HOME GROWN

I have the fondest memories of my grandparents love for gardening. Fruit and vegetables were rarely, if ever, purchased at the grocery store, instead all was grown with their loving hands. Their surplus was shared with all and what could not be shared was "put up" for the months ahead. I, on the other hand, depend on the grocery bins and the local farmer's market for my fresh produce.

Carol, this painting is for you for the Texas Moleskin Round-Up. I had to double-dip and borrow the What's for Dinner theme and use it for your Sides theme, too. Folks, I'm so sorry I missed the last couple of months, hopefully I can catch up and participate now.

05/21/11 Zoe by Carol Morgan

This is Zoe, the oldest little girl of one of my teacher friends. I had to dig into my past to pull this one up because I am consumed with school for at least the next week. Zoe was only my third painting and second one of a child. I think the world of this couple and love their children so I ended up painting them often. Zoe is ready for the first grade next year and loves school. She is a girly girl that loves to paint my toenails with "glow in the dark" nail polish when I stay with them so mom and dad can have an occasional night out! What fun!!

05/11/11 Sammy by Carol Morgan

This is a darling child that is perpetually smiling! Sammy is a little ray of sunshine! This image was given to me by his mom and though it was small in size (6x6) it was easy for me to paint. I am afraid I am going to be "the children's picture hog," for this month because I've painted so many in the last four years and I love them!

05/04/11 Commission of "Banjo" by Carol Morgan

This was a commission I completed last year when a friend had her son's photo taken professionally. I got permission from the artist and dove right in! Benjamin is lovingly called Banjo by his parents and is such a lovely child that I couldn't resist the urge to paint him. I think I was able to capture his intensity and thoughtfulness in this painting. It was a lot of fun to paint!

05/01/11 Little Boy Blue by Carol Morgan

This is my neighbor's grandson, Christopher. I was just working on a monochromatic level blocking him in and I liked it so much that I left it as it was. If you've ever done this as an exercise, it is very interesting and can be challenging. At the last minute I gave his cheeks a bit of color and used a palette knife on his blonde hair. The whole effect was widely approved by my painting friends in the studio, so I "Stepped away from the canvas."

Fishing tools

This was done in a Carol Marine workshop with acrylics. I'm surprised I still like it even though it was so challenging for me. There are lots of mistakes but my nephew loved it because he loves to fish.