Taking A Look Around

12x12 oil on panel

Ask Edward Montgomery Fine Art about this painting.

Ok, if this one doesn't sell eventually, I really don't mind. Its one of my all time favorites. Why? Well, because I love horses. And I love light in it, and the dappling of his coat and the gesture. And it reminds me of NYC and my trips there.

I don't think I ever really talked about the book I put together last fall. Part of what I enjoyed most was the feeling of accomplishment and a sense of growth I saw as I looked back over my paintings. Artists rarely get to see their work in a group or spend time looking back over their body of work. Revisiting the work I'd done over the past several years and having a real sense of pride in the work was huge for me. Not only had I created quite a few paintings, there were enough that hit that high mark I expected. Others might not agree with me on all the choices, heck, I doubt any two people could agree on what to include, but each one of my choices was a milestone in my ability to express myself in paint and brushwork. I can't wait to see where I grow over the next few years.

Clowning Around

10x10 oil on linen panel

Ask Edward Montgomery Fine Art about this painting

This was a fun little scene. I couldn't resist trying my hand at those colorful socks! This little gem, as well as some other paintings, are headed to sunny California to Edward Montgomery Fine Art gallery in Carmel.

Park Avenue

24x16 oil on linen

Park Shade

18x18 oil on linen

Both paintings available at Wisby Smith Fine Art, Dallas - for a show presented with Russell Collection Fine Art




Y'all...November has been crazeeee for me! First, if you have emailed me, I apologize for delays in responding. With a website (way out of date) and blog, a new book on Blurb, ETSY, joining Daily Paintworks (cool), inventory and business aspects, framing, 4 gallery shows and 7 total galleries to keep up with, I can barely paint anymore.
This is a problem.
A BIG problem.
I have to get back to making the art the most important part of my day. Sometimes I think just dropping off the grid sounds divine. But a blog and online galleries are a huge marketing tool and I enjoy using these tools and communicating with fans and patrons, but there has to be a balance. I think a lot of people don't actually read or click on my blog, which is the most up-to-date resource, for the full info when they see the work elsewhere. That would solve a lot of problems actually. But I know I am just like that and want the info all at hand in one place. I can't even remember where some of my paintings are or if they are available. I am trying to figure out how to get everything neatly into one place so people can find out what they need conveniently. You will be the first to know if I find a magic "app" for that.

Thank you for reading. :-)

Now - the above paintings appeared here earlier in a not quite finished state. These are the final versions and are on their way to Dallas for December.

Park Shade - WIP

18x18 oil on canvas

I've been struggling this week and I'm not sure I like this either. I definitely don't like the blue in the foreground. How did that get there?
When I sat this and the other one (below) aside next to another painting I did this week, there is an interesting, and previously unnoticed theme going on in my work from this past week. Check my blog tomorrow to see what I mean - and see our monthly challenge group pieces too!

Park Avenue - WIP

16x24 oil on linen - work in progress

I've been trying to paint a little larger lately. I've been working on this since last week. I've finally covered the linen now (its just a large piece taped up and not mounted yet.) I so much like to work alla prima and get the idea out at once... working larger means I can't do it all in one session. Which means the brushwork becomes a little more labored, less spontaneous; and my initial enthusiasm fades, which means I grow to hate the painting by the time I decide its done (or give up). I am going to look at this one a little longer and see what it says to me next week. Maybe its done, maybe not.

I do want to keep trying to paint some larger works though, i just need to figure out how to scale up. I think there is an art to it - to still be able to suggest and mass things in but not have the whole thing appear messy. It requires a balance of spontaneous brush work and quiet areas. And I need to figure out how to "suggest" things rather than describing everything just because the image is larger.

What's funny, is that this isn't that large! (baby steps)

Colorful Corner

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

This flower vendor certainly brightens up her corner, as well as people's homes, I'm sure.

Slurpee

7x5 oil on panel
$100 + s/h - sold

I've decided that I am going to go through my 900+ NYC photos, in order, and paint the scenes as they strike me. I often spend so much time looking through images, deciding on several to paint, wishing they were better or combining pictures, editing and cropping, etc. that I don't actually get to paint or lose focus because of too much eye candy.

If I practice responding to my first instinct, paint it immediately and move on, perhaps I will get better at making these decisions for larger paintings. Also, if I do these scenes first smaller scale, I can revisit them for larger, more developed works for my galleries. And the small works will be like a visual diary of my time in NYC.

Up first, a man sitting in Abingdon Park Saturday morning enjoying a refreshing drink and his book. We headed over to this area of the West Village first so we could get some fresh peaches and other breakfast items at the weekly farmer's market. I enjoyed trying to capture that dappled light.

Under A Loggia

This was my morning's work. Our Monday morning model session. And what a beautiful morning we had here in Austin. We went to Laguna Gloria - a historic home on Lake Austin - and had a delightful young lady pose for us. I laugh a little each time I think of my temporary title "Under a Loggia" - reminds me of Elenore Lavish in E.M. Forster's A Room With A View.

I am really so excited about these regular, on location figure painting sessions. And the lovely weather!

Birds of a Feather

9x12 oil on linen

Gallery info to come.

This title seems quite appropos since I am going to invite you to a check out the new Artist's Way blog. I'm done with the book now but want to create a community of inspiration for artists who are, well, drawing a blank.
I'm going to have guest artists share ideas for managing their time, their business, and their creative blocks. Please feel free to start or join a discussion, comment and send me a paragraph or article of your own! Contributors are welcome and wanted!

Drop by the block - The Creative Block. Also on Facebook.

Passion Tea and Talk

12x16 oil on linen

Gallery info to come.

I really enjoyed painting all those people on the lawn and this painting is one of the larger ones I painted last week. I wanted to lighten the palette again because I didn't want the shadowy areas to get too heavy or oppressive. On a sunny day, lots of light is reflected into the shadows and I wanted a more glowing look.
I've been taking care of business lately. All those behind the scenes things like catching up with my galleries, redistributing work, bookkeeping (ugh!) and ordering supplies. Today I painted my monthly challenge painting. Check in tomorrow to see the group's project this time. It was a fun one for me.

Summer Read

10x10 oil on panel

Ask Tidewater Gallery about this painting.

So, its not on a green lawn like the small series I've played with this week, but its definitely thematic. And its heading to Tidewater Gallery in North Carolina first of next week. I'm glad to hear that the storm has passed over there.
We've had rain here this morning which meant no biking and no dog walking for me. It was kind of nice to take it easy today. Just working on two more gallery scenes - with green lawns. I am getting a little tired of green actually.

Daily Distraction

5x7 oil on panel
$100 + s/h

This might be my favorite. So far. I'm working on a couple of larger pieces along these lines too and can share those tomorrow. I think next I will begin to update my ETSY site... its totally empty! And I need to update my website. The trouble there is that I have too many images to put in the galleries! Lots of work available. The economy is understandably causing people to put off such luxurious purchases. But I do want to remind people that galleries are often willing to work with a customer and will offer "layaway" plans and discounts if you ask. And even if you are not local, they can ship and will guarantee your satisfaction with the painting.

Barefoot in the Park

5x7 oil on panel
$100 + s/h - sold

Felt I ought to give some time to the male of the species. :-)
I thought I would also tone down a little from the intense greens and aim for more of a washed out background which might give more of a feeling of heat.

Book Break

5x5 oil on panel
sold

Lunch on the Lawn

5x5 oil on panel
$75 + s/h - Sold

Still enjoying my sunny lawn series here. Its great practice actually, painting small, putting in dabs of color, leaving some pure color, experimenting with flesh tones, reflected color, etc.

I think one of the most important things about painting people is to paint them with warmth. We have lots of blue and green undertones in skin, but when painted with blues and browns, people will just look ashy and aged. I like to make sure my shadows have lots of reds. A master of color in the human form is John Asaro. Check him out for some real inspiration.

A Tale of Two Piggies

5x5 oil on panel
$75 + s/h

Well, you can guess what part intrigued me about this little scene. The light on her feet was so cool. I am not perfectly happy with this... I might go back into it tomorrow a little but its best to wait and see tomorrow. The goal of these small paintings is to be accurate but not detailed. To mass in. But the scale does not actually allow for real looseness of brushwork. If anything, it makes me tighten up. So its a trade off - blocked in and undefined, but still tight.
Oh, and I realized that my panel was not quite so small.

The Devils in the Details

5x5 oil on panel
$75 + s/h

This pleasant summer scene is my first small painting in quite awhile. And I started back really small, didn't I? Made me ignore details for sure! I need to get my studio cleaned up and order some supplies before long. My daughter is back to school today - started second grade. She had a great day and I was only a little teary to say good bye. Seven is a great age, btw.

I saw this woman reading on a lawn in Chicago - no doubt taking a break to enjoy the lovely weather. If we did this in Texas right now, we'd probably burst into flames. I'm always interested in what people are reading and I could just barely make out the title, "The Devil in the White City"... this is owing to a fabulous zoom lens. I highly recommend one for taking pictures of people. I saw many people out enjoying the weather like this. I can't wait until we can get back outdoors here again. A blazing 105 right now, but there appears to be a storm blowing in. Lets hope so!

Central Park

12x9 oil on paper/museum board

Saturday morning found us at Central Park West. It was a gorgeous day. (Esp. as I was missing 105 degrees at home in Texas!)
We painted on the great lawn in the morning, then went to lunch and returned for a pedi-cab ride to Central Park South. Our cabbie, Emir, gave us a tour of sorts, and took us past Tavern on the Green (rather a mishmash of decor). He was from L.A. - just there for the summer. He earned his fare with us... with all our plein air painting gear.


My set up on the lawn

During some of my walking about, I sketched in my book too. I think that helped the whole plein air painting experience. Maybe I focused better.


A page from my sketchbook


8x8 oil on paper canvas

After painting at the south end of the park, we hoofed it to the Met. Dodged some more rain which canceled the happy hour on the terrace. But WOW! The museum is wonderful and I have tons of images to work from here in the studio. My favorite paintings were the Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec. And Sargent, though we didn't get to see many. The new American wing closed early. Go figure. We had a really delicious dinner in the Petrie Court Cafe and then had to be shooed out at closing time!

The Slow Lane

6x6 oil on panel
$100 + $12 s/h - sold

I've been thinking about NYC a lot this week as I made my plans for a September workshop with Ken Auster in the city. That should be a beautiful time to be there and Ken's work is so inspiring and fresh that I can't wait to learn from him.

So - a carriage ride in Central Park today for your viewing pleasure.

Adam & Eve

6x6 oil panel
$100 + $11 s/h

I did this yesterday before I began to experiment and play. Another view of people enjoying their lunch on the steps in the downtown plaza.
Today I am going to strip my daughter's room and clean it thoroughly. She is suffering more and more with asthma and allergies. I wish I could make her better. Been a bad week truth be told. Lets hope for better days!