Tree at Dusk

Here's a little plein air painting I did last night. I haven't painted outside in a while; it is really challenging-you have to work fast before you lose the light!

Taxi

Here's a new one from my Chicago trip. It's 9x12" oil on panel. I tried to focus on the bigger shapes and patterns and not get hung up on details.

The Art Institute, Continued

Here are a few more selections from the Art Institute. First is a painting by John Singer Sargent; I love how loose and painterly it is. Second is a painting by Tiepolo (Philosopher's Head) and I was admiring the way he painted the beard. The third painting is one of Van Gogh's famous bedroom paintings. Sorry for the camera distortion; I posted it to show how bright the colors are.

Chicago, Part III: The Art Institute

I thought I'd share some of the photos I took while I was at the Art Institute with Lori. I always enjoy seeing close-ups and details of paintings, and these are a few that I especially enjoyed.
First are two details from Henri Fantin-Latour's "Corner of a Table." *Click on the pictures to see a bigger version.





























Below is a famous painting by Mary Cassatt, "The Child's Bath." I took a close-up to show the high chroma accent colors she used around the edges of the forms; it is really striking and this kind of detail doesn't usually show up very well in the reproductions I've seen.









































This is Giovanni Boldini's "Portrait of Lina Cavalieri." I love the name Boldini for a painter! His brushstrokes go with his name-they are definitely bold and expressive.































The last one is Edouard Manet's "Boy with Pitcher." I didn't know that this was actually part of a larger painting called Les Gitanes, a portrait of a gypsy family. Apparently he cut that painting into three sections and exhibited this section as an individual work. I think it stands on its own as a work of art; I love the simplicity of this painting.

Chicago, Part II

Today I will post some paintings from the show. The participating artists are me, Jeff Gola (New Jersey), Beverly Ferguson (Massachusetts) and Lori Kiergaard (Illinois). Lori is also a Resident Artist at the Arts Park, and she has a wonderful studio there. I will just post one image at first, so it won't take up so much space in everyone's email (for those of you who are blog subscribers).
The first photo shows one of my cityscapes (Crossing Downtown) next to a still life by Beverly Ferguson. Bev's framing is just as beautiful as her paintings. She is an expert in gilding and faux finishing; I learned a lot from her about different techniques for achieving the finish on her frames. The jpegs won't come close to capturing the richness and depth of her work or framing; I think hers is truly art that you need to see in person to fully appreciate.















Here are a few paintings by Jeff Gola. Jeff paints in egg tempera, a process where pigment is mixed with egg yolk and applied to a gessoed panel. It is a very meticulous process, and extremely well-suited to rendering fine detail. Jeff's paintings remind me very much of Andrew Wyeth; they have a lot of detail but they don't look photographic at all. I think he is working at a very high level technically and artistically. Jeff also did an outstanding job with the framing; I'm always interested in how people present their work.















































I love this painting of Chicago by Lori Kiergaard. Lori and I have a lot of similarities in our work; we tend to notice the same things, and we both gravitate towards a square format -interesting!






















Here's a series of teapot paintings by Beverly Ferguson. They are exquisite, and the photo doesn't do them justice (but I couldn't resist posting them anyway). I think they are oil on copper (may need to double-check that). These paintings are rich and jewel-like, and her frames even have subtle hints of red to accent the paintings.

Chicago, Part I

I guess I'm overdue for a blog post! It has been pretty crazy between moving and getting my paintings to Chicago, but I will try and bring everyone up to date. These pictures are from the "Representing Reality 08" show. The opening was June 6th, and
it went extremely well. The first photo shows the Lakeside Legacy Arts Park (also known as the Dole Mansion) from the outside. It is still being restored, but the work they have done so far is pretty incredible. The gallery we showed in is called the Sage Gallery. The next two photos show the gallery before the opening, and as people started to come in. The last photo is one my husband took of me (the two bridge paintings are mine, and the street scene is by Lori Kiergaard). I was happy that I found an "art lady" dress to wear! I will have more photos from the week in Chicago coming soon. My husband and I just got back to Texas; we took the train up and back and that was so much fun!

I-35

I've decided this is just one of those paintings that is impossible to photograph well with a digital camera.
The sky is much better in real life (smoother transitions) and there's not so much contrast. This is oil on panel, 24x30".

Representing Reality 2008

Here is a poster for the show I will be participating in during the month of June.
The show features the work of Jeff Gola, Lori Kiergaard, Bev Ferguson, and yours truly. It should be a great show; we are all representational painters who have a unique take on our surroundings. Luckily, I will have a week before the show to tour Chicago and see all the sights! I have a feeling some amazing cityscapes will result from this trip.

*click on the image to see a bigger version

Glass Bottom Boat

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't been posting much lately! There's a lot going on; a show May 31st in Austin (this painting is for the Austin show) a group show in Chicago June 1st, plus we are right in the middle of buying a house! The theme for the Austin show is "The Boat Show." We have glass-bottom boats at a place called Aquarena Springs here in San Marcos, TX. Aquarena Springs is the headwaters for the San Marcos River and there are literally thousands of springs all in this one spot. The boat tour is amazing; you can see the springs bubbling up from the bottom of the lake, plus all sorts of fish and wildlife. It is one of my favorite spots.

Staircase

Oil on panel, 18x24" This one is more abstract than I usually go, but I wanted to see how much I could simplify this staircase. Almost all of it is painted with a knife rather than a brush; I was also trying to make very subtle chroma adjustments to make the shapes advance or recede. I don't know if those things really translate in a jpeg image, but I was happy with the overall design and the way it turned out. There is a red/orange underpainting that peeks through as well; I thought that gave it a little more sparkle.

PT Cruiser

oil on panel, 6x8"

Row House

This is a pen and ink wash drawing; I needed to do something besides oils for a change. I think my technique needs work, but I like the image a lot.

Neon Freeway

This is one of my freeway reference shots that I'm thinking of making into a painting. I don't think I'll paint this particular version, but I do love trying things in Photoshop! I thought it was cool as a digital image.

Cabin

Here's something completely different; it's a commission I did last summer. This painting was done as a gift for my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. My uncle built this cabin himself, from trees there on the property (in Oregon). It is a place they love and spend a lot of time in, and it required a special painting. I had never seen it in person; this was done from a variety of photos taken and sent to me by my cousins. My mom and I flew out a couple of days before the anniversary party, and my aunt and uncle took us on a big drive up into the mountains to show us the cabin. Little did they know I had already "seen" it! I couldn't even look at my mom as we were driving up to it; I was afraid I would start grinning and give away the surprise! We had such a fun time, and I was happy I could contribute in this way.

Street Light

6x8" oil on panel

Braker Lane

Oil on panel, 6x8" This was a quick cityscape study for today. I can never get enough of highways and overpasses; there's just something I love about them.

Monkey's Wild Ride

This is a small doodle from my sketchbook. I'll have to think seriously about hippos and monkeys...it seems like a winning combination!

Into the City

Oil on Panel, 18x24" Here's one I just finished; it's kind of an experimental piece. I glued paper to a birch panel, giving it a wrinkled texture. Then, I applied several layers of traditional gesso and toned the panel a warm brown. The top part of the painting (the curved freeway) was inspired by a photo my brother took for me, and I made up a cityscape to go with it.

Semi Reflection II

24x24"
I don't remember if I ever shared this one; it is about a year old. I wasn't even sure I liked it and I put it up for a while. Now that I look at it again I'm pretty happy with it. Sorry for the lapse in posting; I've been really sick and I am just now starting to feel like painting again.

Cityscape

This is a little 9x12" painting I just finished. I've been working on other things, and I've missed doing the smaller paintings and studies. This one is from imagination, and loosely based on a painting I did about a year ago called "Austin Evening." I really enjoyed experimenting with the colors.

Hippo Holidays

My dear, patient hippo lovers, this is for you. It's a sketch (part pen & ink, part digital) for a painting I'm starting after Christmas. I am also working on a hippo painting for a children's hospital (more on that later). Enjoy, and Hippo Holidays!

Winter Roses, 8x10

This is a painting I did from imagination. I thought it might be fun for people to see what that process involves. When I'm looking at other artists' work, I often think the "in progress" pictures are more informative than the finished piece. A note of caution-I would never teach anyone to work this way; it is just something I do for fun. You have to have decent drawing skills to pull it off. The start is really nothing more than a Rorschach test; I make some random marks and "see what I see." I usually turn the canvas 90 degrees, step back, and see if something comes to me. If it doesn't, I keep turning the canvas and making a few marks until something emerges. In the first picture, I can see a vase of flowers with a landscape in the background, so I'll commit to that.































At this point I'm adding a paint similar to yellow ochre to the black paint already on the canvas, resulting in a neutral dark green color. I'm trying to keep the background fairly loose and undefined, so it won't compete with the flowers.
































I've laid in a grey color in the foreground to imply a window sill or ledge,and defined the vase and flower masses. I'm still winging it and guessing at this point.






























I decided I needed some snow in the field outside. I thought it would help to bring out the flowers more,since this is a fairly dark painting. Also, this is the point where I need a reference! I had an old painting of some geraniums on an overcast day so I looked at that so see what the vase might look like. Also, I had to look at some of my rose photos to see how the petals are shaped.































Here's the finished painting; its just a matter of refining things at the end.

Rush Hour, 20x24"

Continuing with my patterned fabric experiments, this is on a paisley-printed muslin that has been sized and glued to a baltic birch panel. I used a wax medium throughout most of the painting because I liked the texture it gave the paint, and it created interesting, uneven edges.

Christmas Show

Here's a snapshot from the "Alice in Wonderland" show at the Wally Workman Gallery in Austin, TX. The gallery was packed wall-to-wall with people; Fatima Ronquillo was kind enough to take this picture for me. She is a fellow artist at the gallery and her work was featured in Southwest Art Magazine a few months ago. I also saw David Clemons this evening, and I wanted to share the painting he made for the show. David's painting is called "Invitation from the Queen." It is 10x16" and painted with casein (a milk-based paint). The jpeg doesn't even do it justice; he has so many subtle colors woven into it, and it is very rich-looking in person. I also love the way he presents the queen's messenger-as if that sort of thing happens every day!

Here I am in front of my painting, "Advice From A Caterpillar." I was really happy with the framing on this; I have a good framer in Austin and they selected a moulding that was just right.



























This is David Clemon's painting, "Invitation From The Queen", 10x 16" casein

A Game of Tag

I've had the honor of being tagged by two people,
Jason Waskey and René B. so now it's my turn:

Here are the rules (from Carol Marine's blog):
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog. 2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. 3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. 4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here is some trivia about me:
1. I met my husband on a blind date. 2. I was a girl scout, but didn't earn any badges 3. I used to go sky diving when I lived in Arizona. 4. I was an ophthalmic photographer and surgical assistant 5. my favorite candy is dark chocolate M&M's.

I'm tagging: Carol Marine, René Beeldendkunstenaar,Belinda Del Pesco,Sandra Flood,Edward B. Gordon

Enjoy!

Change Dish

Oil on Panel, 9x12"

"Advice From A Caterpillar"

24x30", Oil on linen
This painting is one of the reasons I haven't been posting much lately; it has taken a while to finish! It will be availble for purchase through the Wally Workman Gallery in Austin. The gallery has a theme each year for the December show, and this year the theme is "Alice in Wonderland." I chose to illustrate the scene where Alice encounters an unfriendly caterpillar smoking from his hookah.






























Here is a close-up of the caterpillar:

Late Night Buffet

Oil on Panel, 9x12

This one is from imagination. I have been working to finish a painting for my gallery in Austin, and it has been taking such a long time that I needed to do something completly different. So, I sat on the floor with my little pochade box and painted this in just under three hours. Who knows where this stuff comes from?
Also, there is a hippo painting in progress for my hippo fans. Sorry the blog has been so quiet lately; I'm trying to do some bigger, more complex pictures.

Fishing

6x6" oil on brass panel. This is all I had time for today; just a quick study of a bird at the zoo. I don't know what kind of bird it is; I just liked the way he looked as he sized up his next meal.

Southwest Art Magazine

Well, the October issue has hit the newsstands in most areas, and this is the painting they selected for publication. It is called "Heading for 180" and it is 12x12", oil on panel. The painting is available at the Wally Workman Gallery in Austin (gallery link is in my links section, to the right). The article was written by Devon Jackson; it is a portfolio of works by six artists who paint cityscapes as their subject matter. I was so pleased and honored to be included!

Calico Cat

6x8" on linen panel. This little guy showed up (on my canvas) and I thought I'd let him stay. Sometimes when I get stuck I start doodling and I see what happens. This is a completely backwards way to work (no plan, from imagination, then do your "homework" later). I'm sure there are flaws in the structure because I was guessing what he'd look like in this pose, but there was also something kind of poetic about it. Sometimes you just need to let the muse work and leave it alone.

Chain Bridge, Newburyport

24x24" oil on panel.

Train Color Study

This one was done as a color study, so I could remember what this train looked like in the fog.
I'm not sure what I'll do with it yet...probably make it into a bigger painting, but change the composition a little. It's 12x6 inches, on aluminum panel.












Here is the finished study; I could probably spend another day tweaking it but sometimes it's best to move on. I still have a lot of work to do before making a bigger version.

The Long Black Train

Hi folks, it's been a while but I finally had a vacation, and I'm ready to paint again. This one is from imagination-what better way to get back in the groove? I thought I should quit while I was ahead and leave it as it stands.

Self-Portrait and an Update

SOLD

Hi everyone, it has been a while since I posted, but I have been going non-stop lately. I have been working hard to finish up the paintings for my show (framing). Also, I have good news! I will be one of six artists profiled in the October issue of Southwest Art Magazine. They are doing an article on cityscape painters, and I was selected to be a part of it! Most of my earlier works are cityscapes, and I will be revisiting that genre, too, once I get the show finished. It's an exciting time, for sure!

Silver Teapot

30x40", Oil on Printed Polyester
This is an experimental painting I did on a printed polyester fabric. The fabric was very thin, so I stretched it over a heavy cotton duck canvas for support. The top part of the canvas needs to be re-stretched, but other than that I am pretty happy with it. The reddish color cast towards the top is due to the lighting when I photographed it.





























Here is a detail of the reflection in the teapot.

Pan #4

Oil on Aluminum Panel, 12x24"
This is another in a series of "portraits" of my favorite cookware. This painting started with a black background, but the pan seemed to get lost so I wiped out the entire background, leaving the pan on the bare aluminum. Some of the background colors are actually the metal reflecting different light sources.

Pan#3

Oil on Aluminum Panel, 12x24"
This is part of a little series of "portraits" of my favorite cookware. Although it seems very detailed, it is really just shape after shape laid in until I have a painting.












Detail, Pan#3

Dancing Bowls

Oil on canvas, 24x30"

The Old Favorite

Oil on Aluminum Panel, 12x24"

Ice Cream Dish

Oil on Aluminum Panel, 9x12"

"Hippo in the Park" Giclée Print

My dear, patient hippo lovers, the giclée prints of this painting are available for purchase from my website. The prints are the same size as the original, 8"x10", and they are printed on glossy stretched canvas. The artwork can be displayed "as is" or framed like a traditional oil painting. The canvas is about 3/4" deep and finished in a gallery-wrap style. To purchase, click on the link to your right called "The Hippo Store" under Giclée Prints.

Also, next week I will be starting the same process for "The Rodeo Queen" painting. This summer I will be developing some new original hippo paintings; probably revisiting Victorian times as well as looking into more rodeo action with Lumpy Larry and his friends.

Tablespoon

Oil on Aluminum Panel, 9x12"
I've taken a few days off and now it's time to get back to work and create more paintings for my show! It was a little challenging to get back into the groove, but I was very happy with the way this turned out. I'm enjoying making up different backgrounds and experimenting with paint textures and edges. The tablespoon itself was painted from life.






























Here is a close-up of some edges. The dark base was painted first. Then, I scraped off everything except the dark border, and I went in with my white paint, using a palette knife to obtain the interesting edges. I like the effect it gives-one surface floating on top of another. Then, I scraped out some of the white paint and put in the tablespoon last.


















This is a close-up of the tablespoon. Although this looks like a tightly-rendered object, it is actually very "painterly" up close. The key is getting the colors and shapes as accurate as possible. I try to lay things down in one stroke and not muddle around (easier said than done). The thin highlights are made with flake white; the lead in this paint gives it a "ropey" quality, allowing the painter to make extremely fine lines. This paint is made by Studio Products; they excel at making different types of white paint (I routinely use at least 3 different whites, depending on what effect I need).

I don't have a title for this one yet, but I thought I'd go ahead and post it. It is 3x5 feet, oil on canvas.














Here's a detail:















Another detail:
















And a detail of the edges:

Spoon With Landscape

Oil on Aluminum Panel, 12x16"