Wednesday, December 28, 2016

MB'S FAVORITES 2016





I've gotten it together before New Years - yeah!
My little book is ready for your viewing pleasure.
I struggled with the image for the cover and changed it over and over again
and kept coming back to this image. I love this cow more than I can say. 
There are so many options to purchase my little collection of favorites see link below.
Thanks for being there!

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

GIRLS ON THE RUN PROCESS

Here are all 30" X 30" paintings on my wall.
Girls on the Run is the last in the series and I'm having some troubles with
it - I will post more soon. It changed a bunch today and I'm not sure if it's for the better.
Thanks a bunch MB

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

NEVER LOOK BACK

30" X 30" oil on panel
I haven't been able to get a great photo but here's the finished painting - I think you get the idea.
There are 3 paintings in this winter series - I'm working on the last one titled
Girls on the Run. I would like to show these in January but not sure if I can get it
all together in time. We'll see how that goes.
Thanks for taking a look. MB
 
 

Monday, December 12, 2016

NEVER LOOK BACK - Process

30" X 30" oil on panel
My new favorite cheap brush
Royal Langnickel Zen #14
This brush loads more paint for a larger painting but not as much paint as a bristle brush 
is thicker than my Loew - Cornell American painter brushes 
 seems to last longer, hold a sharp line and it's a short handled brush which is my favorite kind of brush. 
I also found a use for my Permalba White which is a mixture of titanium white and zinc white.
 Remember when I gave away all my supplies this summer? I think I gave away 6 large 
tubes of Permalba White because I couldn't figure out how to use this transparent white.
Well it finally came to me how to use this transparent white to my advantage - duh!
It works great as an undercoat for titanium white or a feathery over glaze to dull a color especially 
for the feel or look of snow. I'm sure I'll find more applications for Permalba now that I get
how it works. Guess I better order some more. Go figure.
Thanks for taking a look. MB
 

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

RING A DING DING!

HOLIDAY SALE & OPEN STUDIO
DECEMBER 8 - 9 & 10
NOON TILL 5PM
MB's studio 43400 CR 36
(top of the hot springs road - AWD or 4WD recommended)
Or by appointment
970-879-0350(text works best)
Email mbwraps@yahoo.com
Stop by and keep me company while I paint. Fa la la la la!
 
 
 

Thursday, December 1, 2016

FIRST FRIDAY "IT'S HIP TO BE SQUARE"

Tonight I will be demo painting for CVA's First Friday Event.
Here's a sneak peak of our "Twelve X Twelve" 2016 show.
If you're in town stop by the gallery looks great.
 
December 2nd 5:00 - 8:00pm
Center for Visual Arts
837 Lincoln Ave. 
Steamboat Springs, CO
 
Have a fun weekend!

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

SNOWSTORM

I've wanted to try something a bit different - it's intimidating!
I tried to paint on a different color panel but it didn't work for me. Tomorrow 
I plan to redo this image but keep the original as a study. I like the
idea but have to work on it a bit more. I am shooting for 6 new paintings for January 
it may be a bit ambitious - we'll see how it goes.
Thanks for taking a look. 
If you can stand one more view on the election check out Dan Rather link
 

Thursday, November 24, 2016

MEDALS OF FREEDOM

If you haven't seen the 21 Medals of Freedom ceremony click the link above.
I sincerely hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving - wishing you a
fun weekend. I've got a few busy days ahead not sure when the next post will
happen. Thanks for waiting. MB

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

GIVE THANKS

GIVE THANKS!
2012
I forgot to celebrate my blogs 4th Anniversary in November!
I started my blog 4 years ago producing 100 paintings in 100 days.
My Thanksgiving troll was on day 20. 
Thanks to everyone who has stuck by my side through thick and thin.
I couldn't do it without the support. 
I give thanks for all of you!
Wishing you all the best this holiday. MB
 

Friday, November 18, 2016

OLE'

SQUIRREL!
I read an artists blog yesterday and she mentioned that her blog was an art
blog and nothing else. I guess my blog started out as an art blog with just paintings
and ideas in my head but then I added my new copper roof and other odd events. 
So what started as a painting platform has evolved into something else from time to time.
It's hard for me to pretend that nothing has happened. I'm not sure how this is going to shake out but I feel a need to
voice my thoughts. So if it's not your cup of tea you might want to check back periodically and see how things are going.
 This is my process for now. Thanks for everything. MB
 
 
"INTEGRITY IS OUR ONLY TRUE CURRENCY"
 Sophie Theallet - Fashion Designer 
 
 
 
Meg Griffin - radio host of the Loft program on XM radio played this song by Tom Russell
yesterday.  For some reason it made me happy so I thought I would share his song.
An interview between Tom Russell and NPR is below if you're interested.
Here's his song  WHO'S GONNA BUILD YOUR WALL
 

 

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS

EVERYTHING'S BETTER WITH BUTTER!
 It's been a tough week - has it really only been a week?
My need for Kerrygold Irish butter has grown exponentially this election season. 
I gotta STOP! My pants are getting kind of tight. Comfort food has been my salvation 
as well as good music. I'm so lucky I can enjoy The Loft on my XM radio while I paint.
It keeps me going. Today Meg Griffin played a lot of Leon Russell while I painted Butter.
 
LEON RUSSELL passed away this week.
 Leon Russell was an American musician and songwriter who recorded as a session musician and sideman and maintained a solo career. 
He had 31 albums to his credit and recorded about 430 songs
Here's my favorite ONE MORE LOVE SONG it's not his most famous but it makes me feel good!
This is really the end of my post if you feel like reading further it's your thing. I'm getting through my grief.
Thanks for liking my rabbits. You guys are the best.
 I gotta tell ya I also wrote some letters this week. I wrote to Warren Buffett and the Spotlight reporters at the Boston Globe. 
Warren Buffett was asking us to support the Donald so I thought I should tell him why that is so difficult.
Warren gets 300 emails a day so I'm pretty sure he never saw mine but it felt good anyway to voice an opinion.
Here's my letter
 
Dear Warren Buffett: I understand your plea for unity in these difficult times. I appreciate your support for Hillary Clinton as well. But - and there's a big BUT - the reality is that Donald Trump denies climate change(at my expense and our children's expense) yet he wants to build a wall at his exclusive golf course. 

Donald Trump appears to be interested in protecting his personal investments and interests at any cost. 
Where as, President Obama shows concern for the country and the world as a whole. 
Trump does not embrace these Presidential responsibilities to the world and the country. 
It's difficult to show support for a Presidential candidate with such contradictory, self serving views.

Please see attached:
Trump acknowledges climate change -at his golf course 
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/donald-trump-climate-change-golf-course-223436

Thank you for your kind consideration and understanding 
MB Warner & Jim Weishaar 
 
This campaign poster is circulating and it kind of made my day.
 
Thanks! Another thing if you can stand it and you're still reading.  2018 Mid-terms will be more important than ever. The voting public dislikes mid-terms and are usually complacent but 2018 will be the next opportunity  to implement great change. 

Sunday, November 13, 2016

DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?

DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?

I've been thinking about The Lovin' Spoonful while creating my paintings "Leap of Faith I & II"

Thought it might be fun to revisit 1965, The Lovin' Spoonful and bring in some light!

Leap of Faith I
Leap of Faith II

And for those of you who are still lost in feelings of grief here's a link

YOUR POST ELECTION PAIN IS REAL GRIEF

Friday, November 11, 2016

ZEKE & PERCY(no kidding!)

LEONARD COHEN "HALLELUJAH"
It’s not always readily apparent which songs are going to become standards. Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” didn’t seem to have much chance of becoming one when the Canadian singer-songwriter, who passed away Thursday at age 82, introduced it on his 
1984 album VariousPositions. Neither the song nor the album hit the Billboard charts that year or received a Grammy nomination. 
It took Leonard Cohen 5 years to write "Hallelujah!" 
He was a great song writer - look him up and give him a listen it will make your day.
It took 15 years for Hallelujah to become a standard - it's been recorded 142 times by various artists and each version has its own unique twist. 
 Here's another version of "HALLELUJAH" 

Thursday, November 10, 2016

SPEECHLESS

     
 
 
People filled the overflow section of the Javits People filled the overflow section of the Javits Center where Hillary Clinton is holding her election night event in New YPeople filled the overflow section of the Javits Center where Hillary Clinton is holding her election night event in New York City. 
Credit  
Todd People filled the overflow section of the Javits Center where Hillary Clinton is holding her election night event in New York City. CreditTodd Heisler/The New York TimesPeople filled the overflow section of the Javits Center where Hillary Clinton is holding her election night event in New York City. CreditTodd Heisler/The New York TimesThe N ew York Timesork City. CreditTodPhoto Wethet
  People filled the overflow section of the Davits Center where Hillary Clinton is holding her election night event in New York City.   Paul Krugman: Our Unknown Country We still don't know who will win the electoral college, although as I write this it looks -- incredibly, horribly -- as if the odds now favor Donald J. Trump. What we do know is that people like me, and probably like most readers of The New York Times, truly didn't understand the country we live in. We thought that our fellow citizens would not, in the end, vote for a candidate so manifestly unqualified for high office, so temperamentally unsound, so scary yet ludicrous. We thought that the nation, while far from having transcended racial prejudice and misogyny, had become vastly more open and tolerant over time. We thought that the great majority of Americans valued democratic norms and the rule of law. It turns out that we were wrong. There turn out to be a huge number of people -- white people, living mainly in rural areas -- who don't share at all our idea of what America is about. for them, it is about blood and soil, about traditional patriarchy and racial hierarchy. And there were many other people who might not share those anti-democratic values, but who nonetheless were willing to vote for anyone bearing the Republican label. I don't know how we go forward from here. Is America a failed state and society? It looks truly possible. I guess we have to pick ourselves up and try to find a way forward, but this has been a night of terrible revelations, and I don't think it's self-indulgent to feel quite a lot of despair. David Brooks- LET'S NOT DO THIS AGAIN

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

MONTE

 

Here's Monte's story - he was one lucky dog!

 A little about Monte: My step mom had picked him up from a litter when he was just a little ball of white cottony fur. The most heart melting, adorable ball you could have ever seen in your life maybe! He lived an amazing doggy life, roaming freely, he loved to adventure playing as often as he could in the water, mud, and his all time favorite poop piles. I will never forget upon every arrival, his whole body wiggling with excitement to greet new and old friends. Then his sad and concerned face as he sat in the middle of the driveway and watched you leave, every time, in your review mirror. He was possibly the most loving and kind soul who only ever cared to be by your side, and hoped you might throw his ball one more time. With age, his hips had gotten worse, and soon he wouldn't even get up to eat. We knew it was his time. Monte passed in the last days of September of this year, laying comfortably in his bed on the porch, on an exceptionally beautiful fall day, with all his loving family near to wish him luck on his way. 

Process 
Sweet eyes!
Thanks for taking a look. 
 

Monday, November 7, 2016

JC

JC that's all I know about this corgi! I've never seen a corgi with a blue eye either.
Process photo below. Thanks - MB

Friday, November 4, 2016

FINI

I'm so relieved the Tucker is finished. Woohoo! 
Thanks for hanging in and have a great weekend.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

NICE RACK! As the Donald would say

This painting is like the election - Will it ever end?
Thanks for all the comments. Later MB
 

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

TUCKER

Tuesday's progress. I never thought this little 18" X 18" painting would take this
much time to complete. It's a mystery. I was suppose to be finished by Tuesday and now it's 
Wednesday - I think there are at least two days left if not three. Go figure.
Thanks a bunch, MB

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

TUCKER PROCESS II

Going to the dogs! 
Monday painting progress. Slow going for sure.
Thanks for taking a look.
 
 
 

Sunday, October 30, 2016

TUCKER PROCESS

Commission piece - it took days to get to this point. This is how far I got today before lunch.
More process shots below.
This is not the best photo but this is where I stopped for the day.
My palette at the end of the day before cleaning up.
My palette before painting - sans white
My tube wringer - if you're a painter it's a great tool. My paints never dry out in the tube
because the wringer keeps the paint compressed in the top of the tube. 
My reference photos for this unusual project. Thanks I'll keep you posted.