Remember the Soup Nazi? Today's Landmark Painting Challenge: Wilson's Restaurant in Findlay, OH

Wilson's Sandwich Shop in Findlay, Ohio
Photo reference credit: Andrew Thomas Lee


  Well, today's painting challenge was to paint a local landmark, and I chose to paint Wilson's Hamburger Shop in my hometown of Findlay, Ohio.  My family came here a lot when I was a kid.  It was here before McDonald's, Burger King, or Wendy's, and popping in for a cup of coffee and a slice of pie is still a daily routine for many people here in Findlay.
What does this have to do with the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld?  Read on....

As a kid, we used to go sit down with Mom to 'hold the table' while my Dad went up to order.  I always got a 'special', which is a burger with lettuce, tomato, and mayo, and a malt or a 'frosted'.  It seemed like forever passed by while we waited for our food, and we would impatiently jump out of our seats at the table and go for a spin on one of these stools until we were dizzy.  Wilson's was always loaded with old people, and there weren't many kids around.

It wasn't until I was older that I realized that Dad didn't want us at the counter for a good reason.  The staff wasn't so patient with kids, especially the 'stool spinning' sort, and you had to order correctly to make them smile.  There is a certain way to do it, and you don't dare 'stray from the way'.  Ha!  So here is entertainment at it's best, a blog post with video!  You can check out the true scoop on Wilson's in Findlay by clicking this short video  link (starring my sister-in-law Angela), and then take a look at some of the Soup Nazi scenes, have a laugh and decide for yourself!

What about Wilson's? 
Seinfeld's Soup Nazi Scenes

 By the way, if you'd like to buy my painting of Wilson's Hamburger Shop, you can bid on it this week on Carol Marine's Daily Paintworks, bidding starts at $15!  

30 in 30 Challenge Update...

 YEA!! I am finally getting it!  Painting every day is getting to be more fun now... I wonder if I'll have trouble going back to glass next month when this challenge is finished? I joined Carol Marine's Daily Paintworks this week, & love looking at all the 'real painters' works on the site.

The Phoenix cafe in Benton Harbor, MI.  I am enjoying palette knives and trying to paint glass and shiny things. I like a lot of Leslie Saeta's knife paintings on her page, and I am going to try more of these.

Another wet street in progress.  I think I found a subject I like.

My Brother's Rescue Husky, I got this far and realized that I didn't have room for his nose and ears on my board!

Painting, Painting, Painting

Last night something finally clicked... I learned that I am supposed to wipe my brush clean after every stroke, and that oil paint is it's own bird.  I can't expect it to behave like watercolor or acrylic, and now I can understand how watercolor might be difficult for an oil painter.  Pressing on, I know I am behind, but I am looking at this challenge in a more excited state of mind.  Finally I can begin to grasp these little things that are helping me see what I am doing wrong so I can correct them... 

Painting 30 in 30? But I'm not a painter..

Well the new year has brought some great resolutions for 2013, and some fun challenges too!

I like to try new media here and there to jump start my creative side and throw me into the 'uncomfort zone'.  This year I signed up for a painting challenge, 30 small oil paintings in 30 days.  Crazy!
There are hundreds of people doing this, can you imagine 300 people doing 30 paintings?  That's potentially 9,000 paintings in only one month!

I always jump right into this kind of craziness thinking "I'm gonna do it!"  and also that miraculously I will be good at it.  Well, I can tell you it is going to be a long month.  I am a glass artist, not a painter and it shows.  LOL

Day One.
My husband suggested I paint a fire hydrant.  I said that a fire hydrant would be nice, but it would mean nothing to me.  He said "It would if you were on fire".  He is right, so here it is.

Day Two.
Learning about dealing with globs of paint and wet city streets.  

Check out some of the other artists' work at Leslie Saeta's blog:  http://www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com.  This is the main site for the challenge, and we all admire her amazing paintings.

So far I've worked on 2 paintings, neither of them are great, and I am kind of disgusted at my lack of ability to handle oil paint (somehow it is everywhere, on every surface possible, and it looks like it's not going to be drying anytime soon)   However, I am determined to complete the challenge, and learn something with each attempt.  Follow along and see what happens!