Category: alligators

Posted in alligators

Shopping in the French Quarter for Pretty Things

Posted on by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

I just finished, sealed and varnished a new painting. I got my idea from a photo on line of Ruthie the Duck Girl. She is a New Orleans icon. When she was a child, her mother put her hair in ringlets to look like Shirley Temple. She sent her out on roller skates with her pet duck and charged for photos. Ruthie continued to walk/roll around the Quarter all of her life often in a wedding dress. She sold postcards and posed for photos. She was born in 1934 and passed away in 2008. I love this story and that people in New Orleans supported her and her eccentric behavior.

So, I was looking at photos of Ruthie and wanted to paint her. I thought to myself or maybe out loud, “I wish I liked to paint ducks.”.

Shopping reminds me of going to a parade or to a girls lunch on a warm, humidish Saturday. They are both fixed up and wearing their pink nail polish. Best friends excited to be out during a pandemic lull.

The painting is 24 x 30 inches, acrylic paint, charcoal and varnish.

My favorite thing about this painting is the plaster wall. I think I nailed it. My next favorite thing is their relationship.

Wishing you all the best! Stay safe.

Gator Girl

Posted in alligators

A Girl and Her Gator

Posted on by gatorgirlart

Good Afternoon all y’all!

Remember me? It’s been a year since I painted anything to share. I think it was a combination of painting too many commissions and the world wide pandemic. Painting started to feel less creative and more like work. The never leaving my house part of the pandemic was not stimulating.

I feel like painting again and also feel like sharing.

Jazz Fest is going on in New Orleans right now. It is especially wonderful because it has been 2 years. Everyone is so happy to be out eating great food, seeing excellent art and watching amazing musicians. It’s hot. Sometimes very hot. If you pace yourself, rest and hydrate, it is all enjoyable.

When in doubt, I paint an alligator. This one is a happy baby. I love his baby teeth. I am not sure why the girl is a little startled. Maybe she is surprised by her new pet.

I am close to finishing another painting. I will share it as soon as next week. It’s called, Shopping for Pretty Things in the French Quarter.

All the best. Pray for Ukraine, Roe Vs. Wade, our world any way that you do.

Love, Gator Girl

Posted in alligators

Love is in the Air

Posted on by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

My newest painting is about alligators in love at Jazz Fest. I painted a similar painting a couple of years ago. The first Jazz Fest painting was inspired by a photo of my granddaughter, Maggie, and her cousin Lenny. They were dancing at Jazz Fest as part of a family reunion.

While the original painting was hanging in my living room, I fell in love with the composition. So when my daughter wanted that painting for her house, I decided to paint the same scene with alligators.

 

The grass has the shape of the whole world. The skywriting is really a thing at Jazz Fest… not so much the wildflowers.

The whole painting seems happy to me.

This one is a little different… taller grass, no purple flowers, more imaginative. I based the girl on Gator Ballerina just in case I want to include this painting in a traveling alligator book one day.

They are both large paintings, 30 x 40 inches. I will be making prints after the paintings are photographed.

Jazz Fest is a great adventure. If you haven’t been, I hope you can one day.

Love is in the air,

Gator Girl