Pom To The People

oil 6x6 inches magnify/purchase Part of my pomegranate series. I put this sheet of collage paper on the floor to get the view from above. Red, black and white is a favorite combination.

Tustin Autumn SOLD

oil 9x12 inches, framed. Click to Purchase My painting submitted to the Tustin Plein Air Competition. It received an Honorable Mention. To be very honest, sales yesterday were dismal. There were a lot of nice comments on my work, but almost everyone kept their cash and credit cards in their wallets. After a day like that I get discouraged. I ask myself if I'm devoting myself to making things that nobody wants. Seriously. Life is short. I apologize to those who say "don't put anything negative on your blog." I think it's important to be honest about the struggles of being a painter and a human being. Think I'll take a few days off from painting.

Logan House -sold

oil 12x9 inches Last Sunday in Tustin I met up with Brent who commissioned me to paint his lovely historic home built in 1928. His grandparents purchased it in 1934 after they married, and the original furniture is still inside. Amazing! Below is the unfinished field study. When I got home I realized the pink canvas tone was a problem. I started over with a light burnt umber and executed the work using my sketches and photo references. I have a dream of someday living in an historic home. It may never happen, but I feel honored to paint a few. Tomorrow I'll be out at the Tustin Art Walk with lots of fellow artists. It's a great day, so if you're local, don't miss it!

Sunflower Sings -sold

oil 8x8 inches Click to purchase Almost to the end of my Fair paintings, two more to go. At this point I had finally painted so much for so many days that I actually felt like I could not make another stroke. It hit me all of a sudden and felt very weird. Just then my husband arrived. We walked around the Fair, watched bees, horses and dog races, ate a lot of junk, and then I felt much better. (Just like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, if you know that story.) I finished the painting that night fueled by cotton candy. Today I was painting on the streets of Old Town Tustin for the Plein Air Competition. It was about 95 degrees. Not happy with my painting yet, but I have two more days...hopefully cooler days.

Sunflower With Pomegranates

oil 20x16 inches Click to purchase I got the urge to paint a larger painting. I'll blame it on Nick Brown who in the opposite corner of the room worked on really large canvases. He was such an inspiration, I tackled this subject while still in my tiny corner, AND I recently hit the mother lode at Aaron Brother's canvas sale. I loaded up my car with large (and some small) gallery wrap canvases. Now I've got to figure out what to do with them. Bigger room, bigger brushes, bigger blobs of paint, right? Alas, I don't think it's that simple.

Floral Bowl With Pom -SOLD

oil 8x8 inches Click to Purchase The next in the pomegranate series. It has been a busy couple of weeks. I miss the time and focus on painting I had at the fair now that I'm home again. We've been having some home improvement/repairs done and my watercolor classes are underway. Next Saturday, Oct. 20th I'll be at the Old Town Tustin Art Walk. This is my third year and I can't wait. So much fun! Come visit me on the corner of Main and Prospect if you can! It's from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

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

Jar With Bird

oil 8x8 inches Click to purchase In this setup I liked the pairing of glass with ceramic, and the sparkle of both.

Floral Bowl 2 -sold

oil 8x8 inches Click to purchase Still posting work from my time at the fair, I got some flowers at the grocery store knowing I'd be able to paint from those for a few days. "Paint 'em 'till they die", I say. Where are the pomegranates? Elizabeth thought I was sick of painting them and tossed them out! Maybe she was sick of watching me paint them! Just kidding. So a little break in the pom action. Good thing I had the flowers, and my series continued after Dawn brought more pomegranates.

Seeds -sold

oil 6x6 inches When I decided to paint the seeds, I really wasn't sure I could pull it off. I reminded myself to paint from dark to light and make marks the shape and colors that I saw. I kept going, leaving each mark alone until I was done. It worked out. Whew!

Bird With Pomegranate

oil 6x6 inches Click to Purchase The colors of the previous painting excited me so much, I decided to do this simpler arrangement. I love this little ceramic bird. This series has a subtle feeling of Fall. Our evenings are getting cooler, the sycamores look fall-ish, but it's supposed to hit 108 degrees here today! Can't believe it's October already.