Crazy Christmas Tree

Click HERE for a link to the Etsy blog where they featured a photo of our little tabletop tree. I was so surprised to see it there, they have a flickr group which I upload some pictures of our house from time to time. I'm really proud that Kenny's painting got a little exposure.

I've been working on a commission, doing Christmas shopping, wrapping presents and mailing off paintings and vintage from my Etsy store TheModShop. I have a large painting swimming around in my head that involves a pink bowl, some lemons, map collage. Also I had an epiphany about something do layer on it which I have promptly forgotton.

Mandarin with Blue Willow original still life painting by Polly Jones

8" square original painting on gessoed masonite panel 3/8" thick, unframed. SOLD

A Chinese tradition has been for the grooms family to give the bride a couple of citrus fruits to share with her husband after their marriage. This is a symbol of a family wish that the bride and groom share a happy and full life together. I like this contrast with the blue willow cup that is supposed to be the story of star-crossed lovers who only attain togetherness in death...rising up as two birds.

I apologize to everyone that subscribes to my blog that I accidentally re-sent an old post the other day. I was trying to edit it and did something wrong.

Shameless self-promotion of a Sale in my Etsy art gallery

"Stocking Stuffer" acrylic 6" square painting in Etsy here.

I'm a little late in getting my Black Friday info out. Having a big sale (half price) on twelve older paintings and free shipping for repeat collectors. New buyers get free shipping with two paintings. More details are in my shop announcement here.

Blanket Flower in Blue Jar original painting by Polly Jones

8" by 10" acrylic on canvas. SOLD

I have to say that this one pretty much painted itself. It kind of irritates me when I hear other artists say that...but it happens so rarely and is so surprising when it happens that you can't blame anyone for just reveling in the fact that it wasn't a soul wrenching, doubt filled and difficult experience.

Apple and Pear original painting by Polly Jones

8" by 10" acrylic painting on gallery wrapped canvas. SOLD

I painted the pear and the apple against one of my favorite wedding presents. There were two cups, broken years ago. I love this porcelain tray that has blue and white scrolling vines and what I believe to be a phoenix in the middle. Isn't the phoenix metaphor wonderful? Even without the Harry Potter connotation?

Art Walk last night and a new small still life

I did it again, brought my camera and totally forgot to use it. My husband Kenny and I had some work in The Big Country Art Association show that opened last night at The Cockrell in Abilene. In fact we each got an honorable mention which is great for keeping the family peace. I'll post photos later perhaps. In the mean time you can check out Kenny's portfolio here. "Blackflow" is the one he had in the exhibit.

Above is a 6" painting I have been struggling with the last couple of days. So much for my rhapsodizing about the lovely experience of doing the small, straightforward paintings. I did have fun with it during the last 10 minutes when I totally revamped the color scheme.  SOLD

Lemon Light with Blue Willow original still life painting

6 inch by 6 inch acrylic painting on gallery. SOLD

I was so happy painting this tea time setup. The late afternoon light was brilliant, coming through my windows at a slant. I've been working on larger, layered mixed media which takes a lot of energy, and which I enjoy in an entirely different way than doing the small ones. Today it felt great to simply look and paint, trying to catch the effects of light on simple objects.

Familiar Craving original still life mixed media painting

18" by 24" acrylic and mixed media painting on deep cradled wood panel. SOLD

I dropped this off at The Center for Contemporary Arts in Abilene for a group show of members work with the theme "Black and White." I squeaked in the door last minute with my work and a triptych by Kenny and was able to get a look at everyones work leaning against the wall.
I think it will be a wonderful show and silent auction! Information follows in case you are in the area and can come:

A Holiday Affair 2009: Black and White

What: The Center's Annual Fall Benefit

When: Saturday, November 14

Where: The Center for Contemporary Arts

Why: To support the programs provided by the Center and to enjoy great art, food and fun!

To RSVP, or for ticket information, please contact the Center at 325.677.8389

Globe Grapes original painting by Polly Jones

6" by 6" acrylic on 1 and 3/8" profile gallery wrapped canvas. SOLD

I love these big globe grapes with the seeds. I wonder how they make the other ones not have seeds in them. I was trying to capture how the grapes have an interesting mixture of purple and warm red.

Warm Pumpkin original painting by Polly Jones

8" square acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas with 1 and 3/8" profile. Wired and ready to hang, no frame necessary. SOLD

I'm painting these little pumpkins while I can.

RearrangedDesign

Here's an image of a large painting in our house that I did last year. The ping pong table is usually not so empty. Right now it has wood scraps and the makings of a catapult that my daughter is making for her physics class. They will be launching small pumpkins with them. I just know that she is going to be asking for one of my little pumpkins to test it out. Later today I plan to post another pumpkin painting when I solve a certain problem area and can get a good photo.

Our house was featured on Rearranged Design, a wonderful design blog. There are more images of our house here. If you are curious like me and love to see inside other peoples houses you should definitely check out all of Ana's house tours.

Three Bananas original mixed media painting by Polly Jones

8" by 8" acrylic and collage on cradled wood panel, ready to hang with no frame necessary. On Etsy here.

Thinking about my micro/macro world while painting another little still life.

I've always been grateful for the fact that in our family of three we are perfectly coordinated to like every stage of the ripening banana. My daughter loves only the very green bananas, I like them when they have just stopped being green, and my husband will eat them from ripe to overripe.

Sweet Sweet Life blog

Flickr is such an incredible place for inspiration.. There are some amazing images and sense of community. Recently I put some photos of our home up and connected with Amy from the fabulous Sweet Sweet Life blog. She just did a feature on our house right here. Amy is a young mom with loads of creativity and energy. I love her sense of color. The top picture is one of her mixed media art works. Below that is a photo that came from her Flickr stream.

la la lovely

Just wanted to tell you about a wonderful lifestyle blog with the byline of "the everyday should be fun" Isn't that great! It is written by Trina McNeilly. I'm thrilled to have my work featured on la la lovely right here.

Two Little Pumpkins original painting by Polly Jones

8" square acrylic on 3/8 inch thick gessoed masonite.

Here's one I painted last week. My favorite part is the little triangle of light between the two pumpkins. I love it when light becomes more intense around the edges of objects. That's something I started noticing when I looked at Duane Keiser's still life work.

September Flowers original contemporary still life painting by Polly Jones

16" by 20" acrylic painting on gallery wrapped canvas with 1 and 3/8" profile. This is wired and ready to hang without a frame. On Etsy here.

These three flowers in my yard made me think of the song "If We Make It To September" that my parents sing to each other jokingly when times get tough. The zinnias were not quite as fresh and big as the first bloomers but they survived a lot of heat and sporadic watering; I quite admire them.

Little Striped Pumpkin original contemporary still life painting by Polly Jones

8" square acrylic original painting on 3/8" thick masonite panel, unframed. SOLD

I am so excited that it's pumpkin time. I loved painting this small one with loose brush strokes and strong color.

Laura's Peppers original contemporary still life painting

8" square acrylic painting on gessoed masonite, unframed. For sale on Etsy here.

My sister brought me these peppers that she grew in her own garden. I loved how they posed, especially the front one that has a diva like presence.

"Surviving" collaboration at The Center for Contemporary Arts

Thought I would post a photo from the opening last night. It was a wonderful night with several shows opening at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Abilene . This is the collaboration piece that Kerry DiGioia and I did as part of the challenge at CCA of matching up a board member and an artist to create something together. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process and getting to know Kerry. We brought together images of a cancer cell, tulips, collage elements of her daughter's paintings, collage elements of crowns, flowers, and insects. We were amazed when color choices and patterns I had begun on canvas synchronized with the paintings Kerry brought of her daughters on our first meeting.

Friday night opening at The Center for Contemporary Art

Friday, September 18th at 6:30 will be the opening reception at The Center for Contemporary Arts for several exhibits. Gallery 3 (upstairs) will have a collaborative exhibit called "Get on Board" the center's Artist and Board Members. I had the pleasure of collaborating on a mixed media painting with board member Kerry DiGioia. I can't wait to see the other collaborations. We'll be there tomorrow night, hope to see you there!

Thirsty

8" square mixed media painting on gessoed masonite. SOLD

I've a fascination for spoons in glasses and have done several paintings involving that little drama. (I am easily amused) With this one, I was thinking about the idea of seeing the glass half empty or half full. Some days it's so hard to see the half full one. The map page from a vintage golden book encyclopedia of India was actually not an intentional association but a more random pick. Hope it's not too heavy handed, but I like the reference.

Limes in Blue Willow 3 original painting by Polly Jones

6" square acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas. SOLD

I did this by request for someone. Don't know why I still have so much fun with this same set up of limes and my familiar blue willow bowl. I just really like trying to capture the affects of light on these particular objects.

Blueberries, One at a Time original painting by Polly Jones

6" by 6" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas SOLD

Loving blueberry season. With all the good press blueberries get I feel virtuous when I eat them.

12" by 12" acrylic on canvas. This is a larger version of another painting I'd done a while back. It was by request of a lovely collector. I enjoy doing paintings people ask me to do. In order to not freeze up while doing them, though, I let them know ahead of time that if they don't like the result they don't have to buy it. Otherwise I get stage fright.

More Limes in Blue Willow original painting by Polly Jones

12 inches by 12 inches acrylic on canvas. SOLD

Here's a larger version of an earlier painting. It was by request from a lovely collector.

Free shipping and progress shot

I spend a lot of time looking at my pictures upside down. It's the best way to figure out drawing problems as it forces me to look at what's really going on with ellipses and symmetry without getting caught up in what they are depicting.

I thought I would let you know that I'm having a free world wide shipping special in my Etsy store right now. You can read more about it at my shop announcement HERE.

Blue Garlic original painting by Polly Jones

6 inches square acrylic on canvas. SOLD

I did this one completely with my new Interactive acrylics. Still getting used to them. I can't predict their drying time very well and am having a time of it dragging up underlayers with top brushwork. It's exciting to be able to reanimate the paint though.

I have another garlic painting as one of the images in an article in the Etsy blog, The Storque. The article is about a vampire series on HBO called "True Blood" We don't get cable so I haven't watched it or heard of it. I'm excited to have an image on the Etsy blog, they get tons and tons of viewers. Click here to see the article.

Tomato Party original painting by Polly Jones

6 inches square gallery wrapped chunky canvas. SOLD

I did this one a while back in regular acrylics of a few of the cherry tomatoes we rescued before the squirrels, birds and yes, even the dog got at them. Since receiving a wonderful present of Interactive Acrylics by Chroma from my dear husband, I decided to experiment with them on top of this piece I wasn't very happy with. I'm happier with it now. The paints are bizarre. They have a longer "open" time which just means they don't dry as fast as regular acrylics and are supposed to have more of an oil paint feel to them. You can even mist them if they dry up a bit and it makes them wet again. This is quite astonishing if you are used to acrylics which is a do or die type situation. I'm still in the experimenting stage with them as I have a lot of acrylic type habits. Anyone out there tried these yet?

Original Dawn original painting by Polly Jones

acrylic and collage on 11 inches by 14 inches cradled wooden artists panel

I like using glass to look through at ordinary items like dawn dish washing soap and other stuff I see around my house. This one is set up on a favorite Vera Neuman red and white scarf. I painted it on my birthday. The map circles are related to sunlight ratios which I related to the idea of "original dawn" At my Etsy store.

Sunflower in a Blue Bottle original painting

8 inches square on canvas. SOLD
The colors on this top picture are more accurate than the lower one which is too dark on the yellow. This painting was from a volunteer sunflower in the backyard...one of those tall ones with branches and smallish flowers. I had a lot of fun with thick paint and texture.

I've been struggling lately with anything I thought worth posting, working on larger work that is still unfinished.

Peach Puzzle original contemporary still life painting by Polly Jones

8" by 8" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas with 1.5" profile. SOLD

I loved how the colors of the peach looked inside this old blue willow bowl. This favorite bowl has taken on a delicious patina as it has aged. Maybe I will paint these little cherry tomatoes that grew on the $10 plant I had bought. I had such great plans for this tomato plant! It's so hot that the flowers are just wilting and not doing what they're supposed to do. Do I sound bitter? It is 105 degrees outside as I write this.

Pink and Garlic original painting

6 inch square acrylic on canvas SOLD

We've been away for a lovely visit with family in South Carolina. I was wishing for a painting set up to do some beach scenes, though it was probably too windy for that. This week I'm ready to work on some unfinished paintings that are driving me crazy. There must be a half dozen in unfinished states in varying sizes. I also have several more blank 6 inch canvases that are staring at me. I never dreamed at my age I would still get so excited about possibilities. You know that feeling of trying to go to sleep the night before you go on a vacation?

This Lime That Lemon

acrylic on gallery wrapped 16" by 20" canvas SOLD

I had cut these lemons to go with some fish we were having, and noticed how beautifully the curves lay together in the red bowl. Luckily no one disturbed them and I was able to begin painting them a few days ago. A lot of times some of my best still life possibilities get eaten.

Cherry Jubilee original small still life painting by Polly Jones

6 inch square on gallery wrapped canvas. SOLD

I haven't done 6 inch sized work in a while and somehow was thinking it would take less time to do this smaller size. That's not the case so far, in fact I think it took longer than a larger one. I kept going through a love/hate relationship with this painting. Finally I was able to resolve it by faking the color of the cherries a bit, making them a warmer red characteristic of the less ripe ones. I just don't like that dark red that a ripe cherry turns.

I love how cherries are special because they're one of the few fruits left that are seasonal in their availability. I know I don't have many chances to eat them and that seems to make them taste a little sweeter.

Of Pieridae and the Language of Flowers

18 inches by 24 inches acrylic and mixed media collage on cradled wooden artist panel.

I had posted this one, almost finished, about a month ago here. The ellipse of the middle vase was driving me crazy and I wasn't happy with the circle grid yet. Sometimes it really helps to let a piece sit for a while.

I have used a variety of images in order to express the delight I find in exploring ideas about transcendence through the humble still life. Here I've juxtaposed an iris and daffodil from the back yard with a painted tray, circles from a reproduction of Giotto paintings from the life of Jesus and moth and butterfly imagery. I wanted my use of color to express a joy and something like awe that is part of this process. (for me) Pieridae is one of the wing patterns for distinguishing different families of moths and butterflies.

No, You First original flower painting

8" by 8" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas. SOLD A blanket flower and some larkspur.

Today while working on this one, I was remembering another painting I had done back in college. It was large, a clear jar with a lot of flowers I had found somewhere. Thinking back, I realized that they were larkspur like these purple ones. I still remember how wonderful it felt to be figuring out how much I loved to paint, enamored with color and making marks.

earth light born mixed media collage painting

12 inches by 12 inches mixed media painting on masonite. SOLD

What a great day in spite of having the rest of my root canal this morning. On a lot of ibuprohen I worked in the studio all afternoon with Kenny working on the other side, listening to great music.

Here's one I've been working on sporadically over several months. I've layered paint chips, wrapping paper, Christmas hymn sheet music, and images of two weeds (tree of heaven and peppergrass) Layers of clear acrylic medium give it an almost waxy surface. One of these days I really want to try encaustic painting which is a wax type of paint.

Really Red original small painting of strawberries

8 inches by 8 inches on gallery wrapped canvas. SOLD

Strawberries are so interesting to look at. There's an awful lot of variety between them in shape, size and color (and flavor) In this little painting, I emphasized the tapered shape and played off warm reds with cool reds.

May Day Giveaway and Painting progress photo

Hello--here is an 18" by 24" painting I've been working on. It's not finished.

I just went to the random number generator site and had it pick a number. I had assigned numbers to my subscriber list and followers to be chosen for the small painting giveaway. Well, the winner is Irina who is also an artist and has a blog at Belle Galleries. I'll let you know which painting she chooses.

Painting giveaway choices

May 1st I will draw a name from the list of subscribers or followers to my blog. I still don't know how the whole follower thing works exactly. It just turned up on my blog one day. Since then, I have started following some blogs. It's quite convenient because I can read them on my Google Reader all at the same time, at my leisure and without them getting lost in my email.

Here are three paintings that the winner may choose from. They are all 6 inches square and have been in my Etsy shop.

http://pollyjones.blogspot.com/2007/11/candy-cane-unopened.html

http://pollyjones.blogspot.com/2007/02/tape-dispenser-8-by-8-original-oil.html

http://pollyjones.blogspot.com/2009/04/short-and-sweet-daffodil-original.html

Red Roses in Blue Willow original painting

8 inches square on gallery wrapped canvas. SOLD

I've been painting flowers off and on for 30 years and I still have to quell a rising panic when I look at a flower to paint it. The complexity can overwhelm me. First, I have to block out all the stereotypes in my head of how flowers (especially roses) look. Then I have to break it down to see how it is structured. There is always some gesture to the whole thing that carries through in each petal and also how the petals are configured. And then there's the color. This color is no way close to the real roses. I used a combination of quinacradone violet, alizaron crimson, napthol red, and magenta. None would give me the colors I saw. Oh well, it was still a lot of fun.