Gumballs Found a New Home!

Gumballs
Original oil painting by Jane McElvany Coonce

Every Christmas, we attend a White Elephant party.  Everyone who attends is to bring a gift that the person has found in their attic.  The gifts are supposed to be funny and ridiculous.  Several years ago, Tom won this gum ball machine.  He loved it and has proudly displayed it in our kitchen ever since.  He keeps a jar of pennies by it so that people can help themselves to the gum.  It's a big hit with my sons and their friends.  

I painted the gum ball machine and the jar of pennies back in 2013.  I've always liked this painting and has been surprised that it hadn't sold.  The paintings I like seem to take a long time to sell, and the ones that aren't at the top of my list, sell the first time I show them.   I've never really understood this phenomenon, but it happens a lot.   

I put this painting down at The Art League at the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria.  I got an email yesterday that it sold!  I was thrilled, but also glad that a painting that I really enjoyed painting and that I really liked was finally validated by someone wanting to own it.  Not that a paintings value is based on whether it sells or not, but I've often wondered why the paintings I love the most take the longest to sell.  For an artist, it's one of those mysteries of life.

Big Sky Series No. 4 and 5

This snow has kept me in the house painting like a mad woman.  I'm trying to get all of these "Big Sky" paintings done by the end of March.  Actually, I need to have them done by next weekend so they have time to dry and time to be framed.  Both of these paintings are small ones, 6 x 6 inches.  I have beautiful gold plein air frames to put on them.  I'm finishing up another one today and have one more that needs some work before I can sign it.

All of my big sky paintings will be in the featured artists exhibit at Gallery Underground in April.
Mark your calendars for the reception:  Friday, April 3 from 5-8 in Crystal City.

Bright Skies Over Georgetown
oil painting by Jane McElvany Coonce

Fleeting Light Over Georgetown
oil painting by Jane McElvany Coonce

The Winter of 2015

After a Day of Sledding
watercolor by Jane McElvany Coonce

Since many of you are sitting at home watching the snow fall, I thought I would entertain you with some of my winter scenes.  Hopefully, winter is almost over, and I'll have to put my winter scenes away until next year.  People don't really buy winter scenes when the temperature is 95 degrees outside.

Black Capped Chickadee
watercolor by Jane McElvany Coonce

Winter scenes usually have cooler colors in them.  What do I mean by cooler colors?  Cooler colors are usually blues and purples.  When you think of snow, you don't think of red or orange.warm colors.  (Yellow is a warm color, but I don't want to talk about yellow snow except to say that you shouldn't eat it.)  The snow reflects the colors of the sky.  So on a gray day, the snow will look like shades of lavender.  On a blue sky winter day, the snow will have blue reflecting in it's shadows.

Snow is beautiful to look at, and also, it's beautiful to paint.  But after this winter, I'm ready for some warm and even hot weather.  I promise not to complain this summer when it gets to be 95 degrees!

Snow at Mt. Vernon
watercolor by Jane McElvany Coonce

The Art League Juried Show -March 2015

Catching the Bus
watercolor painting by Jane McElvany Coonce

Today was the jurying for the March 2015 juried show at The Art League.  They have a juried show each month and I always try to enter.  It pushes me to do my best work because competition is stiff.  It's also a crap shoot because on any given day you could be picked or not.  Each month, it's a different juror and each juror has their own preferences and taste.

I was thrilled that my piece, "Catching the Bus," was selected for this month's show.  Only about 100 piece out of 450 pieces were selected.  I always feel like I won the lottery when I get in the show.

I did this piece from a photo I took in New York.  My son and I rode the bus up to the city and I sat in the front seat so that as we pulled into New York early in the morning, I could snap pictures as we drove down the street.  I got some great shots and this is one of the paintings I did from that series of photos.

The show is in Old Town Alexandria in the Torpedo Factory.  It will be up for the month of March.  If you get a chance, stop by and see it.

Big Sky No. 3

Evening Sky Over Georgetown
oil painting by Jane McElvany Coonce

Here's another of my "Big Sky" series.  This is the first one that was an evening sky.  Someone asked me what I was going to do with all these big sky paintings.  The answer is that I am going to show them in April at the Gallery Underground in Crystal City.  I have been chosen the featured artists of the month, so they will group all of my painting together and you'll get to see the whole collection of the Big Sky works.  I  need to get busy though because I haven't finished all of them yet.  I have all the skies done, but not the views of Key Bridge and Georgetown.  I've been sort of side tracked by looking at granite and cabinets as we redo our kitchen.  But the carpenter started today, so hopefully I will be able to concentrate on painting again real soon.

Big Sky No. 2

Georgetown Under the Big Sky No. 2
oil painting by Jane McElvany Coonce

So here's my 2nd "Big Sky Painting".  This time , I used a photo I took when the sky was brilliantly blue, which doesn't happen very often in Washington.  But when it does, the sky is gorgeous!
Although I'm not a meteorologist, I think these are cumulous clouds.  The interesting thing about sky is that it reflects in the water; on a blue sky day, the Potomac is as blue as can be.  On overcast days, it's a bit more murky looking.  I don't know if you have driven down the George Washington Parkway recently, but the water is white!  It's totally frozen over.  It's actually quite pretty.

My next sky painting will be an evening sky with clouds.  It's my favorite so far.

Big Sky Series- No. 1

Big Sky Over Georgetown No. 1
oil painting by Jane McElvany Coonce

I've started a new series called the "big sky" series, and I'm incorporating it into an old series of the Key Bridge and Georgetown.  Each semester in my classes, I try to think of a new project for my students to do.  Some people have been in my classes for years, and they need new ideas to inspire them.  This semester I decided to do "big skies."  In this type of painting,  2/3 to 3/4 of the painting is about the sky.  In a normal landscape, the sky is usually a backdrop for the main event.  However when the sky is the focal point, the artist focuses on the sky and the clouds and has them make the big statement.  But I still can't escape my favorite bridge and my favorite subject.  So I put a small Key Bridge and Georgetown in the distance to show how big the sky is in comparison to our world.

I have to say these "cloud paintings" are becoming addicting.  I'm really enjoying them.  I've done day scenes with white cumulous clouds and evening scenes with wispy purple clouds.  I'm trying to get 6 done for a show in April at the Gallery Underground.  I will be the featured artist that month and I wanted to have a theme.  So I will do the unveiling of my big sky paintings at the April reception (although you are getting a preview of what will be at the show.)  Mark your calendars for Friday, April 3 at the Gallery Underground in Crystal City.  The Big Sky paintings will be up for the month of April.

I will put more of my big sky paintings up in the next few days.  Let me know what you think.