Christmas Nest 8 x 10 on Panel

This is my Christmas painting for the season. It is available at Anne Irwin Fine Art Small Works Show. I just dropped it off the other day. I enjoy painting the nests so much that I decided why not just add ornaments for the eggs.

I hope you have Happy Holidays, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thank you for the support during the year.

SOLD Home Alone 12 x 16

Thank you for your purchase and I hope you enjoy your painting.

From The Orchard 11 x 14 on Panel

This painting was hard to name for some reason. Sometimes when I name paintings its so easy its like the painting speak to me and sometimes its a struggle. The thing is this painting is one of my favorites. I like the dark against the oranges and just the overall old masters look about it. I will take the 2 paintings that I have posted today to Anne Irwin Fine Art for the Small Works Show that goes thru December 31st.

Evening Light 11 x 14 on Panel

After painting the dark whiskey bottle a few weeks ago I decided I would tackle this dark vase that I purchased a few years ago at Parson's. I love how the reflections of the lemons turned out and the look of the black vase. When I took my first workshop with David Leffel his setup had a black teapot. I painted from that still life and didn't know what I was doing with any of it. He came over and painted on the teapot bringing out different colors and then worked on some pears in the setup. After he finished with those I moved onto things he didn't touch so that I could always have what he worked on as a reference to me. It may be the closest thing to me owning one of his paintings.

Paintings SOLD

The following paintings sold the other night at the opening of the Small Works Show at Anne Irwin Fine Art. The show runs thru December 31st and I still have paintings available and will replenish them thru the month. It was nice meeting everyone the other night and I was able to meet two of the people that purchased my paintings. Many times during shows I never get to meet the people who purchase my paintings so I am always excited when I get the chance to meet the buyers. Thank you Warren and Thank you Kathy. It was nice meeting you and I hope you enjoy your paintings for many years.

Anne Irwin Fine Art Small Works Show Nov 19-Dec 31

I will be participating the Small Works Show at Anne Irwin Fine Art. The gallery is located at 25D Bennett St., Atlanta, Georgia 30309. 404-352-1855. www.anneirwinfineart.com

The Opening Reception is Friday, November 19th from 6-8:30pm with the artists. Please stop by during the season.

Paintings SOLD

The following 2 paintings sold this weekend - Vintage Bottle with Apples and Vase with Berries. Thank you for your purchases and I hope you enjoy them.

Vase with Berries 16 x 12 on Panel

I love painting this gold vase. I just love how it glows. I don't know why some of the other vases don't glow as much, but am trying to figure it out. These berries I think came from a Bradford Pear Tree. I took the clippers with me while walking around the block and got them from a neighbors yard. :) It was between to houses in the front next to the electrical box and it was overgrown so I don't think anyone would care. The sugar pears are so much fun to paint. I love the colors.

Vintage Bottle with Apples 12 x 16 on Panel

I recently found this old whiskey bottle on Ebay and it was just what I was looking for to paint. I plan on painting it again in the future and love the look of it. This is the first time I have painted the apples this season. I bought new ones, but still have the ones in the fridge from last year, which are fine. The white vase didn't photograph as well as I would like for it to. In fact this painting was really hard to photograph and I am not sure quite why.

Grapes with Cantaloupe 12 x 16 Oil on Panel

I decided to paint a cantaloupe again. They are so much fun to paint. They are one of my favorite things to paint. Also, I like putting the grapes coming out of vases because you can see the beautiful colors in the light. My Aunt Judy made the green piece of pottery. I have used this piece in a few paintings and really like the colors in the pottery.

Italian Bottle With Turquoise Vase 16 x 20 on Panel

I have been wanting to paint this antique wine bottle that I purchased at Scott's Antique Market years ago. It has been sitting in the corner of the art room for a few years. Now I see these bottles in the Pottery Barn catalog and other places. They say the bottles are from Hungary in the catalog, and I think I was told mine was from Romania. Since I wasn't sure I just decided to say it was an Italian Bottle. Mine is a little worn with some of the wicker coming off, and I love the character of the bottle. In the picture since I use a blue filter on my camera the blue eggs and turquoise vase didn't show up with the richness in the actual painting. You can see this painting at The Anne Irwin Fine Art Small Works show starting this Friday, November 19th through December 31st. I will post about the show tomorrow.

Home Sweet Home 9 x 12 on Panel

I love painting these nests. I know have around 6 or 7 nests that I have collected over the past year. I am still searching for them in the yard, but the last one I found fell apart. I think it was a mocking birds because I saw him in that area during the summer and he didn't like that my car was parked near that bush. Oh well :)

Expecting 9 x 12 on Panel

I will be participating in the Holiday Show at Anne Irwin Fine Art. This is a small works show. I think all of my current paintings qualify for that since I haven't really painted too many larger then a 16 x 20. I plan on it in the near future.

The nest paintings make a nice gift and I know at the last show the woman who bought one was buying if for a gift.

SOLD PAINTINGS From Brushstrokes Art Show and Sale

I would like to thank the following people for purchasing my paintings the last few days at the Brushstrokes 3rd Annual Art Show and Sale. Jan and Roy it was great to finally meet you and I enjoyed our talks. Linda thank you and I hope your daughter likes the painting. Donna and Charles it was nice talking to you and I hope the painting looks good at your mountain home. Also, I would like to thank ALL of my friends that came to the opening on Thursday Night and then throughout the weekend. It was so much fun seeing everyone I just wish I could have spent more time with you all. Thank you for the Support!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brushstrokes 3rd Annual "Signature Art Show and Sale"

Opening Event
"Cocktails and Canvas"
Thursday, October 7th 5 to 9pm
Gallery Hours: From 11 to 6 on Friday 8th, 9th, and 10th of October
TULA Art Center
Gallery 0-2 75 Bennett St.
Atlanta, GA 30309

A portion of sales will be donated to The JAY SHAPIRO ARTS LEGACY FOUNDATION

Found Objects 12 x 12 on Panel SOLD

It was a very nice surprise when I received a check yesterday finding out that I had sold this painting. Thank you for your purchase and I hope you are enjoying it.

Robin's Nest 9 x 12 on Panel

So a Robin decided to build a nest in the Crepe Myrtle in the backyard during the spring. We waited and waited for the baby birds, but none appeared. The mother bird sat on the nest for the longest time. Finally she left and we thought she had moved on. Well I decided it was time for me to get the nest out of the Crepe Myrtle. I got my ladder and saw that the nest was built around the branches. I was able to maneuver the nest out. While doing that an egg went flying out and hit the ground and broke. It smelled bad. So a few months go by and the next thing we know the robin is back looking for her nest and its not there. I felt so bad. I didn't know they came back to the same nest and then got pregnant again during the same season. I guess she was busy. She scrambled to build another nest in the exact same spot. I am happy to report that she had a baby or two this time. She has left now for the season and I did get the nest. This time it was full of nasty ants to I had to spray it and its drying in out in the garage.

For all of the nests that I have found so far the Robin's nest is the heaviest. They pack it in with mud on the bottom and then whatever they can find. This one had some heavy duty rope in it and I painted part of it where I saw it.

Dried Leaves with Gold Vase 12 x 12 on Panel

What can I say, but I love painting this gold vase. I am addicted to the vase because of the way the color always turns out. The dried leaves are some form of eucalyptus and I bought them at Whole Foods a few years ago.

Chinese Lantern Plant with Nest 8 x 10 on Panel

I have been growing Chinese Lantern Plants all summer long and just cut them to dry. These I found at Whole Foods last year and this is my 2nd attempt to paint them. Last summer I grew them and they didn't do anything so when they came back this summer I put them in the ground. I didn't realize that they were like kudzu. They were popping up all over the backyard and I think I saw one next to the side walk, which is not close to where I planted them. I may have created a monster. As far as the nest my sister-in-law Tracy found this in her yard and gave it to me. Yes, there is orange plastic string around the edge. We think it came from one of those pine straw bales with the orange wrapping. It is just the sweetest nest and I plan on painting it again. I am including a picture of the nest just to show proof that this is how it looked. I have found painting nests that birds are so creative in making their homes and the work they put into them is amazing.

O'Henry Peaches and Blueberries 8 x 10 on Panel

This is my 2nd attempt at Peaches and I really like painting them. My boss picked these up in Gaffney, South Carolina on the way back from a business trip. These are O'Henry peaches and they are the last of the season. They are good. I decided to add blueberries since I haven't painted them before. I was told I like to paint grapes so that was another reason for the blueberries. Yes, I love painting grapes :)

Green Vase with Pears 11 x 14 on Panel

I wanted this painting to have a fallish feel to it since its been such a hot summer. I had some different colored pears and decided to use my green vase in the painting with bittersweet. I painted this a few weeks ago, but have just gotten around to post the painting.

SOLD Paintings from Emerging Artist Show

Thank you for purchasing these paintings and I hope you enjoy them.

Paintings -SOLD so far at the Emerging Artist Show

The following paintings have sold at the Emerging Artist Show at the Anne Irwin Fine Art Gallery: Southwest Dreaming 20 x 16, Gold Vase 11 x 14 and Fallen 12 x 9. Thank you so much for your support and I hope you enjoy the paintings for years to come. The show runs thru September 9, 2010. You can find information below about the gallery. It was nice meeting so many nice and supportive people the night of the opening.

2010 Emerging Artist Show-Anne Irwin Fine Art Gallery

Anne Irwin Fine Art
presents

Emerging Artist Show 2010
Featuring over 30 up and coming artists

http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1028289431&msgid=1921452&act=NCT7&c=412118&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.anneirwinfineart.com%2Femerging-artist%2F

Opening Reception:
Friday, August 20th
5:00pm - 8:30pm
Show runs through September 9th

Featuring: Wendy Adams, Phyllis Adilman, Cheryl Alifeld, Nancy Blum, Mark Boomershine, Christine Bray, Rae Broyles, Jeri Burden, Andrea Costa, Dru Doyal, Cathy Fowler, Cathy Groome, Ben Jennings, Lynn Johnson, Musette Morgan, David Nielsen, Bettye Pate, Marietta Petters, Nancy Race, Shirley Seguin, Treacy Shaw, Lucy Stewart, Martha Stobbs, Anne Strickland, Marta L. Suarez, Jim Sutherland, Donna Thomas, Leslie Thomas, Kathryn Trotter, Phil Turner, Winston Wiant and Betsy Williams

Anne Irwin Fine Art
25-D Bennett Stree
Atlanta, GA 30309
404-352-1855
www.anneirwinfineart.com

Cascading Grapes 16 x 12 on Panel

I got this new canister at Home Goods a few weeks ago to paint. I love that spa color and thought it would be nice to do a vertical layout. As you know I love to paint grapes so I decided to have them cascading out of the canister and then in other ares of the painting.

A Slice of Melon 12 x 16 on Panel

After seeing a few paintings with melon in them lately, I decided I would paint a slice again. I had not painted one in years and they are a lot of fun to paint. The grapes were the same grapes I used in the Peaches painting. I figured I had them I might as well use them.

Gold Vase 11 x 14 on Panel

I decided it was time to bring out my gold vase to paint again. I am working on paintings for a show and the gold vase always turns out well when I paint it.

In the past few weeks I have had to buy a new computer with Windows 7, plus a new printer, Office 2007 and one new camera for freelance jobs that I do. Along with that I had to spend time with Fuji and with HP to find out that the camera I use to take photos of my work was obsolete even though it is only 3 years old. Fuji said it wouldn't have any updates for this camera. HP was able to show me how I could use my camera, which was a relief. It has been overwhelming to work with all of this new equipment at once and that is one main reason I haven't posted anything in a few weeks. Hopefully now I will have more time to paint since I am getting used to all of this equipment and finally have everything working.

Peaches 12 x 16 on Panel NFS

I decided to repost this painting because after posting it I wanted to change the white bowl. I bought these peaches at the local farmer's market a few weeks ago. I saw that the peaches had leaves on them so I asked the guy if I could have the ones with leaves. I am sure he wondered why, but since he didn't ask I didn't tell him it was for me to put in the painting. Luckily I finished the painting and the peaches were still good.

Radishes 8 x 8 SOLD

This painting was a commission piece. A group of friends from around the country who were trying to see who could grow the best radishes. The woman in charge, Marjorie was very creative and sent out all kinds of awards to her friends. Becky, was one of the women who was growing the radishes along with her grandchildren. Becky wanted to give this painting to Marjorie for being so thoughtful to all of the growers. Thank you Becky for this wonderful opportunity.

The radishes were so much fun to paint. I got out all of my tubes of different reds and went to work. Now if I only liked to eat them. I have 2 bags in the refrigerator. Maybe I can try them again.

Antique Pitcher with Fruit 16 x 20 SOLD

Thank you Uncle Dan and Aunt Judy for purchasing this painting. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for the support!

Bowl with Bittersweet 8 x 16 SOLD

Thank you so much for your purchase. Thank you for the support and I hope you enjoy it.

Fallen 12 x 9 on Panel

I have been waiting for this birds nest for weeks. The cardinals built a nest in the gardenia bush and it was in the perfect spot for me to get. I love the oval shape they made their nest. They were so smart. They used parts of the river birch bark from out front and then they had a piece of heavy duty plastic in there and then believe it or not a few pieces of tape. This nest is just so cool. I thought about putting the piece of plastic in it and I tried several times, but it just didn't look right and it took over the painting so I left it out. I put in the tape, but by the time I finished the painting it was mostly covered up. You can see a few pieces of white where it was highlighted a little. I know the cardinals had a baby, but my mother found 2 eggs in the grass and we figured it came from the nest. I don't know what happened, but I have to say I am glad we have them so I can put them in paintings. As far as the title the way the nest is it has to lean up against something and it looks like its falling. Also, finding the eggs on the ground that fell out of the nest was another reason for the title.

Nesting 9 x 12 SOLD

Thank you for your purchase and I hope you enjoy the painting for years.

Tranquil Vase With Leaves 14 x 11 on Panel

On this painting I was really trying to create a peaceful mood. I wanted to create something that you could rest your eyes on and not think about the outside world. Maybe its because I spend so much time driving in this town that it really wears me out. The vase was actually a piece of raku pottery, but when I painted it like it was it felt like it needed to be more glossy so that is how I made it. The raku was too dull and it the vase needed some sparkle to give it more interest. This painting like the last went through a few changes of adding objects, changing leaves and changing the background and foreground. Last weekend I took pictures and thought I was going to post it, but after seeing how the pictures turned out compared to how the painting actually looked I decided to go back in and make the background darker and a few other areas lighter.

Found Objects 12 x 12 on Panel

I have been struggling with this painting for a month or so and finally figured out what to do with it. I changed the small vase to green and then when I found a robin's egg decided to add that to the painting. This painting is lighter then most of mine. I had purchased a frame that was a sage green and I wanted to put a painting in it, but didn't' know what to do. So I basically painted this painting for this frame. I wouldn't recommend doing that because I think I made it harder then it should have been. I was also going to post another painting today, but when I was about to crop it on the photo software I like how some of the photos turned out darker and now plan to rework that painting making it more dramatic. Hopefully I will have another painting posted next weekend sometime.

Drifters 8 x 16 SOLD

Thank you for your purchase and I hope you enjoy it.

Bird's Nest Invitational April 8th thru May 30th at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center

I will be participating in the Bird's Nest Invitational at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center. I entered the Nesting and the Drifters paintings. A portion of the proceeds will go to Elachee Nature and Science Center. The Quinlan is located at 514 Green Street NE, Gainesville, Georgia 30501. The opening reception will be Thursday, April 8th from 5:30-7:00pm.

Water Study 9 x 12 on Board

This was the 2nd study we did in the workshop. We copied this painting of Bill's. The purpose was to learn how to paint water, trees, and rocks. I liked how this one turned out since I painted this on my own. Even though we all painted from the same painting each one turned out differently.

Value Study and Building Study 9 x 12 on Panel

I recently took a 2 day workshop with Bill Davidson. He is a plein air painter . During this workshop we were to copy his paintings so first he started out doing a value study of one his building painting. A value study is to get your lightest light and darkest dark and then the in between values. After that we let that dry and mixed our colors. Then we painted the colors on top of the value study. My style is different from Bill's as you can see he painted a lot on my painting with big brushstrokes and a more impressionistic style.

Nesting 9 x 12 on Board

This bird's nest is the same one painted in Home Alone, but with a different angle. I liked the spa/beige from the painting Drifters and wanted to continue that color theme with this painting. It gives off a very peaceful feeling.

Drifters 8 x 16 on Canvas

My mother found this nest in a bush last fall for me to use in the workshop I was taking, but I just now have gotten around to paint the nest. I liked the straw that the bird used and I was going to paint the nest leaning up against driftwood, but felt like it already had the look I was trying to achieve with the thick straw the bird used. I wanted the painting to look like the nest was on the beach with all of the seaweed and debris that washes up on the beach.

Home Alone 12 x 16 on Board

This painting is a f0llow up to Whimiscal Fury, which was painted at a workshop in September. After looking at the original painting close up I felt like I needed to correct the background and make it more solid so I redid the painting and with a little different angle. I am going to pick 2 of the following 3 paintings for possible entry into a show.