"Myra's Coffee"

6"x6" oil on canvas panel

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It's Monday. This is the first of ten, yes, ten of Myra's coffee cups. This one I did looking at a small printed out copy of Last Cup of Coffee's icon place holder doodad. As I sit here at my computer, I noticed that I printed a bigger copy and I can read the little cup napkin better. Looks like the next one will definitely have a slightly different look, of course.

After I had this little painting about half finished, I distracted myself by taking out 9 more 6"x6" panels and drawing the same view of this coffee cup on the other nine. At about number 5, I thought, maybe I'll just do six total, repetition, repetition for automation. After the sixth was drawn, I decided that I started with a goal of ten, so continue to ten, so ten I did.

I also changed the Christmas Coffee painting a little bit... here is the revised version...

6"x6" oil on canvas panel

Looking forward to Tuesday!

-jM

"Christmas Coffee"

6"x6" oil on canvas panel

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Mmmm.... I imagine this coffee has peppermint in it! Mmmm... candy canes.

Okay, it's okay, to be thinking about Christmas. Everyone likes Christmas... cookies! Oh, cookies, yeah.

Here's to cookies!

-jM

"Really?"

8"x6" oil on canvas panel

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"Really?" This is what the vase is asking the Gerber Daisy.

Gotta work on the lighting of my set-up's. Just felt like a struggle tonight, don't know if it's just a phase or what. Gonna work through it, hope you all can tolerate me! Listening to me complain... I should apologize right now. Sorry, we can get through this..... maybe it's the weather, yes, that's it! I'll blame the weather.
Whew, I feel better all ready!!

This is cup number 23! Thanks Myra for giving me a count. I didn't count the little drawing on paper, but I did count the pieces I did on book pages. I'm thinking about tearing them out of the book. I've had a couple stick together and well, now they look a little different than what I posted this summer... oops.

Okay, I'll try again tomorrow. I think since tomorrow is Friday, I'm gonna have to go crazy, this tighter painting is making me tense!

-jM

"Martha's BB Cup"

6"x6" oil on canvas panel

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Not sure I'm getting the dramatic effect I'm looking for in these last few paintings. So! I'm gonna keep trying!

How many cups is this Myra? I'll count them and come back with a number tomorrow!

-jM

"Mushroom's Cup"

8"x6" acrylic on paper mounted to canvas

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What color cup would a yellow mushroom have? Randy said red, so red it is here!

This little painting I did for the "Shoot and Paint Art Challenge" for October. It's such a cute crazy looking mushroom, it was hard to resist! Of course, I added a cup!

A still life of a cup Martha lent to me, tomorrow.... what is "BB" again? It's on the bottom of the cup.

I think I'll stop and get a fresh flower to go with the cup before I get to the studio in the morning too!

Good night!

-jM

"Small World" -Sold

8"x6" oil on canvas panel

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Do I laugh or do I cry? Well, I laughed, a little. Today working on this painting for Myra, I was trying to put the paint down thicker than the last few oils I've done lately. I've been reading the book "Alla Prima" that Richard  Schmid wrote, and he says that you should try to put the paint on the canvas without making any noise with the brush. That was easy, but he also talks about not letting the texture of the canvas show through. So I have this painting with really thick oil paint on it and I'm getting ready to photograph it. I dropped it face down into my hands... oops and yuck, you should have seen my hands!

I photographed it anyway, I can see where it hit my hands, maybe it helped.

Martha was on her way out and I caught her in time to share my story. She didn't mind the smudges too much and was drawn to the cup right away, "Oh, it's my cup!" Thanks Martha, I have several of your cups and I need to get them back to you.... maybe one at a time will be okay. Heck, she even lent me another cup earlier today!

One thing that did bother Martha was the dark shadow behind the baby sunflower.... she also made a point that if it bothered me too much (the shadow and the smudges) I can always go back into it!

The blue marble on the bottom right, ....that is the small world.

Myra, sorry I dropped your painting, I guess I'll have to just paint another!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone....   : )

-jM

Flower spent...

Poor little flower!

Sorry no painting today, but I did get the arrangement figured out for tomorrows painting. Sometimes I think it takes longer to put the "set" together than it does to paint the painting!

I briefly thought about doing the same set up again today, but like I told you yesterday, I didn't think the little flower would make it another day. As you can see in the above photo, she's not looking too good. The painting may have been a little too weird with a dying flower... hmmmm... dying love... hmmm... no, let's keep this upbeat!

I'll report back tomorrow with Myra's painting request!

-jM

"Save a Spot" -Sold

8" x 6" oil on canvas panel

It is a cup, it's actually an expresso cup. This painting I think may be too high key at this point so I think I will try this little white cup (well, off white) and plate again. The flower will not make it another day, my lighting was a little too much for it. I was lucky I captured the flower first and the cup and small vase last.
Hmm... who is the star of this painting? The cup?

Thanks Angela for asking for a painting today!

: )

-jM

"Group Hug" -Sold

8"x6" Aquamedia on paper mounted on canvas

Group Hug! Everyone gather 'round, what would we do if we didn't have each other?

This piece is another made with the "peels" of acrylic and will be in the SAS show for October.

Check us out at http://www.stutzartists.com/skin.html

-jM

"Sent From Heaven" -Sold

8"x6" Aquamedia on paper mounted on canvas

Absolutely all my friends are sent from heaven...

This is aquamedia on paper mounted on canvas. I call this mixed media aquamedia because there are pieces of acrylic paint that was dried on my palette, that I peeled it off and used in this painting! Robert Burridge calls the pieces of dry acrylic  "skins"....

-jM

"Come Along Little Sister"

6"x6" mixed media on canvas panel

A lot can be read into this little painting, so I'll let you the viewer do the reading.

This painting is acrylic and oil paint stick and more acrylic. An abstract with a bit of attitude!

See you tomorrow!

-jM

"Cathedral Mug"

8"x6" mixed media on paper mounted on canvas

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My artist buddy Martha observed that most of the coffee cups I've painted so far have been coffee mugs!
Guess that is because I tend to drink my coffee out of a mug? Watch out you coffee mugs, some cups will be coming on the scene!

This little painting has a few acrylic "skins" on it. Playing with those skins again. Speaking of skins, if you have a minute, check out the project that some of the lady artists (me included) from the Stutz have been putting together!

Women of a Certain Age: The Artist Revealed 2012 Calendar

and Leigh's famous now she was on TV! Her interview on WISH-TV. 

Oh my goodness, what will we do next?!

-jM