A PAINTING AND A PRAYER

Still Life: Nobody's Pearfect

2013-11-22T18:52:00.002-06:00

I had this Bosc Pear in the fridge, and it looked sweet and inviting. But I love painting pears and I had never painted a Bosc pear before. So I thought I'd better take this chance before I eat it.

I hope you like it. It's a small painting, about 4 in by 4 in. I like it but, as the title says, it's not pearfect.

Thank you Lord for all your many blessings! Thank you for healing especially for Alma, Ms. Linda, Sonia B., Kassi M., Anita, Marj., and my mom. How great you are, Oh God!

Red Blossoms

2013-03-03T09:09:00.001-06:00

I finished this painting last night. Well, with watercolors, you can actually keep on working on them over and over, that is as soon as they dry, you can do another wash, another glaze, do a highlight, etc. so it really just depends on you, if you want to say "done". You can say "done" while they are still light pastels, or you can say "done" when they are darker, more colorful. I have had a few days to work on this one, and I guess I felt it was time. For this one, I actually used the dryer quite a bit, maybe i was in a hurry to see how it turned out.

These flowers were blooming from a tree in the yard. My husband cut a few stems for me and I put them in water in a vase. They brightened up the room for a week, the buds kept on blooming, they were beautiful!

Dear God,
Thank you for the flowers that bloom, they are so beautiful and give us so much joy. Thank you for my life, and the chance to learn something new everyday. Thank you for my blessings especially my husband,my mom and family, and my friends. I pray you continue to shower us all with your blessings, especially my sister Maria on her birthday. In the Name of the Father, of the Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Angel

2013-02-10T00:38:00.000-06:00

This is the portrait of Angel by my awesome Honey. It turned out really great, and so dramatic. Way to go, Scott, Honey! We had the greatest time painting together. Thank you Honey, for being so supportive! lummm!

Dear Lord,
Please bless my husband, give him favor, give him good health and long happy life. Thank you Lord, for my husband, and for our life together. In Jesus' name, Amen!

Larry

2013-02-10T00:00:00.001-06:00

I had the best time on my birthday! Thanks to my awesome husband, who spent time with me painting our pets together. We had a great time! And that's what it's all about. I have tried to paint Larry before. But this is the closest i got to what he looks like. The secret is to trace the picture on the canvas. In other words, it is really necessary to start with a good picture or drawing.

Dear Lord, Thank you for all the many blessings: the gift of life, of health, of love, of family and of friends. All glory and honor to you, Oh Lord! Blessed be thy Holy Name!

A vase and three apples

2013-01-31T20:57:00.000-06:00

Ever since I saw Spiderman the movie, the one in which James Franco was in a scene where he was painting a vase and some fruits, i had always wanted to paint something similar. It was a really beautiful painting.

So last night, i thought of it again and i tried. My loving spouse helped me in figuring out the light and shadow in this painting. Ever supportive, he told me this was actually better than the previous ones. I loved my sisters and my mom's reactions to it as well. Our dear Ms. Susan and my friend Dee also liked it. Maybe it will look good in the kitchen.

Dear Lord, thank you for your blessings, and your infinite mercy! Blessed be your Holy Name! Thank you for healing, and for love, for all the love in my life.

Copyright Karen Galarneau All Rights Reserved

Angel

2013-01-27T15:11:00.001-06:00

Here's a portrait of Angel, our sweet sweet pet. She is my shadow, my tail, as I go around the house doing my chores. Also my dissertation writing buddy, when my Honey is at work.

As i get older, I realize each day is a gift from God, and I am more grateful of my blessings especially life, love , good health, family and friends. Also pets.

Dear God, thank you for each day. Thank you for the gift of life. Thank you for family, friends, pets, and please bless us all indeed! Amen

Larry and Angel

2013-01-17T22:13:00.001-06:00

I painted this portrait of our dogs. Watercolor.

Dear Lord please bless our family. Thank you!

Flowers

2013-01-17T22:04:00.000-06:00

Flowers were really a big inspiration for Georgia O'Keeffe. I was recently inspired by a couple of er works. She was a great artist and her works were really pretty.

This first one, i just call it "Pretty Flower No. 1". It is a watercolor.

The second one, I called it "Flowers", and it is acrylic. I painted it during a session at the Uptown Art Tuscaloosa. Really fun place. Thanks to my loving honey who gifted me with sessions.

Dear God, please hear the prayers from my heart. You are awesome!

Paint My Love -a portrait

2012-11-05T12:37:00.000-06:00

Actually this is a portrait of my love, my awesome husband. It may not be the best rendition and it may fall short of capturing his true gorgeous-ness, mea culpa (my fault, sorry). As you can tell, i am very much in love with my honey.

If you have comments or suggestions on how i can improve my portrait technique, please email me at kargal07@gmail.com or leave a comment.

Dear Lord, thank you for my husband. He is my better half, my encourager, my best friend. Thank you for blessing him always and for bringing him into my life. Amen.

Moonlit Beauty

2012-10-17T20:48:00.000-05:00

My first painting after a long hiatus. I totally enjoyed shopping for the supplies and materials. You can imagine just how much fun I had painting this.

Dear God, I am so grateful for my wonderful husband who made all of this possible. I am grateful for my good friend Dee, who cheered me on.

The Brown Cup

2011-02-06T09:34:00.002-06:00

I did this today... Carol Marine posted a challenge on DPW.. What an exercise! I loved it... I mean, i loved doing this... My mom likes the second to the last cup, which is the third from the left, bottom row. I think I like the last one.

Watercolors... the water and the colors flow... it's so fascinating... the challenge for me is to paint or mix darker colors...

I realized I have started to forget what i've learned in painting... it is so true what they say- "use it or lose it". I will try to get back to painting more often.

Smile... Laugh...

White Flowers

2011-02-06T09:22:00.003-06:00

I was inspired by Jacqueline Gnott to paint this. She is awesome, her work is amazing. I can't do the black background yet... maybe someday.

I did this last night. Hopefully, with more practice, I can do better.

Smile...

The Blonde Girl

2011-02-06T09:12:00.003-06:00

I did this maybe two or three months ago already, but never posted til now. When I made it, I just thought I might try painting a face...

I know... I need to practice more...

So little time...

"blue star"

2010-04-08T11:41:00.003-05:00

Scuba Diving ... certainly one of life's great pleasures... allows one to see beautiful creatures like this blue starfish...

It is an awesome reminder of God's loving grace and His wonderful creations...

"Lord, thank you for the beautiful underwater world you created."

Happy Together

2010-03-27T13:12:00.005-05:00

It was a great feeling to be painting together with my Mom. She set up the apple and grapes on the saucer and wanted to paint them. I decided to join her and we sat there painting, looking at the same thing each from a different angle.

Like these grapes and apple, happy together in one saucer... me and Ma, happy together, painting, while my lovely niece Sam was on the computer, connecting with my sisters in Norway.

I forgot what I said about ending the apples series... but i guess this is not just apple, it's apple and grapes.

"Lord, we pray for healing for my foot. We pray for our Director, give him wisdom and protect him with your abiding love."

Apples on the table

2010-03-24T08:10:00.003-05:00

This is the third and this is it (for now) on the apples series.

I am back to work though my foot still hurts. Not complaining... i know it could be worse.

I wonder what I will try to paint next time...

"Dear Lord, you know my heart. Please hear my unspoken prayer."

Green

2010-03-23T12:11:00.005-05:00

Yes, these are Green ... as opposed to Red ... apples, that is. Still another bad photo maybe... but... sometimes, you just don't quite get the shot right.

I think this is my most favorite of my apple paintings (n=2 for this year) so far. Anyway, I like it. If you like apples, check out Carol Marine's blog, she does really great apples...

As they say, try and try until you succeed. I am beginning to understand that I should just do my own style... and understand that evryone's style is different, unique and that uniqueness should be cherished.

"Thank you Lord for hearing my prayer today. You are always there whenever I call on you. Your love is awesome and your response time is five minutes or better."

Red

2010-03-22T09:29:00.004-05:00

I haven't painted an apple in a long time. But one of the daily painters that I follow (Carol Marine) paints really great apples... Seeing all those pretty apples that she painted inspired me to try to do this painting. I thought I would like to try a red apple... with a bit of reflection. First time for me to do a reflection type thingy.

The photo is a little bit short... I will try to get a better shot and post it next time.
I am back to work though the foot still hurts just a little. I am not sure if i could get approved for a rehab/therapy leave so I just decided i would go back to work and not consume all my leave credits.

I will post another apple(s) painting tomorrow.

Thanks for visiting. God bless you!

Bougainvillea 3

2010-03-20T13:11:00.004-05:00

And so, I did a third one...

I swear this one is so different from the two others...

I am blessed with a loving husband... he said this was pretty....

It is great to be married! We just celebrated our fourth anniversary! Wow! May the Lord bless us with many more happy years.

Don't worry, this is the last of the Bougainvillea series. Thanks for your patience.

Next, an apple...

Bougainvilleas 2

2010-03-18T08:54:00.002-05:00

This is the second attempt at painting the bougainvilleas. Not the best, but i thought i'd still post it, as a ... hmmm... learning experience? As a bad example? Hmmm, not too too bad, i hope. Who said it? Someone said "it is better to have tried .... than never to have tried at all?"

I looked and found some really nice watercolor painted bougainvilleas online... maybe someday i can do something like those... Hope springs eternal... and dreams are still a free commodity...

I still like painting...

bougainvillea 1

2010-03-14T21:48:00.009-05:00

I have been really busy since I came back to the Philippines, back to work, back to the grind. I took my painting stuff with me but they got put in a box and I was just too busy. The opportunity to paint again came when I recently injured my foot, and had to stay at home, with my foot immobilized and elevated. After the second week, I asked my mom to search for my box. I didn't have any idea on where to start, so I decided to seek the wisdom of the young. I asked Mara ( she's the youngest daughter of Malou, one of my best friends in the world). She gave the quick answer... "why not paint bougainvillea, after all, they are so pretty!" It did seem like an obvious answer. Little did i know that it would prove to be quite a challenging subject. And so I dared.... and this is the first product.

"Exotic Beauty"

2008-09-21T23:19:00.003-05:00

I wanted to title this painting "Gumamela" which is the Tagalog (Philippines' National Language) name for Hibiscus. But I changed my mind.

On Saturday, I went to a celebration of sorts for Missions and Missionaries. Our church had a booth for South Korea. I learned a lot about other countries like Brazil and also about mission work. I met three missionaries, one of them retired. Missionaries play an important role in spreading the gospel all over the world.

"Dear Lord Jesus, please bless all the missionaries in the world. Please help them with their needs and comfort them especially when they feel homesick. Please protect them with your precious blood."

"Yellow Bell Pepper"

2008-09-17T00:30:00.003-05:00

I hope you like this one. I thought the yellow bell pepper looked really good when I got it from the store and would make a nice still life. What do you think?

"Dear Lord, thank you for your blessings. Praise you, Oh God, you are worthy!"

"Ducks: Class 2 Project No. 2"

2008-09-16T06:15:00.005-05:00

I hope you like this one. I still get amazed everytime by the process of painting. You know, it starts with a simple drawing. I have been learning from my classes how to develop the painting from the drawing, adding the background, the foreground, and then adding more and more details until voila, there it is, the end product. And sometimes, it makes you smile, sometimes, it just takes your breath away. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it.

"Dear Lord, thank you for your generous provision. Thank you for you guidance and your mercy. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your forgiveness. Give us also the grace to be merciful and forgiving."

"Three Pears"

2008-09-07T21:06:00.004-05:00

I thought I'd try painting pears today. I hope this was an "effective" painting. I read somewhere that the point is not to have a pretty painting, but that your painting is effective (at expressing your message, I guess).
Well, my message for this painting is pretty simple, just - pears. I hope you like it.

This was a very nice Sunday. It started off with a great Sunday School bible study led by Ms. Sarah. It was about forgiveness and wow, I was moved by her teaching today. She has wonderful insights on some things. Then we had a wonderful service with a very touching sermon. Then in the evening, our church had a special appreciation banquet held by the men and boys of the church for the women and girls. It was a lot of fun, the men and boys did all the preparations and we, the females got to sit back, relax and enjoy. It was so much fun! Can I say that again? We had a speaker, Mr. Keith Hinson who gave us a night of laughter and music. Awesome! Way to go, Men and Boys of the BHBC! And then I was able to finish this painting... What a wonderful day!

"Dear Lord, thank you for the blessings you have given us. Teach us to forgive. You have infinite mercy and you forgive us when we confess our sins. Please give us the grace to forgive others.Praise to you, Oh Lord. You are worthy!"