No School Today!

 

No School Today!  oil 10x10 inches  

Purchase info here.

I still remember the freedom of having a no school day and taking off into the neighborhood on my bicycle.   These Balboa Island kids have a pretty cool neighborhood!  Mom, young friends and even baby in the baby seat were headed out for a little adventure.  This photo is a bit blurry.  On the contrary, the painting is full of crisp brushwork and happy color.  

Merry Marbles

 

Merry Marbles  oil 6x6

Purchase info here.

These are my Maine marbles.  My friend, Rachel grew up in Maine and brought them back for me after a visit.  Maine looks wonderful on the show Maine Cabin Masters.  I don't watch much TV, but I do enjoy that show.  I'd love to visit Maine one day.  I have included marbles in quite a few paintings over the years.  They add a pop of fun color, variety of size and always a little highlight.  For those of you who have heard about the design principle of unequal measures, this is a good example.  

Madeline

oil 11x11 inches Purchase info here. I really enjoy painting the things of childhood. It conjures up memories of my own childhood and thoughts of my children and grandchildren. It's a magical time. When was the last time you smelled a brand new crayon? This painting is on hardwood 1/2 inch deep with sides stained. It is ready to hang or frame in a simple floater frame of your choice.

When Trolls Were Fun

oil 8x6 inches Purchase info here. 

 When I painted this I was feeling a bit of whimsy and irritation at the same time. Trolls were fun when I was a kid. I could always relate to the troll hair as mine was very curly/frizzy and got bigger if I brushed it. Curly haired girls, you know what I mean. I made little troll clothing by cutting and hand stitching pieces of felt. Sweet memories of an innocent time. Nowadays we have internet trolls who have nothing better to do than to interject their unsolicited opinions on social media. Irritated by one such troll that day, I chose to celebrate with this painting the good days when trolls were fun.

Old Clown

oil 9x12 inches Purchase info here. When I was a little girl growing up in Southern California, my parents, my brother and I sailed to Catalina Island on the old SS Catalina, also known as the Great White Steamer. It was a 301-foot steamship built in 1924 that provided passenger service on the 26-mile passage to Catalina Island from 1924 to 1975. On board, a clown wandered around entertaining the kids. Clowns were fun back then. How on earth have they become scary now??? Anyway, because it was my birthday that day, he gave me this clown. He's been around for a loooong time! I hope this painting conjures up good chilhood memories for its viewers.

Island Kids -a plein air painting from Balboa Island, CA. SOLD

oil 9x12 inches magnify Sorry my posts are slow in coming. I'm still getting my energy back two weeks after my sinus surgery. No oil painting (breathing solvent fumes) for me for another week. I can't tell you how anxious I am to get back to it. Meanwhile, this painting has a story. I set up to paint in some late afternoon shade. While drawing in, I planned to watch for people on the bench and include them. Along comes two moms with kids in tow. The kids are interested in what I'm up to. They walk right up and start asking questions. I tell them I'm drawing in, then mixing the colors I see while watching that bench for people I could put in my painting. "Can WE be in your painting?", the boy asks bursting with excitement. Well, sure. But I have to take your pictures, so go ask your mom if that's okay. Well the moms were as excited as the kids. I told them I needed one adult on the bench for a size difference. They went back and forth a bit about which of them "looked better" to be in the painting! I settled it by picking the one with the red hat. Turns out this is a Balboa Island family. They were "home." No wonder they were excited. I painted this in two afternoons. During that time another friendly island resident told me all about the little upside down sailboats. Each boat is assigned to a nine year old on the island who is taught to sail by a sixteen year old who learned the same way. The children's names are on the rack. The masts are sticking up in the center of the rack. I've spent a lot of time on Balboa Island over the years, but hadn't ever thought about what childhood would be like growing up there. So different! Back to the painting, I thought the helmet added whimsy, and their little dangling feet and shadows added charm. The grandparents came to the gallery and bought the painting. This will go down as one of my favorite plein air experiences.

Rock, Paper, Scissors 2

oil 6x6 inches click for purchase info and magnifier And now the kid version. My Maine friend brought me this rock from Maine. It's a long way from home. Credits to my granddaughter, Grace for the painted paper.

Still Life With Amber Bottle -SOLD

oil 6x12 inches click for purchase information and zoom Another still life "landscape." This little amber bottle has starred in a few of my paintings. In this set up, I loved the muted tones in the apple sitting in the shadow of the amber bottle.

Still Life With Baby Shoes

6x12 inches click for purchase information and zoom I like the idea of a still life with objects lined up. This wide format is perfect. Think of it as a still life landscape, if you will. I painted these baby shoes once before, a few years ago. It was even more fun this time. I'm very happy with how this one turned out. This painting is available at Vander Molen Fine Art, Arcadia, CA

Bazooka

oil 6x6 inches click for purchase information and zoom Somehow I ended up with this lone piece of bubblegum, and saved it for painting. It brought back memories. Mom would take us to a little barber shop behind Walker's Market in Santa Ana where my little brother would get a haircut. They always gave us a piece of bubblegum. I tried different background colors, but funny how only this bubble gum color seemed right. I had some fun with thicker paint on this one.

Angel Kitty

oil 8x8 inches click for purchase information Many years ago we returned from vacation to find in our garage a stray cat and her litter of six newborn kittens inside a paper grocery bag. We found homes for five and kept the one that looked like this. Our little girl named her Cindy and she lived fifteen years. This kitty is just a Christmas decoration, I think. I chose the cat first, then the other objects for the violet, blue, green scheme I had in mind. Round versus linear and the contrasting textures were considerations also. I'm all packed up for the BALBOA ISLAND ART WALK TOMORROW. It's my first year. Wish me luck!

Found My Marbles

oil 4x6 inches not for sale My friend, Rachel recently took a trip back to Maine where she grew up. She brought back wild blueberry jam and a small bag of the most beautiful marbles for me to use for my still life paintings. So thoughtful. Thanks, Rachel! I poured a few out of the bag and painted them as they landed. Tomorrow I'll get ready for the BALBOA ISLAND ART WALK this Sunday. The weather will be perfect, so if you're in Southern California, don't miss it!

Emily & Madeline

oil 10x8 inches not for sale Our granddaughter, Emily loves to paint. This is her painting as a backdrop for Madeline. The colors seemed to go together perfectly. You might remember seeing it before in my painting, "Child's Play." I'll give this to Emily for her birthday in July.

Paddington -sold

oil 10x8 inches I haven't been knocking out a painting a day, or posting every day for quite a while now. I enjoy the bit larger sizes, taking my time and putting more thought into what I choose to paint. A line from Richard Schmid's book, Alla Prima has been in my mind: "Slow down and savor what you are doing."

Kid Stuff -sold

oil 10x10 inches -sold- Here are two in a set of nesting dolls. Not the famous Russian type, but hand painted and colorful just the same. The crayons and marbles are a bit out of focus in the photo.

Child's Play -SOLD

oil 16x20 inches click for purchase information I chose some of the objects just for their color and shape, but a few have sentimental value. The yellow storybook was mine as a child, a gift from my Aunt Diane. Our youngest son, now 29, carried Snoopy every day to preschool. The little watercolor is by my granddaughter, Emily. She did a lot of paintings one day and had them for sale (like Gramma.) I bought it for fifty cents and hung it on the fridge, of course. Childhood is so precious and too short. I plan to paint these objects again, so this one's for sale.

Fun Stuff

oil 16x20 inches Thought I'd give you a peek at what's on my easel today. I absolutely LOVE painting this stuff!!!