I love painting this lasting memory for a bride.  This bouquet was painted for the sister of my daughter-in-law as a bridal gift for a dear friend.  I can not think of a more thoughtful and unique gift for a bride to cherish memories of her most special day.  I particularly enjoyed painting this one because of the beautiful red-orange tulips and the variety of flowers.  

This is on oil painting of one of the most beautiful and rare hydrangea blooms.  These blooms are quite large and vary in color from a creamy white to a soft pink with sometime hints of green.  I painted the image from a photograph of the flower that I had bought for a sick friend.  I have then donated the painting to the Princess Anne Garden Club Sale and Auction.  I hope someone is enjoying the ever-lasting beauty of this  bloom.  

I enjoy accepting commissions and have just finished the two paintings in this post for friends.  Some artists do not like accepting commissions because they feel that it puts constraints on their creativity.  Sometimes the client will dictate what and how the painting should be done.  I have been very fortunate in my experiences because my clients have an understanding of what and how I paint.  I have hundreds of personal reference photographs and often will have the client search through the photographs for the subject they are interested in.  After that we discuss colors, composition, and size and I have a clear understanding of what is expected.  Another reason I like commissions is the challenge of a client requesting a subject that I may not have considered before.  I am happy to give it a try.  It may be a challenge but a good one to tackle.  

Alyson Stanfield posted a blog in 2016 that I have gone back to many times and think that it is still pertinent today and especially now with some extra stay-at-home time.  Her post was entitled "21 Mindless Tasks for When Genius Takes a Hike".  She states that this is not downtime, like reading a book or walking on the beach or meditating.  This is different.  This is time for "mindless" tasks when your "genius has taken a hike", you are frustrated, can't think creatively, etc.
I have combined and shortened her list to 5 things.  I chose things that I can and need to do.  Things that I keep on a running "to-do" list.  

1.  Google search collectors, gallerists, and curators.  Find out their life stories.

2.  Organize your computer by making folders and putting information when you can find it.  

3.  Consolidate and organize your computer photos and delete images that are duplicates or are no longer relevant.  This is especially true for your art images.  

4.  Check out Instagram. Like photos and add photos of your work.   Make comments on others people's work.  Do the same for Pinterest.  Reply to comments.

5.  Declutter paper.  Go through files and organize and eliminate old and obsolete paper(s). 

That should keep me busy for a while.  

Attached to this post is a 11" x 14" oil painting of marbles entitled Marble Shot.    It seemed to fit the blog post with most of the marbles organized and collected in the glass with only a few left scattered about.