Beginning to paint

Beginning at a very early age, I found drawing my favorite thing to do.  I was asked to do chalk murals on the blackboards for holidays such as Christmas, which was my favorite.  I was good at copying the work of others.  In high school 3 of my friends and I did a mural on the gym wall for prom night.  It was 6' tall and about 30 ' long, maybe more.  It was an oriental theme.  After graduation, I met the love of my life and married at 19.  We had three children and lost one baby.  He was premature and the doctors did not have the capabilities they have now to save a baby not fully developed.  When I was pregnant for this child, I was on bedrest and going a little crazy not being able to move around much. I asked my husband to buy me some paints and a canvas and my love for the art began.  My first attempt was a clown.  I sold it for $8.00 at a garage sale and was thrilled.
I continued to paint, New Orleans scenes and people.  The children knew not to touch mama's paints and often would sit at my feet playing while I was painting.  I began to sell some of my work to the teachers where my children went to school.  In the early seventies I took a workshop with Daniel Greene and that started the development of my skills at painting portraits.  That is the extent of my formal training.  The rest I learned from reading every book I could afford to buy.  I worked in pastels and made my own after reading a book by Alan Flattman in which he described a method of his own.  When water based oils came out, I switched to those and never looked back.
I make sculptures, methods learned from books, which served me well.  I have done china painting, which I really like, but I was accumulating many works and could not sell them.  I am now working only in oils, and producing an occasional sculpture.

china paintings and oil paintings for sale

round box about 4" $25.00

Oil painting commission

21x30 $750.00 two people

miniature black box about 3" $30.00

My Grandson

not for sale

$55.00

$75.00

$55.00 ea.

Gold filled wire

hand formed around

porcelain cabochons

Icon
Sold for $100.00
Would do

another just

like it.

4" miniature

$
30.00

$55.00

Sold for $75.00
Would do another

just like it.

$95.00

China painting is a unique method of painting with mineral paints and firing to maturity in a kiln, sometimes 3 to as many as 10 times. My paintings are on plates, boxes, jewelry and other items. They are for sale as are my oil paintings. I do predominantly portraits from pictures. The painting of the little boy, the couple and the horses are oils on canvas, the rest are done on china. Anyone interested making a purchase, please contact me at tsita@bellsouth.net. Thanks, Terry