The Circus

8"x10" oil

Something I have learned about myself, when I am overly stimulated visually, it is hard for me to paint.  I found this to be true after visiting Las Vegas for 2 weeks for the purpose of painting, and also after attending the circus last week.  This painting is a result of that visit, and although I am happy with the final result, the process was a bit painful.  I have also come to the conclusion that I can't paint when my grand children are visiting.  I am way too distracted!

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Painted Jeans

Canvas is not the only painting surface!  I had these old jeans that were covered in paint so I decided to just add some more.  Not exactly a painting, but I used paint and a brush!  The colorful pink legging is my 1 year old granddaughter.

Garlic

5"x7" oil

The current DPW challenge is to do white on white.  The tricky thing about doing an almost all white painting is getting the values correct.  I wanted the light on the plate to be warm and the tablecloth to be cooler. I did a stone carving workshop this weekend and my subject was a garlic bulb.  I am going to do a lot of garlic paintings to really get to know this subject...and maybe another sculpture or two.

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Prelude in D Minor

5"x7" oil

This is another exploration of color and music inspired by Rachmaninoff.  I especially like the explosion of pink at the top center and the wavy lines.  I think I learn a lot in these playful pieces.  However, retention of my learning may be another issue....

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Concerto in C Minor

5"x7" oil

This past weekend I did a stone carving workshop.  It was a 2 day affair and I had every intention of finishing my piece in the 16 hours I devoted to it, but you know what they say about the best layed plans of mice and men.... The workshop was filled with interesting conversations about a myriad of topics including the connection between art and music.  This inspired me to do some color studies using music as my inspiration.  I am keeping a notebook (gessoed canvas paper) of my color mixes, which is a little tricky with oils since they dry so slowly.  I am covering each page with wax paper, which will further delay the drying time, but also preserve the mix.  As I do the color mixes, I also am doing a painting, like this first piece, in which I chose (after listening to a lot of music) Rachmaninoff's Concerto #2.  He wrote this concerto in 1900 after a serious spell with depression that lasted about 10 years.  He had completely given up music and then started therapy with Dr. Dahl who used the auto-suggestion statement, "You will begin to write your concerto.  You will work with great facility.  The Concerto will be of excellent quality."  The result, is that we now have this lovely piece of music.  It is interesting how many artists suffer from depression...I guess from trying to reach that intangible thing!

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The Gardners

6"x6" oil

This is surely a sign of spring.  The gardeners are out trying to get those seeds to come up quickly!  I made a little demo slide show of this.  You can see it here.

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The Music Maker

6"x6" oil

If we could all be as brave and free as a little one banging away at the piano. I really want to learn to play the fiddle.  I heard on an interview on NPR the other day that for someone to be a professional classical violinist they need to start at 3 or 7 at the latest.  How can a 3 year old know what they want to do with their life?  I am a whole lot older than that and still figuring it out!  Well clearly I will never be a professional classical violinist, but I can still have fun like this baby.  I can make my own music, discover what a violin can do in the hands of a neophyte grandma, and learn a little on the way as well.  Thanks for looking at my work.  I hope you can hear the music.

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The Dishwasher

6"x6" oil

These are not my favorite colors, but I really like the subject matter.  I am so drawn to interesting stances that folks make and I love painting kids.  This little guy loves washing dishes and is very meticulous about it right down to putting on his apron.  It really is like painting someone in a gallery looking at a painting, except the gallery is really a galley and the painting is really a reflection in the window. You can see some of my gallery viewers here.  One of my favorite artists, Karin Jurik, encouraged me to do these.

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Happy Days

5"x7" oil

I love the warm colors on this one.  This young man is as sweet and charming as he looks!  It seems a juxtaposition that he is in uniform and in a dangerous place. I posted this because his mom suddenly got sick and is in the hospital so we are praying for a quick recovery for her and safety for him.  It just seemed like an apropos posting after the events of yesterday.  Being in the NE and having family that works in Boston just makes it seem a bit more personal.  It is a good day to be grateful!

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A Young Artist's Demo

Click here to see why it is good to start young!

It's A Beautiful Day

5"x10" oil

This revised painting elicits memories of a wonderful painting trip hosted by my new friend Karen.
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Getting a Tan 6"x6" oil

This is not a new painting but one I found in the organization of my photo files.  It is one of my favorite still life paintings and quite frankly I am surprised it has not sold!  I set it up on a bright, warm summer day outside when the light was strong and overhead.  I painted really fast to get the values down and capture the angles of the shadows.  I also like it because the pitcher has that mysterious dark hole and I made it when I was doing a lot of ceramics.  I don't think I still have it as I gave away a lot of the pieces I made.  Maybe I have subconsciously been holding on to this one and that is why it hasn't sold...but I am ready to clean out the closets so this one is available! I have to say, the warm colors are inspiring to me as I look out on yesterday's snow!  Hope you are having a "real" spring day!
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A Pretend Dragon 5"x7" oil

This painting was a challenge for me for a lot of reasons.  I painted it from a photo that had 2 main values, predominately dark against bright white.  The colors were also a challenge because the house is a pale yellow and their clothes were black and gray (common colors for ski clothes).  My friend was going through some really tough medical issues at the time.  Her daughter encouraged her to put on her ski clothes and "pose" and just "pretend," hence the title.  Because she was feeling poorly at the time, the photo didn't reflect her beautiful spirit.  She is one of those people who sparkles and you hardly notice her actual features because her personality is what you see.  She is an athlete and a real optimist and all around fun, real person.  These are qualities you have to interpret when doing a portrait.  Her dog, Dragon, passed on since the photo was taken so this painting is dedicated to him.  I think a dragon is a great symbol of strength and power and those are the qualities that helped my friend Kim get through her trials. It is so encouraging to see her active, happy and rosy cheeked again! I need to tweak a few things, but it is mostly done.
SOLD
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The Bird Tree 5"x7" oil

This is the second value study I added color to. This was so much different than the previous one I posted because color really helped define the spaces where the values were really close.  I kept the graphic feel but now the squirrel and bird pop out.  This painting was a lot of fun to do.  Adding color to the value study was like paint-by-number...which although all the art teachers regale the stunting power of these crafts, were quite fun to do and gave me a desire to understand how they were created.  What about you?  Did you do paint-by-number?
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Family Story Time 5"x7" oil

This was a value study I did a bit ago and decided to add color to it.  My value study was in 3 values and I tried to stick with that.  What I learned is that it is really easy to think a color is dark or light, but compared to the black, white, gray study, they weren't close.  I think I've got the values thing down and then I do an exercise like this and I see that I need to continue to work on this....maybe forever.  I like this painting because I think it has a good composition and I liked the original drawing.  I am reworking another painting that I just can't get quite right and I fear it is because my original drawing was not right.  I may never finish it, but trying to figure out the problem is also worthwhile.  I still need to correct my photography set-up because this looks more yellow than the original painting is.

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Up, Up and Away 16"x20" acrylic

I feel like I have been away from painting for a very long time.  I was very busy with technical aspects of art, and then life priorities stepped in to remind me that this is not the only important thing I do.  This painting is a work-up for a demo I will be doing on Wednesday for a painting class.  I am really conscience that they will mostly be beginner painters and I don't want to overwhelm them. I woke up thinking about hot air balloons and how stunning they are, and it occurred to me that this would make fun subject matter and each person can personalize their balloon and landscape.  I think it is pretty simple design that could be accomplished in a couple of hours.  What do you think?

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Contemplation 16"x20" acrylic

This was a demo I did for a beginning painting group class.  I needed an image that could be completed on 16"x20" within 2 1/2 hours.  I thought long and hard about what to do and decided on this image but had some other images as examples, with a bird feeder instead of a person, or grape vines instead of flowers.  I got the idea for the composition of the flowers from painter Carolee Clark who does lovely, fun graphic images.  The class had a great time and everyone was happy with their creations which of course were entirely different from mine and each others'.

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Fun In the Sun 6"x6" oil

This is one of the paintings that I found when organizing my photos.  I had posted an earlier version of it, then reworked it a bit and forgot to re-post it.  I am painting and will have new work to post later this week.  I have a couple more projects to complete, including creating a better set-up for photographing my work.  Sometimes the yellow lights play havoc on my images, so I need to find the balance...as I do in every aspect of my life.  I have put up my skis for the season and am thinking about gardening and summertime, so this beach scene really appeals to me.

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Have a wonderful weekend!

I have almost completed my website; I am well on my way to organizing my photos; I have put together a newsletter which I am planning on sending out monthly; I have a facebook fanpage and I have been working on my blog.  Have I forgotten anything?

It is a bit much for me sitting behind the computer for hours, and I really miss painting daily, but I decided to take the weekend off, and start posting again on Monday.  So, have a wonderful holiday and I hope you each have something special to celebrate. 

Stepping Out With Friends 5"x7" oil

I have been very busy organizing my photos which are completely out of control, naming them and building a website.  I am also learning a gazillion  other things in Leslie Saeta's webinArts class, but it is taking me an inordinate amount of time which diminishes my time to paint.  However, in the process of trying to track down the names of some of my pieces, I realized there are several that I didn't post, including this one, which I love!  Karin Jurick calls these "tuxedo colors" and I really like that image.  What I like about this piece is their posture, and the way they are almost a part of the background painting "Stepping Out" by Roy Lichtenstein.  I am including a test slide show project I did to practice for learning how to do this.  It is VERY short!  Enjoy.

click here for a very short painting video

The Bird Tree 5"x6" oil

This is clearly another value study and I will be adding a bit of color to it in a few days.  I want to be really stingy on the color for this one because I like the graphic effect of the black and white, but I want to give more sky and highlight the bird and squirrel, which has a really large head that I didn't see until I posted it here.  I promised myself I would look at all my photos carefully before posting them but I seem to have forgotten that promise!  On another note I taught a painting class at the Chaffee Art Center last night and it was a lot of fun with an enthusiastic group.NFS yet

Family Story Time 5"x7" oil

This is a value study.  It is painting in a light, a medium and a dark value.  This is a really important aspect of creating a good composition and painting it in grays is a good exercise for practice.  It makes you really see the shapes rather than the "things" or "people."  After all, painting is not about things, it is about chemicals arranged on a flat surface that give an illusion.  I will go back in and put chemicals over this that give the illusion of lovely color and hopefully it will turn out delightfully!
NFS

Snapping In 6"x6" oil

I love watching people snap into their skis before they enter the cue for the lift.  They strike such interesting poses.  The snow boarders have a funny little hop to get up to the chairlift because they only strap on one foot.  They play old rock n' roll through loud speakers but I think they could choreograph the movements of the boarders/skiers to another kind of music and it would look like a kind of dance.

Out of the Woods 5"x7" oil

I love skiing and have been fortunate to be able to go out a lot this year.  Spring skiing has been great.  The advantage of living so close to a resort is that I can go up every day for a few hours and ski or work out or snowshoe or hike, and still have the rest of the day to work and paint and take care of business.  This skier is more adventurous than I am.  She likes skiing in the woods, double diamonds and moguls. Nancy Colella posted a painting last week based on a very similar image. The sky was her background and she called it "Red, White and Blue," and it is a really fun painting that inspired me to paint mine.  I put the trees behind mine to tell a different story. Also my skier has on a helmet, which may not be as pretty, but is much more safe!  Please were your helmets!

SOLD

The Attic 5"x7" mixed media

Abstract Weekend Low Side-This is the last of my abstracts based on other painter's realistic works.  I was inspired by Ryan Brown's work.  His paintings look very classically beautiful and are stunning.  This is based on his painting "An Appreciation."  His is the image of a young woman in the corner of a nice studio admiring artwork stacked around her.  It is mostly neutrals and flesh tones, and is a hexagonal shape.  Mine in contrast is rectangular and bursting with warm color, with no light values (I am sure that breaks some rule!).   My  image is more like a gypsy in a babouska digging through boxes in a dusty old attic!

 $100 and $10 shipping

The Match 5"x7" mixed media

Abstract Weekend - High End  Last weekend and this weekend I have done works based on another artist's realistic painting.  This one is based on George Bellow's "Stag at Sharkey's."  It is a wrestling match in a ring with  the heads of spectators.  What I really love about his painting is the tremendous action and tension in it.  He used mostly grayish neutrals in dominate darks, a lesser proportion of lights, and a small amount of medium values, but he has touches of red in the focal point that emphasize the blood flow to the head, neck and arms.  Mine is mostly in mid-values, with lesser darks and only touches of light. I have also been more generous with the redish tones.


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Beth and Brie 6"x6" oil

Beth owns a very cool place in Killington, VT, with her husband.  It is called Liquid Art.  It is an espresso bar (with bakery) and art gallery and a martini bar at night.  It is a warm and lovely environment with a fireplace, couches, a huge aquarium and beautiful warm wood.  They also have very cool events there.  I am happy to say they show my work along with some  fabulous artists, including Beth, who is a photographer and prints her work in huge sizes.  Both Beth and her daughter Brie are wearing matching hats made by Rebecca, which are also sold in their gallery. 
SOLD

Granite Bench oil 5"x7"

This roadside park is a perfect place to stretch your legs, have a picnic, sit on the granite bench and watch the roaring waterfalls or hike up on the ledges to the wooden bench to listen to the tumbling stream that flows into the river above the falls.



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A Light At the End of the Tunnel 5"x7" oil

This was inspired by a DWP challenge to paint the path of light.  I think this really tells the story of hope in the midst of a storm.  I don't use photos without the photographer's permission, but I came across one on a free-use site that inspired this painting.  The photo was really spectacular and needs no more interpretation, but I liked the idea or story  it tells so I wanted to do it.

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Self Portrait In Big Scarf oil 4"x6"

I have been wanting to do a large series of self portraits to practice doing faces from life.  I am the most cooperative model I have!  This one was inspired by a DPW challenge to paint fabric, so I put on a big scarf and am looking down.  I didn't worry so much about making the scarf look authentic, and I didn't use the actual colors of the scarf, but kept it to a limited palette.  I really like how it turned out and I put it as my profile on my FB page.

$45  $10 ship

PICO Lodge 5"x7" oil

This is where I spend a good number of mornings during the week.  It is where the "locals" ski and I love it.  March skiing has been so great!  The day of this photo the fog was so thick you couldn't really see the mountain behind the lodge, just the bottom of a few trails, which look like swirling smoke in the thick fog.

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After, After 5"x7" mixed media

Abstract Weekend Day #2-  This weekend and next I am doing abstracts based on other artist's realistic works.  This one is based on Van Gogh's "Courtesane."  I find it interesting that I am basing mine on an artist who based his on another artist's work.  I could do a whole series on that idea!  I used to tutor college students, mostly in writing term papers and preparing for tests, but what I really loved about it was the opportunity to study something I wouldn't normally come across.  Van Gogh was one of those subjects.  Knowing more about an artist of his fame certainly adds to my appreciation of his work and style.  He was a genius in getting wonderful colors and textures from his brushwork.  My piece gets it's texture from thick paint and collage elements.


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Couch Potato 5"x7" mixed media

Abstract Weekend Day#1:  I decided to do abstracts based on other artist's work for this weekend and next.  My inspiration for this painting was Richard Schmid's "Zorro."  Richard Schmid is a renowned painter who lives in New Hamsphire.  His works are spectacular. 



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Rosebud and the Flower Princess 5"x7" oil

I love this painting and these girls!

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Mmmm Good 5"x7" oil

The princess likes her treat in a royal sapphire cobalt blue crystal ice cream dish!

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I Dressed Myself! 5"x7" oil

The princess dressed herself and she is mighty pleased about it!

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