Four and a Quarter

Only when he no longer knows what he is doing, does the painter do good things, Edgar Degas. I love the quote from Degas, and hope that you do too.

Hercules, Our Special Kitty

Hercules
July 1996-June 12, 2010

We were so lucky that Hercules decided to live with us. After he suddenly appeared in our backyard, he never left. From then on, he was ours for keeps. Hercules brought love, joy, and laughter to our lives. He gave us peace, and comfort. His purity, and innocence, were constant reminders of the simple beauty of life. We were always impressed, and inspired, by his tremendous courage, and huge spirit. We miss Hercules more than words can say. He will live in our hearts forever.

Forever Young

Happy birthday to my fabulous, wonderful, and ever supportive husband! Tomorrow is Brian's birthday. Here he is, when he is the most happy, going for a long run. Best wishes to Brian, for a very happy birthday, with lots more running, and birthdays to come!

It's a Citrus Series

It's fun to work in a series. One painting leads to another. With endless possibilities, slight changes can be made to each painting. The end result can be a small, or large, series of related work. This citrus series is now framed, and ready to go to the Lafayette Gallery, for the new summer show!

Green and Gorgeous Santa Fe

We spent the Memorial Day weekend in Santa Fe, NM. Thanks to lots of unusual snow and rainfall, everything was green, with flowers growing everywhere. The top photo shows the Acequia Madre, which means mother ditch. It is gushing with water, when normally it is very dry. Next, we can see Canyon Rd, and lots of pretty flowering window boxes. Lastly here I am , standing under a big green and shady tree. It was all wonderful, beautiful, and just the way the beginning of summer should be.

Happy June

Hope that everyone's long weekend was wonderful. With the beginning of summer, I'm looking forward to things slowing down, and having more time to paint. This was done very quickly, during a busy Memorial Day weekend.

It's A Cluster

It's fun to paint again. Back with more citrus slices. I love all the colors of citrus fruit. So inspiring, bright orange, yellow, pink, and lime green!

It's a Secret

This is a quick one that I did in between traveling to Las Vegas, and Palm Springs. Now that I'll be home for awhile, I'm looking forward to having time to paint. Can hardly wait! Being away allows you time to clarify ideas, and make plans for what to come! I have all kinds of painting ideas going through my head, and am so excited, and ready to get started!

Palm Springs, Birger Sandzen, and Pam Holnback

We just arrived home from Palm Springs. While Brian was in meetings, I did my usual, and headed for the nearest art museum. In Palm Springs, that museum is, The Palm Springs Art Museum. The main exhibit is, "Colors of the West", showing the work of Birger Sandzen. His paintings are gorgeous landscapes of Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. His work is so much like my friend, fellow artist, and blogger, Pam Holnback's beautiful work. To see for yourself, take a look at Pam's paintings, on her blog, pamholnback.blogspot .com. Next, compare it to Birger Sandzen's work at psmuseum.org. You'll be amazed!

The Lafayette Farmer's Market

Here we are at the first Lafayette Farmer's Market of the summer, Sadie, Maggie, and me. We were lucky to have a beautiful afternoon with , sunny skies, lots of food, people, small children, and dogs. The gallery will have a booth at the farmer's market one Thursday afternoon a month for the rest of the summer. See you there!

Leaving Las Vegas

Today is the first day back, after a short trip to Las Vegas. While Brian was in meetings, I was on my own. First on my list of things to do, is to see what is showing in the local art exhibits. The Bellagio, has a wonderful art museum, with world class art! I had a chance to see, " Figuratively Speaking", showing various artist's work based on the human figure. Sadly, no photos were allowed. With security everywhere, there was also no hope of sneaking out the camera. The exhibit included works by some of my favorite artists, David Hockney, Picasso, and on and on. Meanwhile, the fresh flowers in the hotel lobby are always gorgeous, and photography is allowed!

Joined at the Hip

The Lafayette Gallery will be participating in the Lafayette Farmer's Market, starting next week. The farmer's market will be open from 4 to 8, on Thursday evenings, in downtown Lafayette. I volunteered, along with two other gallery artists, to show some of my work in our booth, next Thursday. Trying to finish, and frame a few last minute paintings, has kept me busy. Let's hope for a break in our recent rainy days, and lots of customers!

Ready To Go

This week I've been busy framing, and trying to get organized. These two small paintings are now framed, and ready to take to Valley Art Gallery, to replace two that have been sold. These frames are the new Franken Frames in the natural wood. I've been so happy with these frames, so easy!

Shall We Dance

One more for, "The Black and White Show", the May exhibit in the Lafayette Gallery. Still excavating my studio, in search of more black and white artwork. This dry point etching turned up. and will be submitted, along with yesterday's post. Now that this is done, it's time to get back to painting! Can hardly wait! Today, is a perfect spring day, sunny, flowers blooming, everything is springlike! So inspiring.! I have a million new ideas in my head, all ready to paint ! Can hardly wait to begin!

The Black and White Show

The May exhibit for the Lafayette Gallery is titled, "The Black and White Show". Today, I spent time trying to decide what I wanted to exhibit for this upcoming show, taking photos, and getting organized. I decided on two dry point etchings, from my printmaking days. This one is titled, "Knees Together". This was fun to do, and reminded me of how much I enjoy working with the ink, and printing press. This is the challenge, I also enjoy painting! So many wonderful ways to be creative, so little time!

Moving Forward, Back to the Familiar

After a very busy, and exhausting week, with no time for painting, I was determined to block out some painting time this afternoon. I decided to make things easy, and paint something familiar. Tomatoes are always fun, and uplifting! So here we are. This was the better of two paintings done on a rainy Sunday.
While I was painting, Brian was watching Tiger Woods, in the background. I couldn't help but be impressed, after all of his recent personal problems, and being away from the game for 144 days, Tiger was still able to be competitive, and placed fourth in the Masters. Not that this has anything to do with painting. I have to say, I admire Tiger's ability to rise above his personal difficulties, and perform, under pressure. A lesson for us all. No matter what else is going on, we need to keep moving forward.

Just One More

At the risk of being very redundant, I'm posting one more sliced grapefruit painting. This is the last in this little series, that was so much fun to paint. If anyone is interested, I forgot to mention, Friday is the last day for shipping Texas Rio Red grapefruit, at Rio Pride Orchard in Texas. The grapefruit season is coming to an end, so now is the time!

Still More, Texas Rio Star

As you can see, I really enjoyed painting these grapefruit slices. The dark reddish pink color is so inspiring! After reading Delphyne's comments from yesterday, I learned a lot about red grapefruit. More than I ever imagined. These paintings were actually done during last week's trip to Santa Fe, where I found the grapefruit, at a local grocery. I have since learned, from our San Ramon, Whole Foods, produce manager, that Texas Rio Star grapefruit are not available here, in CA. The grapefruit, sold in CA, comes from the CA Central Valley. The end result of all of this, I went online, and ordered, direct from Rio Pride Orchard of Texas, a dozen Rio Red grapefruit!

More Texas Rio Star

More Texas Rio Star grapefruit. I had so much fun painting this. All the time, wondering how grapefruit got it's name. Grapes are so tiny, and grapefruit is so big. Does anyone know why grapefruit is actually called, grapefruit? Actually, a name like, Texas Rio Star, seems like a much better choice!

Texas Rio Star

Grapefruit, one of my all time favorite foods! I love the color, taste, and everything about red grapefruit. Also lots of nutrition, especially vitamin C. The best part of all, painting grapefruit!

Wooden Floater Frames for Canvas Panels

I am so happy to finally find the frames that I have been looking for. I just received these great black wooden floater frames for canvas panels. They are from Franken Frames. The top photo shows a framed painting. The middle photo shows the support piece inside the wooden floater frame. Roger, from Franken Frames, 800 322-5899, told me over the phone, what to order, and how to put it together. He suggested using clear silicone caulking to attach the separate support piece to floater frame. Once this is done, the canvas panel should be attached to the support piece using more clear silicone caulking, or Velcro. Either way, the canvas panel can be changed out, to allow for use with different paintings on panels. The bottom photo shows the two separate pieces. He also suggested painting the support piece black, which I did. It was so wonderful to work with someone that is helpful, and knew exactly what I wanted! Thank you , Roger!!