"Intimate Crawdad Scene" is a 14 x 11 in. studio oil painting of flowers and grasses along the edge of the water at Crawdad Slough in the Cook County Forest Preserve District.

I am returning to my original love of oil painting for awhile. I am enjoying thick paint and expressive marks to create texture with a brush and palette knife. I briefly looked at my photo reference because I just wanted my impression of the scene, not an exact image. I'm told that the pink flowers are a type of hibiscus and the  Queen's Anne Lace looked like it was reaching for the sun. It reminds me of the beautiful, sunny day I spent with friends painting by the water.

I started with thin paint blocking in the background water, the dark shape of the grasses and the foreground shorter and warmer grass. Then I used thicker paint to develop the grasses and flowers. It is important to be free and random with my marks because that is nature. Often my students want to draw or paint each blade of grass and it must be perfectly aligned. That is a good goal for my front lawn but not for a natural scene.

There are many pastel paintings in my studio but they have been for my students and what they wanted to do. I guess it is time I did a pastel that I want to do. Sign up for my newsletter to also see some of the acrylic paintings that I have done. www.sueflanagan.com

Sue and Suzy, the artist with the split personality

Every once in awhile I have a very satisfying experience when a painting seems to paint itself and I am very pleased with the outcome. This is a rare occurrence but that is what happened with "Floral Impressions," a 24 x 12 in. oil on canvas.

I had a mediocre oil painting on this canvas. The idea came to me that a vertical impressionistic floral would look very nice on it. What do I have to loose? This was the painting that was on the canvas. I wasn't happy with it and the canvas is expensive. I might as well do something with it.

I looked through my Pinterest boards, my flower floral photos, and images on calendars. Then I put them all away so I wouldn't copy anything. I wanted a loose interpretation of flowers in a vase.

I put a huge pile of oil paint on my palette, grabbed a palette knife, and turned the music on. 2 1/2 hours later I had Floral Impressions. It is as if the image jumped off the palette and onto the canvas. Now this one is a keeper.

Sue and Suzy, the artist with the split personality

www.sueflanagan.com

Yesterday I received the best compliment I ever received about my art. My artist friend Judy and I were painting outside at the Morton Arboretum. The temperature was perfect. It was sunny and the air was fresh. We had some fall color. I told Judy that this was such a beautiful place and so peaceful. She agreed and I said we really need peace in our world.

I finished this plein air painting called "At Peace." It is a 10 x 8 in. oil.

As I was packing up and a man approached and asked if he could see my painting. I let him. I was wondering what he would say about it. He then said, "You must be a person at peace." I was taken aback and told him that yes, I was. Then he said, "People are happy to be around you. You can see beauty in creation and put it on a canvas."

That almost moved me to tears. He then spoke eloquently about the beauty of creation that is all around us and how grateful we are to God for it.  After a little more sharing he continued on his hike.

I have tried to intentionally paint an emotion but I was using my left brain. I looked at symbols and colors. It was an artificial approach. This time it was real. This man saw something in my work that I was truly feeling that day.

It is not the best painting I have ever done but it is one of the most meaningful. For me, the best compliments are about an emotional reaction to my art. I think a lot of artists want to connect with their audience on that level. It is one thing to accurately recreate a scene. It is a totally different thing for someone to react emotionally to your work. That reaction is more powerful.

I felt like God sent one of his messengers to me and it was a blessing.

Sue and Suzy, the artist with the split personality