Elizabeth Robbins Workshop

Whew!  I know it has been awhile, but things have been so busy lately.  I guess running after three 13-year-olds will do that to you.  I finally got to take a break and get away for a wonderful art workshop given by the fabulous and talented Elizabeth Robbins.  Check her out at http://www.elizabethrobbinsart.com/.  Not only is she a wonderful still life painter, but she is a very talented teacher as well.  She gave lots of hints and tips on theory and materials, not just how to paint in her style.  I was very grateful to be able to attend.  Above is a very poor photograph of the painting I completed in class.  It is still at my friend, Joan's, house while it dries -- the workshop was in Virginia and I didn't want to try and move a wet painting all the way back to Texas.  This next image, below, is the beautiful demo that Elizabeth did at the end of the workshop that I am lucky enough to now own.  I wish I had even an ounce of her skill.  Isn't she marvelous?!

She gave me lots of new techniques to try out at home.  I can't wait to get started, but I probably won't be able to really get going until after the Thanksgiving holiday.  We are leaving for London tomorrow morning and I am hoping to get some workable photos to use for more paintings!  Happy early Thanksgiving, everyone!

Seven UP!

7-UP

6" x 12" 

Stretched Canvas

Finally!  I found some time for paint therapy again.  Life has been busy and very complicated lately and I am so grateful to all of my friends who are bearing with me throughout! Life was much easier when I was a kid, that's for sure.  In keeping with that notion, I borrowed a photograph from a fellow Etsy seller, Pieces of Olde, because it reminded me of summer in the 70s.  If you want the real thing, please visit her at http://www.etsy.com/listing/76843556/vintage-7-up-pop-bottle-soda-70s .  A big thanks for giving me permission to use the photo.  It was fun and fabulous to paint!  I have some touching up to do here and there, but I couldn't wait to get it posted, so I just went ahead and posted the UN-finished product -- heh, heh!

Summer's End

"Beach Umbrellas"

8 x 10 Stretched Canvas

Finally!  Temperatures below 104 and loads of rain to quench our Texas fires!  Will I miss the summer this year?  Heck, no!  But I will miss the bright colors and blue skies as we head into the autumnal equinox.  Thus, this painting.  It isn't quite completed yet, but to be fair, I haven't had much time to work on it.  This painting was a study in crisis management, as I have basically worked on it in between putting out fires in my own life. On a positive note, I think rain is on the forecast again, both at home and outside.  It's time for a cool change!

Moody Blues

"Moody Blues"

5" x 7"

Stretched Canvas

I was feeling like I wanted to paint something with a little drama or feeling to it.  I know, I know, a candle doesn't seem very dramatic all by itself, but this candle photo I found on my favorite photos-for-artists site had a mood about it.  I wish I could credit the photographer, but her name was not on the site. At any rate, it wasn't the Zen-like painting session I thought it would be--it was a relatively difficult painting.  Who would have thought something so simple would be so troublesome.  I thought the flame would be the worst part, but trying to show the glow through the actual candle body was a real bear! Hopefully, I managed it well enough.  I think I might be able to evaluate it better after I step away from it for a day or two!

Nesting Instinct

"Nesting Instinct"

10" x10"

Stretched Canvas

Fall is my nesting time.  The kids go off to school and I finally have a chance to put right everything in the house that got "put wrong" all summer!  I find great peace in the sudden solitude (although in a few days I will be missing their sweet voices and messy ways -- okay, maybe not the messy ways...) and I love to see everything in it's place finally.  Maybe a little latent OCD?  Sure, but why fight a good thing...heh,heh!  More importantly, I got my studio in total zen condition, so I am ready to crank on the paintings.  Too bad it is maybe too much of a tabula rasa -- like a big, blank white canvas, a clean studio can be a little daunting!  Here we go....

The Onion that Doesn't Make You Cry

"Almost Bloomin' Onion"

5" x 7"

Stretched Canvas

Onions -- I love 'em!  Fried and in sauces, soups and stews (but never raw, except the red ones!).  The only problem is the tears when you are slicing one up.  Oh yes, I know all the tricks (cut in a certain direction, hold your breath and, my personal favorite, the onion goggles), but they never seem to work for me (what a surprise).  This is the ONLY onion that hasn't made me cry yet -- although I am fairly certain it wouldn't taste very good in a stew!

Fall Down

"Acorn"

5" x 7"

Stretched Canvas

Still in a fall funk.  I say "funk" because we still have temps over 100, and they are predicting it to last into September.  So, while I wish it were a leaf-changing, hoodie-wearing time of year in reality, I will have to settle for a painting to remind me of what could, or SHOULD, be!  I painted this little picture from a photo in the Morguefile -- a great resource of free photos that all artists should know about!  The nut is still on the tree, and, from the green look of the leaves, he is probably having the same kind of fall as I am -- green, hot and very un-fall-like!

Orange Ya Glad?

 "Orange Ya Glad"

6" x 6" 

Stretched Canvas

This one was fun!  I love using saturated colors like these -- they are so rich and yummy.  It is unusual to see them altogether in one place -- usually there is a dull background highlighted with pops of color.  This one seems to work, though.  The orange looks so juicy you can almost smell it!

Fall Rose

 8" x 8" Stretched Canvas

1 1/2" deep sides

This is a companion to my earlier pink rose close-up.  I really enjoy the repetitive folds, they are quite relaxing to paint!  I have a bazillion rose pictures that I took when Jim and I went to Portland, OR for a week this summer.  The International Rose Test Garden is there and free to the public -- acres and acres of gorgeous blooms in every hue, size and scent.  I actually took more pictures than the camera could handle and needed a second memory card!  It is kind of daunting when you have so many pictures to choose from, and then, of course, I need to be in the "mood" to paint roses or they don't work out they way I want them too.  Good thing I am a woman as well as an artist and to changing my mind is just a part of my nature.  That way no one can blame me for procrastinating on my rose paintings!

Epiphany!

"The Epiphany"

8" x 10"

Artist's Gesso Board

I painted this abstract piece on a day when I was feeling inspired about painting on gesso boards! They have such a wonderfully smooth surface and the paint seems to have a mind of its own when the brush hits the surface. I suppose I could control it more, but then...why? We all have to be so controlled in life -- isn't it nice to let go once in awhile? Try it, and see!

Pepper Love

"Pepper Love"

8" x 10" 

Artist's Gesso Board

I love food and I have a particular affinity for peppers.  When I found a series of photographs from MorgueFile featuring some sweet bells, I just had to start painting.  I am still working on the boards, but I have found that brand DOES matter here.  This board was very hard to paint wet-on-wet, which is my usual M.O. and I had to wait ages for the paint to dry in between.  I still have some touch up to do on the green pepper but, again, I am just waiting for paint to dry.  Now I know why so many artists get frustrated with oils.  These two bells looked so cozy snuggled up together that I had to have "love" in the title.  Don't they look like newlyweds?  Awwwww.  Mr. Potatohead would be jealous!

A Fun Challenge

"Nebulous"

5 x 7

Artist's Gesso Board

This was a fun little challenge given to me by some artist friends.  I think I needed a little relaxing creativity time, so it came along at the right point in my month.  The challenge was to portray a female character as an adjective and there was a short list to choose from.  I chose "nebulous" because I thought it was the most interesting word to work with AND I had been looking at these beautiful acrylic paintings of celestial space that were so inspiring.  It was a match made in heaven - heh, heh! Quite a departure from my usual style, but here she is!

Board Again!

 "Cloudwatch"

9" x 12"

Artist's Gesso Board

Loving the board!  LOVING IT!  This was a "mental landscape" -- just something from my head that worked up great on this board.  I reworked it once, to add intensity to the dark clouds on the left and add substance and drama to the central cloud mass.  It was so easy to rework on the board.  And, again, the color intensity is striking --- you really need to see it "in person" to know what I mean.  You might have had a chance on August 6th, when I was going to do a local show, but I chickened out.  I need more time to get my booth together and figure out how to take credit cards and such.  It is not like selling on line!  That is okay, though, I will be ready to go in the Spring!

And I have so many new things to paint, thanks to my trip to Portland, OR.  I am posting this from the hotel there, in fact!  I can't wait to take all my new ideas and pictures and get painting next week!

Getting Board!

"A Cool Change"

8" x 10"

Artist's Gesso Board

Ah, gesso board, how do I love thee?  I bought a painting by one of my faves, Qiang Huang and it was done on this sweet little board.  I had often noticed paintings done on these, but never thought I would be unfaithful to the canvas.  It took just one night and I was totally hooked!  The paint works up so well on these little gems -- smooth, creamy, luscious with a richness of color that I don't think canvas can compete with.  I went right out and did it again!  This is my first try -- with the rocks from one Hawaii photo my husband took and the clouds from another.   What fun!

Happy Fourth of July!!

"Good Eatin'"

8" x 10"

Stretched Canvas

Happy Birthday, America!  And what can be more American than some luscious red home-grown tomatoes to slap on your backyard burger?  Thanks to my eagle-eyed friend, Anne Fleetwood, for supplying the absolute picture of yumminess!  Too bad these weren't "for real" -- I love nothing better than a tomato sandwich in the hot summertime and not those nasty grocery store tomatoes that taste like so much school paste -- real, red-blooded American tomatoes, warm from the garden sun, left on the window sill to ripen and sliced thickly and salted.  Yum!  Enjoy the party, America!

Painting White

"Ooey Gooey Chocolate Pie"

6" x 6" 

Stretched Canvas

Back to my comfort zone again with this slice of my friend Anne's birthday pie that she so thoughtfully photographed for me.  It was fun and interesting to paint since the plate and the meringue were both white.  It presented a challenge to represent the "white-ness" with color.  I ended up using dioxazine purple, cerulean blue and magenta to form the shadowed areas with a touch of naples yellow to warm up the meringue where the light was shining through.  Too bad I didn't have the original to eat afterwards, though!

Food, Glorious Food!

"Birthday Cupcake"

5" x 5" 

Stretched Canvas

I guess you gotta go with what you know!  I had snapped a picture of a cupcake my sweet friend, Michelle, brought me for my birthday a few months ago.  Given my sudden lack of inspiration and/or talent, I thought I would return to the safety of my comfort ....food!  And, you know -- I think it turned out pretty well and my whole painting session just seemed to have -- what is it the LAX bros call it?? -- flow.  Yes, it had flow.  So I am going with it.... On to the next serving!

Where Did the Mojo Go?

"Blue Vase of Roses"

5" x 5" 

stretched canvas

Yikes!  It is gone.  My ability to paint -- phffft.  Just like that.  I signed up to do a show in August, for which, of course, I need INVENTORY.  And it is very difficult to generate quality inventory when you are at home with three kids all summer -- all of them running in different directions.  I am panicking!  So today, I sat down, took paintbrush in hand and....nothing.  I painted three paintings, two of which are so bad I couldn't even post them.  This one is okay, but just that.  Just okay.  I honestly don't know what my problem is --- perhaps it is too-much-on-my-plate-itis.  Or maybe just plain old fear.  Ugh!  Either way, I need to shake it off and get going.  I will put on my best Scarlett O'Hara accent and chant "I will paint again tomorrah, for tomorrah is anothah day!"

Just a Note...

Hi Everyone! I just wanted to let you know that my art is now being represented in the Daily Paintworks gallery as well as on Etsy. At DPW, you can bid on all kinds of wonderful art from fabulous painters...check it out!!

Getting My Groove Back...

CLICK HERE TO BID!!

A Hint of Summer

5" x 5"

2" deep stretched canvas

Well, my summer road trip has come and gone and I have been having a hard time catching up with all the things that accumulate when I am gone.  And maybe I am just a little lazy.  Hmmm.  Make that a LOT lazy.   My heart wants to paint, but the rest of me just did not want to comply, so I made a little deal with myself -- if I would take some photos of these yummy gems and paint just one I would add a little freshly whipped cream and enjoy a treat.  So I did.  I took a bunch of photos (look for some more strawberry paintings!) and painted this one from life.  And then I ate it.  And another and another.  With whipped cream AND chocolate.  Summer living is good!  But maybe I need a run around the block now...