Work To Do

I took a photo in a park forest in Portland, OR, of this person walking down a path with a determined stride.  The big hat and tight posture caught my eye.  I liked how the image is framed by two large Douglas Firs with the light filtering through the background forest.  This is Day 14.

Potential Energy

6"x6" oil for sale by auction

I have recently come to realize that I am truly a part of the older generation.  I am one of those old ladies that sits on the bench while the teenagers laugh and play and have so much ahead of them.  I am not being bitter about this.  Inside I am young and ageless...outside I look "mature" but I work at staying flexible and balanced and keeping a happy attitude, enjoying the joys of this long path.  I love a good joke but sometimes that joke comes in the form of catching a reflection in the window and wondering who that aged woman is!

Power Walking

6"x6" oil

I started this painting very loosely and with a limited palette made of some rather unusual choices of transparent colors: Phthalo Blue, Indian Yellow, and Permanent Rose. For the top layer I added white to give it opacity and to add lightness.  I wasn't crazy about the greens from this mixture added with white because they looked chalky and lost the vibrancy of the transparent quality, but I went back on top in the light areas with Indian Yellow mixed with white and that helped.  I should have tried mixing in Zinc White instead of Titanium, but I will reserve this for another experiment.  The surprise and excitement I had was in the discovery is of the most lovely brown from mixing the three primaries.  I was drawn to paint this because her clothes and black with bright magenta hair matched the colors in the foliage and that was just fun!  I would not have guessed that I could make such lovely skin tones with these 3 colors.  Great experiment!

The Stroll

6"x8" oil

This is about the complimentary colors of their shirts and about the similarity in texture of their hair.  When I first saw this couple I thought they made an odd pair, but on painting them, they fit together seamlessly.  I especially like the composition of this piece.  I am working hard to learn new things, get my studio together, and create a new body of work for a solo show in 2017.  I think I will include this piece.

Little Mothers

6"x6" oil

I was watching these little girls at the park.  The one face us had a popular type of doll and she was totally in to it.  Her friend, who had the same doll with different colored hair, treated hers like an inconvenient accoutrement.   So even though I called this painting "Little Mothers" it might be more appropriate to cal it 'little mother and her single friend!'

Shade

6"x6" oil

Sitting on a bench in the shade, watching the river go by, this couple has found their piece of paradise today.

3 White Lunch Boxes

8"x10" oil SOLD

This is a painting I did 5 years ago at a Karin Jurick workshop.  It was what inspired me participate in the daily painting movement.  I haven't always painted or posted every day, but it has convinced me that consistency and focus on the goal creates momentum.  I love this painting because these women were clearly on a quick lunch break with their cute little white boxes of food.  They were all color coordinated and sat so close together.  So I am posting this to celebrate 5 years of relatively consistent painting.

Picking Flowers

12x12 oil

The most fun in painting this was the folds of the tunic, but how can anyone resist the excitement she expresses in picking her first flower.  Someday someone will tell her that dandelions are weeds, but until then, what magic there is in crawling in a field of flowers!

30-30 #8-9

Babushka Baby

8"x8" oil

One of the reasons I write a blog is to catalog my work and the thoughts involved in painting it.  This way I record something about my frame of mind as well as the process of discovery and growth that I am experiencing on the journey.  Of course I also do it to expose an audience to my work and hopefully create an interest for buyers and those who want to have a commission done. I read other artists blogs to get insight into how they work and because I am so amazed at how well so many people tell their story through color and brushwork.  This little one gave me fits!  I spent so much time on this painting which really looks straight forward an d simple.  I tried painting it loose and I tried painting it detailed.  So what did I learn? (that is what Jo MacKenzie always asks in her blog).  Once again I am reminded that the tools you use make a big difference.  The texture and quality of the panel, the consistency and color of the paint, and the brushes and other tools all have a big impact on how it will turn out.

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Snack Time

7"x9" oil

I wanted to see if I could do a figurative piece that had the same kind of color "pop" as the floral pieces done at Dreama Tolle Perry's workshop.  This is more subdued but I still think it has some of the pizazz I like.  It is a method I think I will continue to explore as I am more drawn to painting people and children than I am floral scenes.  Although, I do love flowers and gardening and certainly beautiful paintings of idyllic scenes...but I will leave it to others to do those subjects, at least for now.  Does this piece have appeal to you?  I am not related to this child, but she is a bit universal I think...round and sweet and curious.

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A Walk In the Park

5"x7" acrylic

This is another illustration for my little book.  All of our grandkids love to go for walks in the woods and in parks.  It is probably my favorite thing to do with them because it is so easy and they love it so much. 

Friendly Conversation

8"x10" oil

Finally I got into a few hours of oil painting again.  I finished this piece and tweaked several others I was never happy with.  All in all, it was a good session and this piece worked out alright. I am feeling the need for a painting sabbatical....paid leave away to just paint.  Ah, that would be lovely.  In the meantime I will have to just carve out some time and do it here with all the distractions.  Well...off to the next thing....

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Can I Play? 6"x6" acrylic

This is a little out-of-season (it is summer somewhere)...but I found an old photograph that just struck me by the story it tells, but also because it looks a bit like a Christmas ornament.

$100 and $10 shipping