Hi There, my REALLY good friends. I call you “REALLY” good because you are kind (or bored?) enough to be interested in my art and how I do it! Thanks for joining the ride. I love to talk and have found it frustrating if I cannot tell others ALL about my latest painting and how it came to be…along with all the suffering I had to go through to get that color on a surface. Grin! You may find more than you want to know, but you can always scroll down and hope to find something a little more interesting.
My mentor (the artist friend who created the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge), said if we know we’ll miss a day out of the studio, to do the painting ahead of time and not to feel guilty. She said that is not cheating, just “being organized.” So I got organized and painted #1 the last day of August, right before the September challenge began. We spent the next three days visiting our youngest Grandson at college in San Antonio. Great fun! But when I got home I had to do two paintings in one day. I sincerely hope I don’t have to do that again soon. I mentioned to David that back in my commercial art days working in an art studio, I would have thought nothing of being told to do two works of art in a day, sometimes after lunch. Hummmm! What’s the difference? Maybe I’ll figure that out and change my expectations.
So here we go! Painting #1
Painting #1 “Taking A Break-Sightseeing in Rhodes” 8″ x 10″ oil on museum quality panel.
This is a warm-up sketch. Sometimes it helps before starting a painting.
After the warm-up sketch was completed, I continued.
My photo references are on my laptop making it easy to move around to the best place or angle. This photo shows my preliminary oil sketch.
Adding color.
This is what happens when I stand up to step back and take a look at my progress. I prefer to sit as I paint.
A little more color. At this point I stopped to do a lot of thinking about how to progress. I wasn’t completely happy so far. David (my husband) has a very good eye for painting and gave me his advice. I went back to the easel and tried his suggestions. They worked.
Painting #3-“Rhodes Old Town” 6″ x 6″ Acrylic on museum quality panel.
Painting #3
By the time I started painting “Rhodes Old Town” I was pretty tired and painted with a lot more speed and abandon. Maybe that is a good idea….speed and abandon…not being worn out. Remember, I took this challenge to get looser with my painting.
Painting #2
“Breakfast in the Isles-Rhodes” 6″ x 6″ acrylic on museum quality panel.
Well, this is actually #2 and I don’t know how I managed to get it out of order. But, no matter. This is one of my whimsical painting styles. It’s a lot of fun, and in a way, easier, but I can’t seem to decide to stick with whimsy or try to be more serious with my painting. I even like to switch mediums.
Painting #4
“Lounging in Lindos, Rhodes” 8″ x 10″ Acrylic on museum quality panel.
Is this cat a local or a tourist who is worn out from sightseeing? Either way, he is frazzled. This is one of my whimsical paintings. I have an ongoing discussion with myself about whether I should paint “serious” paintings, or just have fun with whimsy. Today whimsy won out.
Painting #5
“Blue Window-Rhodes Old Town” 12″ x 12″ Acrylic on museum quality panel
This painting took several hours to paint today, but I enjoyed it.
The photos above show you a little bit of the exciting procedure to create a painting. Grin!
Painting #6
“Grapes at Tharri Monastery-Rhodes” 6″ x 6″ Acrylic on museum quality panel.
Well, this little painting took much longer and was more difficult than I anticipated, so I may not get to post a seventh painting until next week. I’ll paint one tomorrow, of course.
An artist friend once said she started from a pink surface. So I gave it a try. Not sure what it accomplished. Some say color shows through other colors.
Hmmm! Can that be true with acrylics?
Painting #7
“Library Courtyard-Rhodes Old Town” 6″ x 6″ Acrylic on museum quality panel
Yay! I did it! Seven paintings in seven days. I had to get an early start this morning to get it done. Now, I want to go to Rhodes.
Please visit my website, http://www.artbyadelebower.com to see many more of my paintings. Click below.
Thanks for visiting. Meanwhile, I hope you have a great week and I’ll get back to my easel…..tomorrow!
I would love to have your feedback. Please leave a comment!
Letters From Adele 
They are absolutely beautiful as I knew they would be! What a treasure this will be for your granddaughter! I am following along…can’t wait to see more!
Thanks, Elizabeth. I appreciate your comments and interest in my art. See you soon.
Adele, I don’t know why but tonight you popped into my mind and thought I would check facebook and there you were! I still see that you are as talented as ever and love your paintings. I still draw too, more than I paint. I volunteer so much and get to paint a lot of stuff there! I’m on facebook too. Blessings, AM
Wow! Anna Mary, What a wonderful surprise to hear from you. I think of you so often. Thank you for subscribing to my art blog…my first blog. I’ll also ask you to be Facebook Friends, now. 🙂
Again, thanks for contacting me. We really need to have lunch together some day. Hope all is well with your family.
I loved everything. I enjoy your whimsy as well as your serious paintings. The colors are all so vibrant and compelling. I also enjoyed the work in progress photos; especially Abby cat. Good job this week. I love you.
Thanks, Karen. Now to start all over tomorrow on Week Two, but it’s fun and I’m learning a lot.
Yeah, these cats are always part of my work.
Adele – enjoyed seeing and reading about your 7 paintings! What a challenging goal you have set and you’re doing a great job! Thanks for sharing your art with us! All the best in your next endeavours!
Thanks, Melanie. I need the encouragement.
Adele,
I am thoroughly enjoying your paintings especially since I have NO talent in that area. Please enjoy your next 23 days of painting, I am positive I will!
Thanks, Linda. I’m ready for a week off now (Ha Ha!), but I’ve made a commitment.
Now I want to go to Rhodes, too! I love how you are showing your process as well as the beautiful finished works.
Donna, I’m glad you like my processes. Of course, I find them interesting but at times they are really weird, but I get the job done. In the commercial art world there is no time for “do-overs” so the artist learns how to compensate for mistakes.