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.

Apple-A-Day

oil 6x6 inches click for purchase information and zoom As for the title, I've been trying to develop the habit of eating an apple a day. Gotta keep those doctors away! This apple went down great with Cookie Butter from Trader Joe's. Don't tell the doctor. About the painting, Robert Genn, in his Twice Weekly Letters recently proposed 37 minute paintings once in a while to keep a painter fresh and on her toes. Here's my attempt, but to be honest, I went 50 minutes. I couldn't help myself.

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.

Cold Perch

oil 10x8 inches, framed. With my booth at the fair partially hung, I sat back a while to look it over. Though finished and framed months ago, this painting stood out to me. It seemed dark and dismal. As I sat, I knew exactly the small changes I wanted to make. I carefully re-hung it wet the next day. The painting is from a photo I took in Sausalito after we had ridden our bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was very cold, but the sun was trying to break through. I still love how the yellow ties the scene together. The first version is below for comparison, if you like. It's always a temptation for me when working from photos to be a slave to the photo. Perhaps going back much later without the photo reference in mind is a way to take necessary liberties.

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!

Mo's, Pismo Beach

oil 8x8 inches click for purchase information and zoom In April we unexpectedly bought a small RV. Whooppeee! I've been dreaming about RVing and painting for years. On August 9th we took off on our first kinda-long trip. We drove north to Pismo Beach, up majestic Highway 1 to Big Sur, then on the way home stayed in Solvang. It was a wonderful, relaxing trip. I took all my oil painting gear, but I quickly found out I wasn't able to get it to where I wanted to be. From our various campsites we needed to bike a few miles to the "points of interest". Okay, this is getting long. Bottom line: I should have taken my watercolor sketching stuff. Anyway....I took lots of pictures, including this sign I just fell in love with. Later, we fell in love with their BBQ and homemade potato chips. Yum! Around the corner was Old West Cinnamon Rolls. Oh my gosh. (It's all about the food!!!) Good thing we were riding and hiking! Okay, back to the painting. After the BBQ we biked back to our campsite where I painted this outside from my laptop. I love signs, and I'm pleased with how it turned out. Below are some shots I thought you might enjoy.

Top to Bottom: Looking south along Big Sur, painting at our site in Oceano(eeeewww, camp hair!), near Pismo Dunes

Balboa Candy -sold

oil 12x9 inches click for purchase information and zoom I'm finally posting the second painting I did at Balboa. We just returned from a camping trip north where I had no internet or slow internet. More about our trip on the next post. I was attracted to this scene by the shadows under the windows and on the canopy. UPCOMING EVENTS: I'll be exhibiting my work and demonstrating every day at the LA County Fair. The fair starts on August 30 and is open Wednesday through Sunday. Come visit me in the Millard Sheets Gallery. It's nice and cool inside, and filled with artwork of all kinds. Check the fair website for fair hours.

The Inbetween -sold

oil 12x9 inches click for purchase information and zoom feature Last Monday friends and I painted on Balboa Island. I have admired this space between houses for several years, and finally it was time to paint it. The bright yellow catches your eye first, but as you look, you notice the reflected color onto the blue house is quite dramatic. The telephone poles add a strong vertical element. My friend May and I painted together the whole day. We had a nice seat right on the sea wall. Thanks to my friend Mary Jo for the pictures. She stood behind us on a dock...a nice vantage point. By the way, all the verticals in the painting are straight, although some appear curved here, due to the "fish eye" effect from my camera.

Hat Shop -sold

oil 12x9 inches click for purchase information and zoom Once in a while my husband and I go to Old Town Pasadena for a nice dinner and walk along Colorado Blvd. This hat shop caught my eye with the black and gold. The glow inside drew people in right off the sidewalk, including my husband. He put on a stylish hat and did a little silly dance. Can't take him anywhere. Another customer complimented him on his "nice moves." He keeps me laughing.

Haystack Rock View -sold

oil 8x16 inches This is a commissioned painting for a client who contacted me by email. Her husband took a great photo of Haystack Rock while they were on vacation, and the painting is a surprise birthday gift for him. I really enjoyed working on this one, partly because I've visited haystack myself, but mostly because of the client's excitement about the commission. It was such fun to take part in a special birthday surprise!

Window Box

oil 8x6 inches click for purchase information and zoom A few years back my husband and I took a walk through an older neighborhood in Meridian, Idaho. The little old houses were beautifully cared for. When I saw this scene, my first thought was of course, "what beautiful gardening." No, it's more than that. It's love. Someone had poured their love into that yard, and here I was enjoying the beauty of it. I'm thinking about how important it is to do our work with love, whatever that work may be.

Peach & Mum Bowl

oil 8x8 inches click for purchase information and zoom A California "Summer Flame" peach accompanied by some tiny mums from my yard. I love this little floral bowl and have painted it many times.

Rose Arbor

oil 12x9 inches click for purchase information and zoom Painted in the studio from a photo reference taken at Descanso Gardens near Pasadena. I think I'm getting hooked on oil ground. I've been applying it to my gallery wrapped canvases, and also some of my Raymar panels. Rather than destroy "failed" paintings, I sand them a bit and apply oil ground. Now I have a wonderful surface with some texture to start over on. Almost feels like free panels! This one was done on one of those reused panels. The paint just glides on.

Cliff Hangers -sold

oil 12x16 inches click for purchase information and zoom Painted from a photo I took in La Jolla. These gulls were right on the edge of the sea cliff, probably a safe spot form all the people walking by. I had a great time with this one. I almost always use flats, but this time a soft round brush made a perfect mark for all that ice plant. Painted on gallery wrap canvas. The foliage, sand and water colors wrap around the sides. Ready to hang.

Vineyard Relic -sold

oil 8x8 inches click for purchase information and zoom I had fun with this one, an old truck at the Galleano Winery just 9 miles from my house. Painted from a photo I took, now I'm itching to go back for a plein air day. The painting is much better in person. I know...heard that before, but really! The lit side of the truck is a yellow orange, not the garish yellow in the photo. I tried all kinds of camera settings and computer editings, and still this is as close as I could get. Would much rather paint! Painted on 1 1/2 inch deep gallery wrap canvas, ready to hang.

The Morning Strut

oil 8x8 inches click for purchase information and zoom feature Painted from a photo reference taken at Amy's Farm, Chino. Gallery wrapped canvas 1 1/2 inch deep, ready to hang.

Orange Bike -sold

oil 12x16 inches click for purchase information My surgery went well and I'm hoping to get back to the easel tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who sent me well wishes. I painted this one from a photo I took while walking along the Boise river in November. It was parked next to the Boise State campus. Orange is just a fun color. Makes me think of summer and popsicles. This is painted on 1 1/2 inch deep gallery wrap canvas ready to hang. No frame needed. Just pop it on your wall.

Lean In -sold

oil 6x12 inches click for purchase information With this one I set out to paint a simple subject and not crowd the canvas. I've been thinking about how allowing some breathing room between and around objects might be more pleasing. I enjoyed the wide format. I wiped out my first attempt. Next day I started again and got the fresh look I wanted. The apple flesh was a bit yellowed by then, but I liked it. Tomorrow I'll have sinus surgery. Here's wishing everyone a great 4th of July! I'll be back when I can.

Crossed Bottle

oil 8x6 inches Some of my students mentioned that they wanted to see me paint glass. On the second day, with about 45 minutes left in the workshop, I borrowed this and placed it on the floor. Light from the open garage door shone through and added interesting highlights. My students had worked hard and tolerated the warm temperatures, so just watching me paint was a relaxing conclusion for us all. And why on earth did I not take pictures?!! I guess I was too busy trying to cram a lot of content into two days. Next June I'll transform my garage again, make a few changes to the schedule and remember to take pictures!

Quick Fruit Demo -sold

oil 6x6 inches click for purchase information Last week I taught an introductory oil workshop for my watercolor students. We had a lot of fun. It's hard to describe their excitement when they saw how you can wipe off what you don't like and repaint! This is the first of two demos. I tried to keep it really simple.