"Compact"

11"x15" oil media on paper

Kind of a this and that view of a coffee cup. The oil media I used on this painting was the water soluble oil paint, then I got a little more crazy and got out the oil paint sticks. After that... I'm not sure what I did! Just painted! I think I mixed regular oil paint in there too!

Today, I think I learned something about myself. When I get stuck or bored with what I'm painting I just change mediums! Keeps me mixed up just enough to keep my attention...

This is number 77!

-jM

"Sunflowers Rule!"

5"x7" mixed media on paper

Prairie Jill is gonna like this... "Sunflowers Rule!"

What was that movie? You know the one, where the sunflowers took over the world. This sunflower is headed for Manhattan! Watch out! With all this warm weather we are having, it could happen...

I have coffee cup paintings on the drying table, so let's have another cup and I'll show you the next one soon!

Have a great weekend!

-jM

"Pour Some More!"

12"x12" mixed media on canvas

Number 76... and counting. This is another of those, well, I used a little bit of oil paint pen so I guess it's a mixed media. Mostly though, it is acrylic. I'll have to start a coffee cup painting with that water soluble oil paint again... oh, what will it be?

Thanks for all the nice comments yesterday you all. Yes, this one would be like my Mom too... "Pour Some More!" She like her coffee. By the way she drinks decaf now...   : )   I should.... but I don't....

-jM

"Top It Off!"

12"x12" acrylic on canvas

Here it is! Number 75! Yes, this coffee does need a little topping off, it's gotten so cold I think I see ice. Just kidding...

This painting is a 12" by 12" and painted using acrylic paint and a brush and my fingers. Uh oh, I used and oil paint pen, this needs to be considered a mixed media piece. Hmm.... to change the description or not change the description.  Speaking of descriptions, yesterday's painting I labeled aquamedia. This may be a term that will be added to the dictionary someday. I called it aquamedia because I used acrylic paint and water and I used dried pieces of acrylic that I peeled off of my plastic palette. I figure it's not just acrylic paint from a tube but has materials that water had been used in the process as opposed to oil, or stones or glitter or plates or... you know what I mean... Sometimes, I'll use water soluble pencils and pastels so I'll call that aquamedia too. Maybe I'm using it too loosely, but it did bring up a good question!

I think I will dedicate this painting to my Mother, because she really likes it when the waitress comes around and "tops off" her coffee. Here's to you Mom!

-jM

"Go Forth"

7"x5" aquamedia on paper

These characters have quite the hair style going on, so I figure they must be from some other civilization not of this world. The larger one is telling the smaller one that it's okay to proceed and follow your dreams! Go forth and see what this world has to offer and what you have to offer it!

Oh, I'll stop now before I get too carried away.......

Coffee cup paintings 75 and 76 are drying......

-jM

"Extra Special Just for You"

7"x5" mixed media on paper

Just as promised! A martini for you! Yes, well it does look like I may have had one or two before I painted this one... but I didn't, it just looks that way!

This is the water soluble oil paint with oil pastel, that's the mixed media for this one!

Hey, it's Sunday, enjoy a celebratory drink to start (or finish) the week!

One for Myra, one for Martine, one for Hilda, one for Randy, one for me.......... extra special!

See you tomorrow.

-jM

"One Martini for Me"

7"x5" oil on paper

This small one martini is painted on paper and I used water soluble oil paint! They are great! I'm amazed.
While using them I added water to thin them down as if I were using acrylic and when the painting was finally dry it is like oil paint. So cool! I used the Winsor & Newton Artisan brand.

Tomorrow..."Extra Special Just For You!"

-jM

"Last Cup of Coffee"

12"x12" mixed media on canvas

Oh Myra, this one is for your name's sake! This isn't the last coffee cup painting, but it may be the last cup of coffee for the day!

This little painting (well, not that little, it's 12"x12") is a variation of the "ICB Expresso" painting. It started out mostly yellow, then green and all of a sudden... orange appeared!! The process of painting is just so interesting, surprising and fun!

I love the Picasso quote, "If you know exactly what you're going to do, what's the point of doing it? Since you know, there's no interest in it...  It's better to do something else."

Now, maybe just one more cup of coffee!

-jM

"Coffee 5 Cents"

7"x5" acrylic on paper

Remember the days when coffee was... free? What is it now at Starbucks? Oh, it depends upon what you get. Can you get "just a cup of coffee"?

Number 73, almost 3/4's of the way there!

What will I do next? Oh, I can't think about that right now, gotta paint cups!

-jM

"Good Morning Mamma!"

7"x5" mixed media on paper

This must be a subliminal cup from a restaurant we like to go to on Sunday mornings. The restaurant is Good Morning Mama's and it has a lot of yellow going on! Very happy!

This happy cup made me think of breakfast there. Number 72!

The mixed part of the media is acrylic and oil paint pen! Oh, some india ink too!

-jM

"ICB Expresso"

12"x12" Mixed media on canvas

This painting was inspired by an expresso I had last Saturday at the Indy Cigar Bar (ICB). Cory put a lemon twist in the drink, he said it is very "French" this way. Wish you could hear how he said it, it was very French!

Myra, Indianapolis is okay and so is jM. A friend of ours, family lives in Henryville and that town was devastated. All of Brad's family and cousins are accounted for and okay, thank goodness!

This is coffee cup painting number 71....     : )     Oh.... blue skies.....

-jM

"Three Cups"

11"x15" aquamedia on paper

These babies are ready for some hot coffee! And so am I! Care to join me?

Coffee cup painting number 70 and number 71 is in progress!

Good morning!

-jM

"They Like My Hat"

15"x11" acrylic on paper

Happy extra day! I'm quite positive that the ladies on the right side of this painting really like the lady's hat that is sitting on the left. They must! It's so unique! Martha thinks Steampunk!

I was contemplating this to be coffee cup painting number 70, but I think this is more about the figures than it is the coffee cup. So... just because the sitting figure may be holding a cup of steamy coffee.... I decided against it!

Hold tight, 70 is in development!

-jM

"Come! Come! We're Going to be Late!"

15"x11" acrylic on paper

I don't know what the fuss is all about, but these three are in a hurry! At least the lead woman is!

I bet they are off to a gallery opening to see 100 paintings of coffee cups!

-jM

Must try water soluble oil paint!

"Reading Tea Leaves"

11"x15" mixed media on paper

Do you remember when Harry Potter took the class at Hogwart's and Sybill Trelawney taught them to read tea leaves?

What do you see?

-jM

"R Cup"

15"x11" mixed media on paper

Number 68, Randy's coffee cup that I was using Friday morning is the inspiration for this painting.

A little play on words...  R cup... our cup...  : )

How many more? 32? How many days left? Plenty!

-jM

"!st Trip to the Coffee Pot"

First Trip to the Coffee Pot

Second Trip to the Coffee Pot

Third Trip to the Coffee Pot

Remember the three coffee cup paintings that were all connected? Numbers 64, 65 and 66? Well, yesterday they all received their titles! "1st Trip to the Coffee Pot", "2nd Trip to the Coffee Pot" and "3rd Trip to the Coffee Pot". Thank goodness my art buddy Martha is keeping track of me and the coffee cup paintings too!
Thanks Martha!

-jM

Ready, Set, Go!

30"x22" paper divided in quarters

A peek ahead of 4 more.... each will be 15" by 11" when this sheet is broken up!

I wonder what these will become...

-jM

64,65,66 and "Studio Joe"

Three acrylic paintings on 7"x15" paper soon to be seperated!

I know I shouldn't do it, but I'm doing it anyway. Here are three of the four coffee cup paintings I finished today. Oh, I will post number 67 tomorrow, or should I now?  Oh, I can't resist, here is "Studio Joe".

7"x5" mixed media on paper

The windows in the background are what the windows look like in my studio, maybe not quite as clean...

Sometimes, I read art books over coffee in my studio for inspiration. You know like Van Gogh and who else can I come up with? Hmmm.... uh oh, I'm thinking again! Watch out!

-jM

"Forgotten"

15"x11" acrylic on paper

It's February 15th, the day after Valentine's Day, these few flowers seem to have been forgotten. Not really, they are here for you!

Happy Day after Valentine's Day!

-jM

"Hot Steamy Love"

7"x5" mixed media on paper

Happy Valentine's Day!

Maybe finished...... maybe just do another!

-jM

"Van Gogh's Coffee"

7"x5" Acrylic on paper

Surely Van Gogh drank coffee, rumor is he drank libations, certainly coffee too!

I did a Wine and Canvas painting about two weeks ago that was a homage to Starry Night. Study Van Gogh I did, yes! I even went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art and looked at the one Van Gogh painting on display. The IMA website/brochure says we have two Van Gogh's in Indianapolis. I could only find one, the other may be on loan to another gallery/museum.

Honestly, my friend Myra inspired this painting. It all has to do with books and books about art! After studying Van Gogh a little bit and trying his technique, all I can say is he must have had a lot of time on his hands to make all those little marks. I bet he had a lot of patience too! And only one size brush!

Please note this is a small 7" by 5" painting, I'm not sure I would do this one big..... I would need more time than I've given myself to complete the 100 coffee cup paintings!

-jM
PS: Happy Birthday to my sister Vickie!!

"Captain's Coffee"

6"x8" mixed media on 300 lb.  c.p.  paper

Click Here to Bid.

This little painting is a mere 6 inches by 8 inches. Now that I see it outside a messy studio background, I can imagine this painting 4 foot by 6 foot. What do you think? Could you picture this over Myra's, I mean Harvey's brown sofa?

Possible 4ft by 6ft painting 

Now that would be big! Should I try it? I have a 30" x 40" that I could paint over... wait, that's not even close to 48" x 72".... I have two 48"x48" squares I could paint together oooo... 4 foot by 8 foot!

Myra, how long is that sofa?

-jM

PS: This makes 61 coffee cup paintings... 39 to go!

"Serve It Up!"

5"x7" Mixed media on 300 lb cold press paper

Click Here to Bid.

A birds eye view of our three coffee cups. Which one is yours?

Number 60 and counting down!

-jM

"Coffee Line-Up"

7"x5" Mixed media on paper

Click Here to Bid.

Number 59, line 'em up! We're going to have a coffee party and browse over our favorite art books!
Here is a cup of coffee for Myra, for John (my friend that is going to pick up the art books) and me!

Did I say yesterday that I was painting three at a time? Here is an image of the three still stuck together, soon to be separated and put into a nice presentation mat!

See you tomorrow!

-jM

"A Trace Coffee"

7"x5" Mixed media on paper

Click Here to Bid.

Oh it's three cups of coffee! One for you, one for you and one for me! A little play on words too, tres in spanish is three, or this is a trace of coffee for the three of us! My coffee is really falling out of the cup lately, may need to add more drips or drops!

I worked on three at a time today and this one I felt is totally, pretty much finished. The other two... very close, but I need to stop for the day and paint with the Wine and Canvas group. Hope I can loosen up those painters, or maybe the wine will!

Chat with you tomorrow over more coffee!

-jM

"Hypno-Joe"

12"x12" Acrylic on canvas

This is a hypnotic cup of coffee, ooo... ooo... you're waking up! I can't image coffee putting someone to sleep.... then again, never say never!

This is painting #57 and is a big 12 inches by 12 inches. It has a crazy little handle, I think to better "handle" the hypnotic effect of this coffee!

I must share this with you all... a photo from downtown Indianapolis yesterday, before the big Superbowl game! A lot, lot of people, it was fun! The weather was perfect! Go Indy!

Downtown Indianapolis, IN Feb 5, 2012

-jM

"Coffee with My Shadow"

6"x8" Mixed media on paper 

It's alway a good idea to have coffee with someone, even if it is your shadow!

This coffee cup is so talented, it can change the color of it's shadow.
If you ask me, I think this coffee cup has an imaginary friend...

This is cup number 56! Last year this time I had 57 apple paintings finished... all of a sudden I feel like I'm behind again! No fear though, I have a sheet of paper 22" by 30" divided up into 18 sections. Eighteen coffee cups may be suddenly appearing in the next few days!

-jM

"Proud Lady Benton"

40"x30" mixed media on canvas

This painting may look small here, but it is actually a little larger than most. It measures 40 inches tall and 30 inches wide. The title comes from the fact that this house built in 1873, it is located in historic Irvington neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana and is called the "Benton House".

Here is a photo I took of it.

A little note about the house that I found on the internet:

BENTON HOUSE 312 S. DOWNEY (NW CORNER, DOWNEYAND OHMER): French Second Empire, 1873. Restored by the Irvington Historic Landmarks Foundation in 1966, this unusual one and one-half story structure was built by Nicholas Ohmer as a speculative property. Dr. Allen Benton and his wife Silence resided in the home during his tenure as Butler's president from 1886-91. Now the home of the Benton House Association, it is a meeting site for various Irvington organizations.


Well, that may be a little more than you want to know, but why the title "Proud Lady Benton"?

My artist friend Leigh is knowledgeable about historic stuff told me that Victorian houses in San Francisco painted with three or more colors are referred to as "Painted Ladies". This house has three colors for sure and is painted. We decided that she is a proud lady, thus "Proud Lady Benton"! Ahh, but she is not a Victorian, she is a French Second Empire, she is French, like Martine!

Hmm, French press coffee.... mmmm...

Have a wonderful weekend! I get to paint with the kids tomorrow!

-jM

"Who is She?"

8"x6" mixed media on paper mounted on canvas

Can you just imagine these two talking to each other wondering, who is that other person over there?
Maybe they are thinking about inviting her to coffee with them!

This little abstract figurative came about when I was working on the commission piece "Beth". What a nice surprise to get another painting out of the deal. I love the subconscious!

: )

-jM