Orlando Temple #2

I love the palm trees in this one.  8X10.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/242214698/lds-orlando-temple-minimalist-original?ref=shop_home_active_2

Some Roses

These set of roses that I've been working on are the best roses I've ever done.  Somehow, you just get better a figuring some things out.

SLC Temple - Abstract and Palette Knife Texture

 I have been wanting to do a different type of temple.  I keep thinking about how temples have already been done, and I'm trying to explore different types of looks that are fun.

 My pathetic palette knife paper.  I need a better palette. It's on the list of supplies, along with a big thing of burnt umber.

Here is the final product.  I loved doing this and will probably try doing some flowers with a palette knife son.

Magnolia Flowers

These are already claimed and I'm sad I don't really have more Magnolia flowers to work on.  These are beautiful.  I haven't noticed any buds recently.

Anniversary Painting

I did a painting of Multunomah Falls for our 6 year anniversary.  We went to Portland, Oregon for our honeymoon.  It's sweet to remember.  We also went to Cannon Beach, which has that big rock where they filmed the movie Goonies.

It's honestly not my best work, but Russell really liked it.  I loved the way the water looked at the top, and the faded trees at the top, but there are other things I would do better a 2nd time.

Framed Art!

A customer (and friend from high school) sent me a picture of a temple she bought and had framed.  It looks fantastic, and it's pretty neat to see art on the wall.  She told me that she's been looking for a picture of the temple that she liked for a long time, and she is kind of picky about decorations.  I was flattered.  I still have the print available.  But I would redo this anytime for a very reasonable price (just email me).  I love these impressionistic temples.  Soft and lovely.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/239238984/instant-download-lds-salt-lake-temple?ref=shop_home_active_21

NYC Temple Painting

You know, some days painting is really hard.  The day I did this painting was one of them. I probably spent 3-5 hours on it.  I haven't mastered acrylics.   I haven't "mastered" watercolors either, but I'm so comfortable with how to put the watercolor paint on the paper, that I can do lots of things really fast and get a beautiful impressionistic painting in an hour.  I can even do a 9X12 in an hour.  I know how to use the paint and watercolor effect to just make something look pretty.  It's just really easy right now.

I can't do much fast in acrylics.  I just want to be able to whip up some impressionistic beauty really quickly, but I can't.  I have to do a realistic version and develope some of my skills.  I think the problem is that I did a painting that was too big.  I really just wanted to do something fast, in 1-2 hours.  This painting is 9X12 and the buildings can use up so much detail!  I actually kind of don't love doing buildings that much.  Not my favorite (even though I'm always doing temples.  But temples are special.)

I just have to remember what my first acrylic paintings looked like.  They were terrible!  I was totally going to give up because I wasn't comfortable with acrylic paints.  But I didn't.  I'll continue to learn how to layer color and figure it out.

One of the art podcasts I listen to, (which is like art therapy), she talked about how every stroke matters.  Every stroke is getting you to be a better painter.  I feel like that is definitely true. Every stroke on this painting taught me some lessons, and I was uncomfortable a lot of the time.

The bright point is that I already sold this painting and I only did it a few days ago.

My new easel

 I bought an ginormous easel with art money I've made.  I need a tall easel because I'm so tall and painting weird hurts my neck. So now I have this enormous easel, and here is Russell setting it up for me.  Thank you honey!  Life is so good when you're married to Russell Dibb.  He is always so thoughtful, supportive, and just kind!  I love him.

He is always willing to listen to me talk about my art, and then he'll also say what he thinks.  He doesn't have the "artist's eye" or anything, so it's hard for him to give me feedback.  But he's the "common man" viewer, so that's really valuable.  He just likes normal looking things and isn't edgy.

Here is a typical exchange. I was showing him my clouds in the NYC painting.  There's a long pause.  Then he's like, "Well.  I don't know. They're ok."

Me. "So you don't know what's wrong with them, and you don't know how to fix them, but they look weird."

Russ. "Yes.  But the painting looks great.  I love the temple."

So I know when he likes it and doesn't.

Red Sunrise - Abstract Art

 This is commissioned office are.  I got three colors requested.  "Grey, red, and some orange.  But definitely grey."  As much as a I tried to do a lot of grey, I kept a nice dominant layer of red int here.  I was pleased with this.  This is actually the first piece of abstract art that I have EVER done.  I used a palette knife, and it was overall a really great exercise for me to practice my paint mixing, and my palette knife skills.  Right now, I can do 3-4 8X10 for a reasonable price, plus shipping. Email me for details: libbydibb@gmail.com

I didn't edit the orange light out of this too much since it was a commission, and I knew it was going to sell.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/242929843/red-sunrise-1-red-and-gray-8x10-acrylic?ref=shop_home_active_6

Abstract Sunrise

 I just adore this painting, but my sister told me that the sun looked like an egg.  I'm trying to not let it ruin the painting for.  I am so new to acrylics that it's taking me a long time to figure out how to mix my colors.  Painting is so much about color, and not just about drawing.  When I look at a painting I love, the colors and the hues are what tell me if it's an amateur artist, or a professional.  There are certain tones that scream "green straight out of the tube-ugly" to me. I have a long way to go, but I was please with how these colors turned out.

Blue and Gold Abstract Art for Amy

I loved using gold on this.  How fun! I know gold is so modern, and will go out of style soon, but what a blast.  The shimmery goodness that you really can only get from paint or fancy printers.   You can't print that gold at home.  Love it!

This was a commissioned office piece set for my friend.  Again, so fun to do.  I love practicing with my acrylic paint, and playing with color.

Looks more yellow than it is in real life.

Vincent Van Gough Inspired Flowers

Here is a go at some Vincent Van Gough flowers.  How fun were these!  I was so proud of myself for breaking away from using a tutorial and figuring out how to do this mostly on my own.  I'm always amazed at how many more years I will need to paint before a lot of this is much more effortless.  Anyway, I was super pleased with these!

Beach art from the Outer Banks, North Carolina

We went on a family trip and this is some of the beach art that I did.  This is all of course very simple and "minimalist."   I really practiced looked at the water and figuring out what colors really were blue, brilliant blue, ultramarine blue, platho blue, etc.  It's taking me a lot of practice to get my colors down.  It's like getting to know some vocabulary.

At the end of the trip, I let everyone pick a painting to take home.  It was kind of sweet, everyone could have a memory.  I did a couple of paintings on Sunday for fun, so those can't be sold, or self-promoting.  I saved the biggest one for my grandma Richens of course, and the second best was to my step-mom.  Fortunately, everyone seemed pretty excited about it.

Of course it's a little awkward pulling out the paints and ignoring everything else around you while everyone is sitting there taking care of the kids, or eating, and just hanging out.  I really only painted a couple of times.

The real life version of these look much better (obviously)

This was good practice.

I actually spend a ton of time on this house!  So funny.  Probably 40-60 minutes, and it just didn't turn out that amazing.

Logan Temple

I have really had a strong desire to paint beautiful temples and accessible (and affordable) church art for people who don't live next to a Deseret Book.  Ordering a decent print of temples or other church art seems really difficult out here in North Carolina, so it's been nice to make some of my own.

Bunny in a Sunset

This is the process of this painting.  Acrylic paintings take me a long time (well, vs. 30-60 minutes for a watercolor.)  I probably spent 5-7 hours on this, not including talking with my friend who commissioned the piece, and not including research.

My friend wanted an Iowa sunset, with a bunny running into the fields.  She also loved colorful paintings.  I was trying to figure it out, and I based the painting on a pretty sunset.  I learned better how to do some landscape tricks this time!  It was awesome.  I was trying to make fields with vertical strokes and it was not working, and then I realized I needed to do horizontal strokes with a few verticals.  Often I do guided youtube videos that pace you step by step.

From all the research I do on developing painting skills, they always talk about putting in your "painting miles."  Just painting miles of canvas makes all the difference.  That is why I try to paint a little bit every day.  Even 30 minutes makes a big difference.  You learn something every time you complete a painting.

Notice there is too much of the hills and green space and it decreases until you get to the finished painting.  The horizon was smack dab in the middle.  Not good composition.

Cute bunny.

Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was going to pull off including a bunny in this painting without the bunny looking exceptionally out of place, or really giant (proportionally).  Somehow, I think he's cute and looks just right.

Personally, I feel like I need to paint clouds like 1000 more times to get it right, but I'm getting better.

Raleigh Temple 8X10

Minimalist Raleigh Temple.  I kind of love the windows, and I've also started signing my stuff.  I was having a hard time figuring out how I liked signing everything.