Salmagundi Parlor - 30 Minute Study

10x8 oil on paper
$50 + s/h
Purchase this study

This is the front parlor of the historic Salmagundi Art Club in NYC. I wanted to capture that cool light coming in from the front windows which would be on the right. The building is really wonderful both in architecture and art. The walls are hung with the art of early club members. We were very lucky to have had the space available for our workshop.

For some reason I am in the mood for those rainy days we had in the city. I think I will go paint another scene from the club.

Cafe du Monde - 30 Minute Study

10x8 Oil on paper
$50 + s/h - sold

This is another sketch of the famous New Orleans bakery. The waiter is at his ease for the time being.

The Texas Louvre

Chalk Artist
10x8 oil on panel - sold

Here is your chance to purchase some wonderful art, at a really good price, and help some Mary Hardin-Baylor students - The Texas Louvre.

V Vaughan is a very good friend and an amazingly talented artist and when she asked if I'd like to help her son with his class project I was very willing. Years ago, I painted Tanner on the beach.. now he's a college senior! Anyway...Here is a bit from V's email.

My oldest son, Tanner, in his last semester at Mary Hardin-Baylor, with a degree in Marketing, has a class project where the prof gave each group $20 and the objective is to earn as much as possible in 3 weeks with this seed money. His group has put up a web site of daily paintings, called "Texas Louvre"! With his "connections" he found three of the best daily painters who have a few unclaimed gems, and he created a web site to auction these 15 or so paintings...at AMAZING PRICES!!!

THANKS TO ROBIN CHEERS and TOM BROWN! What a couple of gamers, agreeing to put in a few GREAT paintings to help out! YOU JUST GOTTA SEE their wonderful small works, which they are sharing with "Texas Louvre".

Be sure to check out the gallery part to preview upcoming auctions which you can "buy now" (before others see the auction.)

Testing

Now I've learned that my blog can send an email to my google group when I post so I am testing that. Thank you to Takeyce for the help. This community is so wonderful.

News from Austin: Weather is great. Kid is sick. Dog is bumping around the house. Aquarium is cloudy. I'm exhausted but looking forward to a visit to DC later in the week.

Night Colors

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

Tea Service

6x6 oil on panel

Ask Castle Gallery about this painting.

Back at Payard for this elegant scene.

Tending the Bar

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

A lot of my New York trip seems to center around food. Hmmm... so does my life really. Its one of my pleasures. I am not that great a cook, however. I'm good at down home, comfort foods, but have a gourmet taste too that can only be satisfied by chef-prepared meals. This is a little neighborhood bar we stopped in for dessert and an apertif. It was late and the restaurant was nearly empty. The bartender spent most of his time chatting with a customer at the end of the bar unknowingly giving me lots of inspiration.

Steelwood Wedding Reception

I forgot to mention that last weekend, I had a live painting event in Alabama. Flew in Saturday under mostly cloudy skies to paint outdoors at this lovely venue. As you can see, this is not final. I painted until dark and was not in a position to set up a light so did not complete my foreground. I will add a few more people and the grass and plants and be done.

Tea For One

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

My friend and I had French high tea at Payard Patisserie the afternoon of our arrival. What a lovely respite from our long walks and power shopping. I didn't have a lot of time to shop, so I had to do as much as I could in one afternoon. The gentleman above looked so comfortable as he sipped his tea nearby.

The tea and pastries were so satisfying that we managed the long trek back to 51st (shopping more along the way, mind you) and finished our day with dinner at a French place next to our hotel. C'était délicieux.

Minding His Business

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

A busy Thursday evening in Manhattan.

Macy Update: My little doggie was diagnosed with "SARD" - sudden acute retinal degeneration. Meaning her retina has degraded and no longer functions. I am actually relieved - relieved to know what happened to her and to know that its not some brain tumor or stroke or such that could be life threatening. She is getting around the house fine - I just can't ever rearrange the furniture. Thanks for all your kind thoughts!

Ticket Please

10x12 oil on panel
Sold

Truth be told, I am not sure I like this. I think I lost energy. My husband liked it a lot and that is usually a good gauge for me. But sometimes, I know I can do better and its just a matter of my hand catching up with my brain. Given my daily drama, its no wonder I tired easily.

This is from Grand Central Station.

Good Conversation

I've really enjoyed the comments and suggested reading material, etc. on this topic. I thought more about Ken's work and I think I always assumed his "red" side of the street in his paintings was the sunny side, not the shadow side. I painted a city scene on Friday following his examples, but it looks like cheap knock off. And I do not want to copy his style at all. But I really admire it. I also tried to get a lot of paint on the panel... I wanted to try that luscious brushwork. But what a mess I made! I think I am still on the side of "light changes given time, place, source".
This is a good example of why I don't teach, for those who have asked. I still have too many questions myself and paint best when I don't do too much questioning. And I can't really verbalize what I am doing.

No art yet again today because spiritually I am in the dumps. I am still dealing with dog health issues. Macy has had two surgeries in the last month and this weekend appeared to be going blind. We saw the vet this morning and he sees nothing physically wrong. So I'm waiting to hear on test results and then see if we need to see a neurologist. She is bumping into things and clearly can't see me.



This is a painting I did of her earlier in the year as she kept me company in my studio.

The Color of Light

As an addendum of sorts to my question in the post below on the color of light... is it constant? is it cool/blue? is it warm/yellow? does it vary from morning to afternoon? Is it dependent on the subject being lit?... I looked out my window and saw this white blanket I had out drying in the sun. I thought I'd isolate the colors in Photoshop to see where they fell on the spectrum.



The far right is pure white. The lightest light from my blanket is the second on the right. So its falling in a blue/gray or blue lavender I'd say. Now we can argue that the camera messed up or something like that.
But I'd say the brightest light on the blanket is fairly cool even with the direct, extremely hot Texas sun still shining on it.
(Its still summer here and I'm tired of it, can you tell?)

New York Trip

Today I am sharing my work from the damp streets of NYC. I tried Ken's approach, which is an interesting one. If you look at his website, you can see a video demo of his work in progress (under workshops). You can see he starts with a black paint sketch and then builds up his color blocks. Now what really sort of threw me and the rest of the class was that he see light (sun) as "cool". Granted, when you lighten with white paint, it will cool it because white tends towards blue. And when you have cool light, you get warm shadows. That makes sense to me, but the idea that its always that... when I looked at the buildings before me and saw warm grays and ochres, etc. was very strange. He had convincing arguments, and its not my place here or anywhere to speak for him or represent him. But I am curious what other's thoughts are on "light". Does it change temperature? Is it always towards the blue or cool because of the sky? And if you see this way and paint it as such... do all your paintings look alike? Mine did! See below:





On Sunday, I decided to paint what he painted. Literally, I copied his painting. He thought it a good exercise.

This is our scene:



This is Ken's marvelous painting:



Here is my copy:



Here is a close up of his:


We used a limited palette and he used a LOT of paint. Definitely click on the image above to see it in detail. I want to try this myself. If only I could find the time to "play" this week. So far, everything at home is falling apart. Again, Ken is a fabulous teacher. I highly recommend him if you are interested in loosening up, painting lush cityscapes and creating art and not just copying a scene. And if you think it looks easy or unfinished, let me tell you, he worked very hard to create it.

New York Scenes

This was fun to create and about all I could handle as I recover from my trip!
It was awesome. Ken Auster is a fabulous painter, we all knew that. But he is also a generous and enthusiastic. He shared so much information with us, managed the time well, and really inspired me.
The city itself is inspiring as well. I have to say that though it mizzled (drizzle and mist) most of the time, it was good to see Ken work under less than ideal conditions. It can be done!
I didn't include Ken's demo images because I didn't feel it was right to share his techniques without permission. You can see a video of his work in progress on his website though.

Music by Peekaboobebop.

Face Off

12x12 oil on panel

I like the feeling that the spotlight is on this painting and the rest of the room is dim, and the figure almost silhouetted before the painting. This, of course, is Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon from the MOMA.

Sun Times - 30 Minute Study


Roughly 8x6 oil on paper - sold

This was based on a photo posted by Karin Jurick on "Different Strokes for Different Folks".
To be honest, I wanted this to be much looser and suggestive. I didn't mean to paint the backdrop so much. I guess I forgot.

N Y C

I'm off to the Big Apple for a workshop in the streets with Ken Auster. I can't wait to watch him work and learn from him. We're also going to a reception at the Salmagundi Club and Pleiades Gallery. Painting in the West Village again for the first day for sure... so if you are in the area, come by and see us. I've debated taking my laptop and posting, but I think I will not. Its a short trip and going to be jam-packed as it is. You will just have to wait until Monday to see what I've done. The above is a view from my hotel's rooftop.

One Man Show

8x12 oil on panel

Ask Castle Gallery about this painting

A group of women chatting, women on the walls and one gentleman perusing the artwork. Is he waiting for his wife to finish her chat? Is he alone and truly cares about the art? Is he bored? Is he inspired? That is what I want my viewers to decide for themselves.

The more I think about what I wrote on Saturday, about the paintings having that fresh look, (unfinished) the more I realize that is what the public didn't like about the work at that time. They thought it was incomplete and haphazard. The Salon at that time always valued art that had been labored over and was very intense. Monet's sunrise "impression" was like a study and was decried for the most part.
Now many artists embrace that simplicity of stroke and spontaneity as they seek to loosen up and paint their impressions.

Museum Sketches

Today I went to the Austin Museum of Art to do some sketching. The current show is wonderful... at least the half that is hung with masterworks like Berthe Morisot, Eduord Vuillard, Bonnard, Matisse, Renior, Gaugain, etc.
Its not the typical art which hangs at the AMOA.

The museum is promoting the show and sketching during it until Nov. 2nd. I sketched both some of the works, and some of the people viewing the exhibit.







One thing that really caught my attention was how "incomplete" some of the paintings were. The brushwork is sketchy at best in some, and the support (cardboard, canvas) shows through, unprimed. It was interesting to see the work so fresh, so spontaneous. I tend to think I have to cover every square inch with paint! Perhaps they were being frugal... given that paint must have been very dear. But, I admire their style and their expression.

The other thing that amazed me about the show is that much of the work came from Austin collectors.

Thank You

I am feeling particularly blessed this week to have such a wonderful, supportive audience for this blog and my artwork.
I can't express how much I appreciate all your thoughtful comments, your encouragement and helpful hints. I love the ideas that have been coming in regarding my need for inspiration. Some of you sent my some cool photos which triggered my imagination. Some had great ideas for new places to look for subject matter. Thanks to you all! And V - I still don't know what an Aggie is either. :-)
This whole genre of "art on the internet" and the communities I am part of now is really amazing. I've met some fantastic artists, made very generous and helpful friends... though I've actually had the pleasure of meeting them face to face rarely. I have a great resource in the Daily Painter's Gallery forums. And art collectors who might otherwise have bought prints at their nearby superstore, are now finding original, unique art for themselves and their friends.

Happy happy joy joy

Oil on Paper Studies

For those who might be wondering about my studies on paper; the paper I am using is called "Acrylic" by Stathmore. It says: "Heavyweight, linen finish is perfect for acrylic painting. Acid free."
I am not priming it in anyway. Just painting on it. It is a nice stiff paper too, almost like a museum board. The oils get absorbed quickly, and the paint doesn't move very much on it but that lends itself to my process for these studies. It is an exercise in putting a stroke down precisely and building on it, not dabbling and softening. I have a tendency to want to blend and soften with oils which I think is being noncommittal or unsure of where I am going. When I start dabbling, its time to stop painting and refocus.