Poms & Bird

oil 6x18 inches not for sale Today I'm off to the last day of the Fair. I met and worked with the nicest people, painted more than twenty paintings and sold quite a few. Elizabeth and I had a blast working alongside each other. So grateful to her for talking me into it and sharing her space. This painting is one in the pomegranate series, and possibly my favorite so far. The format was new and fun. Might be for sale at a later date.

Twigs & Pomegranates

oil 6x6 inches not for sale In the previous painting I toned my canvas with thalo red rose and Indian yellow which gave it a glow. With this one I toned with burnt umber. I really like the earthy feel. In other news, I'm happy to report that two of my military plane paintings have sold ("Flight Day Prep and War Bird"), and I'll be able to donate the proceeds to The Wounded Warrior Project. I don't know who the buyer was, but if you're reading this, thank you SO much! To see the WWP paintings, click on "benefit for WWP" in labels below.

Pomegranates -sold

oil 8x8 inches Click to Purchase When I was a kid, a neighbor had a pomegranate bush in their back yard. I would climb their side fence and crouching at the top of the fence, work my way to the back to "acquire" one for myself. (As if my feet actually in their backyard would get me caught!) I think they knew I did this, but they didn't care. The mother painted oils in her family room and the father made anything out of wood, including guitars and later, an easel for me. Funny how a piece of fruit conjures up so many good memories. The first time painting them, it's a lot like painting pears or gala apples...lots of color variations.

Storm Passing- San Francisco

oil 8x10 inches Click to Purchase This is the last of the recent San Francisco paintings. Even painting from photographs I get the feeling I'm right back there in that beautiful city. We stopped very near the Golden Gate Bridge and looked back toward Fisherman's Wharf. What a sight! Though this might be better as a larger painting, I'm very happy with the expanse conveyed by the sky.

Liftoff

oil 9x12 inches Click to PurchaseAnother view from biking near the Golden Gate Bridge. There are just six days left of the Fair. Dawn, who oversees the demonstrators and Gallery Store started bringing me pomegranates from her yard and I have done a series of paintings with them. They might be my favorites. Will post them soon.

Light & Shadow San Francisco

oil 12x9 inches Click to Purchase Bicycling is a great way to get good photos. You don't have to figure out where to pull over and park the car. We found these beautiful buildings just off the bike path on the way to Golden Gate Bridge. The shadows caught my eye and painting the large shapes really appealed to me.

Gone Astray

oil 8x8 inches Click to Purchase Out painting hills one day, slowly from a great distance came 1800 sheep. I know the number because when they finally reached us beside the road I asked the shepherd how many there were. I think he spoke Portuguese. He reached down and with his finger wrote the number in the dirt. They were right up beside the road where cars passed at about 60 mph. Some were scratching themselves on the streetlamp posts. I was afraid they'd get into the road, but they never did. I think they have the cutest faces. On another note, I'm having a terrible time getting good photos of my paintings lately. Maybe it has to do with seasonal light. With every post I want to say, "The painting looks better in person." Might sound cheesy, but it's true.

Lucky Dog

oil 8x10 inches A while back, Lucky came to stay with us while his owner, Angie was traveling. He arrived wearing his tie to make a good first impression. He remained a gentleman the whole time. My dog loves it when Lucky comes over. If I say to my dog, 'You lucky dog!', she thinks Lucky is at the door. This painting will be a gift to Angie.

Grapes & Greens

oil 6x6 inches Click to Purchase This is the last so far on patterned paper. I got really excited about the subtle shifts in reds and purples against the greens. After this, I painted a few animals, one of which is the chicken posted yesterday.

Chicken

oil 8x8 inches Click to Purchase This chicken roams free at the Gold King Mine in Jerome, Arizona. Sitting on an old tractor or something, she kept an eye on us visitors. In my photo reference the light made her comb glow. I toned my canvas with thalo red rose and indian yellow which gave the whole chicken a glow, especially the comb. The image here is inadequate.

Fruit On The Vine -sold

oil 10x8 inches After painting at Galleano Winery one day I spotted these near the road. They were mostly in shadow under the leaves, but the afternoon light was striking just a few. Below, I'm in my little (I mean little!) corner of the Fair painting away. To step back and look at my painting, I release the rope, step off the platform and walk back. Haven't fallen off yet! Besides painting, I also volunteer in the gallery store where I'm learning to work the dreaded cash register. Despite that, I'm having so much fun talking to fellow artists, visitors and children on field trips.

Party Girl Tomato -sold

oil 6x6 inches click here to bid A relative of Early Girl tomato, this is Party Girl Tomato. :-) Red, pink and lime green, how could I resist putting a tomato on this, one of Elizabeth's collage papers. The gold lines were challenging. In fact, the whole thing was challenging. Elizabeth now looks at what I'm painting and sarcastically teases; "Oh I see you've chosen something simple!" Ha! It's a sickness.

Old Glory -sold

oil 8x8 inches on gallery wrap canvas click here to bid Visitors at the Fair started referring to me as the artist who paints food. Funny, since I had lots of other stuff hanging. With that and the Labor Day holiday, I decided to paint Old Glory again. Turns out they show more interest when I'm painting food! This piece is ready to hang. The pictures below show the image wrap on top and sides.

Cannoli -sold

oil 6x8 inches A fellow artist in the gallery at the Fair saw my paintings of desserts and brought me these treats from his favorite bakery. "Here, paint this." It's always a challenge to paint chocolate. I used burnt umber altered with cad yellow medium and cad red light where needed. I added some berries for color. Then Elizabeth and I ate them.

Reflecting Red -sold

oil 6x6 inches Click to Purchase

Pepper Dance

oil 6x6 inches Click to Purchase Elizabeth Carr and I are sharing a space at the fair. Elizabeth does beautiful abstract mixed media work with all kinds of fun materials. She loaned me one of her collage papers for this painting. This might be my favorite so far because of the sense of movement. To see Elizabeth's work, click here. If you're local, come out to the fair and see it better in person!

Red Grapes & Lemon -sold

oil 6x8 inches Click to Purchase

It's The Pit -sold

oil 6x6 inches Click to Purchase I'm having a great time at the Fair. I'm in a big room with a few fellow painters and have hours and hours to paint. Perfect! Again, the color in this one is a lot more subtle in real life. It's like my camera ate Wheaties or something.

Fair Demo #1 SOLD

oil 6x6 Click to Purchase I couldn't for the life of me think of a title for this one. Time to paint an avocado. They were only $1 each at the store. Oil paint lends itself so well to getting that creamy texture inside. Didn't know the pit held so much rich color till I looked real hard. For some reason my camera overdoes yellow. The creamy part is much more subtle in the painting.

This painting is available at Vander Molen Fine Art, Arcadia, CA