Kiss a Fireman ~ Day 11

On 9/11 it seems appropriate to talk about the generosity of others.  Here are two painting tips that have been drilled into me by 2 very generous artists/teachers/mentors.  And they are tips that really work to make your paintings better and are super easy to do.

 

1 - top photo - A dark line at the base on an object really grounds the object.  I have placed a dark mark at the base of each vase.  Thank you Jim Salem for repeatedly drilling that into me.

 

2 - bottom photo - A discarded mat close at hand can be used to isolate the image you are working on and give you a clear idea of what your next step should be.  Thank you Robert Burridge.

 

A big thank you to all the artists/teachers who so generously share their wisdom.

 

 And today and all days a huge thank you to firemen, police officers and first responders.  A kiss and hug to you all.

Remembrance
acrylic on paper
7 x 5" matted to 10 x 8"
$45
©Maggie Ruley 2014
 



nine floral paintings in progress
©Maggie Ruley

Thank you to Leslie Saeta for hosting this challenge.

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Mute Monday (almost)

Ring around the Rosie
acrylic on paper
7' x 5" matted to 10" x 8"
$45

Day 8
2014 Leslie Saeta's
30 in 30 Days Painting Challenge

Step 2 of the Robert Burridge style warm up

Photos from last year's workshop

 

 

 

Catch that wave #2 30 day challenge

Here is painting #2 for the 30 day painting challenge hosted by Leslie Saeta.  This year there are over 700 artists participating. 
 I especially liked Helen Trachy's submission for yesterday because she painted a gray tabby cat and I have a gray tabby named Mango.



Catch That Wave
Oil on canvas
5" x 7"
$85.00 unframed
© Maggie Ruley

Here is day # 2 for the 2013 challenge

Now I am going to head over to Leslie's blog and take a peek at today's paintings.  Want to join me?

Click here





The Mango Seller

June is the beginning of mango season in Key West.  By late June and early July most of the Mango trees are laden with fruit.  One day there was a young girl with a mango stand selling mangos for a dollar a piece on Fleming Street.  She was standing along side her small table on the side walk selling to the passers by. It was late in the day and I went around the block to get back to her, Fleming is a one way street, and when I got back she was gone. She became the inspiration for this painting.  My cat's name is Mango so she had to be in the painting.

The Mango Seller
© Maggie Ruley 2014

"The Mango Seller"

Acrylic on canvas

40 x 30"

Sold

Giclee prints available

The new studio~gallery is going well.

 

My children's art classes are over and I can be in the studio all day.  I'm getting lots of painting done and meeting the people in the neighborhood.

Island Inspirations

933B Fleming St

Key West, FL 33040

I've gussied up my entry a little.  Lots of dogs walking their people on the street and they get very thirsty in this heat.

Starfish Beach

 

Starfish Beach

 

 

 

I enjoy walking the island taking photos to use as inspiration in my studio.  I love the little touches of fun and whimsy that decorate so many of the porches here in Key West.

 

 

Little touches of starfish and scallop shells and year round shell wreaths are a common island motif.

 

 

Lovely starfish chair cushions and a boat floating on a blue door make you want to stop and rest here.

 It's a beautiful day here on

 Starfish Beach
24 x 20"
acrylic on canvas
© Maggie Ruley 2014
$640.00
SOLD giclee prints available  

 

 Everyone enjoy your day!'

Maggie

Secrets From a Mermaid's Comb

The coolest thing happened to me last week.  Musician Helen Davey asked me if she could compose a musical painting based on some of my art pieces.  I said YES!! PLEASE!!

 

Helen lives in Switzerland and we decided to use Facetime to begin the process. 

We had a very fun Facetime phone call, Switzerland to Key West, how cool is that?  We talked about my work, we talked about her work and then she got right to it and came up with this lovely composition.

Here is the statement I sent her about my mermaid pieces;

The Fish Whisperer 1 and 2

As a child, one of my favorite movies was "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid".  My father and Grandfather took me fishing all the time but we never caught a Mermaid. Now that I live in a tropical island paradise, water imagery and the sea seems even more magical than ever.  I create my own little stories using real and imagined sea creatures. In The Fish Whisperer, even I don't know what the conversation is about. I guess it is a secret.

Here are links to the music and to Helen's Blog.  Please go to Helen's blog to learn more about her 52 week sound painting project.
 

SECRETS FROM A MERMAID’S COMB” 

(For 10 voices, piano, shells & percussion)

(6:35 mins) by Helen Davey 

listen or buy the music here: 

http://helendavey.bandcamp.com/track/secrets-from-a-mermaids-comb

Helen's blog: 

http://helendavey.com/blog/

What Helen says about her work.
"I love that Maggie has many interpretations of her Fish Whisperer  (as you can see). Mine stems from the myths and legends around mermaids, specifically from Cornwell (my own heritage).
As Maggie said, even she didn’t know what the conversation was about in her digital “woodcut”, so I decided to listen in on that conversation and sound-paint what I heard from the mermaid to her fishy friends.
I’ve chosen a Cornish legend “the Mermaid and her Magic Comb” as my starting point for a few reasons.  Firstly, I like the legend’s emphasis on the mermaid gifting some secrets to an elderly man who helps her.
History has portrayed many females in myths and legends as monsters. My interpretation of this legend, is a viewpoint from Herstory of what mermaids symbolize (together with their many mythical, matriarchal sisters). That is, that they are  carriers of life and goodness, wisdom and sacrifice through their healing knowledge, granting of wishes, nurturing cures and seeing the future. And besides… I’m thinking it’s likely that the Cornish legend inspired the 1948 film Maggie refers to.
I have scribed the legend into a folk song style with verses and repeating ostinati and choruses, drawing on my own Celtic roots.
I added many voices to this piece plus some shells and percussion to evoke some of the many layers of this beautiful artwork, the inherent stories and magic to spark our imaginations.
There is music for the fish, sea-stars, waves and bubbles, the rocks, reefs, coral, shells and plant life, the wind, waves and mother moon’s influence on women and the tides - the herstories of history.
 
 
Tomorrow is International Women’s Day. This is my little contribution for 2014. Wherever you are I hope you can enjoy celebrating the many wonderful accomplishments of women everywhere.
I’d LOVE to hear what you hear/see in these artworks via the comments section below;  please feel free to share this around to anyone interested in art & music via the little icons below.
Thanks for bubbling along with me."

Of course I had to find out more about the Mermaid's Comb,  here is a link to that legend.  The Mermaid's Comb

http://helendavey.com/blog/week-11-maggie-ruleys-the-fish-whisperer/

Diva of the Deep
acrylic 24 x 20"
© Maggie Ruley 2013
 $540

The Fish Whisperer 2
acrylic 24 x 20"
© Maggie Ruley 2013
$540

The Fish Whisperer 1
digital image
© Maggie Ruley
NFS 2013

What's up with all the chickens?

Saturday and Sunday, January 25 - 26, 2014, the Key West Art Center is hosting the annual Key West Craft Show.  Every year fine craft artists come from all over the country to share their work and enjoy a little warm weather.  The Craft Show takes place on Whitehead Street between Caroline St and Greene St, just a few steps away from the Art Center.  If you are in town head down to see it.


The Key West Art Center
entrance 310 Front Street, Key West, Florida
©Maggie Ruley 2014

I don't have a booth there this year, but I did go into the Art Center yesterday with some cute small paintings for them to sell.  I have been adding some roosters and chickens to my small paintings because they are so much a part what makes Key West the interesting place it is.

Today's Key West Question

One of the most frequent questions people ask is,

"What's up with all the Chickens?" 

Visitors want to know why they are all over town, and if they belong to anybody.

I am not sure there is any one answer, but it is my theory that there is a direct correlation between the crack down on cock fighting in the late 80's and early 90's and the increase in the chicken population.

In 1986 my first studio was in the Blue Heaven building (before the restaurant).  The neighborhood is called Bahama Village and it was one of the few neighborhoods that had free ranging chickens at that time.  Young boys were always running through the yards catching the roosters to take home to their Uncles, Daddies, and Cousins.  After the cock fighting crack down, no one was catching the roosters and when you have more roosters you have more chickens.  But it's just my theory.  And, no, they don't belong to anybody, and yes, the cats and dogs leave them alone.



Dog Gone, acrylic 6 x 6 inches
©Maggie Ruley 2014

This little cottage is on Ashe Street in Key West and is really cute.  I have taken many photos of it over the years.  It used to have a red jeep parked in it's drive way.  I decided a red boat would be more fun.



Dog Gone, acrylic, 6 x 6 inches
framed to 12 x 12 inches
$145

Dog Gone
acrylic
framed
$145
you can purchase directly through me or
The Key West Art Center,
Address: 301 Front St, Key West, FL 33040

Phone:(305) 294-1241

Hours: daily 10am to 5pm

Mural Project, day 1

 

I have just finished a mural on a powder room wall in old town Key West.  The house is a new build in a compound and has an existing cottage on the property. The interior was getting its final touches the days I was working.

 

I had met the owners and seen the house in progress in November when we first started to discuss the project.  Isn't that cottage cute? And a small plunge pool right off the living room, wonderful.

 

 

After our initial meeting the owners and I decided that the next step would be for them to decide on a motif based on images of my past work.  I set up a page for them on this blog (the remnants of it are still here, called for the Larsens) and uploaded all kinds of past paintings.  I knew that some of them wouldn't work, but there was also color to consider so I wanted them to see a lot of choices.  When they decided on motif and color scheme I did a sketch on

 22"x 30" 300lb watercolor paper.  They approved the sketch, my price and dates of work.  Next step was for me to select colors.  I painted the mural in the same brand of paint that they used for the interior, Benjamin Moore.  They choose a pebble finish for the walls, but I painted in flat.  I didn't want any texture or sheen.  Looking at color chips took way more time then I thought it would. I looked at colors before I painted the large sketch and selected colors I thought would go with the colors on the other walls in the room.  Then after the sketch was finished and approved I took the sketch with me to the paint store and selected the main colors. In the end I got some great colors and I ended up with some primary colors that really mixed well.

 

 

I taped the wall edges, put plastic on the floor and then installed a cardboard floor so I wasn't slipping around on plastic.  That was one of the best moves I made.

 

I rolled the sky color and then brushed a darker blue in the upper left hand corner to give the sky a shift in color from right to left.  Next I brushed in the background water, background sand and started in on the shadow areas.  That's when I realized I had made a mistake. I had planned to mix a lot of colors on sight because I wanted them all to work with the lighting that was in the room.  It is a very small and dark powder room.  I was working out of the quarts of paint and mixing colors from them was going to be a nightmare and huge mess.  I went to the restaurant supply store and got numerous squeeze bottles.  One for every major color I thought I would mix.

 

 

 I took all the paints back to my studio and spent the rest of the afternoon mixing colors.

 

 They were easy to work out of and transport.  It made day 2 of the mural project much easier.

 

See you day 2!

The Captain's Cottage, Key West

Simonton St, Key West, Florida
photo
© Maggie Ruley 2013

This house on Simonton Street is next to, and might be part of the Pilot's House guest house.  It was the inspiration for my painting The Captain's Cottage.

The Captain's Cottage
acrylic on canvas
5 x 7" framed
$165.00
©Maggie Ruley 2013



It's all about the blue

The Clear Blue Wave
20 x 24" acrylic on canvas
©Maggie Ruley 2013

 

 

The colors of aqua, blue and white have been tugging my soul ever since I did the small blue tone painting Yesterday's Blues, during the 30 Day Challenge. As a frequent user of red, orange and yellow, this is a change for me.  I decided to take the change one step further and do a painting with no sky in it.  That was hard.  At the end I almost put in a horizon line, but I decide to stick with the parameters I set for myself at the start of the painting.

 

Once again I want to thank the artists who generously share their photos on Wet Canvas.

 

Yesterday's Blues

 

 

Clear Blue Wave

$540.00



Free place to stay in Key West

The Historic Armory Building
600 White St. Key West, Florida
©Maggie Ruley 2011
private collection

 

The Studios of Key West has a residency program and hosts 4 visiting artists a month.  Artists are provided with a free place to live and work. They start taking applications in January and I think they close the process in March.   So start planning now if you would like to be part of this huge opportunity.

 

TSKW  click the link to find out more information about the program and other classes and workshops.

And in other news this Thursday, October 17, from 6 to 9pm, 2013,is the TSKW monthly open house.  A new show opens in the main gallery, the artists studios are open upstairs and in the residence studios.
There are poetry readings in the 610 White St studios. 

My studio will be open and I would love to see you.

She Listens

She Listens, acrylic, 40 x 30



 

She Listens, has come back from the photographer and Giclee prints are available on paper and canvas.  My printer does a wonderful job and the prints on canvas look just like the original painting (without all the cost). The prints on paper are a very reasonable alternative.

You can find this Giclee and others on my website.  You do know I have a website, right?

my website

my Giclee page


She Listens is available $2,800.


Day's End, day 30, 30 day challenge

Day's End, acrylic on paper, 8 x 10 inches
day 30, 30 day challenge
SOLD ©Maggie Ruley 2013

 

 

 

It seems appropriate to end this challenge with a sunset.

I want to say, thank you, to all of you who have encouraged me this month.  I love the conversations we have had and I hope they continue.  I know I spent a whole month talking about me, but I want you to know that what you have to say is really important to me.

 Really, really,

Thank you!

I will draw the name for this week's give away some time on Tuesday.

And thank you Leslie Saeta for hosting the challenge.

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

Yesterday, day 29, 30 day challenge

Yesterday, acrylic on paper, 8 x 10"
day 29, 30 day challenge
SOLD ©Maggie Ruley 2013

This is what the Gulf of Mexico looked like yesterday.

 

There really is something lovely and calming about blue and white. I really wish you could all have seen the water and sky here yesterday. Usually my camera is in the car, but not yesterday.  So I conjured this from my memory.

 

Distant Islands

Calm water, same color as the sky

very white clouds

no haze

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

Almost Home, day 28, 30 day challenge

Almost Home, oil on paper, 6 x 8"
day 28, 30 day challenge
SOLD ©Maggie Ruley 2013
 

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

I hear it in the shells, day 26, 30 day challenge

I hear it in the shells, acrylic and ink on paper, 8x6"
day 26, 30 day challenge
$40 ©Maggie Ruley 2013

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

Still learning, day 25, 30 day challenge

I am still learning....

A.  How the different nibs work, what kind on line they make, and

how much ink they hold.

B. Which ink lines I should put in first and which

I should do at the very last.

C. To be patient and let one layer dry before applying

the pattern.

What I would do differently.

I would put blue artist tape on the paper so the un-matted image wouldn't look so messy.

It speaks to me, acrylic and ink on paper, 8 x 6"
day 25, 30 day challenge
$40 ©Maggie Ruley 2013

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

15 Palms, 6 x 8" oil on paper
day 24, 30 day challenge
 SOLD ©Maggie Ruley 2013

 

 

After all the palm tree lagoons I have painted it is hard to believe that I still have 2 more starts left to finish. There is one more start I definitely want to work on, the other may just have to bide its time until the next challenge.

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

Bucketful of shells, day 22, 30 day challenge

 

This is a very long winded post, and if you are like me and don't like long winded posts, feel free to just look at the pictures. There are lots of those too.

 

 

 

 

I was so annoyed with myself yesterday that I couldn't even talk about it.  I did the above sketches and put black wavy lines around the edge to remind myself not to put any elements there because when these small paintings are in mats, the mats cover the edges.

 

So what did I do?  I put some elements like shells and beautiful pattern on the edges that the mat covered up.  So for yesterday's painting I ended up painting another piece of paper and mounted the painting to the second piece of paper.  Maybe the next time I will remember.

 

Bucketful of Shells, 10" by 8", acrylic and ink on paper
day 21, 30 day challenge
$45.00 ©Maggie Ruley 2013

When I first started putting color to these black and white sketches I wasn't happy, they were looking very much like coloring book pages.  But once the layering and pattern started to go in they really perked up and became richer in feel.  I love that pattern on the edge and to hide it was heart breaking.

 

Bucketful of shells 2, 9 x 6", acrylic and ink on paper
day 22, 30 day challenge
$25 no mat, ©Maggie Ruley 2013

 

The next annoying thing that happened is that the paper size for the second painting was too big.  I neglected to check the measurement when I started painting.  The image below shows how much of the image a standard size mat covers up.  Not Good.   I am not going through the painting and mounting process again so it is sold without a mat.  But it would be totally cute just hanging from a little clip somewhere as a touch of whimsy.

 

 

Look how much the mat covers up.

 

 

 

DRUM ROLL PLEASE 

 

AND THE WINNER OF THIS WEEK'S DRAWING IS

 

MAGGIE LATHAM!

 

Congrats Maggie, you have your choice of one of the above paintings. I did make a few prints of 906 Sea Breeze Lane, if you would rather one of those. 

 For those of you who don't know, Maggie is a watercolor artist who used to live in that house and she suggested I paint it. She is also participating in the challenge. See her entries here.

906 Sea Breeze Lane

 

 

There is one more week left in the 30 day challenge and one more drawing.  I want to thank everyone for their fun and thoughtful comments.  Once again here is the info on how to participate in the drawing and see what the other challenge artists are painting.

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

Primavera, #19 30 day challenge

Primavera, acrylic on paper, 7 x 5"
Day 19, 30 Day Challenge
$35 ©Maggie Ruley 2013

 

I have finished a couple of the tree starts.  These trees were started with a technique taught to me by artist Robert Burridge.  You paint loosely on more than one image at a time, you use a lot of water, and move from frame to frame, trying not to spend too long in any one area.  Then you begin to do some negative shape painting and simplify areas.  Using a discarded mat as you work helps you isolate the painting and show you which areas need work.  This painting took on a more spring like aspect as I worked on it. And the yellow background gives it an Easter feel.  I'll push harder for fall in the next painting.

 

To look at what the other artists are painting for the challenge, click here.

I am having a give-away!

Here is how it works.  Leave a comment on my post and you will be entered to win.  I am going to give away one painting a week for the duration of the 30 Day Challenge, (the month of September, 2013). If you comment daily on my posts then you can be entered up to 7 times to win.  The winner will have their choice of any unsold painting of the week. 

Those of you who subscribe by e-mail to this blog can either reply to the e-mail, or comment and you will be entered.

Please note this drawing is going to be casual.  I am not hiring any fancy auditing company to do the selection.  It is going to be a plain old pieces of paper in a bowl thing.

If you are the winner your painting will be shipped to you after it has dried, which can take one to two weeks with oils

 

To see more of the challenge paintings click here.