Adele’s 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

Day 5

“Heading Home”

10″ x 8″ Original watercolor on watercolor paper.

$100

For details and purchasing information, click below:

http://www.artbyadelebower.com/store/p136/Heading_Home_.html

Have these fishermen had a good day? Are they happy to be heading home? I hope so. They certainly have enough beauty to make them praise the Lord. Let’s hope they can thank Him for their catch, whether large or small.

I can’t relate to this painting subject, being a devoted non-fisherman. As I explained to David a long time ago…..”If I put a line and bait in the water, there is an awful chance that I will actually catch a fish.” Nope, not for me. When fishing with our children on the 61st street pier on Galveston Island, years back, I spent the time unraveling their lines. When we got home David and the two boys cleaned the fish and Karen and I fried them. A neat arrangement and fun for all.

Speaking of Karen; when she was about 5 years old we went crabbing on Clear Lake and of course, she wanted a line of her own. Soon there was a tug on her line, and she slowly brought it to the surface. However, attached to the line and bait was a BIG bluish crab. After a look, she screamed, dropped the line and ran as far down the pier as possible, away for the crab..the one that got away. Everyone says she is just like me.

Although it is not what I want to do, I’m happy for all the fishermen who do. I just wonder what is the charm; scenery, silence, eating the fish later, or is it companionship? Hmmm! That is beginning to sound interesting.

“I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.

I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me,

so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting

men may know there is none beside me.

I am the Lord and there is no other.”

Isaiah 45: 5 and 6

Adele’s 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

Day 4

“End of Summer”

10″ x 8″ Original watercolor and ink painting on watercolor paper.

$100

For details and purchasing information, click below:

http://www.artbyadelebower.com/store/p135/End_of_Summer_.html

It’s wonderful to have good friends, and especially when they like to take photos….and even better when they give me permission to use their photo as references for my sketches and/or paintings. Not every photo can be used without changing the composition, but I’ve learned to study them all, and look for small elements that are exciting to paint alone.

“End of Summer”, my painting above,  was from a photo taken by my good friend and it needed no compositional adjustment. My friend is blessed to have a lovely beach home on Grand Isle, Louisiana. She and her husband are talented photographers. Thanks, Friends!

At times, I wonder what the photographer thinks when they see their lovely photo interpreted by this artist….but I won’t ask. *Grin*.

Being a genuine “B.O.I.” (Born On Island), Galveston Island, Texas to be exact….I quickly identify with beach scenes. (I may have mentioned before how proud I am to be a B.O.I. Have I?) To move on; my friend mentioned how quiet the beach is now that the end of summer has come. Maybe the beach is relieved and welcoming the rest.  Maybe the beach  is sad, missing all the laughter, picnics, sand castles, running feet and left-behind towels, hats, beach balls, and all. I don’t know. If it is a wise beach, it will know that in a few short months it will be the center of attention once again.

“Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all that move in them.”

Psalm 69:34

Adele’s 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

Day 3

“For My Patio Wish List”

10″ x 8″ Original watercolor and ink painting on watercolor paper.

$100

For details and purchasing information click below:

http://www.artbyadelebower.com/store/p134/For_My_Patio_Wish_List_.html

It seems there are always designs running around in my head; interior design, letterhead design, business card design, website design, blog design. art composition…..therefore it’s natural that I add my patio to the wish list. While looking through my new collection of photos for possible paintings for this challenge, I’ve come across quite a few  exciting design ideas.

A few of these design ideas might not be available in Texas….say for instance, a thatched roof patio umbrella. Lovely! But I’ve never seen one and how would it fare in our hot, humid climate? But wait a minute; the thatched roof umbrellas show up frequently in my photos from Greece which is practically surrounded by water. It’s hot and humid there.  Maybe they would work here. One problem is they are not very colorful. Maybe I’ll stay with the brightly colored, striped canvas, or polka dotted plastic, or whatever, patio umbrellas.

Palm trees, or other smaller palms have always attracted my attention. Wouldn’t one or two look great in a large planter or planted right on the edge of the patio?

But the element of patio design I think about the most, is planter pots; clay pots, ceramic pots, mosaic pots….and on and on….some in bright primary colors and others in weathered, more subtle shades of color…with a touch of verdigris…..filled with bright Cadmium Red (a favorite art pigment) Geraniums or soft green cacti. So many choices!

So now you know where the inspiration for my Day 3 painting came from. Right now my patio wish list will go no further than this painting. We are right in the middle of having our master bath remodeled and I’m not ready for any more household improvement.

“We humans make plans, but the Lord has the final word.”

Proverbs 16:1 CEV

Adele’s 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

Day 2

8″ x 10″ Original watercolor and ink painting on watercolor paper.

$100

For details and purchase information, click below:

http://www.artbyadelebower.com/store/p133/Ready_To_Go_.html

Okay, I know what you are thinking! Adele goofed and hit the Publish button way too soon. Maybe I should go back to drinking coffee to clear my head. But I’ll try to finish what I had started.

This painting was lots of fun…in fact, I’m finding I’m having more fun everyday since I’m painting more and more. That is a blessing to me; to be able to enjoy the way I spend my day. As some of my Facebook friends have seen, I have two studio assistants, Abby Cat and Tomboy. Obviously, they need training, even though they both claim to have natural art talent.

I painted “Ready To Go” from a photo our son sent to me. He and his family are on a fabulous trip to three major cities in Europe. He didn’t label this one, but I think it is somewhere near Athens, Greece. I got the impression that the boats were waiting and eager to get started, but then, I’m not into boating, so I may be wrong.

Watercolor is very different from acrylics, which I have been using for several years now. When using watercolors you start with the lights then gradually go darker. It is the opposite in acrylic or oil painting. Watercolors require speed, which is not a problem for me…..I’m very impatient to see what the final painting will look like. All in all I think it is beneficial to change mediums every now and then.

“There is nothing-absolutely nothing-half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats…or with boats

…In or out of ’em, it doesn’t matter.” ____Kenneth Grahame, from The Wind in the Willows

Adele’s 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

Day 1

“Island Beauty”

10″ x 8″ Original watercolor and ink painting on watercolor paper.

$100

Click link below to purchase

http://www.artbyadelebower.com/store/p132/Island_Beauty_.html

The brilliant beauty of a  Bougainvillea in a deep water-blue planter,

tall palm trees of deep green and brown rustling with the breeze,

in the distance the inviting water and gentle waves,

the ever-present fragrance of salty air…..

…this is “Island Beauty”

The Challenge: PAINT 30 PAINTINGS IN 30 DAYS!

I’m ready, I’m prepared and eager to get started.

Since signing on to the September 2014 art challenge, I’ve been preparing and I imagine every artist in the challenge is doing the same. At last count, 667 artists worldwide have accepted the challenge. Our host, California artist, Leslie Saeta, emails all the latest information about the challenge including a world map showing each artist’s location. It’s fun to know you are part of a group of artists you will never meet but share a love for art and a desire to improve our skills.

Here are a few things needed  to be ready!

1. Decide which medium to use. For most other artists I know, that is never a question because they usually work in one medium. Me? I like so many mediums, I always have to take time to decide. This time I chose watercolor and ink.
2. Buy all needed supplies….paper, ink pens, watercolors.
3. Have at least 30 references to go by! In my commercial illustration days we called them “Go-Bys”. Appropriate! These references can be a hard copy photo, but I prefer to have my references on my laptop or in my slide projector…as in the photo above. All my references are my own photography, or I’ve been given permission to use from another photographer. This involves lots of uploading, categorizing into folders, etc. After all, when the challenge starts time is important. I must say that there are always some very devoted plein air painters (they paint outdoors) who probably will continue that method in the challenge. Not me!
4. Update my website. This step is optional. Mine needed it.
5. Decide on a theme. I decided NOT to decide. That’s a decision, isn’t it? I want the freedom to change my mind.
6. Clear your calendar for the entire month….if at all possible. You’ll need time and energy for this challenge. I like the motto, “Make the main thing, the main thing.” This month my art will be the main thing.
7. Plan a daily schedule. The rules, which really aren’t rules at all, say to upload the painting on Leslie’s blog, (remember Leslie Saeta…the California artist who started this whole thing?) by midnight each night..and to your own website and blog, for the world to see. This is my third 30 in 30 challenge and I remember how pressured I felt to meet that deadline. But I did. This time I’m more prepared.
8. Practice! For several years now I’ve painted only in acrylics or oils, so I knew I needed practice in watercolors because it had been a long time since I had worked in that medium. I gave myself a Summer 2014 Art Project and painted a total of 15 watercolors with ink. I also found time to do a dozen or so pencil sketches.

Well, that’s about all the preparation I can think of at the moment. Oh yes, I’ll be sending out a DAILY blog, showing the painting of the day with a brief commentary on the process, why I chose that subject, problems encountered, and any other information about the day. I hope you enjoy them!

Please visit my newly updated website, http://www.artbyadelebower.com.

“Begin at the beginning…and go on till you come to the end: then stop. “

From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”_________Lewis Carroll

“Bear Confrontation”

Artist:  Emil Bunjes, Sr.

30″ x 36″ Watercolor (Probably painted in the 1960s)

My Father was an artist and my favorite artist. He was my first art instructor and a very demanding one. Many times in my classes with him I would try to remember why in the world I wanted to be an artist. But my desire to create art grew. At age 17 he got me my first job in the “art world”. Well not actually, the art world, but in an advertising department in a large national department store. He was a well-known and respected illustrator in the Houston area and I guess his word was all they needed to hire me. It all worked out because I went on to work in several more “art world” jobs, even art jobs considered glamorous at the time . I studied art in college and graduated from art school, settling finally into freelancing from my own  home studio and eventually painting fine art only. Never a day goes by without my realization of how much I learned from my Daddy.

But this blog is not about me; it’s about one of his paintings, “Bear Confrontation”. Several weeks ago I received a phone call from an art dealer asking if I was Emil Bunjes’ daughter. I responded that I am. He went on to say that he had acquired one of his paintings from an estate sale and was planning to submit it to an auction gallery and asked if I would be interested in purchasing it. My Father was a prolific painter, was represented by galleries, selling many, many paintings during his career. My husband and I own several of his paintings as do our children and a few nieces and nephews.

I asked him to email  a photo which he did. The painting was familiar to us and to our children as well.  We all loved it. The dealer said it was in its original frame. Right away our daughter said she would like to buy it from us, remembering the painting and liking the subject in particular. I agreed to buy it from the dealer and he shipped it to us.

When we opened it we were pleased with the quality of the painting but the frame was in bad condition and in shipping the painting itself had slipped down behind the mat to the bottom of the frame. Our first thought was to simply remove it from the frame and discard the frame and old mat. I was excited to read what Daddy had possibly written on the back, especially a date. He had written the title, “Bear Confrontation” but there was no date, to my disappointment. There was a faint stamp from the original framer who has apparently gone out of business.

I spoke with the dealer about our plans to save only the painting. He “implored” us (his word) to keep the frame. I decided to take his advice and took it to a framer whom I consider to be the best. She cleaned and repaired the frame, selected a new mat, and did her usual beautiful job completing the framing. I took the photo above at the frame shop with my iPhone…… (Which explains why it is so bad! My apologies!)

We are happy to have another of Daddy’s paintings back in the family. Wouldn’t it be fun to know where it had lived before?

I think I’ll write more blogs about my Daddy and his amazing talent. His self-discipline, his work ethic, his determined schedule of practice and production will provide material and inspiration for a long time to come.

Two Examples of My Summer Artwork.

Okay….yes, I know….the summer is not yet over. But I’ll still be doing this Project right up until Labor Day and I wanted you to know how busy (Ha Ha!)  I’ve been. That’s when summer is officially over, isn’t it? I remember when we didn’t start back to school until the day after Labor Day. Long, long ago!

Back to What I Did Last Summer; For the past few years I’ve focused almost entirely on painting in acrylics and it’s accurate to say I’ve done more in acrylics than any other medium through the years. However, being the personality that I am, I get bored. I begin thinking how much fun oil painting is, how neat it is to paint with watercolors, how immediate and easy to paint with pastels or fine art markers, or even just draw….with pen and ink, or pencils. Conventional wisdom in the art world says the artist should select ONE medium and stick with it. Boring! I’ve never been accused of being conventional and I rationalize that the great masters of the past could create art in many mediums and with any tool at their disposal, even quick sketches on napkins at restaurants, every now and then. And sell that sketch for thousands of dollars right during dinner! Sigh!

All this deep art thinking led me to the inescapable truth that in every artistic discipline……one must practice. Dancers dance every day, instrumentalists practice constantly, pianists play scales over and over and over, singers exercise their voices on a regular basis. We visual artists are no different…or should not be different. The painter needs to practice the fundamentals just like any other artist. But wait! Can you sell that quick sketch? Aren’t I wasting valuable time sketching..which would be better spent on my next masterpiece? *I giggle here*.

I’ve had enough art classes, workshops, and even lectures in art school…to know the answer; visual artists MUST practice the basics and on a regular basis. Yikes! There it is. The truth.

Therefore, having dredged up great art truths from my past and facing them squarely, I committed myself to my “Summer 2014 Art Project”; sketch every day or as often as possible….in watercolor, ink, charcoal or regular drawing pencil. So far, I’ve done thirteen watercolor/ink sketches and numerous pencil sketches. And it has been great fun!

I bore my Facebook friends with sketch after sketch on my page and store them in my Facebook Albums, “My Watercolor/Ink Sketches” and “My Daily Sketchbook”. Take a look when you want to raise your cultural awareness level.

Since I paint or draw exclusively from three sources; life,  photos I have taken, photos friends or family have taken and given me permission to use, or my imagination,  the need for day trips with camera in hand occurs…which is not a bad way to spend a summer day in Texas.

I’ll carry on with this plan until the last day of August, because on September 1, I’ll leap right into my next “30 Paintings in 30 Day Challenge”………but I haven’t decided which medium…watercolor, acrylics?

“Civilizations, I believe, come to birth and proceed to grow by successfully

responding to successive challenges. They break down and go to pieces if and when

a challenge confronts them which they fail to meet”.____Arnold Toynbee

Wow! Now I’m smarter!

See Rat in the basket,,,right side up? That won’t last.

For a creature who is extremely picky about EVERYTHING…..it usually takes very little to please Abby Cat. Seems inconsistent. Take, for instance, an old wet towel, recently used to dry the dishes, the counter tops….to me it is just a towel to be thrown in the washer…………. to Abby Cat it’s happiness.

Now I like fragrant things; flowers, cologne, perfume, talc, room spray, hair spray, fresh cut grass, rain on the way…..a variety of fragrances. I even have a Pinterest board dedicated to my appreciation for fragrance. But, as I said, I like variety. But not, Abby Cat. She  doesn’t  like…..ANYTHING to change. Nothing! Change to her means danger and something to be carefully avoided. She does NOT like variety…..or change. Keep everything exactly the same….exactly the same………please!

To continue my story; The other day I decided it was time to wash her beach towel which is where she lounges most of the day on top the washer. ….all day, every day. I was excited to try my clothes washing detergent with the brand new fragrance…Hawaiian Delight, or was it, Caribbean Breezes? Anyway, it was different. I like variety and it was lovely to smell.

Abby Cat didn’t agree. When the beach towel was dry, still warm and oh so fragrant, I spread it out on the washer. She immediately jumped up there…..but carefully avoided the beach towel the entire time clinging dangerously close to the little edge of the washer not covered by the beach towel. Silly cat! She sat there on the tippy edge for about 30 minutes. I wasn’t going to indulge her whim!…she needed to learn. She jumped down and walked off with ears back; she had been betrayed.

Meanwhile, I finished cleaning the kitchen and tossed the wet used towel on top the washer to wash later. Yeah, you guessed it; Abby Cat immediately jumped up onto the wet towel ON the beach towel, stretched out and stayed there until lunch.

Okay, Abby Cat…you are right! Happiness IS a wet towel.

I began changing about four years ago but only recently started realizing how much.

• I look the same.
• I weigh the same.
• I sound the same.
• I’m still happily married to the same man.
• My faith and devotion to the Lord is still the same.
• My love for our family is the same.
• I still hold the same world view.
• My love for art is the same.
• My love for our cats is the same.
• We live in the same state, same city, same neighborhood, same house.
• I still tell our children and grandchildren the same stories at family events.
• I still complain about the same things; the bathroom scales, cat hair, exercise.
• I still have the same messy art studio.
• My dislike for rules and regulations is the same..unless I make them.
• I read the same kinds of books…biographies and history preferred.
• I still have the same unruly hair.
• For vacations I want to go to the same place every time…Disney World.
• I still have the same small group of friends…the Girlfriends.
• Good heavens! This must stop. Too much sameness.

So, what’s new, Adele? What has changed?

• I now have a blog (That’s what you are reading right now.)
• We have two cats, not just one.
• I have a new website (my fifth one, in all).
• I’ve read only 10 books so far this year. I used to read one per week on average.
• I’m painting in watercolors for the summer. Acrylics will have to wait.
• I don’t go to the gym anymore…at least I haven’t gone this year.
• I no longer like to cook and have no objection to fast food.
• I belong to our local art society and exhibit in their shows and at a local cafe.
• That’s enough. Even I’m getting bored!

But the real change in me has come from the actions of other people (not our family); things that have been said and done; new structures, new attitudes, a new order of things. There were things that used to matter greatly to me…..but decisions, attitudes and actions of others changed them and forever. I was first shocked, then disappointed and finally forced to think differently. At the time I wasn’t ready to think differently. Now I do.

Through these four years my attitudes have changed…really changed. There are brand new things that matter greatly to me and some very familiar things that now seem wonderful and new.

How did I get through all this change and come out on the other side so positive and happy? It is because I know and belong to the One who is constant, unchanging, ever-faithful and kind, forgiving and the source of all power, grace and knowledge…..the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8