"Scrambled" by Lesley Spanos. Acrylic painting on Multimedia Artboard, 5 x 7". Copyright ©2010 Lesley Spanos, all rights reserved. Still working on my State Fair series, and loving it! My latest painting in the series is taken from a photo I took last summer of people riding the Scrambler...

"When Ducks Gossip" by Lesley Spanos. Acrylic painting on Multimedia Artboard, 5 x 7". Copyright ©2010 Lesley Spanos, all rights reserved. These little rubber duckies in the Duck Pond game seemed to be sharing secrets. Carnies look at you a little weird when you photograph their ducks...

"The Merry Jester" by Lesley Spanos. Acrylic painting on Multimedia Artboard, 5 x 7". Copyright ©2010 Lesley Spanos, all rights reserved. This is the image that got me interested in doing a State Fair series. I love how the carving sparkles. My favorite time to photograph an outdoor carousel...

"Dogs" by Lesley Spanos. Acrylic painting on Multimedia Artboard, 5 x 7". Copyright ©2010 Lesley Spanos, all rights reserved. It was early morning at the State Fair, and the food vendors were setting up for the day. This brightly colored hot dog booth glowed in the sunlight. My favorite...

"Hey! Google!" by Lesley Spanos. Oil painting on Ampersand Gessobord, 6 x 6". Copyright ©2010 Lesley Spanos, all rights reserved. Painted with permission from Google Street View image. This month’s Virtual Paintout is in the Czech Republic. Finding a subject was difficult for me,...

"Gran Canaria Highway" by Lesley Spanos. M. Graham gouache on Multimedia Artboard, 9.5 x 5". Painted with permission from Google Street View image. Painting copyright ©2010, all rights reserved. This one almost ended up in the dumpster. It’s another piece I started for Bill Guffey’s...

"Sedona Morning" by Lesley Spanos. 6 x 6" oil painting on Ampersand Gessobord. ©Copyright Lesley Spanos 2010, all rights reserved. What’s that wretched creaking sound? Must be my rusty painting skills! It seems like all my creative focus lately has been on planning paintings, rather...

"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...