Fins! I can't get over them.

This is a 1960 Cadillac.

"Fins Were In"

11"x14"

Oil on Canvas

(Gallery Wrap)

$250

I have this obsession with fins.  I love the geometric shapes they create on the canvas- both positive and negative shapes.  I also love mixing all of the reds.  Elvis used to drive a cadillac like this, but I think it was pink.  Here in Memphis he used to give them away.  There are many stories about him being at a car dealership, shopping for a car.  While there, he would buy a car for someone who happened to be on the lot that day. He was very generous.  Wish he were here to buy this painting!

To purchase this painting please go to:
http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/janis--mccarty/fins-were-in/153121

Back in the 1950's Again!

I am finally painting again.  School is out and we are back from our wonderful trip to Alaska.  I expected it to be cool, but it was not. It was warmer in Alaska than it was in Memphis.  And speaking of cool, here is my latest cool car.

"A Good Year for Turquoise"

10" x 8"

Oil on Gessobord

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This is a 1955 Ford.  This one was more difficult than the others for some reason.  I had trouble with the color.  I think I need to buy a few more tubes of paint.

Forever Young

Forever Young

6" x 12"

Oil on cradled panel

$200

I love red cars! This fun looking car is a classic - a 1959 Ford Skyliner with a retractable hard top.  I love red cars.  Wish I had this one.  (This is a repost.)

Shark Week

I can hear the music from "Jaws" and the fins are breaking the surface of the water. But. . .  the fins are red and turquoise.

"Shark Week"
11" x 14"
Oil on Gessobord
$250

Email me if you have questions or are interested in purchasing this painting at janngogh@gmail.com.

The Turquoise Car

Remember when????

1957 Chevy Bel Air

11" x 14"

Oil on wrapped canvas

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Hate to admit it, but I remember these cars.  What were they thinking when they designed those fins?  They are so cute and funny.  This painting is bigger than I have been painting recently and forced me to use a bigger brush.  I enjoyed it.

Every Car Should be Red

"The Car Show"

Oil on Panel

8" x 10"

$150

Another weekend painting.  I stayed in my pj's all day until it was finished.  Whew, this one was difficult, but fun.  This is a 1948 Ford V8 Deluxe.  Isn't he cute?  He needs to have his own TV show.

It's winter so Janis must be painting!

"Orange, Orange, Fork, Fork"

9" x 12"

$150

Finally painting again.  I need more time off from work.  I have so many ideas for paintings swimming around in my head.  I started (barely) this one in a class I took from Carol Marine in Houston last November and have finally finished it.  The stripes scared me to death, but they ended up bing pretty easy. The smell of oil paint is in the air, and I am in the mood to paint. But too bad, I have to go back to school tomorrow!!!
If anyone is interested in the painting please email me at janngogh@bellsouth.net.

High School Reunion

Oil on Panel

8" x 10"

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I painted this as a donation for my high school reunion, and I am not saying which one.  This is a '67 Ford Mustang (oops, I guess that might be a hint which one) in front of the Messick High School Auditorium.  We really loved these cars.

I'm Still Lovin' Old Trucks

Rust Bucket

6" x 8"

Oil on Panel
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Here is another rusty old truck.  Of course, a nicer word is "patina," not rust. I painted this one with a palette knife.  I love the energy and vitality that the palette knife creates with the broken and raised areas of paint.  The 3- dimensionality of the paint casts little shadows and creates texture that is so different from one painted with a brush.  

I need some more photographs of trucks. Wish I knew where they keep old rusty "has-beens" in Memphis.  

Arles, France
8" x 10" 
NFS

It has poured most of the day today so I painted. It was so dark outside I even ran to Walmart for additional lighting for my painting area. (Wish I could say painting studio.) This is Arles, France across from one of Van Gogh's hospitals. I think this was where he was taken after he cut his ear off, after he chased Gauguin (his roommate) through the streets with a razor and after he sent the ear to a prostitute. The hospital behind the iron fence was nondescript, but this little provincial house with the blue shutters was a jewel in the sunlight. The line down the middle of the street was actually a small drain that many of the streets there seemed to have. Arles was a beautiful little town with lots of flowers, blue shutters, sidewalk cafes, and Roman ruins dating back to the first century.

And now that I am finished painting for the day the sun has come out.

Poteet, Strait up.

"Poteet, Strait Up"

6" x 8"

Oil on Panel

Sold

Another old truck -- 1949 Ford.  I just love these little guys because no matter how rusted and dented they are, they have so much personality-- they seem to have a smiles on their "faces."  I may paint some more on this one.  I think it needs a Texas license plate.  And just for those of you who don't know,  Poteet is the birthplace of my favorite country artist - George Strait. I have wonderful memories of driving from Texas to Memphis when the kids were young.  George would be in the "tape player", and we would all be singing along. The one we love the most was "All My Exes live in Texas."

Forever Young

"Forever Young"

6" x 12" Oil on cradled panel

$200

This fun looking car is a classic - a 1959 Ford Skyliner with a retractable hard top.  I love red cars.  Wish I had this one. 

I have been wanting to paint old cars and trucks all summer but could not find the time to paint.  I have been traveling way too much but managed to find lots of vehicles to photograph. (I now believe that NW Arkansas has more old rusted trucks than any other place in the world.) 

"Something Has Come Between Us"

6" x 8"

oil on panel
$50

This painting was a workshop challenge. We had to change every stroke in color or value from the stroke before it. I have been meaning to paint in this manner again. It was fun and loose.

Some Cute Little Studies

6" x 6"

6" x 6"

6" x 8"

Carol Marine taught us do these very quick and loose studies. It is a fun lesson. I love them so much I might frame a few for my kitchen.

Finally a New Post

It has been a long time since I posted on my blog. I have been painting a lot of very small canvases. I attended a wonderful painting workshop in Texas last January with Carol Marine. I have been practicing what she taught us and teaching my art students her techniques. I will add a few of these studies and a few other things in the next few days. If anyone is interested in purchasing any of these little paintings, contact me.

Oranges and the Crystal Ball

6" x 6"
$75

Last Painting of the Summer

8" x 10" on gessoed panel
Sold

This is the last one for the summer. I go back to work tomorrow. I did this quick little painting of one of my favorite chairs. It is worn out from many years of sitting, reading, napping, having conversations with my family,having long conversations with God, and from watching many pool games when it sat in the game room. It, and it's companion chair, need to be reupholstered. It is a much loved chair that still feels good when it wraps its "wings" around you.

This is a little painting I did for a friend who is fascinated with the water towers in New York City. She and I have traveled there together several times, and she always comments on how many there are. I had never really noticed, but every building, no matter how old or how modern has a plain old water tower. (I guess everyone needs water pressure.) So, I tried to create something interesting out of something that I thought was very drab.

Snow day Paintings

Watercolor

12" x 16"

Framed $175

Oil on panel

Sold

Oil on Panel

11" x 14"

Framed $125

Sold

Oil on Panel

8" x 10"

Sold

I promised myself that I would paint on any snow day when school was cancelled. Here are the paintings I have done. Our two snow days wrapped around some weekends, so I got a lot accomplished. Bring on more snow days.