Seattle and fish and babies......and art

Kennedy Hazel Boone

So here I am in Seattle Washington where my daughter gave birth to her first baby-little Kennedy Hazel Boone on Sept 9 at 7:30 am. 
Mom and baby are doing just fine after one of those dramatic ER c-sections that was not in the initial plans :-)

Actually I have been here since Aug 27, but baby Kennedy slipped on by her due date of Aug 30 and so I extended my stay in this beautiful area just east of Seattle.

Artists at their small stalls

Tempting local vegetables and flower sellers

One area I explored was an historic  place in Seattle long known as a market for fishermen and farmers and now including artists and musicians called Pike's Place.

In business since the turn of the century

The place was packed-seems it was also the location (and still is) of the original Starbucks-a big tourist draw.

me with the Needle behind me.

A visit to Seattle would not have been complete without a visit to the Space Needle.See it behind me? Yes, I did get much closer...we ate dinner there (a bit pricey) and while walking the perimeter of the observation tower later I looked below to see an artist painting a trompe l' oeil version of giant spiders!

So see? There is some art in today's blog :-).
I fly back to NC on Sept 17.
 
The life of an artist...never dull :-)

When the abstract part of your mind takes over

There are times when randomness and spontaneity take over and I  just do what I did as a kid-draw horses abstractly and with nothing but my mind guiding my hand and color decisions......LOL-I am not really an abstract person-very grounded- but when the abstract does pop out, it's fun to just go with the flow!
So enjoy these recent creations on canvas!

Sky Herd 11 x 14 mixed media on canvas

"Sun Trails" 11 x 14 mixed media on canvas

"Duplication" 16 x 20 mixed media on canvas

Someimes. You just gotta have fun!

Pet rocks!

Sometimes, you just gotta have fun!

"Pet" rocks. I used gouache paint to paint on these little 3 inch rocks. I would rather have found some cool rocks out on a long hike but these came from one of those bags at a craft store and were do-able.

Some of the luminescence is from the Turner Gouache pearl and metallic colors.

Creating the dog portrait

Penny, Mixed Breed Dog Portrait in Pastel

Dog Portraits are popular with my collectors and none so much as my pastel paintings!

This 11" x 14" portrait is a good example of using a pastel medium called PanPastels and it is wielded much like a palette knife.

I love the loose effect that can be achieved!

Notice how I begin? I want those eyes looking at me while I work!