2009 Portrait Swap

This is my entry for the end-of-the-year Portrait Swap on Karin Jurick's Different Strokes from Different Folks blog. Each of the 180 artists who participated submitted a head-and-shoulders photo of themselves and received an anonymous photo of someone else in return.

We've had three weeks to work on the portraits, which are due tomorrow. This is what I have so far. Any suggestions before Dec. 31?

Be sure to check out the variety of styles and interpretations on Different Strokes From Different Folks. If you'd like to participate next year, look for a notice on Karin's blog around the end of November 2010.

8" x 10" watercolor

Macys

San Francisco rooftops...the October 2009 challenge on Different Strokes from Different Folks.
Watercolor on 300 lb. Arches paper. 7" x 9 1/2".

Rower on Lake Michigan

The June 2009 challenge on Different Strokes from Different Folks is this rower on Lake Michigan. Please visit the site to see the reference photo and see the way other artists interpreted this image. More than 100 artists participated in this one. 5" x 7" watercolor.

New self-portrait and cafe sketches

I've been struggling with creating a suitable public image of myself to use on blogs, Facebook, etc. This is the latest creation. I held out the digital camera in front of my face, took a photo in bad light, and did a Live Trace in Illustrator.

I've also been doing a lot of cafe sketching lately. The sketch below was made at a local McDonald's. You would hardly believe it's a McDonald's. There are a lot of interesting abstract shapes. The first image is the cleaned-up digitized and vectorized version of my pencil sketches. The actual pencil sketches follow that.

"Market Woman" Line Drawing

I did this today for the June 2009 challenge on artist James Parker's excellent blog, Windows to the Words. This month's theme was "Old Folks." Micron Pen, Sharpie and Pitt Pen on smooth 140 Arches Watercolor Paper. 4 x 5.5"

New Blog and Work in Progress

I wanted to share with you that I have started a new blog devoted to my digital art. It's called "All Digital All the Time, and you can find it here

Outside of the virtual world, I am working on a painting based on one of my hundreds of photographs taken at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Reference photo and progress so far are below.

Fresh Tomatoes Digital Art on Canvas

Fresh-picked tomatoes. Digital print on canvas. 7 7/8" x 8.5". Click here to see reference photo from June 19 Weekly Drawing Event (WDE) on WetCanvas.com, and here to see other participants' work.

Buy it Now with Paypal for $25 plus $4.80 U.S. shipping. E-mail gnmarianne@comcast.net for international shipping, other questions.

Old Barn Digital Collage

From WetCanvas.com Paint Out #16. Click here to see reference photo and work by other participants.

Yawning Kittens

Yawning Kittens, Watercolor, 8.5" x 11", Arches Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper, 140 lb. Click here to see reference photo from June 19, 2009 Weekly Drawing Event on WetCanvas.com.

Buy it Now with Paypal for $40 plus $4.80 U.S. shipping. E-mail gnmarianne@comcast.net for international shipping, other questions.

Georgia Summer Vegetables

Here are some scrumptious Georgia summer vegetables for your enjoyment. Watercolor, pen and ink, 7.25" x 10", Strathmore 140 lb rough watercolor paper.

Buy it now with Paypal for $50 plus $4.80 shipping US. E-mail gnmarianne@comcast.net to inquire about international shipping.

Last Remaining Orchard in Silicon Valley II

This is the second digital painting in my "Last Remaining Orchard in Silicon Valley" series. 10.5" x 14" print on Strathmore 140 lb. rough watercolor paper.

Buy it now for $25 plus $9.80 US shipping.

E-mail gnmarianne@comcast.net for international shipping.

"Jack Big Plume" and "Capricorn"

"Jack Big Plume," and "Capricorn," digital, watercolor sketch style. Photo references by WildGoose of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Used with permission.

Ancient Etruscan Glass

9" x 12" stapled canvas. Shiva Artists' Paintstik Oil Paint. Reference photo used with permission. Lots of reflective surfaces in this photo of a museum exhibit made this painting challenging.

Buy it Now for $50. Shipping is $4.80 in the U.S. E-mail gnmarianne@comcast.net for international shipping.

Cafe Character

"Land of the Pharaohs"

This portrait is from the May 3 Paint Out on Wetcanvas.com. Reference photo provided by Texas artist Bob Cook. Digital art in watercolor style, 8"x7".

WDE Images - Delta Queen, Amaryllis

The current Weekly Drawing Event on WetCanvas.com is hosted by Michael Akin of Chattanooga, TN. Here are some of my digital paintings derived from his reference photos. I will update this post to add more images soon.

Top: "Delta Queen," 9" x 6.8", Watercolor Sketch Style
Bottom: Amaryllis, 14 x 11, oil painting style.

"Ski Mesa, AZ" T-shirt final

Here's the final version of my "Ski Mesa, AZ" T-shirt for my "Fundamentals of Design" class at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh -- Online Division. This version is the result of suggestions from my family, classmates and instructor, plus a steep upgrade in my Adobe Photoshop CS4 skills. The class ended Wednesday, May 13.

My second class, "Concept Development" started the next day.

"Ski Mesa, AZ" T-shirt homework help

This is my design for a theoretical "Ski Mesa, AZ" T-shirt. (Yes, it's a pun.) These are four drafts of my final assignment in Fundamentals of Design, the class I'm currently taking in my Digital Design Diploma program at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh -- Online Division. Does anybody have any opinions about what design (if any) should go forward to the next step, which is adding color? By way of attribution, the vegetation in the middle ground is derived from a vector design I bought on iStockphoto.com. I have to choose a design and do a color version of it Friday, May 8. I welcome any feedback, especially gentle feedback.

Three Limes

Inspired by Wet Canvas.com Weekly Drawing Event April 24, and the Basic Design class that I'm taking at the Art Institute Pittsburgh Online Division. Digital art, 7.2" x 10". This is not a class assignment, but taking the class has forced me to learn more about Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. I also got a great discount on the entire Adobe CS4 Design suite. I used my Wacom graphics tablet and tossed this image back and forth between Photoshop and Illustrator. The pixelated lines you get in Photoshop can be vectorized in Illustrator with the Live Trace feature. It's my favorite trick and I'm practicing it a lot this weeek.

Easter Breakfast

This is my entry for the April 10 Weekly Drawing Event on WetCanvas.com. This is what my Easter breakfast typically looks like. How about yours?

Basket of Peppers and Eggplant

Digital art in impressionist style. From Wet Canvas Paint Out #11. 7" x 9"

Misty Bridge and Dahlia

"Misty Bridge," oil painting style, 10.5" x 14".


















Pink Dahlia in wet-on-wet watercolor painting style, 8.3" x 8.3"

Gull's Eye View

This is my contribution for the March 18 Different Strokes from Different Folks challenge. Go there to see reference photo of a family on the beach. I decided to try it from a different perspective. Watercolor, Bienfang brush pens, and Derwent watercolor pencil. 9" x 12", 140 lb. cold press Sennelier watercolor paper.

"A Passion for Painting" Award

James Parker is a wonderful artist and prolific blogger who I’ve gotten to know through his work in cyber-space. I first noticed him as a fellow participant on Karin Jurick’s Different Strokes from Different Folks blog. He has a great sense of humor, seems to be interested in everything, and in general is a person I would like to go out for coffee with, preferably in Costa Rica where he lives.

James graced me with the "A Passion for Painting" award last week. I was so flabbergasted it took me four days to formulate a response. Now that I've recovered, I am going to follow directions by posting this award, listing seven of my “loves," passing this award on to seven other deserving artists, and notifying them of their award-winning status.

Loves
1. G*d, even when S/he’s hiding and appears not to be doing a very good job at all, and has just swept all the game pieces off the table again.
2. My two Geminis: David and the soft and sweet Marissa.
3. My parents, brothers, family (welcome Mason born Feb. 18), friends, and pets (Snoopy-dog and Carly with the wonderful kitty perfume).
4. Art, photography, looking at flowers, watching people, and making messes.
5. Books! When I don’t have time to read them I read about them.
6. A good laugh – either having one myself or making other people laugh.
7. Friends of Bill

And the Passion for Painting Award goes to seven people who I'd like to be when I grow up:
1. John E. Vander Stelt
2. Jacqueline Gnott
3. Susan Abbott
4. Stephen Magsig
5. Thomas Thorspecken
6. Annelein Beukenkamp
7. Julian Merrow-Smith

Check out their blogs and websites and be sure to visit James Parker's online world as well. Thank you James!

House finches and waiting for spring

This is my entry for the March 20 "Virtual Sketch Date" blog. It's 2.5" x 3.5" digital art, oil paint style. Image contributed by Stacy Rowan.














The cheeky little house finches are also incorporated into the a work in progress for the March 20 Weekly Drawing Event (WDE) on Wetcanvas.com. Work in progress is above. Reference photo is here, fourth image down, contributed by Alain J., of her dog Mulligan. Oil, 9" x 12", stapled-edge canvas.

Contact me anytime at info@persephonesplayhouse.net

Give...Me...That...Cookie!!

This digital sketch of a coatimundi from the Reno Zoo is my submission for Paint Out #10 on the Wet Canvas! Open Critique Forum. The reference photo comes from Paint Out host Texas artist Bob Cook.

Contact me anytime at info@persephonesplayhouse.net

Hollyhocks from Wet Canvas! Weekly Drawing Event

I recently discovered the Wet Canvas! artists' cyber-community. This is some catch-up work from the Feb. 13 Weekly Drawing Event (WDE) on the All Media Art Events board. A different artist posts a dozen or so reference photos every week and those who wish to interpret an image have a week to finish one or more selections. Reference photos from that week came from Bonnie (AKA "artastic") in Saskatchewan, Canada. Thanks for the fabulous inspiration Bonnie! This is 11" x 11" a digital painting.

Sushi Gumball Machine

This is my entry for the latest "Different Strokes from Different Folks" challenge. My fellow bloggers came up with a lot of different creative takes on this two-week project. Be sure to visit the DSFDF to see them. Acrylic, 140 lb. Arches watercolor CP paper, 13" x 20".

Buy it now on for $149.99 plus $9.80 USPS shipping. E-mail gnmarianne@comcast.net for international shipping.

Northern Cardinal Digital Art 8" x 10"

This medium-sized song bird is found from southern Canada through the eastern United States from Maine to Texas and south through Mexico to northern Guatemala and Belize

About the artwork:

• printed on 140 lb. cold press Academie watercolor paper
• measures 8" x 10"
• printed on a Canon 9000 wide-format digital printer

Available now on eBay.

Contact me anytime at info@persephonesplayhouse.net

Chinatown Traffic

I just discovered the Paint Out in the Open Critique Forum on Wet Canvas. This is a watercolor painting I did based on the reference photo given Feb. 8.

• Painted on 140 lb. cold press Arches watercolor paper
• measures 6.2" x 11"

Now Available now on eBay.

Contact me anytime at info@persephonesplayhouse.net

Last Remaining Orchard in Silicon Valley

The apricot orchard across the street from my house, which I have dubbed "The Last Remaining Orchard in Silicon Valley," is in that popcorn stage of bloom. Its official name is "Orchard Heritage Park". This historic orchard has been preserved as a city park in a unique arrangement between Charlie Olson -- a longtime Sunnyvale orchardist -- and the City of Sunnyvale, California. The rooftop visible in the center background is the Orchard Heritage Park Interactive Exhibit. Other structures in the park include new Orchard Heritage Museum -- exploring the city's agricultural history-- and the Bianchi Bros. barn moved here from an orchard in nearby San Jose. Digital art, watercolor style, 11" x 15". Open edition print available now on eBay.

Hope Valley, California

This is the first in a series of paintings I’m doing on Hope Valley, CA. There will be about 20 in the series. It’s based on photographs I took there in 2002. Watercolor, 13” x 7.5”. Sold on eBay to a collector in Southern California.

Fruit Tart Digital Art

My philosophy is usually "eat dessert first." However this time my dessert was so pretty I photographed, then ate it. then I started making digital art.

Top: Digital impressionist oil painting with ink outline. Image size 8" x 10" printed on 8 1/2" x 11" canvas paper. Also available as ACEO (3 1/2 " x 2 1/2"). Make an offer on eBay.

Bottom: Digital chalk drawing on rough paper, image size 8" x 10" printed on 8 1/2" x 11" canvas paper. Also available as ACEO (3 1/2 " x 2 1/2")

"Wigs" Original Oil Painting 9" x 12"

"Wigs". Oil, 9" x 12" on stapled canvas. This is my contribution to the Feb. 18, 2009 Different Strokes challenge. SOLD
to a collector in New York City.

San Francicsco Victorian

This is what I did for the Feb. 4, 2009 Different Strokes from Different Folks challenge. I didn't post it in time for the deadline, so you won't see it on the DSFDF site. Oil, 9" x 12".

My cousin Jenny

This is my beautiful cousin Jenny. When I first posted this painting she was about to give birth. Congratulations to Jenny and her husband Patrick on the birth of Mason Feb. 18 at 6:45 p.m. With love to Mason from his Auntie M. Oil, 9" x 12". NFS.

Zodiac Reflections

A.K.A. "Full Moon in Cancer over the Jefferson Memorial". This is my entry for the latest challenge on the Different Strokes from Different Folks blog, the Jefferson Memorial at night. It's oil on acrylic, on 12" x 12" gallery-wrapped canvas. See earlier version two posts down.

Fruit Still Life

A painting I've been meaning to do for a long time based on a photograph I took in 2006.