JustJessie

Filmed Love Affair

I have been loving my 35mm camera lately.  It has taken some getting used to again... that viewfinder is TINY after being used to LCD screens.  Anyway, here are some pics of the boys from last week.

This one of Grayson is completely untouched.  Is he gorgeous, or is he gorgeous?

I had forgotten how scary it is to take a roll of pictures and then have to wait for them to come back from the developers.  There's a lot of stress involved in not knowing if you got a single decent picture in the bunch. 

I've got lots of great Mother's Day things to share, but for now I'm going to sit back, drink the coffee made by my sweetie, and enjoy my sweet momma's boys.

A Girl For a Change

This was my first experience painting a little girl.  She was a lot of fun to paint, especially all those curls!  I'll be taking it to it's new home tomorrow... I hope they are happy with it.  I have a feeling I'll be dreaming all night about what should be different in the painting, but it's hit that place where if I keep tweaking, it'll be ruined.  It's time to step back and call it finished.  Unless of course one of you points out something I missed before the gloss coat goes on.

the latest

This one is a gift for my MIL for Mother's Day (I'm pretty sure she doesn't read here and won't see it).  She bought Grayson that little white outfit when he was about 15 months old and asked us to have his picture made in it.  I wasn't wild for the outfit at the time, but I took him to her friend's garden and took pics of him myself.  I came across them the other day, and I thought it would be great practice because of the garden background. I chose to add only a few flowers, because the original photo had so many it was really distracting.  I'm very pleased with the end product, and I think MIL will be too.

Of course, now that I'm staring at it on a computer screen, I see that I'm not finished after all.  Looking at his body,  his left arm (stage right) needs to be more obviously in the background.  Anyway, when I finish that, I'll be starting my first out-of-the-family commissioned piece.  EEK!  Y'all keep your fingers crossed for me (and your toes if you're that talented)!

Needing new subject matter

Are you tired of seeing paintings of my boys yet?  That's too bad.  You have to see at least two more.  This one is to hang over Grayson's bed, and I'll be doing one the same size of Grant to go over his new "big boy bed" he got this weekend.  Then there will be one more for my mother in law of all three of her grandboys, but after that NO MORE! 

Whew!

It was a pain and a headache, but I just finished it...  JessicaKeithPortraits.com!  Y'all go visit it and tell me what you think!

All Straightened Out

I'm happy now.  I can call this one finished and am resisting the urge to keep tweaking.  I think I better gloss-coat it before I give in to the urge...

I Can't Get This One Straight

Before I explain the title of this post, I should warn you that in my family, all roads lead to poopy jokes.  That said, I'll continue. 

When my niece was five years old, my mom and I picked her up after school everyday.  One day when we were in a small bookstore, she felt the urge.  If you've ever dealt with a five year old who needs to go, you'll know they don't care where they are or who's around.  They have to go.  So, this bookstore had a tiny bathroom with ply-wood walls in the middle of the store.  She was in there for a while, making all kinds of noises which could be heard by all in the store.  I asked if she was okay, and she grunted, "I... can't... get... this one... STRAIGHT!"  I about died laughing.  It's been a standing joke in our house ever since.  When we have a problem getting something to come out right, we quote my niece.

Now, for the reason behind the poopy story.  I can't get this painting straight.  I've been working on it for days.  I've redone Grayson's face three times, and I'm happy with most of it now.  I've only done Grant's face twice, and it still needs something.  I'm going to stare it down for a couple more days and see if I can figure out where it's wrong.  I thought it was only fair to share the main reason you haven't been hearing from me this week.  I've been a woman obsessed.  Be kind in your criticisms, and I'll eventually share the finished piece!

Stepping Out

Because of the personal nature of Jeff's job, he meets and forms relationships with all sorts of people.  Every once in a while, he will meet someone who in one way or another changes our lives.  He met one such lady last week.  She is a retired college art professor, and she had a LOT to say about my artwork.  Without going into detail, she encouraged me to put myself out there, and gave me pointers on things I was iffy on.  So, thanks to Mrs. Welch, I am now in the business of painting.  I'll be putting some paintings in my Etsy shop, and will also offer portraits by commission.  So y'all pass the word around to your friends!  Mother's Day is just around the corner...

   "Little Baker"

Just a quick note: the price of this painting does not reflect the price of a commissioned portrait.  This particular one took more time than usual and is larger than normal.

The Family Rock Star

My big brother Andy is a great musician.  He plays guitar, sings, writes... he does it all.  He also happens to be the man when it comes to home repair.  He has always been there for us to paint, tile, build, whatever we need.  A while back he bought his first home, and he asked me to paint something for his den.  I thought and thought of how to portray Andy without doing a portrait, and this is what came to me.  I'm not 100% sure it's finished, but I think it is.  So here you have it... "Family Rock Star."

Grayson, 6 months old

the original:

This one's not perfect, but I'm finished.  I posted it once and deleted it to touch up a few things, but I think I've done all I can do.