x 9" and will be custom framed and available at my show on January 16th at the "Celebration of Fine Art."   (It will also be available through my website soon, and I will also be offering prints for sale.)   In the mean time, enjoy a cup of tea!

For more information you can contact me at:  br1fineart@cox.net

Sunday, January 3, 2010

VIOLIN TRAVEL JOURNAL - for "The Art of Music"




  



















PAINTED VIOLIN - A donation for "The Art of Music"  (Tucson Symphony) 

A while back I was asked to paint a violin that was to be auctioned off to raise money for the Tucson Symphony.  I decided to create one of my "Travel Journal" paintings on the violin to give it that "old world" look.  A friend of my father's is an accomplished violinist and he also makes amazing violins.  He restrung the instrument for me after the painting was complete.  It was then delivered to the gallery that was hosting the painted instruments until they were auctioned off at the fund raising event.   I never found out who actually ended up getting the violin, but I hope it has become a nice conversation piece for them.  It actually had a pretty nice sound to it as well, thanks to Jack, (the man that really made it work.)

It was really a fun project, and I was happy to do this since I love the "symphony."

Contact:  br1fineart@cox.net

Thursday, December 31, 2009

BIRD SERIES - "Hummingbirds In Flight"







"Hummingbirds In Flight"  

This is an oil painting of hummingbirds in flight I just finished on two gallery wrapped canvas.  The top piece is 12"x 36" and the bottom canvas is a 36"x 36"  to make the overall size of 48"x 36".   I painted the clouds around the edges so the painting can be hung with a few inches of space between them.  I thought it would be a little more interesting this way and with a more "contemporary" look.  The top gold band and the bottom section of the painting were created with various layers of texture.  I did a random leaf pattern embossed into the texture and allowed it to dry that way.  Once the paint was applied it created a nice "old world" look.  The sky was fun to paint and I was hoping to create some "drama" with the hummingbirds in flight.   

This  painting will be for sale at my upcoming show at the Celebration of Fine Art.  You can contact me if you would like more information about this painting at:  br1fineart@cox.net
Your comments are welcome.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

BIRD SERIES - Quail "Dan"



"DAN"

We have so many quail out here in the Southwest.  They are so fun to watch.  The little babies will follow their mother anywhere.  They just scoot on out across the road in front of you in such a hurry.  I remember one quail family followed their mother right on into my sister's house when the door was left open.  Once they realized that was not where they wanted to be, they scattered all over the living room absolutely terrrified!  I guess it took hours for them to find the courage to run back out the front door, but eventually they did. 

This little oil painting I just finished is actually a California quail.  He is part of my "bird series" and I named him "Dan."  It is painted on a 6"x 6" wood panel, and will be framed and for sale at the Celebration of Fine Art show on January 16th.  ( http://celebrateart.com/ )

You can contact me for more information at:  br1fineart@cox.net

Sunday, December 27, 2009

TRAVEL JOURNALS with "Poste Vaticane" stamps






    'POSTE VATICANE' TRAVEL JOURNALS  



  


These are a couple of my new "Travel Journals."  The first "Travel Journal" is 12"x 4" and includes an old "Poste Vaticane" postage stamp.  The small one is only 4"x 4" and also includes another "Poste Vaticane" stamp.  Both are on the deep gallery wrapped canvas.  The edges of the canvas are painted black.  The stamps are from a collection of my grandfather's.  The stamps are really interesting and work well with the images of St. Peter's dome.  I incorporate things from my travels as well as old maps, illuminated manuscripts, gold leaf and whatever else I can collage into them to help tell a story or to create a memory.  They are fun to make, but are extremely time consuming and tedious.  There are many layers of paint and collage elements, texture and of course the right stamp.  They are finsihed with two coats of varnish to help bring out the colors and to preserve them.  They will be for sale at the Celebration of Fine Art show which opens on January 16th.
For more information you can contact me at:  br1fineart@cox.net

Thursday, December 24, 2009

MERRY CHRISTMAS


Bella Raphaella


Wishing everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a peaceful new year.