The Marketplace

12" X 12" oil on box canvas
$150 + $10 shipping and handling

This piece was done from another of the Avila Beach reference photos. The original had about 20 additional people in it so my challenge became editing out what was too many people and how to handle the area otherwise. There are still a lot of people portrayed in whole or in part, how many can you count?

Quiet Spot

12" X 12" oil on box canvas
$150 + $10 shipping and handling

When I was in San Clemente a couple of weeks ago, I spotted this woman taking a break on a hill under a large shade tree. She spent her time watching the activity of the Art Show and the Farmer's Market below...I wondered what she was thinking.
Wanting to work on values, what ultimately became my challenge were the palm trees! Not regularly a landscape painter I did not know how to approach the hundreds of hanging palm fronds. Eventually I worked on it just as I do hair, massing in color then adding shapes of light. Though challenging I will be trying to paint palm trees again soon!

Echo Rose

12" X 12" oil on box canvas
$150 + $10 shipping and handling

I happened upon a photo of Echo Rose, a singer, taken by her mother. The strong shadow and her gesture really appealed to me. I was given permission to paint the photo and this is my result. Daligoddess206 has a Utube blog about videos, but is also an artist who started a "traveling painting". The idea is that she painted on a canvas first then sent it to another artist to paint on, and so on. The painting is currently on it's way to the UK, it will eventually be auctioned off for charity. Sounds interesting, and if you would like to see the painting or more information the link is above...it's fun...I wonder if that guy's cat really spilled the yellow paint?
Thanks for the photo Daligoddess!

self portrait

Having some time this afternoon, I decided to paint a self portrait. I've been wanting to do one just to see my progress from the last one I did over six months ago. I would rather paint almost anything other than me, but the time had come to chart my progress. This was done from a photo rather than life, I can stay very still that way!

P.S. This is now a part of the Artists Painting Themselves blog. Check out the other contributions (some familiar) and consider adding one yourself!

Diggers

10" X 10" oil on box canvas
$100 + $10 shipping and handling

This is the scene I came upon when walking on Balboa Island this week. It was a very gray day so the challenge for me was to find color in the gray, a challenge to be sure because I do tend towards saturated color. It all became easier when I realized the light had a purplish cast.

I find it funny that when you hand little boys shovels, they can entertain themselves for hours...it even bring others from far and wide!
Click on image to see the details...sorry about the glare.
Happy 4th of July all!!

Adrift

10" X 10" oil on box canvas
$100 + $10 shipping and handling

Having grown up in Scottsdale, AZ, the desert, my familiarity with boats was limited and as a result, boats have not been a frequent subject in my paintings. Karin Jurick's DSFDF challenge however was of this rower in the boat so I gave it a try. I am pleased with the boat and the painting!

San Clemente Art Show

As promised I am posting a couple of photos from my show this weekend. Traffic was a bit slow so most of the people I met were other artists, but I always enjoy chatting with artists and sharing ideas and info! I sold one painting in the first half hour of the show on Saturday, and one painting in the last half hour on Sunday. Of course I would have loved to have sold more but honestly my two sales were two more than most other artists so I can't complain.
Even though my spot was a bit off the beaten path, I was lucky to have a corner spot so I could have two entrances. The grids were mine but I borrowed the EZ-up which I was grateful to have. Should I ever get one of my own though I will get white because the blue cast a blueish color over all the inside paintings.
I snapped the photo of this young girl looking at the painting of the young girl...they even look alike! Another painting? Maybe...
Thanks for all the support and encouragement from this blogger community, the friends that showed up in SC, and my husband who made the trek to help with all the physical set-up and break down!

Enchanted 14" X 14"

In order to move past the events of yesterday (see below), I decided to get back into the studio today and just paint. I came across this piece that I did over a year ago and tweeked it to the point that I want to put it in the show this weekend. I was able to see how far I've come...I'm feeling better.
Happy Father's Day to you dads out there!!

Avila Boardwalk 10" X 10"

sold

This painting was harder to do than many I have done recently. I wanted to get it right with the first lay down of paint...that, was wishful thinking! I did find myself uttering my mantra, "lighter or darker than the previous stroke, warmer or cooler than the previous stroke". And with so many bits of value and shape changes, it took a long time.
I am happy with the results and the two guys on the right are my husband and son...I would recognize those walks anywhere!

Girl Watchers 12" X 12"

My plan today was to do this in 3 hours again...it took 4. I am not trying to set any speed records for painting, but I am finding I have to work hard and stay a bit looser (it's relative) when I have a time limit. Looking at it now, I see a few things to tweek, but it's mostly done...and signed.
I saw these guys checking out the girls when I was in Avila Beach this last weekend. It's a beautiful spot to visit on the central coast of California. When we were there, a street festival was going on so I grabbed my camera and started shooting away...much to the embarrassment of my 18 year old! It is funny to me because he has always been my biggest fan. He is leaving for college next week and maybe this makes the separation just a bit easier, for him and me!
p.s. You are now looking at the tweeked version...45 minutes more.

Time Alone 10" X 10"

Whew! The last month has been crazy with wonderful activities...one son just graduated from college and the other from high school...there were graduation parties, pole vault competitions, trips to graduations and competitions, lots of family and friends, and the like. That schedule left me very little painting time. I am however back in front of my easel as of today, yea!
Next Saturday I am competing in a fast paint competition. It will be my first go at something like this and if I am being honest, I'm nervous. It is my understanding that over 100 artists will be participating in this and the plein air paint out...yikes!
We will have 3 hours start to finish to paint from the various figures or still lifes that will be set up. With that in mind I gave myself 3 hours today to do this painting. I went back to the quick sketch approach that I learned in my Kim English workshop. I took the reference photo outside the Art Institute of Chicago last summer. It appealed to me because of the strong contrast of light and shadow. I had not painted it however because I could not identify what belongings were next to her besides her tennis shoes on the right. With the limited time I set for myself, I HAD to simplify to value, shape and color...ultimately that made it easier.

Tourists 10" X 10"

If there were a degree available in people watching I would apply for my masters...I love it! While at Coronado Island beach I spotted this couple walking. It was obvious to me from the way they were dressed and the sunburned skin that they were tourists to the Island. Hope they had as much fun there as I did watching them....then eventually painting them!

Abundance 12" X 12"

Today was my first day in the studio in about a week...it felt like a month! I have wanted to try painting an onion, but Karin Jurick's DSFDF challenge gave us the whole garden...thanks Karin!
Stop by Karin's blog to see all the wonderful interpretations of the photo and her work.

The Blue Door 10" X 10" oil

Those of you familiar with my work might recognize this as my second painting of this young child. I gave myself three hours this morning to complete this before I get back to some of the things I really need to be doing today. Painting black skin tones is fun because the color is so rich and varied. The image captured me because of the way the child is caught between the viewer and the blue door. The child is not completely comfortable but willing to stay put...for the time being.
I am repainting some images onto square formats so all of my paintings will be on the same support for my show in a couple of weeks. I'm thinking that a consistent shape will be a more professional look since I can't afford to frame everything. Any thoughts about that?
Click on image to see more detail in the face.

Pennsylvania Farm 6" X 6" oil

Due to the many obligations I currently have, my time in the studio has been limited. Yesterday however, I was able to treat myself to a couple of hours of painting. It amazes me how restorative painting can be. This is my latest attempt at Karin Jurick's DSFDF challenge. Karin posted a black and white photo that we were to interpret with our own color using just the information in front of us... value and shape. The image came across my PC as very dark so I added a bit of light with my photo program then went after it.
Having no real frame of reference for farmland my translation was a bit more literal than many that I have seen. Albeit difficult, it was overall a very valuable challenge and one I should attempt more often.

Summer Friends 14" X 14" oil

On a bright summer morning last year I spotted these girls...sitting on the dock of the bay.
They were all in a class together waiting their turn to get back in the water. I knew when I saw them that they would be a painting, I just didn't think it would be so long before I painted them...for some reason today was the right day.
Happy Memorial Day!

"Love is Patient " 12 " X 12" oil

This is the painting I worked on today, using the "colorful mess" in the post below. I don't think she is quite finished but since I had not posted in a long time I decided to go ahead and post her anyway. This is a crazy/busy time for me right now with both my sons graduating, so I am grateful for any window of opportunity to paint.
While looking through old photos I came upon the photo of this girl who was sitting patiently waiting at a garden store. Something about her appealed to me so I snapped her in this relaxed pose. There is still no title for this painting, so any and all suggestions are welcomed!

Colorful Mess...help please!

Lee Brown of monument Colorado sent me this image of his palette...hmmm....it's looking eerily similar to mine. Check out the cool rolling table too...thanks for the photo Lee!
I started my painting day thinking I really need to keep my palette organized but as you can see I failed. I started with cool, warm and neutral darks on the right of my palette and intended to do the same in medium and light values....oops. Because I was excited about what I was going to paint, the best laid plans got ignored. I tend to be lazy about premixing color instead I mix as I go, resulting in this colorful mess. There must be a better way!
I am wondering how you organize your palette and mix color. If anyone wants to send me an explanation and/or a photo I will post it here. Thanks all!
My e-mail is, dacoop456@aol.com

Three Amigos 12" X 12" oil

When I first started painting a lot, I took a workshop from Robert Burridge. If you want to have fun and explore creativity, his workshops are a must! He taught us many ways in which to loosen up. One was to paint 3-5" X 7" pears at once on paper. Using a large brush, acrylic paint and water it was and still is a wonderful exercise. After painting more pears than I care to count I gave up on them for awhile.
Today I was supposed to be playing in oil paints with a watercolorist friend who is ready to make the leap to oils. Due to unforeseen circumstances we had to postpone until tomorrow. Meanwhile I had these beautiful pears I picked up at the market in anticipation of painting them in a still life. I was so excited about painting pears again I went ahead and painted these "Three Amigos". And lucky me, I get to paint them again tomorrow!

Water Play 14" X 14" oil

As I am readying work for the show next month I am looking at all my work with a more critical eye. I had painted the original of this piece a long time ago and it is still one of my favorites but the original had a lot of flaws with the figures so I decided to repaint it using what I know now about the figure.
The photo of these children endeared me to them. I particularly like the boy on the right dancing with the kind of abandon you only see in kids! I'm considering entering this in the OC Fair.

NY Taxis 24" X 12" oil

This my latest entry into the DSFDF challenge. I love New York City and was very excited to be painting it. There was however, a continuous argument going on in my studio while I was painting. The argument was entirely in my head. At times I can be very left brained when painting something like this. The buildings have to be straight and perspective accurate. On the other hand my right brain is wanting to create a painting NOT a rendering. So while I was painting this I was always trying to find the balance between right and left brain. No my buildings aren't completely straight and it is not as expressive as I might want, but I'm kind of liking it anyway.

John's Place 12" X 12" oil

Some of you who follow my blog may recognize this painting as one I did before. The original was a 6" X 6" oil on hardboard. An artist friend suggested that I make it into a larger painting which I did today and these are the results. Thanks for the suggestion Dori!

In the last 6 months I have spent very little time trying to sell my work in part because I wanted to spend my time getting better, not marketing. But as my husband says, "we are not low on inventory around here anymore", so it's time to start thinking about sales. I just today signed up to do a show an outdoor weekend show in San Clemente in late June. I have about 6 weeks until the show. After that, I'm not sure how I will approach sales...ebay, etsy, shows, who knows? I'm curious how many of you actively pursue sales and how you do it.

Until then I need to figure out what to do with the 6" X 6" panels I have often painted on. I would like to frame them, but it would be a custom size and could get costly. Has anyone figured out what to do with that size? I would appreciate any help...thanks!

Easy Read 12" X 12" oil

While I should have been finishing a book for my book group, I instead decided to paint this gal that was reading her book on the beach in Laguna. I'm glad I did!

Flutterby 6" X 6" oil

After a busy week of family, baby shower and track meets I finally got back to painting yesterday with a group where we had a live model. It had been a week since I had painted and I felt as if I had forgotten how to paint...yikes! I wiped out one of my pieces after working on it quite some time only to paint another that will probably meet the same fate...I will have to look at it again in a few days.
We have a beautiful garden of roses and one of my favorites is this rose by the name of "Flutterby". The petals are shaped like butterfly wings and the color changes from and orange/pink to a pale yellow very quickly. It's simple shape appeals to me so I set up this still life. Though I'm a little wobbly, I'm pleased that I didn't completely forget how to paint...whew!

Maggie's Girl 6" X 6" oil

I did this painting of Maggie Mayer's daughter as a part of James Parker's, Windows to the Word challenge. I already did one, but since I knew this was Maggie's daughter I thought I would give it a go. It really gave me some issues in part because she kept looking older than she is and I could not figure out why. I know that the camera flattens images so in painting from a photo I try to create more depth than I see. I think that was my issue because I realized that children's features are flatter and I was building up the form too much. Even though this child appears just a little older, this is as close as I am going to get. Lesson learned.
I wanted my brushstrokes fresh and lively like I imagine this child to be. Thick paint and loose brushstrokes allowed me to even scratch my name into the paint. Click on image to get a closer view.