Completed painting

Here she is. You can compare this to the
post several days back and see the subtle
changes I made.
I am calling 'Quiet Reflection'. Let me know
if you have a better idea! I did not make
this a piece full of great detail as it was
the tones and subtle colors that attracted
me to it in the first place.

Next!

OK so I'm on a roll. Or a tea biscuit as relates to

this barely begun piece. I began drawing this on

the canvas yesterday and roughed in the middle

and dark tones. Today I only had a little while

to work on it as I was teaching instead! But it was

good to have a painting in the early stages to show

my students why we are studying tone or value so

carefully!

The next one

After doing my taxes, taking part in a fabulous

coaching program and training my new and

wonderful assistant, I am now back at work at

my easel. This is the beginning of a 24 x 36

piece that struck me because of the light that

day. You will see it develop. Stay tuned.

Work on Display

You saw the colorful walls of a place that

I visited several posts ago. Well here

is my work on display there now. Mine

are the two pieces on the right, a pastel

portrait (for commission requests) and my

giclee called "Daydreaming".

In progress

This is what is currently on my easel.

This young lady was in the large open

lobby of our local art center. She was at

least 50 feet away from me and I managed

to get a few fuzzy hand-held shots of her

with the wonderful reflection. That is

actually what attracted me to this...the

relaxation of her position and the abstract

quality of the reflection. There is some

keystoning in the photo I took here which

makes it looks like I can't paint a straight

line. It happens when I get close the camera

too close to the thing I am shooting. Anyway,

I consider this about 2/3 completed.

Checking it out

What, you may wonder, is this? Well it is the result of the program I am doing for which I wrote the poem. I went to check out a possible place (that is not a formal gallery) to show some work. I liked the idea of this coffee/cafe, and also that this place is surrounded by LOTS of new homes that must have LOTS of blank walls. I am also VERY glad to have seen that it is an orange wall! So later in the week I will take a couple of paintings there and hang them up!

The Poem

Making it

or A poem for artists
Dedicated by Lynne Oakes to her new friends
February 19, 2008

Coming through woods
We arrive.

The wide sparkling stream rushes past
With beauty and indifference – like Life.

Choices are made to start across,
Going from rock to rock.
Each one intent on making his way.
Nearing mid-way, caution sets in.
We seek out the stable ones
Teetering on the little ones, but moving forward,
Always moving forward.

A flat boulder near the halfway point
Is especially large and does not move
As we land.
We congratulate ourselves
On our good fortune
and
dry pant legs.

Newly arrived, we stand there mute,
looking around.
Bright waters whirl swiftly the way
water does, moving past with
debris and delights – like Life.

Safely in this place for only a while
We grin smugly at our wisdom in
Choosing this sturdy place.
Let the waters swirl!
A secure place together.
A rock! A solid sun-warmed rock
Sprinkled with the treasure of each other
And glittering mica.

Blessed with a moment both magical
And temporary, we rest here.
It is but a small oasis in the rush of life.
We gaze outward on the scene,
on each other.
We laugh because we made it this far with no real damage!
And then soon we must assess and decide
Which way to go, which path to follow to make it
Across
Each one choosing their best way.

But just now, we stand here in this safe place
Gathering our wits, sharing our space
and
Wishing all to be successful in
Naigating the rest of the way.

Laughing
We set off.

Artist Breakthrough

Well friends, I have just had my first session
on the phone with 12 other artists...in a program
called Artist Breakthrough with Alyson Stanfield
of www.artbizcoach.com. It was so good and so
fabulous to be hearing from other artists that are
all over the US and a few abroad. This is a great
service that Alyson is doing and I highly recommend
her site and services. I am writing a poem that came
to me in the early hours this morning.
It is all about the experience. Maybe I'll post it when
it's done.

In progress

This is the first day's color work on this

piece. A few hours of juggling to balance

the tones and general colors back and forth.

Figures are very rough and are the last

thing I work on. I am loving that sky and

the golden quality over the landscape in the

late autumn day. This is a commission as

you might realize.

Work in progress

This is how I transfer my work to a canvas.

Color Chart - extreme detail!

So am I in love with this chart? Probably!

Here is the close up which shows my

key for each brand that I have in my

arsenal of paints. So now I'm done

showing off with this. Hope it has some

interest for others of you who have

bought so many tubes of paint that you

barely know what you have collected

over the years. Much less donations

made to your collection from the inventory

of expired painters whose offspring know

you are an artist and would like to have

them. Then there is Craig's list where

I had the good fortune to find a great

deal on Old Holland paints and well,

OK. The end.

Color Chart detail

Come up closer now and look at this

delicious set of colors! The pleasure of

taking color after color straight out of

the tube is really quite a different matter

than painting and mixing colors. Just

the pure stuff!

Be SURE to click on the image because

the color and detail is really neat to see!

Color Chart #2

So today I photographed my latest chart

outdoors so it would be a clearer and more

accurate representation. I spent about

12 hours on this and it is really satisfying

to work with the pure color right out of

the tube. As I said, I did this for someone

who wants to trade for a wonderful chair!

Banner #3

Here is the banner in the series I have

been designing and painting for the

private school where I used to teach

art. They are celebrating their 30th

anniversary and so this series is

being hung outside on supports that

were built by one of the parents.

This is a wonderful school, K - 12

that is in Springfield, Virginia.

Chesapeake Academy.

Winter Afternoon

I am wanting to write UNDER this new painting, and I can't seem to get cooperation! O.K. I will tell you that I just heard the snow plow going up my street and we had the most beautiful snow today. This little painting is in honor of that! It is a little one, 5" x 7". I haven't done any for a while. But the engines are revving up around here, so look out!

Sharing with other artists

Last night I got to share various successful

actions and points of view I have developed over the

years. This was for an art association in our county who

invited me to speak. What a lively and interested

group! It was a great pleasure for me to meet them.

There are a few pieces of my work around me and

my studio assistant can also be seen. She decided to

video it. In addition, my son is visiting and he was a

great help as well!

Ambiance

The warmth of a wonderful restaurant

at the holidays is always pleasing. If the

food is also great, then all the better.

I like taking shots of such scenes and

then see if I can conjure up a painting

that captures what attracted me to it in

the first place. I am also attracted to

the pristine look of glassware and utensils

before anyone has begun their meal...

There is a sort of expectation about the

whole thing. Good title: "Expectation".

Stay tuned.

Abundance of wishes for you

This is my Christmas table, all set for

a lovely dinner. I was pleased that it

turned out so well with the available

light! I wish you all the best of times

in this season of family and friends.

What else?

This is the best I could do! I was on

a winter lights tour and there was this

bear all lit up in the dark painting! So

I took the photo out my car window,

trying to hold as still as possible to get

it as clear as possible! Hoping you are

having a grand holiday!

Merry Christmas Mantlepiece

Here is my mantlepiece, a sort of long-line still

life ! I did the painting for myself over several

years, adding the sledders last year. The dolls

are from my collection and my Mom's. As a child,

my sister and I would help our parents put away

all the things that were on shelves and the piano

top (a baby grand) and then the wonderful doll

collection would be lovingly unwrapped and set up

all over the room on all possible surfaces. It was

magical and I have tried to re-create some of that

feeling here in my own home.

Do click on the photograph because you can

really see the things up close!

Merry Christmas!

Out my studio window behind my easel

OK, so first here is the scene I look at that is

behind me as I paint. I offer it to you in the

spirit of this lovely season. This was last week

however, and now we've only got rain, but hey,

it put me in the spirit for sure!

Secondly,

I've been noting my artist friends who have
been 'tagged'. Then I got tagged and

didn't do anything about it. So here goes with

5 little-known things about me:
1. I have a poster of Marilyn Monroe (the one
smelling Chanel #5) on the wall of my garage
next to the American flag that once flew from
the back of my Dad's boat, the one he had when
I was a child.
2. I get my collection of phaleonopsis orchids to
rebloom for me (mostly) and my prize one is now
four feet tall and blooming. Two years ago I counted
40 flowers and buds on it!
3. I really don't care about chocolate.
4. When I was a teen, I was at a church retreat
in New England and skated on black ice. You could
see all the way to the bottom, scary and amazing!
5. Art was my first boyfriend. (Make what you like
of this one.)

Tagged

I've been noting my artist friends who have
been 'tagged'. How neat is this?! So I got
tagged and then didn't do anything about it.
But for some reason, I am having deja vu about
this...did I already post this? Hmmmmm.
Well here goes with 5 little-known things about
me:

1. I have a poster of Marilyn Monroe (the one
smelling Chanel #5) on the wall of my garage
next to the American flag that once flew from
the back of my Dad's boat, the one he had when
I was a child.

2. I get my collection of phaleonopsis orchids to
rebloom for me (mostly) and my prize one is now
four feet tall and blooming. Two years ago I counted
40 flowers and buds on it!

3. I really don't care about chocolate.

4. When I was a teen, I was at a church retreat
in New England and skated on black ice. You could
see all the way to the bottom, scary and amazing!

5. Art was my first boyfriend. (Make what you like
of this one.)

Waiting for Santa

Here she is at the window, but now in my

painting. I hope you like it and I wish

everyone of you the happiest of holiday

seasons.

He Just Keeps Growing!

I just returned this painting

(having varnished it) to the owners

who commissioned it last year. This

young fellow sits proudly in front of

his image, but he is so much bigger now!

His mom commented on how much

brighter the colors look with the varnish

applied (Gamvar - the same varnish

used by the National Gallery of Art

in Washington, D.C.)

I got to hear this young man, not quite

six years old, play the piano very nicely.

Wow, I was impressed. Then he told me

about work he'd seen at the National

Gallery on a field trip, artist's names and

all. Very impressive.

Sorry about the flash marring one's view

of the portrait...it was really a 'grab shot'

as my photographer Dad used to say.

"Magic Time" in progress

So I've begun this challenging piece. The

softness of the photo makes it very much so.

The whiteness of her fur will be glazed once

it is dry...a golden colored glaze to capture

the glow from the candle. I am seeking to

capture the mystery of the season, of waiting

at the window for Santa? For friends?

For another cat?

Magic Time

It snowed here today. All kinds of

beautiful! I was on the front porch

in the dark trying to make photos of

the house with Christmas lights across

the street. Then I saw my Lucy

watching me and THAT was the

photo to take. Maybe it will also

become a painting...

My Beauteous Moon painting for the 3rd time

Well I just didn't like how brown the

tree mass appeared between the sky and the

lake. So here it is, posted for the third

time! It still looks rather brown in that

portion, but better.

I do love how the painting turned

out. It is on a panel and is 11x 14 inches.

Enjoy!

Another kind of art

My prize orchid has begun blooming yet another

year. I am delighted that I figured out how to get

these gorgeous additions to my life to flower each

year. I have about a dozen of them. This is my

oldest one and it is so big this year I can hardly

believe it. There are 12 bud on the main stem and

if you look closely, you'll see two other flower stems

coming off of this one. Then I have noticed yet

another flower shoot coming out of among the flat

leaves below. Wow. One year I counted 37 buds,

let's see how this year's crop is - for just this guy!

Maybe I should name him. Her?

Posing

Ah the elegant lines of a cat. Here she is, my girl

waiting for another drip from the tub faucet.

I need to do some more paintings of her. She is

quite the poser (poseur?).

O Beauteous Moon

An artist's eye never rests. So last

night, after having a lovely T-Day

with friends, I went to bed. Got up

around 4, looked out the window and

there, through the newly bare branches,

was the moon shining its light on the

lake. You cannot see the lake in summer

as it is a tree-house effect here. So I

look forward to this sight.

I went back to bed, and then

started thinking about how it would

be to do a painting of such a scene with

beauty, but oh so little light in it. Hmmm,

where is my camera? I scanned the house

and low and behold I recalled it was just in

the next room, not in the far reaches. I

got it and propped it on the window sash

and there you have the best result I got.

Meow!

OK, so here is my caption for this photo of my

Lucy sitting on my studio desk. "I've already

read this one."

Isn't that the look of sheer boredom?

The Art Show

Here was the view I had as I was

doing the demonstration in the post

from yesterday. These two lovely

girls had just greeted each other and

were catching up. You can see the

free-standing wall behind them that

makes it possible to show the work

of over 40 artists that participated

this time. We do this show twice a

year.

Check out The Art League

of Germantown for more information.

http://www.alog.org

Demonstration

Today I did a demonstration for an art group I

started nearly 25 years ago. We hold our shows

at BlackRock Center for the Arts and it is a

gorgeous space. You can get a bit of the feel of

the large gallery and its light in this picture.

The art behind me and to my right are by fellow

members. It is always so enjoyable to talk to

people about what I love to do.

Banner #2

Here's the second banner for the school

I spoke of a few posts ago. Here you see

it in my workroom where it was drying.

I am doing these in acrylic and varnish

them with polyeurythane (sp?). I am

trusting that they will stand up to the

elements over the next few months as

they are being displayed on a structure

outside the school.

My early work, VERY early

OK. Now this is to inspire anyone who is

just starting out. Persistence will pay off.

Just keep doing what you love and you

will get very good at it. Maybe I was 8

when I did this? It was part of a card I

sent my Grandmother. There are more

things to see in this card. I will post them

in the next few days, then I really have to

get back to being a grown-up artist....

Color chart of my paints

I decided to make a new chart of all the oil paints

I own. I did this a few years ago but now have

a lot of new brands and colors, so I have begun

the task again. Here you see the beginning of

the new one. It is 18" x 24" and I am not yet

certain if all my paints will fit! I am applying the

colors with a small painting knife and blend them

into white so I can tell the subtle differences better.

With the raw full strength colors, it is not always

easy. This is especially true of the reds.

Banner!

I have had a soft spot in my heart for

many years for this small private

school in Springfield Virginia. Years

ago I actually taught art classes there.

Every year I donate artwork to their

fund-raising auction and with this being

their 30th year, I "cooked up" the banner

idea with a dear friend on the staff there.

So here is the first one. It will go on a

structure built by the parent of a student

there and I can't wait to see how all the

banners will look. There will be 7 in all,

one put up every month....

Drawing from Life

Drawing from a live model is something

I haven't done for a long time. I'm not

counting portraits I have done over the

past few years. What I mean is going to

a session where there is a model and folks

like me work earnestly and quietly, hoping

not to embarrass ourselves with our quick

two minute sketches, then the longer ones,

and so on.

This was the last pose, the 40 minute one.

I decided to do just his head and marvelous

hat and was happy with the results. Yes, and

I know who he looks like....

Currently I am working on banners for a

private school that is celebrating its 30th

Anniversary. So the 'art' is on hold for the

moment.

Oh and good news! A gallery has invited me

to show! We're still in the talk-it-over stage,

but nevertheless, it is a happy thing for me!

Thank you all!

Many thanks to all who availed themselves of my
special offer for my small paintings. I have now
got quite a depleted supply and will have to resume
painting the little beauties again soon!

Work in progress-Stage 2

It is the tones of the scene that are most

challenging. However, getting the color of the

sand that is not grey, not brown but a sort of

taupe has been interesting. I confess to using

Gamblin's medium Portland grey with raw umber.

That pretty much nailed it. Now for more work

on the water and perhaps another pass over the

pale sky, some details in the sand ripples and

it will be done! At this point, I consider it about

half done because the small stuff takes as long

as the overall big stuff.

Work in progress

Oil 28" 32"(I think) and not yet for sale!

If you have followed my early small paintings

on this blog, then you will recognize this scene.

I so loved this view of the Pacific Ocean that I had

to paint this larger. Now it is 28" x 32" instead of

5' x 7". The trouble is that now I want to paint the

scene even larger!

The fun of it is that it takes me back to the beauty

of that day on the beach with my son's girlfriend.

Windy and sunny and wild, it was late October and

people were actually sunbathing!

I will post the update on this painting as it develops.

The Artist's Life - What it is

First I admit to being influenced to consider this subject and
share it with all of you. My friend at www.thepaintedjournal.com
is my inspiration on this, and she got hers from yet another
artist-blogger. I so love the grand influence we have on each
other as artists.
My artist's life begins in the mornings with me coming into
my office with my bedhead and smeared mascara. BUT what I
get to look at on a sunny day as my computer boots up is the sparkle
of prisms moving all over my walls which are red and yellow- shades
of those colors very carefully chosed to energize me when I am doing
the dreaded UN-artistic paper work that never ends. I have a solar
powered crystal that turns when the sun shines in my window and
the walls are a moving delight of colors. Sometimes I imagine there
could be a planet with OTHER colors than what we have, but then
my brain explodes with the effort of imagining that and I stop.
Basically, I look for what is beautiful. I look for it ALL THE TIME.
That is my point of view. I see it everywhere because it IS
everywhere. Of course one has to have that realization in order
to see it.
Last night, on the way back from picking up paintings I had in
a show, the moon was out and nearly full. OOOOOOOOOOOH.
Glorious moon. On the way over to the place, the moon was in a
twilight sky that was a delicate barely-blue fading into rose, then
grey at the horizon. Then as I returned home, it was just this big
ivory mottled face of the moon in the dark sky. Beautiful.
During the day I admired everything except my kitchen sink
full of dishes. See, that is another thing. If I can't admire it, then
I have to FIX IT so I can admire it. Clean up! Put in order.
Order is beautiful. Especially when the things that are in order
are in themselves beautiful.
It wasn't all that long ago that I realized that I see things in a
way that most others do not. I PUT beauty there, I expect it to
be there. Therefore when I look at you, YOU are beautiful!

Tree Most Exquisite

24" x 36" Oil Contact me for price

I thought you should see the finished

painting after showing you the earlier

stage of it. I have had a wonderful time

painting it because it took me back to

this lovely and romantic place, almost

like something out of a movie. It is

part of the grounds of a beautiful

Inn in southern Maryland.

Information on my working style

For some time now you have seen my more traditional oil painting style. It is realistic and based on the physical universe around me. I either work from life, or from photos that I take myself for the purpose of painting from them.

I haven't posted my abstract work until now because I wasn't interested in confusing anyone with the wide range of things I can do. It has been a more traditional view that an artist "should" develop something steady and recognizable as theirs and then pretty much stick to that. Well I just don't do that!

When I paint abstract work, it is much more demanding of me than traditional realism. EVERYTHING in the piece comes from ME! And so there is no relying on how it is in the "real" world, only relying and drawing on MY world. To do it, I have to be in really good communication with the harmonics that I have decided will govern the piece. Sometimes I have to let considerable time pass while I look at and let develop what I want and need to do next.

Let me know your views on this in the comments you can make on this blog! Thanks!

Magical Spaces II

24" x 36" Acrylic $600.

This is the other one of the pair that is at the

restaurant. When a work with metallic paint is

photographed, you do not get the shine. To the

right of this painting is an area that appears to be

grey, but in fact it is silver! And at the top right

is an slash of gold! So you will just have to imagine

how it really is, or ask me for the name of the

restaurant and go see it yourself!

Magical Spaces I

24" x 36" Acrylic $600.

This is one of the pair that is hanging in the restaurant

I told you about yesterday! It has gold and silver

as the 'undercoat' and that adds a certain extra

something when you see it in different lights.

I would love to know your response as this is

not the usual thing that I post. I do abstracts

from time to time and have developed a way of

getting the effects I want in a variety of ways I

have invented.

Photograph of my work at local restaurant

I have had my work on display at an Italian

restaurant in my town for over eight years. It

is privately-owned and so the care and interest in

my work has been good in comparison to a franchise

sort of operation. The two center paintings are mine.

I show my work with an artist friend and her two

pieces are on either end. Tomorrow I will post

close-ups of my paintings shown here.