Gaston's Breakfast

A little goofy villain humour for you all on this painting's title.

I love eggs. I just love them. Painting, eating, throwing, eggs are simply wonderful. And this painting is a doozy at 12"x16". Hope you enjoy!

I do have a funny egg story, but I'll have to save it for another entry. I have to have SOME reason for you all to keep coming back, right? 

(now he's roughly the size of a barge.)

12"x16" Oil on Canvas

Perfumed by Furze

And now back to our regularly scheduled programme!

..Well, almost, anyway. I will be spending the rest of this month working different sizes than I did in January, oscillating between much smaller (10x10cm) to much larger, such as this 12x16 beast.

I very vividly remember taking an early, early train ride from Aberdeen to Edinburgh, and looking out the window to see these beautiful cows (I cannot not be 100% certain, but in my head they were best friends) chilling out and relaxing near this immense cliff covered in gorse flowers, leading all the way down to the water that looked downright purple in the semi-cloudiness. I don't know if you've ever smelled gorse (otherwise known as furze) before, but it's almost a cross between coconut and plumeria. If you see these little yellow flowers (growing on dark green prickly bushes), please don't hesitate to smell them; that scent is downright intoxicating!

12"x16" oil on canvas

Drat!

I'm feeling a bit under the weather, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to push the completion of my Friday painting (which is roundabout 3/4 completed) until tomorrow.

On the bright side, it's a 12x16, so it's nice and large! Very exciting, yes yes.

So positive healing thoughts appreciated, and I'm sure I'll be right as rain tomorrow!

Loch Laggan

Nothing helps doldrums quite like a cycle-break. I have a tendency to get caught up in cycles and general ennui this time of year, and this morning I felt that usual lethargy creeping in. Rather than bracing myself for a gloomy week lacking productivity and full of sleep imbalances, I'm attempting to nip it in the bud and counteract it as best as I know how. So naturally, I drank an utterly unnecessary amount of tea, picked a few colours that neutralise one another nicely (transparent oxide red and ultramarine blue) and experimented.

This week may end up being full of such experiments, at least until I can get back into my cheery regular routine. Apologies for the poor quality of the photo; the daylight was gone by the time I finished. I'll do my best to take a better one tomorrow and replace this one.

Mental health takes a fair amount of work sometimes, but it is always, *always* worth it.

12"x10" Oil on Canvas

Oystercatchers

I am simply in love with the little oystercatchers that hang out on the revealed sandbars when the tide goes out on the North Sea. Aberdeen has been oscillating between beautifully sunny and dreadfully snowy on a near-quarter-day basis, thanks to the gale-force winds coming off of this lovely sea. With all the flack it's getting for that, I thought we could all use a reminder of how lucky we are to live within walking distance of scenes like this one.

10"x12" Oil on Canvas


P.S. I just put in a bulk order of 12"x16" panels, so some larger works are in our future! Are you as excited as I am?

Tea for the Heart

I've been making a lot of herbal decoctions and teas for my friends this year; I feel like it helps me fill a spiritual void and makes me feel like I am, if even psychosomatically, connecting with ancient medicine women and shamans. I love the idea of brewing a pot of tea and a bounty of life and flora springing forth.

This certainly won't be the final blooming teapot I'll be painting this month!

Again.. Thank you for all your support. I am humbled by the amount of emotional support I've been receiving throughout this daily painting adventure. I simply can't thank you enough.

10"x12" Oil on Canvas

Exciting News!

Hi everyone!

I have great news!

My works are now officially put up for auction here! From now on, paintings posted will have the link to Daily Paint Works, where all of my work from 2015 will be able to be viewed in its entirety and purchased using PayPal.

Just in case you didn't catch the link for this site, here it is.

(that's http://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/catherine-duthie-5535/artwork for those of you who prefer to copy and paste your links rather than follow them.)

Thank you so much for all your support. I know it's a bit silly to admit, but on days when I am feeling sluggish and non-painterly, knowing that there have been at least a couple of you cheering me on gives me the push to keep going.

Here's to a productive and successful February!

By the way, here's that link again, just in case you kept reading and don't feel like scrolling back up to the top of this entry.