Hay Bales for Ann Rogers

I found an old image of hay bales that I loved to paint and decided to do them for Ann. The lush fields and rolling hills really attracted my eye. This was so much fun to paint that I think I'll be doing a large version soon. This whole moleskine adventure has been fun and has taken me out of my comfort zone and forced me to grow! Thanks everyone!

"Brown Lab" by Ann Rogers

oil on moleskin paper

Have had the pleasure of meeting Sharon Hodges through this Texas Moleskin project and have painted this brown lab for her book. Figured that if Sharon's blog profile photo included her dog, then this pet must be an important part of her life. 

Thanks to everyone who's been involved in the Texas Moleskin Round-Up, as well as the followers who have continued to check in on us. Believe this is my last entry, so we should all be getting our original books back before too much longer. What a treat it'll be to see the completed books.  

HOME GROWN

For Carol Morgan's book with the theme of Sides, I painted a woman tending her garden outside. Jean, this will be mailed to you shortly and then I will paint in my final book, which happens to be yours. I'm stumped on what to paint in your book, but my goal is to return it to you before the end of the year.

Baby burro at the Fair by Carol Morgan

This baby burro at the state fair was so adorable and since I know what an animal lover Sharon is..... I decided to use my palette knife and knock him out just for her. He was all curled up in the hay and looked so innocent and dear, I just couldn't resist. I'm sure Kay is going to fuss at me because it will take eons for this to dry because there is a ton of paint on this little page!

He was a lot of fun to paint and of course I love using my palette knife.

Colors of Fall by Kay Wyne for Jean Townsend

"Colors of Fall"

For Jean from Kay 

Kay's detritus palette.

Here is my post for Jean....her topic, DETRITUS was a challenge for me.  I thought and thought about it, and decided to use my detritus on my palette to start her painting.  I have a habit of immediately starting a new painting with my left-over paints when I finish a painting.  I had been working on a large rooster, and decided that I would take the detritus of my palette, and go through the detritus of my vacation to Jackson Hole.  I had flyers, photographs, ticket stubs and all kinds of odds and ends.  I decided that the landscape of Wyoming was so beautiful that I would paint some aspens for Jean.  So, Jean's moleskine is drying...it may take a while since I used the palette knife on the tree trunks.  I painted this on the first day of fall, Sept. 23, 2011, thus the title, "Colors of Fall".  I hope that you enjoy your moleskine posts.....Artfully yours, Kay and her detritus palette.  

"Pathway to the Top" by Ann Rogers

oil in moleskin book

Linda Popple suggested that in her moleskin we paint "whatever gives you joy", so this is what I have painted in her book. Linda, you have caught me in the midst of leaning more toward landscapes and plein air painting. Hope you enjoy this scene from the highest point near Fredricksburg in the Texas Hill Country.

Where in the world are we???

Texas Moleskin Round-Up Artists: Are we finished with our moleskines traveling through out the state of Texas? I don't think I know where we are on our project...and I don't have a moleskine in my possession. If you know where we are, help me out! Stay cool.....and have an artful day.....Kay

08/17/11 Destin Morning

SORRY everyone for the miserable crop job I did on this picture!! This is for sweet Linda Popple. Being at the ocean gives me joy and peace!! That is what I wish for you Linda!!

"Holy Cow" by Ann Rogers

oil on moleskin

Here's another member of Kay Wyne's herd for her "holy cow" themed moleskin! 

Remnants of an All American Snack for Jean by Linda Popple

Jean Townsend's theme is detritus. She has such a creative spirit. Her theme was quite a challenge. My first thought was to paint my leftover palette, but SOMEONE (a fantastic artist, I must admit ..... Sharon Hodges) beat me to it! And her painting and format was amazing. So that idea went into the detritus file (which is over loaded!) As I sat down with my peanuts, I was just stumped and thinking and thinking of something to paint. I left the shells and went to the studio to paint another mugshot and so frustrated that I just couldn't come up with anything. The mugshot was finished and I came downstairs and saw the remnants of my snack and there it was ..... finally. As soon as it is dry I will send it on to Kay.

MISSY

oil on moleskine

Missy was a much loved family pet, so loved that to this day, her framed photo sits on Ann's bedside table along with her children's photos. Painting loved family pets that have passed is always rewarding, usually the photo references I have to work from can be a little problematic. I must thank Ann for the old and fuzzy snapshot, anything for a sweet friend. :-)

Jean, two books are coming your way, sorry for the delay!

Double Trouble for Mary Carol Morgan, by Kay Wyne

Here is my painting for Mary Carol's moleskine....."Double Trouble". I could not decide what to paint for the "Sides" theme. I found an old 1955 Black and White photograph of elephants in Sharon's stash of books. So I painted these two elephants walking side by side....and we are viewing their back side. I had fun painting it once I decided on a subject. Now I will send this book on to Angela. Thanks for viewing our moleskine artwork! Kay

MISS 68 for Sharon Hodges

8x12 oil on moleskine nfs

This is Miss 68 painted specifically for Sharon Hodges' moleskine and this is also #5 in my 50/50 series. Miss 68 belongs to friends of ours, I don't know what I like better, the amazing hospitality when we visit their gorgeous lakehouse in Corsicana or the bevy of bovines grazing outside our bedroom window! John has a wonderful variety of cattle, including some of my favorite longhorns. His cattle approach him easily making it a wide eyed adventure for myself and my camera toting husband. I hope you like cows as much as I do, Sharon. You can see more of my 50/50 series at my blog.

P.T. BARNUM by Linda Popple

6x6 Oil on Paper

Phineas Taylor Barnum 1810-1891

This is a painting for Carol Morgan's moleskin. Her theme is "Sides." Mr. Barnum was known for his sideshows which began when he was only 25 years old. He paid Joice Heath $1,000.00 to be put on exhibit. She claimed to be 161 years old and a nurse for George Washington. From this exhibit he made about $1,500.00 per week! And thus began the sideshow and soon his Barnum & Bailey Circus.

This was really fun to paint and also to learn more about P.T. Barnum. He was certainly an interesting person.

My Daily Detritus, by Sharon Hodges

My Daily Detritus

by Sharon Hodges

for Jean Townsend's Moleskin

I had to look up the definition for Jean's theme "Detritus", and in doing so, found that my daily detritus is my dirty palette at the end of each painting session...and that is usually a good thing!  So, Jean, I hope you enjoy this little slice of my day!

Happy painting, all!

Please visit my blog and critique my work...your opinions, positive AND negative are appreciated and helpful to me!

A Nest for Sweet Ann Rogers

I must say that I struggled with this month's moleskin....I would like to say that I had issues with this painting because of the size of the book, the subject matter and the Texas heat. But I really can't do that. I just have to say that I have painted better nests. I would love the opportunity to paint another one for friend and artist Ann Rogers. If I had been working on a canvas, I would of simply started over on a new canvas....but you can't do that with a moleskin. If I ripped the pages that I painted out, it would probably ruin her book. So, I just hope that I get another opportunity to paint for Ann! Happy painting to everyone! Kay Wyne

THE POSER by Angela Elledge

8x10 oil on moleskine nfs

Ok, I admit that I am terribly behind in my painting commitments for our moleskine adventure; please, please, please forgive me..."the end of the year school wrap up" just about did me in, but I'm back on track and will soon be all caught up. In addition to no time for painting, I had no idea what to paint in Linda's book. The Poser was so much fun to paint, he kind of just painted himself, don't you love when that happens? The background color was something of a struggle, I wanted something kind of dull, but sophisticated and something that would allow his feathers to stand out. I like the end results, but ya'll will have to let me know what you think. Jean, you should have Linda's book by the end of the week...I promise!

"Cowgirl" by Ann Rogers

oil in moleskin

This one is for you, Angela! Here's a painting of your precious Cowgirl. Don't know what I was thinking when I came up with the idea of painting a dog for the "Queen of Pet Portraits", but couldn't resist after I took this picture of Cowgirl one day when we were out for a plein air day. 

Cows for Kay

I'm late with this one, I can see everybody else is on to children already! Well, this cow was fun to do, my first, thanks Kay, it WAS a challenge!

FIVE HYDRANGEAS by Linda Popple

Well, I am really late on this one! I finished this still life yesterday for Ann Rogers and when dry I will mail Ann's moleskin to Kay Wyne. This last week has been busy and also I've had a million wipe-outs! Yes, a million ..... well, it felt like a million. It's been frustrating, but also good. I've been reading a few art books (since painting was a no go) and concentrating on light. I think I am seeing a little different and I am trying to capture light with paint and continuing to concentrate on loosening up.

This vase of flowers was in a tea shop in Asheville, NC. I took a photgraph and re-discovered it while going through photos for the DPW challenge. I used this photo for another painting I did yesterday and will post that one later on my blog.

And, thanks to Jean Townsend this was much easier to paint! I used her suggestion to put medium on the gessoed paper and that helped in a million ways. YES a million!! Thanks, Jean!

My painting for Sharon.....by Kay Wyne

O.K. I really pushed it to the final day on this challenge...On Saturday, the last day of April I pulled out Sharon's moleskine and decided that it was time to do the April painting challenge. No worries....I got it done, and if I am thinking I need to add some final touches, I know where to find Sharon. This empty nest painting measures 6" x 21" in her book. I know Sharon likes nests, since she has a collection of them at her house. If I was thinking, maybe I would of painted one out of her collection. But, since I was flying by the seat of my pants, I created her own canvas on moleskine. It was fun!

04/16/11 Chibi for Angela

I know, I know ........... he is adorable! This is Chibi ,my little Rescued French Bulldog. He is my "baby boy." The teachers at Lakewood Elementary always say that they want to be reincarnated as my dog because I spoil him so much. He definitely has "issues," and one of them is that he hates being petted by strangers - as Ann Rogers found out! Thank heaven she has quick reflexes and was able to jerk her hand away or she might ................. oh well, lets not even go there. One of the reasons I got him was because I had no children and they failed to tell me that he wasn't house trained (at a year)!! Six years later he has made little progress except he always hits the pads now.

We are an odd couple! I tell everyone that if I ever found a man that looked at me the way he does, I'd marry him!

I adore him and since I know how much Angela loves dogs, I painted my little guy for her.

Backside Beachside by Sharon Hodges

I am honored to paint in Carol Morgan's moleskin this month, and her theme is 'sides', so I hope she will like this 'backside, beachside'.  As the sun warms up, I only wish I was at the beach sunning my backside.  Woo-hoo!

ROUGE RED by Angela Elledge

If you know me, then you know I love cows, so when I learned Kay Wyne's theme was Holy Cow, it was a matter of finding which one I wanted to paint for her. Rouge Red or Red Red if you prefer, is from SW Louisiana, thanks to my brother, who constantly provides me with photos filled with gorgeous landscapes dotted with cows.
Angela Elledge Blog
Angela Elledge Website

"Clay Pots" by Ann Rogers

For Jean Townsend's Moleskin

Jean's detritus theme makes me think of the saying, "one man's junk is another man's treasure"! And that's exactly what these clay pots are, each one thrown away and retrieved before the trash man arrived. Such great finds if you're willing to do a little 'dumpster diving'!  

EXPRESS YOURSELF FOR SHARON!

My painting is for Sharon Hodges' Moleskin. Her theme is "Express Yourself" which I do each time I paint. I have to admit I am having a difficult time painting on the paper. The paint seems to dry almost immediately. Plus, my palette fell on Sharon's open book and now there are splotches of color on the page next to my painting. I'm sorry, Sharon. I am a klutz! I hope I get better at this! :)

Box of Radishes on Aluminum Foil

This is for sweet and strong Angela Elledge's journal. She had no requirement as to subject matter, so I went with radishes as we have been on intimate terms for the last two weeks and I know them well.

Napping Neighbor by Sharon Hodges

I have the honor of painting in Ann's Moleskin this month, and her theme is 'your favorite thing'.  I love dogs, and this is one of the neighborhood canines napping in his favorite chair...(it is a BIG chair). He's an old mutt, kinda scruffy, but sweet and happy to play with all the kids...he likes this chair because the afternoon sun comes in the nearby window.  I know this because he told me!

"Side by Side" by Ann Rogers

For Carol Morgan's Moleskin

Carol's theme "sides" immediately reminded me of a photo of our son's two dogs taken several years ago. Ranger and Wrigley (named for Wrigley Field when the kids lived in Chicago) were always a pair, and until Wrigley died, you never saw one without the other. The boxers were always "side by side"!

Holy Cow by Kay Wyne!!!!!

Holy Cow!!!

I forgot to take the pic of my first painting in my own Moleskine, so Angela had to take the pic for me. I always need a little help from my friends. Thanks, Angela. The topic for my Moleskin is: Holy Cow!!! Now you can paint anything that comes to mind with that expression. I happen to love painting cows, so what you see is what you get. And I love painting in oils...Let's see if Kay can get it right from now on....Happy painting!

Linda's Nest by Kay Wyne

Linda's Nest

Of course I love nests and I paint them often. When I was trying to decide what to paint in Linda's moleskine, Carol and Sharon both said, "paint a bird nest!" So, this is what I created. I wanted to personalize it, so there is a little ribbon coming out of the nest with Linda's name on it. I was thinking that I was behind on this little project, but I got busy and it is dry and now this moleskine has flown to Angela's easel. I did paint the first painting in my moleskine, but forgot to photograph it. Angela said she would back me up and get a photo to post...

03/18/11 Forgotten Valentines by Carol Morgan

When Jean sent her moleskin to me I had NO idea what to do and then we had a pile of leftover things at the studio that just jumped out at me. Love letters,dried up roses and wooden hearts sitting inside of a capital are my detrius.

Thank you for looking at my posting. On to the next!

ZOE, AGAIN

8x10 oil on gessoed moleskine paper

In trying to decide what to paint on my introduction page of my moleskine, I thought it best to stick with a subject I knew and knew well. One year ago this month, we lost our sweet schnauzer, Zoe. She had been our family pet for 15 years and was most definitely a loved member of our family. She had many funny ways and expressions, this was the look I got from her when she knew she was in trouble. I thought there was too much contrast between Zoe and the background, so I warmed up her beard a bit, but forgot to re-photograph it before mailing my book to Jean. I am thrilled to begin this new project and cannot wait to see the treasures you all create!

"Blue and White Collectibles" by Ann Rogers

oil on gessoed moleskin

So glad to have this new project, Texas Moleskin Round-up, under way and I'm looking forward to seeing what other artists come up with on my theme of "your favorite thing to paint". The still life is my subject of choice so the first entry in my moleskin is this collection of blue and white collectibles along with fruit. 

Thanks, Angela, for coming up with this clever idea to share our artwork with other artists, and thanks to you too, Linda. for setting up our blog so we can share our fun with others.

TOMATOES

I painted this in my moleskin as the first painting before I send it on to Kay Wyne. She will then paint whatever she would like to in our moleskin exchange. I am so happy that our first painting was in our own sketchbook. I gessoed the paper and then approached the painting as I would when painting on a canvas or board. When applying the ground I made a horrible mess! Then my moleskin fell off the easel and that was an additional mess. I managed to clean everything and continue, but if it had been someone else's I would still be totally stressed!

02/14/11 Seaside by Carol Morgan

I chose to add this uncropped picture in case anyone else has the "messies" like I do. I ended up using my green frog tape to protect the book from gesso and paint. It works beautifully!

My subject is "SIDES," of any kind ................. I chose to start it off with seaside which is where I would like to be this weekend. I think we are all pleased with the warm up this week and hope it continues. I am definitely a Texan because I really dislike the ice and snow ( almost more than the blazing heat of the summer).

I am SO excited to participate in this Texas Moleskin Round-up! I kinda feel like a pioneer even though we aren't the original group. We are the first Texas group! This is so cool,I can't believe we are finally starting! My friends at the studio thought I was nuts to start so early but I was like a kid at Christmas with a new toy - I couldn't wait! I hope everyone has as much fun as I have painting in my moleskin! Thanks for listening to my ramblings!

Detritus by Jean Townsend

Ok, here goes! This was fun - also I was a little unsure of things. I gessoed the paper, painted the images, then varnished the whole thing. I'm going to include sheets of parchment paper folded up in that wonderful little pocket for everybody to lay over the surface of their paintings so there is no sticking and pulling up of paint. And although my first painting was sort of clean I welcome messiness and fingerprints etc. in my book, so don't be worried about that. And thanks to the sainted Linda Popple for setting up this blog and the sainted Angela for whipping it all into shape. I will get my moleskine right in the mail.