Hidden Hibiscus

© A.K.SIMON - Hidden Hibiscus - 8"x8" oil on linen - $100

I think the hardest thing to do in a painting of nature is to note make it look like it stood up and posed for you. I was playing around in the studio today. 90% of the colors are those that were mixed from the leftovers on my previous palette. I find those make the best grays. Then I just put on the music and tried to focus on it rather than what I was painting and the colors I was mixing. This piece to me is very random, unposed and more of what I want to work on in the future as I'm going to venture back in to some landscape work. 

This is the end to the 30 day painting challenge and I barely "squeaked" this one out in time!

Assisted Living

© A.K.SIMON - 9"x12" oil on linen $185

Nothing much to be said here - would these flowers be able to survive in these pots without the assistance of the stake and clip? I don't know but I do know that sometimes we just need a crutch. This title came too clearly to me because I have so many friends and family members right now suffering with cancer. It has been so difficult for them to rely on family and friends for financial and emotional support. I just know that it is so much easier to be the stake than the stem. But that's what life is about, balance. Sometimes your the stem and sometimes the stake but pretty much worthless or broken without each other. This is why I paint. Many times my work is a revelation of a metaphor of living intertwined with the beauty of the energy of life.

Waxing philosophical because of so much suffering among friends and the death of a beloved coach, teacher and friend last week. Sometimes you just "gotta" cry!

Crimson & Violets

© A.K.SIMON - Crimson & Violets - 10"x10" - $185

SOLD


I really like how this piece developed. I was trying some new techniques of lifting then glazing which I will share when I have a more concrete idea of how to systematically go about getting a consistent result. Red is just so powerful - it's hard to ignore. Once again, Donna is the instigator of the inspiration. One instructor once said, "a painting isn't finished until you add the red." What do you think? There was no "skimping" on the red in this one!

I think this is painting day #20 of the 30 but I've only finished about five paintings. I am painting every day though. My goal this time is to try new techniques and to try to paint some larger pieces.

Preservation

© A.K.SIMON - Preservation - 6"x6" oil on linen $95

SOLD

This is a piece for the 30 in 30 that I am just getting around to posting. I'm working diligently but not getting things done as planned. Oh well, I do what I can. This is a second work using a piece of horse hair pottery that a friend brought back for a friend from an Arizona trip. The horse hair makes the whimsical lines in the piece when it is fired.

There was a line during a church service during the the lenten season that I really loved and committed to memory. It goes like this, "the day is done, what's done is done, let it be."