A Different Kind of Art

I know I'm dating myself, but...  We went to see Tony Orlando a couple of weeks ago.  It was a wonderful show.  He sang all of his hits that I could think of.  He's high energy.  He shares the spotlight with his wonderful musicians.  He tells interesting stories about his early days in show business and about the other musicians in his show.  He loves what he does.  He also seems like a very nice guy.  He had just finished a tour with Dawn.  It was a success, so they're all going on tour again next year.  If they come to your town, go see them.  You'll love the show!  If he comes back here with Dawn, we're going to go see him again. 

One of his friends in the show is Toni Wine.  She wrote A Groovy Kind of Love, Candida and a bunch of other songs with writers like Carole Bayer Sager.  She sang in the Archies.  Do you remember Sugar, Sugar?  She also sang backup on other people's hits.  What an amazing group of people were on that stage!

Fun, fun, fun!

 

Work In Progress

This is a lesson that I am working on from Roland Lee's web page. 

This is a painting that we did in class.  Note how well-fed my dragonfly looks:)  Years ago, an artist friend of mine told me that my animals (I'm including insects) look like Disney animals.  I thought, "Oh, boy!  I'm better than I thought!"  Then she said, "They're happy and well-fed."  Okay, so I don't have the skill of the Disney artists...yet, but I do have the love for animals!

 

More Fun!

I just finished these two paintings from a photo Jim took at Red Rock Canyon.  I'm excited because I'm learning a new way to do desert vegetation courtesy of Roland Lee.  I found his web page last week.  He shows step by step some of the techniques he uses.  https://rolandlee.com/
I have a way to go, but that's okay!  I did the painting twice because I wanted to practice. 

I painted these tulips a month or two ago.

Jim and I are on vacation from school, so we've been playing tourist around the beautiful city of Las Vegas.  We went to the Clark County Museum yesterday morning.  We had never been there.  It's amazing.  They have moved and preserved houses.  There is an old train station with an engine and a caboose.  When you enter the homes, there is music playing from the '40s and '50s.  It's all very well done.  I loved it.  I will post some pictures later.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous summer!


 

Playing with Acrylics

I usually paint in watercolor, but our painting group was using acrylics last night.  Here's what I did.  It was fun!

Our instructor primed the tops of cigar boxes with gesso and we played with acrylics.  I thought it was a clever idea - I never painted on a cigar box before! 

The Kitten

Here is the kitten I painted today.

 

Inspired by Carol King!

Last week I joined a group of painters that get together twice a month at the clubhouse in our new neighborhood.  One of Carol King's posts got me motivated to do that.  Hooray!  This is one way to get back in the swing of things.  Everyone is really nice.  The guy who teaches the class does a great job.  He does a demo at the beginning of the class and then gives individual help.  You have a choice of several things to paint.  I chose tulips.  I'm not finished with them yet.

In April, we're going to work with pastels in one session and watercolor in the other session.  I'm looking forward to it.

Yesterday, Jim and I went to the gallery at the Bellagio to see the exhibit of Yousuf Karsh photos.  I think it will be in the gallery until September.  If you come to Las Vegas between now and then (By the way, our weather right now is superb!), be sure to see the show.  Check out the garden while you're at the Bellagio, too.  Wow!  I even got to see the famous Winston Churchill photo and have my picture taken with Winston's photo!  They allowed photos!

I'm waiting for the last layer to dry on a painting of a kitten and I'm going to post it.  In the meantime, here are some photos from yesterday.

 

Yikes!

We have moved.  We are still in Las Vegas, but Jim no longer wanted to do yardwork and the extent of my outdoor work was caring for my potted plants (what my dad calls my pot farm) and roses and feeding my hummingbirds.  Soooooo...  We bought a townhouse.  We've been in it for two weeks.  Jim already loves it and I think I'm going to love it, too.  There are still boxes everywhere, but little by little it's beginning to look like home.

The first thing we did even before we moved in was to paint my art room.  It's a wonderful space.  There is a large window facing north and a smaller window facing south.  The light is fabulous!  We painted it the palest of lavender.

I hope you are all well and happy.  I've been reading blogs and have seen many exciting photos and paintings.  Keep up the wonderful work!  Don't give up on me.  I'll join you soon.