"Nice Birthday Combination" -Sold

This itty bitty is a 3" x 2" oil on canvas. Looks a bit abstracted maybe... a little bit...

This I just painted with out much thought, sometimes one needs to do that I think to relieve any tightness that may be creeping in. Don't want to be creepy unless you mean to be creepy, like Lydia Burris means to be creepy sometimes.  I digress....

The title for this itty bitty is in honor of my sister George's birthday. Oh, her real name is Joy, but we all know her as George! Happy Birthday my sister George!!

Fun Friday!  Yes, be safe!

-jM

"Lean On Me" -Sold

An itty bitty still life, a pear, a glass of wine and a bottle I borrowed from Kathleen O'Neil Stevens.
The three of them look a little leany...

I've been browsing through a bunch of artist books, just looking at paintings from the old guys. I think that is where this came from. My little brain just put this together today because it was under the influence of  Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Matisse, Schiele, Picasso,Vlaminck, Morandi, Caravaggio, Miro, Degas and Chagall! Thanks Judith! (Judith gave these books to me, but don't tell Randy, he thinks I have too many books now!)

Have a warm day!

-jM

"Number Nine" -Sold

Here is itty bitty "Number Nine" of the martini series.

Sorry for the delay in posting lately, I've just not been "drinking" lately.... no I'm just kidding!! Wait! That's not what I mean... I mean...  okay another bad joke.

This itty bitty was painted last Friday, but I just got 'round to posting it today. I've had a silly summer flu/cold since last Wednesday and I've been laying low.

One more for this series and then I'm going to paint coffee and coffee cups. After all of that drinking one needs coffee! Wait! What is it I'm trying to say!

It's all in good fun.

I have finished my large 6 foot by 4 foot martini and I will post that once I get a photo.... soon, I'm curious as to whether a huge martini is a good idea...

Have a great Monday!

-jM

"Artists' Special"

"This drink is so-named because it was invented at the Artists' Club in the rue Pigalle, Paris, in the 1920's. The red ingredient was originally redcurrant syrup, but grenadine can be used to perfectly good effect instead. The mixture of Scotch and sweet sherry at its heart is a very appealing one."

1 measure / 1 1/2 tbsp Scotch
1 measure / 1 1/2 tbsp sweet brown sherry
1/2 measure / 2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 measure / 2 tsp grenadine

How about that! This is my model for today. I started with a red itty bitty canvas and this example from a bartender's guide. I thought the name appropriate and the color worked so here is the itty bitty "Artists' Special"! The addition of the recipe was a "must" in case any one wants to try one... hmmm...

This is number 8 of the 10 in this martini series. : )

-jM

"Mexican Martini"

"Mandatory Mexican Monday", yup, we had chips and salsa and all of that stuff at the little La Jolla mexican restaurant in Broad Ripple tonight. Mandatory Mexican Monday was the inspiration for this itty bitty.  Here we have it, a Margarita, which translates into a Mexican Martini! On the real drink we had tonight there was a lime wedge on the glass, well... I'll have to include that next time!

Mexican Martini is number 7 of the 10 martini paintings!

-jM

"Moderntini"

This martini glass is actually square, yes, that's right. I myself have never seen one like this until now, but here it is. I bought it from Bed Bath and Beyond last spring. Cool, huh?

Have a good week!

-jM

"Radiantini"

Itty bitty number 5 of 10, Randiantini.... would this be one of those martini's that Homer Simpson would have made while at work one day? Hmmmm... no, I think his might have more of a green cast coming from it!

This itty bitty I painted using just the martini glass as the model. I'm looking at it wondering if maybe I should add an olive to it or something. Have to think about that an itty bit....

Have a great weekend!

-jM

PS: Changed the look of my blog page obviously... I hope it's easier to read/view.

"Celebrate Tuesdays!" no... "Spirited Martini!" -Sold

Number 4 of ten.

Somewhat festive wouldn't you say?

And... a little different.

Good Luck tomorrow Carolyn!

-jM

"Lemontini"

It's an itty bitty  Lemon Martini!

Do they make those?

This is number 3 of the ten.....

-jM

"Shakey Martini" -Sold

A "Shakey Martini" for Saturday. Maybe this would be one that Shakey Jake Harris would enjoy!

Number two of the 10 itty bitty martini paintings...

No model used, I can tell! It's all good. Life is short, live full!

Happy Saturday!

-jM

"Yes, it's Friday!" -Sold

Yup, it's Friday.... time for the martini, time for the wine, time for the cold beer after cutting the lawn, mmm. How about a lemonade, hmm, now there's an alternative. Ice water anyone?

This is the first of ten, yes ten, itty bitty martini's. Believe it or not they are all started, I'll just have to finish them one-by-one.

I tried not to be too critical of this one. Trying to go back to that idea, you know, the one I started for the "New Year", painting from the heart... I've had little reminders lately. An artist friend of mine talked about painting .. basically.. "from the gut". I've heard other descriptions, painting from your solar plexus, getting out of your own way... on and on... hey! it's just easier to get in the way, one has more excuses that way!

Have a great weekend!!

-jM

"Quick Cup of Coffee" -Sold

Have you ever had a day where it takes all day to do a painting/project, but the painting (or project) itself doesn't take that much time?!

What is that?

This is what it is...

a "Quick Cup of Coffee"

----should have had the coffee sooner!!

-jM

PS: it is an itty bitty.... and one of those days....

"Soo Many Olives!" finished -Sold

Here it is, this itty bitty of olives is finished. Just needed an itty bit more time to finish it... and a clear mind.

Carolyn, a friend of mine, asked today about the painting I did with the safflower oil. Remember that one?
Well, it took a good week to dry, I think I was able to give a final finish coat just before the open house on Friday, April 23rd. Currently, the painting, "Harry's Rockview", is still wet from last week. I had forgotten that I used my typical linseed oil, stand and turp mix for that one, so it is taking longer to dry. Maybe I should do a few more paintings with the safflower oil to get a better feel for that medium. The Artist's Handbook didn't have a lot of data for the safflower oil, it didn't say anything bad about it and well, the edition I read is kind of old, copyright 1957. I have newer edition, somewhere, when I find it, I'll check it out again.

More tomorrow!

-jM

Soo Many Olives!

Busy, busy, busy with finishing up the Open House wrap-up responsibilities. What is the word? "Whew!"
This itty bitty is not finished, but I wanted to post something today... so.... stay posted.

Speaking of Open House, Lesley Weidenbener of The Design File, wrote a great post about our Stutz Artists and the Open House. Oh, she included me! Wow, I keep saying it every day lately, wow!

-jM

"A Healthy Drink" -Sold

This "itty bitty" is my version of a 'cosmo' and an apple.

Healthy, yes?

Yesterday, my sister Suzie was helping me out in the studio. She's done soo much.... cleaning and arranging for me. She has helped me get ready for the HUGE open house on Friday, so much, that I've had time to paint. Well, last night she came through again and she gessoed two canvases for me. One is 24"x36" and the other... 72"x48"!

Yep, she's a future Picasso!! Just look at that form!! Thanks Martha, for teaching Suzie how to gesso!
I think I owe both of you BIG, along with a long, long list of yes... "others"...

-jM

"Itty Bitty Daffodil" -Sold

It's an itty bitty daffodil... Something different today, nope, not the flower, but the medium I used with the oil paint. Safflower oil. I've never used safflower oil before and it's healthy to use. From what I've read, the whites are supposed to stay white as opposed to yellowing over time. The unknown to me at this point is how long it takes to dry. Time will tell. I used it like I use my current medium. We will see... or at least I will see! : )

-jM

"Itty Bitty Pinot Noir" -Sold

A light drink before a pasta dinner.... mmmmm... Pinot Noir..... mmmmm

This is a little one, no model, just my imagination... better use a model tomorrow!!
Did a little scraping with a razor blade today, gives a nice effect where needed!

I tip this drink... to a good Thursday... for all!

Bye now, need to go interview models for tomorrow!   : )

-jM

"Sweet Itty Bitty" -Sold

It's another "Itty Bitty"! This 3x2 is a funny little rendition of a manhattan with a cherry, that... is so slightly taking on the shape of a heart. The stem of the glass doesn't quite match up, but maybe after a couple of these drinks, it may find it's match. Then again, drinking may only make matters worse.

Hearts to you!

-jM

"Itty Bitty 2 Olive Martini" -Sold

This painting really is "itty bitty". Like 3" by 2", which is smaller than a business card. It was fun to do, I tried to keep it simple and my friend Leigh even stopped in at the right time and told me to "Stop!" She told me to look at it again tomorrow, so I did. Tomorrow, was actually Saturday, I did do just an itty bit more, but she was right. Thanks Leigh!

-jM