"Calm" SOLD

One of the enjoyable aspects of painting is that we get to try on new things. Epiphanies can occur right in the middle of a painting. Between what color does to your brain, the power you feel when you lay that paint on thick and the TOTAL sense of adventure----no wonder painting is so ....well....so much fun you feel guilty taking money for it....at least until you see your latest framing bill, and then it all levels out...:)



The painting below is one of the new pieces for my upcoming show at Gallery B in Lexington, KY. It was, as you might imagine, unplanned. The flowers were planned. Eddie was not. Eddie just shows up when I put out fresh flowers. A bit of a rose connoisseur that Ed.

Since I love to write and I love to paint, with this show I did both. I included some of my writings on the surface of the paintings....I knew they would be mostly covered as I moved forward with the painting. But I knew they were there. And they were things of heart that mattered to me and help keep me on track for my intentions for this body of work.



So I thought you might enjoy seeing the first phase which is gold gesso and blue acrylic mingled. Then the words--then the painting. And my fun twist. I didn't want to lose the background I had laid out entirely, so I used Rembrandt Transparent White mix with some purple dioxan and did the background. The transparent white allowed some of the under painting to glow through which I was happy with. Transported me back to my olden days of watercolor and glazing..:)

Each and every day we are awash in a sea of abundance. Take a deep breath and let it wash over you.

The finishing touch on this painting was to go in with gold and paint the words Love, Joy, and Peace.

I hope it is hopelessly transparent......I love what I do.

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"Day 3 of Hedi Moran Workshop" SOLD

Eric Iverson shared some of his fall bounty today by bringing in dahlias and white pumpkins (I don't think I realized there were white pumpkins 'til today..) I had intended to paint roses, but this was like a giant magnet---just too hard to resist! So here is my beginning part..

And here is my almost ending---final tweaking will come tomorrow morning.

And I purchased a Hedi original today! It was the demo she did this morning and it is a beauty. That's one of the many things about taking workshops that is so great---as a student, you get great prices on a painting that can sell for lots more once it is placed in the hands of that artist's gallery. Look tomorrow for my newest art acquisition.....!

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"Day 2 of Hedi Moran Workshop"

My network was down last night, so I couldn't post 'til this morning--sorry for the delay! Hedi did a fantastic demo yesterday and then we all took the plunge into our own work---below is the beginning stages of mine (can you believe I remembered to stop midway and photograph it?!) As you can see, it was done on a canvas with an orange ground.

"Van Gogh Bouquet"

And it here it is, nearly done. It is good to work from a set up that someone else has done. New objects, new flowers, new colors---yummy! Gotta fly for now or I will be late for today's class--don't intend to miss a thing......!

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"Day 1 of Hedi Moran Workshop"

"Endless Summer"

Today was the first day of the Hedi Moran workshop in Lexington, KY. Above is the yet to be resolved result of my afternoon of painting. Looking at it here, in the photo, I can see some things to be addressed in the morning-----a good night's sleep always improves the objectivity! I am having so much fun--its great to be a kid (student) again and we are already into full swing of having fun......we started the morning with giving Hedi a standing ovation. She is well loved here, it's her 5th trip back to Lexington. Hedi is from Scottsdale, Arizona and is enjoying the reprieve in the temps--it was 108 degrees when she left and today was a beautiful, top ten day in Kentucky with temps in the high 60's! The drive in today was incredibly beautiful--mist and fog rising from verdant pastures dotted with thoroughbreds and flanked by stone fences......almost rivals my coastal drive down I-5 along the blue Pacific when I lived in San Diego...!
If you read my bio on my website you will see that Hedi (along with Kevin Macpherson and Wolf Kahn) is one of the artists who has impacted my work the most. She is a very skilled painter that leads by example of enjoying the process of painting. As she said today, each time she goes in to paint, that is what she is there for--to paint. Not to make a painting. She is exuberant with her approach and it shows in her finished pieces. I so appreciate Hedi and other artists like her, that are willing to share their knowledge and love of painting . Building on what has come before us, allows us to grow much more rapidly, without having to figure out everything through trial and error. Thank you Hedi!

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"Day Two at Winchester Opera House"

"Cobalt Teapot and Daisies"

Here's yesterday's demo as promised. This is a very focused, hard-working group of artists--I will try to get a shot of some of the great art they are producing tomorrow. I have not had an "assistant" this workshop, so I have been busier than usual trying to make the easel rounds and get photographs.....I know, sounds like a tough life. First I have to paint, then I get to talk with other artists about art, then do lunch, then paint some more and take pictures....the "work" just never ends.

Here are some of the artists hard at work--we have deluxe accommodations at the Winchester Opera House!

I had a beautiful day at the workshop and capped it off with dinner with art friends and came home to lots of good comments on my blog. Lots of things to be happy and grateful for. And I am that. Happy and grateful.

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"Day Two..Paintings and Conversations" DEMO SOLD

Day two of the workshop!

More paintings from some of the group.......

More fun than a box of new paints (and you know how I feel about that!)....

Another day jam-packed with great paintings by such a warm, wonderful group of artists!

Here's my demo from today. There is just no substitute for putting a whole group of painters together in one room. Bobby Shiflet, owner of Frames on Main where the workshop is being held, said he thought we were having too much fun......we didn't really have an argument for that!

Lee Harris coined a new word today that I have decided to adopt. I always let everyone know they are welcome to follow me from easel to easel to listen in on coaching I am giving to that particular artist. Lee dropped in on one such conversation and announced she was "easel-dropping" ....!

Altogether--just an awesome day!

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"Morning, Glory!" SOLD (Class Demo)

Today has just been a delight from start to finish. The cool morning air just seemed right for a 3 day stint of creative immersion! The photos above capture parts of our morning, with introductions, beginnings and endings of the demo (I will try to get a better photo of the completed demo tomorrow...) This is a talented group of artists--they are keeping me on my toes with good questions and great paintings!

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"Almost Summer"

I borrowed the idea for this still life set up from Carol Marine. I chose a different vase because it lent itself better to the composition for the canvas size. One thing I have noticed about photographing each piece I do and then seeing it after I post it--things I may not have noticed jump out at me when viewed. Sometimes its things I like that really work and other times its things that are off and I didn't catch it 'til after seeing it photographed. I guess it steps one back a bit from your work and makes it a bit more like viewing it for the first time, or as if it were a painting that someone else had done. Good old objectivity---a really wonderful friend--you just constantly have to look for ways to lure him out into the open. Turning your painting upside down to view it can also help--- maybe makes you look a little crazy---but who cares if it gets the job done.

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"Rose Sparkle" SOLD

Roses and glass are probably two of my favorite things to paint. Roses with sparkling glass just seem to denote the "good life". It has been raining for days-weeks--I don't know--pretty much everyday for a good while. I ran outside and snapped this between the rains! I did try a different ground color for this--almost a lemon yellow (you can see it peeking through by my signature) and was happy with the results--I think it kept the red in the roses a bit more sunlit feeling.

Well, back to the studio!

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"Bucket of Roses"

What's more fun than a bucket full of roses? Painting them of course! All the roses are vying for attention when I first set them out. Since I am the "one in charge" it becomes my job as to which roses I showcase to draw your attention too and which ones I suggest so that they don't become like a roomful of school children, all clamouring for you at once. I guess, in a way, it it my job as an artist to prevent "information overload". The mind needs just to be pointed in the right direction and it can fill in lots of information on its own, so that art becomes a participation sport. A painting needs you in order to be complete. Pretty cool, huh.

Thought for the day: If a painting hangs on a wall and no one ever sees it, will it ever be complete?

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"Hide 'n' Seek Polka Dots"

See this painting at Courtyard Gallery!
Well, here's "the rest of the story". What you didn't see in yesterday's piece!

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"Old Silver, New Reds, Middle-aged Pears"

Ah, our crazy human need to label everything. There sits this painting, in all its "isness" and I just can't leave well enough alone. I have to give it a name. Its label. And now I have done gone and messed with your mind, making you have to think about it and decide how you are going to label this........
May you have an interesting, thought provoking, label free day. "Nothing in or of itself is either good or bad, but the thinking of it that makes it so. " Pin It

"Saucy Conversations"

One of the things I think about in still life is movement. Since obviously the term itself doesn't denote much happening (for instance, I consider Eddie a good example of extremely still life....) one has to think of ways to introduce a liveliness to it. Still life without movement is like a song that plays one note for the entire verse and course. Fortunately, there are many ways to add some life to a still life. Well placed color, directional brush work, and as in this piece, sitting a canning jar a bit askew are all viable options. When I was setting this up, the canning jar on the left was sitting uphill due to a roll in the fabric. As I framed it in, I decided I like the movement it brought, so I exaggerated it a bit. That and some fluid brushwork and voila'---a moving still life!

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"Susan's Piece"

This piece was actually done before yesterday's painting. The painting in the painting is a piece by my talented friend, Susan E. Roden. The one thing I would ad to this still life setup would be some tubes of paint--oh well, there's always tomorrow!

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"Old Friends" SOLD

Available at Gallery B!

I think because arches are organic in shape, they make for a pleasant feeling when viewed in the landscape. They repeat the shapes of nature---tree limbs, grasses, the slight arc of a bird's wing. This particular arch is a portion of the old mission, San Juan Capistrano. It has inspired many an artist for many a year and I am no exception. The day I visited here, it was filled with school children, running noisily about and tents were set up on the grounds for an evening event. I am sure the arch and roses below have seen many such things come and go. There is a peacefulness and calmness about them. I am not sure why, but I am continually drawn to the pairing of tumbled old bricks, weather worn mortar and velvety, tender roses.

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