Ceramic beads for my Etsy store.

 

I have made some new ceramic beads that I am going to be listing soon in my Etsy Store.  However, they are previewing tonight at our monthly open studios.

 

No 30 day painting today, but I when I was looking for paper to work on I found these trees starts.  In honor of fall (I got my October Southern Living in the mail yesterday) perhaps I'll work on a couple tomorrow and catch up.

 

Everyone have a great day.

sketches for the future, day 18 30 day challenge

sketches for next painting, markers and ink on Bristol paper
day 18, 30 day challenge
©2013 Maggie Ruley

I keep thinking about  that umbrella with the hearts on it.  So here are some quick sketches to work out a composition with that umbrella before I break out the canvas. Each one I did I made some changes. I moved the handle on the bucket, I added shells to the bucket, I changed line thickness and worked with different pens and markers.  The one with the old fashion pen was my last one.  The lines around the edges remind me to not put my main elements to close to the edge of the painting, which is a very bad habit of mine.  I think it is okay for an object to go off to the side, but I don't like something that is in the painting to be too close to the edge, hard to explain and it is just a personal preference if mine.

 

I don't know if I will go back and color to these or not.  If I do I'll add the photo later.

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.



Side by Side, day 17 , 30 day challenge

Side by Side, 8 x 10 acrylic and India ink on paper
day 17, 30 day challenge
$SOLD©2013 Maggie Ruley



In the painting below I wasn't happy with my placement of the horizon. So here is my second version.  I like the horizon line much better here, but the shadows are a tad dark in the foreground.  It's always something.  However, I do see possibilities for a larger work.

In the above version I also broke out the hand pens and India Ink, instead of the squeeze bottle I used yesterday.  I really need to invest in some good markers.  What ones do you like?

The above painting is day 17 of the 30 day challenge to see more paintings in the challenge click here.

My painting give away continues.

 

Day 16's 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

The voice of the sea speaks to the soul

She Listens, 40 x 30 ", acrylic on canvas
$3,800  prints available
©2013 Maggie Ruley

 

This large painting has consumed most of my time for the last two weeks.  I haven't discussed it much in the blog because of the painting challenge.  I felt a good way to bring it into the discussion would be to do a smaller but different version.  The painting above is in the portrait format (vertical) so I thought it might be nice to do a landscape format (horizontal)

 

The voice of the sea, 8 x 10" acrylic on paper
day 16, 30 day challenge
NFS ©2013 Maggie Ruley

 

If you would like to see more of the 30 day challenge paintings click here.

 

I would like to do a larger version of the above painting because I think I could get lots of wonderful pattern and texture in different places, or it could be just as simple as the heart umbrella and the bucket,  but no that would be vertical again. (I really do love that heart umbrella)  However, I would not have the horizon line in the middle of the painting as seen here.  That is one of my pet peeves in painting and I don't know what I was thinking when I was designing this painting.  The answer is, I wasn't thinking.

The quote is by Kate Chopin from a lovely story called "The Awakening".  I like to sum it up as a story about a woman who learns how to swim, but it is so much more.

 

I usually finish my painting with edging strips, but this time I spent 2 days painting the edges and it was so worth it.  It takes the painting to a whole different level.

 

My painting give away continues.

 

 

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

Sloppy Joe's Bar day15, 30 day challenge

Sloppy Joe's Bar, 6 x 8" acrylic on paper
day 15, 30 day challenge

$30 ©2013 Maggie Ruley

 

 

Today I decided to use my acrylics like water colors.  I used the paints very thin and used the white of the paper as the white in the painting.  To see more of the challenge paintings click here.

And the winner Is LANA HOWARD

I have a video of the drawing, but YouTube and I aren't getting along right now.  The drawing was done by Christie Fifer, here is a link to her web site.

Lana, you have the option of one of these paintings below

 

 

The give away continues.  Here are the details

 

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.

 

Sunset and palms, day 14, 30 day challenge

Sunset and Palms, oil on paper, 6 x 8"
day 14, 30 day challenge
$40 ©2013 Maggie Ruley
 I am half way through the challenge and today I had to play catch up in order to have 7 paintings this week.  Tomorrow some time in the afternoon I will have the drawing for the painting give away so leave a comment if you have time.

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 second 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.

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.


Lawn Mowers? Day 12, 30 day chanllenge

Yard goats, acrylic 6 x 8"
day 12 30 day challenge
$25 ©Maggie Ruley 2013

 

These cute little yard sculptures caught my attention the other day.  I rarely do animals, so I gave it a shot.  Now that I see the photo again, I wish I had given them more spots, or rather, some spots.

To see the other paintings in the challenge click here.

 

I had this gray toned paper that I thought would make a good background for some negative shape painting.  It ended up getting completely covered.  Oh well.

 

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.

Blue Lagoon, day 11, 30 day Challenge

Blue Lagoon, oil on paper, 5 x 7"
day 11 of the 30 day challenge
$25.00 © Maggie Ruley 2013



 

This little lagoon scene is very similar to the others I have painted, but this time I put a little beach on the far side of the lagoon.   Most of my day was spent on finishing my larger painting.  The front has been finished but now I am working on painting the edges.  To see more of the paintings in the 30 day 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.



Red Cottage, acrylic on paper, 6 x 8'
day 10, 30 day challenge,
$40 ©Maggie Ruley 2013

 

I made things easier on myself and painted a little cottage I have painted before.  I just haven't done it this size or on paper.  It is a cute little house over in the Meadows section of Key West and it is on Pearl St.  It does have that cute little market umbrella in the front yard, but the house is green, not red.

 

I have a lot of scrap cardboard in my studio so I am using pieces for the small palettes that I need for these small paintings.

 

I think I will be back to palms tomorrow because I have a number of things to do and I think I'll be able to finish one of my palm starts fairly quickly. 

 

Regarding yesterday's painting:  Artist Maggie Latham who used to live in the house I painted had some very interesting things to say about the history of the house and the neighborhood.  So if you would like to know more go to yesterday's post and look for her comment.

 

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.

If you would like more information about the challenge, see what the other artists are painting, or join in click the link below

30 day challenge
Everyone have a good day!