The Art of Giving

The holidays are here again -- how wonderful it is to share time with your family.  Families are our core and they love us for who we are -- there is no better love than that!

So before you get carried away with the holiday rush, take a few minutes and be grateful for all that you have right now, and remember the people who don’t seem to have as much.

There are lots of homeless people here in the United States that could use some of our help -- the smallest of even a smile will bring them joy!   Volunteer to help out at a shelter or bring some food to a needy family  -- they can always use those clothes in your closet that you never wear!  It feels great to give!

And it starts with today -- give a smile to everyone you meet!

"A Story For My Brother" (study)

9 x 12 Oil on Board

DianeLeonard.com

Diane@DianeLeonard.com

Painting With Color

Creating color in paintings is so much fun and using color to create light is what I love to do.

I found this hat on the internet and ordered it -- the blue on the hat creates the mood for the painting -- the light shines through and crates a glow.

My model sat in my garden with her glass of wine and the wildflowers that are growing there provided a great background and foreground for me to paint -- and, the splashes of the yellow/orange brought out the blues in the painting.

The magenta gloves added the color to the painting!

I love doing the small apuntes (studies) every day -- they give me the freedom to try new techniques and ideas in my work and they are fun to do!

“A Treasured Moment”, 7 x 5 Oil on Boarddianeleonard.com