Cowboys and Indians

My college class's first still life.  Since we live out here in cowboy, Indian country I thought we might work with that theme.  Fortunately my husband had some toys that survived his childhood that made it into this painting.  It is for sale this week by auction on my ebay site.  To visit my ebay gallery and this painting in particular, click here

Help Support the Art and Healing Program at the High Risk Unit

I have worked for the Tulsa Arts and Humanites Council for many years as an artist in the schools, art in the parks and for the past 9 years, for Art and Healing Program.  Well that program is running out of money and so I thought I would put these little studies up for auction to help raise money for the program.  The first one was done on request for a Route 66 art show this year.  It is multi media w photo and pencil and features my mother as a young woman as she traveled from New York to California on route 66.  It is on masonite board.  The portrait is a little demo for my class on looking for planes on the face.  The 3rd one is a little oil study of our own Gilcrease House.  I was leading a workshop there and afterwords, did this study before returning home.  90% of the proceeds go to support the program which serves young pregnant women who are on strict bed rest at a local hospital, many of whom must be confined for months at a time.  This is their only outlet.  It is so much more than art sessions.  It is the one time they are out of their rooms.  They, through the art program, can now meet other moms on the floor in similar situations.  Instead of stress, depression and confinement, they experience joy, make friends who they can visit with during the week ( otherwise they would never have a chance to even meet the woman who lives in the room next door to them.) , share knowledge of their condition, parenting, and of course, participate in creating at the most creative time in their lives.   
bidding starts at $5 with free shipping.
Of course, anyone wishing to donate to the program w/o the auction can do so at the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa.  Make sure to earmark your donation as Art and Healing Program at the High Risk Unit at Peggy Helmerich Women's Center Tulsa.  THANKS!!
To Bid
To Blog

Dead Nettle, Dandelion, Lettuce, Arugala Salad. First of the season

Celebrating the seasons first few salads and fresh mint tea.  Salad with lettuce grown in a cold frame over winter, dandelion greens, dead nettle flowers and wintered over arugula.

                                                                             Then

                                                                             Now

Vintage Pitcher and Egg

I had a new student last week and rather than scare her away with a complicated still life, I set up a very doable still life for her while the rest of the class finished up a very difficult one.  This is for auction this week through ebay at a very low start price of $40.00 or buy it now for $150.  To bid click here
Here are both paintings:

Tango in Tulsa

This is one of my favorite paintings, maybe because I love the dance... Anyways it is on auction this week on ebay.. hate to let it go but willing to send it off to a good home.  Want to adopt it? bid here

Oh, I almost forgot, I have a painting on auction this week starting at only one penny.  click above, enter into the ebay site and click on my other items.  What a steal!

a penny auction!

Every now and then I take a sketch and start an auction at a penny.  It brings people into my ebay gallery and  hopefully will get them shopping there.  This was a painting done after a trip to France where we stayed at a friend's abby where she was celebrating 25 years there.  What a beautiful place.  Anyways this is a painting of the lavender fields that lead up to the abby which is bordered on the other side of the road by a huge field of poppies and then an almond grove.
To be the first to bid, click here

Tornado

One of my favorite subjects to paint is the Oklahoma sky.  You can't paint Oklahoma skies forever without including at least one tornado.  This is a tornado that I actually saw ( it was a little further in the distance when I saw it )  We pulled off the road just long enough to snap 2 photos and then high tailed it on out of there.  I have painted its portrait a couple of times.  To bid on one of them click here 

In the beginning....

Spring Garden
I have left over lettuce from the fall, Kale, Arrugala, Spinach, Onion, Garlic, too.  In my perennial garden I see Salisify, Mint, Parsley and will see soon.... Asparagus.  I have my fingers crossed on artichokes.  I have planted turnips, artichokes, lettuce, spinach, onion... and even peppers, and tomatoes which I will cover it it gets too cold. 

Red Roses on Terracotta

This painting was painted after picking some roses out in the back yard and putting them on the kitchen table.  Normally I wouldn't think I would like red and orange together but I was struck by how pretty those flowers looked against the terracotta walls in my kitchen in mid afternoon.  I had to paint it.  This is on sale now in my ebay gallery.
To Bid

Cowboys and Indians

Cowboys and Indian Toys fight it out in this still life.  My students wanted to kill me after this painting.  I set this up for my first year students.  I never know what the skill level is going to be and try to set up something that isn't too "girly" when I have guys in the class, so I thought I was doing pretty good with this one.  Unfortunately the complicated still life made them very nervous as most of the students had never picked up a paint brush before in their lives... so it was kind of like survival of the fittest... We lost one along the way and the rest of them learned a thing or two :-) .... although they hate my guts...
To Bid
To Blog

My friend, Louise had made me 2 birthday cakes in my lifetime and on both times they were so pretty ( and delicious ) that I thought I would paint their pictures.  This is one from last year's cake.  I experimented a little with pallet knife as I buttered on that frosting.  THIS year's cake is on auction and you can even bid on it here!
You can also visit my blog here

Some great music to listen to while you paint

My son, Dylan is owner of Scissor tail Records here in Tulsa.  Although his home base is here, his artists hail from around the world as do his followers.  He choses music that is very easy to listen to (not to be confused with " easy listening " music found in elevators and dentist offices... Yikes!)
Check his collection out at https://scissortail.bandcamp.com/

Honoring our grandmothers

Several years ago I lead a weekend painting workshop at Gilcrease Museum.  What fun I had going through the shareable archives there and hand picking some things to include in a still life that I did w my group.  I wanted to do something that centered on what our grandmothers might have had in their possession back in the day.  No Barbies back then for little girls ( notice the dolls ) and I figured my grandmother ancestor ( and Scott's ) would have a working knowledge of the forest, what you can eat, and what to use for medicinal purposes.  Anyways.... This painting is on auction this week through my ebay gallery. http://www.ebay.com/itm/390780388600?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1586.l2649

Tango

What do you do when you inherit grandma's dancing shoes?  Well if you have just jumped into learning the Tango, and you are a painter, you paint them.  This is on auction right now on my ebay site.  One of my favorite paintings.
To Bid

a cool video that features the music of my son, Dylan

http://vimeo.com/87413948

Jesse Aycock CD release March 7 Fassler Hall, Tulsa, OK, March 8th in Little Rock, AR

Watch the Currentland video Here

Purple Ribbon and Silver Coffee Pot

If you want a little peek into my classroom, you can find it in the silver coffee pot :-).  The class groaned when they saw this still life, thinking they could never paint the reflections on the silver.  I keep telling them, "don't concern yourself with painting a silver coffee pot, just paint exactly what you see... The values, and shapes etc and low and behold, when you stand back from it, you will find you have painted a silver pot.  What is always fun to me is that you get so caught up in finding shapes and correcting values that often when you stand back you are surprised that YOU are pictured in the reflection and you didn't even know you were painting yourself.  This painting is on auction this week on ebay.  To Bid

6x6 vineyard sketch

I actually painted the first one of these paintings on site very early in the morning at an Oklahoma Vineyard.  What a delightful day.  I painted while others picked and then around noon everyone broke for lunch prepared by vineyard bed and breakfast staff, complete with wine of course.  The original painting was sold several years ago but since then students who remember the original, asked for me to demo the process for them. Pictured below is a 6x6 sketch from which I created a larger piece. The painting on auction this week ( 16x20 oil ) is a product of that 2 day demo.  It is on auction this week on ebay.  To bid  
When you click the " bid" link above you also have a portal into all my other art auctions on ebay.  Enjoy my little gallery :-)

Red Roses against a Terracotta Wall

I had picked these roses from the garden and liked the effect of seeing them against my terracotta wall.  I was surprised that I liked it since I would not normally put those two colors together.  It has become one of my favorite floral paintings.  I have it on auction this week.
To Bid

A new batch of ACEO paintings on auction

At the request of one of my ebay art collectors, I started painting these little ACEO artist trading cards.  What a great idea for an affordable way to start your art collection and for us artists, a great way to introduce people to our work.

To check out this auction click here.  Bidding starts at $28.50 with no reserve.