The Lady with the Happy Smile

There's a story to the title of this portrait.
One of the first things I tell people who commission a portrait about a good foto reference is "No teeth, only a soft smile with closed mouth".
Well, started sketchin out this portrait and JUST THEN realized: TEETH!

But once I'd overcome my initial hesitation to paint teeth, I just went ahead and am quite happy with the result.
This beautiful lady is the mother of Aurora and Julian who I painted during September. I so enjoyed painting this portrait - I see such a great family resemblance between Mother and Daughter, I just love it!
The title was suggested by the Lady herself. I think it is very fitting!

"The Lady with the Happy Smile"

Oil on panel, 10" by 7"
- NFS -

The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or sign up to follow my blog!

Mr Bennett

Well, what can I say. It's taken me a week to finish this portrait - I just did not find the time to paint this week. And this handsome gentleman was very patiently waiting on the easel. 

This painting was done from a great reference photo sent to me for my September challenge. Great pose, great lighting, and most of all such a wonderful expression.
I do not know if he is a paitent man in general, but he was very understanding to my lack of time... and this portrait was really a pleasure to paint.

"Mr Bennett"

Oil on panel, 10" by 7"
USD 90 (plus shipping)

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The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or sign up to follow my blog!

Aurora

Aurora is the big sister of "J" whose portrait I painted last week. What a fitting name for such a beautiful girl.

I was tempted to zoom out even further than I have to get her beautifiul locks in, but as these portraits are rather small (10" by 7"), I didn't want to have too small a face left.

Take my word for it, her hair is just amazing!

"Aurora"

Oil on panel, 10" by 7"
USD 90 (plus shipping)

- SOLD -

The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or sign up to follow my blog!

Ava

This painting was done from a reference photo sent to me for my September challenge. I just loved the wonderful pose and the lovely girl with her flower flower bouquet - I had to paint it!

Once I started painting I realized that conveying the feeling of this moment became more important than the actual likeness, especially as the girl lookes at her flowers and not straight at us.
I still hope that I cought some part of Ava....

"Ava"

Oil on panel, 10" by 7"
USD 90 (plus shipping)

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The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or sign up to follow my blog!

A.U.

This portrait started out as more loose than the others, though at one point I did 'loose the looseness' a bit?

"A.U."

Oil on panel, 10" by 7"
USD 90 (plus shipping)

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I might have a few spots left on my 'to paint list' for the September challenge, depending on how I'm proceeding on the list I have. So - you can still send me pictures of yourself, your family, your pet or the squirrel in your garden for me to paint. 
 
The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or sign up to follow my blog!

"J" - another 30 in 30 Challenge Portrait

Painting in general - and painting portraits specifically - can be a fun process. You're in the 'flow' and are just painting away, watching the portrait unfold.
Sometimes it feels like you're fighting with painting - and it's not yet clear who's winning.

With this piece, it was a play of hide and seek. Although I do not know "J", the pictures I have of him are so lively and telling, I feel like I got a good idea of his personality. But painting the portrait and catching this spark on canvas -  as I said: hide and seek!

I hope I did succeed in catching a facet of this lovely boy's personality!

"J."

Oil on panel, 10" by 7"
USD 90 (plus shipping)

- BUY NOW -

I might have a few spots left on my 'to paint list' for the September challenge, depending on how I'm proceeding on the list I have. So - you can still send me pictures of yourself, your family, your pet or the squirrel in your garden for me to paint. 
 
The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or sign up to follow my blog!

CW - Sunkissed

Portrait of a good friend and art buddy, taken in Italy.
Or was it South of France? - somewhere sunny and with good food, anyways.

This was actually done before I've started the 30in30, but it really fits as it was a quick, 'sketchy' approache.

"CW - Sunkissed"

Oil on panel, 6" by 6"
USD 80 (plus shipping)

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I have a few spots left on my 'to paint list' and am still looking for subjects to paint, so send me pictures of yourself, your family, your pet or the squirrel in your garden for me to paint. I'd love to have this added challenge, and it would be more fun!

The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or sign up to follow my blog!

Céline at 13

My goddaughter Celine is 13 - and it's wonderful to see her growing from the child she was into the wonderful, clever and lovely teenager she is today!
 
Of course I'm especially proud that she is a painter as well - she has such an artistic talent, wonderful sense of colour and perspective and is eager to learn and practice.

"Céline at 13"

Oil on panel, 10" by 7"

- not for sale -

Still a few spots left on my 'to paint list', so I am looking for subjects to paint. Send me pictures of yourself, your family, your pet or the squirrel in your garden for me to paint. I'd love to have this added challenge, and it would be more fun!

The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or sign up to follow my blog!

Bright, Sunny Day

After three kids' portraits the next painting is of TH - the reference photo was taken on a bright, wonderfully sunny day. I was struck by how TH's blue eyes were shining out from the shadow cast by his white hat.

So much fun to paint!

"TH on a Sunny Day"

Oil on panel, 10" by 7"
USD 80 (plus shipping)

- BUY NOW -

I have a few spots left on my 'to paint list' and am still looking for subjects to paint, so send me pictures of yourself, your family, your pet or the squirrel in your garden for me to paint. I'd love to have this added challenge, and it would be more fun!

The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or sign up to follow my blog!

Eneas Nr 1

And the third challenge painting - my little nephew!

Eneas is three years old and a typical boy! In January I did paint some of his many toy cars - he loves everything with an engine.
And he adores his little blue backpack! Don't try to leave the house without it or there's gonna be trouble.

"Eneas Nr 1"

Oil on panel, 10" by 7"

- not for sale -

I have a few spots left on my 'to paint list' and am still looking for subjects to paint, so send me pictures of yourself, your family, your pet or the squirrel in your garden for me to paint. I'd love to have this added challenge, and it would be more fun!

The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or sign up to follow my blog!

"Nerissa Nr 1" - second challenge painting

This is the second painting in my "30 in 30" challenge, and it had to be off my second niece - actually the first, as she's the older one.
The reference for this portrait was taken ​when Nerissa took part in a ballet show. She's wearing the cutest costume - think Dirndel meets Nutcracker!
Of course Nerissa is not just beautiful but also a great dancer.

I'm thinking of doing a larger painting of her in the future to include more of the dress.

"Nerissa Nr 1"

Oil on panel, 9" by 7"

- not for sale -

Since this is a challenge I though "why not make it just this bit more.... challenging for me": I'd love for you all to send me pictures of yourself, your family, your pet or the squirrel in your garden for me to paint. I'd love to have this added challenge, and it would be more fun!
Only condition: make sure you've taken the picture yourself or have the consent of the one who has taken it. AND of course have the consent of the person in the photo...
This is painting Nr 2 in the "30 in 30 September 2014" challenge - more to come!


The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or sign up to follow my blog!

Posted with Blogsy

Starting another "30 in 30" Challenge - Portrait of my Niece

After such a long hiatus on my blog I'm back - with another "30 in 30 challenge"!

This means 30 paintings in 30 days, one per day, throughout September.
Quite a task.
I already did this challenge in January this year and am very proud to say that I did not miss one single day! This time I might have to skip a few, but let's see how it goes.

As my theme for this month I want to focus on (quick!) Portraits as well as animals. To start off this is a portrait of my niece (the younger one).

When painting a portrait, I am probably the last one to be pleased and feel like I've done the subject justice - even more so if it's somebody I know and love. So usually I would take more time, but hey, it's a challenge, isn't it?
And just because I'm curious and painting children is soo difficult: how old do you think she is?

"Tamina Nr 1"

Oil on panel, 9" by 7"
- not for sale -

Since this is a challenge I though "why not make it just this bit more.... challenging for me": I'd love for you all to send me pictures of yourself, your family, your pet or the squirrel in your garden for me to paint. I'd love to have this added challenge, and it would be more fun!
Only condition: make sure you've taken the picture yourself or have the consent of the one who has taken it. AND of course have the consent of the person in the photo...

This is painting Nr 1 in the "30 in 30 September 2014" challenge - more to come!


The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or sign up to follow my blog!

'L' is for Lemon

The third fruit painting - and I've decided to 'join the bandwagon' and start a series of fruit paintings following the alphabet. Not in the A to Z order, and not within a given time frame, but I always love the idea of series or groups of painting belonging together.

So here is the first one: "'L' is for Lemon".
And because I'm free to make the rules as I like them, the previous two paintings belong into this series as well: "('S' is for) Strawberry Trio" and "('K' is for) Kiwi Duet".

" 'L' ist for Lemon"

Oil on panel, 5" by 7"
USD 85 (plus shipping)

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My paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or subscribe to my blog!

Kiwi Duet

Next fruit: Kiwi!

I honestly didn't plan on painting this, but realised on the way to my weekly evening at my atelier that I had nothing to paint there - so I stopped at the store next to the gas station and bought a Kiwi.
The painting is the same size and format as the 'Strawberry Trio' and the do look really nice and almost summery next to each other!

"Kiwi Duet"

Oil on panel, 5" by 7"
USD 85 (plus shipping)

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My paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or subscribe to my blog!

Strawberry Trio

Such a wonderful day today! The sun is shining, all the trees are in bloom, people are smiling - and I got to paint strawberries!

I haven't really painted for almost three weeks now, and it felt good to be back at the easel!
The seeds in the strawberries had me puzzled to begin with, but I realized the 'trick' is to paint the highlight around the seeds - et voilà!

"Strawberry Trio"

Oil on panel, 5" by 7"
USD 85 (plus shipping)

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My paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or subscribe to my blog!

Cheese Cake (with Berry Coulis)

Yes, this is it, the last of my "Take 10" paintings!
At least for the moment, I'll definitely do another "Take 10" series again soon. It's just so much fun.

Especially this one. I wanted to end on a good note, and celebrate. With cake. Of course!
My next "Take 10" might acually be all cakes, wouldn't that be cool?

What's YOUR idea for my next series of paintings? Let me know here or on Facebook!

"Cheese Cake (with Berry Coulis)"

Oil on panel, 6" by 6"
USD 85 (plus shipping)

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The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or subscribe to my blog!

What else?

Remember yesterday's Carrot Cake painting?

It was really fun painting it, AND as a nice treat I got to eat the cake afterwards. It was delicious, and what better to go with it than my favorite coffee - Nespresso (what else....)!

So for number 9 in my "Take 10 - Spring" challenge I played around with the colorful and nicely shaped coffee capsules. Reminded me a bit of the Lego paintings I did in January...

"What else?"

Oil on panel, 6" by 6"
USD 85 (plus shipping)

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The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or subscribe to my blog!

(Spring) Carrot Cake

Sooo.... you might ask yourself: What exactly is a Spring Carrot Cake?

Easy - it obviously is a carrot cake painted as part of my "Take 10 - Spring" challenge. But why should I choose carrot cake as a typical spring subject?
Honestly, no reason.
Apart from today being 'Pie Day'! - and although this cake is not a pie, it's close enough, don't you think?

"(Spring) Carrot Cake"

Oil on panel, 6" by 6"
USD 85 (plus shipping)

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The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or subscribe to my blog!

Spring Artichoke

This is already Nr 7 in my "Take 10 - Spring" challenge - only three more painting days left...

I love artichokes, but I've never cooked them myself. So I bought two and will hopefullly have them for dinner tomorrow.

"Spring Artichoke"

Oil on panel, 6" by 6"
USD 85 (plus shipping)

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The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or subscribe to my blog!

Daffodils - slightly confused

I was reminded of a blog entry by one of the artist I follow. He posted a painting of a bowl with an orange in it and wrote: "I would have thought this was easier!"
That's how I felt today.
And confused.

The reason for my confusion: I decided to do my daily painting with acrylics instead of the usual oils. As you know I do paint a lot with acrylics, but usually these are big, abstract paintings. 
And I'm used to paint my smaller, figurative / realistic paintings in oils.

So sitting down today painting these daffodils, I had to remind myself that yes, acrylics dry fast. No, I cannot change the color on the canvas by taking another color up on my brush and mixing it in. And yes, acrylics do dry a little darker!


And although I love daffodils, they are not the most forgiving subject to paint... But then they smell lovely!

"Spring Flowers - 5"

Oil on panel, 6" by 6"
USD 65 (plus shipping)

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This is the sixth painting in the "Take 10 - Spring" challenge.
The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or subscribe to my blog!

Spring Flowers - 4

Nr 4 in my "Take 10 - Spring" challenge - and my 'Dailies' have become "Nightlies'...

"Spring Flower - 4"

Oil on panel, 7" by 5"
USD 85 (plus shipping)

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This is the fifth painting in the "Take 10 - Spring" challenge.
The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or subscribe to my blog!

Spring Onion - 1

Nr 4 in my "Take 10 - Spring" challenge, and no flowers today, but: SPRING onions!

They are fresh, green and smell delicious. I'll be having scrambled eggs with spring onions for dinner tomorrow.
But then again - I might just paint them one more time. Find out tomorrow!

"Spring Onions - 1"

Oil on panel, 7" by 5"
USD 85 (plus shipping)

- sold -

Today's goodie (apart from the painting!): the song "Green Onions" by Booker T & the MG's. Cool music, great dance scenes - enjoy and dance along!

Did you recognize all the actors? - comment and let me know!

 

 

With a wink and a smile to Van Gogh...

I can't help it, these flowers are just too much fun to paint!
So Nr 3 in my "Take 10 - Spring" challenge is flowers again, this time yellow daisies. Three of them, enjoying their 'Van Gogh'-color-setting...

I'm curious: what subject do you think is 'typically spring'? I'd love to read your comments here or on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art !

"Spring Flowers - 3"

Oil on panel, 7" by 5"
USD 75 (plus shipping)

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Oh, and just because it's a beautiful spring Sunday - and the title of the post asks for it - here's some music to go along...

 

Spring Flower - 2

Nr 2 in my "Take 10 - Spring" challenge. The same flower as Nr 1, but I've played with the background color. Lush, vivid, fresh green!

I'm sure there are more variations to be painted of this one. And thinking of spring, flowers are the first things that come to mind for me. Though I do have some other subjects planned as well.
Stay tuned....

"Spring Flower - 2"

Oil on panel, 4" by 4"
USD 65 (plus shipping)

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This is the second painting in the "Take 10 - Spring" challenge.
The paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or subscribe to my blog!

"Take 10" - first challenge painting

In January I painted 30 paintings in 30 days - a great experience!
Yesterday I talked to my best friend and she asked me (actually nagged me) to keep on doing daily paintings.
 
No, I don't think I should or even wanted to commit to this.

But: as I love the idea, I've decided to - from time to time - challenge myself to paint 10 paintings in 10 days. And I'll call the challenge "Take 10". I think that is a manageable approach, don't you?

The motto for these first 10 days will be SPRING! (not very original, but I'm sure we're all ready for Spring...). So here is the first of my "Take 10 - Spring" paintings.

 "Spring Flower - 1"

Oil on panel, 4" by 4"

USD 65 (plus shipping)

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Thetis

"... and she
like a breath of wind
passed swiftly from the hall
as a dream
and leapt into the sea"

"Thetis" 

Acrylic on canvas, 32" by 32"
contact me for purchase information

In greek mythology, Thetis is a sea nymph or goddess of water - she could probably be seen as the 'original mermaid'.

She was also the mother of Achilles. And there was that small incident at her wedding that led to the Trojan War... (Eris, the goddess of discord, had not been invited. In spite, she threw a golden apple into the midst of the goddesses that was to be awarded only "to the fairest." The award was made during the Judgement of Paris and eventually occasioned the Trojan War.)

The poetry is from the 'Argonautica '(Voyage of the Argo) by Apollonius of Rhodes."

Mr Wilson

Meet Mr. Wilson!
He's a lovely, adorable dachshund, small dog, big personality!

I met him a few years ago when I was staying with my friend Nancy in Scottsdale. Two weeks ago, she challenged me to paint him...

"Mr. Wilson"

Oil on panel, 6" by 6"
USD 85 (plus shipping)

- sold -

Oh, by the way: Wouldn't it be just great to paint a cat (or dog) called Dr. House next? - so if you have or know of such a cat or dog, send me a picture!

Stack Nr 1

I got these tea cups years ago and bring them out whenever I'm serving green tea. I just love the mix of colors and how nicely they fit in my hand.
'Stack Nr 1' - since I plan on doing more of those...
 

"Stack Nr 1"

Oil on panel, 6" by 6"
 USD 85 (plus shipping)
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My paintings are also posted on my Facebook Artist Page Regula Scheifele Fine Art - I'd love to have you follow me on Facebook or sign up to follow my blog!

And the winner is....

First thanks everybody who participated in the give-away - here, on my Facebook page and even on pinterest!


 
And the winner of the 30 in 30 challenge is...

Claudia!

So Claudia, go ahead and chose your favorite of the 30 in 30 paintings and let me know!

Selfie - 1/2014

It was good to be painting again yesterday - feels like such a long time since the last 30 in 30 painting (ehmm.. ok, four days...)

I love doing portraits and will do more in the next weeks. So of course I had to start with a 'selfie'!
Doing a self portrait has many advantages - your model is ready when you are, and usually doesn't complain. Or not too much. And apart from the practical side, I think it is a great way for an artist to  journal both oneself as a person and one's art and where we are on our artistic journey.

I started this portrait end of December but did not work on it during the 30 in 30 challenge. I had started out with a monochrome underpaiting and expected to work on this with layers. But when I put it on the easle to finish I realzed I needed to aproach this differently, with more colors, more spontaneity. I quite like the way it turned out!

 

'Self-Portrait (1/2014)'
Oil, 6'' x 6''

not for sale