On the Easel

These are all works in progress. The gnarly tree is a color study for a commission. It's coming along. One of the things I'm working on these days is slowing down and begin more conservative with my paint. There is a tendency to just slap down lots of strokes to get it done quickly. But the painting goes more smoothly when strokes are thought out and the paint has a nice mix of transparency and opacity.

Beginning Jan 4th, I'll be studying with John Morra in his workshop at Gage Academy. I plan to pay very close attention to his treatment of backgrounds and edges.

Sunrise

It's almost time to say goodbye to 2009. I love the idea of a new year and starting fresh. No more new years resolutions though, instead steady effort to live a good life works for me. There are big things in store for me in 2010, I'll be pushing many bounderies, which is exhilirating as well as scary! Change is good, I hope.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

satsumas, YUM

This time of year, one of my favorite fruits is at the local grocery. They're wonderful to eat and fun to paint!

The Frog Prince and Papa's Cookies

Here are some new paintings in progress. It's fun to work on something light hearted, especially this time of year. These paintings make me smile!

Happy December 1st!

Each December I begin decorating the house for the holidays. We have a small alcove near the fireplace where I like to create vignettes. This years it's a winter fairy garden. Lots of work and many hot glue gun burns later it's almost finished.
Here it is so far.

Brrrr it's getting cold out there!

I cleaned my studio yesterday, what a good feeling to have a tidy space. I'm not the worlds best housekeeper, but do feel satisfaction when things are neat and tidy.
The painting of the woods is in progress and depicts the area around Bothell Landing. The still life is centered around the little blue pot I found in an antique store. Fridays are figure drawing for me and the watercolors are from this week.

In the studio and fall colors

The weather has turned and we're full into wind and rain. I found the leaves on my last walk with my buddy Cindi. Love the colors! My studio is pretty colorful these days too, with the bad weather settling in I spend a lot more time painting. It's great to be so productive but my studio is a MESS!

At home with the flu...

Here are some new paintings just finished and a continuation of the scale painting. I need to keep at the scale image because there is potential there but still not quite right. Now that I'm finishing up on a number of projects it's time to start on new ideas! This is always so exciting.

trying to catch up...

Life is getting hectic again. My art classes are in full swing and I have a couple of new painting commissions to work on. Meanwhile, I'm also working to build a group of paintings to replace what sold in the last show. It's exciting to be thinking about new compositions. As I wander around antique and junk shops I scan the shelves for interesting objects. The things I end up choosing usually spark some kind of memory, most often of someone I care about.

This one is a real challege...

This is one of those paintings that is problematic. I thought it was going to be pretty straight forward but the background and color balance are really hard to get right. So... back to the easel.

Recent drawings

These sketches were done during a recent artists retreat with my art buddies. It's a magical place and wonderful opportunity to be with wonderful people.

Full into Fall

The bakers scale and gas can paintings are finished! I love the feeling of finishing a piece, satisfaction (hopefully) and the excitment of setting up new scenes.

So close to finished!!! The ARC competition deadline is October 31st, the goal is to get the gas can and bakers scale paintings finished and entered on time. I'm having such fun with these paintings, their utilitarian beauty is fantastic.

On the easel...

The late summer flower painting is 90% there. I need to work the background a little more and the leaves need more definition. The bakers scale is at about 75% there. Still lots of work on the scale itself. The other two painting were just begun this week so they are in the beginning stages. I'm having a lot of fun with all of these because the colors palettes are my favorite. Fall colors are gorgeous!

Something just for fun

These little critters are created by needle felting. I've seen them online and wanted to give it a try, so here is a collection of my first attempts. The technique is fairly simple and inexpensive. Just requires a little patience and a willingness to poke yourself with a really sharp needle now and then.

The painting is something I'm working on in the studio. I found that really cool vintage bakers scale at a local antique market. It will lend itself to many still life paintings to come!

Sam's dorm

Well, he's off on an adventure. Last week I drove my boy up to WesternWashington University and got him set up in his dorm. He'll be sharing this tiny apartment with four other guys... can you imagine? It's been said before, but boy does it go fast. One minute you're building legos with him and the next buying stuff for his dorm room. Yikes!!!

on the easel

It looks like I'm 95% there with the gas can painting. I still want to work on the background, it's a little too blue. The rest of the paintings are in various stages. The summer was really good for my attitude because I'm definitely refreshed and jazzed to paint!

progress...

Loving the red! These two are almost there.