An Artist's Journal:Paintings by Felicia Marshall

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”x10” acrylic on hardboard We are still loving the Lennon glasses!   The kids love posing with them and I love the reflections they create on faces.   The latest addition is green.   The painting came together fairly easy, which is rare for me.   In this work, I began with the darker browns and built up to the lighter areas that you can see in the forehead, chin, and nose.   Darker colors are always painted in first, then the lighter colors are applied.   I leave the true white highlights for last.

8"x 10" acrylic on hardboard The Houston Rodeo is a pretty big deal around here. My in-laws found this out a couple of years back when their visit coincided with our annual rodeo trip. We always leave the rodeo with full stomachs. I often refer to our rodeo experience as eating our way through the rodeo, literally from the minute we walk in until we leave. All of the best local restaurants have booths there.  We also leave with empty pockets, but our kids always leave with lots of stuffed animals. This painting is one such moment. I absolutely hate stuffed animals, we have hundreds of them all colors, shapes, and sizes.

8"x10" acrylic on hardboard This cute little guy was painted fairly quickly. This was a diversion from an existing painting I had been working on.  I was having some trouble making decisions.  I am pretty sure it's hereditary.  I remember calling certain people in my family out on this very thing.  Now I know I was so frustrated by their inability to make a decision because it was a reflection of my own problem.  At least I recognize the problem.  Isn't that the first step... or something?   I was so surprised that this painting came together almost on its own.  Unlike the painting before, this one had a calming effect on me.   "Blue Eyes" is all about lighting. I'm a sucker for images with strong lighting, but what's even better is when I get to paint translucent objects interacting with the light.  You can see this in the blue goggles.  The portrait is cropped so closely that it adds a kind of intimacy with the...

8"x 10" acrylic on hardboard I was visiting my parents' church and noticed many of the men were wearing hats like this one.  Fashion, like most things recycles itself. I didn't realize how iconic this particular hat was for me until I began painting this image.  I kept thinking of photographs of the men marching during the civil rights movement and the always popular original "Twilight Zone", which had men wearing theses hats.  I can't tell you how any nights I stayed up way to late just to catch an episode of the show.  I purchased a costume version and had a lot of fun photographing people wearing it.  This was one of my volunteers.  

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. 

5”x7” acrylic on hardboard The toes say it all. This painting is actually the second half of the "Saturday Morning" painting. They connect to one another perfectly side by side. I thought I would try something I hadn't tried before after the obvious change in my painting size. SOLD

8x10 Acrylic on Bristol This painting was an exercise in texture and pattern. I love to use texture to create depth and atmosphere in my paintings. I usually try to avoid painting glass at all costs, so I can scratch this off of my list of "Things I Hate Painting but Probably Should." This painting also marks the first month of my blog! My realistic goal was fifteen paintings, that would be roughly a painting every other day. I missed my goal by one painting. Pretty good I think. I am working my way up to a single painting a day. Baby steps right? SOLD