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.

Still on the Edge

I'm still working with the lemons on the edge of the upside down shoebox. I was trying to use looser brushstrokes, this time. It's fun to experiment, using the same subject, with different kinds of brushstrokes, colors, and compositions. This time I used a more monotone color palette. I feel like doing more with the lemons, with the shadow going over the edge. We'll see...

On the Edge

I'm back to familiar subjects, lemons again. I'm trying to vary my compositions. For this painting, I perched some lemons on the edge of an upside down shoebox. I loved the the way the shadow came down over the edge, I will try to work on this some more. There is always something that can be made better, which is part of what makes painting so much fun.

Lean on Me

One more watermelon painting. Today, I wanted to do a better job with the composition. I arranged and rearranged the watermelon slices, hoping to find something more interesting. This is what I ended up with. I think it may have taken longer to create the set up, hoping it didn't completely fall over, than it did to actually paint the painting. Challenges at every turn!

Wonderful to be Back, Again

It's so wonderful to get back to painting. After two weeks of not painting, it's like starting all over again, very challenging. This is my first ever attempt at watermelon. I probably should have tried something that I was a little more familiar with. Oh well, we will forge onward. Stay tuned for more watermelon paintings!

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!