Nostalgia

oil 16x20 inches click for purchase information Finished, I think. I'll put it away and look at it again in a week. The background leans toward pink, which seems more harmonious with the greens and dark reds. I revisited the clock to revise the shape and make some deliberate marks.

The Art Room

Self Portrait oil 8x6 inches April, 2012 I'm very excited to announce that Taryn Day has chosen to feature my work today on her blog "The Art Room". Thank you so much, Taryn! Each day this month Taryn takes a look at the work of an artist who blogs. Today is my day, so check it out and see the other artists' work too, by clicking here.

Almost There

oil 16x20 Finally I have a shot with fairly good color accuracy and not much glare. I had a great time with the marbles, painting them with just a few brushstrokes and then cutting in the green drape around them to establish their edges. I'm thinking to do more marbles in the future. The book is very worn, and it looks it. Whew. There is a lot of green here, which I've known from the beginning could be overbearing. I've worked hard to get the greens just right: subdued, but not dull and lifeless. Still, you might have to like green to like this one! :-) Now if I can just get that dang background right!

In Progress

oil 16x20 When I finished this stage, I was not happy with the left background shown here. I left it for a day thinking maybe it would grow on me. :-) It didn't. So I wiped out that section and put my burnt umber wash back on. Letting that dry, I continued with the rest of the painting today. It's almost finished. Hoping to get a decent photo tomorrow in daylight.

More Progress

oil 16x20 inches While painting along I noticed that over and over again I'm mixing the three primaries. If you asked me how I mixed color for any part of the painting, the answer would be red, yellow and blue in different ratios. Backgrounds still scare me, so this time I'm taking the advice of a fellow blogger: go back and forth between object and background rather than saving background for last. Hopefully I can work still wet edges this way. Again, please excuse the glare.

In Progress

oil 16x20 inches Here's a better shot of the set up, though the camera's viewpoint is a bit different. The second is after my first painting session. I started with the clock and had to wipe it a couple of times. Overall, I'm happy with the start. I'm using a fairly limited palette: ult. blue, alizarin, cad yellow medium, yellow ochre, cad red light, burnt umber and Twhite. Though the photos don't show very accurate color, at least you can see what I'm up to.

In Progress

I've started this 16x20 still life. I spent several hours working on the set up which includes objects I've used in previous small paintings. The analogous and muted color appeals to me first, along with the nostalgic feeling. After laying it out on canvas, I decided it was too heavy on the left, so I removed the painting with the yellow flowers. I would have had to tone down the yellow anyway. The fact that I've painted each object before is reassuring. Hoping I can pull it all together in a cohesive piece. Sorry about the glare. I haven't figured out how to shoot pictures in my little studio without glare. Today I'm off to the Norton Simon Museum with some friends. Field Trip! Woo-hoo! No buses, no name tags!

Big 'n Little

oil 12x12 inches not for sale My son fishing with his little girl, AnnaLee when she was about 2 1/2. I love the way he is right down on the dock with his foot stuck out. She's holding the pole at the very end, maybe attempting her very first cast. Thanks to my daughter in law for sharing the photo.

Alex

oil 12x9 inches On Thursday I joined a figure painting group at "Perma-Dirty" art space in the Claremont Packing House. I really enjoyed painting Alex because of his fair complexion and especially his eyes. I used the Zorn palette: Twhite, yellow ochre, Gamblin's chromatic black, and this time cad red light instead of my usual cad red medium. The red light helped me get more warmth into the skintones in the light, but it seemed too warm to make the darks for skintones in shadow. Maybe next time I'll use both reds. Coming up on Tuesday evening I'll start figure painting classes again with Joseph Todorovitch. I'm beyond excited!

Lemon Light -SOLD

oil 8x10 inches click for purchase information I really enjoy painting lemons. Love the translucency. I submitted this painting to the current Daily Paintworks Challenge: paint fabric.

Tiny Pinecone - sold

oil 4x4 inches The last of my pine cone paintings, I had just enough time to squeeze in this little piece right after Christmas. On the 29th we welcomed a new little person into our family, our sixth grandchild, Elijah James. Here's his sweet little newborn face, less than 24 hours old. So precious!!! Happy New Year to everyone!

Pine Cone With Cranberries -sold

While I painted Winter Bird I was thinking how great a little pop of crimson would be in the scene. Got a bag of cranberries, and here's the next pine cone painting. Every year I can't believe Christmas is over so fast. We'll take down the tree tonight. My allergies and asthma are flared up. Too much tree and not enough turpenoid fumes!!! More time to paint ahead, I hope.

Winter Bird

oil 8x8 inches click for purchase information It just so happened that I'm posting this on the first day of winter. I've been busy with the garage makeover and preparations for Christmas. It felt good to get it all done, and really good to finally pick up a paintbrush last evening. Here's wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a new year filled with love and peace.

Little Blue Vase

oil 8x8 on gallery wrap canvas I haven't posted in a while because I've been working on a big overdue home project: reorganizing our garage. Would much rather paint on canvas than the inside of a three car garage! A few days ago I responded to the DPW challenge with this piece. Qiang-Huang challenged us to let blue be the focus of the work, so I neutralized the other colors. Quite different for me. On another note: I recently have gone through my DPW gallery and added a PayPal Buy Now feature to many of my recent pieces. In doing so, I reduced the previous auction price a bit. So if you're looking for an original piece of art for a gift, visit my Daily Paintworks Gallery here. Thanks for looking.

Abe

oil 10x10 inches not for sale Abraham Simpson is a hometown hero. He served his country as a Marine, and while doing so, died under enemy fire in Iraq, 2004. His mother, Maria chose the photograph I painted from. It's a great natural pose, and she especially liked that his hand is in the shot. I did too. It was my idea to paint him as a gift to his parents. I had no idea really, how emotional it would be for me. I hoped and prayed while painting that I'd be able to get his likeness but also his spirit for his parents. I thought about him in Iraq, and about him in Heaven. Maria came over yesterday to see it and really liked it. I made some minor changes today, and I'm satisfied that it's the best I can do.

Prickly

oil 10x10 inches on gallery wrap canvas ready to hang click here to bid My photo reference for this piece was taken on a Spring trip to Joshua Tree National Park. I've done some watercolors from the same reference, and it was a good challenge to work it in oil. I'm working on a portrait that's taking me a while, then on my way to Idaho for a few days. Don't know when I'll post next, but I'll be back.

Beavertail Blossoms

oil 14x11 inches on gallery wrap canvas ready to hang Click to Purchase I'm really enjoying the gallery wrap canvases, both for their texture and boxy shape. Thanks to Carol Carmichael who graciously shared some ideas on finishing the sides. Last spring at Descanso Gardens with a friend, we found this wonderful array of color. The label nearby was "Fairy Duster." I'm hoping it was indeed for this cactus! Some cactus expert out there correct me if I'm wrong! (Later note: WRONG!) A long time ago I discovered that the standard reds will not make some floral pinks, so here's a little chart I made before painting this piece. I ended up using ThRR- thalo red rose. My little sketchbook is a Moleskine with brown cardboard-like cover, perforated sheets and comes in packs of three. I use them for notes and sketching in the field, and color swatches at home.

Cactus Crown

oil 11x14 on gallery wrap canvas not for sale After not painting for two weeks, I found it difficult to get myself started. Started feeling irritable. (Just ask my dog.) Reminded me of getting off the bike while climbing a steep hill. Trying to get the pedals turning again, it's easy to fall if you don't do it right. So I found a subject that really, really excited me, then I painted bigger than usual, on not the usual support, with not the usual brushes. It felt new and fresh. I had a ball, and this is what came out. I like it so much I'm going to keep it.

North On Campus -sold

oil 9x12 inches Click to Purchase I frequently go north on Campus about 10 miles to our daughter's house in Upland. This lawnmower shop next to the railroad tracks caught my eye time after time. I finally pulled over and got a shot I could work from. What is it about railroad crossing signs? I really like them. My little break from painting is done. It felt good to get back on the horse, so to speak. Cactus coming next post. I love cactus. A railroad sign with a cactus...now that would be a painting!

Paint Me Pomegranate -sold

oil 6x6 inches Click to Purchase This is the ninth and last in my pomegranate series. To view the series, go to "labels" below and click on pomegranates. Happy November, everyone!