Series

"Mr. Bee Poses For His Portrait" by Lesley Spanos. Acrylic painting on Ampersand Aquabord, 7" x 5". Copyright ©2012 Lesley Spanos, all rights reserved.

I don’t know why I love the Bumble Bee Bop so much. I guess part of the reason is because these guys are always cheerful, and just so darn cute.

Then there’s pure artistic admiration. The designers managed to create believable personalities from basic shapes that remind me of a giant billiard ball stacked on top of a giant yellow golf ball. The simplest designs can be the most effective! These bees have no moving parts – the head doesn’t turn, and the arms are stationary – yet from every angle they present a different expression. Sometimes it’s “Ta Da!” or “Peace, brother.” This one’s my favorite, the humble “Oh, gosh, you want to paint little ol’ me?” look.

There’s a new Angry Birds theme park in Finland. Their version of the Bumble Bee Bop features the Big Brother bird from the game. Too cute!

"Blind Side" by Lesley Spanos. Acrylic painting on Ampersand Aquabord, 7" x 5". Copyright ©2012 Lesley Spanos, all rights reserved.

He’s not really blind, just blinded by blinders. Trainers put all sorts of interesting contraptions on these harness race horses so they won’t get distracted by things – real or imagined – during a race. Some setups look like they were cobbled together with baling wire.

This one is posted in the Daily Paintworks Up Close Animal Challenge created by artist Taryn Day

"Stanley Steamer" sketch by Lesley Spanos. Gouache and pen on kraft paper, 8" x 9". Copyright ©2011 Lesley Spanos, all rights reserved.

I’d never seen a steam-powered car fired up until I saw this one. It was in the daily parade at the Indiana State Fair, it’s shiny red paint gleaming in the sun. When I looked up Stanley Steamer Motor Carriage Company on Wikipedia, I found a photo of this car in the article. Not just this model, but this actual car with the same US flag decal on the windshield, and the same owner/driver, photographed at the Indiana State Fair. Small world, eh?

I’m posting this one in Liz Wilzen’s Value Challenge on Daily Paintworks. Liz’s challenge requires us to use only four values, so I used black marker, white gouache, and a brown gouache. The light brown paper works as the fourth value. I used to like doing sketches like this in life drawing class in school, but that was a LONG time ago!

"Flare" by Lesley Spanos. Gouache painting on Multimedia Artboard, 6" x 4". Copyright ©2011 Lesley Spanos, all rights reserved.

This is a harness racing horse I saw at the State Fair a couple of years ago. It’s painted in M. Graham gouache. I love gouache!  The matte surface is so velvety. I’d use it more often, if it didn’t require framing under glass.

"Redear Sunfish" by Lesley Spanos. Acrylic painting on Ampersand Aquabord, 7" x 5". Copyright ©2011 Lesley Spanos, all rights reserved.

This painting proves that just about any subject can be found at the State Fair if you look around enough. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has a beautiful display of fish at the Indiana State Fair. Outdoor ponds and indoor aquariums showcase native and introduced species.  There’s even a catch and release fishing pond where kids can learn to fish under supervision.

What attracted me to this redear sunfish was the translucence of his fins. The light shining through them reminded me of fiber optics.

A few images taken along the way:

"Goatee" by Lesley Spanos. Acrylic painting on Ampersand Aquabord, 5" x 7". Copyright ©2011 Lesley Spanos, all rights reserved.

I never really thought about the source of the word “goatee,’ until I saw this guy. He had quite a nice beard, long, silky, and clean.

Here are a few shots taken along the way: