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.

Iris in Green Glass original painting

8 inch square acrylic on gessoed masonite, unframed. SOLD

I raced to paint this one before it changed petal positions. It had such a jaunty angle at this stage of unfolding. This was a very small iris right out of my backyard and I put it in my favorite small green bottle. My focus in this painting was to keep the brushwork as fresh as possible and to suggest the details of the iris without getting bogged down in the little details.

Just a reminder that you can sign up to receive emails of my fresh work from my art blog. I am even having a giveaway at the end of April to be drawn from my list of subscribers and followers.

Short and Sweet Daffodil original painting

6 inch square acrylic and mixed media on cradled wooden artist's panel. Here on Etsy.

I'm so thankful for the daffodils in our yard that bloomed this spring. They were totally unexpected as I didn't plant the bulbs until after Christmas! I thought, well, maybe they will survive at least and then bloom next year.

Thank you everyone for the recent comments about yesterdays picture. I had some yays and a nay and a couple of you might not be done yet. I will probably go back to it again. Right now I'm working on a larger painting and in a race to get the flowers done before they fade. Spring brings on a certain frenzy that I just love.

"No Sugar" redo

Okay, I came back to this post (June 19th) and uploaded the finished version. Just a bit more collage added to keep it from being so isolated.

The interior of the cup was really really bothering me...not painted convincingly enough for one thing, also I just couldn't keep my collaging hands off of it! Comments anyone? Should I have left the ocean out of my teacup?

No Sugar original still life painting

8" square on gallery wrapped canvas. SOLD

Limes On Dots original painting

5 inches by 7 inches acrylic on canvas. SOLD

More limes and polka dots, they make me happy.

I am planning on having a small painting giveaway drawn from my blog subscribers or followers (at the end of April) You can sign up in the upper left corner where the box is if you are interested.

8" square acrylic and collage on canvas. The cutie part in the title comes from the name of the tangerines. SOLD

Remember I blogged about Mary McCleary on Friday? She was wonderful! She showed slides of her incredible collage paintings and spoke unapologetically of how they generated from her Christianity. I am dying to see them in person now. It was validating to me that her use of a polka dot grid came from wanting to refer to the presence of God also. I love how she uses googly eyes. I was too in awe to go talk to her and cheaped out and didn't get the catalgue that was available for sale.

Mary McCleary

I am so excited about hearing Mary McCleary at Hardin Simmons University here in Abilene tonight. She is an amazing collage artist with a top level reputation. Here is her website. The image above is called "Prodigal Son" and is 60" by 83"

Strange Delight original mixed media painting

This triptych is composed of three 6 inch cradled wood panel squares. I've used acrylic paint, prismacolor pencil, vintage Golden Book Encyclopedia pages, and wrapping paper.

I have a new exacto knife I'm really thrilled with that lets me cut narrow strips. It's perfect for what I've been wanting to do, saves me a lot of time. A Queen Ann's Lace flower skeleton in the middle with a prairie dodder weed image on the right. The title is taken from one of my favorite Laurie Anderson songs, "Strange Angels." SOLD

Studio Shot

I was going to post a new work but waited to late in the day to take a good picture of it. Since I like to see other peoples studios so much, I thought I would share one of mine. There's even a flickr group devoted just to shots of studios here.

Luxury Problems mixed media painting

24" by 36" acrylic and collage on gallery wrapped canvas with 1 and 3/4" profile.

It may be hard to see, but there are some still life elements in here, under the layers. I used one of my abandoned paintings from several years ago as a beginning point.

Daisy At Two Weeks original still life painting

8" by 8" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.

This is part of a Valentine's day bouquet from my husband. I finished painting the flower part just in time, yesterday. Today it drooped. SOLD