Day off . Lydia Host daily painting a day painting 8x8

A day off .... wind in your hair, sun on your face. Bliss! Happy weekend. Lydia

Masks. Lydia Host Painting a day 4x12

I went to the Mobile Mardi Gras Museum yesterday, a friend has a commission for a jester, and so we thought it would be a good place to get some information. If you live near here you probably think you already know everything about Mardi Gras! Still the next time you have out of town visitors....take them, and go too. It was an informative tour and I did learn some interesting things. They have lots of old photographs and some wonderful pen and inks of very early parades. Definitely worth the five buck admission.

I have always been ambivalent about masks, and so it was especially fun to paint these. They are such a symbol of theater, and also they are sort of extreme emotion personified,which is both intriguing and a little disconcerting.

Lydia

pie in the sky. Lydia Host daily

Another pumpkin pie set up. I have tried to paint eggs in the past, and been frustrated with the result...these eggs I didn't really even think about, and I like them....funny. Lydia

Making pies. Lydia Host daily painting a day 8x8

I have always wanted to make a pie from little baking pumpkins. I love to make pumpkin pies, and then eat them, I sort of feel like they are healthy...not much sugar or fat etc. Yeah right!

Lydia

Truth Beauty Knowledge. Lydia Host 11x14

This was a painting that I started for the show at the library...but didn't finish in time. I love symbolism in paintings, and even though I don't usually make that a priority, it is something I'd like to explore a little bit. One of my favorite paintings that is filled with symbolism is the 'The Annunciation ' By the Master of Flemalle (Robert Campin?) it is the center panel of the Merode Altar piece. It is positively filled with symbolism from the shape of the kettle hanging in the background representing the womb, to the lilies on the table representing the purity of Mary...almost every item in the painting represents something! Fascinating. Lydia. pomegranate; Fertility, abundance. Roses of this color; love,gaiety. Lemons; longevity and friendship.

Make mine a manhattan. Lydia Host

This is a comission, I thought I'd share it with you anyway! Thanks for all of your thoughts and suggestions about my puppy....I have begun a morning walk (was already doing evenings ...mostly). Also wanted to share this info; a friend Joanne, suggested antler's as chews, they don't smell or get yucky and when they get too small you throw them away...brilliant suggestion...never heard of it, and can't wait to try it. Hope you have a happy weekend. Lydia

Home grown. Lydia Host daily painting a day 8x8

Home grown peppers are so pretty, they are always tempting to paint, usually its a big pile which becomes complicated, so this time it was nice to have a manageable amount. I didn't feel overwhelmed.

We have a new puppy,he has been around for about a month. He is the most strangely destructive dog I've ever encountered (well, owned)...the total so far is thus: rung of chair (that was made in the coal camps of West Virgina), Back door ( about four square inches), 40 dollar gallon of paint (spilled thankfully in my studio/concrete floor), corner of my big expensive easel, tube of fancy new 'golden glow' paint and tube of yellow zinc paint (it was old and dry at least) I called poison control about it....he apparently will be no worse for wear. ( he did have a bath in Murphy's oil soap to get orange glow off). And of course countless empty water bottles, rawhide chews, Kong toys and stuffed animals!

I think I understand why his last owner dropped him off without a collar to run loose in the streets! (not that I am considering that...today).

Lydia

Cheers. Lydia Host daily painting a day 8x10

I am working on another large painting of this subject, and so I just painted my daily from the same set up. I think that martini glasses are easily cliched and I tried to avoid that.

Cheers!

Lydia

Storytime. Lydia Host daily painting a day 8x8

Wow, have you eaten an apple lately? They are spectacular right now....crisp sweet a little tart. I love a good factoid, and supposedly the 'apple a day.....' is not a myth and it really is a superfood, well especially the peel...you probably already knew that! Lydia

Collective. Lydia Host daily painting a day 8x10

I painted with Joan E. Whitespunner again this morning, she had these persimmons with their stems and leaves still attached which made a simple and yet beautiful set-up. I put both of our studies up, because I think its always fun to see what two artists do with the same subject. In this case I decided that hers (the top image) looks like a 'painting' and mine (below) looks like an 'illustration'. And that is okay....as artists we have to embrace our 'hand' because its what makes us who we are in paint! Not that we don't all strive to be better than what we currently are.

Lydia

The best of times....Lydia Host daily.

I painted this watercolor for a show at the local library called 'The Art of Reading'. I immediately had this image in my head. My lovely friends posed for me. I am happy with it in the sense that it is my realization of my vision. I think it is a little looser than it appears on screen, but still pretty much an illustration, which is not a bad thing, just not quite the vibe I wanted. However, I love all the curves and how they echo and link. Happy weekend to you! Lydia

Bell trio. Lydia Host daily painting a day 8x10

Adding bell peppers to certain meals makes all the difference, for instance; what would gumbo be with out bell peppers? Certainly chili is not the same with out them. They give such a deep smokey flavor to those dishes. These were bought at the local fruit and veggie stand, and will be cooked down with onions to make a delicious topping for bratwurst. Yum! Lydia

Happy Buddha. Lydia Host daily painting a day 8x10

A happy Buddha, and persimmons which represent health and happiness in eastern philosophy. They also represent knowledge because they start out green and bitter and become rosy- peachy, sweet and delicious as they age. Lydia

T.G.I.F. Lydia Host daily painting a day12x12

I love the routine and mystic of mixed drinks. Plus if you read this blog, you know I love me some shiny stuff. Cheers, Lydia

Coffee and cake. Lydia Host daily painting a day8x10

I have to get the most out of a baked good around here. I don't know if you've noticed, but I have a new paint color in my box...its windsor deep yellow (by Windsor Newton) it is almost an orange, but I've been having fun using it to give a warm glow to my highlights. I think it would also be the key to painting realistic brass. I have a very supportive family and the most recent example of this is my Mother bragging about me to a reporter in my home town of Hemet Ca. which resulted in an article in the local newspaper. Here is the link: (its short and sadly contains no pictures...but hey I thought my marketing director would want me to share!). Press Enterprise article Lydia

I wanna wish. Lydia Host daily painting a day 12x12

My little guy turned Four on Saturday. I made him his favorite cake: carrot cake, and he helped me frost it. I feel a little funny putting him on the internet, but I don't think anyone could snag him from this goofy photo! This is a patently fake smile, but it made me laugh. I couldn't wait to eat and then paint this cake.

This is painted on one of those cheap pre-framed pictures that I bought a while back. They were printed upside down for the original print which said something like ' coffee is my friend' ....oh wait, it didn't say that or I would have kept it. The down side is that you are stuck with this frame, however it is pretty inoccuous.

Lydia

Angel to watch over you.. Lydia Host daily painting a day 4x12

I think that it helps me when I miss my children, or just feel love for people that are far away to paint an Angel. To sort of soak in that moment of pure and deep love you can feel for those you care for.

Lydia

Perfect Mason. Lydia Host daily painting a day 8x10

I saw this on a friend's counter and fell in love with the golden light coming through the jar. It was fun to paint, curious shapes and colors. I wonder what else in a jar would be an interesting subject....I'm thinking red peppers, okra....hmm. lydia

Orange glow. Lydia Host daily painting a day 8x10

Today I painted with my friend Joan E. White Spunner-Dixon, in her light filled mid-town studio. It is always fun for artists to paint together, it is a really great feeling to be productive and get that connection with someone like minded. Making art can become an isolated type of work if your not careful. Check out Joan's beautiful work by clicking on her name above. L.

figure drawing. Lydia Host daily painting

I have had a little one with a cold and then a gallon of house paint spilled (by a new puppy) in my studio today inhibiting my painting progress. I went to figure drawing last night, and it was really fun, the above watercolor is from the last session, it fell out of my watercolor block, and the very top drawings are from the warm-up poses from last night. We do five two minute poses at the beginning of each class to loosen up, and some times they are the best of the night~!

L

Sophisticate... Lydia Host daily painting a day 8x10

I've always felt sophisticated while eating a chilled Bosc pear.

I grew up with Bartlett pears in abundance, but the Bosc was introduced later in my life and so it was the height of luxury to have a thinly sliced Bosc while reading a good book. I think my Dad introduced me to them, he eats more fruit, and enjoys it more than anyone I've ever known!

L.

Tuscan veiw. Lydia Host daily painting a day 6x6

Another dream! I am going to spend a summer there sometime in my life...

I want to share with you that I won an award in the Watercolor and Graphic Arts Society show;

Its sort of a funny story that I feel compelled to tell! Well... I am a cheapskate and try to reuse matt's and frames from previous paintings if they did not sell. In this case I painted on watercolor board which is about a quarter of an inch thick and impossible without correct tools to cut. I found a frame and matt that worked perfectly (without any cutting or expenditure), but the matt was like ten inches wide...normal is between 3 and 4 inches. I emailed a couple of honest friends to ask if it looked too ridiculous..."Oh not really, its a matter of taste' and ' you should redo it' were the replies, I went with the first. WELL the judge's comment for me was that I should re-do the framing, and I was told the award that I won was a credit to a local frame shop! Instant Karma at work. As it turned out I really won a credit to a local art supply store, which makes me happier, but I still am sufficiently humiliated to never put anything in a show that I feel is questionable!

Happy Labor day!

L.

Looking thru you. Lydia Host 8x10

Piled up Granny smiths. Crunchy sweet and delicious. L.

Martini fixin's. Lydia Host daily painting a day 5x7

I had to take another crack at these olives...I just love the jar and the way that they are so jovial somehow in there floating around. I had a feeling of some things clicking for me in the last couple of paintings, and it feels so good to sort of feel like you are making progress!.

Cheers to progress!

L.

Cafe a la home. Lydia Host daily painting a day 8x10

I am disappointed with the way that this painting is showing up on the computer screen....it looks SO MUCH BETTER in person. I don't know what is happening that makes it look so different, for instance the pale orange color does not stand out, but glows. Oh well....technology is great, but no substitute for real life! cheers, L.