"Covered" 24" x 18" Not For Sale

After painting several male angels over the last couple of weeks, I've decided on this one to use as a model for the upcoming prison tour.  I am so humbled at even the possibility of being used to express the love that God feels for the men and women so many of us forget.  Please remember our team in your prayers as we attempt to show them they are not only "not" forgotten, but that God can cover them with the same love He covers us.  I decided to use the "green pasture" as I mentioned in the previous painting I posted because I love the implications of it.

I Give You Peace

I just looked at the date of my last posting and could hardly believe it's been so long.  As most of you know I took a much needed vacation and went to France and Italy.  If you follow me on FB then you've already seen a few of the photos.  I really don't have words to describe how beautiful that part of the world is.  I hope to blog about it in the near future.

This afternoon I want to tell you about an invitation that has gripped my heart.  It's called Timothy's Gift.  It's a story of how a 12 year old was sentenced to life in an adult prison because he was on the site of a murder too afraid to stop the man committing the acts.  In Florida that makes you guilty.  I know....you're already thinking: "she's making this up"..  Oh how I wish I were.
Recently I was invited to go on a tour to 18 places in Florida and paint an angel at each location to be left as a symbol of encouragement. I can't thank Ron Miller and John Starnes enough for inviting me along.  You can see more about this ministry at www.timothysgift.com

They asked me to paint an angel with more masculine traits to go with the more feminine angels I typically paint.  I have a large angel in my garden that was a gift to my husband a couple of years ago.  It's definately male so I used it as an inspiration. As I began to paint on this beautiful day I asked for inspiration on colors.  I thought it odd as I began to paint the back ground in shades of green.  (not typically my first choice). When I finished and was cleaning my hands (I usually get as much on me as the canvas gets) I remembered the verse that says I will make you lie down in green pastures.  It doesn't say that we will always like the location or the circumstances.... only that it is a pasture of green.  I love being the "co" with the Creator.  It is my deepest wish that this painting will bring peace to anyone looking at it.  For obvious reasons this is a model of a much larger one that I'll be painting if it meets with the approval of Ron and John. 

Art show

I had so much fun participating in the Art Effects Show recently.  So much fun I forgot to take photos of many of the pieces that found new homes at the show.  I thought I had them stored on my computer.  Whoops~!  I had sold several pieces before I even thought to take photos of my booth. All that said I'm posting a couple of photos I did find.  

Before I post them, I want to say a special thank you to Ellen Calvin at Loblolly's on Walker street here in Columbia for helping me load my car after the show.  I was rushing to be at my grand daughter's 13th birthday party about an hour from my home.  Thanks to Ellen's help, I made it~!

I hope you notice the red dots (which stand for a sold item).  I ran out of red ones and had to use green instead.  Soooo much fun that weekend~!  I met a lot of women who also desire to paint.  Hopefully if you're in my classes, you'll get a chance to meet many of them.   You're my favorite kind of women to hang with.  Women who invite creativity into their lives and homes.

We made the paper~!

Okay...we didn't make it to the cover of the Rolling Stone (as the song goes) but I sure was thrilled when Karen Spivey sent me this news clipping.  I didn't realize Margaret Campbell was writing it.  Thank you so much. 
The real credit goes to Karen and all of you awesome artists who have been such a huge part in supporting your local library with your painting.  You women are amazing~!  Ok...men too. 

Art Effects Show Reminder

While tomorrow begins the Art Effects Show here in Columbia, today is load the car day so I can set up early in the morning. (not my favorite part of being in a show)  If you've never been to this show, ya might want to make it a priority never to miss again.  It's a great time to view wonderful art as well as meet and chat with your favorite artists. (Oh, did I mention....the show is free)  Also tomorrow evening there is a reception with lots of great food.  I look forward to seeing you this weekend~!

PAINTING WITH PALETTE KNIVES AND BRUSHES~   !~!~!

TAP INTO YOUR CREATIVE SIDE

***** Let me show you that anyone can paint *****

ü WE FURNISH EVERYTHING~!

ü QUALITY ACRYLIC PAINTS THAT CLEAN UP WITH WATER                                 

ü YOU WILL LEAVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL PAINTING.

ü THE CLASS IS (3) HOURS AT A COST OF $35. A portion of the funds will be donated to The Library in Pulaski.

Class Time:  Tue. Aug 14, 2012  6-9 pm

Location:  Cardin Warehouse, Pulaski, TN

Other Classes  are on Tuesdays: 

 Sept.11, Oct.23, Nov.13, Dec. 4, 2012  6 – 9 pm

 Watch for further flyers announcing paintings for these classes.

 To register call:  Laine Barley  ph: 931-637-3858  lainebarley@yahoo.com   

Other works available:  Lainesriversideart.com

This is our painting for the August 14th class.  As always you may choose different colors if you like. 

Vincent Van Gogh says it perfectly~!

 

This was posted on Spirit Paintings by Kathryn Rich Bonner on Facebook where another friend had posted it.

  Really how I'd miss FB if it went away.  All that creativity that we could never have seen 15 years ago.  Amazing....this computer world.

This is exactly what I've been doing most of this month getting ready for the Art Effects Show here in Columbia the first weekend of August.  I'm so excited to be a part of this and have regained a new respect for artists who work a lot of shows.  Notice I said "work" because that's exactly what it is.  No matter how much I love to paint, it's different when I have a deadline to meet.

 I just have to say though, I wouldn't have it any other way.  It's amazing to love the "work" you do.  Most everytime I pick up a brush or palette knife and scoop out the beautiful colors......I'm charged up and time starts to fly.  ahhhhh

Where does our creativity come from?

 I enjoy the flowers in my garden so much that I'm always hesitant to cut them as I know it shortens their life. The more colorful ones are beginning to dry up and make room for the lime light variety to show off their beautiful lime green color that usually hang around through fall.  I decided I'd cut the early ones and dry them to use in an arrangement this winter.  As I was cutting, I was amazed at the colors I was seeing.  Even the drying leaves have the most incredible golden and rust veins running through them.  Once again I find myself reflecting on the amazing gift of God....not just in giving us such beauty but also in allowing us to both see it and be inspired to paint and create using those colors.  He could have kept all that creativity for Himself, but no...He shared...and with us.  Amazing...

Paintings for Buds and Brushes June 12, 2012

Here are several paintings you can choose from for the class next Tuesday.  The church is to be painted on a 14 x 11" canvas and I will provide an artxil for your pattern.  These fish are smaller than usual so I would love for you to vote which is your favorite before I  paint a large one for class.  You can still choose which you paint.  It will be on a 20 x 16" canvas like you will be painting on. Soooo please send me a note letting me know which is your favorite.  You can leave it here in the comment section below.  If I don't hear from you, I'll choose one.  If I get enough votes on this site, I just might have a drawing at the class~!  ummmm????? ya neva' know  As always you can choose your colors and make this a really fun painting~!  I get so excited everytime I get to paint with you amazing artists~!

Buds and Brushes at Cardin Warehouse see photos of paintings above.

PAINTING WITH PALETTE KNIVES AND BRUSHES~   !~!~!

TAP INTO YOUR CREATIVE SIDE

Let me show you that anyone can paint

Two classes and several paintings to choose from~!

ü SEVERAL COLOR CHOICES TO MATCH YOUR DÉCOR

ü QUALITY ACRYLIC PAINTS THAT CLEAN UP WITH WATER                                 

ü YOU WILL LEAVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL PAINTING.

ü THE CLASS IS (3) HOURS AT A COST OF $35. A portion of the funds will be donated to The Library in Pulaski.

WE FURNISH EVERYTHING~!

 CLASS TIME:  Tue. June 12, 2012 1-4 & 6–9 pm

 To register : e-mail or call:  Laine Barley  ph: 931-637-3858 lainebarley@yahoo.com  Other works available:  Lainesriversideart.com

"Glad To Be Me" 30 x 30" canvas $400

I've long loved New Orleans colors in art.  though it's been about a year since I painted with them.  This week the muses called and this is the second one I've painted.  The first is not ready for your eyes yet~!   Would love your input.

"Rooster With Attitude" 20" x 16" canvas $150

I rarely see a rooster without remembering a story told to me about a rooster, Aunt Lillian and my brother Mark.  Aunt Lillian had a rooster that was only too happy to demonstrate his ownership of the yard anytime he caught someone in his path.  One morning it was "young Mark"s" misfortune to get too near him. That rooster must have really been a "chicken" picking on a little guy~!  Mark loves to tell the story that when they sat down to dinner that night and he asked what they were having my Aunt Lillian grinned "we're having rooster.... ain't no rooster gonna hurt one of my kids".   Justice of a true pioneer woman~! 

PAINTING WITH PALETTE KNIVES

~AND BRUSHES~ 

TAP INTO YOUR CREATIVE SIDE

Let me show you that anyone can paint~!

 

ü QUALITY ACRYLIC PAINTS THAT CLEAN UP WITH WATER                                 

ü YOU WILL LEAVE WITH A BEAUTIFUL PAINTING.

ü THE CLASS IS (3) HOURS AT A COST OF $35. A portion of the funds will be donated to The Library in Pulaski. 

WE FURNISH EVERYTHING~!

                                               CLASS TIMES: Tue. May 8, 2012 1-4 pm 6 – 9 pm

 To register call:  Laine Barley  ph: 931-637-3858  lainebarley@yahoo.com   

Other works available:  Lainesriversideart.com

Raising a Barn one stroke at a time 20" x 16" canvas

I decided to post these three photos to show those of you who paint with me what  difference composition makes.  If you notice the first photo looks like the painting is sliding off to the left (my sister Kay's favorite way of putting it). It also has a dark line intended to be trees cutting it in half. The next one looks like the roof is poking up through the sky.  Finally when I put the hillside up over the roof line it brought the focus to the barn which was my intention.  The light was getting low when I photographed the last one so the silo looks darker. 

This is a barn sitting at the side of a subdivision between Columbia and Mt. Pleasant, TN.  

Below is a photo taken from when I practiced in Plein Air last summer. I love the way it was built into the hillside.

  

It Only Takes One on 11" x 14" canvas $95

I have a huge love of sunflowers.  To me they appear so majestic.  The flower head is so huge compared to the stem.  A couple of years ago I grew some huge ones and just as they opened someone helped themselves to them from the back of my yard. They didn't even leave me one.  It could have been squirrels.  Probably was a kiddo taking them to their Momma and that's ok.  I would have dried them for the birds.  Since then I don't grow them so close to my fence in the back. This afternoon I decided to paint this from a photo and a bit of my imagination on the back ground.  Those of you who paint with me won't be surprised at my inclusion of purple. 

Art Effects Show

This is the site for ART EFFECTS a show in Columbia coming in August.   I'm so excited to be a part of it.  Hope to see you all there~!    http://www.mauryregionalfoundation.com/page.aspx?pid=362  

Painting a Gourd

I came upon this article this morning in an e-mail.  I think it says so well what I've been saying for some time that I believe we are all born with the ability to create art.  Our art may be in the form of painting, dance, music, gardening, designing, writing, etc.  I also believe that to not create is to deny God the ability to show the world what can only be shown through us. Imagine what if I don't "create" something that God feels important that He wants to show the world and then it goes uncreated.  Or what if my lack of creating prevents me from emotionally healing or expressing what He wants done.  I feel my best when I allow time for creativity.   Please post in the comment section below how creating influences your life.  I'd really love to dialogue with you about it. 

Painting a Gourd

All of us were made to make things. During my studies, I found out a surprising piece of data: There is no such thing as a creative or noncreative person. Every single human being is creative. Every research participant could recall a time in his or her life when creativity brought him or her great joy. It was usually childhood, and the creative expressions ranged from coloring or finger-painting to dancing, singing or building. What was most fascinating was that the participants never talked about learning how to be creative—they just were.

As adults, what keeps us from being creative—from painting, cooking, scrapbooking, doodling, knitting, rebuilding an engine or writing—is what I call the comparison gremlin (a close cousin of the shame gremlin). People say, "I'm not good enough," or "Why am I the only one with dangling modifiers?" or "I'm not a real sculptor...I'm a total poser." In other words, we shame ourselves into stopping. While we may have all started creative, between ages 8 and 14, at least 60 percent of the participants remember learning that they were not creative. They began to compare their creations, they started getting graded for their art, and many heard from a teacher or a parent that "art wasn't their thing." So we don't have to teach people to find joy in creating; we have to make sure not to teach them that there's only one acceptable way to be creative.

I had to push myself to rediscover my own artistic side. Unused creativity is not benign. It clumps inside us, turning into judgment, grief, anger and shame. Before I turned my life around, I used to dismiss people who spent time creating. When a friend would invite me to go to an art class or something, I'd respond: "How cute. You go do your A-R-T; I'm busy with a real J-O-B." Now I realize that was my fear and my own frustrated need to create.

To kick things off, I went to a gourd-painting class with my mom and my then-9-year-old daughter, Ellen. It was one of the best days of my life. I'm not kidding. I still paint, and now I'm having a serious love affair with photography. But start with something easy. Why not start with a gourd? Put a silly face on it. Make it smile.


Read more: http://www.oprah.com/relationships/How-to-Increase-the-Love-in-Your-Life-Brene-Brown/2#ixzz1sgiTvnOS

Tunnel of Roses 12" x 12" canvas $95.

My Moms' roses that she gave to me several years ago are out blooming their sweet selves this year....and early too. She had been caring for them for about 30 years and gave me starts about 5 years ago. They smell soooo good... like a rose oughta' smell.

"You can only see as far as your headlights"

I've been busy with so many classes and creating new ones that I've had very little time for painting from my heart and that leaves me ouching~! Is that a word??? And yet I'm soooo greatful for the many artists I am working with. You inspire me daily`! Now in the middle of all these classes I'm having my bedroom painted and redoing much of it. And did I add I'm preparing for a plein air workshop in my garden in May. My friend Nikki is a very talented artist and is doing a great job giving me a new bedroom. I've struggled for months wanting to make these changes and unable to make the decisions needed to get going. I still am not sure what color my accents will be. I should have called Amy Freeze, who could have solved it for me in an instant. This morning I ran upon a quote by E.L Doctorow from Ann Lamont's book "Bird by Bird"
“writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” You don’t have to see where you’re going, you don’t have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of you."
Lamont also quoted Annie Dillard:
"Day by day you have to give the work before you all the best stuff you have, not saving up for later projects."
I would love to hear your experiences as you progress in your artistic journey. It encourages me and others when we hear how differently we make our trips to success in whatever path we choose to take.

An Afternoon in Centennial Park

Yesterday afternoon my lil' sister Kay and I packed up our paints and headed to Centennial Park in downtown Nashville. You should have seen our heads spinning as we were trying to choose where to set up. Finally we decided on the site seen in the photo below because we thought there would be less foot traffic there. We wished for little painting kits to give to the children. I'm sure with their enthusiasim they could produce amazing art. Yep~! you got it ...

we had a lot of help :-)

What we didn't project was the movement of the sun shinning directly onto our canvas. Kay had artists umbrellas but they were way back at our car so we tried to paint while truly being "blinded by the light"....hummmm that sounds like a song??? While I'm not willing to post our attempts I will show you the photo we took of what we tried to paint. I still love the view and will paint it here in my studio. We do have our canvas from yesterday with colors from the atmosphere to transfer to the studio painting.

All in all it was a gorgeous day in the park. If you can get there this week the tulips are blooming early along with lots of other floral both trees and bulbs.

Hey, I just thought of something, why don't some of you paint from this photo and send me a photo of your painting~! Now that would be fun~!