An Artist's Journal:Paintings by Felicia Marshall

“11 x 14” acrylic on hardboard This painting’s from a girl’s line.  Each little girl was standing in a line at a party waiting for their chance to play pop the balloon.  I couldn't resist all of the unique expressions on each of the children’s faces as they anxiously awaited for their turn. 

9”x 14” acrylic on hardboard This is a painting from a very long ago birthday party.  Three little girls pose for a group picture, each in a different mindset. SOLD

“5x7” acrylic on hardboard This painting was created from my observations after a trip to a local carnival.   We were all waiting for the shuttle to take us back to the parking lot, when I noticed that our kids were all admiring and trading their toys and stuffed animals between each other. 

8 x 10 acrylic on hardboard I had a great painting day over the weekend.  I was in the zone for most of Saturday.  I painted almost all of this painting that day.  The portrait alone would have had me pulling my hair out.  The little girl has dark skin and because she's back lit,  it was hard getting just the right balance of features and shadows on her face.  I find painting nature difficult.  I guess I am not bad at it because I have some great comments on the way that I handle certain landscapes, but it is not a subject I feel comfortable painting.  When your painting nature you have to constantly edit because you can't paint every leaf or twig.   So you are constantly asking yourself what is important.  Then you paint in the important stuff  like it took little or no effort at all.    SOLD

8 x 10 acrylic on hardboard I love the result I got from cropping the portrait so close.  Sometimes simple is more effective.  I learned a lot from this painting.  First, there is no such thing as too close.  Second, blurring the edges of the hair is far more interesting than painting in individual strands. Third, softening up the jaw line creates a much more rounded face than using sharp edges.

"Zora with the Orange Ball" 8 x 10 acrylic on hardboard I finally finished this painting.  It wasn't difficult, I just dragged it on and on while I completed other paintings.  At different times of the year we get extraordinary lighting through the windows in our dining room and living room.  I usually can't resist taking advantage of these remarkable moments.  They only last about thirty to forty good minutes. 

8 x10 acrylic on hardboard This is the boy's line from the same party as my previous painting.  As you can see the word line is used loosely.   The image reminds me of how I made the decision to NEVER teach at the elementary school level.  At the end of every summer I would help my mother decorate her school's cafeteria.   One of these times we ran out of paper.   In the short distance we walked from her cafeteria to retrieve some paper from the teachers' lounge we encountered a class in line at the restroom.  Not a single student was standing quietly in a single line.  Just watching them drained the little energy I had left.  This made my decision very simple.  Elementary school...never, but if there is one thing I tend to learn over and over again, it is to never say never.  So far so good.

"8 x 10" acrylic on hardboard When your kids turn a certain age you end up spending a lot of time at birthday parties.  Some months like October and December you end up at one and sometimes two every weekend.  My husband and I negotiate elaborate deals so that we get the least unappealing event.   He loves my side of the family, but it's a given that I'll be the taker on that one.  I'm horrible, but I don't even feel guilty that I made my poor sick husband stick with his turn to take our son to his last party.  I absolutely refuse to attend another paint ball party, they are just too dirty for me.  I prefer a nice quiet princes tee party any day, but I am a girl, my daughter often reminds me.  This happens to be one such birthday party.  I love that I was able to capture the expressions on each one of the little girl's faces as they stood in line waiting to begin a game. SOLD

8"x10 acrylic hardboard I completed this painting a long time ago but just realized I never posted it.  I thought I should post it before my style of painting completely changed.  I recently looked over my body of work for the last three years and realized how much I have grown as a painter.  I was pleasently surprised but I shouldn't have been, you do something long enough, you naturally get better at it.   These two are twin brothers.  I painted their portraits for a colleague (their father) who wanted to give the portrait as Christmas gift.  He loved the painting so much after I finished it that I'm not sure he parted with it.  I never thought of the two brothers as anything but identical twins until I painted them.  I could see so many difference's between the two's appearance when I was forced to take a closer look. 

8"x10" acrylic on hardboard This little scene took place on our patio. The sidewalk chalk has been almost worth the mess it makes. My daughter stays occupied for hours making her drawings. Too bad she walks right through the chalk and tracks it into the house when she's finished. I didn't mean to us such a limited palette but when I finished painting, it felt right.

"8x10" acrylic on hardboard I had fun painting this one. The color red captures the playful personality that comes across in Rex's face. The entire time I painted this portrait I kept thinking how perfectly he'd fit into a Norman Rockwell painting. Not for sale.

"5x7" acrylic on hardboard I have been working on this painting for sometime now. I am glad I can finally post it tonight. How adorable if I may say so myself. I can never resist a cute kid with a great smile. Kenya has what my husband calls a whole face smile. I love the way I was able to capture the bronze glow of her face. I always say sunlight makes the best lighting. This painting is a perfect example of great lighting. I was really happy to get the high contrast in so many areas of the portrait. SOLD

8”x10” acrylic on hardboard I wanted to work on a portrait with extreme contrasting light. I can’t be accused of being terribly original with the subject matter, but what can I say Zora is my muse and those of you who have followed my work have noticed that I have taken some time off so I needed to paint something inspirational. This started as an interesting play on extreme lighting situations. Then I thought I’d get a little more expressive and creative with the way I handled the hair. Instead of trying to paint in each strand I decided to scratch out the white highlights, different approach still just as affective.

8”x10” acrylic on hardboard I’m trying to get in all of my summer paintings before summer ends. This painting took many different turns before I considered it complete. First I had a sandy beach on the right side of the deck, and then I turned the entire deck in the foreground into sand. The only thing I was sure about in the entire process of painting was that I wanted the bright colors to really stand out in the towel.

8”x10” acrylic on hardboard I had already drawn a picture and was actually looking forward to painting today but everything went down hill. I just couldn’t get excited about putting the paint on the surface. I gave myself a fresh start with this little gem, Zora, the quintessential little girl. I guess you can say Zora is my muse. Who could be bummed out after painting a smile like this one? Needless to say, I had a lot of fun when I started over. Dutch Art Gallery

5”x7” acrylic on hardboard This is yet another painting that I’ve had sitting around and painting on for way too long. So here she is standing tall. SOLD

I wanted to celebrate my most recent book entitled “The Night the Chimneys Fell”. The book is about a French family’s ordeal in the town of New Madrid, Missouri during the earthquake of 1811. This earthquake was the largest earth quake in the United States history and it was not in California, but Missouri. This quake was so powerful that it changed the course of the Mississippi River. The story illustrates some of the natural signs experienced before the quake, and the destruction of homes and displacement of many families in its aftermath. My family takes a trip through this area every summer passing through Missouri and by New Madrid, and St Louis as we travel from Texas to Illinois. While working on the book last year, the area experienced a quake that my mother and father in law actually felt in Illinois. This project was fascinating for me and I hope just as fascinating for all of the children that read this book.

6"x 6" acrylic on canvas Grandmothers are so awesome. Grandma made this costume by hand for each of our boys. Just for fun. They wear the costumes often around the house. Here we have something called "Go Western Day" in honor of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. All of the schools in the area participate in it so I was pleased as peaches when I didn’t have to buy anything for this year's "Go Western Day" at school. This never happens. I was up until two in the morning finding, washing and yes, ironing this outfit so that my son could wear it the next day. The last thing I did that night was iron his vest. My husband informed me during dinner the following evening that he'd decided not to dress in his western outfit that day. That’s the thanks I get for being a supermom, I can’t complain, I got a great painting out of it. SOLD

5”x7” acrylic on masonite I have been working on this picture for way too long. I paint a little and put it to the side, a little more and complete a different painting. It’s been nearly completed for several months. Finally I have decided to complete what I have started and here it is….Zora in the backyard in the afternoon in the afternoon light.

5"x7 acrylic on masonite You can't fake a sunny personality (she's not at all camera shy). I envy people that can maintain their youthful characteristics through out their lives. Usually life has a way of tapping down the charisma you exuded as a child. I actually painting this image from black and white. I think painting "Aunt Tip " gave me the courage to try this one. I remember having great difficulty working like this in my previous attempts. I guess I've just gotten better at choosing color. $75.00 + 5.00 shipping and handling