Hmmm. Lydia Host daily painting a day 8x8

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I feel a little indulgent about this painting and yesterdays as well. In early days of painting people all I really wanted to paint was the face...so I've worked really hard in figure drawing to focus on the larger lights and shadows and to use minimum detail on the face. So this is like eating dessert in painting terms!

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State of mine. Lydia Host daily painting a day 6x6

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This was taken from a figure drawing session a few years ago, I used the expression from a pencil sketch. I try to portray emotion if I can...and I think that this does, whether its longing, sadness, love, boredom, angst, or all of those and more...who knows? Maybe it was extreme discomfort from a long pose!...I love it all the same.

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tres'.Lydia Host daily painting a day 6x8

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With every painting an artist is figuring out something. I am sometimes aware of that and other times I am just happily painting away. Today I was conscious of my process and my effort to make the pears have some dimension while I left the shadow so transparent that its like watercolor. Sort of nontraditional oil paint technique, but I liked the contrast.

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Daily dose. Lydia Host daily painting a day 6x6

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My parents are visiting (son's graduation), and my Dad eats tomatoes and mango or some other fruit all chopped up,with cottage cheese for breakfast everyday....its quite a beautiful plate. These tomatoes are from a grocery...but I have some on the vine here so maybe I'll be painting my homegrown soon.

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Miss Shirley.

A happy moment for me this week was to be awarded the "Best use of watermedia" from the Mobile Watercolor and Graphic Art Society. Also my painting is featured on the website of the Mobile Museum of Art. Its that watercolor I posted a few weeks ago! Here is the link, please check it out! And if you live in the area, go see the exhibit, its really an interesting show. http://www.mobilemuseumofart.com/index.php?sector=3&view=2 L.

Oil Figure sketch Lydia Host daily painting a day 8x8

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Last night was the final night of this session of figure drawing. This is sort of rough, but I like the freshness that it conveys. This is painted with oil paint on a gessoed board that is framed in simple gold frame. I gessoed over an unattractive preprinted saying. I think this one said "love....all you need is love."

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simple. Lydia Host daily painting a day 6x8

Sometimes less is more!

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Couture Sun.Lydia Host daily painting a day 6x8

Well just as Couture fashion isn't for everyone....neither are reddish brown sunflowers! Yesterday my number 2 son graduated from High school...very exciting days. Soon my life will settle down a bit, I think that makes me a little sad. L.

Redon redo.Lydia Host daily painting a day 11x14

Today I just wanted to relax and play, so I found two paintings that I wanted to try; O. Redon painting of 'A girl with Flowers'. from 1900. I loved the smeary dreamy quality of the paint, also it was so simple and so appealing. I have no real knowledge of Redon, and so am going to look him up. The other is a Degas, which was fun in its circular composition. I love his color and he also has a sort of active surface that is appealing. I think this original is actually a pastel, its called

'The Tub" 1886. When I do this its different than when I am painting from life or my idea, in that it is pure action with no thought, or sweet 'right brain' exercise that makes me feel so relaxed, like a massage.

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polka dot vase.Lydia Host daily painting a day 6x6

More pretty flowers from M.E.K. I love this little vase, I think that my great grandmother had one like it somehow. You can see that I used a heavy hand on this one, lots of paint texture. I am using an old brush that sort of scrapes the paint on instead of spreading...its like drawing and painting at the same time.

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Golden bouquet.Lydia Host daily painting a day 8x8

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I painted with Mary Elizabeth today, it was fun. I may have said this before, but it really is great to feel as though you had a coffee meeting with a friend PLUS you have painted a picture. I borrowed this golden gesso from her that is the base of this painting, it is transparent and kind of creates a whole mood that is for lack of a better word....delicate.

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C- Fierce Mother..Lydia Host daily painting a day 6x6

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This is my loose interpretation of Caravaggio's 'Rest on the Flight into Egypt' detail. I just loved the fierce expression on the mother-Loving fiercely. The mother- child relationship is endlessly fasinating to me!

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Walk through the woods.Lydia Host daily painting a day 6x8

This is the other painting from yesterday. Here are the other artists that were there and last week also; Joanne Brandt, Jami Buck, Missy Patrick, Ainsley Mcneely, Gail Bramer, and Mary Elizabeth Kimbrough, Marie Nickerson.

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stretch... Lydia Host daily painting a day 6x8

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Today was a Plein Aire day. We painted at the Five Rivers again...this time in the forest. It was cool and really really pretty, full of light and shadow and rhythmic pattern. I painted a pathway and then I looked up and saw this tree beside me and decided to give it a go!

I have had a lot of excitement in my house recently; my oldest son graduated last weekend from the University of Florida,(I made the drive by myself-decided it would be too much for three year old son -7hrs ea way) my "youngest big" son will be graduating from high school next week, and we will be driving to his university choice-Alabama this weekend for an audition (music-french horn -only 3 hrs ea way!). I am trying to focus on the beginning part of these transitions and not the ending part...but I will miss my helpful teen.

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Lanscapes en plein aire.

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Here are the two paintings that I painted last Thursday evening at the Five Rivers fundraiser. It was a really nice affair! My donated painting sold well, and I just had a fabulous time painting and chatting with the brave and curious. A long time ago I painted a rickety old pier in sunset, but that is the only time I have attempted the glorious colors of a setting sun. I think that there are some things that nature just does so splendidly...it seems silly to try and capture it. ( and if you did it would look like a velvet Elvis) So this one was nice and just peachy without the flaming orange or other brilliant colors. The late afternoon one was fun because at that earlier time of day (around 5pm right now) the water is so jewel toned and deep and there were just a few clouds rolling through, the sun was to my back. Ah -what fun.

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