Abstracted Figurative Paintings A subset of the Annabelle Series

The Good Model
24x24x1.5 Mixed Media/Cnv

A busy last two weeks as I begin yet another series in a slightly different style.  Prevailing wisdom in the art world says the artist should develop and hold fast to one particular and recognizable style.  Galleries prefer this when taking on an artist.  Collectors don't always appreciate an artist's change in direction.
I started my art career focused on landscapes. I still love landscapes.  
But right now I'm in love with abstracting the figure. 
Last month floral mixed media pieces had my heart.
I don't mean to thumb my nose at prevailing wisdom, but I do believe my best art will come by following my gut and painting only what excites and delights me, regardless of style, medium or subject matter.

Ladies Night 56x24x1" Acrylic/canvas

Crazy Animal Portraits in Mixed Media

9x12 Mixed Media Collage on paper

 "Call me 'Cat' or 'Catty'.  But DO NOT call me late for dinner."

Dog Sketch

Rex was feeling left out.
Rennie ( Renoir) could care less.
This one's for you, Rex.

Sweet Cat Sketch and Mixed Media Painting

This IS Cat's "Come Pet Me I'm Irresistible" look.  It works for Cat; she knows it.
Despite all the rotten things I've said about her lately, she has a nice side. A calm side. A cuddly, loving, caring side.

I liked this pose and , at a friends suggestion, did a mixed media painting of this sketch.

18x24x1.5

Mixed Media

$ 750.00

Shipping or local pick up

Local pick up $750.00 USD Shipping $800.00 USD

Naughty Cats Cat Sketch Fever

Why do we put up with this animal?  She seems to run the household.  She intimidates all of us, especially our two large and ferocious (except around Cat) dogs!
Did you ever see the clip on national news where a full grown man and his wife were hiding in their bedroom, on the phone with 911, crying that they were locked in their rooms because their cat was out of control and was going to do serious harm to them?
Sometimes I think that could happen to our family with Cat........
Just sayin'.
I want this out there.....just in case.

Hungry Cat Fat Cat

Cat Sketch Fever #16

I think I've driven home the point that this Cat loves food.  She's overweight despite our best efforts otherwise.
Here, she's half in, half out of the kitchen cupboard.  She wants a treat and knows this is where we store the dog and cat treats.
If the dogs get a treat, Cat won't budge until she gets one too.

Cat Sketch Fever Bad Cat Naughty Cat

I got my face right up close and personal to Cat one time. ONE TIME.  Never again.  She actually bit my face.  I was stunned.  Never had a cat done that to me before.  I thought they were all much too sensitive to do anything like that.  I didn't like her for quite a while after that. 
Now I try to read her carefully before approaching her. Rarely do I put my face up to hers.
She's a tough read.  
I'm still disappointed in the face bite incident. It was just so uncalled for.

Mixed Media Floral Painting

Mimsy
24x18x1.5
Mixed Media
$ 750.00

Shipping or local pick up

Local pick up $750.00 USD Shipping $800.00 USD

Finally I found the nerve this past year to try some radically different (for me) art.  I've recently become intrigued by mixed media but couldn't bring myself to try some out.
I was held back by the false and negative belief that this sort of art was "decorative" and not "real" or "serious" art. What a snob. Glad I found my way out of that mind set.

I love the colors and textures and the bigness of the canvases on which I'm painting this "Annabelle" series.  People respond to the colors and tell me they feel a sense of joy and happiness.  This thrills me; it's exactly what I want to convey in these paintings.

I am so thankful to get to do what I love every day.

Cat Potato Cat Sketch Fever

Cat Sketch#14 Fever

Cat plays hard to get, but she follows us everywhere.  Her little heart's desire is to be near us all the time.

She watches the news with us each evening, and she agrees with us politically.

Peaceful Repose Cat Art Journal

Cat Sketch Fever: Fat Cat Series #13

Cat has learned to sleep quietly at the foot of our bed and not disturb us.  This, sleeping in our bed, took some adjusting for all of us.

Fernando likes to pretend he doesn't like Cat, but he is the one that missed Cat when she did not choose to sleep in our room.

Mad Cat, Fat Cat, Cat Art Art Journals

Cat Sketch Fever:  Fat Cat Series

I usually get over my bad moods pretty quickly. Not so, Cat.

She is still sulking and it's not pretty.

Cats in bad mood,sketches,art journaling

Cat Sketch Fever

Cat doesn't always handle defeat well.

Best to talk softly, coo, and keep a safe distance from Cat when she takes on this appearance.

cats kittens animal art art journaling

Cat Sketch Fever: Fat Cat Series #9

Spies Fly: Cat Plots

Cat occasionally thinks of us, his beloved family members, as prey. 

As I've said before, Cat can be loving one moment, then prowls, chases and even bites and scratches us the next.  Without provocation.  It's discomfitting.

Cat Spies Fly Art Journaling Daily sketches

Cat Sketch Fever:  Fat Cat Series #9

Cat saw a fly.   For lack of a better description, Cat rapidly and repeatedly taps her teeth together when she spots prey. ( Nick witnessed this first and thought Cat was having a seizure.  He googled the odd behaviour, then informed us that this is what cats do when they hunt.)

Tune in tomorrow to find out how Cat handled fly.

Fat Cat trimmed down.

Cat Sketch Fever: Cat Fat Series #8

Cat and I were both feeling better soon, as the photo above suggests.
Did I say earlier that this cat loves to eat?  Fern thought I'd made cat 10 pounds lighter in this sketch.
We've tried putting her on a diet but she cries pitifully when we restrict her dish. Also, truth be told, Cat tricks us.  Fern feeds her, then after Fern goes to work, she comes to me saying she hasn't yet eaten. I buy it, feed her, then  someone else comes in and she tells them the same thing, etc. etc. So Cat probably gets 4x the correct amount of food some days.
She does look prettier thinner, doesn't she?

Cat Sketch Fever cats,kittens,animal art

Cat Sketch Fever: Fat Cat Series 7

This one made me sad. I was already sad.  Nick had just left for college and I spent the day cleaning out his room. ( With all his treasures gone the room was still a mess!  18 years of a mess.

Cat spent the entire time in the room on Nick's couch. Like this. Just a broken- hearted kitty.

Cats Sketches Art Journaling

Fat Cat Series #6

Nick found this cat on Craig's list.  He fell in love and knew this was The Cat.  It was his birthday and this is what he wanted.  His good friend Joe called me up and asked if he could be the one to go and get the cat and buy it for Nick.
What a sweet friend.  We went together, then surprised Nick with a bunch of friends and the tiny kitten on his 17th  birthday.

Fat Cat Series, Daily Drawings, Art Journaling, Cats, Kittens, Animals

Fat Cat Series # 5

Cat is unpredictable.  She's warm and cuddly, sweet and affectionate one minute, and then, for no reason at all,  agitated and nasty,  scratching and biting the next. I remember the vet telling me that cats taken from the litter too young can grow up to be "holy terrors".  When I asked her, skeptically, what exactly she meant by that, she just said, " oh, you'll find out".  She called that one right!

Cat, in peaceful repose after a splendid nights sleep. All is well in Cat's world right now.

Fat Cat Series, Cats, Sketches, Daily Drawing, Art Journals,

Fat Cat Series # 4

Large and lazy kitty, finally on her tummy, contemplating getting up off the bed for a while. Probably to check to see if her food dish has anything in it. 
She gets exceedingly anxious if she finds it empty.

Fat Cat Series, Daily Drawings, Art Journaling, Cats, Kittens,

Cat wasn't always called Cat.  We always name out cats, but regardless of any given name they almost always end up, "Cat" or "Kitty".

Yet another position of very lazy, very fat and slothful kitty















A slothful kitty isn't pretty,
But pretty funny
 When you tickle her tummy.

Fat Cat Series, Art Journaling, Daily Sketches, sketching,sketchy, drawings,drawing,art, Cats, Kittens

We were told Cat was 8 weeks old, but when we picked her up she was itty bitty, not yet weened and somewhat frail. But precious. The single mother of toddlers who sold us Cat was stressed out and wanted the kittens GONE.  The vet guessed Cat was 4 weeks at best.

She developed diarrhea ( can be deadly in such a tiny, young creature) and we had to watch over her carefully night and day for weeks. She was fed formula out of a bottle.

This Cat loves to eat.  She meows incessantly when she finds her food dish empty, even if she isn't at all hungry.  It's the principle of an empty dish, to this fat cat.

Fat Cat Series, Daily drawings and sketches of Cats,Art Journaling,Doodles,Drawing

It's been a couple of months since I made the commitment to draw every single day.  I should have started this 10 years ago when I began my art career in earnest.   I'm loving it and it's a great discipline.

An easy subject is my cat, Cat.  She's the first thing I see each morning (since she sleeps at the foot of the bed and since hubby is up by 4:30 am), so I just grab one of my art journals, a cup of coffee, and start drawing away!  I thought I'd resurrect my blog by sharing the sketches.

So here is the first of:

The story of my cat, take her home.
Drove for hours, kept her warm inside.
Story of my cat. ( story of, story of)
Story of my cat, I gave her milk
Stayed up all night
Nursed her back to health.
Story of my cat.  ( story of, story of)

As you can see, Cat loves to eat.  She developed a problem with food shortly after she was spayed. I'm not going into theories of why that might be; just providing a bit of the back story.
She spends a great deal of time on the bed.
Or at her food dish.

This cat has personality plus.  And she exudes it in her body language, which makes her a great sketching subject.

See you tomorrow.

Awesome Art Studio Tips Fine Art Original Paintings by Tracy Haines

Hello and welcome to my blog that's being resurrected for my tens of followers. Well....... fives? OK- one or two? But we are going to change that! Maybe.  I'm currently re-evaluating which social media sites it's best to focus on since time, for all of us, is limited!


If you'd love a preview of next Tuesdays Tuesday Art Tips, here it is below as promised on the facebook trailer you probably just watched.  Click the active link below.  Let me know what you think!

Awesome Art Studio Tips

Storing Acrylic Paints by Tracy Haines

If you paint in acrylics and are tired of wasting paint because of the fast dry time, try this!


A short video on storing acrylic paints:

This painting has SOLD

How to Frame a Pastel Painting by Tracy Haines

Remember Mario Brothers?  Well, either my computer is acting up or I don't know what I'm doing exactly on today's blog post.  ( It has been a while since I've posted.)  If you would like to see a short video clip on how to frame a pastel painting, you must click on this link, then another link will pop up and that will activate the movie.
ENJOY!
How to frame a pastel painting

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Thanks and have a GREAT day!