On The Road To Rock Creek Tavern

11"x 14"
acrylic on masonite

For those of you who live in Oregon and are familiar with McMenamins' Rock Creek Tavern, this painting is of a photo taken on the road right in front of it. We were on our way to the Plumper Pumpkin Patch and luckily my husband was driving so I could take this photo.
I'm still working on trying to take better photos of my artwork...January's project!!!

Click on image for larger view.

Karin's Buddha

5"x 7"
acrylic on masonite

Here is my latest entry to Karin Jurick's weekly challenge. It is a picture of her Buddha. I am still trying to learn to take good photos of my artwork. My list of "Things to Learn" continues to grow! Hopefully I can focus on this in January!
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Danny Gregory's Post-it Party

Post-It Party

If you have not heard of Danny Gregory, I encourage you to visit his site. He does wonderful drawings of every day things and has written several books about drawing and creativity, the most recent being "An Illustrated Life". He is now teaching a drawing class and posted about an exercise they did in their class. Each person was given a small section to draw and the final image was revealed when all the drawings were put together! I thought it was a wonderful idea that could be adapted for many different uses. Please check out the complete entry: http://www.dannygregory.com/

Upside Down

8"x 10"
acrylic on masonite

Here is my entry in this week's Different Strokes challenge. The twist (or flip) to this challenge was that we were to paint 90% of it upside down.... not me, the painting and image! I frequently turn my paintings or drawings upside down or use a mirror to see them from a different angle. However, I have never painted something from start to almost finish upside down and it was a great exercise.
As Karin Jurick put it when she explained the challenge, " By flipping the image, you're more likely to render what you see, and not what you know. You are guided by shapes, blocks of color - logic goes out the window."

TED Video On Creativity And Play

Just watched a very interesting and fun TED video on creativity and play:

"At the 2008 Serious Play conference, designer Tim Brown talks about the powerful relationship between creative thinking and play -- with many examples you can try at home (and one that maybe you shouldn't). "

If you watch it, I'd love to hear your thoughts! http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/tim_brown_on_creativity_and_play.html

Crosswalk

12"x 12"
acrylic on masonite

Just submitted this painting to Karin Jurick's Different Strokes website. The challenge this week was to paint shadows.
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Bunny With a Toolbelt

Alyson Stanfield has provided me and MANY others with valuable information , advice and encouragement. Currently, she is providing five conversations with successful artists. I recently listened to the interview with Portland artist, Hilary Pfeifer , a.k.a. Bunny With a Toolbelt. Her work is fun, fantastic, colorful? You need to visit her website and decide!

How About Some Words?

A couple of weeks ago I sent out a request for Inspiration Ideas and have received several photos!
But how about some words? Do you have a favorite saying, quote, words of wisdom passed down through the ages or just 'a word' ?
I'd love to hear from you and remember that I am picking one entry a month, to paint or draw, but will keep all the entries and as a "thank you for the inspiration", will give you an art reproduction or set of note cards of your choice! You can leave a comment here or email me at annie@anniesalness.com. Hope to hear from you soon!

U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.

5"x 7"

acrylic on canvas board

My latest entry for Karin Jurick's challenge.
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Pears

5"x 7"
acrylic on masonite

A small painting of pears....'tis the season!
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