Another 3-D Mermaid, Part 3

Painting the mermaid 

and Creating the Composition 

She's Painted and cut out, I love
her sweet expression 

I have the backdrop finished, almost.  I may create some more shadows in the water as I progress thru the painting.  This is when the painting really starts to get interesting.  It is all coming together, the colors are building...  Pretty soon, I will have a finished piece! 

Here (below) was where I finished up at the end of last week.  The frame is still not finished.  I will post some pictures of that, too, as I get to that step of the process.  For now, I have placed this lemon gold frame over the painting because it is almost the correct size, ironically. 

After I drew the mermaid (see the previous post), I carefully painted her and then cut her out.  I am now at the place where I must decide where to place her on the painting. 

Can you tell that she is ON TOP of the painting?  She is not securely fastened yet.  I want to be certain of the composition.  

The next thing I had to paint was the sailor.  He is fishing and is in the background.  He will be catching a MARLIN.  Here are some reference pictures that I took off the internet that I liked. 

I have not painted this yet.  

Here is my sailor.  I love his pinstriped pants! 

I will paint the fishing rod tomorrow as well as the Marlin.  There is going to be a ship in this piece, too.  It will be on the right side.  I may add a shell or two and a scripture about the loaves and fishes that the customer requested.  It will be really a neat and meaningful painting when I am finished.  Sorry this process has drug out a bit.  You know what they say, 

"You can't rush art!" 

Enjoy! 

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Victorian Winter Mermaid Town Scene

Snow Taxi 

Snow Taxi 

I have so much fun painting these winter scenes.  While painting this one, I couldn't decide what to call it.  After a little thought, I found myself thinking that they looked like they were "waiting" for someone, almost like UBER or a taxi.  It was then that I came up with my title Snow Taxi! 

Victorian with Fabric liner 

I always think victorian when I am painting snow scenes.  When I was a young girl in the 60s, this frame must have been in vogue because my mother bought a lot of these frames.  She was an artist, too~ SMILE. 

I decided that to properly photograph this painting, I would need to hang it.  This was one that I thought I had sold, but the customer wanted me to frame it in a lemon gold frame.  Because I didn't have one this size, we agreed that I would paint something different for her, making this now available for purchase.  

Here is a HEAD on shot.  Sorry about the flash. 

I have a lot of hard wood flooring in this house.  I think that I will let the picture up because it just looks really good!  I am going to list the painting on ETSY if you are interested.  

29 1/2 X 33 1/2 SIZE 

As you can see this is very big.  It would fit over a bed nicely or inside a door.  I have mine hung inside my front door.  With the holidays coming, why not buy a prop!!! 

There are a few condition issues with the frame but it doesn't affect the look of this piece one bit.  The painting itself is recessed behind the glass which is antique and wavy! 

This is not visible at a distance 

Like many things in life, when you look at them from a distance, you miss all the details.  That is definitely true of this frame.    There is so much going on that you don't really notice a chip out here and then.  Plus it adds to the over all look of the piece, I think! 

Here's a closeup of the canvas.  I spend a lot of time making it look OLD! 

Thanks for taking the time to view this.  I know it was a long one! 

She is saying SEE YOU, and catch the next taxi! 

Have a merry Christmas! 

Enjoy

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Step 1 of Winter Scape painting by Kolene Spicher

The Development of a Winter Scene Painting 

(If you live in the Wilton, Connecticut area, this painting is being developed for a show at the Wilton Historical Society on November 6-8, 2015 ~ read about it at www.americanartisanshow.com)

**There are two shows going on simultaneous to one another this November 6-8, 2015 weekend.  They are both in the same genre and share the same collector base.  I am at the show affiliated with the WILTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY on Danbury Road, Wilton CT.  This is their 30th year.  

I don't have any real direction for this painting as of yet.  It will end up falling into a category that might be in-between my mermaid scenes and that Rufus Porter look.  I cannot decide if I will include mermaids or just have it about people.  I don't have any clear cut direction as of yet!  I am just painting.  This is day 2.  

I painted in a few people in the background! 

The houses get larger as they come to the forefront.  I happen to really love the contrast of red houses with snowfall. 

I always paint from top to bottom and back to front! 

Today, I plan on sketching in and painting the sleigh.  I always have a sleigh.  Normally, I have ice skaters, too.  We shall see!  Tune back tomorrow to see the unfolding of this piece! 

Although you might not realize it, This is a larger painting.  I am not sure that this translates in the photographs.  LOTS MORE TO DO! 

ENJOY!

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Antique SeaShell Frame (Blog No. 1)

What should I put in this frame? 

(Blog No. 2 was posted August 26)

LOVE anything Seashell~Dated 1904

I recently was Out of Town and found this little treasure of a frame.  Because I am infatuated with the sea and everything in it, I just had to buy it.  My intention is to ReSell it…hm.  I guess we shall see.  

As I stated in an earlier post, I have begun to paint for a small retail show that is located in Buck's County area, PA.  This piece will go to that event.  If you want tickets, I have them.  Simply fill out the form to the right and I will mail them, no strings attached.  This is a beautiful professional ONE-of-a- KIND type show.  The artists are all over the top incredibly talented.  

Back to my frame…I am thinking mermaid.

This MERMAID is available as a print but what I will place in the above seashell frame is a painting

The color tones will match this print, I am thinking! 

The rich tones along the bottom really add a lot of depth to this painting.  I don't know if I ever explained to anyone my process fully.  What I do is paint layer upon layer.  Each layer enhances (not covers) the previous layer.  I bring out the tones that I happen to find appealing for each painting.  I really play it by ear… 

One more notable thing about this frame is the back.  Check this out! 

Would this have been for a World's Fair? 

If you know anything about this frame and care to share it, please do.  My intention is to put a mermaid in it.  It will be a small painting and take some time.  Many times small things are as time-consuming as large things due to the size of the bristles in the brush.  FYI. Stay tuned to see what the final piece looks like.  I am not sure when it will be posted, but it will find it's way to this blog!  

Enjoy!  

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Nantucket Fourth of July Painting

The Mermaid's Nantucket Parade

It was an amazing time! 

This painting is for sale thru Nantucket Country, Nantucket, Massachusetts 

Cotuit is the narrow strip of land that runs along side of
the mainland at Nantucket Harbor 

It's been a few days since I have posted.   I decided to go on a vacation, whata ya know!  So this is a painting that I just finished as of June 2014.  It's current, as they say!  Because the subject matter is about the 4th, I knew that it had to look patriotic.  Mermaid's Toggery is a play on Murray's Toggery which is a store in downtown Nantucket.  The cobblestones still exist on this faraway island and are part of its quaint charm! 

I put a lot of thought into my paintings and love when you have to take a good 10 minutes to absorb all the funny details.  I really loved the Heaven Swing idea.  If you look carefully at the top of the swing, you will see some 'heavenly' arms holding the ropes along with his hat falling from the 'holy' clouds.

  

I also love the hollow whale ride (see below).  When I was a little girl, they used to make some amazing floats in our downtown Carlisle, Pa parades.  Maybe it was because I was young, and everything looked amazing back then. 

Fire bucket compliments of Cotuit! 

The hollow whale has an interesting looking sailor inside its mouth.  Check out his 'clown' foot! 

Mermaid Toggery sells Whatever Floats! 

I think wherever there are mermaids, you have to have a little water.  I love the sweet face of the mermaid with the bucket of water! 

The ticked off looking mermaid is holding a sparkler

Look at the sheen on the whale, the bumps are crackled like an old painting
the finish is Encaustic over Acrylic. 

I can paint more serious if I want to, but let's face it.  There are plenty of serious looking paintings out there, and  I feel my whimsical mermaids meet a niche in the market that is needed!  We all need to smile a little.   I am fairly certain that this painting is going to be in the main storefront window of Nantucket Country this July 4th weekend.  Nantucket Country will have this framed in an antique frame.  Sometimes its tiger maple or birds-eye maple, and other times its a cherry frame or a walnut with a gold leaf liner.  One thing is for sure, her frames are amazing and they are genuine antiques.  

Thanks for looking and happy holiday week!  We are blessed to live in the USA!!! 

Enjoy!

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