"Ahhh Nutcracker" revisited -Sold

6"x6" oil on canvas panel

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The season is here! Just around the corner is Thanksgiving in the USA and then Christmas!

A show at the StutzArtSpace is opening the first Friday in December and it is titled "Small Treasures".
I thought this little painting would be perfect for the show! I did add a few touches of highlights to spruce it up, so that indeed makes it a new updated painting!

On another seasonal note, how about snow! Below are three of my young artists from last Saturday's Cookies and Canvas painting class showing me their masterpieces!

Young Painters from Cookies & Canvas.

Silly me, I forgot to get their names!! Oh, they had a great time.  Oh, so did I!
Did I tell you they have the best Auntie in the world? She brought them to Cookies & Canvas!

-jM

"It's What's Inside That Counts"

6"x6" oil on canvas panel

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It's What's Inside That Counts... yes, usually. Maybe I need a coffee now. I know it's late, but...
it just sounds good to me right now!

Mmm, mmm good!

Have a beautiful weekend everyone!

-jM

PS: This is the ninth of the Myra coffee cups!

"The Yellow Cup"

6"x6" oil on canvas panel

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Thee Yellow Cup.... I had to google the title to make sure I had not used this title before. "That Yellow Cup" came up, so I'm okay! So did just "Yellow Cup", thank goodness! Here we are then "The Yellow Cup"!

I must say thank you to Bonnie Fillenwarth my art buddy across the court yard for helping find the problem I was having with this one. You know, sometimes an extra pair of eyes come in handy! I think the painting is better now! I know, it had to do with the handle.... but it wasn't the handle, it was the side of the cup!!

Shoot.... Hopefully I'll have a cup tomorrow! It's Friday tomorrow, I'll need to have fun!

Gotta love a full moon! Did you notice?

-jM

"4AM Coffee"

6"x6" oil on canvas panel

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Now this is some black coffee! At 4AM through the sleepy red eyes, does a white coffee cup look red?

Maybe it just looks red because the eyes are not open yet!

Good Morning!

-jM

"4PM Coffee"

6"x6" oil on canvas panel

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Coffee or tea? Maybe 4PM coffee needs to be a light coffee, not as strong as what I would need in the morning at 6AM or 4AM.....

This is like number 3 of the Myra's coffee cup sub-series, some where in the shuffle I missed it. Yesterday about 4PM I discovered that I hadn't posted this one, thus the title!

-jM

"Pink Cup"

6"x6" oil on canvas panel

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This is Joanie's cup! I think Joanie is right handed or the cup is turned so the heart is just right! All that makes this cup just right!

Below is the photo that Joanie sent to me. I think I'll put more hearts in the cups! This is too cool!

Joanie's original cup

More tomorrow!

-jM

"From Deep Within"

6"x6" oil on canvas panel

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Ooo, it's a heart in the bottom of this cup! Thanks Joanie!

Joanie Springer sent a photo of a cup that her daughter gave to her. This painting is a combination of Myra's cup and Joanie's cup. I have a Joanie cup on the painting table, just about finished, at least the first one of the Joanie cups!

Am I having too much fun with these cups?
Just enough! Like I tell my young artist painters, "have fun when you paint!"

Here is a group of my young painters! Yes, they are having fun!

-jM

"Plum Dive"

6"x6" oil on canvas panel

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Happy Friday! Looking at this painting, I'm thinking, it's hard to believe this is a result from doing one little painting inspired by the "Last Cup of Coffee" icon!

Thanks again Myra!

Transformers!

-jM

"More Coffee for Myra"

6"x6" oil on canvas panel

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Another Myra coffee cup. Maybe this is orange coffee. Do they make orange coffee?

Myra said she found this cup in her cupboard, it says "#1 Mom"... can you see it? Use your imagination now...

I'm going to let this little oil painting dry a bit more then tomorrow, I may add a glaze to get more of a shadow effect on the front side of this cup.

The handle is on the left side of this painting. Myra, are you left handed? I've noticed when I set up my coffee sup models the handle tends to be on the right, I'm right handed. Inquiring minds.....

-jM

"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

"Oh Gala!"

Oh Gala, apple number 59, I may need to revisit you tomorrow. Looks like a big hole on the right side! For some reason I had a hard time with this one... Oh Gala...

I couldn't help myself, there is a small "59" on this painting. I'm kind of liking the idea of the paintings having their distinguishing number on the front instead of the back of the surface.

Because of the ice storm we are having, I didn't leave the house today. I worked instead on learning how to edit the painting video I made last week. Little by little I'm learning iMovie. This movie is a long at 15 minutes. I hope to figure out how to speed up the movie next. This time I learned to put a title and music to the movie.... Oh Gala!

Crazy day....

-jM

"Seeing Double" -Sold

We have a terrific ice storm tonight, so I drove home early from the studio and brought with me stuff to paint with. Well, here is apple number 58, oil on a 6"x6" panel. I painted this using Gamblin oil paint and Liquin medium. Wow, that Liquin really allows the paint to flow. I painted this down stairs in the home studio where I started my "Little Paintings" adventure. Old memories surfaced and oh just like the old times... painting in straight oil, with a set up light source and an actual model, I grabbed a "Gold Delicious" apple that was hanging out in the refrigerator. The only difference from old times is that I used Liquin instead of the linseed oil mix. Can you tell that this painting is leaning against a mirror?

I couldn't help myself...  put that little "58" in the painting...  : )

-jM

"Especially For You" -Sold

Has anyone seen this before? Well, not really this one, but one (or two) just like it! This is a little softer version of "Center of Attention" that I painted almost a year ago! This one, "Especially For You" is a commission piece, so the title just seems appropriate! It is a 6"x6" oil on canvas panel. It's so nice to work in oil. It has a different workability than some of the other mediums. Maybe...  I just missed painting in oil a little.

Watch for an apple tomorrow!

-jM

"Apple #35"

Ooooo, apple 35........... Broke that rule! I didn't tell you what the rule was and now I'm not even sure if it is a rule! This painting is oil on a canvas panel. I used Liquin for my medium. I sprayed the piece with Damar retouch varnish before some of the paint was dry. Oooo.... it melted together giving the painting a soft look. Reminded me of "Glamour Shots" that were taken back in the 80's & 90's. No offense to my sisters and friends that actually had their photos taken, it was fun! Remember?

-jM
rule breaker

"Apple 34-Breaking Away"

Remember the rules? Yes, the rules, do this, don't do that.... This painting, I broke a rule without thinking about it and I'm like, what just happened. Oh, I broke a rule. The directions are to wait until the paint is dry, but why? Well, it has this melting affect on the paint, or maybe it was something else, "applied too heavily". Regardless, it was cool, so much I had to try it again on Apple # 35, which I'll show you tomorrow.... when it's dry enough to photograph, it's drippy right now....

Remember:
1. Don't break the rules.
2. Okay, break the rules.
3. Who said breaking the rules is bad?
4. Breaking the rules isn't always bad.
5. Who made the rules?
6. It got the job done.

Tomorrow....

-jM

"Winesap - Number 33" -Sold

I certainly hope no one has been holding their breath to see the next apple arrive... whew... here it is number 33 of that infamous 100 goal.

I think my apples are starting to look like cherries. It's time to pull back on the reins and see what's what with the apples. This one is a black and white background with the apple in living color and a 6x6 oil on a canvas panel.

Another day, another apple on the way!

-jM

"Apple 32" -Sold

Apple number 32, slowly, slowly I'm approaching fifty apple paintings. We can't rush such things, sometimes, we need to smell the apple blossoms.

This little guy is a beautiful oil on a canvas panel, with the black and white under painting in acrylic (not sure if that makes it mixed media or not). I used the brush, a bit of wiping with a paper towel and some scratching/drawing with the handle of my brush. Gotta keep things interesting!

Happy Monday!

-jM

"Little Yellow- Apple 31" -Sold

 

Yellow, a yellow apple. Mmmm, looks so good, I love the taste of a good yellow apple, so sweet.

This apple had the same type of beginnings that #30 had, a black and white acrylic underpainting.  : }

Happy Birthday to my good, good friend Lynn! Sometimes, when I'm painting and having so much fun, I remember the times sitting for your two daughters and we painted! So much fun! What was I thinking, studying engineering? I should have been in art school then! But then, I would have never met you and your wonderful family!!  Happy Birthday!

-jM

"Apple #30" -Sold

Apple #30. Oil on a 6"x6" canvas panel. It has been over a month since I've used oil paint. Still like it!

Something a little different with this one, well, this is the first of six, before I put down the color, I did a quick painting with acrylic in black and white as the underpainting. Here is what this one looked like before the color.

It history now, kind of, it's really still there, it's underneath the color..... hmmm..

-jM