Wayne & Curt in the 50's (commission )

I just finished this watercolor commission for our neighbor, Curt, of a couple of handsome dudes, for sure..  the reference photo only had a small portion of the car ( a 1937 Ford) so some research had to be done..
In the 50's, the music was great, the cars were wonderful and the men knew how to dress... .. that is a fact, according to Judi..

Juicy Painting

I was lucky enuff to get into Janet Flom's one day workshop yesterday.  I so enjoy her teaching techniques.  I may have heard a lot of this information before but my brain and talent seems to slide backwards if i don't stimulate it with Janet's words of wisdom. 

took a trip

    Carl and I flew to Oregon to spend Thanksgiving with our sons, Wade and Matt and their families.. had a wonderful time. Enjoyed seeing this painting I did for Matt and Pam for their wedding 20 years ago.. It hangs on a "red wine" colored wall in their dining room. Both kids have several of my paintings and it is like visiting old friends when i go there.

showing my stuff ! !

Tomorrow, i will be hanging 20 of my paintings @ Edgewood Vista, a lovely independent living place here in Fargo.  Thursday, i will be hanging a few more @ Trinity Lutheran Church in Moorhead, MN. Also will hang one in the RRWS show @ Essentia Clinic Atrium.. (or have they changed their name again.??. )  nothing like spreading the cheer, huh???

Something is Fishy GIFTED

One of my art friends said she saw fish in my prepared paper.(see other post). so I went for it..  this was really fun to do.. i love the "crabby" one in the middle..  he has a mission..

Gifted...

Prep done @ Park Rapids retreat w leaves and paint

I dowsed large leaves with watercolor and plopped them on paper, let them dry for a day.. this is the result...   check next post for how it turned out.. it was fun...   

Art @ the Lake #5

Last weekend was an exceptionally fun time with old and new friends. Our instructor was Sandra Muzzy, from Minneapolis.  We did stamping, printing, inking, rolling,carving,giggling and eating.. The "painting" i am holding was painted on Plexiglas and stamped on Bristol paper... maybe that is how i can be "loose" or maybe not....

Face Painting in Enderlin ND

I spent yesterday doing a "gig" @ the SunFest in Enderlin, ND.  this is a sample.. Shark face and Pirate girl....  It was a beautiful day in North Dakota. I am getting tooo old for this-- have blurred vision and a stiff neck today...........

Flew the Coop....SOLD

Working from photos i took in 1994.. @ someones farm, i drew these feathered creatures in my sketch book then decided to do them in watercolor with my signature farm buildings. I may crop it from the top more as the sky got a little weird. I had a lot of other titles but they were not appropriate for a 'blog'...SOLD 5-15 @ EDGEWOOD VISTA

Shop until U Drop --sold

I also started this painting @ the workshop. I have painted these gals before.. love the body language.. looking @ jewelry,I imagine. I would never go out shopping with orange pants and a lime green shirt but the colors are OK in a painting... i hope....... 4/15: I brightened up the colors on this one. Added a little "gold" paint.

Cormorant workshop Gifted

I spent the last 3 days attending a great workshop with my new and old friends @ Cormorant Village in the "lake country" of Minnesota. Instructor was David Rickert from Staples MN. As usual, I had a fun time, painting, eating and talking art. This is one of the paintings I finished using watercolor and an old photo i took on a trip to Alaska.. it needs to have a snappy title.

"Pickup, side view!!" SOLD to friend Bobbie

This is a fun watercolor of more autos.. i think my source was a photo from a car show in my home town, a long time ago. interesting concept, if i do say so myself.

"1955 a very good year" SOLD

Just got a hankerin' to do some more small car paintings.. i think i took this photo in Langdon a long time ago.. i graduated from Hi school in '55.. That was a great era... shiny cars and rock and roll.......

Go West, Young Cowboy!! SOLD at Gallery 4 7-19

This is done in Acrylic on watercolor board that was coated with GOLD gesso.. what fun. Some of the gold shows thru. I had sketched this little cowboy a long time ago.. not sure what my source was but i loved his stance. Background is made up out of my memory of the southwest, plus i had squirted out some "Brilliant Purple" by mistake and HAD to use it..
I painted in more shadows and tried to make his hands more believable
.alway improvements to be made ..

"That was a good year" Gifted

Christmas gift to Sarah...  12-13..

I started to mess around with an old acrylic painting that i just didn't like. I did like the Fat Bastard bottle and did some research and googled "odd labels".. also took some photos of wine bottles @ Happy Harry's... came up with Gnarly Head, Barefoot and Mad Housewife.. fun.

Showing

I just hung 22 of my nearest and dearest paintings @ Uncorked, downtown Fargo. (formerly Vintners Cellar)... They have a great hanging wall and good lighting.. they are very friendly and it is a nice place to have lunch or just a glass of the grape...

"Close to the Ocean" GIFTED

This is the result of an exercise we did @ our Thursday painting day.  Donna C did a demo of this technique-- wet areas of the w/c paper and drop dark pigment and let it run, add some rock shapes, some tree shapes and wah  lah...   i added opaque white gouache and extra color to mine and it reminded me so much of areas near the ocean @ the Oregon Coast......  The lower right corner is a bit weird tho.......GIFTED

Lake Kyds (commission )

This is a commission I just finished. I usually don't enjoy doing commissions but this one was so fun.. painting little shoes and feet and arms and T-shirts.. i got to hone my watercolor skills..

Lucy, painted by Judi GIFTED

This the demo I did during the Cormorant Art Show last weekend. It was fun to do. I took the photo when we had breakfast a couple of weeks ago and it just begged to be painted in watercolor. She is a beautiful 90 year old, for sure, for sure.......

Gift to Lucy

Passing of the Sled 1961( commission gifted)

This is a commission done for Carl's niece, Becky .. it is 3 generations of Koehmstedts. Joe, Larry @ 2 years old and Charlie. Larry passed away @ the age of 52 in June.

It is done is watercolor.

Demo of Lucy, by Judi.................

The weekend Cormorant Show was so much fun. My greeting cards sold like "hot cakes". Had to bring more for Sunday shoppers. I met a lot of new people/artists/friends... i did a demo for 3 hours Sunday afternoon. Painted from a photo i took of friend, Lucy, when we breakfasted @ Divots , last week...

It was a hot humid day and my sweet hubbie drove over (50 miles) to help me pack up my stuff.

Cormorant Art Show

I got up really early this am and drove out to Cormorant Village and helped set up for their popular art show. I have 20 or so of my paintings and a bunch of greeting cards for sale there this weekend. I have been asked to do a demo on Sunday. Will report back on how that goes. Just so i don't have to talk and paint @ the same time..

Beach Dwellers GIFTED

Also painted @ the workshop.  Love working with shapes and opaques. we painted on watercolor paper boards, also a new experience.

GIFT Daughter-in-law, Pam said she like this painting so it is hers now!!  that is how i roll, as they say!!

Music Guy

My second attempt @ the wonderful workshop. The underpainting of Opera Pink is shining thro in some places and makes it glow, maybe tooo much. My photo i used for reference was taken in New Orleans a loonngg time ago, when we went there for our 25th Anniversary...

Gift to "God-daughter"

"Old Man Listening to Young Man"

This my first attempt @ painting with a concept, plan, using shapes, opaque paint & lots of other deterants, during our Donna Zagotta workshop.. colors are bright, i know... but fun.

Reference photo was of my Dad sitting and listening to "Randy Muhs and one of the Fewell boys..." and they weren't that talkative...

Workshop

My friend, Bobbie, and i are attending a 5-day painting workshop taught be Donna Zagotta, from Michigan. She is wonderful and we are finding out about shapes, values, line, texture, massing, connecting,layering,entertaining the paper surface, and more.. a real brain teaser... love it..

Floral for Taylor

Painted this in acrylic on a 8x8 wrap around canvas as a wedding gift. I covered the canvas with a weird green that was kinda lumpy so there was some texture that i didn't expect.. kinda neat, as it turned out. Photos of Acrylic paintings don't turn out very well.. so it goes..
Wedding Gift

Sweet Dreams Confectionary

Was invited to exhibit @ Sweet Dreams again this year. I hung 8 paintings there for the month of June.
Their Peach Gelati is to die for.... Also the Watermelon Gelati.. yum...

Potted and Fresh...wedding gift

well, it is the 31st of May, 2015, and once again I'm revisiting my art..I cut this one up..may get 2 floral paintings out of it..there will never be flowers in our yard like these without my Carl attending to them..

March, 2012   Painted this today.. had taken a photo of that wagon full of flora @ a flea market in Portland. Then, i sketched a couple of Carl's potted plants on our patio. The watercolor paper had a couple of exercises on it from last summer's workshop... i scrubbed off the pigment and there were neat patterns left to use as a background.

March 2013...  i am jazzing up paintings, adding color, changing mats and frames. Blizzards do that to me.. 

Today, I  cut this painting in 1/2.. there ya go!!

My Very First Art Reception

Last week, i hosted my Very First... it was so much fun and so many friends and family came. I had printed lots of greeting cards with my images on them and most of them sold, plus several paintings.. Really an ego booster for my ART obsession...

"Let 'em eat cake"

This acrylic painting is of the wonderful slice of cake i had @ the Artsage event @ Edgewood Vista, here in Fargo, then.  I absolutely love painting on these square wrapped canvases..  might do some more.  AND guess what? The Blog Gods have once again changed everything..  please, can't things stay the same??  am i old??     Wedding Gift

My first real reception will be held Thursday, May 24 @ One Oak Place, Fargo,  from 4-6 pm..  My show is titled "Paintings w Stories"......  Please come... 

"What's up, Dock?" 5/15/14 SOLD this painting today..

Painted this small watercolor this week. The background is a result of a demo i did (see the upside down apple??) and scrubbed off. nothing goes to waste in my art life... A friend said she thought it looked like a toy box had been dumped out.. I liked that.

Jars, Bottles & Cup

This is painted with Acrylics.. on Matt Board that had been painted black.. Haven't put lettering on a painting for a long time. It is much brighter than the photo.. in fact, it is really bright and a little weird...

The Garden Gate Gifted to Peggy

This painting has had many titles.. i have cropped it, jazzed up the colors, added some gold paint & re framed it. Have always loved it for some reason..

Church Ladies, on Watch!!

I used the sketch i did last year to do a watercolor of these gals... I just had to do it...

So much fun.

SOLD @ Pekin Art Show

"Have a TOAD-ly awesome day!"

I painted this with my new set of watercolors.. they are French and bright and dense and fun to use..

But, i really was surprised to see they were made in China.

SOLD @ my reception.......

Splattering Pickup Sold

Can't throw anything away.. this was a piece of another painting that i had cut down.. I painted this funny little truck on it... mostly because someone gave me a nice matt and this fits right in there... it is only 5" X 6".. fun to have the background done and shining through the windows.. doesn't take much to make me happy...

Sold @ edgewood 5-14

"Polly Wants a Finger" gifted to Beth for office

Our painting group drove to Valley City the other day for lunch @ a unique little restaurant. The owner has this huge "bird" in the entry into the restaurant.. we were all so taken with it, we all took lots of photos and thought maybe it would talk to us. The owner said it is able to chomp a broom handle in half with it's beak.. eek.

Anyway, i painted it the next day-- in Acrylic on paper.

"Paintings w Stories"

I have my paintings hung @ OneOakPlace, here in Fargo, for the months of April and May. They look really nice as their exhibition space is wonderful with tract lighting, etc. Would you believe i hung over 50 paintings there? I will have a reception later ... in May...

"Half a Yellow House" sold

I am getting ready to show my art @ One Oak Place and am scampering around looking for matts and frames.. a friend gave me a greenish small matt that really looked good on this painting.. (i had started in a workshop 2 years ago).. I chopped it in 1/2.. yes, it was painful, but it had to be done.
Sold @ my Reception

"A Roll in the Hay"

Went to paint with the Cormorant gals the other day and we all received the same large B&W photo of a scene to paint.. .. there were square bales on the photo, and that just wouldn't do... Again I added a farm yard, .. love the bales and purple sky.. a little disturbed by the goofy mountain shapes..

I "fixed" the weird mountian shape, (new photo)

Now it looks like a purple ribbon. what to do, what to do?        Donated to a silent auction..

"Stairway to the Farm" SOLD at Hawley Art Show

I used a photo i had taken so long ago, that i can't remember where it was... i loved the shadow coming down the steps and the neat rocks.. I made up the farm scene, as usual, it is a "farm" scene.. we paint what we know, i guess, altho I don't know much about farming but apparently had a good childhood and good memories of where i grew up..

I had several "farmer fellows" standing around but no machinery (that would have gotten a little cluttered) so decided to erase some of them and have a 'crop' growing or whatever.. fun..

SOLD @ Hawley Show...

Umbrella Della Invites You for a Drink"

I revisited this painting and turned her yellow umbrella into a table.. it suited her sly glare better.. lively colors and shapes.. a bit weird, tho.

SOLD @ my reception

Sharon's Tulips

This is a painting of a dozen (can only see 11 ) roses Carl gave to our friend, Sharon, for her birthday... I painted it in Acrylics and got out my old stamping stuff and had fun with the background.

GIFT  Jenna's wedding present..

"Hi, There, Remember Us?"

Oh, I enjoyed painting this SO much my cheeks (my face cheeks, that is) got all flushed ...

I used a photo i had taken of some guys i knew years ago.. i loved their caps and their beards.. I painted them to look earnest and wanting to be recognized by the "popular" (now probably overweight and crabby) girls they remember from their Hi School days..
  This painting won first place in the Watercolor division @ the Pekin Art Show.. Also sold this piece..  Yep!

Canoes in a Row

I used the same sketch in this painting as i used in "Boats in a Row". I did this one first, in fact, and also used some photos I took when we visited relatives "way up north" for the lake effect I wanted. Not sure if the canoes match up with the other boats.. but i am the artist and i can decide stuff like that.......... right??

I kinda think someone stole this as we were packing up from a show.  I don't have it anymore.   i guess that is a compliment.

Wild Flowers,Wild Ride (revisited)

Sold  12-13 @ Holly Jolly Show..

I painted this a long time ago.. it is my old bike. A person had purchased it years ago and gave it back to me. We set it in the flower garden each summer as "Garden Art". Yesterday, i redid the bricks and darkened the background a little. Love visiting old paintings.. like seeing old friends.. altho old friends probably don't need to be re-painted.

"Where have all the flowers gone?"

I started this in a workshop last summer.. i added all the little flower shapes and will frame it in a "round" matt i found @ a garage sale.. should appear to be more "decorative" .. MAYBE>>>>>>

Boats in a Row sold

I had drawn these a couple of times and used them in a painting.. But when i got together to paint with some art friends, i grabbed this paper that had Gel Medium on it (who knows when i did that) and the watercolor just slid around and made its own puddles, etc..... love it.

This SOLD @ the Pekin Art Show.. 6-13..  so it goes... 

Still Life w Twigs

I was asked to donate a painting to a worthy cause, so I dug out some older paintings.. loved parts of this but the coffee can was really poorly done.. i got out the acrylic paints and googled "old Folger's coffee cans", redrew it, painted it and am now happy with it.. i have many more oldies to look at this winter but winter is so lovely this year, it is zipping by.

Donated 2/12

"As The Crow Says"

The Spirit Room in Fargo is having their bi-annual Crow Show this year. I had this idea last year but didn't do it. This year, as i was cleaning my studio, i found this portrait i painted probably 15 years ago.. i added the crow whispering to her.. The title is kinda a spoof on the section our local newspaper added a few months ago ( that met with a lot of controversy):: "She Says":: "Crow Says?? get it??