The Last Two

These are the last of nine, in my series of paintings of Hercules. They look the best, with black frames and arranged as a group. I framed them and took them to The Lafayette Gallery today. It will be interesting to see how many will actually be hung, hopefully, quite a few. Painting them was fun, but I'm so happy they are done and delivered. Now, onward to something new! Tomorrow is the beginning of a brand new month ! Can hardly wait!

The Men in My Life

I thought that it would be fun to show you the real Hercules. Here he is alone, and with the No 1 man in my life, Brian, my wonderful husband. Hercules is a close No.2! How lucky can I get, two handsome men in my life, one human and the other feline!

More of Hercules

Here are some of the paintings that were done for the " Fur, Fins, and Feathers" exhibit at The Lafayette Gallery. These are ready to be dropped off next Sunday. This was a fun project, that includes more paintings than are shown here, all very similar. I used lots of photos of Hercules, who is unwilling to pose for longer that 2 seconds. If you are in the area, please stop by and see the exhibit. It will be open, starting June 2, and ending August 1.

The Palm Springs Art Museum

During the two weeks spent traveling in Las Vegas, Santa Fe, and Palm Springs, I was lucky to see lots of wonderful art and get very inspired! This trip cleared my head, gave me new enthusiasm, and made me very excited to return home and start painting! In Palm Springs, I was thrilled to discover that the Palm Springs Art Museum was showing a 70 year retrospective of Wayne Thiebaud. This was an unexpected treat! I had never before seen so much of his work in one place. Many pieces were new to me. It was all wonderful! The exhibit included a video of the artist, explaining the successes and challenges of his long art career. Again, very inspiring. If any one is interested, the book from the exhibit is well worth having, and is probably available by mail from the museum. Of course, I had to bring home my own copy! Happy travels to everyone! You never know what you will see!

Hercules the Great

It's great to be home after 2 weeks of being in Las Vegas, NV, Santa Fe, NM, and Palm Springs. I am quickly trying to complete some small paintings for the "Fur, Fins, and Feathers" exhibit at the Lafayette Gallery starting on June 2nd. Here are two little paintings of our cat, the famous, Hercules. These were done yesterday. I have some more time, so I'll continue in this direction for a few more days and hope that everything dries in time for the drop off date on the 31st. Getting back into the daily painting routine is wonderful and am so happy being home!!

Let's Get Cozy

Another busy week, in a very busy month. It's great to paint again! I've struggled for days with various animal ideas for our upcoming exhibit " Fur, Fins, and Feathers", starting May 31st, at the Lafayette Gallery. It finally occurred to me that, perhaps, I need new brushes. Wow! What an improvement! After a trip to the art store, things became so much easier. New brushes make a huge difference. I did this lemon painting today, very quickly, so that I would have something to post this week. It's not the best work I've ever done, and it's certainly not an animal painting, but here we are!

Glad to be Back

Glad to be back to painting. I wanted to finish at least one more painting of the gladiolus. Finally, after a very hectic week, I was able to get this little one done, last night. I did it quickly and without daylight, so I don't feel that it was my best, but at least something is done! So wonderful to get back to the easel!

Bursting Out

Yesterday, at Trader Joe's, I bought gladiolus buds. I was not sure of the exact colors, possibly purple and red. This morning they were starting to open, bright greens , bright reds, with yellow, and purple. The colors are overwhelmingly spring. It's just what I needed on a gray and rainy day!

In Bloom

We just returned from the east coast, to spring. Everything here is in bloom, sunny skies, and very green everywhere. Spring has arrived! Before we left, I put the daffodils in the refrigerator, they were perfect when we returned. Amazing!

Let's Open Up

Day two of the daffodils. Overnight, most of the daffodils opened. Flowers always amaze me... they are gorgeous! Tried to capture the beautiful light greens and clear yellows!

Look to the Left

Yesterday at Trader Joe's they were selling ten daffodils for $1.29. How could I not bring some home! I bought two bunches. The buds were tightly closed yesterday. Today they have started to open up. It was fun to paint them. I was was trying to be a little more loose with my brush strokes, at the same time trying not to go over each stroke. I'll try again tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how they look in the morning! Stay tuned for more!

Welcome to Spring

Yesterday I took the day off and visited the de Young museum in San Francisco to the see the annual "Bouquets to Art" exhibit. This is a wonderful exhibit held every March to show fantastic flower arrangements inspired by works of art. One of my favorite Wayne Thiebaud paintings had inspired a very dramatic flower arrangement, as you can see!

It was interesting, for the first time, after seeing this painting in books and in the museum many times, I noticed a sign next to it explaining that this painting was unusual for many reasons. The main reason was that the gumballs had highlights, but not the glass globe that contained them, creating the impression that the gumballs were suspended in mid air. Another unusual feature, is that the shadows of the gumball machines had no relation to the shape of the actual machines. The shadows are are in the shape of cones, while the machines are rectangular and globe shaped. The machines also have no handles or price information on the front. The exit holes are too small to accommodate the gumballs. All of this information surprised me. I had never noticed. Amazing!

The most dramatic arrangement was the giant spiral of bird of paradise hanging from the ceiling in the main entry! Very impressive!

I think it is so important to get out and see art in museums and galleries. I try to do this as often as I can. I always come back inspired and energized, with all kinds of new ideas and excited to start painting again! To all, welcome to springtime!!!

Best Buddies

This has been a busy month, with not enough time for painting. Finally this weekend I had some time and was able to get back to the easel. I started with familiar territory, apples. I did three small paintings yesterday. This was the best. It feels so good to paint again. It seems like I'm starting all over. I have a few ideas for a new series, but first wanted to warm up with something comfortable, an old friend, apples.

Apart, then Together

The last of the sushi paintings for now. I think it's time to move on to something else. This painting seems to be more abstract, which is exactly what Kelley mentioned about an earlier post. She said that when painting the same subject over and over again, the image will get increasingly more abstracted. This sure happened with the sushi!

Come to the Party

One more for the sushi series. I was trying for a looser effect, by not going over the brush strokes . I think that this is something that I need to be more aware of. There's always something more to improve on! That's probably why painting is so much fun, it's a constant challenge!

In the Dark

Back on familiar ground. Apples are really comfortable to paint. As Carol Marine said in her blog, apples are her fall back subject. I can see her point. This painting was done at night, in the semi darkness. I'd like to try more of this. I sort of like the mysterious aspect. It's great to get back to posting. We've been in San Diego for the past few days and I've missed being home with the easel, paints, and our fabulous cat, Hercules! There's no place like home!

Lots of Love, in Red

Happy Valentine's Day to all! Tomorrow is the big day! This is the same monoprint that was posted on Jan. 16th, only this time it is in red. Last Sunday the the magenta one, posted on 1/16, was shown in the local newspaper's "Arts and Entertainment" section to illustrate an announcement for the Valentine exhibit at the Lafayette Gallery. The exhibit is titled, "Objects of Affection". Please see the gallery website for more details. If you can, stop by before the exhibit closes on March 7th. In the meantime, have a wonderful February 14th, with the one you love!

Out in the Cold Again

This is the same sushi from last week, that was stored in the freezer. It thawed out under the light as I painted it. I then put it back in the freezer for a future possible painting. I was surprised, it held up really well. It was fun to paint with all the cad. red. One more painting for the exhibit, "Food, Glorious Food".

One For You and One For Me

The upcoming exhibit for the Lafayette Gallery is, "Food, Glorious Food". I've been thinking of my favorite foods and what would be fun to paint. I love eating and painting fruit, but I am ready to paint something different. What do I like to eat that is not fruit? Sushi has been one of my long time favorite foods . So here we are, two shrimp rolls from Trader Joe's, bought especially for painting purposes!

Too Close for Comfort

This is the last in the kiwi fruit series. In my previous post, Kelley left a comment saying that, in a series, the image can get progressively more abstract. I had never heard of that idea before, which I thought was fascinating. This is certainly true in this series, even though I wasn't trying, the image of the fruit did become more abstract.

All Together Now

Still having fun with the kiwis. This one seems like it's a little more abstract and geometric than the previous ones. It's also fun to paint this way. I'm hoping to get one more painting from the kiwi fruit. They are getting a little withered from the light, so we'll see. Stay tuned for more tomorrow.

One and a Half, Once Again

Here is one more kiwi painting. This was done at night, which to me is a little harder than painting with daylight. Kiwi, since they are covered with fuzz, don't really have any sharp highlights. They do sort of glow. I tried to show that in the painting of the whole fruit. I'm not completely satisfied with the outcome, but am so excited to get back to painting, that I don't really care. Having the time away, just makes me want to paint more!