Bumper Cars

oil 9x12 magnify not for sale This is my granddaughter, Grace driving a bumper car for the first time at the LA County Fair. I had so much fun with color and highlights in this one! UPCOMING EVENTS: Next month I'll demonstrate for the Redlands Art Association on the 23rd at 7pm. Then on the 27th I'll teach a Saturday one day workshop for RAA titled "Painting the Lively Still Life in Oil." The workshop is limited to 12 students, so sign up early! For more info or to sign up, click here.

Natural Snack

oil 6x6 inches click for purchase information and zoom I love the Granny Smith green with the red grapes. Leaving them on my wood cutting board gave it a natural look that I really like. All the color is muted just a bit which helps too. Today I'm off to Opening Day at the LA COUNTY FAIR. Lots of painting time ahead, as the fair runs the entire month of September. Last year resulted in 22 paintings! My days there are long, so I'll have to sneak in a post when I can. For all of you locals, come and hang out! Look for the Millard Sheets Gallery. It's cool inside, and there's a huge variety of art to see.

Nostalgia and the LA County Fair

oil 16x20 Here's "Nostalgia" hanging in my booth in the Millard Sheets Gallery at the LA County Fair. Rarely do I go back into a dry painting and make changes, but this time I did. I "finished" the painting in January, but friends in my painting group brought to my attention that a few of the objects did not read right. So last night I addressed the problems. Once I got into it, it was a lot of fun to just make subtle changes here and there: define the glass knob and tag hanging from it. Change the temperature of the window frame shadow, and add some highlights to the flowers, etc. I played with it. The January version is below. (Click on image to enlarge and compare.) Also below, I love the statues in front of the gallery, so thought I would share this pic with you. It's all hustle and bustle on the fairgrounds. Opening day is August 30th!