Wild Papaya

Papayas are growing in wild abundance in the Florida Keys

And they are PERFECT for painting!

About 4 months after Hurricane Irma, papaya plants started to spring up everywhere in my neighborhood as well as others.

They are a super interesting plant. There's a male plant and a female plant.  The male plant has the flowers and the female plant has the fruit. And there are different varieties growing.

In my yard I have lots of male plants and only two female plants. And what's interesting is the two females have different kinds of papayas on them. One has small pear shaped fruit and the other more oblong fruit.

I've been admiring them for months and finally got around to painting them, (after taking tons of photos)

This is a male plant. The flowers are starburst clusters on long stems.

However, I did not paint them from the photos. I took the leaves, the fruit and the flowers into my studio and painted directly from my observation of them.

I had so much fun painting one, that I did a second one.

Each painting started on one of my "complicated backgrounds"  where I put thin layers of multiple colors all over the canvas.

Here's the set up for the first one.

You can see what I mean about a complicated background painting.

I think it's beautiful and amazing that the interior is in the shape of a star.

Detail: you can see where I'm using paint lines to sketch in the fruit.

Detail: I'm starting to add some greens to the leaves.

Here are the finished paintings

Wild Papayas no.1

Wild Papayas no.1
 30" x 24", acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, 2018
$975.00

Wild Papayas no.2

Wild Papayas no.2
24' x 18", acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, 2018
$695.00 

I'm not sure I'm finished with this series yet.  I think I want to paint one with a red background.  The challenge for that would be to not make it look too Christmas-y, with the green leaves.  I like a challenge

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All for now, have a lovely day.

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Maggie Ruley is a studio artist living in Key West, Florida. Her studio and gallery, Island Inspirations, showcases her artwork and is a creative learning center for her students.

When she's not in the studio, you can find her volunteering with local non-profit arts organizations, teaching classes and workshops, or at the beach.

Her colorful paintings and tropical pottery are collected world wide and can be found in many island homes. She has been featured in the Key West Citizen, the New York Daily News , and other publications.

Her handmade ceramic flip flops have been sold in gift shops all along the east coast and in California and Hawaii.

Her studio and gallery is located in the Historic Seaport area of Old Town Key West.

Maggie Ruley~Island Inspirations

933b Fleming St.

Key West Florida 33042

www.maggieruley.com

Because you're special.

The 2nd Annual September Special

There's a delightful tradition in Key West where every September the local businesses thank the year-round island residents and loyal customers by offering all kinds of wonderful specials on their products. 

We look forward to it every year.  I jumped on the bandwagon last year. I mean, now that I have my own location, it's only right, right?

But I don't want to extend it to just the local customers. I think you should be included too! Many of you have been readers of this blog for years and years. And sweeties, God Bless You for that!

So with that said, (drum roll please) I want to announce my second Annual September Special. 

I'll be starting it here in Key West on Friday, but you are special, so you are getting a little sneak peek.

Click THE LINK to see all the deals.  And to see my new website if you haven't see that yet, it's pretty.

as always big hugs,
Maggie

P.S. And if you have any friends who enjoy a good discount pass this on along to them.
P.P.S. And yes, more new pottery is coming soon!

Note to Key West Artists:
I'm unveiling a new class in my studio in September.

The Art Sales Starter Kit Class: an easy 4 week class guide to help you get your artwork seen and appreciated.
The complete class description IS HERE.

If you are reading this is your inbox thank you for being a subscriber.  If you want to read it in the original blog format which can connect to other fascinating blog posts click here.

Maggie Ruley is a studio artist living in Key West, Florida. 

Her colorful paintings and tropical pottery are collected world wide and can be found in many island homes. She has been featured in the Key West Citizen,

the New York Daily News , and other publications.

Her handmade ceramic flip flops have been sold in gift shops all along the east coast and in California and Hawaii.

 Her studio and gallery is located in the historic Seaport area of Old Town Key West.

Maggie Ruley~Island Inspirations

933b Fleming St.

Key West Florida 33042

www.maggieruley.com

Olivia Street Cottage, from en plein air to commission

I encourage my painting students to paint from life as much as possible.  It really accelerates their learning speed. Painting from photos is fun and easy, but you see everything in 2D and there are a few other challenges.

To keep up my painting skills I like to go and paint en plein air (fancy French term for painting outside) occasionally. The lovely lanes and cottages that abound here in Key West make great painting subjects.

Plein air painting sessions tend to be shorter than indoor sessions. Not only is the light always changing, but wind, bugs, heat, and other elements can work your last nerve.  In order to complete, or get close to completion in a short amount of time, plein air paintings tend to be on the small size.  But not always.

Many artists use these smaller, quicker paintings as studies for larger works.  I recently turned a small 11" x 14" plein air painting into a larger work because a customer liked the painting but needed something larger to fill her space. 

A studio piece is never going to be exactly the same as the outdoor study. What I like is that it gives the painter a chance to make some changes.  I changed the light and shadow under the porch because I wanted to. (I think slashing diagonal light is more interesting)  And I changed focus to the front door and the plantings along the fence line because the customer said that was what she liked about the original painting, the color she saw in the plants.

Lovely on Olivia

SOLD

16 x 20"

Lovely on Oliva Street - Study

acrylic, 11' x 14"

$345

Painting in the works

In other exciting news.................

I have a new gallery assistant and now I am able to get into my pottery studio 2 days a week and there are new pieces ready to go into the kiln. 

It was so much fun to make the pottery, I can't wait until it's finished. 

If you are reading this is your inbox thank you for being a subscriber.  If you want to read it in the original blog format which can connect to other fascinating blog posts click here.

Maggie Ruley is a studio artist living in Key West, Florida. 

Her colorful paintings and tropical pottery are collected world wide and can be found in many island homes. She has been featured in the Key West Citizen,

the New York Daily News , and other publications.

Her handmade ceramic flip flops have been sold in gift shops all along the east coast and in California and Hawaii.

 Her studio and gallery is located in the historic Seaport area of Old Town Key West.

Maggie Ruley~Island Inspirations

933b Fleming St.

Key West Florida 33042

www.maggieruley.com

By Invitation Only, and yes, you're invited

By invitation only!

THE SUPER SECRET SEPTEMBER SPECIAL

September is customer appreciation month in Key West.  Every September all kinds of local businesses reward their customers with fabulous deals, bonuses and specials.

It's a superb idea and I've totally glommed onto it.

So I am proudly announcing (drumroll please)..........

rum-ta-de-dum-tum-dum!
THE SUPER SECRET SEPTEMBER SPECIAL
For my extraordinarily special friends.

It's my way of saying "Thank you" to those of you who read my blog and choose to stay connected with me.

Here's the deal.  The only way you can get to the special is through this link.
 Super Secret September Special

Other people who land on my website or blog, either through Google or by chance, won't be able to access it.  Just you.

It's by invitation only and you, dear cherished friend, are invited.

Here's the link again

Hugs, and have a great Labor Day Weekend,
Maggie

P.S.  See you on the other side of the link.

If you are an email subscriber to my blog and you are reading this from your inbox, 2 things.

First, you might want to CLICK HERE so you can see all the fun extras on the blog site.  You'll be glad you did and you can leave a comment.

 

And Second, Thank you! Please forward it on to anyone else who might enjoy it.

 

 If you aren't (reading this in your inbox)and you'd like to get all the really cool things going on in my studio delivered (with love) to your inbox, CLICK HERE  and fill out that box thingy that says, "Never miss a post", in the upper right corner.

 

 

 

 

 

Maggie Ruley is a studio artist living in Key West, Florida. 

 

Her colorful paintings and tropical pottery are collected world wide and can be found in many island homes. She has been featured in the Key West Citizen,

the New York Daily News , and other publications.

 

Her handmade ceramic flip flops have been sold in gift shops all along the east coast and in California and Hawaii.

 

 Her studio-gallery is located in the Historic Seaport area of Old Town Key West.

Maggie Ruley~Island Inspirations

933b Fleming St.

Key West Florida 33042

 

Find more things to love on my website: www.maggieruley.com

 

Connect with me on FACEBOOK

 

Honor your talent

Fleming St in Bloom
oil on canvas
©Maggie Ruley 2015

 I had some customers in the studio the other day who expressed great surprise that I wouldn't be in the studio on Wednesday because I would be in a painting class.  Why would I chose to take a class when I have a certain skill level and a great place to use those skills?  Good question. The answer is because one way I can honor my talent, honor my customers and fans, and honor my students (Yeah, that's right, I teach classes now-more on that another time) is to be always in a state of learning.  Most often I learn from my mistakes, but it's really great to learn from other artists. So, in the month of April, I have been taking a plein air oil painting class from Mike Rooney.  Mike is from North Carolina, spends winters painting in Key West and part of the summer painting in Cape Cod and Maine.

 It's lovely this time of year in Key West and the Bougainvillea in morning sunlight was right in my own Fleming St. neighborhood was irresistible.

Using oil paints is not my greatest skill set, that makes this class a challenge. We don't get to be better painters doing the things we are good at over and over. Mike does a great job of giving us instruction and I'm enjoying the class. Here is his painting set up, simple and functional, along with his system of finding correct values in sun and shadow.

On a final note I want to thank everyone who stuck by me when my blog was hacked and those of you who have patiently waited for me to decide it was safe to post again.  You are the best! And I want to thank this blog that helped me solve the problem.

Pearl St. ~ Pam Hobbs ~ and more.

I have painted this cute little house on Pearl St. in the Meadows section of Key West many times.  It is a totally tricked out teeny tiny house with lots of little "cute-zees". Each time I paint it I change it up. This time I have added chickens and roosters.  And I have added a Pam Hobbs mailbox.  Pam is a friend and local artist. Her mailboxes are becoming  collector's items.  She doesn't do very many any more. Click on her name and the word mailboxes to see more of her work.

 

This version of the Pearl St cottage sold right off the easel the day after it was finished.  It needs a coat of varnish and then off it goes to Oklahoma.



Pearl Street Morning
24' x 20"
acrylic on canvas
$580 unframed
SOLD Giclee prints available
©Maggie Ruley 2014

 

 

 

 

Pearl Street Morning
detail
©Maggie Ruley 2014

Pam Hobbs Mail box

Pam Hobbs Mail box

And the 30 Day Challenge continues

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





Let's learn Hawaiian

As I painted this charming seaside cottage I wondered if I could learn Hawaiian just by listening to Iz?

( Israel Kamakawiwo'ole)

 

Such a beautiful language to listen to and I love the music.  I do hope to make it back to Hawaii someday.

Idyllic Cottage
Oil on canvas
7" x 5"
$85 unframed

This will be painting #1  the 30 day Challenge hosted  by Leslie Saeta

Beautiful flyer

I love this recently finished Roseate Pelican!  He was a joy to work on.  He will soon be flying to his new home in Ohio.  

Bon Voyage!

Roseate Pelican
acrylic,
private collection
© Maggie Ruley 2014

And, you will notice I changed my header (again!, but really that one had been there a long time and that painting has been long gone)

Anyway this new header is a cute little watercolor of my studio front.  I wanted something sweet I could use for a biz card and postcard.

Roseate Pelican 

20" x 24"

Acrylic on canvas

 SOLD

Giclee prints available

Vacation! 1 more chance to enter

25 of the 30

 

The final post to the 30 day challenge is a collage of paintings.  I picked 25 I wanted to highlight.  If you would like to learn how to make this collage and see the other collages  Leslie Saeta gives instructions in her post today.

 

 

Some of my small early oils, now dry went to the Key West Art Center yesterday.

Smathers Beach and Blue Lagoon framed
at the Key West Art Center
 

Don't they look polished in the plein air frames?

 

I guess this gives you one more chance to enter for the give away.  I will draw the name tomorrow.  But as the title of this post says,

 I am going on vacation!

 

I will announce the winner, then you probably won't hear from me for a while.  Winning pic will probably ship when I return.

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.

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.

Sailing on home, Day 13, 30 day challenge

Sailing on home, oil on paper 6 x 8"
day 12, 30 day challenge
$40 ©2013 Maggie Ruley



 

 

Well, when I realized I was a day behind in the challenge all of the palm tree starts I had been fussing about became a blessing.  I had a lot of framing to do today and still wanted to catch up with the group.  So I grabbed 2 of the palm tree starts and my oil paints and gave my self a time limit of 40 minutes each.  This is the first of today's 2 paintings. To see more of the challenge paintings click here. 

 

And read below to find out how to enter the drawing for this week's give away

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.