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!

ART started this friendship!

This photo is a memento of a passage of life.

Here the two of us have just finished a farewell

dinner. My dear friend of over 20 years, Lori Puente,

is moving across the country in just a matter of a week

or two.

We first met at a festival in the town we both lived

in then. I was demonstrating my art, and she wanted

art lessons. She took them and in those initial days

of contact, we became fast friends. Now she has

grown children and she and her husband are going

west where he has a new job and they will have many

new challenges to meet. I have total certainty that

all of them will be met with her amazing ablility. It

just will be hard to know I can't pop in the car and

drive over to see her.

Cloud perfection!

I am a cloud lover and one day last week was just

amazing around here. The atmosphere was quite

clear and so these fabulous formations were really

visible in all their tonal variations.

I was trying to drive and see all this sky spectacle

at the same time....not such a good practice for sure!

I pulled over a few times and just took photos to my

heart's content.

WOW

And again I give you glorious mother nature on

a major cloud day. This was a week or so ago, and

then again today it was just crazy gorgeous in the

sky. We've had so much rain that the visibility to

clearly see the clouds edges has been great. I may

post some of the pics I took today leaning out of my

car window.

One funny thing is that as I waited at a light today,

a guy was next to me on his motorcycle. I stuck

my camera out the window to capture yet another

cloud formation. He posed for me! But that wasn't

the shot I got. Too bad, and then the light changed

and he rode off, leaving me in the dust!!!

Click on this image to see it bigger!

The front of the Frederick Cellars Winery

Before too much time passes since my June show

at this great place, I am posting this photo of the

front of the winery. This building was constructed

in 1904 as an ice house!

Inspiration!

Driving in the truly beautiful summer

countryside here in Maryland is inspiration

for my work. Lately I have been doing

more driving out and about and there

have been some truly gorgeous vistas.

Fortunately it is not far from my over-built

town to get out into the county. Here is

what I saw on my way to another winery

that could be a possible place for my work.

Commission arrives at its home!

So here it is, up close and on the wall as well! The

proud owner smiles beneath and I am so very

happy that it all turned out so well. Work that

is done long-distance can be really challenging!

Especially abstract pieces that take on a life of

their own. I look forward to hearing your comments

about how you think it looks in place at last!

Commission

Last year I completed this commission and shipped it rolled up in a very long mailing tube to Texas. It measures 36" x 60". My client took it to a frame shop where they stretched it and this is what it looks like now. I will post a few more shots of it in place over the next few days. But I thought you would like to see it at its destination! Tell me what you think!

These are the TRUE colors!

OK, so the nature tour continues! I could hardly

believe the BLUE ivy when I was looking straight

at it, but nevertheless, there you have it!

Clothesline vine

My dad was a professional photographer. His

excellent eye gave me the education to develop

one too. I only hope it is half as good as his.

At dinnertime, when I was growing up, my dad

would often bring photos he had taken for one

of his fascinating jobs. He would explain why he

composed the shot the way he did. It was a

painless education in composition. And of course

I saw his countless photographs and slides over the

years and barely realized just how much I was

learning in the most wonderful of ways ~ by

observing!

When I started teaching art, I realized that

while I understood composition, having absorbed

it all those many years, I had to actually knuckle

down and pull together a way to teach my students

what it is ~

the heart of any piece of artwork ~ good composition.

Thanks Dad!

Blatant

OK, so today I am wanting to post something for

you just for the heck of it, because it is beautiful.

This was in front of my car on a wall in a parking

lot. Rather electric, wouldn't you say?

I am painting, but you will have to wait to see it

as it is not yet 'dressed' enough to present!

Enjoy this instead and keep looking around you

for the great little beauties in everyday life.

Dinner Party Fun!

We each make an 'art' gift to give

at the dinner. A number is given to

the attendees as they arrive and when

that number is called, they can pick

whatever they want from the table!

And what was in that long tube? A

handmade and embellished walking

stick. There were many wonderful

original pieces and we always wait til

everyone has theirs and then we all

open them together! (you have to be

a grownup for this...). Then we each

get to show the art gift we got. Very

special and a good way to end our year!

Now we're in recess til September.

Take a look at http://www.alog.org/

to see more of what we do.

Who ARE these people???

Twenty-five years ago, I founded The Art League

of Germantown. I'm really proud to say that our

numbers have now reached near critical-mass!

We have over 80 members. About half of them

made it to the end-of-the-year dinner and here

you see most of them having a really good time

being waited on. We work so much the rest of the

year, we like the reverse flow for the wrap-up to

a busy year.

Check out my Slide Show!

Since I have been posting a few pics of the reception

each day, I thought just going for the whole thing

would be better! Besides, seeing all these at once

(and NO, these are not all my photos of the event!)

would give a closer 'feel' to how it was. So there you

have it.

Art viewing at the winery

Some friends and visitors to the winery looking

at my work (always gratifying!). And then a shot

of the whole place with the wine bar on the right

and the art on the walls to the left. Gives you an

idea of the set up. It was so enjoyable for all who

came from their comments and smiles!

At the reception

In this shot you see me between two guests. This

is my table with guestbook and various promotion

pieces so people can find out more about what I do.

Behind the three of us is the winery. The walls with

my artwork are on the left, and the lovely long wine

bar is on the right. It was just the right touch to have

both together.

The smile of an artist!

Hang it all!

The day came this week, after months of creating

new works and all that goes into it. My wonderful

friend Robin (on the right) and my new and angel-like

assistant Kathy helped me hang the winery show!

(If I called Robin angelic, she would get a devilish

look just to prove me wrong!)

I, smiling in the middle, could not have done this on

my own. Robin had the SUV and between that and

my own vehicle, we loaded twentyeight pieces and

set forth up the road to www.frederickcellars.com

where tomorrow night the reception will be.

Expect to see more photos soon.

Announcement!

One-person show in Frederick, Maryland for the month of June

Lynne Oakes is the artist of the month in a one-person show
at the Frederick Cellars Winery.
The theme is "Up Close and Far Away"

and will begin with an opening reception on June 7th
from 5:00 to 8:00 pm at the winery.

This is also Frederick's "First Saturday",

a monthly event which showcases the town's shops and galleries.
For directions, go to www.frederickcellars.com

What have I been doing?

No new posts for a good while now. This is because I am in the
throes of preparing for a one-person show for the month of
June. Today I opened the box of 19 small frames I ordered
and began framing small panel paintings for this show. My
photographer has about 5 new pieces that she is shooting
before the show and I still need to varnish two of them. So
the blog is on hold for the moment. Just to let you know what's
up around The Joy of Art Studio!

Demonstration of glazing with oil paint

This is a shot that includes everything I was working

with to demonstrate how you glaze color over a

dry underpainting. The underpainting was done

in raw umber and titanium white and allowed to

dry completely. Then layers of color are applied,

each one needing to dry before the next one is put

on. I use an alkyd medium as the glaze medium.

In the 'olden days' I made my own glazing mixture.

But hey, I don't use tin cans and string to make

calls anymore either!

What I've been doing!

This past weekend was the spring show of our

Art League which I founded some 25 years ago.

When one is doing an art show there is a great

deal of preparation leading up to it, actually being

there and doing the various jobs and then breaking it

down and putting one's materials and paintings

away. I did a demo of how to do glazing in oil

painting. I'll post a shot of that eventually. This

gives the big picture to the variety of work done

my our members and the very good attendance

that we get.

More art show

Here is the painting you saw some time

ago. All framed up and hanging at the

show. While it hasn't yet sold, it had a

lot of very good feedback and so I know

it finds a good home eventually!

Here it is!

"Lakeside" (working title) 30" x 40"

There are a few details of small branches and leaves

yet to do, but here it is pretty much a done deal.

It's the signature piece for an upcoming show I am

doing, so whew! Now it's done.

I have had a lot of satisfaction doing it, but none like

my four year old assistant's daughter looking at it

with great care and seriousness and saying with

such intent: "It's beautiful". So I'm happy.

Can't fool children.