Out the Door, and Up the Street

This is the view from our front door, looking up the street, towards the opposite end of the court, in the late afternoon. I'm having fun taking photos of what's right in front of me. Hoping to do more like this.

October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The past few weeks I have not been MIA, instead I have joined the 1 out of 8 women affected by breast cancer. Thanks to wonderful doctors, and very early detection, I am extremely lucky. For me, breast cancer has been an adventure like no other, and the journey continues.
This adventure began last month with a simple mammogram. I was told that there were no visible problems on the mammogram. The radiologist went on to say that actually nothing at all could be seen on this mammogram, or any prior ones, because of my very dense breast tissue. He told me to look at the website, Are you Dense, and schedule an ultrasound.
I had no idea what he was talking about. After looking at the, Are you Dense website, I was shocked to find out that women with dense breast tissue are 5 times more likely to get breast cancer. I had never heard of this before. Dr Fish, my radiologist, saved my life!
I have since had surgery, and am now looking forward to getting back to living my life.
I urge all women to visit the website, and learn more. During your next mammogram, ask if you have dense breast tissue, and if so, request an ultrasound.
In some states, such as Conn, and Texas, doctors are required to inform women if they have dense breasts. In other states, such as California, where I live, there is no requirement. Currently there is legislation sitting on our state governor's desk awaiting his signature, making it mandatory for doctors to inform women of this important life saving fact. Let us hope that that Governor Jerry Brown signs this important bill, SB791, by the deadline, Oct 9th. Many lives can be saved!

The Lovely Claudia

The Lovely Claudia, the painted version.

More about Claudia

Here is the lovely Claudia, sunbathing, one of her favorite activities. This is usually combined with extensive bird and squirrel monitoring. We know that we can count on Claudia to stay on top of these important outside events!

The Pine Inn, Carmel, CA

This painting is of the backside of the Pine Inn, in Carmel, CA. The photo is of the side entrance of the hotel. The Pine Inn is the oldest hotel in Carmel, built in 1889. It is full of history, right in the center of town, and just a few blocks from the ocean. We have been coming to Carmel for many years, and always stay here. It is beautiful on the inside, with lots of historic photos of the early days of Carmel. If you are planning a visit to Carmel, make sure to visit the historic Pine Inn!

Good Bye August

Yes, I'm still here. This month has been so busy. I have had no time for posting, and very little time for painting. What I have been doing is traveling, seeing art exhibits, and working with Tim Horn's Friday afternoon Paint Club. Here is Tim, doing a demo. What I have learned is that plein air painting is an endless challenge. Tim makes it all look effortless! Meanwhile, I remind myself, it's OK, we are all learning!

The New Exhibit

The newest exhibit, opening Thursday, at the Lafayette Gallery, is "What Makes Us Smile". I submitted the small pieces that I did of Carmel. Today we are hanging the show, and finishing up tomorrow. Please come by starting on Thursday, July 29, to see our newest exhibit. Guaranteed to make you smile!

From the Desert, to the Ocean

This is the last one from my little series of Carmel. Now, looking forward to working on something new, not involving, the desert or ocean! Can hardly wait!

Guest Artist, Diane White

Recently, Diane White invited us to her beautiful Santa Fe home. Here is Diane on the back porch, putting a few finishing touches on her gorgeous water lilly painting. Diane does brilliant work in oils and encaustic, mainly landscapes. More of her work can be seen on her blog, Diane White's Creative Muse. Thank you, Diane. We loved having the chance to see your wonderful work, and meet you, your husband, and friends in Santa Fe!

Carmel Sand Dunes

Another view from the beach in Carmel. So simple and fun to paint! With our temps near 100 degrees today, this is just where I would like to be, feeling cool by the ocean!

Seeing Art in Carmel

Carmel is famous for lots of art galleries. One of my favorites is the Carmel Art Association Gallery. This co-op gallery has been in existence since 1927, and is the oldest gallery in Carmel. Many of the historic, and well known California artists have shown their work here.

The Nancy Dodds Gallery is another one of my favorites. It is a privately owned gallery that shows the work of wonderful contemporary artists. I love visiting both of these galleries, and thought that you might enjoy them too.

Still More from Carmel

Here is another view from the beach in Carmel. Always a wonderful escape, always gorgeous views. This was another one done from a photo taken at the beach at the bottom of Ocean Ave. Trying to paint a little looser with this one.

More From Carmel

Here is one more from the beach in Carmel. I've also posted some photos that I used for this painting, and my last one. This was on a gorgeous sunny day. Still more photos waiting to be painted.

Carmel

It seems like this month we have been everywhere but home. The good part is that I had plenty of opportunities to use my camera. This painting is based on a photograph taken on the beach at the bottom of Ocean Ave, in Carmel. More of Carmel to come!

Giant Strawberries

Happy to finish one more strawberry painting!

Happy June

More strawberries! This time, I'm having fun experimenting with color shapes, lights and darks. Happy June, and happy weekend to all!

Happy Memorial Day

Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer! With the beginning of summer, comes wonderful fresh produce, and farmer's markets everywhere! After being away so much, I wanted to paint something quick and easy, so here we are, strawberries, fresh from the farmer's market. Happy Memorial Day to everyone!

A Sense of Place

The Bellagio in Las Vegas always has interesting art exhibits. We were just there, and I had a chance to see this exhibit, " A Sense of Place". The exhibit included landscapes of all kinds. Everything from Monet's haystack paintings, to David Hockney's brilliant and colorful stylized paintings. The artists are all well known, both living and historic, from the realistic to the abstract. If you are in Las Vegas , be sure and see , "A Sense of Place".

Wait for Me

One more painting from the plein air class. Still focusing on the light and dark value patterns. This was done in Tiburon, near the Lyford House. This location has a really beautiful view of the San Francisco Bay, with the east bay and the city showing across the water.

Drop and Roll

Since I haven't posted anything about Claudia lately, due her camera shy personality, here is a Claudia update. Claudia has grown into an adorable, and beautiful, little roly poly fur ball. Here she is doing her favorite trick, dropping to the floor and rolling around side to side, with her feet in the air. We are always so impressed!

Turquoise Trim

Still working on lights and dark value patterns. This painting was done from a photo of an adobe art gallery in Santa Fe. The turquoise blue window and door trim, on adobe colored buildings, is everywhere in Santa Fe. I was told that the reason for the turquoise blue color, is the belief that blue is a spiritual color that will prevent evil spirits from entering your home. I love that idea!

Germany Challenge

This was done for Carol Marine's Germany Challenge. Still working with light and dark value patterns. I've been having fun looking online at the work of various artist's, who work with dramatic lights and darks. Two women artist's, whose work I love, are Anne Ward Sures, and Maureen Gallace . Their paintings have been so inspiring! Looking forward to doing more!

Sun Kissed

"Sun Kissed" is the title of the upcoming exhibit at the Lafayette Gallery, opening May 24th. I am applying some of the ideas from Tim Horn's class to some new work for this exhibit. Still on the learning curve, and still getting comfortable. This was done from a photo taken in Santa Fe, last week.