IT WASN'T ME!

This little pooch looked so cute I had to paint his picture. I changed my thoughts on the background and was going to change it around a little, but the paint is too wet to do that now. Maybe later. After looking at this puppy, I dug out my photo book and looked up our dog's baby pictures. That could be tomorrow's painting.

IT WASN'T ME!
oil
4"x 3"
$10.

READY FOR FUN

These are a couple of characters that wandered onto our place a few years ago and never left. They've eaten most of my flowers, torn up most of the fencing around here, try to eat the magnetic signs from my vehicle anytime I forget to remove them, and have rubbed their horns on a few nice cars, but they kind of make up for the mischief they've caused by their friendly, lovable, personalities. They don't care much for being looked at through the camera lens though and it was tough getting some good photos of them. Now you can see how adorable they look as well.

READY FOR FUN
oil
9"x12"
$50.

BLUE IRIS

A blue iris, because Iris asked for one.

Blue Iris
acrylic
9"x12".

FAIRY LIGHTS

Painting #15 finished! It's an elf who's found some tiny fairies in the dark woods. This is one that I've thought about painting for a while but only today got around to doing it. Hope you enjoy it and have a great weekend everyone!

FAIRY LIGHTS
acrylic
5"x7"
$15.

DRAGON VS. KNIGHT - #14

Here we go once again, back to the land of long ago (or, fantasy). The knight looks as though he's going to be toast, but will he? Maybe he's related to Indiana Jones and will take the chain that's hanging on the other side of his belt (that we don't see) and toss it up around the dragon's head, distracting it just long enough to make it to the trees? Or perhaps the damsel in the castle has sent her falcon to distract the dragon so her love can escape? How do you think the story goes? Would you believe that I saw this at the Renaissance Festival?

DRAGON VS. KNIGHT
oil
6"x6"
$25.

THE LOVERS

Today we dive into the realm of fantasy and oils. The Lovers are a pair of elves that are so completely captivated by each other that they are oblivious to the world around them. It was inspired from a couple that I saw at the Renaissance Festival's 1001 Dreams theme this past weekend. There was a lot of really cool things there and there's nothing like a bit of fantasy to refuel the imagination. Wait until you see what tomorrow brings!

The Lovers
oil
6" x 6"
$25.

Terrie Leyton

GRANDMA'S BOUQUET

Nothing like flowers from grandma's garden! Here we are with another Fall flower watercolor. Let me tell you doing this floral - watercolor combo feels like torture to me. I love flowers, but sure hate painting them. Hope it doesn't show in the paintings - does it?

GRANDMA'S BOUQUET
watercolor
8"x10"
$40.

AUTUMN FLORAL

Someone asked me to paint some watercolor florals when I first started doing "a-painting-a-day" so,that's the plans for this week - although, I may end up yelling "uncle" and switching to oils instead. Today's painting is called Autumn Floral and, as you can tell, it's not finished. Ahhhhg! Yes! It's supposed to be a finished painting but it seems that my second watercolor in this series has beat me as well. I feel like digging in and working in this medium until I can turn out some decent ones, but am not sure if I want to do it right here in front of God and everybody all week long. I've worked on this painting since this morning. It needs to dry a little bit before going back over some areas to ad more details and/ or color but I just can't hang any longer this evening. I'm going to have to re-post it tomorrow. In the mean time, feel free to click on the word "comment" below here in micro print and tell me what you think of it so far.

AUTUMN FLORAL
watercolor
8"x10"
$40.

DREAM BIG

This little guy is thinking his dreams are finally coming true. We all have dreams that we'd like to see come true. Monday voting starts, and because of a dream some women made come true back in 1917, all women now have the right to cast their vote. How many of you know of the "NIGHT OF TERROR", Nov. 15, 1917? That's the night that Alice Paul and 32 other women, who were arrested for demonstrating against President Wilson in front of white house, were thrown in jail and terrorized to make them behave. Women still weren't allowed to own property then either. If you don't remember reading or hearing about the Women's suffrage movement and this Night OF Terror, you should check out this link: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/suffrage/nwp/prisoners.pdf
Hope to see all you ladies out there at the polls this coming week!

DREAM BIG
Acrylic
6"x6"
$25.

FAIR DAY

Fair day! Try your luck at the games! Who can resist them? It's the thrill of chance and the feeling that you're sure you're going to win! Did any of you happen to wander over to the Home Arts area at The Guadalupe County fair last week? I entered 1 painting, called Passing Glances, (it's on my website) and got a champion ribbon. What a sweet surprise that was! Sometimes you just have to take a chance.

FAIR DAY
acrylic
5"x7"
$15.

THE WAY HOME

I read somewhere that to paint well you have to be in the daily habit of painting at a certain time each day and, as time goes by, you one day you find that you're doing more than just painting. You're slipping into the right brain creative mode and are exploring, learning, and growing without even realizing that it's happening.
I'm wondering if a person should jump right in with both feet and paint from the imagination alone to expand the right brain creativeness or if we should still work on the "rules of drawing and painting" as we go along? Last Saturday my son and I went to an art district at LaVillita in San Antonio and checked out the galleries there and it was energizing to see all the different styles and types of art. Ok, it was energizing for me, but for my son, he was happy with the hot dog, pop, and mood ring he got. I wanted to come home and paint some of that bizarre, yet intriguing, art. That said, today was not that day. :D
Today's painting is my own driveway. Yes, it looks as though we don't own a lawn mower, but we do, and sometimes we even use it. Afterwards I'm always rewarded with a great case of poison oak - something there's plenty of here!

THE WAY HOME
acrylic
9"x12"
$50.

PIE BABY - #6

This little Pie Bald Fawn is being raised by my vet and is so adorable and friendly that I thought she'd make a good painting subject. Doesn't she look like she's smiling? Have you ever seen a fawn with this much white on it before? She was inside a building when we took her picture, but, this sunny outdoor setting seems more peaceful and natural to me.

PIE BABY
Acrylic
9" x 12"
$50

Terrie Leyton

FIELD OF FLOWERS

Monday, Monday! Today's painting is a watercolor from a photo I took earlier this Spring out on Hwy 123 S. of Seguin. I'm sorry to say, this painting doesn't do that field of flowers justice. It was a pretty incredible sight and I'm going to repaint it in oils or acrylics - or maybe another watercolor. If at first you don't succeed... do it again. I wasn't going to post this painting, but that would leave me with nothing at all to show for today, so here it is anyway. Now you see that we all occasionally make boo - boos. I'll work on this painting more this coming weekend and will let you know if there's good news. :)

This calls for a positive quote:
"Imagination was given to us to compensate for what we are not; a sense of humor was given to us to console us for what we are". -Mark McGinnis

SHADES OF PINK

Whoo! Hoo! It's Friday and my 5th painting for the week is just now finished! Oh Yeah! I'm probably going to clean my "castle" before the kids and grandkids come over, and then...who knows. This flower is a close up of a wonderful Texas roadside plant that I took a bit of artistic liberty with. It's usually seen as a white flower with lots of pink tinge, but, I like it this way better. Hey, that's why it's a painting and not a photo, right? If the color really bothers you, go ahead and paint one yourself and then show it to me! Now - on to the weekend! Hope yours is a good one!

SHADES OF PINK
Acrylic
9" x 12"
$50

Terrie Leyton

LITTLE RED

I see this horse almost every day on my way into town. Actually, it's neighbor's and he has a field of them and they're all so beautiful that so it's hard to pick just one. Horses are one of my favorite subjects to paint! They're so majestic and yet so naturally down to earth.

Little Red
Acrylic
5"x7"
$15.

Terrie Leyton

THE MOOCHERS - #3

This painting was done from a photo that I took at Mustang Island on Spring break. The seagulls were so fascinating! We brought our lunch on to the beach and at the first sight of food the gulls surrounded us, seemingly hovering in the air, and squawking like crazy. It was a first and it was fun!

THE MOOCHERS
Acrylic
9" x 12"
$50.

PAINTING #2 OF THE GOAL OF 35

Well, here's the next painting! This came from one of the sketches I doodled while looking for a painting idea for a competition this Summer. It's called Angel of the Morning.

ANGEL OF THE MORNING
5"x7"
Acrylic
$15.

Painting #1 of 35

This painting is another view of the Hydro Plant in Seguin, Tx. It's the 1st one for my goal of 35 paintings in 7 weeks. Let me know what you think of it.



Hydro Plant #2
8"x10"
Acrylic
$40.

A PAINTING GOAL

I've set a new goal for myself - a challenge - to paint 1 painting each day, 5 days a week, begining today and ending on November 21st. That will be a total of 35 paintings. I'm excited about it! I have a rather long list of ideas for future paintings, but am thinking that it's not quite long enough. If you have suggestions on things you'd like to see me paint, please blog me on it.
The painting that you see here is one that I did recently. It's the Hydro Plant in Seguin, Tx.
I'll add today's new painting on this evening after it's finished. Hope you'll comment on the paintings and chat with me.

Terrie Leyton

THE IMPORTANCE OF ART

Here we are talking about art while the world around us is in chaos. Some think this is a frivolous subject in times like these. They feel that time and money could be far better spent by focusing on things that will save our planet and correct our society. Well, that's exactly why art is needed so much more now than ever before. Art deepens our creative abilities allowing us to think, reason, and invent better. It helps us understand our history and our culture as no written words ever can. We see illustrations and understand math, science, music, etc., much better with artistic graphics. Look at the effects of art on school children. "Students in "arts rich" schools scored higher in creativity-imagination, expression, cooperative learning, risk-taking, and measures of academic self-concept than students in "arts poor" schools. Teachers and principals in schools with strong arts programs reported that the presence of the arts led teachers to be more innovative, to have increased awareness of students' abilities, and to enjoy work more". www.creatingpride.org/educators/why_art.asp
So, you see, it's not just the children that benefit from art. It's good for adults as well.
Art calms our minds and our bodies and helps us to refocus and maintain our mental and emotional balance and heals the psyche. "Art theraphy is the therapeutic use of art making, within a professional relationship, by people who experience illness, trauma, or challenges in living, and by people who seek personal development. Through creating art and reflecting on the art products and processes, people can increase awareness of self and others, cope with symptoms, stress, and traumatic experiences; enhance cognitive abilities; and enjoy the life-affirming pleasures of making art". www.art-therapy.us/art_therapy.htm
Colors reach into the deepest parts of our emotions and cause us to react to them without consciously realizing it. We can use colors to shift our emotions and heal. www.healing.about.com/cs/colortherapy/a/aa_colortherapy.htm
Think about this; Do we make better decisions and come up with better solutions when we're stressed out and anxious or when we've calmed down to the point of good reason? Maybe we should get out our pencils and paper and start drawing again.