"Travelin' Shoes" by Lesley Spanos. Acrylic on 10 x 5.5" paper. Copyright ©2009, all rights reserved. This Different Strokes airport travelers challenge reminded me of Elvin Biship’s song, “Travelin’ Shoes,” which I put on repeat as I painted. These days the...

"The View" by Lesley Spanos. Oil on 6 x 6" Gessobord panel. Copyright ©2009, all rights reserved. My answer to Karin Jurick’s Different Strokes City Rooftops challenge. Thank you, Karin, for another versatile reference photo. The shot was taken from her hotel room in San Francisco,...

"Chocolate, Vanilla, Chocolate" by Lesley Spanos. Oil on diagonal 6 x 6" Gessobord panel. Copyright ©2009, all rights reserved. Our Different Strokes From Different Folks challenge subject this week is cupcakes. Now, I love cupcakes, even if I don’t eat them. In fact, I firmly believe...

"Stones" by Lesley Spanos. A country lane in Kettlewell, Wharfedale, Yorkshire. M. Graham Gouache on paper, 6 x 6". Copyright ©2009, all rights reserved. I’ve become a Challenge Whore. I’ve taken hundreds of photos I could use as reference, yet I roam the net at night, searching...

"Concertgoers" by Lesley Spanos. Acrylic on paper, 7 x 11". Copyright ©2009, all rights reserved. When I saw this beautiful couple at the opening concert of the Symphony On The Prairie season, I knew I had to paint them. In honor of the Grateful Dead theme that night, he wore tie-dye,...

"Sweet Georgia Grown" by Lesley Spanos. Acrylic on paper, 14 x 7". Copyright ©2009, all rights reserved. Sometimes the paint flows, and sometimes it doesn’t. This was one of those weeks when the paint was not my friend. When I saw the reference photo on Karin Jurick’s Different...

"She Brings Lemonade" by Lesley Spanos. Acrylic on panel, 14 x 8". Copyright ©2009, all rights reserved. She brings lemonade for her man, and water for the horses. Is it any different than when I bring my husband a beer while he’s working on his Jeep on a hot day? This is another...

"New Mexico Adobe" by Lesley Spanos. Oil on Raymar panel, 12 x 9". Copyright ©2009, all rights reserved. I can’t seem to get enough of these art challenges. They so neatly answer the question of “what should I paint next,” while forcing me to explore subjects I wouldn’t...

"Madison Avenue" by Lesley Spanos. Oil on Gessobord panel, 6 x 6". Copyright ©2009, all rights reserved. Here’s another painting for Karin Jurick’s Different Strokes From Different Folks painting challenge. View Larger MapGoogle Street View of the location. You can move around...

"Boogie Fever" by Lesley Spanos. Gouache on paper, 5 x 9.5". Copyright ©2009, all rights reserved. I’ve long admired artist Karin Jurick’s paintings of people relaxing on the beach, so how cool is it to get to paint from one of her beach photos, with her blessing? That was...

"Kalifornia Roll" by Lesley Spanos. 12 x 9" oil painting on panel. Copyright ©2009 Lesley Spanos, all rights reserved. A California roll is to sushi what Tex-Mex food is to Mexican cuisine – a Western adaptation of a traditional food using local ingredients more suited to the American...

"The Girls" by Lesley Spanos. Oil painting on 14 x 8" wood panel. © Copyright 2009 Lesley Spanos, all rights reserved. I can’t say that “Sex and the City” has ever been one of my favorite television shows. I’ve laughed at times – sometimes really hard –...

"Chocolate Mousse Heart Cake" by Lesley Spanos. Oil painting on 5 x 5" Gessobord. Copyright ©2009 Lesley Spanos, all rights reserved. So for Valentine’s Day, I watched my husband eat cake. We searched several bakeries to find just the right cake. Something oooey-goooey and yummy...

"Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail" motorcycle painting by Lesley Spanos. Oil on archival 9 x 12" Raymar canvas panel. ©Copyright 2009, all rights reserved. Fortunately I had my camera with me the day I saw this Harley in a parking lot.  I’m not a motorcycle person, but this thing...

"Chocolate Caramel Lava Cake" by Lesley Spanos. Oil painting on 5 x 5" canvas on panel. Copyright © Lesley Spanos 2009, all rights reserved. The hubby has fully embraced the idea of me painting desserts and him eating them. Thanks to his enthusiastic purchases, I already have hundreds...

"Tiramisu" by Lesley Spanos. Oil painting on 5 x 5" canvas panel. Copyright ©2009, all rights reserved. My husband tells me he’s “on board 100%” with the idea of me painting more desserts. He gets to eat them, I get to photograph and paint them. Years ago, it would...