Fruit Study and Contemplating rejection

Yesterday I had myself a little temper tantrum over the rejection of some of my paintings for a new hospital building. I was indignant about the contemporary art that was chosen. This morning I am reminding myself that part of my current goal as an artist is to work hard at building my skills as a painter and more importantly discover what it is I want to communicate with my painting. This is no easy task. So I will continue to send my work as it is at the moment and be content that I am working towards my goal, truthful communication of my world through my art.

For Roy

This painting has a sad story attached to it. One of the students at Arts Umbrella came to me one day and asked it I could use some oil painting supplies, of course I said sure! In exchange for the supplies I was asked if I could finish a painting already begun by the students brother who had recently passed away. It was the last thing he'd been working on and seeing it finished meant a lot to his family. So here it is. I'm hoping it will cheer their days a bit.

Folk Life Festival

I spent part of the day Saturday at Folk Life Festival in downtown Seattle people watching and gesture drawing. It was wonderful! I forget in my small suburban town how fun it is to be part of a big raucous crowd. It's a sad this year though, there was a shooting at the fair after I left. Especially sad because one of the things I love about this festival is the friendly folk. It can be a very strange world.

Summer Fairs

These paintings have been accepted into juried shows at the Edmonds Art Fair and Bothell Art Fair this summer. My hubby and I will be volunteering at the Bothell Fair at it's new venue at Bothell Landing, should be fun!

For a while there I was complaining about how much rain we have had this spring, but as a result of all of the water the gardens are incredibly lush and colorful.

And... another little painting in progress.

Almost finished

This painting is coming along nicely. It's quite a large painting at 24"x48" which is quite a change for me since most of my painting are medium to small in size. The biggest challenge has been to make the predominantly blue fields interesting and lively. I'm excited to add the final details to the sailboat shape and refine the reflection of the sky in the water.

spring bulbs

My friend Cindi and I are going out for a ramble this morning. Its gray and misty but I'm hoping for some glimpses of the sun. I find if I stay in the studio and house too long I run out of inspiration for new paintings. The last time Cindi and I went out and shot pictures I came home with one of the best inspirations for a painting. So today I'm crossing my fingers in hopes that we stumble on something magical again.

Other news, my apple painting was accepted for the juried show at the Edmonds Art Festival. Always held around fathers day, this event is always filled with amazing things to see and sits on a hill over looking the water.

my garden

I worked in the garden yesterday, these are some of the flowers in bloom.

studies of fruit

Happy Mothers Day!!! I had a lovely day painting in the studio then planting flowers in the garden.

small paintings to make you smile

This work in progress is headed to Kaewyn gallery for the summer season. It's one of a series of toy paintings. Hannah, one of my students gave me the daisies for May Day and they have been in my studio since the 1st. Amazing how well they have lasted. the other still life is a self portrait that I'm working on for the ARC juried show, deadline in September.

Sailboat in progress

About half way there on this one. Spent most of yesterday painting. It was interesting because the proportions changed drastically over the course of a couple of hours, it's surprising how much a person doesn't see in the first pass. In addition the broad areas of blue had to be warmed up a bit they were feeling flat and lifeless.

Sunset

We had a beautiful sunset the other evening. I shot this photo for reference. Could possibly make an interesting painting...

World Travelers

This is one of a series of little paintings with funny toy creatures. These guys are discussing their next adventure.

Just finished

I think I finished this piece today, but I need to live with it for a bit before I'm sure. Each landscape I finish is an improvement over the last, but it's very hard to be patient. I have to remember how long it's taken to improve in still life painting, landscapes are even more complicated and will take more time.