Friday, November 15, 2013

MOSES BOTKIN CHALLENGE November
























"Moody"
16x16" oil on linen

SOLD


Thank you all so very much for the wonderful comments you left on "In the Hood!" I'm so grateful and elated!

Challenge time again! My turn this month. I chose shellfish. Didn't spend as much time on this as I had planned however I'm not altogether unhappy. My friend commented, and I agree, my oils sometimes resemble watercolors. Weird. My guess is I use a lot of Liquin so it will dry overnight and be ready for another layer the following day.  Also, the shadow was first painted solid, then gone over with white to give the appearance of fading. I discovered that works well when I was preparing "Allegra" the firefly for her journey. While tidying up the white canvas background I accidentally painted over her wings and noticed they appeared less "there", which I thought worked because they were so delicate.

Simply cannot believe it's almost Thanksgiving again!! Holiday decorations for sale, Santa and his crew in commercials, and reminders to order those holiday desserts! It's all goin' too fast for me! I look out on falling leaves and naked trees but in my mind, it's still sultry summertime.

Tim gave me a virtual hug the other day! I have my favorite shirt of his hung on the left side of the closet, right as I walk in. It still has "eau de Timberry" on it and from time to time I just go in and bury my face in the shirt and inhale deeply. Amazing! This past Saturday as I stepped back from the shirt and told him how much he is missed, the lights and tv went off and then came back on. The strangest thing is that when the lights go out the cable needs to be turned on again, but this time it just snapped right back on. Wonderful!

Could have been a coincidence, however, for it to happen during one of my "shirt sniffing moments" tells me it wasn't.

Apologies, I digress. Enjoy:














"Morsel"
4x6" oil on hardboard
©2013 Diana Moses Botkin
http://dianamosesbotkin.blogspot.com/





















"Pick Me...Not!"
7.5x7.5" Encaustic
©V.N.Ross
www.vickiandrandyrossart.blogspot.com










26 comments:

  1. Hello Suzanne. It is great to pop by after so long and see all your amazing paintings. "In the Hood" is brilliant. I love your paintings and your blog entries are always so interesting. I'm happy to see you doing well. Many blessings, Ross.

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  2. I love the colorful critter you chose for your model, Suzanne. Thanks for sharing your scumbling tip with the white paint. I like to do that too for some effects. Handy!

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  3. Amazing colors, sweet suz! And noticed the shadows and how they just fade away...then you gave us your secret! Thanks for sharing Eau du timberry. We didn't have any Eau du sarah since everything burned. Can't imagine the stress of removing everything from her room :(

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  4. Never question what you know in your heart to be true. There is no coincidence in matters of the heart.

    I love "Moody." It does look like watercolor!

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  5. Our sweet Suz
    The shellfish is so beautiful- and blue! He looks like he might walk around
    And we agree with you- Angel Tim touched you-- and thats the whole truth!
    love
    tweedles

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  6. Blue crabs are so pretty! I love that Tim hugs you right back. Also love that crawfish or lobster through the water piece you shared from one of your challenge participants.

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  7. This crab is headed for the high ground I think - out of harms way - sort of dancin' as it goes! The blues and the alizarin colors are so poppin! I love the tim moment - very special!

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  8. He's beautiful, I love the colors. It's so cool how Tim makes himself known.

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  9. Your painting is beautiful and it is interesting to read about your process. You don't have to apologize for writing about Tim. I, personally, will never get tired of hearing about him, both past and present. This one was good. When my Mom passed away her rooster clock completely stopped crowing....(!) (and it had worked right up until then). Later....when I was walking in her kitchen it suddenly crowed out of the blue. I always thought that was her saying hi. :)

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  10. You sure have been a busy painter! I like your blue crab rendition and your shirt sniffing experience. It's so nice you share all that with us. Thank you. Hugs and smiles my friend. It was nice taking time for a little visit this morning...

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  11. This does look like a watercolor - which is just fine with me :) Love little blue crabs and red crabs - they are such tenacious creatures, trying to look so big when you walk up to them as they say, "Look out! I PINCH!" And In the Hood was a gorgeous painting - if I didn't comment then, I am commenting now. The softness of your oils is amazing. Wonderful thing about the hug and contact from Tim :) As for Christmas - who is ever ready??

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  12. I like the way your work has depth, watercolorish or not. And the Tim communication is so touching.

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  13. I have always been fascinated by the blue color in crabs..you did a great job on him!

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  14. Your beautiful blue crab looks so striking on the white background. Love the muted shadows as well.

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  15. Beautiful crab...I love it! Strangely enough, I thought it was watercolor when I first looked at it! It has a wonderful translucent look about it. Thanks for sharing about the shadows!

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  16. Your crab is amazing!!! Maybe you could do a series of shell fish... I've always fancied painting a lobster! It's a great tip with the white... I'll remember that!
    Oh how I can imagine just how comforting burying your face in Tim's shirt must be! And all these signs you are getting - How perfect was his timing? :0)

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  17. Bonjour chère amie,

    Oh ! je suis fascinée par votre crabe... Le choix des couleurs est extraordinaire. Chez nous nous avons le homard bleu...
    Cette peinture est magnifique.
    J'ai parfois inclus dans mes peintures des crabes.
    Je pense que Sandra a raison vous devriez faire une belle série avec les crustacés !

    J'ai été très émue par vos écrits concernant Tim. je peux comprendre ce que vous ressentez... Votre coeur, votre âme sont à la recherche d'un signe... un besoin existentiel.
    Je vous fais de gros bisous

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  18. Your paintings are always so beautiful and expertly done, Suzanne. The colors in this one really catch my heart.
    Thanks for sharing the Tim moment. I love the way you write and also what you write about. I enjoyed reading Celeste's experience too.

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  19. Whatever the look of the medium, it has lovely depth of color...which is so consistently good in all your paintings! Blue & beautiful.

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  20. I quite agree with Mary - blue and beautifully so! Your personal stories are so tender and touching. Thank you for sharing.

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  21. I love the humor in Sir (or Madame) Moody! And so lively... appears ready to crab-walk right off the canvas.

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  22. Oooh, he's a charmer (or she?). I love the look of blue crabs but have never painted one as we don't get them here. The colours here are fabulous.

    And thank heavens Tim didn't screw up the cable when he flipped the power! :) Scent is a powerful thing to evoke memories and comfort and lingers for a very long time.

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  23. Magnifique travail, j'aime beaucoup !
    Bonjour,
    Je découvre ton blog, j'aime beaucoup ton travail! Des aventures et de très belles photos.
    Je suis artiste peintre, photographe amateur; je me suis inscrite pour suivre tes publications!
    Je t'invite à me rendre visite sur mes blogs et voir mon travail, merci beaucoup et bonne journée!

    HI, I discover your blog that I like very much! adventures and very beautiful photographs.
    I am french amateur photographer; I was registered to follow your publications
    Do not hesitate to visit my blogs and see my work, thank you, have a nice day! Cath.

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  24. Only you can make a crab look so beautiful, Suzanne! Beautiful colors and wonderful shadow work!!! as far as Tim...I believe!!!

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