Norma Wilson Original Oil Autumn Road Landscape Trees Foliage Nature Paintings Art

"Autumn Woods"

©Norma Wilson, Original Oil, 8" by 10"

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The air is getting that cool crisp feeling once again. My two favorite seasons are Spring and Autumn. Time to get out the extra blanket and drink some hot chocolate.  I had fun staying a bit more loose and impressionistic with this piece. It is always the goal but sometimes quite a challenge not to tighten up again! What are your favorite things about this time of year?

Norma Wilson Original Oil Sacred Lotus Floral Flower Garden Lily Pad Painting Art

"Sacred Lotus"

© Norma Wilson, original oil, 8" by 10"

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It is no wonder these flowers are often used to represent peaceful zen like endeavors. I used to go to a yoga studio called The Blue Lotus. They are amazing flowers growing in ponds amidst the lily pads.

They are very fun to paint too! We need more peace in this world and I hope you can spend time in nature today or experience peaceful moments in the midst of the hustle and bustle or the sad news stories. Have a wonderful day.

Norma Wilson Original Oil Chiffchaff Songbird Aviary Wildlife Painting Art

"Chiffchaff Songbird"

©Norma Wilson, original oil, 5" by 7"

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This little bird is singing it's heart out. Sometimes I try to imagine a world without birds and especially the sound of birds singing which is so comforting and uplifting especially when things feel

so heavy in the world. I love to sit on my screened porch and watch the birds coming to my bird feeder. Last week I had a giant hawk sit on the bird bath! Here is a photo of him or her!

Anyone know what type of hawk this is? I was really startled when I first caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye. The morning light was beautiful and after sitting for quite awhile he headed up into the tree. I bet he makes the squirrels nervous!

Norma Wilson Original Oil Cow Bovine Farm Animals Landscape Painting Art

Two Cow Girls!

©Norma Wilson, original oil on board, 5" by 7"

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This little piece of these two bovine gals meeting at the fence is one of my all time favorites.I love their expression and softness. I want to paint them really large. That is always a little intimidating because you hope you can capture the same feeling. I will let you know how it goes! Have a wonderful day!

Norma Wilson Original Oil Hydrangea Floral Flower Still Life Vase Painting Art

Hydrangea Delight

Absolutely my favorite flower and a challenge to paint! I am please with how this turned out and hope you like it too! This piece is now on auction on ebay. If you follow the link to the listing you can find more information. 

Norma Wilson Original Pastel English Robin Bird Painting

"Ready For Take Off!"

 © Norma Wilson, original pastel on canvas  5" by 7"

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It has been at least ten years since I broke out my pastels and decided to paint with them.  Early on in my art career, I painted exclusively in pastel.  When I started painting in oils, I decided to devote my time to learning and growing as an oil painter and then made several moves that afforded me less space to work in several mediums.  I stuck to acrylic and oil. Now that I am home to my house in Chesapeake, I can spread out and have plenty of room! So I set up a pastel room. Below is the block in stage on a pastel board. I like to get some base colors that I see established and build from there. Usually after the main colors are in, I begin to work the darks more building up from there in a back and forth way adding in nuances of color and adjusting my drawing as needed.  It was amazing how comfortable I felt after being away from pastels so long.

I am excited to do more this week. As you can see, I had more than a few pastels 

just waiting for me to dive back in!

Painting #12 of Thirty Dogs And A Cat Challenge

Talullah

© Norma Wilson, original oil on canvas 12"by 12"

Talullah lives in Virginia Beach with her family and loves napping in the sunlight. I loved the warmth and light in the photo she sent me and had fun painting the comforter!

Sneakers At The Door by Norma Wilson

Sneakers At The Door

© Norma Wilson, original acrylic on canvas 8"x 10"

Available Here

So many memories of boys coming home after school and kicking their shoes off by the door. I never told them to do this but they always did and their friends followed suit. Lots of shoes meant lots of friends and fun being had up in the play room. Wish I knew how fast this time would fly by...

How Can You Paint So Fast?

Photo Of Jake

 Portrait In Oil Of Jake

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About ten years ago, I made the decision to go "pro" and earn a living as an artist. I had been selling my work for about five years but only enough to feed my habit of purchasing art supples, pay for my studio rental, and attend workshops. I was given some advice from a marketing expert who had painted and marketed his work for many years and made quite a mark on the art world. His name was Jack White and I was very sad to learn that he recently passed away. He suggested that I post a painting a day to eBay. This was back in 2006 and artists were earning a lot of money with their own galleries on eBay. He also advised me to post the same time of day and start my bids under 10 dollars.  I took his advice and painted my little heart out. Many days I was just finishing a piece and photographing it right before 9 pm which is when I posted every day. Within a couple of months all my paintings were selling and many were going up quite a bit. As I accumulated feedback and a following many of my one foot squared cow portraits went for over 400 dollars. Aside from how fun it was to earn money almost every day with auctions ending, I was getting a lot better as a painter, and also ALOT faster. Much of what an artist does to create a painting is solve problems. The more
you paint, the quicker you learn to solve common problems and can move on. I remember in my early days as a painter taking months to complete a painting. You really can work a piece to death and sometimes you just can't figure out when it is finished. When I had hundreds of paintings under my belt, I realized that knowing when it was finished came very naturally. Occasionally when I photograph a piece, I will see something that I didn't notice before and can fix it. So the moral of the story, is to PAINT, PAINT, PAINT! I will never forget the night I was in my studio and the news was all doom and gloom about the economy and the housing market. That was the last good week on eBay and it has never been the same. I continued to sell pretty well on the daily painters site but we all had to learn to diversify and find other avenues. If the expense of painting often is daunting because you are not selling your work or not selling much yet, do what I did. I would go to Home Depot and get a large masonite board cut into common sizes and gesso them. Very inexpensive. Thanks so much for stopping by!

What should I paint?

Moonlight Becomes You!

Available In My Print Shop

How do you decide what to paint? I'd love to get feedback on this as we artists are always trying to fill the well of creativity and keep our subject matter fresh and new. Some of my ways are to take photographs when I am out and about...even if I don't end up painting any of those subjects, I find that it takes my focus off the anxiety of what to paint and gets me noticing my environment and all the beauty that surrounds me.  Another is to look at art magazines and find the art that wows me. What is it about the images that draw me. The brush work? The color palette? Edges? Would a new color combination get my creative juices flowing. How about visiting a favorite contemporary artists web sites? That often sparks and idea from my own stack of references or reinforces an idea of my own that I was on the fence about. Painting with a friend is a tremendous help.  Sometimes when I am stuck, a friend will give me an assignment. Like paint a sea gull series. I did that one week and ended up sell two of them on Facebook immediately. I may have stayed in stuck mode without her prompting and without a healthy balance in my pay pal account! The cow above is an example of a prompting from an artist whose workshop I had taken. She said that I should be able to paint a cow from my imagination at this point so I did. And I loved it. She's a little more whimsical than my other cows done more as a portrait of that particular cow. She still has the feeling that all cows give me of sweetness and innocence. So get busy and fill the well and please share in the comments how you find inspiration!

Bovine Sisters And Meditation

Bovine Sisters Return

© Norma Wilson, original oil on canvas 20" by 20"

These gals are pretty laid back. They have a good life grazing in the field in Ireland all day and don't let their thoughts drive them crazy or worry about to do lists or getting enough done.  Ever wish you could be more like that and spend more time in the moment just enjoying what IS.  Usually the IS is pretty o.k....even wonderful if you

can take time to notice. The worry and the angst usually comes from spending time in the past OR the imagined future that exists in our thought filled brains. When I joined the masterclass in March, I noticed that many of the members were long time meditators. I had tried to meditate over the years but had a complicated idea of what I was supposed to be accomplishing. But, I learned that it is pretty simple. Unplug from all the electronics, find a comfortable chair or spot on the floor, set a timer for 10, 15, or 20 minutes and just close your eyes and focus on your breath. Some days, my mind is all over the place. When I notice it, I try to bring it back to just focusing on my breath. I may do this over and over until the alarm on my phone goes off. Some days it feels downright peaceful, others...more like my thoughts are a runaway train. But now, I notice when I skip a day, I feel less calm when the day gets off course....which it usually does. I have read that regular meditation can improve everything from your blood pressure to your memory. I just like the feeling of being in the moment, hearing the birds outside, and knowing that in those moments, all is well.

Geraniums Find A Home

Geraniums In The Sun

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In my last post, I promised I would share how stretching is helping me with my art.  Actually it is helping in both physical ways like getting up and down and doing the work of managing my studio but also metaphorically of stretching how I view myself as an artist. How much time do I want to spend making art? How do I want to market my work and where do I see myself in my dream life ten years from now. I am working at expanding that vision. Being sedentary and stiff is not good for an artist's soul...or  mind.  Success in this area of reaching the floor, has helped to give confidence that I can stretch and grow in all kinds of ways.  Who knows where all this stretching will take me? What ways would you like to stretch in your life?

White Heron On The Beach Thirty Paintings In Thirty Days! Day Thirty!! Woo Hoo!

White Heron On The Beach

© Norma Wilson, original oil on panel 5" by 7" 

Not For Sale

This painting is a study for a larger piece so I will post the larger version some time in the next month. I am so HAPPY to have completed my challenge of thirty paintings in thirty days! I really do well when I am accountable and motivated by a challenge.  The last week I have given a lot of thought to how to continue the momentum and level of productivity.  I decided to join Lisa Call's Master Class.  It is a year long class with a group of artists working with Lisa to take their art and their business to the next level. She has been my coach for the last nine months which has been great and I have been making many changes to my business and life.  I think this new layer of group energy will be awesome.  She has two more spots left in the class! The class doesn't begin until March.  So, tomorrow, the plan is to make a collage of the month's paintings.  If I can not fit all thirty, I will at least do my favorite.  Then, I will be thinking of how I want to move forward and will share my plan with you then.  I have several commissions coming up including a pet portrait, a house portrait including two of the children, and a large portrait of a man for his family.  That should be a good start! Then there is all the business stuff and is so important but often gets lost in all the paint and paintbrushes! I will be getting my taxes together, recording receipts, working on my calendar, inventory, and newsletter.  And getting some of that paint off the hard wood floors. :-(  Thank you for joining me!

Norma Wilson Original Oil Irish Landscape Country Road Impressionism Painting Art

Kerry Road

  © Norma Wilson, original oil on canvas 10" by 10" 

325.

Available Through Gallery

Some of my fondest memories in my life are of time spent in Ireland, my mother's birthplace.  I enjoyed painting this road and imagine myself on a day's venture off to photograph some cows or sheep!  More paintings to paint at every turn. :-)

Thirty Paintings In Thirty Days! - Day Twenty Six

Marsh Wren

6" by 6" original oil on panel

150.

Purchase Information

I began this painting with a wash of red paint in acrylic.  After it dried, I went to work with oils focusing on the darks and creating a strong contrast between the background and the subject's values.  I had so much fun.  I just love painting light!  I also focused on using colorful grays for relief to the brighter colors.  I do love birds!  Have you ever seen one of these birds perched out in the marsh?

Thirty Paintings In Thirty Days- Day One

Sophie

12" by 12" original oil on canvas

425.

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Happy New Year!  I am very excited to start off the New Year by participating in another 30 paintings in 30 Days challenge!  I love how it motivates me to get in my studio and get creative!  I hope you will follow along with me and see what each new day will bring.  Today's post is one of my favorite subjects to paint and she is a beauty who lives across the world in Valentia, Ireland.  She has a lot of character in her face and was a joy to paint!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Norma Wilson Original Oil Cabbage, Leek, And Turnips still life

Cabbage Leek And Turnips

14" by 18" original oil on canvas

495.

Buy It Now

This piece was a demonstration for my oil class.  It was a lot of fun but for some reason we all ended up with paint all over ourselves!  It can get intense when you are working on a larger size painting and trying to complete it all in one session.  Very exciting too!  Hope your holiday season has been fun and as stress free as possible!  Thanks so much for taking time out to visit! 

Norma Wilson Original Oil Sea Gull Shore Bird Coastal Ocean Seascape Painting Art

8" by 8" original oil on wrap around canvas

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It is so much fun to paint these gulls all lit up at dusk!  Hope you are having a great week.  Thanks for stopping by

Eastern Yellow Robin SOLD

Eastern Yellow Robin

5" by 7" original oil on panel

150.

SOLD

Birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain. 

#148 College Pastel Portrait

#148 Name This College!

11" by 14" original soft pastel on paper

I promised to post something every day and REALLY wanted to take today off so I decided to post this pastel that I have never shown before and also talk about the possibility of painting your college or university or the graduate in your life.  It is that time of year when people are graduating and moving on in their life and it would make a lovely gift and momento.  I cannot for the life of me remember this school.  It is a long story how I came to paint it but I am relying on a reader out there to recognize it and let me know!  If you do know the school and are interested in purchasing, just send me an email at normasart@cox.net.  Hope you had a fantastic weekend.  I just walked the beach and had my camera to get some great photos with the wonderful late day light and my camera ran out of a charge half way into my walk...when will I learn!  At least I had my memory card.  I am excited about the week ahead and the painting possibilities that await.  Thanks for visiting!