Runabout - Greeting Card

7x5 water soluble graphite on watercolor paper
greeting card
$30 + $5 sh

Happy Winter Solstice. The days will be getting longer now. More light to paint by!

Dominick the Donkey

5x7 water soluble graphite on paper (greeting card)
$30 + $5 sh

One of many small original sketches available at our "open studio" event.

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Wednesday -  November 20th - 4 -8 pm

Joel's Coffee House

11301 Lakeline Blvd, Ste 120

Austin, TX 78717

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Upcoming Events: 

• November 20: Chocolate and Chiaroscuro Event, Joel's Coffee House, Austin
• November 29: Major's Fundraising Art Sale begins 
• December 6: Small Gems show dk Gallery, Marietta, GA

Up With the Sun

12x12 oil on panel

Ask Castle Gallery about this painting.

We may as well stay with the horse theme here the rest of the week. This was painted at a rather urban sort of stable tucked away here in Austin. You wouldn't know it was there, but once you drive in, you feel like you are in another world. The barns are mostly brick with windows and green shutters and trim and they have beautiful landscaping all around too. My daughter goes there for summer camp and some 'kids' night out' activities.

Portrait of Major

12x9 oil on panel - not for sale

This is our new dog. He came to us a few months ago and I wanted to paint a portrait of him for his former owner. I feel badly that circumstances led to his needing a new home, but I am awfully glad he is part of our family now. He is a really neat dog. (An Irish Terrier). I can't resist a bearded dog, truth be told.

I'm feeling guilty today because we are packing to go on vacation again and the dogs are getting suspicious. They are generally lazing about a lot anyway though since its gotten so very hot here, so maybe they won't miss us much.

Oh, Romeo

8x10 oil on panel
nfs

Today I packed up my things and went to hang out in V....Vaughan's studio. I sat on her floor and painted while she worked on a painting of a hawk for the SE Wildlife show (I think). We painted...and we talked, and we critiqed, and she showed me her private collection (other artists, not personal), she made a lovely lunch of gumbo (perfect on a rainy day) and some yummy Mexican hot chocolate. My painting was dull. But when a heavy rain began and the thunder started, her "good Dane" as she calls him, was nervous and sat nearby. He was begging to be sketched. So I grabbed a panel and did the above. He is an enormously big baby. And I am enormously blessed to have a friend like V.

btw - I'm tired of feeling sorry for myself and not painting. "Shut up and paint!" I told myself this morning. Thanks for bearing with me.

Changes and Challenges

Ace of Hearts
3.5 x 2.5 oil on playing card

I'm slowly getting back to work here. I sort of fell short of expectations yesterday but today did better. And in an endeavor to make my blog more fun, I am going to paint a pack of cards. Not as a subject, but as a support.


"Why?" you might ask. Well, Why NOT?

First, I find that I have a hard time choosing a subject for the small "daily" painting... and often want to save images to work larger. So I hold off. And I don't want to paint the same thing twice. And I can spend as much time on a small work as a larger one. So it makes more sense to do my best work for my galleries and shows.

So - enter the playing cards. They are conveniently packaged. Its a goal. Its so small that I must just paint loose, bold, simple subjects. They transport easily. And they can still be framed nicely. A whole grouping would be really fun I think. Its similar to the ACEO or artist's trading cards.
So today, after I put my best energies into a challenging figurative work, I quickly chose a critter to put on this card. I'm excited about this new endeavor. 51 more (at least) to go!

If I'm making no sense, its because I am FREEZING. Its so cold in Austin... and I am a wimp. I'm shivering and can't type. More on this tomorrow.... or Monday.

Out of the Shadows

7x5 oil on panel
$100 + s/h

And once again, we have Sherbet. Let's see if I can paint anything else next week.

Le Chat Orange

6x6 oil on panel
$100 + s/h - sold

I was told this guy's full name is 'Orange Sherbet Kittie Moss' and he is a very fun resident of the Mud Creek Pottery studio in Calvert. He was highly disappointed when the little laser light was put away and the painting lessons began.

You might remember a painting I did of him a few weeks ago. I have been having trouble "seeing" lately and not been able to finish anything - I can't bring my paintings "out of the dark" (blank?), so I revisited this subject to try to loosen up and remember how I work!

Today, I am going to meet some artist friends at a coffee house (no not Starbucks this time!) to hang out and chat. I will be sketching, naturally, but I look forward to just catching up and sharing ideas. Those attending... shall I be a name dropper? You probably ought to check them all out, they do some fabulous work. Laurel Daniel, V Vaughan, Kate Merriman, Terri Wells, and maybe others. I get to hang with some pretty inspiring ladies. Austin - live music capitol of the world, and visual arts hub. As further evidenced by the E.A.S.T. (East Austin Studio Tour) going on this week. Ok, I have given you enough to play with and explore today. My work here is done. Now, to the easel!

On the Prowl - Cat

8x6 oil on panel
$150 + s/h - sold

"Sherbet" was one of Sonny Moss's fun little studio cats. He ran all over Mud Creek pottery studio chasing a little laser light V was playing with. He was quite the character. I sketched him quite a bit as I posed for V's students. He wasn't still long and it was good practice for capturing moving subjects for Saturday night's gala painting.
Check out Sonny's pottery - he is quite talented.

Here are a couple pages from my book.