Antonia 8x10" oil

#112 On Thursday nights I go to the Chaffee Art Center and they host a live model. We draw and I always try to do a few quick oil studies. I use only burnt umber, white, a bit of cad. red, and some black because those are the only paints they have! I paint on mat board, whatever colors are available, and use a really cheap and overused bristle brush. It is not the ideal situation, but I am so grateful to be able to paint from a model, that I just see it as a time to learn and play. I live in Vermont and they often say that skiers in VT are really good because they often have to learn on slopes with lots of ice. That is how I look at this.

Happy Halloween Toes 4x4" oil

Happy Halloween weekend. I am getting to go visit my grandson this weekend so I suspect a few pastels will be done while I am there. I have found that pastels fit into uncertain time schedules, are easy to transport, easily available and just a fun way to paint when I am away from home. I don't quite get why it is called painting though, it is really drawing. I really did have my toes painted for Halloween, something I would not have done except for the generosity of my good friend who treated me to a pedicure. I liked putting all this detail into a small space. The cover is actually an oil cloth I made to cover my coffee table. It is heavy weight canvas with a 10 layers of gesso underneath and 4 layers of polyurethane on top. #111
sold

From Me To You 4x4" oil

I am painting a lot on really small panels, mostly 4"x4". I think this decision is one to consider, just like what to paint. I like the way the little panels look and painting something complicated on them is a real challenge, so I think it is helping me get better control of the brush. I have to give Karen Appleton a lot of honor because painting bows is really tricky. #110

Surprise! 4"x4" oil SOLD

Karen Appleton, karenappleton.blogspot.com, is a contemporary artist of extraordinary skill who specializes in painting gifts and symbolic gift packages. She advised me (don't you love the internet?) to paint what I have a passion for not to focus on what is salable. On the tails of her advice, Robert Genn's bi-weekly newsletter (www.painterskeys.com) had this to say: "Are we, like the local baker, simply making a line of tarts for popular consumption, or are we engaged in something more lofty and significant? Many would say the difference is passion, and while there are undoubtedly passionate bakers, our painterly productivity needs to be based on a noble drive and not on calculated reasoning and bare commerce." So I have been thinking log and hard about this. I am asking myself what I really like to paint. What is my passion? Truth be told I love painting all kinds of things in part because I love the challenge of painting very diverse subject matter. So I am going to do some small gift packages because I want to explore that. In doing a couple I realized that I love to paint things that require me to see them really abstractly. For me to get the ribbons right I see them as tiny slivers of light and shadow. When painting people from odd angles I love the process of foreshortening and I remember the thrill I got from it many years ago when I did my first life drawings. The more foreshortened the better I like it. Karin Jurick (karinjurick.blogspot.com/ )frequently paints people walking beneath a bridge or under a balcony. I like landscapes that are of an odd but oddly familiar angle like looking straight up. My friend and former fellow painter Carrie Diehl (www.carriediehl.com/) does interesting series like this. I think that is why I like to paint people's feet. They tell a story and we just don't give much attention to them. I love painting still lifes if they are from above or below like Carol Marine does (carolmarine.blogspot.com/) or if the items are oddly arranged. So I feel like I am starting a new chapter in my art. It is the journey of sdiscovery of my passion. I thank the other artists and their insights which have helped me think about this. #109

Tess 18x18" oil

Finally, after much struggle,I finished this portrait of Tess. In the process I learned a lot about the subtleties of dog head structure and how to paint from several varying photographic references to gain a better understanding of the shape and values needed. Tess is very hyperactive so getting a good photo of her was next to impossible. I hope I have captured a bit of her energy too.
SOLD

Evidence of the Divine 8x10" oil

"Imagination is evidence of the Divine."
– William Blake
My friend took me to get a pedicure...something neither of us ever does. I got my toes painted for Halloween. She got lovely pinkish toes. I think there is a painting in this. Anyway, there were mandalas hanging at the spa so I painted this Celtic inspired earthy mandala for Theresa as a thank you for the fun morning we had. I am still struggling to paint Tess (dog portrait) so it was nice to do something easy and fun. #107

Boomer 18"x18" oil

This was a commission...one of two dog portraits...the other is a wipe off and I have to start over...ergh...part of the story.... #106
SOLD

Leaf 6x6" pastel

another pastel sketch.... #104

Round On Round 6x6" pastel

Round and red on round and red..... #103

She Has Such a Pretty Face 8x10" oil

This is a quick oil study in broad values. The title is a phrase I always hear people use when they are referring to a chubby girl. I painted this at a model session at the Chaffee Art Center and when someone saw my painting that is what they said.I am grateful to have the opportunity to do this once a week because it is such a good exercise. This model was really good and was able to strike interesting poses and hold them. Mostly I drew in charcoal but I painted this at the very end. #102

Going Out II oil 5x7

This is the second version of a little painting I really liked. I was going to change the shoe color, but I just like this. There is no red in this painting, and I think it still works! I guess I could make her toe nails red. #101
SOLD

Can We Go Now? 5x7" oil

This stance just says to me impatience which is why I titled it "Can We Go Now?" It was fun doing the pant wrinkles. This is my 100th posted painting!#100
SOLD

"My Feet" by Eva 4"x4"

My friend's daughter's daughter (geezz I'm getting old) was given the camera and she took a lovely photo of her feet, so I painted it. I really like that there is still an imprint from her sock. She clearly thought to take her socks off to do the photo. These are really beautiful feet...or 'tootsies' as her mom calls them. Thank you Eva! #99

Not In the Kitchen 8x8" oil

I have been painting lots of pale yellows...I wonder what that means? This woman is in her mid-fifties. She really is this pretty and this young looking. If she wasn't so nice we could easily hate her! She loves working out with the kettle ball (the weight) therefore she has her kettle in in the gym, "Not In the Kitchen." #98
SOLD

Waiting On the Edge oil 4x4"

I liked her Robin Hood boots and her kind of pigeon-toed stance and the fact that she looks like she is standing on the edge. #97

Chaffee Chair..Ink and acrylic on canvas

This is a little different. The Chaffee Art Center is having a fundraiser of chairs painted by artist. My chair is an antique school chair, which I love. I didn't want to reduce the value of this antique by refinishing it, so I made a slipcover to look like commercial antique tarps from Europe. Then I added a couple of quotes and few little images and my name translated to French. I like the faded old look to the canvas and the chair under the cover maintained its integrity. I got the idea from some catalog that was selling pillows and bags made from these kind of tarps. #96
SOLD

Water Weights 5x7" oil

Call me crazy, but I love this painting. This is one of those "white on white" deals and I love all the variations of white and gray and the abstract composition and the warmth of it. #95

Relax 8x8 oil

The colors aren't right on this...it is actually much warmer. (I uploaded another shot on the top...which is now a little too yellow!) I adjusted the colors to be right, but now that it is on blogspot, it doesn't look right. The learning curve never ends! This is another one of my Pico Sports Club series. After all that exercise, a hot tub is a real treat. I wanted to capture the image and personality of the people and I am happy with the results. #94

Overdue 5x7" oil

I took the photo to do this painting in a very dark room so I used a flash, thus the reason for the "glow" around her and the sharp face shadow. It is a little odd, but I like it. Amity teaches very rigorous exercise classes. She was overdue in this photo and delivered a 7lb. 8oz. baby girl a couple of days later. She also has two other kids. I was standing, she was peddling. #93

Acadia 12x18" oil

I painted this on coastal Maine and then fiddled with it endlessly at home. I finally gave up and by posting it am calling it done. I hate fiddling....it always makes it look "nervous"! #92

Look Up! 5x7" acrylic

One of the most exciting parts of the season is to get out in the woods and look up. I love nature's abstract composition. #91

Happy Feet 4"x4" oil

sweet little feet and graphic abstract lines of the stroller....nice combo I think #90

Early Morning Fog 5x7" acrylic

I photographed this before I finished it and then I took it to the gallery without re-shooting it. So here it is in its unfinished state. I should go down and take a photo of it. Hopefully it will sell. I am going to challenge myself to do a series of simple still lifes and practice Carol Marine's encouragement to do a dominant value, a smaller secondary value and a smidge value. This was not considered when I did this foliage scene. #89

Me 5x7 oil

Someone sent me a photo of myself drawing. I had to add it to my group of artist working. The perspective really makes the hand look small...I may have to enlarge it to create a more realistic design. I guess I should have done it before the post, but that is the nature of posting each day I think. #88

Koko 5x7 oil

This is James Kangoroti. James is known as Koko at the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center (www.carvingstudio.org). He is a wonderful Kenyan artist who did a residency there this summer. Mostly he sculpts exquisite pieces from wood, like this abstracted horse. He also is a really nice, and funny guy and his trip to Vermont this summer was his first outside of his native country. It was a challenge for me to get the texture of the wood right...it was still at a "choppy" stage. #87

First Stroke - Carol Marine 5x7 oil

This is a portrait of another fabulous artist, Carol Marine, who was kind enough to post it on her blog. #86

Demo - Karin Jurick

I took a workshop with Karin Jurick in late May and am finally getting around to doing a portrait of her painting her first demo. I love the way she chisels her faces and gives them sculptural form and the depth of colors she uses are just so exciting. I did a couple more portraits of favorite artists which I will be posting in the next couple of days. #85

Expressionist nude 8x10 oil

This is the last of my recent nudes. Given the chance to do it again I will. I think painting people as they pose is such an excellent exercise. This model was exceptionally overweight and it made for interesting curves and creases. I did this in a few minutes, just trying to capture interesting shapes to suggest her pose. #83

apple and leaf pastel 6x6

I am traveling and didn't bring painting materials. I thought I would post one of the paintings I did last week, but I forgot to email it to myself. So I started scrounging for some materials for today's work and came up with a limited number of pastels and a piece of cardboard. I can see why pastel artists use so many colors. It was a real challenge to get the colors even close. #82

Seated Nude - quick study 8x10" oil

Another quick study of a model. I really like the effects of just putting it down...trying to get the broad value changes. Not a masterpiece, but it was fun. #81