Commission portrait, Father Steve Mckee from Trinity Episcopal Tulsa

I thought I would share the process of this painting that I was asked to do.  Many long term priests have had their portraits made and hung in the great hall upon their retirement.  I was honored to be asked to do one of my favorite bridge partners, and retiring priest, Steve McKee.  He supplied a photo from which to work ( after asking him to retake the first one which, although I loved the idea, it was very blurry)  I also took my own photo of a window that was installed on his watch, and a candle burning, which actually I used the real candle to get a better rendition of one.  This is nearly finished but not quite.  I must say that it was really fun to capture that unusual lighting and working with breaking a couple of painting rules... with more than one light source but I liked how this portrait is so different from the stiff, seated portraits of the other priests.  I really liked Steve's artistic suggestion and I liked that it tells a little story with the obvious darkness and light metaphor and I decided to include a suggestion of the stained glass window behind him that was created after an entire family from our church perished in a plane accident.

  

 

Art of Healing Mosaic at Hillcrest Hospital Tulsa, OK

Now for something completely different.....This took over a year for our group to complete.  I designed the mosaic for the Art of Healing group at Hillcrest where I have been artist in residence for over 14 years.  Usually my job intails working with patients and their families so I guess this wasn't much of a stretch from there as the project was completed by hospital staff, nurses, doctors, volunteers, patients, guests.  If you look closely you will see all sorts of unusual hospital supplies.  Its main ingredient is the bottle tops of all kinds of medications.  The design was changed slightly to accomodate the different colors that we were able to gleen from departments all over the hospital.  The supplies were collected all year, organized by patients, volunteers and Art of Healing artists by color, and the project moved to the cafeteria where it was all glued down.  It is so much prettier in person than these very pretty photos show.  This was made possible by donations from the greater community of Tulsa, ahha, and OVAC, and of course, the artists of Hillcrest's Art of Healing Program.

By the light of the Moon

Well this was fun!  I have always loved the night paintings at the Gilcrease Museum just down the road from my house.  Last summer on a visit to the country to a friend's house, we happened upon a Mexican rodeo and stopped to snap a few photos.  I used a couple of these photos and a painting from the museum to create this painting.  I have it on auction on my ebay gallery or contact me directly for sale at opening bid price if interested.  It is listed at $800  starting price on auction.  It is a 16x20.
If you want to visit my other auctions you may click here 

Cherries

We had some new students who just showed up in class and as luck would have it, I had a box of cherries on hand and a 12x12 canvas.  This was fun!  This painting can be purchased by request through this blog for $145 or try your luck at bidding for it on ebay.  Click here to visit my ebay auction ( for the next couple of days ) or Here to visit my ebay gallery

Ballet Dancers in Rehearsal

Every year we artists are invited to visit a rehearsal before the opening season in order that we might find inspiration for a new work.  These dancers were certainly inspiring.  This is the last one in the series that I completed from those sessions, and one of my favorites.  If you would like to visitthis in my ebay auction and see other gallery works, Click Here

Oklahoma Pastured Sheep on a Stormy Day

This painting began as a class project.  I brought in several photos of interesting clouds and also some cool pics of sheep and cows.  Everyone could pick and choose the things that they wanted to put together and make sure the light source looked believable.  This is my take on the assignment.  ( I always paint with them in case anyone just wants to follow me )
If you want to purchase, please contact me or if you feel like entering into an auction, click here to visit my Ebay Gallery Auctions

Bouguereau like painting...

In my adult oil painting class, when working on the portrait, we often start with a painting of a long dead master.  I like to have my entire class on the same page when teaching drawing or painting skills, both of which are taught during this process.  I also like to leave room for each individual artist to have fun and create their own image, rather than an exact copy.
Here are the original photos and my finished painting.  Notice the things I changed to make it my own. If you are interested in purchasing the finished painting, feel free to contact me.

Standing Nude

I really enjoy group painting and on occasion have a chance to paint the human figure in a local group of painters.  This is a painting from one of those sessions.  To bid Click Here  This link actually takes you to this painting but also has links within the ebay auction site, to my other art auctions.

Spring Creek in Oklahoma

A hundred degree day in Oklahoma sent us to the creek to play.  While there, between floating and foraging, I got a chance to just sit beside the peaceful, pristine waters and paint these two paintings.  They both started out as sketches and then were completed back home in the studio.  I still didn't want to lose the sketchy immediate, feel of the original response so I stopped here.

To purchase either one you may send me an email.  $200 each, or take your chances on ebay where they are both on auction beginning at $145 with no reserve.  Click here to bid and visit the rest of my painting auctions.

bougainvillea in a vase with tea cup 8x10 oil on canvas

Over the winter I was asked to do a mini workshop at the Botanical Gardens in Tulsa.  I got to go to the greenhouse and gather plants for a still life and came back with bougainvillea ( gee I hope I am spelling that correctly)  Anyways I really liked the sweet little painting I came up with.  It is on ebay right now and you may click this link to visit it in my auction or contact me directly for sale.  It is 8x10 on canvas  The auction starts at $99 and if there are no bids and you want it, feel free to contact me directly.  If you do visit it in my ebay site you can also view other paintings on auction and at retail.

bougainvillea in a vase with tea cup 

Deep Thoughts, by Margee Aycock ;-)

I was out gathering curly dock seeds for future use and it occurred to me how artists and craftsmen and women are the reason our species has risen to the top of the heap. I was thinking, " if I were a cave woman, or a pioneer or one of the Native peoples, how would I make sure I could survive the winter? I would have to have some sort of vessel to store my gatherings. Bring on the potters! Then I wondered, If I were nomadic or was forced by weather or some other thing, to take to the road or the water, how then might I survive... Bring on the seamstresses who could work with leather to create warmer clothing, leather pouches or other skins to hold water and for that matter, those who work with wood to create a boat to travel to more fertile land. Where would the world be without those who create, who hone their craft, who work with their hands? And then there are those of us who are visual artists, dancers, story tellerys who just make all that living worth while. ;-)

Red roses transformed into a tornado.

This is what happens when you leave a painting with the artist for a long time.  This week I was clearing out the studio and ran across a few paintings that needed to be improved upon.  this painting was a boquet of red roses against a light background that never quite worked for me.  First I tried to darken the back ground and when that didn't suit me I thought I would just paint over it and decided to clean my pallet onto the canvas.  What started to appear was a tornado so I decided to go with it.   Black is so hard for me to photograph properly but the finished painting is very dark on the tornado part and the sky below is a medium yellowish color... kind of a combo of both of the last two pics.  

SOLD Harjo oil portrait

This is a painting that I did several years ago with a live model.  When cleaning the studio this week I revisited several paintings, this being one.  I made a few minor adjustments and added it to my ebay auction this week.  It is a 16x20 oil painting of one of the Harjo clan.  Once upon a time I could remember her name but I have forgotten.  It may be 'Joy' but I wouldn't swear to it ;-)  She is wearing her traditional ceremonial costume that might be worn to a pow wow.  She is holding a feather fan that is also used in blessing ceremonies.  If you would like to purchase this directly from me ( $200)  you may contact me through this website or visit it in my ebay auction where the start price is lower w no reserve.  Click here for Ebay

SOLD Sirens of Snake Creek

This is another painting that I revisited this year.  It is a montage of a couple photos and a little imagination.  The problem of using multiple photos in one painting is getting the perspective right.  If you aren't taking the photos with the intention of painting them in the future, this is a common problem.  I started with several photos of my friends at the creek and had a painting I was pretty pleased with.  Upon getting it back from a gallery I looked at it anew.  It bothered me that the furthest left figure just didn't seem right.  I think her head was too large for where she was in the painting, and in particular, where she was in comparison to the two other figures ( who were taken from the same photo)  I changed the size of her head and hat and now it seems better to me.  I also lengthened and widened the arm of the figure on the right.  I also decided there were too many girls in sunglasses and took them off of the far right figure.  There is one other change that I made.  Can you find it?
Contact me for purchase, or visit the painting on my ebay auction

original

final ( I think)

Your phone's camera.... the most useful tool in your arsenal

I pulled this old painting out of the studio the other day.  It was painted several years ago using a live model  With a live model you really can't go back and take another look because they are now home, cooking dinner or something ;-)  But, you can look at your own work and re evaluate and try to make it a better painting.  I have found that stepping away is by far the most useful tool ; I stepped away from this painting for a couple of years, but that is not really what I am talking about, although that too, really frees you up to make necessary changes.  I mean, stepping back to the other end of the room, go outside and come back in w your painting facing the door so you are surprised and looking at it freshly.  Since having access to an i phone and to always use it to post photos of paintings to my online auction on ebay, I noticed how many times I took a photo of a painting, thinking it was ready for sale, and only realizing mistakes after looking at the mini photo.  I started noticing how great a tool it was for 'stepping back.'  Here is a series of changes that I am making after viewing this painting from a photo.  Notice how the head shape changes, the eyes, hair, shadows in background, drape across legs, carving into the flesh around her tummy, lips...
This painting is on ebay right now and you can bid on it Here  or contact me for purchase

I started with this:

and ended with this:

You an see below subtil 

small changes... not in any correct order... seen below

Another Floral .... this year's version

 A work in progress... nearly finished. 

Pretty Girl with Shawl

I just put this on ebay for $399 starting bid.  If it has no other bids feel free to contact me for purchase and I can pull it from the Ebay gallery for you.  To visit my ebay gallery, click here

Oklahoma Bounty

When I was asked to create a show of paintings for the Circle Cinema I looked at my body of work and noticed how many paintings I had with an Oklahoma theme, whether it was the billowing clouds over an Osage prairie, Tulsa Ballet dancers, or the simple bounty of fruits and vegetables from my back yard garden. I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I enjoyed painting them. We will have a little opening on March 8th from 6-8 during the Kendall Whittier first Thursday Art Walk. I hope to see you. Bring a friend!

Oil Painting Workshop at Tulsa Botanical Garden

Getting ready for a little workshop that I will be conducting at Tulsa's Botanical Garden next week.
I went out there last week to visit the green house and earmark some plants that we might use for our still life workshop and couldn't pass up the opportunity, although a very cold and windy one.... to paint outside.  Just when you think there is no color left in the world, you look a little closer....

Apples

A cold and windy day.... what to paint?..... Apples on a sunny table.
visit in my ebay auction  or contact me directly for purchase.
8x10 oil on canvas

My husband, Scott's paintings

Hi everyone.... I thought I would share this sampling of my husband's paintings.  He has been my student for a couple of years and I thought it was time to brag on him a little.  This is a page that I made for his art work that can be found on my ebay gallery.

SOLD What I saw one day

This pretty scene was painted from memory and photographs.  Of course, it is the beautiful cloud formation that first captured my attention.  We are so lucky here to be able to see this kind of thing on a weekly basis.  This is a tiny painting which is available for sale through  me or on my ebay gallery.  contact me if you want to go around my ebay auction which has the painting starting at $185 and purchase directly from me.  Otherwise, Happy Bidding!  Click here to visit my ebay gallery

Oranges

When it is cold outside, I cruise around the fridge looking for inspiration.  These little oranges were on their way out and I decided that they need to be eaten today.... and painted today.  To Bid on this 6x6 click here

Tangle of Trees

This is a painting that I did last year using an onsite, black and white pencil sketch and a photo taken the same day.  I enjoyed working with the negative space to create the positive illusion of tangled tree branches.  I loved following the abstract shapes that just happen when you tone your canvas first before jumping in.  Inside those negative areas were plenty of little twigs trying to reach the light.

This painting is for sale on ebay this week.  Click here to visit my ebay gallery.

Happy to be a part of this show at the Performing Arts Center in Tulsa

Video from around 2005, Jesse/Jared open for Blind Boys of Alabama

V

Painting Surfaces

I thought I would encourage you to consider painting on other surfaces.  Here is what I did on a blank drumhead, a van in France, and a violin.  To bid on the violin, Click Here

Beach Figures

This week's study involved the use of photographs of beach figures.  I think it is a bit of a challenge to teach people to create an impressionistic painting using photos.  You kind of have to un see what you see. and create what you do not see.  Anyways here is my little impressionistic study of a mother and daughter at the shore.  It is on auction this week on Ebay  CLICK HERE to visit the auction and my ebay gallery.

This week's project

This is what I have been working on this week.  I went to a friend's house out in the country for a fall bonfire/potluck.  Thankfully I had my camera with me.  I was struck in the gloaming, of how the grass was almost a spring green and the fall trees glowed with the last hurrah of the sun.  I threw in a dramatic sky in the background from a photo that I had taken earlier in the same week.  I had fun knitting the two together.

I begin with a wash of burnt sienna, a quick abstract of the basic composition, a block in of basic colors and then refine, refine, refine while trying to hold on to the painterly brush stokes and some of the under painting.  That is the trickiest part.  I will sit with this now for a week or so and give it another look to see if there are areas that need more work.