Field Study & Balboa Art Walk

oil 8x10 inches click for purchase information or zoom feature In Murietta the Santa Rosa Plateau welcomes hikers and artists. On a beautiful morning a few weeks back I stood atop a hill overlooking the plateau. It was quiet, cool and only a little buggy. I had a great time. In other news, there's a lot going on! I've been away from my easel while fighting a nasty respiratory bug that really hit me hard. On the mend now. We have family coming on Friday and staying a week. For you locals, the CHINO ART FESTIVAL is this Saturday from 9-4 on the Courthouse Lawn. It is mostly performances, but I will be there and would love to see you. I'm really excited to announce I was accepted into the BALBOA ART WALK coming up on May 19th! One hundred artists will line the seawall and 4 bands will add music. How fun is that?!!! And what a setting! Don't miss it! For more information click here. (Right now their link to my blog is wrong, but I hope it will be corrected soon.) Fun stuff ahead!

Rice Bowl

oil 8x10 inches click for purchase information and zoom feature The last of my Asian influence paintings for now. This large ceramic rice bowl has a shiny blue glaze and little holes/slots for the chopsticks. Very cool. I think we bought it years back in a little shop near Zion National Park. Kinda big for rice. Maybe it's a noodle bowl. I love noodles.

Asian Influence 2

oil 8x8 inches click for purchase information Nothing to say about this one. Rare, but it happens.

Asian Influence -sold

oil 8x6 inches click for purchase information I found a boxed set of Xian Soldier figurines. So many possibilities! They have a peach dust on them that ties in nicely with orange. There's glare on the photo. The darks are much richer in person.

Studied Tangerine

oil 8x8 inches click for purchase information I bought fifty shades of gray fabric for drapery. Not really. Just seven or eight. Exploring different color schemes on gray, I have found that the gray is hardly noticed in the overall look of the work. It also allows me to adjust the gray to my liking. For "Emily and Madeline" I leaned it toward taupe. Here it's pretty much gray, and you'll see in the next post I leaned it toward green. I think I've finally solved my problem with backgrounds. I don't mean the gray, but rather reversing my process. Painting them first as a loose warm up really works for me. I get them out of the way, have a "support" for my objects, and can manipulate edges as I go.

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."

Fancy Fuji

oil 6x6 inches click for purchase information I painted this dish two years ago, but with a pear inside. I liked the subtle greens with the rich reds. Here's the one with the pear. Interesting to think about how my work has changed since then.

Spring Music -sold

oil 16x12 inches sold I had some challenges with this one, mainly because I completed it in several sessions and it dried in between. Ugh! I prefer working alla prima so I can manipulate edges. At the start the daffodils were mostly closed and the tulips perky. Second session they were all open and the tulips looked like they'd had a party during the night. Only the violin cooperated.

Violin Strings

oil 6x6 inches not for sale I found out that violins are difficult to play and difficult to draw as well. Tried to play a few notes before I started painting. Wow. Screechy! I stamped the strings with the beautiful edge of a Silver Bristlon Flat. Kathy the violinist liked this one because she likes the "F" holes. I gave it to her as a housewarming gift.

Violin Scroll

oil 6x6 inches not for sale Recently a friend loaned me her violin for painting. The scroll of a violin is the most beautiful part in my opinion. When I opened up the case it looked like it was on stage, surrounded by all that velvety crimson.

Kilt Commission -sold

oil 10X10 inches Commissioned by a friend to commemorate her wedding. The assortment of textures made this especially fun to paint. I painted under time constraints which really helped me focus.

Field Study, Solvang

oil 8x10 inches Along Alisal Road in Solvang the fog was lifting and the light shone through moss hanging from the trees. I took pictures, then drew in the cows quickly. They nibbled away and lumbered out of the picture. After finishing the painting, I added the cows back in by looking at my camera. Maybe they are too small. I'll check that out when I have time. I've been busy with a commission and some violin paintings. Going to Blue Jay tomorrow for a few days to visit/paint with a friend and to return her violin. I'll post again on Monday. Happy Easter everyone!

Saintly Figure

oil 10x8 inches During my weekend at the mission, I kept admiring this weather worn wooden figure of Saint Francis. Finally on Sunday morning the light was just right to paint it. I have drawn him a bit plumper than he actually was. When I paint outdoors I try to work quickly before the light changes. This is just another reminder to slow down and get the drawing right. Anyway, I do like this painting, especially because while painting, I could hear the music and teaching of Sunday mass just behind me. Perfect way to end the weekend.

Courtyard Fountain

oil 10x8 inches This might be my favorite of the mission paintings. The cypress trees provide strong verticals to the design.

Mission Reflection

The mission architecture reflected in the window here caught my eye. The column closest to me was in cool shadow and the wall was hit with warm light. A puzzle in pulling off depth, shallow though it may be. Several of us were talking about the mission's illusive wall color. At times warm white, or salmon, or pink, or yellow depending on the light direction and time of day.

Morning Comes

oil 6x8 inches Saturday morning I couldn't wait to get out and paint. Got up at dark thirty which I usually only do to catch a plane or some fish. High was gonna be 82 degrees. Shorts weather. So I got out there in the field before the sun was fully up and LOVED the subtle color and warming sky. I would have just a few minutes before the sun hit my subject and everything changed. I painted really fast and simple, and I'm happy with the result. Fast was good, 'cause it was 43 degrees and I was shivering uncontrollably! The water droplets were added the next day during the fancy back-of-the-car photo shoot when the painting fell onto my dewy car bumper.

Mission Afternoon

oil 8x6 inches I arrived at the mission at about 3pm on Friday. I was excited to see so many artists already set up and painting. Some had been there since morning. I could tell this was a motivated bunch! Yay, I thought, 'cause I just want to paint too!!! I dropped my stuff in my room and squeezed in this little study before dinner at six. The pepper trees had been damaged by frost and turned that bright red-orange. My intention for this weekend was to practice and have fun, and not sweat over the results. So while these little studies may not be my very best work, they are part of the journey. All of them are in my car right now screaming at me to fiddle with them! I'm leaving the little buggers in there till I get home tomorrow.

Lemon & Leaves

oil 6x6 inches click for purchase information This is the last lemon painting before I left town. I think it's my favorite. I had a fabulous time at Mission San Antonio de Padua painting with about 50 fellow artists. Tomorrow I'll try to get photos of my paintings. Here's a shot of the front of the mission. It sits on 85 acres twenty miles from any town and is the least visited of all the missions. So authentic, peaceful and inspiring. I'm on my way home now with a stop in the Solvang area for one more day of painting, and maybe a danish or two.

Lemons & Twigs -sold

oil 8x16 inches The lemons here came from a friend. I cut some twigs from my ficus tree to add leaves and sticks. I have one more lemon painting to post. Meanwhile, tomorrow I head five hours north for a paint retreat at Mission San Antonio de Padua. No TV, no internet, sketchy cell reception. More time to paint!