Justin and Melissa

16"x20" acrylic on gallery canvas

Here is the finished painting. I was unsure how I wanted to treat the background. I decided to have fun with the brush strokes and created a sense of nature behind them with the green and brown tones. Overall I am very happy with the finished piece. Now I am looking forward to giving it to the happy couple. I hope they are happy with it.

I made some progress this weekend and worked on Justin's face and also started with the hands. All in all I think its coming along nicely. Working in a fast paced promotional/advertising environment every day, I am used to working quickly to meet deadlines. I am making a conscious effort to slow down and not rush with my painting, take breaks and come back fresh.

I have been very busy these last few weeks so I have had to put the painting on hold. I did however  have time this weekend and I really enjoyed myself. I worked on Melissa's face and managed to get a good likeness of her. Portraits can be challenging in acrylic but I enjoy the medium and I am happy with the progress. Next I will move onto Justin's face and try to get a likeness of him.

Its been a while since I did a portrait painting but I enjoy doing them. Above is the painting I am currently working on. I have blocked in some values of color. Now lets see if I can capture a good likeness moving forward.

Evolving Meadow

10"x20" Acrylic on Canvas

This is a painting of Blackwell Forest Preserve in Illinois. A place my family and I enjoy visiting. I love the natural beauty of this area. It makes me feel like I am far from home and I can slow down a bit and enjoy the creation thats all around me.

I think I am going to enter this one into the Danada Nature Art Show.

Warren Dunes State Park

8"x10" acrylic on Canvas Board

Had a great time camping at Warren Dunes for a few days this week. I did this plein air painting on the beach. I thought it turned out well. There were a ton of people coming and going but I decided to leave them out of this one. Seagulls were flying around and they happened to land on the driftwood log in front of me. I tried to capture this in the painting. I loved the way the trees faded to a faint blue and blended into the water in the background. The trees and greenery had so much texture and variety of shape. I had fun painting this and I have really enjoyed  painting on site. It is very challenging but also very rewarding.

Silver Lake

8"x10" acrylic on Canvas Board

I did this plein air painting on Vacation this weekend at a cottage in Michigan. It was so much fun and relaxing. It has been a while since I have done a painting and posted to my blog. So I am exited to finally post something again. I am pleased with the way this one turned out.

Vacation was a blast and much needed. We camped for 2 nights and stayed with my Mother-in-law and my Uncle at the cottage for 2 nights. I really enjoyed spending time with family and seeing my kids so happy and having such a good time. I am truly blessed.

3 Pears

6"x6" acrylic on masonite

for purchase information contact me at miedemastudio@earthlink.net

I spotted these pears at the fruit market and thought they were so beautiful. What caught my eye was not only the unique shapes but the varied color of each one. I love how the reds blend into the greens. I was surprised to find that one had a leaf still attached. I could not decide which one I wanted to paint so I painted 3.

Cat

6"x6" acrylic on Canvas Board

for purchase information contact me at miedemastudio@earthlink.net

I did this painting for "The Whole Cat and Kaboodle Challenge" at http://www.dailypaintworks.com

Banana's

Finally found some time to do a painting. I managed to paint this one in less than an hour. I am not enjoying these late nights at work. Really missing my painting time. Hopefully by the end of the month I will be back to it.

NO PAINTING TIME

I have been extremely busy at work and have been working very late hours. I am sorry to say that my painting a day has been put on hold or at least slowed down quite a bit. It's going to be like this for at least a month or so. Hopefully I can squeeze a few in these next few weeks?

Pair of Pears 2

6"x6" acrylic on masonite

for purchase information contact me at miedemastudio@earthlink.net

Strawberry Plate

 I am usually not one to go back into a daily painting but I couldn't help myself. It took on a different look when I looked at it with my eyes open this morning. I really felt the painting needed some depth. Below is what I saw but above makes the painting more dynamic. I am happy with the change.

6"x6" acrylic on masonite

for purchase information contact me at miedemastudio@earthlink.net