Beginners Acrylic Workshop this Friday night at Michaels

11" by 14" acrylic painting by Polly Jones

What: Beginning Acrylics Floral Workshop
Dates: Friday, April 9th, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm OR
Tuesday, April 13th, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.
Where: Michaels Arts and Crafts store in Abilene, TX
Sign up: Michaels phone number 325 692-3306
Cost: $45.00 for the two hour session, plus a supply kit to buy if you need materials.

Each workshop is two hours and you should have an 11" by 14" floral painting to take home.
Above is the painting example I did for what we will be completing during the workshop. I'll be teaching color mixing, how to holding your brush and using different sizes, and creating depth with layering dark to light colors. We will have a lot of fun! Contact me if you have any questions at pollyjonesart@gmail.com

Daffodil original painting by Polly Jones

I've been using one of my last daffodil "models" from the yard. The top one is 6" square and is SOLD.

The pink one is unfinished but I thought I'd for once show an in progress shot like I always intend to do.

Good news! I was contacted by Grumbacher to do some workshops at Michaels here in Abilene. I'll be doing one next week on Friday, April 9th from 6:30 to 8:30 and then again on Tuesday April 13th from 10:00 to 12:00. These will be for beginners learning how to use acrylics. We will be completing a small floral painting. If you're interested you can call Michaels for more details.

Memory Palace original mixed media painting

8" by 10" acrylic and mixed media collage on stretched canvas. On Etsy here.

Just a little painting with a double dahlia image and collage including an old newspaper photo with some encyclopedia pages. For some reason, the structure of the dahlia made me think about the term "Memory Palace" It's a phrase I heard the other day. (okay, it was on the TV show "The Mentalist") It's a term for a memory technique. You create a story made from visual tags that relate to what you are trying to remember, creating an imaginary story that is then easy to recall. Even though this is something I have never attempted, I just love the way it sounds.

Bouquet of Roses original painting

6" square acrylic on gallery wrap canvas. SOLD

I've been painting, drawing, cutting and gluing, just haven't been blogging much. Kenny gave me these roses for Valentines. It was a challenge to work on this small size with a complex subject.

I have some more mixed media in the works that I will be posting soon.

Beautiful Weeds orignal mixed media painting by Polly Jones

12" square acrylic, wood circles and paper on masonite wood panel.

Mixing up my love for painting glass with botanical images of weeds and lots of layered paper.

Milk Glass Vase original painting

See the wonderful white wall in my studio? I painted our studio a couple of weeks ago, changing the tan to white. It makes a better background and the light bounces around like crazy, especially with the snow outside. Here is a 5" by 7" acrylic on canvas painting. I found out milk glass is surprisingly hard to paint. In my Etsy store here.

Hot House Tomato original still life painting by Polly Jones

8" square acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas. On Etsy here.

I tried to paint this all in one sitting but ended up doing more the next day. In order to get the brush work I wanted, I sanded and repainted the highlights on the tomato part. It was great to spend time looking at red and green.

We Three original still life painting by Polly Jones

5" by 7" acrylic on canvas. SOLD

Some more clementines. Remember melmac?

Empty Bowls 2010 original painting by Polly Jones

Event: Empty Bowls Project 2010
What: Fundraiser
Start Time: Saturday, February 20 at 12:00pm
End Time: Saturday, February 20 at 6:00pm
Where: Highland Church of Christ, Abilene Texas

Eat Soup. End Hunger.
Come make a suggested donation of $10 or so, chose your very own HAND CRAFTED ceramic bowl thrown by local potters, fill it with delicious soup donated by local restaurants, enjoy live music by local musicians, and JOIN THE FIGHT against local and global hunger! 100% of proceeds are donated to this cause.

This little 8" square on masonite painting will be a part of the silent auction. This is the bowl that I got my soup in last year.

Pink Umbrella 2 original painting by Polly Jones

8 and 1/8" square acrylic on gessoed masonite.  SOLD
I did this about a week ago on an extremely grey, cold day. I looked around for something the opposite of winter and this is what I found. Just wished I had done a better composition, this one makes a bit of a bullseye.

Winter Sunflowers original still life painting by Polly Jones

11" by 14" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas with 1 and 3/8" edge. SOLD

I did these about a week ago, but, given all the snow and cloudy days haven't had a chance to photograph it. I've been painting my studio white and am so excited that it will be much brighter in there now. (assuming the sun comes back to stay) I'll post pictures once I get it settled.

This sunflower painting was more of a struggle than the last one, even though it's smaller. It went through several stages of background colors including red. You can still see bits of the red around edges which adds a contrast that I like. All of these pictures can be clicked on for a larger view so you can see details a bit better.

Experiments in Love mixed media original painting

12" b5y 36" acrylic and mixed media on three birch circles.

Sunflowers for Beverly

16" by 20" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.

Here is a painting I did for someone using still life objects that they brought me. It was for someone dear and I had a great time painting with them in mind.

I did a bunch of small paintings yesterday. It's raining this morning and doesn't look like I can photograph so I will be posting them later.

Updated This Lime That Lemon original painting

16" by 20" acrylic painting. SOLD

Here's the old version http://pollyjones.blogspot.com/2009/06/this-lime-that-lemon.html

Three Pears on a Blue Flow Plate original painting

11" by 14" acrylic interactive paints on gallery wrapped canvas. This has a 1"and 3/8" edge that is painted white. I liked working this size and proportion for a change.  SOLD

I was trying to channel Manet a bit here, though it lacks the darker background he used. I had a great high school teacher, Mrs. McCullough, who wove art history into our practicing art classes. There I found Manet with his fluid brushwork and sense of drama with the ordinary.

One of my new years goals is to try working with the Interactive Acrylic paints again. These are the paints Kenny bought me this summer for my birthday that have a slow dry time supposed to make acrylics more like oil paints. They've been a challenge. I use the slow dry medium but it doesn't seem to be keeping the paint "open" as much as they brag about. Also the paint seems to flatten out more upon drying. I'm obsessed with keeping brush marks very textural so am disappointed with this. The slow dry gel (which would give more peaks to the paint is very sticky and hard to work into the paint. I would love to hear from anyone else who has tried these paints. I'm not giving up on them yet.

Lemon Chaos on Brown and White Transferware original still life painting

8 inch by 10 inch acrylic painting on canvas. SOLD

I chose this brown and white transferware plate so that I would use an earth tone for a change of pace. I began painting right when I should have been doing something else (figuring out supper) It's so much fun to paint while avoiding work. When I picked it up again the next day, the lemons were so shriveled I had to cut up a new lemon and redoing a lot of it. I'm trying to remember which artist said "If it looks overworked, it just means you haven't worked long enough on it." Anyone heard that quote? I think it was one of the post-impressionists.

Blackberries original small painting

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

Happy New Year everyone!

I'm so excited to have a new computer as of Christmas. Editing photos is much easier now that I don't have a grid of pink dots all over my images. The old computer had been giving trouble for quite some time. That could be my excuse for not posting a lot on my blog but frankly, I have just not been doing a lot of painting, I get very distracted by the holidays. I'm back in the groove though, working on larger pieces to enter in a couple of shows.

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