Spring Rush, mountain waterfall, knife painting

 "Spring Rush"

Good memories: Mountain hikes, melting snow, fast-moving creeks, and streams flowing over their banks. 

This palette knife painting is from a combination of places, but mostly from memories of my grandmother and me at Glacier National Park.  She loved driving through there when we would go visit my great-grandmother in Helena. I loved stopping at the falls and hiking up a bit to take pictures.

It is also a memory of hiking up in the Cabinet Mountains near Libby, Montana where my grandmother lived.  Late spring and early summer there was still lots of snow in the mountains. One summer in the middle of June my brothers and I were hiking and had a snowball fight with our mom!

I started this painting a few years ago.  Like so many I create for an art class, I don't feel they are finished.  Most of my time teaching is spent, well, teaching! I don't pay much attention to what is happening on my easel. With the pandemic and the closing of my gallery, almost everything went into storage.  I pulled this one out last week. I brightened up the highlights, added stronger shadows, and filled in the empty places. 

I have recently destroyed quite a few paintings that were in storage.  My goal this summer was to get them out and do something with them. I had hoped for more positive results. I wanted to make some corrections and/or finish them.  But some just didn't work out.  I am happy this one survived! (You can read more about that here.)

• Original Knife Painting
• Acrylic on hardboard
• Professional Materials
• 11x14 inches
• Ready to frame
• $850.00 includes shipping

Email me: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com  for availability or to have something similar created.

Click here to see more

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Jesus Loves Me, girl writing in sand at the beach

 "Jesus Loves Me"

I've worked on this painting for over a year! 

It truly speaks for itself.

~ Original Art

~ Acrylic on Canvas

~ 14 x 18 inches

~ Not for Sale

Email me for prints of this image! Fawn@fawnsartstudio.com

Click here to see more

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Sea Star

Sugar, white cat, mixed media

"Sugar"

©Fawn McNeill, Dec. 2018

Beautifully strange colored eyes. Sugar made herself at home under my gallery in the spring of 2018.  My students loved her and called her Snowflake.  She would dash in each time the door opened. 

 I felt sorry for her and fed her because she was so skinny and nursing three kittens.  She looked like a kitten herself!  I'm sure it was her first litter.  She was wild and skittish, but she warmed up to us a little.  We found homes for her kittens and I had her fixed. 

I created this painting for my students as an example for one of our classes.  We made the eyes bigger than normal and played up the fluffy fur.  It was a fun class!  

White is a challenge for young students because they don't want to add shadows.  (The cat had to be painted light blue, beige, and pink before the white was added over the top so the fur would show up.) 

Later, I went back and added more details and a few beads above her eye and one on the collar.  It was one of the first in my new mixed-media series and I wasn't too sure how much to add or whether I would like it or not.  The custom blue frame was a perfect match!

I'm not sure why it never got posted. I had it on display at some shows as 'not for sale' and then finally put a price on it at the Unique Boutique when I started selling some of my mixed-media pieces. I think subconsciously that I just wanted to keep it. I've enjoyed the memories it carries of my little gallery and teaching center before the pandemic shut it all down.

~ Original Mixed Media

~ Acrylic on canvas

~ Professional Materials

~ 11 x 14 inches 

~ Custom frame (see below)

~ $750.00 (free shipping in the US)

Click here to see more 

Email me: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com  for availability or for information about having your pet's portrait created in a size you would like! (Custom paintings are priced by size.) 

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New Every Morning, sunrise, beach, waves, sandy shore

"New Every Morning"

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come 

to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

 (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Looking for patterns in the woodgrain for sand and then using that to find the waves is quite satisfying. It is challenging to add layers for the illusion of transparent water and exciting to add the details of seafoam with its interesting patterns and shadows. 

I revisited this painting after hanging it in my bedroom for two months. (I noticed a few things I wanted to change each time I studied it.) This is risky, as I have ruined a painting and had to start over completely.  But now I bravely removed a few shadows, added more seafoam, and brightened some of the splash. I am happy I did it!

I never allowed myself to go back over a painting, thinking, "That was how I interpreted things then, and I should not change it. Don't want to risk ruining it either."  But now I find myself enhancing and correcting some of them, thinking, "It is mine, I can change it if I want!"  (The older I get the the more courageous I get! Too funny.)

This painting is framed in a floater frame. Well, sort of.  I inverted a cradled wood support and painted it to bring out the colors of the sand and then I put the painting in it as if it were a floater frame.  It turned out perfect!

ENJOY!

~ Original acrylic on cradled hardboard

~ Professional Materials

~ 12 x 12 inches (including frame)

~ $800.00 (free shipping in the US)

Click here to see more 

Email me: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com  for availability or to have something similar created.

Click here to read about the trials I have been facing this year.

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Lake Sunset, palm tree, watercolor

"Lake Sunset"

© Fawn McNeill 2022

Isn't this an awesome little demonstration painting?  Demos in watercolor don't usually turn out as well as I would like, but this one went well from start to finish, and includes great memories while teaching it!

I like the simplicity of it as well as the calming colors.  Of course, the strong contrast is always a plus. The cabbage palm tree really sets it all off.  

I just matted this painting.  Enjoy!

~ Original Demo 

~ Watercolor on acid-free watercolor paper 

~ Matted to 8 x 10 inches

~ Ready to Frame 

~ Not available

Click here to see more

A note about framing: Artwork on paper should be framed behind glass with a mat around it to keep it off of the glass and protect it.  This includes photographs and prints on paper.  Those on canvas or wood should not be framed behind glass.  Original oils and acrylics are usually done on canvas or wood and need to breathe.  If artwork or photograph is done on paper or mat board it should be framed behind glass with a mat to keep the image off of the glass. (Glass can trap moisture and ruin the image.)  Click here to read more about framing.

Click here to read about the trials I've been overcoming lately.

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 Beach Study

Morning Splash

 

New Morning, plein air, lake

"New Morning"

© Fawn McNeill 3/18/2023

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end: 

They are new every morning... Lamentations 3:22-23

Didn't get a chance to post this one. I had a hard time getting a good image of it:  too much glare or too much exaggeration of the canvas grain.  

I went out with a new painting group in Vero Beach. We met at the Savannah's Preserve in Fort Pierce. It was a bit windy, but still a lovely morning. I haven't had a chance to get out since, but I do plan to paint with them again.  

~ Original Plein Air Painting

~ Acrylic on canvas

~ Professional Materials

~ 8 x 10 inches

~ Ready to Frame 

~ $525.00 (free shipping in the US)

Email me for availability: Fawn@fawnsartstudio.com 

Click here to see more

On a personal note, my son, Kyle, is fighting cancer and I have been keeping my grandkids when he has treatments, appointments, or trips to the ER. It has been (at times) 3 or more times a week (when he had complications). I enjoy the kids, but it has been rough watching them struggle with watching their dad suffer.  Right now he seems to be doing better. Praying he beats it!

 Between work, teaching classes, taking care of my husband and grandkids, plus trying to find time to paint, it can get overwhelming. But joy does come when I focus on positive things.

Click here to Read More

 

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Morning Stroll, white ibis

"Morning Stroll"

Made a few corrections and added extra details to this little painting from a few years ago.

I gave the grass more shadows and enhanced the water to set the ibis off. I also added more feathers. I just love the blueish hues in the shading. Then I dabbed the water with more sparkle and made it drip from the beak slightly.

This bird was a visitor while I was out painting on location at the Savanna's Recreational Area in Fort Pierce. I got quite a few pictures of him as he walked up and down the edge of the water. 

~ Exclusive Art

~ Original Acrylic on hardboard

~ Professional Materials

~ 6 x 6 inches

~ Ready to Frame 

SOLD

Click here to see more

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Standing Tall, blue heron

"Standing Tall"

Took several attempts with this painting.  Mostly I struggled with the proportions. The neck would be too fat, or the legs too short.  Finally created a good stance and stuck with it! 

The background was just plain fun. I added many layers of color and movement.  I like the contrast between the impressionistic background and the realistic heron.  

The great blue heron is a huge bird.  They are almost as tall as me and their wing span looks about 6 to 7 feet.  They range from a pale light gray to a bluish gray.  Some of them have sienna red markings and black markings.  They are plentiful around here.  They are experts at catching fish too.  It is amazing to watch them swallow a large fish that looks like it could never fit down that neck!

~ Exclusive Art

~ Original Acrylic on hardboard

~ Professional Materials

~ 9 x 12 inches

Sold

Click here to see more

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In the Rock, pine tree, waterfall

 

"In the Rock"

Pulled this out of storage, cleaned it up, made some corrections, added a little waterfall, and put it in a new custom frame with an interesting texture. 

This painting originally started after a visit home to Montana.  I was staying with my brother near Glacier National Park, so I was thrilled to get to go hiking in the mountains again. It had been 5 years or so!  I saw this young pine tree growing right out of the rocks and thought about how life is like that sometimes.  You just have to put down deeper roots, hang in there, and trust in the Lord as your firm foundation.

I added the waterfall for two reasons.  First, I remember crossing a waterfall on a mountain hike when I was 12. It was the first time I froze up while mountain climbing. I should not have looked down!  It was a steep drop-off.  My friend's dad, Paul Miller, rescued me.  He reached back for me.  He helped me walk the thin log that made the bridge for us to cross over.

Second, I thought it would strengthen the composition and give the little tree a drink!

~ Exclusive Art

~ Original Acrylic

~ Professional Materials

~ 8 x 10 inches

~ Custom Frame (see below)

~ $750.00 (free shipping in the US)

Email me for availability: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com

Click here to see more

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Heaven's Glory, Jesus, lion, lamb

"Heaven's Glory"

© Fawn McNeill 2021

I'm not sure how to explain this painting.  I added so much symbolism but had so much uncertainty all at once as I created it. 

Jesus is called the Lion of Judea in the scriptures, and he is also called the Lamb of God. (He was the final sacrifice, the only sinless person, spotless.  Yet he willingly took our sin.  The sacrificed lambs were innocent and carried the sins of the people away each year.)

 Anyway, I was practicing for a large worship painting that I was going to do on stage in front of a large crowd.  But that never happened and this painting was put aside.  I was so disappointed, and I was not sure if it was finished, but I didn't want to change it because it was such a sacred experience while creating it. 

The colors were spontaneous. It made total sense as I moved through the spectrum of energy and light.  I have not altered it. 

I just wanted to share it.  

Blessings to you for Resurrection Sunday!

~ Inspirational Art

~ Original Acrylic

~ 18 x 24 inches

~ Not for sale

Click here to see more

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Set in Stone 2, flowers in a stone planter, mixed media

"Set in Stone, 2"

© Fawn McNeill 2020

Close-up view in warm lighting.

Flowers jumping off the page! Literally!  This is a wonderful combination of color, pattern, and elements.  It is like a song with a beautiful melody.  Even the colors harmonize. Very few compositions come together so well, but this was the second one. The first was a learning experiment, and it was almost as lovely! 

I created this just after closing my gallery from the pandemic, and now it is framed in a wonderful gold frame that sets it off more than I could have hoped for!

Some of the flowers are actually charms that created nice cast shadows. This gives an extra emphasis on the painted shadows. Other flowers have beads in the middle that catch the light as you view the painting from different angles.

If you can't tell I am very partial to this piece!

~ Exclusive Art

~ Original Mixed Media on Hardboard

~ Professional Materials

~ 11 x 14 inches

~ Elaborate Gold Frame (see below)

~ SOLD

Click here to see more

Cool lighting

Warm lighting

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