Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Moonlight and holiday lights


This month we had such a gorgeous full moon that came
in tandem with everyone's holiday lights. I was able to
catch this shot just as the moon was coming up and I do
think it should probably be posted on my Art and Life
Interwoven....my other blog to which you can find the link
on the right side of this page.
Wishing you a new year filled with all you desire on every
level of life and living!

Waaaaaaaaaaay too much dessert!




The first part of this holiday meal was
fantastic, but the visual art is in the
desserts! Greek delights that are
homemade and delicious!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

To all of you who have made this year so wonderful.
May your holidays with friends and loved ones be just
as you imagined it to be!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Up close and beautiful

This candle sat on my porch this summer. It was really hot
for several months and it began to sag with all that heat.
I brought it in when the season changed and it just sat on
my counter for a long time until I began my holiday decorating.
I love flickering friendliness of candles and so I looked at this
one again. Inside the bent over column was what you see here,
something quite beautiful. Rather like a cave with wonderful
formations.
This candle means even more to me than its recently discovered
beauty. It was one of two tall columns that were at my parents
memorial service some years ago. My sister and I each took one
after the service was over. I decided to keep using it and it is
yet another way that I remember all they were to me which was
as good as it gets.
Merry Christmas. Light a candle.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Waters House in Germantown, Maryland

I started this painting earlier this year. It was going to be in
a show at this house which is owned by the Historical Society
in this county. But due to budget cuts, it is not open to the
public now. So the painting languished until recently when
I got it out and decided to complete it. It is pretty much done,
though I need to study it a bit more to see if I want to do
anything else to it. The big tree took as long to do as the house!
SO many branches.
This painting is 12" x 24" in oil. I hope you like it. It is rather
a different subject for me from what I have been doing!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Cat commission full size!

OK folks, I just put up the previous post, and
then realized I hadn't put put a photograph that
shows you the whole painting!
Here it is! Those shadows are what attracted me
to doing this painting in the first place!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Cat commission completion!



You may recall having seen earlier posts on this painting.
They show you how I got started. You can go to those posts
for May, June and July 2010 to see them.
At one time there was a sky behind the cats, but in
discussing this with the client, she liked the idea of the
deck and plants being out there behind them.
I liked the sky idea, but now that I have done this the
way my client requested it, I am satisfied. One thing
it does which the sky didn't do....the warm yellow green
of the plants contrasts very well with the more shadowed
area where the cats are inside.

Click on the image if you want to see it larger!

It is oil on a panel and is 16" x 20".

Any ideas for a title? My client has one....

"Can we go out?"

Sharing my Thanksgiving with you


Well you already saw the turkey in the last post!

Now you see the table and the dessert I made to

bring to share with my friends! It was such an

enjoyable evening! I am truly thankful for the

wonderful generous friends I have in my life.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Thanksgiving

Perhaps this isn't the most aesthetic image for
Thanksgiving, but it got my mouth watering for
the feast and family day coming tomorrow.
So I wish you all a wonderful day of good conversations
and happy times within the blessings of your friends
and families.

Monday, November 22, 2010

"I Concentrate on You"

"I concentrate on you" is an old song. It is one of
the cuts on one of my friend Carey's albums, and
since this is a painting of him, it seemed the perfect
title. His beloved and gorgeous custom-made
guitar makes beautiful music with his accomplished
fingers and phrasing! He concentrates on that jewel
of an instrument.
I worked on this painting over many months and
almost hated to finish it because it was a constant
reminder of the beautiful music Carey creates and
painting it reminded me of his favored tunes from
the 30s and 40s. My favorite era too....though it
was really my parent's music!
I altered the background somewhat so that it
complimented him more that what was actually
there in that room. I added the fire to show more
of the warm heart of his music and his love for it.
It is an oil painting on a panel. 18" x 24". Please
do comment here and let me know what you think.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Not a painting......yet!

I love these scenes where families or friends go
out to eat and enjoy each other's company in
a warm and attractive setting. I'm alway taking
photos in restaurants. So far no one has protested,
but of course I am very discreet. Also, I never try
to do likenesses of people I haven't met.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

There's all kinds of art and artists....

My neighbor's child who is 9, and his best friend made what
I can only call an art installation for Trick or Treat Day!
I am loving it. Sadly, they took all the decor down now, but
then I am thinking there will be a Christmas installation?
Just had to share the art of someone else for a change!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Small painting Butterfly #3

Here is the third of the butterflies I recently
painted. The tree hydrangea's flowers are sort
of like butterflies themselves.
This is alkyd paint on a panel, 5 x 7 inches.
Let me know which one you like best!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Small painting, but POW!

I don't think this looks as good as it does in real
life with its beautiful silver frame. But you might
enjoy it anyway. My Mother loved anemones
and this is, of course, such a one!
5" x 7" alkyd on panel

Sunday, October 31, 2010

No photograph, but wanted to share

Yesterday I started a class with 5 students
called 'Critique and Discussion'. Five students
was the maximum number I thought would
work well. And it did! Very well.

Each person spoke about their background
in art, starting with their childhood endeavors.
It was fascinating to hear how each one had
been affected by their family and environments.
BUT what was even more interesting was that
each one had this nugget of interest in creating
art in place from an early age and it was not
because of anyone else, but was their own
possession, if you will. Their family and
environment affected them, but still, it was
theirs to begin with.

Then we all participated in critiquing the art
they brought for that purpose. The spirit of
help and interest was fabulous. I am looking
forward to next week and more of this high-
level experience!

Maybe I'll even have a photograph for you!

Friday, October 29, 2010

The show!


Here are two shots of the recent show
done together with my sister who
designs and makes jewelry. It was
a good show for us both and we were
happy to see the return of some folks
as well as new people to our show.
Here you have a shot of some of my
sister's display area and then a work
in progress on my easel.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Small painting of beach bunny!

This is my definition of sun-kissed
sweetness! What a darling girl,
daughter of a friend of mine. I was
with them all at the beach and this
is one of my favorite shots of that
lovely week.
Oil painting on panel 5" x 7"
It's in the show coming up!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Small painting of wicker chair

This pretty old wicker chair is in a house on the
grounds of Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania.
Have a seat in the lovely surroundings...its from
a time gone by, but I think it evokes something
quite special and relaxing which perhaps the
viewer will experience when looking at this piece.
5" x 7" oil on panel. "The Wicker Chair"

Small painting of Butterfly #2

I took a lot of photos of my tree hydrangea and so
have a lot of great material to paint. Here is yet
another one. The way I would shoot these photos
is that I would drive into my driveway and be very
close to the flowering branches. They were loaded
with bees and all manner of flying insects and
butterflies. It was a great vantage point to get
the pictures.
By the way, my son tells me that this is an
Eastern tiger swallowtail!
It is also another 5" x 7" on a panel.
All of these small paintings will be in my upcoming
show, but if you are interested in any of them,
contact me. They are $175 plus s & h.
They take 4 - 6 hours to do, plus varnishing and
framing! Frames are included by the way.

Small painting of southwest scene




When I visited Arizona some time ago, I was
delighted with the crispness of shadows that
were so strong they were almost objects in
themselves.
This is another small work I did recently -
5" x 7" on a panel. Oil and alkyd paint.

Monday, October 18, 2010

My sister's jewelry



Just a small sampling of my sister's beautiful
work that she designs and makes.

Small painting of small child!

Thank you all for sending me your
wonderful email comments about
these small paintings. I really appreciate
it very much. Now to get you to comment
ON the blog itself! Please! Help!
This darling child was listening to
music not far from her parents.
It was a lovely setting at Longwood
Gardens on a perfect summer day.
I love her little chubby hand on the
stone wall and her fuzzy fine hair
which her mom had in a sort of up-do!
5" x 7" Oil painting on panel.

Small painting-Butterfly #1

This summer my tree hydrangea was visited by
so many lovely winged creatures. Here is one of
them. I had so much fun painting this I had to
do two more.
5' x 7' alkyd painting on panel.
I hope some of you who have seen these small
works will post your comments as well as sending
me your lovely emails!
Thank you so much for your interest and support
of my artistic endeavors.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Small painting of gate

I'm hoping to dazzle you all with my many small
paintings for my upcoming show at my studio!
I did this subject years ago in watercolor. I recently
looked at the photo and fell in love with it all
over again. It was fun to do it with oil/alkyd paint
and to use a painting knife for some of the effects
on the gate posts. The color subtleties are quite
challenging, but interesting.
(The spelling of 'subtleties' is the same!)
Remember you can click on the image to see the
details!
Again, this is a 5" x 7" panel and I think I have to
call it "Williamsburg gate". Any other ideas?

Friday, October 15, 2010

Small work - Bench and sprinklers

Here's another of my latest paintings. Again, it's
5" x 7" and on a panel. This one is mostly oil paint,
not alkyd. I had started it a while ago, but just
completed it recently doing the water reflection
effects. Fussy work, but I love it. I think this
painting took as long as any of them. Getting that
bench right was a challenge!
This is a bench in front of the DeYoung Museum
in San Francisco. Quite a fantastic building.

Small painting of fuschia

This is yet another of my recent small works.
I keep photographs of many things I see in life and
on such occasions as painting a whole series of small
works, I get them out and go for it!
I enjoy the use of complementary colors such as
the orange-blue combination you see here.
This is 5" x 7" on a panel and is an alkyd painting.
Now thatI am down to the wire on time, I
incorporate the use of alkyd paint. It dries much
faster than oil because of the medium used to
make the paint. But in all other respects it is the
same as oil paint.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Small painting of crystal glass

I have been trying for days to find the
photos I took of my small paintings!
Today I did and here is one of them.
This is a 5 x 7 inch oil painting.
The middle background section is
actually silver oil paint which I use
now and then very sparingly.
For those of you who
may think silver or gold paint is what
you use to show reflections, it isn't!
The top part of the background is
actually really black, though it is
hard to photograph it to look that
way because of light that bounces
off the surface.
I think I'll call it 'Crystal Beauty'.
What do you think?

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Never showed you this one

While I am working away at my small pieces and trying to
get them to post to this blog (issues with my program to
upload them), I am showing this commissioned piece.
This is a work in acrylic. It is 3 feet by 5 feet. I had so much
fun with it. I did it on unstretched canvas so I could roll it up
and ship it to Texas where it now resides. It was stapled on
a strip of wood that hung on a few nails. This was important
because some of what I did to it needed to be done on the
floor. And some of what I did to it was done on the wall.
With that system that I devised, I could easily take it off and
put it back on the wall as I worked on it back and forth.
I look forward to your comments!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Where have I been?

Hello everyone,

I have been painting so much since my last post that I haven't shown up here to show you what I am doing. Soon however, you will see. I finally got my latest small works and my camera together. Twenty one in all with eight of the last of them in various stages of completion.

It is a joyous thing, painting is.

I paint subjects and images that make me happy to see. And then to paint them gives me the pleasure all over again! See?

I choose to focus on what I love about Life and to depict it for others to enjoy as well. Hopefully they are inspired to do their own looking for Life's beauties and pleasures.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Small paintings continued



I am on a tear to get as many done as I
can for my upcoming show. This is my
fabulous hanging system developed by a
former studio assistant. These strips of
wood can be hung from the molding. They
have velcro on them and then I have put
a bit of velcro on the back of each painting
and voila!

If you click on the image, you can see the
paintings bigger!

My target is to get 30 new ones done. I
have 24 done or in progress, so I'm good!
These are 5" x 7" on panels and are done
in alkyd paint which dries overnight. I leave
them to dry longer and then apply varnish.
The two photos are of the same thing, the
first one with a flash and the next one without!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Small paintings underway again



Apparently my last post was not working to show the photo, so
now you get two to look at!


I'm doing these 5" x 7" panel paintings in a group, working on one
for a while and then the next and the next. I have about a dozen
of them going now and it is really fun.


I tape the gessoed boards to a matboard a little larger than the
panel and that pretty much keeps my fingers out of the paint!
I draw the images on with a Papermate Sharpwriter. It keeps
the lines very nice and thin. Then I spray with fixative so I can
still see the image under the early thin coats of oil paint.

There'll be more, so stay tuned!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Guitarist with background re-done

I decided to put a setting around him, but you
can see from the first 'real' background, that this
one is invented, using elements from the actual
background in which he was performing. It's
called artistic license! And I am much happier
with this. It still isn't done, but is much closer
to a final product than it was. How do you like
the flames showing? I put them there to express
the sense of warmth and affinity he has in his
playing. The guitar still needs work as you see!
No strings!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Background change for guitarist painting

I decided to get rid of the previous background
which is where he was actually playing. I didn't
think it contributed anything to what I was trying
to convey. Here he is fully IN his music and out
of the physical world he was playing in.
Let me know what you think.
Soon he will come to see it and bring his gorgeous
guitar so I can see the elements of it fully. One
cannot paint without understanding.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Next stage of the guitarist

So now I've got some background in place, though
I'm not sure it really helps the painting all that
much. I may paint it out and just let the man
and his music 'stand' alone! This painting is on
an 18" x 24" panel. I've used Mars Violet in the
background. It is an interesting rosy brown that
seems to harmonize with the colors he is wearing.
I really like the blue of his shirt in contrast to
the other colors.
Let me know what you think of it. I always
appreciate people posting their comments here.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Getting started

This is how I generally work from a photograph
I've taken. I take the print to Kinko's and blow it
up and crop it if necessary. Then I have two prints
made. I make a grid on one, and have the other for
reference without any lines from gridding on it. It
is the top photo that I folded and made grid lines on.
You can see the folds in it if you click on this image
and see it larger.
When I am doing a portrait, I never worry about
likeness in the sketch stage. Just general proportions
of the face. I then work it out on the painting surface.
This sketch is on newsprint. I will transfer it by putting
charcoal on the back of the drawing and then going over
the drawing while it is taped to the panel I'm going to
paint on (or canvas).
This painting is going to be 18 x 24 and in oil on a panel.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Al fresco

This is a 5 x 7 painting I did last summer. I am
always amazed at how much depth one can get
in a small painting. I didn't have this one very long.
One of my students bought it who lives here and
knows this pretty place.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Maybe you'll laugh


This is what I did with two cat statues from
the studio. I wanted to shoot the angle that
the cats were sitting on the oriental carpet
in order to get the angle and therefore the
perspective of the carpet, the photo of the
carpet that is!
The lengths that artists will go to for our
work!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

I couldn't resist-100 degrees here today

Right now, this would feel really good! Is there no
happy medium between 100 degree heat and
over 2 feet of snow?

Now and earlier in the process!


I thought you might like to see the
drawing that preceded the painting.
The painting is nearing completion,
but isn't there yet. Also, the photo
of the painting doesn't quite get the
entire shadow in, and it is definitely
there in reality!
You can see that I have changed the
background behind their heads. What
is actually there are the planks in a
deck and that just doesn't do it for me!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Cats painting in progress

This shot is slightly fuzzy, but I wanted to
show this stage of the painting before I
put in the shadow. I will glaze it after the
carpet details are in place. In the previous
post you can see the outline of the shadow.
In this shot you can barely see it, but I left
just enough so I could put it in without having
to do it over again and so I could see where what
flowers and design parts fall in the shadow area.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Working it out

So what are you looking at here? The laying out
of what will become an oriental carpet in my painting
commission. What you see at the top are the tails of
two cats who were close buddies. And if you look
closely you will see the outline of their shadows.
This is an intriguing assignment and I will soon post
the latest version. I have done a lot since this photo
was taken, but there is still quite a ways to go. It
is challenging to do the layers of work to get the
carpet perspective, then the carpet painted, then
the shadow done over all.....to say nothing of the cats
themselves!