painting – Page 6 – Gator Girl Art

My plan for smaller original paintings.

Posted on June 3, 2014 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

Things are heating up around here. It is raining today, but the rest of the week will be dry and 90. (Weather √ ) My sweet darlin’ is barbecuing all day to acquire some kind of pink line in the meat that lets us know he did it perfectly. The barbecue is on auto pilot now while he takes Maggie and Riff Raff to the children’s library. (Next meal √ ). One of the reasons he is my sweet darlin’ is because he takes the kiddos out so I can talk to y’all.

Now, an art update.

I painted a picture of my oldest daughter in oil paints. I found some oil paints that clean up in soap and water. I felt like I wasted a day, but I learned that I hate oil paints. They are creamy and lovely to paint with, but the look is creamy. They take forever to dry. I am spoiled by how quickly acrylic paints dry and how bold they look. I had a thought in the back of my mind that when I was a real artist, I would paint in oils. I don’t know why I thought that. (No more oil paints √ )

I love the way the cowboy hat looks. I didn’t finish the painting. I knew I would never get it right with the oil paints. This is a small canvas, only 12 x 16 inches.

Because the paint was still damp the next day, I covered everything with paper. At the top, there is a Lucky Rooster coaster. Bottom right is a Juan’s Flying Burrito logo. Some bingo paper and little red dots because dots make me happy. Peaking out is my sister and her beau.

I am going to show you what I am painting, but it is still in progress. I photographed the paintings today on the easel, because I don’t like to see my unfinished paintings when I google something. I wonder if people think they are done.

I am half done with this. It is called Crow Talking to the Lucky Moon.

This turtle is also 12 x 16 inches. Pretty much half the size of my go-to canvas. I am going to make a frame for him.Maybe a few more wrinkles on his neck.

I have a small problem with Nice Hair. Maggie wants to buy it. She has $20. When I finish her, I guess she is already sold. I might put some molding paste in her hair and for sure attach some antique embellishments. My plan is to paint flowers in her hair and a butterfly hovering.

I like the blue background. It reminds me of Tiffany blue.

Well, that’s all she wrote.

The kids are here all week. It is between school and summer camp.

Feeling lucky,

Gator Girl

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After the festival (a re-hash)

Posted on May 23, 2014 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

In New Orleans, when we aren’t talking about our next meal, we’re talking about the weather. FYI, my next meal is coming from Juan’s Flying Burrito and the weather has been gorgeous for two weeks straight. 80’s, sunny and dry. My favorite weather is dry in the day and raining all night, but not when I am leaving my art all night in a tent on the bayou.

Duke, my sort of brother-in-law took some fabulous photos of Bayou Boogaloo. I think this will be a photo essay. I will include information for first time festers, which I am not one of. (Thankfully.)

Gator Girl Art had exposure to the public. Lots of people came out. I sold a little over $1,000. My expenses were a little over a thousand dollars. I almost broke even. Yes, I would have liked to make some money. No, I am not giving up.

I signed up for Blues and Barbecue taking place in Lafayette Square in October. Jazz and Heritage will tell me soon if I have been accepted. You will be the first to know.

Walking to New Orleans seemed to be the crowd favorite.

My sort of brother-in-law bought it. Thank you, Duke.

In New Orleans, if you are selling in an arts district, there is no city or state tax on original art. The tax I had to pay is only on the $200 I made selling prints… $8. That’s cool, right?

I decided some things for the next festival. I am going to buy nice, white, mesh sides for my tent. They will be easier to transport and look professional. I am going to paint some smaller originals. I like originals better than prints. People who have a small space or limited finances will be able to buy an original. I am only going to take my originals and one size prints.

I made these cool presentation binders. One binder has all of my originals that are still for sale. One binder has all originals already in collections. I filled the binders with 8 x 10 prints. On the facing page is their story. I am going to take along the binders.

This has been an important week for Maggie. She graduated from kindergarten and turned 6!

Maggie's Celebration — Maggie’s Celebration

I am pretty excited to paint again.

With green, scaly gratitude,

Gator Girl

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Gator in the Hen House

Posted on April 9, 2014April 9, 2014 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all,

I wanted to finish Gator in the Hen House before I wrote to you this week. I am taking 4 paintings to Dorka to photograph this morning. This is my photograph of the finished painting. I am going to frame it with some wood I have saved under the house.

This is pretty large, 24 x 36 inches. My favorite part is the alligator. My second favorite part is the chicken wire.

My goal was to make the gator the center of attention with a smug and cavalier attitude. The chickens are a riot of color and feathers. They each have their own personality.

I raised the chicken wire with molding paste, then lightly brushed some Golden Green Gold and Cobalt Teal back in.

The rooster was painted with Golden’s Permanent Violet Dark, then Carbon Black and more colors. The shiny parts are Silk’s Acrylic Glaze.

This rooster is standing as straight as he can on his tiptoes trying to look invisible.

This hen's eyes are starting to roll back in her head. She thinks she might faint. — This hen’s eyes are starting to roll back in her head. She thinks she might faint.

I used Golden’s molding paste and Liquitex heavy body acrylic on the white chicken. I said “used” because I painted with a brush, my fingers and a palette knife.

I loved this chicken when she was pure green, but I wanted her to be a more realistic color and contrast with the gator.

So I changed her to..

Mama chicken is yelling, "Get outa here!" — Mama chicken is yelling, “Get outa here!”

On Mama Chicken I painted with acrylic paint and Dylusions Postbox Red Ink Spray. I painted with it, not sprayed it. I love how it saturates. I had to seal the hen with varnish and then paint the white bits back in. When you paint with ink it keeps soaking through.

I made the floor of the hen-house dirty, by putting broken toothpicks and beads in black and tan paint, putting them on the floor of the hen-house and pulling the pieces off with tweezers. I knew I would have a hard time making the dirt look random, otherwise.

One of the challenges of this painting was to keep the chickens in the background as supporting actors. They really wanted to take over.

I bought this cart at IKEA. I love it more every day.

Each day I have to trust again that I am on the right path. For me, right now, it seems like the only one. So I am putting one foot in front of the other and going on.

Loving you unconditionally,

Gator Girl

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Life in Progress

Posted on March 25, 2014March 25, 2014 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

I have a to do list as long as my arm, but my studio is quiet and here I am.

Just a little update today.

Company is coming to New Orleans in waves. And why not? New Orleans in the Spring is the best.

Raffi is beginning a large painting of his pets. He wants it to go with his 3-year-old painting of his family.

I gave him some student quality paints for the first layer. Besides the color, the paints themselves look drab. I ordered him some Liquitex paints for the next layers. They aren’t Golden, but they are nice.

My Gator in the Hen House is still in progress. I have spent many hours on this. I will continue to paint it until I am happy with every inch.

Gator in the Hen House, still in progress

This is why I am a little late with my list today.

This is super fun. I have painted the darks. I think her hair will be full of fun stuff. Maybe butterflies, bugs, a bird? I don’t know yet.

She seems to welcome Spring.

Maggie lost her tooth. Too cute.

Gotta run.

Until next week my loves,

Gator Girl

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Here Come the Girls

Posted on November 6, 2013November 6, 2013 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

Here is some music to listen to as you read my blog this morning. I love this song.

Here Come the Girls is one of the songs we march to during Carnival. Sometimes, my sweet darlin’ acts as a Pussy Handler and sweeps the beads off of the street, straddles horse poop, and holds the crowds back. He says the parade watchers see us coming and start shouting, “The Pussyfooters are coming!”. This is a rather fantastic explanation. Even hard for me to believe. The entirety of this explanation is the motivation for my painting. And I just wanted to say, “Pussy Handler”.

The Blush Ball is put on by the Pussyfooters. We are raising $30,000 this year for the Metropolitan Center for Women and Children. I am donating the original painting to the raffle.

I always donate when asked. I usually donate prints and giclee’s. For tax purposes, you can only write off the painting supplies that you used. Time and talent are not considered. Crazy. For the Ball, I am making an exception.

Writing the blog this morning is clearing something up for me. In the beginning of October, I decided I wanted to take my art to a festival or two. This idea and the following actions threw me into a head spin. I am starting to recover. I made jewelry with images of my paintings. I ordered extra prints, many extra prints, and some giclee’s. My inventory was starting to overwhelm me. I started to lose faith. I went into a mind cave.

Danielle Laporte whispered to me through my Kindle, “You’ve never been where you are going. You’ll figure it out. You’re the only one who can.”

Crawling out, I see the light. I am back on my path.

Here are the finished flags for my booth. My supportive sister sewed them together.

Putting one foot in front of the other.

Thanks for being here.

With unrelenting love,

Gator Girl

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That’s what friends are for.

Posted on October 2, 2013October 2, 2013 by gatorgirlart

Good Morning all y’all,

Hansen’s closed for the season yesterday. The last snoball of 2013 feels like a passage. It is walking through a doorway from Summer to Fall.

Saying good-bye to summer is bitter-sweet. The light is softer. The air is cooling down.

Things are picking up. Everyone is discussing Halloween costumes. Halloween costumes are either put together at a costume shop, ETSY shops, or are handmade. That is one reason when October 1 rolls around, you have to be on it.

My talented and beautiful friend, Mimi, made her family’s costumes.

The list of festivities grows. Now we have to choose, because there are choices.

Pussyfooter practice starts in October with mandatory attendance. We all look toward the Carnival season with anticipation.

You can feel the Saints victories as palatable, like a physical happiness in the air we breathe… breathe in 4, breathe out 0.

Everything seems possible.

Today, I am sharing the completion of Friends.

The frame is old. I bought it at the estate sale of an artist. Accidentally, the colors of the pelican and the colors of the frame are amazing together. I painted this on a board cut to fit inside this frame. Maybe the color matching was subconscious, but I gasped when I saw the painting in the frame.

There is only about a quarter-inch of the painting covered up by the frame. Unfortunately it covered up the cat tail along the side.

There is plenty of carbon black and bone black in the painting lest we forget the oil spill. The gold near the top is the hope we hold for the future.

I swear this will make you cry. (Just click on the blue sentence.)

In abundance and gratitude,

Holding hope for our future,

Gator Girl

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Mostly a cat costume

Posted on August 31, 2013 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

Happy 3 day weekend!

My intention is to be accepted as a vendor at The Bayou Boogaloo this May. I am working on a banner. Each letter will be on fabric measuring 8.5 x 11 inches, then sewn on a sturdier fabric, probably the weight of denim, so the letters will hang nicely. Lastly, embellished and strung like prayer flags.

10 flags.

GATOR GIRL ART. “Art” will be on one flag.

The space is 10 feet across. I am going to buy a 10 x 10 white easy-up.

The beginning of "G" — The beginning of “G”

I printed the G on material; but it is still in progress.

While I was playing with the banner, Maggie came by with some plans of her own. Literally.

We are all having a going away barbecue on Monday for some friends who are moving to Hawaii. Maggie wanted her cat to have a party outfit. (Sorry about the shadows.) Maggie chose the purple outfit, but in a different color.

Maggie did the cutting and sewed the grey ribbons on by hand.

Lacey was willing to wear the cape, but did not cooperate with the shoes.

I am working on two paintings. I need a little time with the turtle and pelican.

And I am waiting for supplies to complete my Pussyfooters painting. I ordered a brighter orange acrylic, some small brushes, and Liquitex paint pens. The Pussyfooters volunteer all year, but the season picks up speed in the fall. Practices start next week. I am Pussyfooting in Southern Decadence tomorrow. I haven’t been to their parade before, but it sounds like fun.

Until next time,

With unending love,

Gator Girl

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Baby, I got this.

Posted on July 26, 2013 by gatorgirlart

Hi All y’all,

Writing to you from the deep south in the deep summer, and loving it. My mother-in-law grew up here without air conditioning. I’m not sure I would be loving that.

The angel put on a white button up shirt. The painting is called, “Baby, I got this.” So please don’t worry about your problems. They are being handled on an angelic plane.

The angel is standing in the midst of many easily handled problems.

Note: In the south, “baby” is a term of endearment, containing no disrespect.

I started a painting of a Pussyfooter to give to the Blush Ball this year. Last year they raised 22,000 for the Metropolitan Center for Women and Children.

The painting is about half done.

A wig that I saw at Fifi Mahony’s in the French Quarter was my inspiration.

I am thinking about sewing sequins on her dress.

She is going to have lots of sparkle,

but first I need to love her and she is not quite there.

I am sure she is going to say something meaningful. We Pussyfooters are not just glam and sparkle. 🙂

I was the guest speaker on the Cosmic Cowgirl phone call last night. The Cowgirls asked me to tell my story, how I went from teaching children in California to New Orleans artist. It made me remember how dreams materialize. Seriously, it is pretty magical how things work out.

Maybe I will share my story with all y’all next week.

Wishing you happily ever after,

Gator Girl

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Alligator Bliss

Posted on November 25, 2012 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

We are having the most beautiful fall weather. Seems like it might be perfect for my first Pussyfooters parade next Saturday. I am looking forward to seeing what dancing in front of crowds is like, basically so the nightmares of being exposed in public stop. I feel compelled to do it because it has been a lifelong dream to be in a dance group. (note to parents: just let your kids live their childhood dreams in childhood. The dreams don’t just vanish with a “no”.) With the Pussyfooters, I met the requirements of having or living like I have vagina and being over 30. Yea me! I qualify. The Krewe of Jingle parade is on Canal Street.

Two more awesome reasons to join with the Pussyfooters are the service we do for the community, raising money to support and empower women, and for me to meet other women. Since I work at home now, I feel the need to get out and into the community for mental health.

I have two paintings to share today. I finished the La Virgen de Guadalupe. I just need to varnish her to protect her from dust and uv rays. I am also giving the person who commissioned her a chance to see her before I take her to be packaged and shipped. I painted the virgin how I think she would appear to the person I painted her for. I added the traditional saint card near the bottom of the canvas.

I am starting a new painting just for fun on a piece of reclaimed wood. It is just a scrap of wood that I am going to frame in old wood from an old house. It is called Alligator Bliss.

I have some safety glass from a broken car window. It looks like the scales on an alligator’s legs and shoulders. It looks really cool to see the paint through the broken glass. The trouble I am having is the glass is raised up higher than the rest of the gator. My plan is to just continue on with the plan, hoping that it all turns out. Maybe I could put a piece of glass over the whole painting when I frame it. (Insert here any of your good ideas.)

He is not much to see yet. (Why are my alligators always men?)

Alligator Bliss In Progress — Alligator Bliss in Progress

I laid some glass on the painting so you can see how cool it looks. Maybe it will be OK just to have the glass parts a little higher. Hmmm.

Looking forward to feedback.

With unending love and gratitude,

Gator Girl

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Two Shows!

Posted on October 19, 2012October 19, 2012 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all,

We are starting the festival season here in New Orleans. There are many things to do every weekend from now until after Mardi Gras. This weekend I am lucky enough to have art in 2 locations.

Mr. Mario Padilla has invited my painting “Fly” of Frida Kahlo to be in his show.

Anba-Dlo-Banner-450x165 — I am definitely not going to miss this next year.

I dropped Frida off while they were setting up last night. The Healing Center looked amazing. Really great art and music. I hear there will be a parade.

Miss Mandie from Downtown Chic Salon has invited me to share 10 paintings at Fall for Art.

I feel so fortunate and grateful for double invitations.

I finished Dancing in the Moonlight (alternately The Happy Family). I like the family. They look like New Orleans to me. I decided against button eyes and their mouths sewn shut. With the baby in the picture, it was going to look too gruesome. I just wanted them to look recently departed and back for a visit.I probably decided to paint them because of the Fall weather and Day of the Dead being just a couple of weeks away.

They are wearing many of the same colors as the night sky. You can see that the children inherited their mother’s chin. It was fun to see the family resemblances. I secretly have always liked the mother to pass down the genes.

Maggie wants another baby in their family in real life, so she asked me to paint a baby in the picture.

Dia de los Muertos is one of my favorite days. I spend time honoring and remembering loved ones that have passed over. I have a box of photos I look through that I have collected and pick a few for the altar. I don’t put everyone up because I would be too crowded, but looking through the pictures is part of the honoring and I think the departed understand.

My mom and I had a shaky relationship. She passed on several years ago.

I recently found a picture of the two of us enjoying time together. I am going to see if I like having the picture up in our house. Sometimes it takes a long time for forgiveness and understanding. At least for me it does. It turns out the altar is healing as well as honoring.

Wishing you healing and a lovely Fall.

With an open heart,

Gator Girl