I started working on the untitled painting below about three weeks ago. I had a plan to finish it in two weeks. Everything was moving along and then I screwed it up and my screw up couldn’t be undone. Yes. I had a mess. So I looked at it for a good week and a half and finally formulated a plan to save it. It’s now moving along with a new plan, but that means another week or two until it’s done.
But life goes on. I generally work on three or four projects at once, but I pared that down to two these last three weeks. One is a handpainted, small glass serving plate, pictured here. It has to cure for another three weeks. The other is the St. Augustine Lighthouse, a Little Debbie, which should be done in a day or two.
This untitled piece uses acrylics and polymers applied with palate knives.
I rarely post pieces I’m currently working on, but today I’m making an exception. I find that one of the joys of having no formal training is my willingness to try new things. If you look through the work in my gallery, you’ll see I use a lot of different techniques. On the down side, I don’t have a consistent body of work which makes agents and galleries cringe. I need the variety, especially now when I spend so much time at home. I don’t think I will ever be able to try everything I want to accomplish in my lifetime, but I will try. I actually have a file of artistic techniques I want to try and I pick and choose every time I get a whim.
Some are more challenging than others. On this one, the acrylic and polymer mix is very unforgiving. If I screw something up that I’m working on, fixing it is very problematic if not impossible. While I have used acrylic polymers in the past, I’ve done so to give something a rough surface, like you see in, “RU A Fan”? (See below) This time, I’ve decided to do a series of beach scenes. (Yes. more than one if I like the end result.) What you see above will be the background for the sand. This took me roughly four hours to complete. So far, I am happy with the direction it’s taking. At this point, it will dry for 24 hours, then I will move onto the water and sky. When the application is complete, people and things will be added. The finished, yet unnamed piece, will be a 16×20 on canvas.
So stay tuned. This project should be done in about two weeks.
If you look closely, you can see the polymers on each leaf of the fan. This gives the finished project a 3D look. “RU A Fan”, 40×50 on canvas
“Mid Century Classic Trio” 3, 8×8 acrylic on canvas framed to 11×11
I have to say, I’m having a blast taking shapes and arranging them into very cool works of art. This was especially fun, but it presented a lot of challenges. Even so, I am pleased with the end result. I’m selling the three together, but if you would like to purchase individual reprints, please visit www.OwnADebbie.com and visit our reprints center.
I live in a condo where the grounds have a handful of these crazy sculptures. I knew they were made of Coquina, but I had no idea how they ended up here and how the perfectly formed holes and lines came into play. When they excavated to build these condos in 1990, they saved these and placed them around the property as sculptures. This painting represents the largest in my neighborhood, standing about seven feet tall. It weighs over 13,000 pounds.
These rocks have a place in Florida history. The old Florida Sugar Mills and Castillo de San Marcos, in St. Augustine are made from the solid material.
The coquina stones are between 12 thousand and 2 million years old. When they were forming, sea levels were lower, the shells and sand were exposed to rain. The acidic rainwater dissolved some of the calcium carbonate in the shells which ‘glued’ the shells and sand together. The rocks can be found along Florida’s East Coast from St Augustine to Palm Beach County.
The perfect cylindrical holes I thought were caused by the excavation. I was wrong. The holes were likely formed by rainwater eroding the rock which collected in a depression on the rock’s surface. Over time, the acidic rain dissolved some of the rock away creating a larger and larger circle with every rainfall.
Coquina is soft and easy to cut when underground, but hardens when exposed to air.
I bet you will never look at the coquina rocks in the same way
You don’t have to spend a fortune to own an original Debbie! Whether you are looking for the perfect gift or something special to sit on a shelf in your home or office, there’s a Little Debbie just waiting for you! Little Debbie’s are small original paintings, most 5×7 or smaller. All are priced under $60 and include shipping and handling in the Continental U.S. Please take a look at the Little Debbie’s at the top of this page to see some of what we have to offer. Check back often. You never know what you will find!
After many painstaking months, my virtual gallery is now a reality. “From my Studio to your Home” offers a gallery view of all my original work currently available for sale. The Gallery is open 24/7 and admission is free! Watching in the middle of the night in your jammies is encouraged! I hope you will take the time to visit all 13 collections.
Enter the Gallery by simply clicking the link at the top of this page. Grab your favorite libation and maybe a few munchies, sit back and enjoy the show!
While this gallery includes only originals currently in inventory, you can order reprints on these or any previously sold work at, http://www.OwnADebbie.com
My latest painting reflects how I feel right now: I don’t know whether to stop, go or wait to do things from go to the grocery story to traveling. Wait usually wins. Speaking of waiting…hang tight, friends and fans! My newly designed online art gallery is nearly finished. It will allow you to explore all my originals anytime of the day or night. Get your glass of wine ready…it’s coming shortly!
Well, the title, ‘5 Shades of Gray’ certainly caught your attention, but there was a method behind my madness. Since I have so much time to paint these days, I find I am challenging myself with new techniques. “5 Shades of Gray” is an exercise in illusion. The challenge was to use only five shades of gray to complete the painting. I did that. Even so, some of the grays appear white; others are blue. In the end, all are gray…five shades of gray to be exact. You might have noticed from my other paintings that I love bright colors. Gray doesn’t exactly fit the bill, but that was another challenge….to paint something with a color I’m not fond of. What do you think?
I can’t say that it’s everyone’s new normal, but with all the time I’m spending painting these days, I’ve decided to try a few new things. One of those new things is experimenting with shapes, designs, patterns and colors. I’m loving every minute of this! I used to say I couldn’t draw a straight line. I still can’t, but I’m getting closer. Take a mini tour above of my new Geometric Collection. Enjoy the show!
This canvas was garbage. That’s right, it was in the trash. It was a painting of the sun and honestly, not a very good one at that. But it was a huge canvas and if you look up the price of canvas, it was an expensive one. I couldn’t bear the thought of it being crushed in Monday’s trash pick up. So I brought it home.
I used an entire bottle of Gesso covering the previous work. Whomever created it made sunbeams from caulk and the caulk wasn’t coming off. I looked at it for a couple of weeks trying to figure out a new purpose that would incorporate the former sunbeams. My husband said, “Just paint another sun”, but I really didn’t want to do that. So after much deliberating, I decided on a fan. I used moulding paste between the former sunbeams on the inside of the fan and applied it with a palate knife to give it a little texture. I added a background of Naples Yellow and used bright red, brilliant blue and gold on the fan itself. The gold paint was particularly difficult to use. It was thin, less opaque and dried quickly, making the bottom of the fan the most difficult to finish. But finish I did and I have to say I am pleased with the end result.
Now it needs a home. Look above your sofa. If it’s bare, contact me.
“R U A Fan?”
Picture this in your living or family room. RU A Fan? if you are contact me to see how you can get this one of a kind, original painting.
