A Strong Wind

Back to the pears. I need to bring some paintings in for our gallery exhibit change coming up. I am hoping to have a series of pears done, and ready for hanging by the 11th. Time seems to be flying by. Yikes!

Just Starting

This is the beginning of a landscape painting that I did in last week's painting class. Actually. my first attempt at landscape painting. Carol Tarzier is so inspiring, a brilliant teacher, and wonderful artist. I have enjoyed her so much already. Carol recommended using an apricot color for the ground, and purple to make the preliminary drawing. Those two colors are just beautiful together! Stay tuned for more updates on this W.I.P.

Still in Line

One more on the edge painting. I can't seem to get enough of this composition. It is still fun, and I still have more ideas. I'll keep moving onward and we'll see where we go with all of this. Stay tuned for more.

Color Wheels

These color wheels were done for the first assignment for Carol Tarzier's class. It seems like I have done many, many color wheels in the past. I am always amazed at how many colors can be made from just three colors. The top color wheel uses, cad. lemon yellow, alizarin crimson, and pthalo blue. The bottom one uses, cad. yellow, cad red, and ultramarine blue. The photo does not show an exact duplication of the colors, but you can get an idea. No matter how many times I have done this exercise, it's always fun, and I'm reminded of how many colors are just out there waiting to be used.

Still Friendly

More cherries, and more words of wisdom from Pam's blog. Pam mentioned that Quang Ho advised artists to make a decision, that no decision is wrong, only that it is wrong not to make a decision. I love that! It is useful advice for painting, and for life!

Very Friendly

I just finished reading Pam Holnback's newest post on her blog. She has done a great job sharing ideas from "The Weekend with the Masters" in Colorado Springs. It makes me wish that I was there. One of the ideas that she shared today, was Skip Whitcomb's quote, "simplicity is power". The more information you include in a painting the weaker the statement. I just love that idea. Again, if you have not seen Pam's blog, please go take a look, pamholnback.blogspot.com. She has generously shared all kinds of ideas from her "Weekend with the Masters"

Five and an Eighth

We just returned from Santa Fe, where I always get so inspired with all of the art everywhere. I ended up finishing several small paintings each day. I will try to keep the momentum going! Last night, after arriving home from the airport, I read Pam Holnback's blog about a workshop that she attended in Colorado. Quang Ho was one of the speakers with ideas for painters, also very inspiring. I can immediately see ways to improve this painting, just from reading her post about Quang Ho's presentation. To read about his inspiring ideas, visit Pam's wonderful blog at pamholnback.blogspot.com.

Way Up There

One more of the same composition. This is still a fun challenge for me. I'll forge ahead with more of the same, and we'll see how it goes!

More of the Edge

I'm still working on the same composition, with more tomatoes. I am also still trying to create a looser, less structured look. This is something that I need to work on. More of this to come.

More for the Tenth Anniversary Exhibit

This is a similar 22 X 30 monoprint, that was done in 2007. It is titled "Natasha at the Lafayette Art and Wine Festival". I decided that I will also bring this piece to the Orinda Library tomorrow for the installation of the "Lafayette Gallery's Tenth Anniversary Exhibit". I am not sure if there will be enough space for both pieces, but just in case there is, I'll be prepared. I also volunteered to help hang the exhibit. We'll have to see how much work needs to be hung. It would be great to have both pieces on display, if space allows. We'll hope for the best!

The Tenth Anniversary Exhibit

This year the Lafayette Gallery is celebrating it's ten year anniversary! The Gallery is currently showing a special exhibit titled, "Ten Years at the Lafayette Gallery". In addition, the Orinda Library will be showing an exhibit of work by current and past members of the gallery in honor of our ten year anniversary. There will also be a public reception at the Orinda Library on Sept. 10th to celebrate the occasion! Everyone is welcome, please come!
In the gallery, several of my small still life paintings are now on display. On Tuesday I will bring my monoprint, "Veronica at the Garden Party", to the Orinda Library for hanging. This monoprint was done last year, on a 22 X 30 sheet of printmaking paper. The red dress is rice paper that has been attached using chine colle.
For most of the past year I've concentrated on my small still life painting, which I love doing. Printmaking has been put on the back burner. This monoprint reminds me of how much fun printmaking is. I hope to be able to get back to Sherry's studio this fall to make some more of these monoprints.
In the meantime, I am so happy to be part of the Lafayette Gallery, and am looking forward to our upcoming anniversary celebration!

Very Close

More tomatoes, one of the best things about summer! Still working on the edge, and still enjoying it. There will be more "on the edge " to come, probably not tomatoes. Stay tuned for more.

More Secrets

Still working for a less finished, looser look. I remember being told in some long ago art class, that the mind likes to see something slightly unfinished, so that the rest can be left to the imagination. The idea is that the viewer is drawn into the painting to contemplate what isn't there. Who knows?

Let Me Tell You A Secret

I was trying for a looser, more casual feel with this painting. I'm staying with the "on the edge" composition, and trying for a more effortless, less overworked look. I'm enjoying working in this direction. We'll see how this ends up. Stay tuned for more.

Art Talks at Knoxx

Last night was the second in a series of Art Salons at Knoxx Restaurant and Bar in Lafayette. Patrick Hayashi, Debby Koonce, both wonderful artists, and I talked about our art experiences. A good time was had by all! Thank you to the wonderful, Maggie Lucas-Hill, for organizing the Art Talks, and thank you, to the terrific Knoxx Restaurant for hosting, and providing free appetizers for this fun and very successful event!

In the News

Last week, this article was published in the local newspaper. It is great publicity for "The Lafayette Gallery", and for the upcoming Art Talks at Knoxx Restaurant tomorrow night. If you are in the area, please come by, 4:30 to 6:30, for complimentary appetizers and a no host bar.
We will be there, Pat Hayashi, Debby Koonce, and me, all talking about art! Looking forward to seeing everyone!

We're Still Here

Just had to squeeze in one more painting of these, by now, overly ripe apricots. I can see some things that I wished I had done differently, which may mean another apricot painting. This involves a trip to the store. Got to run!

More of the Same

Here we are with more apricots. This one was done during a short weekend escape to Santa Fe. I didn't have very much time, but I had apricots on my brain. I enjoyed painting them last week and wanted to continue. I ended up buying more apricots in New Mexico and just kept right on. I guess, I'm feeling that the apricots have such a short season they will only be around for a little while, so I better stay with it as long as I can. Isn't the color of ripe apricots just gorgeous!

The 50/50 Exhibit, at The Sanchez Art Center

Last Sunday, we stopped by the little town of Pacifica and visited the Sanchez Art Center. The art critic of the San Francisco Chronicle had written a really positive review of the 50/50 exhibit, now showing at this tiny community art center. The exhibit displayed work by 65 artists. Each artist completed one small piece of artwork everyday for 50 days. The exhibit was wonderful! It had to be. The Chronicle usually does not write about art events in small communities, outside of the city, unless they are outstanding, which this exhibit was. Here are 2 photos of work by one of my favorite artists in the exhibit, Karen Azar Rubin. As you can see, all 50 paintings were of apples, whole, or cut in different ways.

Breathing Room

This painting was done very quickly, and photographed very quickly, while it was still wet. It looks a little reflective. I usually take photos right before it gets dark. This was pretty early, around 4 pm, in a shady spot, on a very sunny day. I guess, the moral of the story is to take the photos later, when the sun is not so bright. Oh well. one more thing to remember. Live and learn, or in this case, slow down, paint, wait, and then use the camera

On the Down Hill

Lately, I've been having fun with painting things on the edge. I recently saw some wonderful paintings by Jian Wang in a gallery in Carmel. Jian Wang does still life paintings of pieces of Chinese candy. The candy is shown on the edge of a table top, with beautiful shadows. His work inspired me to try using his composition. After going online to see more of his paintings, I read that he came from China to study with Wayne Thiebaud, which he did for many years. No wonder I like his work so much!

More Lemons on the Edge

This painting was done along with my other lemon paintings a few weeks ago. I did not have a chance to post it, so here it is. On this one, I was trying for a looser look. I will keep trying!

Art Talks At Knoxx, Aug 12, 2009

On Aug. 12th, The Lafayette Gallery, together with Knoxx Restaurant, will be hosting "Art Talks at Knoxx". Maggie Lucas-Hill coordinates this ongoing series of three salon evenings, featuring artists from The Lafayette Gallery. On Aug. 12th, I will be one of the participating artists. I am very excited about this, and am hoping to see lots of familiar faces. This should be very fun and very informative! Debby Koonce and Pat Hayashi, both very talented artists, will also be speaking at this event. If you are in the area, please come on August 12th , from 4:30 to 6:30. There will be a no host bar, with complimentary appetizers, generously provided by Knoxx Restaurant.

We're Very Close

As always, wonderful to be painting again, after being out of town. This was done very late last night, in not very good lighting. I tried to paint plums for the first time. It turned out to be more challenging than I expected. Plums have this blue-whitish, powdery color on parts of them that was somewhat of a struggle, until I decided to just not deal with it. Oh well, who says that every detail needs to be included.