An Artist's Journal:Paintings by Felicia Marshall

8”x 10” acrylic on hardboard I came across this image that was for a book called "Sylvia and Mrs. Lula Mae" the book’s interior was in black and white.   I thought it would be interesting to create a painting in color.   This is my grandmother, Mama Sissy who lived to be one hundred years old, and so did her grandmother.   I hope to be so lucky. The little girl is a cousin.   I think back now and realize how lucky I was to have such willing and perfect models for that project.   The author’s grandmother, which is who the book was about looked exactly like my grandmother, so I thought I was destined to get the book project and I did.   As I am writing this description, I realize that I probably had a second reason for choosing this image that seems so clear now.   A relative recently purchased my grandmother’s land and home.   Last week it was torn down to be replaced with his own new house.   This was bitter sweet.   I am s...

8”x 10” acrylic on hardboard This is a little gem that I just finished specifically for my portfolio.  I wanted to illustrate an image of children reading books.  It was so cute, this little girl insisted that I paint her holding her own books and not my daughter’s.  She had just began reading chapter books and was so proud.  Lucky for me her books were in the car and she was more than happy to run out to get them. 

“8x10” acrylic on hardboard   It’s been so long since I painted one of these Missions.   I had been organizing all of my photographs in hopes of backing them up when I came across this one.   It’s been so long ago that I don’t remember which Mission this one is, but I can say it is one of the missions in San Antonio.   I can also say I am absolutely sure it is not the Alamo, how’s that for information.   This one was a bit different from most of my Mission paintings which are symmetrical.

8"x 10" acrylic on hardboard I'm not sure why it took me so long to understand this, but I have just now come to realize, that what is being reflected in a pair of glasses, is as important and interesting as the person wearing them.  Wow, talk about overlooking the obvious!  We have two sitting rooms in our house most people call theirs the den and living room.  Our kids never quite understood that, so our rooms are referred to as the quiet room, which is quiet until I actually sit in it.  Once my kids notice me there it quickly fills with kids and turns into the not so quiet room.  The other room is the tv room.  This room has a great set of windows that gets the most amazing afternoon light all year round.  Even in the winter, as the sun sets low, the light passes through the trees outside and casts the most interesting highlights and shadows on objects in that room as it did this day with Zora and her new blue glasses.

8 x 10 acrylic on hardboard This is the first painting that I actually started and completed in one sitting.  Usually I work on several paintings at one time over several days or a week.  I started on the face, which didn't give me too many problems.  The painting surprisingly didn't come to life until I painted in the glasses.  I asked my kids to help me with the title.  After several suggestions I pulled together the one you see here, "Sunshine on Hope".  I hope it works.

8 x 10 acrylic on hardboard She's just not that into you....anymore.  I began this painting during my Christmas break.  For the first time I looked under our Christmas tree and didn't find it filled with toys,  but instead electronics.  Christmas shopping had been simplified to several popular gadgets and to some degree I appreciated that,  but it was sad seeing that my kids were growing up.  The grays in my hair were already an indicator.   I really liked buying them toys.  I already miss it.

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" x 10" acrylic on hardboard In this painting I got a chance to play around with some of my favorite colors, red, brown, and black.  Red is my all time favorite, but you can't use much of it in any given place because it definitely screams "Look at me!"  I have always had a love hate relationship with brown.  I grew up in a brown paneled house, so I find the color very familiar to me and calming.  I also hate the color because like I mentioned I grew up in a brown paneled house.  Black is a mysterious color, usually hiding most of the flaws in my painting while adding drama, who can't love a color that can do all of that?

8"x 10" acrylic on hardboard Coming up with titles is either easy or hard. There is no in between. This one came to me at the beginning of the painting process. With "Beauty Queens" I'm celebrating the diversity of my family and the concept of beauty.  I began this painting with each face.  I thought capturing each woman's face would be the hardest part of the painting, so  wanted to get that out of the way first.  In the back of my mind I knew if I couldn't pull off the faces I could just scrap the entire thing.  Then I wouldn't have committed too much energy and time on this one.  I also knew that it takes a lot for me to scrap a painting. I hate the feeling of defeat. Realistically, if I didn't get the faces modeled just right, then I would be obsessed until I did!  That's no fun.  Luckily I was able to paint all four portraits in about three hours. I impressed even myself. SOLD

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"x10" acrylic on hardboard   This is a study of contrasts.  I enjoyed playing with the idea of opposites attracting.  Here you have the reserved older lady in her formal blue dress seated next to the spunky younger woman in her short skirt.  Opposites do attract.  This was another image almost lost forever from our family records.  Had it not been for my father's final walk through of his childhood home, I would not have had this great image as a reference  for this painting. SOLD

8" x 10" acrylic on hardboard This was a fun painting.  It is lite hearted and almost funny.  I was pleased with how it turned out.  I guess the second time's a charm when it comes to painting the pattern in the glasses.  I found it far less frustrating this time around.  This time the process was much easier, but I don't think I want to tackle it again. Looking at this painting in my post reminds me of owl eyes.  I  guess if I wanted to I could have named it "What a Hoot". SOLD

8"x 10" acrylic on hardboard I liked working with this painting.  The portrait was big and the patterns were bold.  I was attracted to the patterns on the glasses, which turned into a challenge that I didn't anticipate.  When you have done a number of portraits you tend to need to experiment a little to change things up.  That's why I cropped in close and placed the person at a diagonal across the painting.  I am glad I did, because it turned out so much more interesting than a straight portrait. SOLD

8"x 10" acrylic on hardboard It's almost time for summer!  We officially kick off our summer with the purchase of a swimming pool.  I know we aren't being environmentally friendly, but we definitely get one hundred percent out of our pools each year.  This was at the lake, which is also a part of our summer family tradition.  If you are familiar with lake water, it's not blue, so I did take artistic liberty with that part of the painting. SOLD

8"x 10" acrylic on hardboard I'm still enjoying my masks.  It took me awhile to post this one.  I finished painting it some time ago.  A friend described it as intimate and moody.  It sounds good to me.  

8"x 10" acrylic on hardboard  I was so proud of myself after I completed this painting.  I was able to recreate the left hand hitting light just right, making that entire area glow.  I had seen so many painters get it right with little or no effort, but I had never been bold or skilled enough to paint what I was seeing instead of what I thought I was seeing. When I finished I left the painting out so I could admire it every time I passed it on the table.  A few days later my brother stopped by and began admiring several paintings I also had out in various stages of completion.  He even commented on how nice my work was, then he holds one up and says, "When are you gonna finish this one?" I looked up to see him holding this painting.  "That one is already finished," I replied.  He goes on to say, "Your NOT going to paint the hand?" "What, that's the best part!" I explain to him. "I don't get ...

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 on hardboard I actually started and completed a smaller various of this painting.  This larger painting sat around haunting me until I finally committed to finishing it.  For better or worst I am one of those people that have to finish what they start.  This time it took me months as I painted off and on, but it's finished.  I can finally say, I'm glad I didn't just gesso over it when it wasn't working out.