U100 White Daisy Mask and painting or soft sculpture

This the second of my Ten U100 pieces. A soft sculpture entitled WHITE DAISIES. Yes it is a mask, but it is also a painting and a sculpture. The piece can be hung as is, for an interesting memento of this Covid year. Alternatively the mask part can be removed and used and the matching painting hung on the wall. Another option is to purchase as a gift for one person, or two. So many possibilities, and at a special reduced price to help support the gallery.

I was in such a rush to get the submission in that I forgot to photograph each sculpture, so the gallery manager kindly took some quick images for me. My studio image of the painting part is the most accurate color rendition.

SEA DEAN MOTHERS DAY SALE

In honour of my Mum, I’m holding a Mother’s Day sale of some of my small works. My Mum is in a care facility and therefore in grave danger, so this helps me stay positive. Also I’m tooling up to make protective gear and proceeds from the sale will go towards fabric etc.

DAY 24 of 30 - SPRING GOLDFINCH

Spring Goldfinch by Sea Dean 8 x 10 inch

Sorry about the quality of this image, it was late and dark when I finished and I couldn’t get the colours right. I will post a better one in the morning. I’ve been working on this on and off for a couple of years and it’s time for the little guy to fly away. Still have a few touch ups, but pretty close.

GLORIANA - DAY 27 - 30 in 30

This magnificent bloom came from my friend Tammies garden. It is about 5” across. Currently it is gracing our table with a couple of less showy friends.

I’ve painted many flowers in my time and they’re never easy. Photography is no easier, especially with the pretty basic digital camera on my iPad. The background is the top of my great grandmothers’ sewing table. I love the way the flower seems to float in lilac light.

I hope this happy flower makes you smile.

SUNNY - DAY 26 - 30 in 30

This did have a base of a digital image, but it has many layers of Markup on top, so you probably don’t see any of the original. Red can be overwhelming in quantity, but yellow is always a good choice for monumental art. I can quite see me using this as a study for a large painting.

Below are the original image and a black and white version.

I KILLED HIM! BUT SHE IS ALIVE

Life and death, happiness and sadness, fleeting impressions that come and go like Monet clouds over the landscape. My life seems very close to emotion this summer as I watch my Mum slip away and become a different, but perhaps happier person. She is 92 and has had a full, powerful and extraordinary life, but now something she cannot control is stealing her uniqueness and returning her to the loving child she once was.

This is my summer for Mum and although I realise I’m forgetting my wonderful, loyal blog fans, I don’t apologise.  My time is being spent giving back to one who has loved and supported me since before I was born. There aren’t too many people we can say that about are there? My mother, my father, my sister and my two grandmothers make up that exclusive group; three have already left this world and guide me from a elsewhere. When Mum joins them, it will leave only my distant sister.

This introspection was brought on by spending time with my plants. Yesterday I decided to move all my planters to the back of the balcony, out of the worst of the biting wind that seems to blow up along our 80 mile lake each evening. In the process I knocked a tiny tomato off a plant which I hadn’t even realised had fruit. This made me extremely sad for some reason and so this morning I immortalised his little life in an image.

Those who have read my blog over the years will know that I cherish my red geraniums and they usually do so well, but on this mainly shaded and windy balcony they are struggling. Therefore I’m pleased that our gardener spent a lot of time this spring digging, irrigating and planting two beautiful borders on the green space we share. Please feel free to use these images to inspire work of your own. Of course then share them with me so I can share with my readers.

For those who are curious, yes I’m still working on my large commission, working title Frida VII. I met with the client last week and she’s thrilled with it so far, has chosen colours for the flowers and agreed to some ideas I want to include. Projected presentation date is Canadian Thanksgiving in October, but I plan to complete well before that. Stay tuned for more progress shots.

Calla and Gardenia Feature

I hit the jackpot again! Two of my paintings, Fragant Gardenia and Calla, have been featured in Artfinder’s ‘Inspired by O’Keefe’ editorial selection. You can view them and all the others HERE

Artist of the year

Have you seen the UK TV shows “Landscape Artist of the Year” and “Portrait Artist of the Year” on PBS? I LOVE them. Cant get enough of them. I have them recorded and whenever I’m feeling down they are my go to. Every time I watch I’m so inspired.

For a few weeks now I’ve been thinking about my fathers’ annual garden. In our parts we’ve passed through the (yellow flowers) season, the luscious (pink flowers) and now we have lilac. My father loved his lilacs, white, deep purple and light lilac. He also had a pagoda outside my bedroom window where he had carefully trained wisteria to drape. so I’ve been planning a wisteria painting in his honour and finally got around to it, right after watching one of the ‘Artist’ shows. It still needs a bit of tweaking, but I like the splashes of sunlight and the impression of movement in the blooms.

My Sisters Garden - Bougainvillia

I originally wanted to make this a floral with a white background. I started with a very light pink, but quickly realised that some areas were quite dark. As I was painting this “Plein Air” on the patio with heavy rain falling, it was tough to imagine the sunshine.

I started to add some light washes to put the flowery branch into context, but as the paint dried it looked muddy, so I If Ted some and added more color so that it quickly became a whole impressionist garden.

I think I prefer this background to the busier one with the Heliconia.

My Sisters Garden - Heliconia

Heliconia

It seems to me that this would benefit from a mat and frame. I had to lighten the image quite a bit and perhaps now it looks a bit too bright and washed out. I rather like the original and I enjoyed playing with the background.

My sister’s Garden - Three

This morning I woke to the first blue skies since I arrived. Above, pelicans and eagles were circling, enjoying the updraft. my sister’s Gardn took on a glow as each leaf discovered it’s own hallow of light.

This series will be posted for sale in my shop eventually, but currently you can purchase by contacting me directly. They are painted on 140lb Acid Free 4” x 6” Cold Press Finish atercolor paper. Each comes with a certificate of authenticity and ships in a stiff card envelope for protection.

A great way to get a jump start on your holiday gifts. October Special price $50 including shipping within North America. Items will ship October 30th in plenty of time to beat the rush.

Also, remember to check out the sales I have currently at Artfinder. I’m thrilled to report that I made the selection for small sculptures in their holiday collection. Yay! That’s out of thousands of art works. Take a look here

My Sisters Garden - Two

Another rain washed view. I love those purple leafy things, such a vibrant splash of color.

This series will be posted for sale in my shop eventually, but currently you can purchase by contacting me directly. They are painted on 140lb Acid Free 4” x 6” Cold Press Finish watercolor paper. Each comes with a certificate of authenticity and ships in a stiff card envelope for protection.

A great way to get a jump start on your holiday gifts. October Special price $50 including shipping within North America. Items will ship October 30th in plenty of time to beat the rush.

Also remember to check out my current offers at Artfinder.

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My Sister’s Garden - One

I’m away on respite. My Mum is with me, but there’s a whole house full of family to keep an eye on her, so the pressure is off. My sister is a great cook, so that burden is also lifted. I’m enjoying long days of rest.

It’s been raining cats and dogs as we’re being lashed by the tail end of several tropical storms, but the rain makes the colors in her garden so beautiful. Of course I have my trusty Koi watercolours with me, so I can’t resist doing some Plein Air on the patio. I may even paint some of those cats and dogs while I’m here.

This series will be posted for sale in my shop eventually, but currently you can purchase by contacting me directly. They are painted on 140lb Acid Free 4” x 6” Cold Press Finish watercolor paper. Each comes with a certificate of authenticity and ships in a stiff card envelope for protection.

A great way to get a jump start on your holiday gifts. October Special price $50 including shipping within North America. Items will ship October 30th in plenty of time to beat the rush.

Also, remember to check out the sales I have currently at Artfinder. I’m thrilled to report that I made the selection for small sculptures in their holiday collection. Yay! That’s out of thousands of art works. Take a look here

#30in30 - Day 30 - Fresh Bouquet

I’m a bit late posting this because I dropped my iPad and the screen shattered to smitherines, even though it was in a protective case and had a clear cover. $300 later and I’m catching up on the blog.

This is quite a large textured painting about 12” x 16” I think but it’s European sizing so not exact. I think I will still go back and simplify, plus adding some bold strokes of pure whit and lime green. The challenge is done though! Yay! In my next blog I will assemble a collage. Thanks for following me.


About 60 new paintings are posted on the blog each day. Some artists are painting daily and others have few spare hours so post when they can. There is a core group that manage to create a new piece each day and they should be applauded. Visit the challenge blog and see the amazing variety produced.

https://www.saetastudio.com/september-2018-30-in-30-paintings

TIP - Click on the images you like and it usually takes you to the artist’s own website so you can see more of their work, or for the more organized, to a page where you can buy them. I’m just happy o get it posted without missing a day:)

Check out what’s on sale at Artfinder this week, here. artfinder.com/sea-dean

Posted as #63 on the 30th day of Leslie Saetas challenge blog.

#30in30 - Day 29 - Making Dollar Store Buys Your Own

I’m a really bad girl when it comes to prep, so when I was cruising my local dollar store and came across a pre-printed canvas, I had to give it a try. Firstly, this is a boring composition which I will tweak at the end, but it just lent itself to a texture session.

I attended a demo by a popular artist in the area who talked about texture. At one point she said that she only puts texture on the centre of interest. In this case I chose three central roses, an off center bud and a few leaves. After texturizing I started to paint the smooth areas with dynamic brush strokes and two tone paint on the brush. Next I filled the white surround with crackle medium.

About 80 new paintings are posted on the challenge blog each day. Some artists paint daily and others post when they can. There is a core group that create a new piece each day and they should be applauded. Visit the challenge blog and see the amazing variety produced.

https://www.saetastudio.com/september-2018-30-in-30-paintings

TIP - Click on the images you like and it usually takes you to the artist’s own website so you can see more of their work, or for the more organized, to a page where you can buy them. I’m just happy o get it posted without missing a day:)

Check out what I have on sale at Artfinder this week. artfinder.com/sea-dean Items purchased in the sale will ship at the end of October. I’m enjoying a break and will come back renewed.

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#30in30 - Fouth Week Done - Lots of Tex

Only a couple more days in the challenge. I’ve found this time around very useful as I’ve been forced to use texture and I’ve stuck with it. I’ve particularly learned a lot about crackle effect and how to integrate different types of decoration and texture. I hope you’ve enjoyed my experiments.

MINI TEX COLLAGE COLLECTION

MINI TEX VI 3”x4” $35 - Day 22 # 5

MINI TEX VII 3”x4” $35 - Day 23 #78

MINI TEX VIII 3”x4” $35 - Day 24 #60

MINI TEX IX 3”x4” $35 - Day 25 #8

MINI TEX Bluebird 3”x4” $35 - Day 26  #6 

MINI TEX French Rose 3”x4” $35 - Day 27 #7 

MINI TEX Barometer 3”x4” $35 - Day 28 #7


Although there are hundreds of artists registered, only about 100 new paintings are posted on the blog each day. Some artists are painting each day but not completing a daily painting. There is a core group that manage to create a new piece each day and they should be applauded. Visit the challenge blog and see the amazing variety produced.


https://www.saetastudio.com/september-2018-30-in-30-paintings

TIP - Click on the images you like and it usually takes you to the artist’s own website so you can see more of their work, or for the more organized, to a page where you can buy them. I’m just happy o get it posted without missing a day:)

Check out what’s on sale at Artfinder this week, here. artfinder.com/sea-dean

#30in30, Day 27 - MINI TEX Stone Rose

MINI TEX Stone Rose 3”x4” On Pollonia Cradle $35

This rose took some birthing with learning and exploration along the way. Ready to purchase here.

About 100 new paintings are posted on the blog each day. Some artists are painting daily and others have few spare hours so post when they can. There is a core group that manage to create a new piece each day and they should be applauded. Visit the challenge blog and see the amazing variety produced.

https://www.saetastudio.com/september-2018-30-in-30-paintings

TIP - Click on the images you like and it usually takes you to the artist’s own website so you can see more of their work, or for the more organized, to a page where you can buy them. I’m just happy o get it posted without missing a day:)

Check out what’s on sale at Artfinder this week, here. artfinder.com/sea-dean

#30in30 - My Valentine - Day 15

My Valentine needed a tweak and one of my most popular paintings on Pinterest is an ACEO I sold back in 2013, so I decided to use similar colors and brushstrokes to give it a fresh look. I also added some crackle which will develop a bit more in time. Gold is back, so I added some pale gold/platinum for sparkle and I think it turned out well.

https://www.saetastudio.com/september-2018-30-in-30-paintings

TIP - Click on the images you like and it usually takes you to the artist’s own website so you can see more of their work, or for the more organized, to a page where you can buy them. I’m just happy o get it posted without missing a day:)

Check out what’s on sale at Artfinder this week, here. artfinder.com/sea-dean

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Lavender Lake

LAVENDER LAKE iPad Drawing

This is an iPad version of an acrylic painting I sold at the airport last year. Although the colors are brighter with the digital program I use, the limited selection was challenging. Althouh not very obvious here, that simple white squiggle tied the composition together without destroying the simplicity.

Lavender grows very well in our dry climate and needs little care, so many water conscious gardeners are including it in their landscaping. Also, we do have at least one commercial lavender farm with tours, a shop and interesting events.

Tulips

Tulips always make me think of spring and with all the snow we’ve had, I sure need a breath of spring. These are offset in a soft white mat to give a modern twist. I am featuring them today at Daily Paintworks as one of the artists selected this month to grace the top of the page.