Day Twenty Two 09/22/16 Thirty Paintings in 30 Days

I missed a few days painting during this challenge.  My husband had a mini-stroke Saturday night and was admitted for observation and treatment.  He developed garbled speech for about 80 minutes. This cleared up at the hospital. I had given him 2 aspirins before we went to the hospital and that sure helped. He was discharged on Aspirin and Plavix.  His symptoms occurred again two days later.  He was admitted again.  This time the garbled speech lasted about 8 hours, on and off.  No new treatment was given.  So far all his head scans and MRI's have been ok.  We see a neurologist in the morning for whatever comes next.

We spent a quiet day at home today.  Kind of waiting for something to happen, but thankfully nothing did.  I was able to paint some. It was therapeutic for me to go up to my studio and think about something else, or just not think at all.  Thoughts can be scary at times like this.

Hope you like my sunflowers.  They cheered me up some.

Day Nineteen, 09/19/16 Thirty Paintings in 30 Days

Day Eighteen 09/18/16 Thirty Paintings in 30 Days

Today I did not have much time to paint, so I worked on another abandoned painting.  My husband Lanier had a TIA last night at 8:30pm.  His speech was garbled. He knew what he wanted to say but could not correctly verbalize himself. This is known as 'expressive aphasia'.  Since I have spent the last 35 years in Cardiology assessing and treating patients, I knew exactly what to do.  I first noticed the exact time, then checked his blood pressure,  pulse and noticed the rhythm of his pulse.  Then I did a neuro exam which included:  asking him to stick out his tongue and move it side to side; blow up your cheeks, make a smile, frown, blink your eyes, follow my moving finger with your eyes, hold your arms out straight in front of you with your eyes closed (they should both stay up), shrug your shoulders, squeeze my finger with each hand, lift both legs, lift your feet, push down on your feet, stand up, walk heel-toe heel-toe, say your alphabet, who is the President, what day is today, how old are you?  He still could not speak correctly after this quick 5 minute exam.  I gave him two 325mg aspirin (non coated) and got him in the car and took him to the ER.  On the way there, I called the ER and told them I was bringing in my husband who was having his first stroke. I told them to start the "Stoke Protocol at 8:30pm".  I gave them his name and a very brief medical history. I then held my husband's hand while I carefully hauled ass to the ER. We got there safe and sound, and there was absolutely no wait as I told them at check-in that I called in a "Stroke Protocol at 8:30pm".  He was immediately taken to triage and was in a CT scanner within 5 minutes of arrival. His symptoms resolved within 80 minutes.  He was not given the "clot buster" since his speech returned to normal. At the two hour window, he was fine.  You only have a two hour window!  Time is brain. If his speech difficulty had not resolved, he would have been given the TPA.  If you wait at home trying to decide if you have an emergency or not, and the two hour window is up, the damage to the brain will extend and a full blown stroke occurs.  The brain is not very forgiving.  He was admitted,  had more tests and we were home the next day by 2pm.  He was put on Plavix to take in addition to his lipid lowering drugs and his baby aspirin.  I will watch him closely for a week, as the first week after the first TIA is a high risk time to have a full blown stroke.
God is good and was merciful to us!

Day Seventeen 09/17/16 Thirty Paintings in 30 Days

Today's painting is of my 3 year old granddaughter Sidney Kate wearing the cutest hat you have ever seen! She was at a pool and her picture was taken and it was adorable. I tried to paint this one quick and loose.  I hope I have captured her personality.

Day Sixteen 09/16/16 Thirty Paintings in 30 Days

I started this painting of my three year old granddaughter Sidney Kate during a recent online acrylic workshop.  I was unable to successfully move the acrylics around so I finished this one in oils.
I am so glad you can apply oils over acrylics as I worked really hard getting her shapes and landmarks right in the acrylic medium.
I am learning skin tones and little tips about portrait painting from Victoria Bush at my art class.  I am also watching some YouTube videos and DVD's.
One day I would like to go to a portrait workshop.  But I have lots to learn first.  I never in a million years thought I would like to paint portraits, but I do like the challenge!

I hope you like this one.

Day Fifteen 09/15/16 Thirty Paintings in 30 Days

I have been working on my granddaughter Gracie's portrait for awhile now.  I started it in acrylics while taking an online acrylic workshop. I just could not adjust to moving the acrylics around. So I abandoned my efforts and moved on.
I have since started the 30 day challenge.  I decided to get it back out and finish her up with my oils.  I am new to portraits and I know I have a lot to learn. I sure hope Gracie does not mind me practicing on her.  She is a beautiful eleven year old who is precious in every way.
Gracie, I promise I will get better and I will do another portrait of you!!!

Day Fourteen 09/14/16 Thirty Paintings in 30 Days

I have been wanting to learn portrait painting for awhile now.  I have been admiring portraits that I see on Social Media, watching some YouTube videos of artists posting a portion of their process, studying color mixing of different skin tones and have watched several instructional DVD's on portrait painting.
So I decided to take the plunge and I signed up for a portrait workshop online.  This one was in acrylics and I have never painted with acrylics.  And I have never done a portrait.  This was not the best combination for me.  For me to learn something new at my age and stage, I have to really watch, observe, see, then again watch, observe, see,  then have someone explain it to me step by step over and over again, then watch, observe, see!!! You get the picture!
Anyway I tried! The poor teacher tried! I started 4 portraits in acrylics.  I cheated on one and  just did the back view as I was so frustrated with acrylics.
Then they dried and I played around with my oil paints on them. That was little better, at least I knew the medium.
I learned a big lesson:  go in person to a workshop to try something new!!! My teacher agreed!!

All in all, I am glad I took the step.  It got me to paint some portraits.  Progress!!

Today's painting is from a Master Painter that I absolutely love, Nicolai Fechin.  He was trained in the Russian manner and painted sensitive and dramatic portraits of men, woman and children.  He represented humanity.
He was born in Kazan, Russia in 1881.  He trained under Ilya Repin and had a successful art career in St. Petersburg, Russia . He married his wife Alexandra in 1913 and had a daughter named Eya the next year.  In 1923, he emigrated to the US with his family to New York City.  He was very successful in NYC.  He sold over $30,000 worth of paintings in his first 4 months and this was in the 1920's. After developing tuberculosis his doctor advised he move to a dry climate.  He then moved to Taos, New Mexico in 1926 and later to California where he continued to paint and had an art school.  In Taos, he painted mostly Native and Spanish-Americans. Taos was a quiet, little known village at that time.  Now it is the world famous "Art Colony of the Southwest."  The adobe house he lived in is now used as the Taos Art Museum.

Fechin died in October of 1955,

at his home in Santa Monica with his dog Pepper at the age of 73,  after a very successful career.  His wife had divorced him in 20 years earlier and his daughter Eya was two months away from having her first baby, which would have been his only grandchild.   The Russian artist Sergei Bongart bought the Santa Monica canyon studio where Fechin had lived and painted there until his own death in 1985.

Some of Fechin's paintings and portraits along with his work table and easel are on display in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.  The rest of his works are displayed in different countries with the largest collection back in his homeland of Kazan, Russia.

I decided to copy this Master with my first portrait in oil. I chose Fechin's Girl with Red Hair.