The Blue Monarch

Turns out, I've been on a bit of an insect kick. Perhaps it was the summer season. Or maybe it's just that we live in the country and are constantly surrounded by bugs.

Let me veer off on a tangent for a moment and just share this right here:



That, my friends, is a caterpillar. He has shaggy fur-hair that reminds me of pipe cleaners. I found him eating our milkweed late in the summer. After much research I learned that he is (very appropriately named) a milkweed caterpillar.

But back to my latest painting.

8"x8"
Oil on board

This, along with the praying mantis I just finished, have been fun little paintings. I don't normally work on these smaller sizes but somehow I've accumulated quite a few of these small canvases. They are perfect for painting little insects like this butterfly :)

I also did some experimenting here with the board. I've had issues using store-bought boards in the past where they seem to absorb the paint inconsistently. So before starting, I coated the board with gesso... which I've never used before. I'm amazed by how smooth the surface was! Almost too slick. But I do like the effect it has and I can see preferring the appearance over canvas for certain projects.

So why did I choose blue? No good reason except that, as I stared at my paint options, blue seemed more fun than orange.

Mantis

I almost forgot to post this little guy:

5"x7"
Oil on Canvas

This is sort of an end of summer painting. This praying mantis was hanging out on our deck one day. I can remember being a kid and thinking it was such a special thing to see one. But now we see them all. the. time. They're still neat little bugs though.

Prints are available here: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/praying-mantis-caroline-serafinas.html?viewall=true

Sketches of the Month

I made a new resolution.



I wanted to create more art. But time is hard to find around here. So I bought myself a small sketchbook and a travel pack of drawing pencil. So now when I'm sitting on the couch watching tv I can multitask.

And so far it seems to be working.

Baby M passed out on my chest

 

A toy marble

 

Baby M in her toy glasses

This last one if my favorite <3 It took me a bit longer than planned. (But people are hard to draw!) But I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out.

Three drawings in the last three weeks ain't bad. Although funny story... I first titled this post "Sketches of the Week" before realizing my mistake. Ha ha ha...

My true goal would be to get back to painting more. So if someone knows how to make oil painting more portable, please share!

 

A Painting for a Cause (Please Help Me Raise Money!)

Posting on the blog has been slow these days. (I blame the babies.) But conveniently, the last thing I posted about was this painting I did to raise money for a charity. So you only need to scroll down to the previous post to view :)

To recap:

I finished this painting last year with the intent of using it to raise money to support the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. In the past I've walked in PurpleStride Washington DC to help raise money. The team, Team Hammertime, was started after pancreatic cancer took my best friend's dad- a man I had known pretty much my whole life.

There are babies in those bellies!

So this year I'm doing something a little different. I am a virtual walker (because I have a conflict that weekend). To raise money for the team I'm going to raffle off this original painting:

HERE'S HOW TO ENTER:

1) Simply go to my page to donate: Click Here

2) Make a donation! 

**Make sure you donate to my personal page and fill out all required information. This is the only way I can track your name, donation amount, and have an email address with which to contact you later should you win.**

You will receive one entry in my virtual raffle for each $25 you donate. 

$25=1 entry. $50=2 entries. $75=3entries. etc...

This is my first time attempting something like this, so let's hope it goes smoothly! The DC walk is on June 11th. So after that date I will randomly select a winner for the painting and contact the winner via email. I can ship (within the contiguous U.S)! So please share with your friends.

ABOUT THE PAINTING:

It's a 16x20" oil on canvas. I hope you're a Ravens fan. See this post for details.

And if you do not win you can still feel good about yourself. From the PanCan website:

"It is estimated that more than 53,000 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year, and more than 41,700 will die from the disease. In 2016 it will be the third leading cause of cancer death, with a five-year relative survival rate of just 8%. Pancreatic cancer has the lowest five-year relative survival rate of any major cancer.
Historically, pancreatic cancer research has been underfunded. Only approximately 2 percent of the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) budget is allocated to this leading killer. We know from the relatively high survival rates associated with breast cancer and HIV/AIDS that federal research funding levels matter in the fight to find new cures and directly relate to improved survival rates.
Your donations will help to change these dismal statistics by funding research grants, advocacy efforts, patient support, and awareness activities coordinated by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network."

Painting the Purple

16"x20"
Oil on canvas

I finished up another one.... probably my last painting of the year. I started this painting earlier in the year... like March/April... and never finished. 

So, obviously there's a Raven's theme going on here... the raven... the football... the purple.

But I actually painted this with something else in mind. For the past couple of years I've walked in the PurpleStride to raise money for pancreatic cancer. The walk in DC is usually around the June time frame. Purple is their color. My original intent was to sell or raffle off the original painting or do something to raise money. But then I had a conflict and couldn't do the walk this year. So then the painting never got finished. Until just a few weeks ago.

I'd still like to keep my plan. Even if it's a year later. So once I get my act together and figure out what I want to do, I'll post about that. Stay tuned.