A Better Way To Spend My Time

View From Elaine's Place, Inverin, Co Galway, IE

Persimmons and Cranberries on Oil Cloth - sketch by Tracy Feldman

I produced these three sketches yesterday during a long wait. Creating them was a fun challenge that kept me in the moment -- which really helped me not fret too much and also helped me be present.

Fall Light in Coole Park, Co. Galway

The first sketch is the view in from my friend Elaine's home in Inverin, Co. Galway. I am thinking about turning the second sketch into one of my vegetation on oil cloth portraits. And the third one is of late afternoon light as we walked along a forest path in Coole Park. 

I used sharpies, colored markers, a brush pen, and watercolor on sketch paper to do these pieces. All in all, a much better way to spend the four hours than sitting in a waiting room and watching the same news stories recycle dozens of times.

Mmmm Ginger Golds!

Mmmm Ginger Golds --  10 x 10" acrylic on canvas by Tracy Feldman

   This is the third in my series of paintings that is inspired by things that cheer me (and my heart).  In this case, what cheers me is being able to appreciate something lovely for the short time it is in my life.

    Now is early fall, and one of my favorite seasonal apples have started appearing.  They are ginger gold apples.  I love their look, their crispness, and their sweet/tart taste.  Earlier in my life (before recovery), having these lovely apples become available would have been a bitter sweet experience because I'd constantly be thinking, "Don't enjoy them too much. Don't get too attached to them because they're going to be gone soon".

      Now, my pleasure at having them is no longer tinted by such unneeded musings (unneeded sources of pain).  I can just enjoy them when I have them, and paint them to let myself enjoy them in another way. That is why I call this piece Mmmm ... Ginger Golds! I hope you like this little paining as much as I enjoyed painting it.  Tell me what you think.

     As usual, I'm going to be posting this little piece on my Dailypaintworks.com gallery site, and am putting it up for auction.  If you are interested check it out here.   This is the third in my series of paintings that is inspired by things that cheer me (and my heart).  In this case, what cheers me is being able to appreciate something lovely for the short time it is in my life.

 

Green Bowl with Fruit: Starting to paint again after show

Green Bowl with Fruit, 8 x 10 still life
Watercolor on Canvas

Getting ready for my show and the Lancaster ArtWalk last week while hosting guests was so time consuming that I didn't post -- or even paint.  Yesterday, I realized that I needed to start painting again.  We had run out of fruit, and I found that this is the time of year that Costco starts carrying persimmons.  I love their orange color and their shiny surface (as well as their taste), so when I saw them, I realized I wanted to get them -- for painting and for eating.  So, this painting was created.

Once again, I've worked in watercolor on canvas, and I love the vibrancy of the colors -- particularly after I sprayed the surface with clear acrylic to preserve it.  The acrylic spray acts as glass does for watercolors on paper; when you place the painting under that shiny surface, the work gets another, wonderful dimension. 

If you are interested in buying this piece, you can go to my gallery on Dailypaintworks.com and bid on it.  I included a number of pieces (that didn't sell at auction) in the show, and several of them sold.  I had started their bid price at noticeably lower than I priced them at the show because there wasn't going to be any bidding on them at the show, and I framed some of them.  It inspired me to keep producing works for the auction because now I know that even if they don't sell there, they provide some good entry-level priced works to help me build my collector base.  That's what all the "How to Sell Your Art" books say is a good idea.  So, once again, I'm offering this little work at a starting bid of $35.00.