New York Tulips

New York Tulips
Originally uploaded by Normita.

This is my latest painting, I've lost count now. It's based on a photo my sister took of New Your tulips. I loved the vibrancy f the colors.

Still Life

Still life
Originally uploaded by Normita.

This is the second painting I did on canvas. It was done with craft paints. It's a still-life of one of my favorite pitchers, flowers and hat. It's pretty flat looking, but it is my early work.

Michael's favorite things

Michael's favorite things
Originally uploaded by Normita.

This is the very first painting I did on canvas. It was done with craft paints, but came out surprisingly vivid. It's a still-life of my husband's favorite things. Not surprisingly it includes one of his many remotes.

Mini painting

Mini painting
Originally uploaded by Normita.

This is a small 8 x 10 painting I did before I started taking Acrylics classes. It's based on a photo I took at Bear Creek Boy Scout camp. It's a bit cartoony, but it's my early work.

Mini paintings

Mini paintings
Originally uploaded by Normita.

These are some mini paintings I did when my sister encouraged me to paint from my imagination. They're really small - 4 inches by 4 inches. The third one isn't quite done yet.

Cloud formation

Cloud formation
Originally uploaded by Normita.

This is my tenth painting. It's based on a photo I took outside my backyard. I walked out and saw this eerie cloud formation. I love the blues in this painting. The original photo was more gray than blue.

Daisy in the Fall

Daisy in the fall (final)
Originally uploaded by Normita.

This is my ninth painting. It's based on a photo I took of my dog Daisy in the fall. It's one of my smaller paintings - 8 X 10, where most of my others are 16 X 20.

Fragile flower

Fragile flower
Originally uploaded by Normita.

This was my 8th painting overall. It was also based on a photo
that my sister took in New York. I was drawn to the flowers fragility and luminosity. I think I failed to capture those two elements but I include it in my blog to show the progression of my painting.

Soda Boxes

Soda boxes
Originally uploaded by Normita.

This was my 7th painting overall. It was of a photo my sister took in New York of a pile of soda boxes. I was drawn to it because of the different angles and the faded colors.

The boats

The boats
Originally uploaded by Normita.

This was my 6th painting. It was also from a National Geographic magazine. I was drawn to it by the rich wood of the boats and the light infused water. I did this painting after my painting class ended so I had no help with it. The water gave me more grief than anything else I've painted. After many days of trying to get the water "right", my son Stephen said "Mommy, just stop now or you'll mess it up. It's done!" So I quickly painted the gloss on it before I could change my mind and he was right. It was done! His reward was - he got to keep the painting.

Girl on a horse

Girl on a horse
Originally uploaded by Normita.

This was my 5th painting. It was from a National Geographic picture. I wish I had saved the article it was from because I get a lot of questions about it. I was drawn to the rich red background, the horse's eyes and the blue jean jacket. I framed it with a rustic frame since it was the only one that looked right!

The gateway

The gateway
Originally uploaded by Normita.

This was my 4th painting. It's from a photo I took on a walk along the San Antonio Riverwalk. I was drawn to the light and shadows of the gateway and the beautiful green mold growing on the wall. Painting the straight lines gave me grief. I tried to use tape but the paint bled underneath. I tried a ruler but had the same problem. I finally had to do it by hand. That's why the lines are slighlty shaky!

Cone flower

Cone flower
Originally uploaded by Normita.

This was my first painting using real Acrylics in a tube! I did this in a class environment and had help from my teacher.

A history of my Art

My mother won't confirm this, but I believe I was born with a pencil in my hand. The need to re-create everything I saw around me has always been strong. I used to get in trouble with my mom because I always used up my school paper to draw on.

I'm relatively new at painting. Paintbrushes always seemed alien in my hand, unlike my trusty No. 2. I felt like I had little control over where the paint decided to flow. This is difficult for a control-freak like me.

The only reason I ever picked up a paintbrush was because my friend Toni asked me to paint something. I can't even remember what it was, but it was probably something ridiculous that she found on the side of the road. Toni is the queen of creating art out of junk. She knew I was pretty good with a pencil so she figured I must be good with a paintbrush as well.

I've lost count of how many things I've painted for Toni (from bowls to breadboxes), but the practice was perfect. One day, my sister Flor gave me some 16 X 20 canvas that she was getting rid of. I think I contemplated it for months, and then one day, I got brave!

The first painting I did on canvas was a gift for my husband, Father's day I think. It portrayed three of his favorite things: his UTSA baseball cap, his trusty flashlight and his remote control. I have to admit, I was stunned at how accurately I painted them. I've always had an abnormal eye for detail, but the fact that I was able to capture it with a paintbrush of all things, truly astonished me. The funny part is that I used craft paints, you know the kind you buy at the hobby stores in a bottle.

My second painting was a still life of a pitcher of flowers and a straw hat, again using craft paints.

Then last year I decided to sign up for an Acrylics class through local community education. I finally was introduced to real Acrylic paints, in a tube!! To date I've painted over 10 paintings on canvas and can safely say I feel almost as comfortable with a paintbrush in hand as a pencil, almost!

Sylvia's painting

This is a painting I did for my friend Sylvia. It's based on an old black and white photo. She wanted it in color and in more detail than the original photo. She actually took me to the actual table at Brackenridge Park so I could get photos of the table. Whew, it was tough.