Cheerful Beginnings

Hello out there!

I hope you all enjoyed some festivities these past couple weeks! Around here, we've had our fair share of celebrations, as well as some significant reasons for reflection on life. So, knowing I'm not alone in that, I thought I'd post a few pictures to spread some cheer. I looked around my house and found a few things I thought might brighten your day and mine. Enjoy!

"Fearfully and Wonderfully Made"
Oil on Canvas, 18 x 24"  Copyright 2011 Lisa Smouter
Limited edition prints available in various sizes.

And now, here's a little something I made for a little fan of the Disney movie "Tangled" -- I think there are quite a few little girls out there who will recognize this image of Rapunzel and the floating lights.

Born to be...

I'm blaming it on all the thought-provoking things I listened to while painting--this particular blog post isn't all fluff. Just warnin' ya :)

But first, I thought I'd give you a complete look at the finished painting for my sister. The Alumni show at Redeemer is all wrapped up--to my chagrin, there was no guest book so I have no idea who, if anyone, went to check it out!

Completed painting of Italy, Cinque-Terre (Manarola)
Oil on Canvas, 24x30"
Copyright 2012 Lisa Smouter

This will most likely be my last painting I blog about for the year 2012, but I do have some crafty stuff and a couple whimsical paintings on the go right now :) This Italy painting was a joy to work on, and I could do it (mostly) in complete confidence--but whimsical, imaginitive things...well...I think it's probably good for the soul to let loose and say "I have NO idea what I'm doing!!" If I eventually sum up the courage, I'll show you some of those pieces. For now, I feel very strongly that my 2 year old daughter is doing a better job of it than I.

Chalk it up to an Education

It seems that all the flyers stuffed in my newspaper are announcing the return of school....

Why are they in such a hurry? Summer is in high gear, and as far as this blog goes I'm still stuck in June! Here are some photos of my latest assignment, a chalk pastel drawing commissioned by a School Board as a gift for a departing principal.

Still Life drawing
Chalk Pastel on Stonehenge, approx. 14x16"
Copyright 2012 Lisa Smouter

Remember those assignments where the parameters are so wide open, it consequently leaves your eyes wide open at night trying to figure out what to do?

This was one of those.

It Only Takes a Spark...

A portion of a painting in progress. Italy, Cinque-Terre, Manarola. Oil on Canvas with acrylic underpainting, 24 x 30"

You know how they say "it only takes a spark"

My old stomping grounds, Redeemer University College, recently held a match to the back-ends (ha!) of my paintbrushes and let them burn to nearly nothing. Just to see how fast I could complete a painting.

Their method was pretty effective, I must say.