The last step

Here is what we artists must do after

the piece is completed. Photograph it

for our records and for using in our

promotion materials.

Some of us may be qualified to do a

professional job of it, but here you see

that I am having it done by a professional

instead of doing it myself.

It can be shot indoors with special

color-keyed lights, or in this case, using

the natural spectrum of daylight.

I must say that as a painter, I have

long felt that when I had completed a

work, I was DONE! But there are more

things that one has to consider before one

is truly DONE! This is one of them, and

getting it sold is the next!

Tearoom painting in progress

As you see, I've developed a lot more of this piece

since the previous post. There is a 'feeling' I'm

after in this painting that is what the magic is all

about in art. It is the reason I like original art

on my walls instead of prints. I can feel the magic

from the artist imbedded in the paint. And to my

way of thinking, in a print, you only get the physical

image, not the soul of that artist shared with you

through a magical vibration coming off the paper

or canvas.

There is still LOTS to do with this painting before

it is done.

"Tearoom" in progress

This is the current state of this painting. You can

see that I have scrubbed thin layers of paint as

I am working out the tones and subtle colors of

this piece. It is always very interesting to see if

what I have been cooking up in my head actually

appears on canvas. So far so good. Stay tuned!

Completed Portrait

This is the completed and accepted portrait.

When one paints for others, and most especially

when it is a portrait, it is a joint affair. One must

please oneself in terms of one's art goals for the

work, but also one must meet what is wanted

by those who commission you to paint. When

both or all parties are satisfied, it is the most

wonderful thing to be an artist.

Cat painting nearly done!

Several posts back, I showed you the sketch on

canvas for this painting. Since then I worked on

it at a demonstration I gave a few weeks ago.

She needs a bit more tweaking with whiskers

added and some attention to the pillow, but then

that is it! What shall I call it? "Here's looking

at you"?!

Portrait close to completion

There is a point when I know I am

almost done with my work. All is now

in place for the final elements which

bring the entire work where I wanted

it to go from the beginning.

This is rather like the last movement

of a symphony when you hear the

various parts of the orchestra bringing

the melody to a crescendo, building to

that point of total focus and feeling.

The sketch and story of 'Tearoom' painting

I have had this painting in my head for a long time.

I took some shots of this tearoom a couple of years

ago and have not been able to get it out of my mind

because of the atmosphere of the place and the

lighting. And because it has in it a sort of timeless

feeling of all the ladies who ever shopped taking time

to sit with each other and chat and share some

delicious sweets while resting their feet!

The photographs are not great, but they serve

me just enough for me to invent what I want it

to be. We'll see how it goes.

It is a rather large painting. I will have to check

the dimensions...but I think it is 28 x 32 or so.

Bigger than the recent ones I have been doing.

Also, the settee at the back just grabbed me as it

was the most unique little piece with wood carved-

inserts. It had as much presence as the people,

maybe more!

My next portrait!

Here she is yet again! Miss Lucy posing for animal

crackers (as my Dad used to say!). I am considering

doing a calendar for next year with paintings of

Lucy. So here is the beginning of this one...she

is next to an embroidered pillow, in case you are

wondering.

How about commenting for me to let me know

if you think a Lucy calendar is a good idea. Doesn't

everyone love cats (haha!).

Portrait progress continuing!

I've started putting in the lovely

hair strands across her face. Of course

one needs to have the face properly

developed in order to then do this.

It is also interesting when doing the

mouth on a young girl who doesn't

need to wear lipstick, just how delicate

the slight blush of color is!

Also note that the background has been

more developed. I have put more light

behind her head. It has a subtle diagonal

flow that forms a sort of X with the flow

of her entire body position.

I need to lighten up the dark shadow

of her apron by her elbow and modify

the tones of the apron just above it.

And then there is......... OK, enough.

Stay tuned!

Portrait progress

In my recent painting session of this

portrait (which I am really loving, I

have to admit), I worked out to bring

out the apron, its tones and color. I

pulled in a little of the background

color to it which you can see if you click

on the image to enlarge it (oh heavens,

a magnifying mirror experience!).

I have put in the darks of her hair and

spent considerable time on the subtlties

of edges in many places. I have begun

to work more on her face, though that

is usually what I do last.

Getting ready for art show

My Art League will have its spring show

in a few weeks and so here are some of

the pieces I will show. I am waiting til

the last minute to varnish them! And

to take them to the framer who has already

ordered what I want.

Portrait progress -

This is a continuation of the first stage of

applying thin layers and working out

colors. The background in a portrait is

very important in terms of setting off

the tones of the subject. I have put on

a thin wash of lavendars going from blue-

lavendar to a pinker lavendar. I want the

colors of the background, as well as the tones

of it to set her beautiful self just right!

Portrait with initial paint layer

I almost always underpaint any painting

I am doing. It gives a good middle tone or

value to the work and makes it easier to

determine the darks and lights. I couldn't

resist trying out the turquoise that I will

use for her shirt...but the next go will be

the under-layers of skin tones. So everything

you see here is preliminary to the final paint

layers.

This portrait is 18" x 24" on linen canvas.

My sister's beautiful handmade jewelry

My sister designed and created this beautiful

pendant. I think the name of the stone is

(believe it or not) 'Prudent Man'. I think her

design motif is absolutely perfect for the

amazing leaf-like markings in the stone, yes?

Check out more of her work on her Etsy site.

Go to the right column on this blog and it is

the second link (Sandra's Creations).

As you see, I am not the only artist in this

family...and there are more of us as well.

But those stories will have to wait for another

day.

OK, so this isn't the Prudent Man stone my

sister tells me. It is called Pilbara Jasper!

How my portraits develop

The first drawing is my preliminary one

where I work out the proportions and

composition. It is on newsprint. Then

in the second drawing, you see what I

have transferred to canvas from the

paper drawing. I don't add in any tone

or value on the canvas as that will happen

with paint. I also don't worry about too

much precision for the features at this

early stage. That will come once I am

painting. Stay tuned! I'm excited about

this!

Looking up has benefits

I am always on the lookout for things of visual interest.

That is my strong suit as the saying goes.

This was a rooftop in a wonderfully maintained historic

town near me. It is SO much more interesting than

the asbestos roofing and aluminum siding of my

neighborhood. Ah progress. Such as it is.

My local art group

Twenty-six years ago I founded this group, The Art

League of Germantown (www.alog.org).

I am thrilled that it has continued to thrive. We now

have 79 members and as you see from the photo here,

we have great attendance at our meetings. This

beautiful room is the art gallery at the

BlackRock Center for the Arts

(www.blackrockcenter.org)

At this recent meeting we had what we call

"Show and Tell". We do it regularly and it is a

wonderful way to keep each other up to date on

what we are doing. It provides us with a sort of

accountability and motivation to continue to

produce new work. It is always a great pleasure

to see the new pieces members are working on.

This group remains a very large part of my life. I

started it because I was new in the community all those

years ago and wanted to have other artists in the area

to share with. I also had the intention to help artists as

I care so deeply about us all and I want us to do well

and stick to our dreams.

Please look at the website for our group which is the

first one in this post. Then you can visit the site of

our wonderful art center that opened here 6 years

ago. Our group and the center are partners in many

wonderful and productive ways. How great is that!

Visual poetry of my cat

She's 'one with the blanket' I'd say! I have

had this photo on my screen saver for a while

and finally decided I had to paint the painting!

What wonderful curving lines, and what a pleasure

it was to draw this! This is my photo of my

cat, snoozing on the back of the sofa while

I relaxed watching a little TV!

Art and Humor

OK folks, I just had to veer off of the usual

sorts of things I post here. So I thought I

would go for a chuckle. I think that if I were

working in three dimensions, I would want

to bring a sense of humor to the pieces, such

as this one does! To create something that

makes a person smile is a true gift. This surely

gives me a smile! Hope it does the same for

you.....

Sister Artists

My sister and I are both artists. She creates beautiful

jewelry in gold and silver and all sorts of stones both

precious and semi-precious. We were together last

week as she was headed south for some time out from

her intense workshop and show schedule. She and

her husband wanted some warm weather time!

So here we are working on something I could share

with her. She asked me about color wheel information

as she has started doing some colored pencil drawings

for the pure enjoyment of it. It was fun to be together

and be photographed from above by her husband,

obviously a higher power!

Reader input please!

Hello! Would you all comment on what you think of the black background on this blog? I like how it makes the art look, and I have no trouble reading the white on black text. BUT the subject of black backgrounds has come up lately and I'd like to hear from any and all of you in regard to the ease or difficulty of reading the text.
Thanks!

Expanding!

When I started this blog I was doing small works on a daily basis.
Then I found that I wasn't doing my larger paintings and so the whole
thing wound down to a trickle of little pieces until I stopped doing them
altogether.
But then the blog started taking off in new directions. Now I just find it
confusing and maybe you do too! So I now have two new blogs so I can
use this one for my own artist's journey and art work, and the other two
will speak for themselves. They are new as of today, so if you scroll down
you'll see them on the right side of this blog. Take a look!

Paint from a palette or table top?

I have a new blog where you can find painting tips

about various things I have discovered over the years.

It is http://teachertipsfromthejoyofartstudio.blogspot.com

It is really not meant to be a "how to paint" blog, but one

where you can find things to refine what you are doing,

or at least shorten the path and have it go more easily!

Andrew Wyeth

There is a sort of comic remark about 'Frasier has left the building', but it always got my attention. If you think of it, there are these larger than life persons that we admire but never meet that are in the 'building' that represents life in its largest sense. And so today, in honor of
a true individual and a stellar artist, the building is feeling quite empty.

Andrew Wyeth crossed my life in the usual way that famous artists do. I had the same experience as a young person with Georgia O'Keeffe, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. These top artists were berated, x-rated and celebrated on the covers of popular magazines and newspapers. They were interviewed and then the media would do their usual hatchett jobs and the public at large would think they were odd.

They were odd in the very best way - they lived the life THEY created, and on this planet that is a tall order as the pressure to conform is subtle and constant.

I celebrate the life of Andrew Wyeth. I have been to Chadds Ford several times where he was a child and lived in the shadow of his famous father N.C. Wyeth until he grew into his own man and then some. Of course the Wyeth legacy is also shared by Andy's son Jamie who is a superb artist as well. Upon going there, one now gets to go to the home and studio that N.C. had for his family.
N.C. had the studio built just up a little rise behind his home. As you may know, he died in the middle of his life, along with his grandson when the car he was driving stalled on train tracks. The studio has been left by the family exactly as it was when he was last in it. His palette and the last piece he was working on are still there - looking deserted and not a little forlorn.

Going to Chadds Ford and the Brandywine Museum is a more spiritual experience than most such visits. It has a human quality because it was a mill at one time, and now is the wonderful human-scale place where one can visit its several floors and see works by all three of these amazing men as well as that of some other artists. On one visit, I had the extraordinary experience of getting a tour of Andy's latest show given by his granddaughter Victoria who made it so special and even humorous. She, not being an artist, did her best to be sure to communicate what it was that her Grandfather wanted understood. It was really great.

Now, as has been said of another major figure in our history, he belongs to the ages. But to me it is the empty building and knowing that he has completed his last painting. At least for now.
Who knows where such a being may show up next? Keep the door open......

Winter Sun

On a recent winter's morning, I was coming up the

stairs and there in front of me was this scene. The

sun could not have played across her pretty face

any better than this if I had set up lighting myself.

The doll is part of a collection that my mother started

years ago and that I have added to now and then

(but only infrequently) and the chair was a doll

chair that I had as a child. I just loved the beauty

of this scene and grabbed my camera before the

January sun moved on its way.

My Christmas kitty

I went out on the porch to take photos

of my wreath and lo and behold, here

was a much better photograph! My

lovely cat was in the window by the

candle watching my every move.

Eventually she'll have to move over

for grandchildren!

Happy New Year everyone!

The art of the season!

Just got the tree up yesterday. We

took it from the bucket in the garage

and juggled the screws until it seemed

straight. Is it ever? Well with the lights

and ornaments on, it is yet another

season of loveliness to enjoy. I trust

that all of you are doing that with

your holiday preparations as well!

Student set-up

A student of mine has created this beautiful set-up

to learn more about painting glass and also doing

a flower. The cast shadow of the vase is really quite

fabulous I think!

Flowers are among the more difficult

things to paint and so I like to have students start

with one that has only a simple petal formation.

Perhaps she will let me post her painting when it

is done. So far she has just created this and next

lesson will be doing the drawing before beginning

to paint.

Strength and Motion

I wanted the best title I could think of for this

11" x 14" panel painting. The enormous tree

and its massive old trunk was the perfect stable

mooring for the swing. This is from a visit I made

a few years ago to Tolchester Maryland. A really

out of the way, back in time bed and breakfast

with this marvelous pond and ancient trees.

Very soothing place to be.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday I was shopping at my local favorite

store and here are two wonderful upbeat people

who helped me. The headpieces cracked me up!

Now they are smiling at you wishing you a Happy

Thanksgiving along with me!

My bookcover art!

A young friend of mine has just published

her first novel. She asked me if she could

use a painting of mine for the cover. So

here is the result of my answer!

http://shop.vanillaheartbooksandauthors.com/

Will take you to the publishers site to read

about it. I have just completed the book

and this young woman is a VERY good

writer! I'm honored to be on the cover of

such a great beginning to her career.

Years ago

Recently an old friend of mine sent me

this photograph. We went to high school

and university together. While in college,

I painted this and my friend bought it.

I had not seen this image for many years

and am actually very pleasantly surprised

at its strength and feeling. AND I love the

colors!

I painted this image from a photo my Dad

had taken of 2 gals in the wings off the high

school stage during a play. They were

prompters if anyone forgot their lines.

The scarf over the edge ion the left is

a bit disconcerting, but it certainly goes

with the colors in the painting.

Hope you like it!

The magic of help!

These wonderful smiling gals are my two studio

assistants. Kathy, on the left, comes 2 afternoons

a week and is invaluable to my work and promotion

projects. Rene is a senior in high school and she

comes after school once a week and helps me

by keeping the studio clean and orderly.

I am thankful for them both! You notice how

work gets done around here....it's magic for sure!

The art of Halloween

Believe it or not, I HAVE been painting, but not posting

for a while. So here's a treat for you (no trick!).

I decided to have my camera ready when the little

cuties came to the door last night. So here are 3

groups that showed up. I asked them if I could take

their photo, all said yes, then they got the candy

AND my latest art promotion card to give their

parents! They seemed to like it just fine.

Sharing what I know

Today I had the privilege of talking to two art classes

at one of the high schools near me. I was happy to

have their interest and great questions about my

life as an artist. I did a demonstration about glazing

in oil paint and here I am showing a painting before

the glaze is applied. I very much appreciate the help

and interest of their teacher who asked me to do this

and who set it up beautifully. All in all there were

about 60-some students and I hope I planted a few

seeds that will sprout more artists. Y

Kitchen beauty

It is possible that you won't believe that this

arrangement of things was truly like this when I

noticed the sun shining on them and decided I had

to take photos. In other words, I didn't 'arrange'

them. I had the flowers next to the sink so I could

remove the brown blooms, the glasses were drying

from being taken out of the dishwasher and I had just

taken the peaches out of a shopping bag. Should

I call this post 'The unconscious artist'?

Summer lilypond photos

Three for price of one click to my blog! I have

always loved water ponds. I have a friend who

has done an awesome job of making one from scratch.

Dug it all out, then laid the heavy plastic and filled it

with beautiful fish and plants. This pond is at the

park that is across the lake from me. I have to

drive about 5 miles around 'Robin Hood's barn'

as my Dad used to say, to get to its entrance!

Anyway, click on these to see the wonders up

close! Oh my gosh! I just looked at the first photo

and for the first time I saw the frog on the pad!

Now that is like getting dessert after a meal that

was already delicious! Enjoy! Maybe you'll find

something else I didn't see!

Here's my girl in magenta!

Well here she is, up close and personal.

I have had so many good responses to

the feeling I want this painting to evoke

and thank you for your thoughts. Not

all of you have posted on the blog, but

I am satisfied that what I wanted to

communicate came across....

Almost completed

A few blog posts back you saw this piece

as I started it. It is nearly done and now

I am in the tweaking stage for bringing

it to be the exact communication I want

to be. I had fun doing the bricks which

sort of surprises me as I don't like doing

fussy little repetitious details for the most

part.

Waiting for wine!

This glass of remarkable reflections is

an 18 x 24 painting I have underway.

It is on a panel and the glass itself is

9" x 12". I did that in order to really

have those reflections show up! And it

is way more fun to paint it. I took this

shot just before wine was served at

dinner...so you see the reflections on

the inner concave section of the glass

and the outer convex side facing the

window. Looks like European buildings,

but it is actually one of our more

wonderfully preserved towns of

Frederick, Maryland.

Oh yes, and this is about mid-way in

the process. It's not done yet!

Happy Birthday Batik!

This batik is very special for a number of reasons.

First, it is a gift for my sister's birthday which is actually

tomorrow. Second, it was done by my very dear friend,

Dikki Van Helsland. She is an excellent batik artist.

Third, it is of our childhood home, and one in which

my parents lived for most of their married life, some

63 years. I hope you like it as much as my sister does

and I do! Click on the image to see it bigger. There

is embellishment with acrylic and colored pencil for

fine details.

New work at stage #2

This is the first rough-in stage for the paint.

I have, at this point, worked on it for two

sessions. Now I can see what I want to

emphasize and what to downplay to get

the effect I want from this scene. I have

altered elements from the photos such

as the empty chair position (would you

like to join her?) and simplified the

background content.

All is a supporting cast to the vibrant

young lady taking a break. I am finding

this a very interesting color combination.

I am referring to the strong colors.

Any ideas for a title?

New work #1

Back to the easel after a LOT of other

stuff going on. This work is 24" x 36"

and this is how I start my work that has

a lot in it. I will do small works by just

painting in what I want to start, but when

there are a lot of part, angles, etc. I make

a drawing of it. In this case, of course,

I am not working from 'life'. It is a

composite from a number of photos I

took from a restaurant window, looking

down across the street at this relaxing

scene. Let me know how you like it!

I am a teacher at heart, so I like you

to see how I work!

Over the top!

I'm running out of superlatives for the skies I've

been seeing around here. How's this one for ya?

Sorry about the wires, but I didn't want to crop

any of it out.

More inspiration

I love the unposed shots of people doing what is

pleasurable, such as going out to eat in a place

with lots of atmosphere. This is the Olney Ale

House which has been there for many years.

You may see a version of this shot appear in

paint eventually!