11/20/2012 "Order Up, Rain" is Done!!

Hello, my friends,

Well, I FINALLY was able to finish the painting I named "Order Up, Rain". This being totally due to the fact that I was sick and off work. So I had nothing else to do. Well, I didn't have the energy to do anything else but sit in my studio, let me be totally honest, here. This painting came about from reading the blog of a friend, Jack LaFountain. He is a writer, who's blog I follow. With his permission, I've pasted his blog post from that day so that you can read it for yourself. It's as follows:

Monday, September 3, 2012

The Hopi Project

How do you change the world? One person at a time. There are many Hopi people here
on the reservation without running water, inside toilets, and electricity. It is
easy to look around and be discouraged. It’s easy to see why alcoholism,
depression and suicide are rampant. The size of the want is overwhelming. It is
easy to shake your head and pass by on the other side. Inability to help all
must not prevent helping one.
The Hopi Project is an effort to provide a single Hopi family with a roof and
running water. The ultimate expectation is for a new or used single wide mobile
home. It is not about solving everyone’s problems. It is not even about helping
everyone. It is about helping one. It is done in hope that one will become two
and two become four. The Naha family did not ask us for help. They hoped and
prayed for something better. God heard and sent an answer; just as He did when
reclaiming them from alcoholism, drugs and violence. God spiritually and
emotionally lifted them. God has broken the cycle of chains on the next
generation. Now, we hope to add some physical comfort.
True----God could give this family a home that doesn’t leak and has indoor plumbing without our help. God can do anything. God has chosen to invite you and me to share in
the working of a blessing.
Why should we care? What’s in it for you and me? Nothing less than divine
adoption.
“ And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if
ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? If ye do good to them which do
good to you, what thank have ye?  And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to
receive, what thank have ye? ...do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and
your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the
Highest...”
You can help. You can donate to the project on Blogger or on my website www.jacklafountain.com
. You may give a tax deductible donation by sending your help through the Altus
Church of God (900 S. Park, Altus, Ok).
“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Give, and it shall be
given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running
over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete
withal it shall be measured to you again.”

 

 

 

So, that was Jack's Blog that day....very moving, don't you think? So that got me thinking. I can help this family. So I ask Jack for some reference photos and this painting is the result. It's 18x24 oil on stretched canvas. I think it turned out GREAT! These are actually Rain Dancers. They use their rattles to call down the rain. That was the idea behind the storm coming in the back ground. They reside in Keams Canyan Arizona so I knew it had to be desert like surroundings. The water I added as a really cool effect of their "Rain Calling" ability. I mean, they're in the desert, after all. Half of the proceeds from the sale of this painting will be donated to the Hopi Project. I think it's a really good cause.

                                                                    "Order Up, Rain"

                                                                              18X24

                                                                 Oil on Stretched Canvas

                                                                               $450

 

 

 

 

 

11/07/2012 Progress on "Order Up, Rain"

Hello again, friends,

Geez! If I ever get a weekend to just...chill! I am going to finish this painting! I am loving this experience, tho, I must say. It is coming along beautifully! I hope I am able to donate half of the proceeds from the sale of this painting to the Hopi Project as referenced earlier on my blog. Here is a snapshot of more progress on "Order Up, Rain". Makes ya wonder what the heck is going on doesn't it...

Alan Kingwell Liquin Study

Hello again, my friends. I have not managed to do much in the way of painting lately. Hopefully, with the changes I am considering, that will change. But more on that later. The story behind this little painting...

Liquin...every artist who has ever picked up a brush knows what it is. I knew what it was. I had never used it. I am working on the painting with the thunder and lightening I have named..."Order Up, Rain". I needed to get detail and knew I needed to use liquin with my oil paint to do it. But before I used it on this special painting and totally screw it up, I went to doing research and the internet and, of course, YouTube.  I came across this guy who had several tutorials on his page using liquin with oil paint. He got such detail using this and his paintings are so beautiful. So I decided to follow along with one of them doing something small so I could learn how to use it.

I also wanted to work on my depth and my snow. So, I killed a whole flock of birds with this one. LOL
                                                            Alan Kingwell Liquin Study
                                                                              8X10
                                                                oil on Stretched Canvas
                                                                         with liquin :)
                                                                              SOLD

October 6, 2012

Hello Again,

I've had to put aside the Special Painting, "Order Up, Rain", to work on the paintings that I was taking to the Jim Bowie Festival. I did that, and it was a DISASTER!! My friends on Facebook know about that, so I'm not even going there again. LOL So, I had some issues getting back to my painting. I felt like my creative process was kinda shut down, I suppose.

I've managed to work thru those issues somewhat, and feel like I can continue with "Order Up, Rain". It's a 18x24 oil painting to benefit the Hopi Project. I'll provide the link for that as well. This is a picture of only the top left corner of the painting. A teaser...so to speak. If I'm able to sell this painting, half of the proceeds will go to the Hopi Project. So, maybe it will be a good thing.

We will see.

Thanks for reading and following,
Nina


The Hopi Project link from Jack LaFountain's Blog

Paying It Forward

The Lord has blessed me in my life, with the ability to provide for, not only my three children, but myself, a home that has all that we need. Not anything fancy, mind you, but decent. Alot of things that in the day to day, you take for granted. I hope to be able to pay a little bit of my blessing forward with this next painting I am beginning tonight. There will be more to come about this a little later.......

-Nina

September 16, 2012

Hello again, my Friends,

I've never been to the beach, so I was excited when I was asked to do this commission. This was a Gorgeous photo. I loved the colors in the sky in the photo and wanted to make sure that the evening time of day, came across in my interpretation. I wanted to recreate the wispy grasses bending in the breezes. I'm happy with how it turned out. This is 16X20 oil on stretched canvas.

                                                                            16x20
                                                                    Christy's Beach

Peacock

Hello again my friends,

I haven't posted anything in a while. I've let "life" get in the way, I suppose. This is one of my  paintings. This Peacock is done in acrylic on stretched canvas, which I enjoy working with on occasion. I was drawn to this by the challenge of the feathers in the background. I wanted to see if I could actually give the impression of all those intricate feathers. I'm so pleased with how it turned out. I love how the lime green and turquoise colors blend on this bird. He's a magnificent looking fellow, don't you think? He is available for $50 with FREE SHIPPING within the United States.


                                                                          Peacock
                                                                       8x10 Acrylic
                                                                             $50

June 17, 2012 "Magnolia Blossom"

Hello again, my friends, I hope everyone has had a wonderful Father's Day. Those men who give their time and love to children, either their own by blood, or the ones not of their blood, are a rare breed. I never knew my father, so my mother was the greatest father I never had. My husband died in 1991, so I made sure I was the greatest father my children never had, just like my mom taught me to be. If your father is still among the living,and a part of your life, make sure you appreciate him for his worth, won't you?

This weekend was my weekend to work in the gallery in Natchitoches, La. While I was there, I saw many father's bring their families into the gallery, to learn to appreciate art. I was very happy to see that some people are passing along their knowledge and respect for the arts, in this fast paced, hurry up and wait society we live in.

I had plenty of time to contemplate all these things, and work in a new medium to me, which was pastels. I did this pastel painting in the gallery over the weekend. I enjoyed the process of learning how to blend the colors and achieve the look I wanted in this magnolia blossom. This painting is 11X14 pastel in a wood frame. It is available for purchase, if you so desire. I hope you enjoy seeing my impression of "Magnolia Blossum" as much as I enjoyed doing it.

Thanks so much, Nina

Magnolia Blossum
$75

May 31,2012 Planting Time

Hello again, my friends. I made it thru closeout at the hospital, where I work. It's exausting! It's the end of the month when all the doctor's charges for all the surgeries have to be done. Whew! But I have still found time to do what I love to do to unwind and de-stress. Paint!! This painting started out with a different name. This is a painting of my sweet neighbors who take such good care of me. The man and his neice are planting one of the many vegetables they grow, right across the street. My mom cannot pronouce their last name, so she lovingly refers to them as "The Mafia". This is the sweetest couple ever. I just love having them as neighbors. The painting started out being called "Mafia Farmer". This is how I referred to it as I was painting and recording the painting sessions on ustream, but I didn't think it would be a proper name to post on my blog. So I changed the name of the painting to "Planting Time". This is 11x14 oil on stretched canvas. It is available for purchase. Just contact me for more info. Thanks again for following my ramblings. Nina

"Finally Home"

Hello again, my friends,

I made it thru the first part of the week, which was rough, to say the least. Now I can get back to doing what I love to do. After work of course. Painting!

I've been wanting to do a painting with a Harley Davidson motorcycle in it for some time. I have searched and searched for a good reference photo for forever, it seems. I never could find one that appealed to me. I don't know, picky, I guess. Well, my neighbors, whom I love dearly, provided me with a reference photo that belongs to one of their friends. I say, whom I love dearly, because they took care of Daisy while I was gone to the funerals of my Uncle and cousin. They take good care of us.

So, anyway, the bike is a custom bike. It's bright green color, I just love. I thought it would look great parked under the street light. I also thought the one lit window in the building would convey my idea that the rider of the bike is the only one home in the whole place, so I'm calling this one..."Finally Home". This one is 11x14 oil on stretched canvas. It is available for purchase for $100 With FREE SHIPPING within the United States. I hope you enjoy my impression of this bike as well as I enjoyed bringing it to you.
                                                                  
                                                                       Finally Home
                                                                  11x14 oil on canvas
                                                                            $100







Purple Iris

Hello again, my friends,
This is by far the largest painting I have ever attempted. But it came out so beautifully. The purple Iris was one of the first flowers I ever painted back in the day, when I began. I still look back on that first one, that isn't published anywhere, since it was pretty bad, and have to chuckle.
This is the Big Purple Iris. It's 48X36. It's huge! Oil on stretched canvas. It is available for purchase at this time for $375 With Free Shipping in the United States.

                                                                            Purple Iris
                                                                     for funeral expense
                                                                              36x48
                                                                               $375

The Band

Hello again, everyone.  Here is more inspiration from my trip to Natchitoches, La. During the "Art along the Bricks" Festival, there were so many artists showing their work. The music, the smells and the sounds were awesome! It was my first trip there, so I was a little overwhelmed... There was a group of people sitting together, kinda informal, playing music and singing. I snapped a picture with my cell phone and came home and did this painting. I kind of wanted to keep the faces impressionistic since no one knew I took a picture of them. Come to find out, the lady playing the violin, was actually another artist in the Natchitoches Art Guild! I had no idea! LOL This painting is my interpretation of that group of people. My paintings hung in the Natchitoches Art Guild for almost a year. I hope you enjoy.

Nina
                                                                         The Band
                                                                 11X14 Oil on Canvas
                                                                            $80

Business as Usual

Hello again, everyone. I have not posted anything in a while. Between the new job and learning a whole new system, and getting acquainted with the Natchitoches Art Guild and Gallery, I have been pretty busy. This painting is one that I is inspired from my trip to Natchitoches.

When I got there, there was no electricity in the whole town. There was some kind of accident somewhere that had knocked out the power. All the shops and restaurants couldn't make sales or accept credit cards, except for one store. The Old General Mercantile store was an awesome store. They were ringing up people left and right because they used this huge antique cash register. It was so impressive, with all the buttons and the pull down total mechanism. I snapped a picture with my phone and viola! This is my impression. This is 11x14 oil on stretched canvas and is available for $80 with FREE shipping within the United States.

I hope you enjoy,
Nina
                                                               Business as Usual
                                                                       11X14
                                                                  oil on canvas
                                                                        $80

St. Tiger

Hello again everyone. I haven't posted on my blog in a while. There's not enough hours in the day, it seems. I hope to do better in the future.

This is my tiger painting I finished recently. I can't believe I didn't post it on my blog. I think it turned out awesome! It's 24X28 on stretched canvas. It's signed, dated, and numbered on the back. It has an acrylic underpainting with oil on top. I just love the depth you can get with oil. But the acrylic underpainting did save a lot of time. It's available. I call this one "St. Tiger" since it combines one son's loyalty to the Saints and one son's loyalty to LSU. Due to the size of this one, I can't offer Free Shipping, but I can keep it as low as possible and set it at $25
                                                                       St. Tiger
                                                                        24x28
                                                                       

Mardi Gras With a Coke

I have so much fun with ustream. I love the friends I have made. Some wonderful artists that are so generous to share their knowledge and offer suggestions. This painting is the finished one I started online the other night. This is a 6X6 oil on gessoed masonite.It's a still life I set up. The coke bottle was given to me by a co-worker. It's one of those small ones, ya know? She was drinking it with her lunch and I asked her if I could have it when she was done. She laughed and said, "What are you going to do with an empty coke bottle?" I told her I was going to paint it! LOL The mask is one I had to go shopping for. I found it on clearance for $2.50! So I put them all together and this painting is the result. I started out with the coke bottle sitting upright, and the wonderful artists friends I adore, suggested that I lay the coke bottle on it's side. I think they are so right! I hope you enjoy my impression of color as much as I enjoy bringing it to you. It's available for $30 with FREE Shipping within the United States. I have a gold stand to include for it to sit on that just sets it off!

                                                             Mardi Gras With a Coke
                                                               6X6 Oil on Masonite
                                                                          $30

January 10, 2012

Hello again,

I have taken my huge Purple Iris Painting, to begin with, and had blank greeting cards made. They are available for purchase. $6.50 each.

January 9, 2012

Here is a link to fineartamerica.com

<a href="http://fineartamerica.com/art/paintings/nature/all" style="font: 10pt arial; text-decoration: underline;">nature paintings</a>