Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Memories -sold

oil 10x10 inches A friend commissioned me to paint these objects from her wedding. Don't know how she walks in these shoes, but they're her favorite. If you could combine a lot of difficult things to paint, this would do it: flowers, gold sequins, bronze, rhinestones, gold, beads and even glitter on the shoes which I didn't attempt. I had a lot of fun and she likes the painting. Whew!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Half-a-Tomato


oil 4x4 inches not for sale Sometimes I think I'm like a chicken pecking around the house for something to paint. When I opened the fridge, this pretty little tree inside the tomato stopped me in my tracks (chicken tracks :-)

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Memory Desk

oil 8x8 inches I had a great visit in Happy Jack, but I'm glad to be home. Don't think I'll drive across the desert alone again. I had a few scary moments related to running out of gas and on the way back, overheating. If you ever drive in 116 degree heat, turn down your air, push the recirculate button and keep your rpms under 3000. It worked. As for the painting, I did get one chance to paint and visit at the same time. The desk sat in a tiny alcove lit by a north window. Not just any old antiques, these belonged to her parents and grandparents.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Mini Creamer

oil 4x4 inches not for sale When I have just a little time to paint I paint a little painting. My mother gave me this individual creamer she had purchased long ago in Amsterdam. The white glaze is a kind of cool yellowish leaning toward blue. That's what I love most about it. So subtle. A very limited palette of TWhite, UltBlue, CdYellowMed and CdRedLt made painting this one simple. Tomorrow I'm off to Happy Jack, Arizona for a few days visiting loved ones. Painting and internet access are unknowns at this point, but I'll be back.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Winery Shadows

oil 8x8 inches Click to Purchase This is the Galleano Winery building, painted on location this morning. I should have peeked inside, but I got wrapped up in my painting. Next time. Olive trees have an interesting silvery blue-green color that I like. I can't get over the friendliness of everyone at Galleano. What a great place to paint. They have shade, a little park with a restroom, tons of historical stuff and the wine is delicious. Click here for more info on Galleano.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Old Galleano -sold

oil 10x8 inches click here to bid This morning I went out to the Galleano Winery with my new Coulter Plein Air System. I was really exited to try it out. After picking my spot, I discovered I had no paper towels! Dang! Driving to a store gave the sun a chance to come out. Yay! Almost finished with my painting, I heard a voice behind me; "You're pretty damn good!" It was Don Galleano who long ago proclaimed another painting I did out there "damn good." This time he introduced himself and invited me into the tasting room for a glass of wine. Well how could I refuse? :-) He insisted I take the glass, the wine and a bottle to go, (!) and "get back out there". What a nice guy. Everybody else out there is just as friendly. You can see my Coulter System supported my wine glass quite nicely.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Rainy Evening At Lori's

oil 8x8 inches click here to bid Lori's on Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco. Light was fading fast, but the sign seemed to glow. I liked the neon signs in contrast to the overall darkness. I chose to paint this one partly because I wondered if I could pull it off.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Road Trip -sold

oil 8x8 inches click here to bid In Montana somebody was taking pictures while they were driving. This is very dangerous, and I don't recommend it.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Gracie

oil 8x8 inches not for sale On a recent beach day the sun tried to burn through the clouds, but it remained pretty cold and overcast all day. My photo reference for this would have been better with a clear division of light and shadow, but I couldn't resist my little granddaughter's pose and her polka-dot suit. I used what I had and painted the existing conditions.

Friday, June 1, 2012

The Magic Donut -sold

oil 6x6 inches click here to bid It's National Doughnut Day! The fabric pattern reminds me of a magic carpet. I love donuts and doughnuts. Found out you can spell it either way. Go get some donuts. I'm pretty sure the calories don't count if you eat them today.