Moses Botkin Monthly Challenge

Always Untied
6x6 oil on panel
email me if you want this little painting

This month posed a little challenge for me, but I finally conquered CONVERSE shoes! None of my neighbors had any and it took me awhile to track some down without having to buy a pair myself. However, after seeing all the cute styles when I looked online, I kinda want a pair now. Wonder how comfortable they are? Anyway - I love the paintings this month. Very fun and creative.



Well Worn
5x7 oil on hardboard
©2011 Diana Moses Botkin



Big Red
24x24 oil on canvas
©2011 Suzanne Berry



Satin Chucks
9x12 oil on panel
©2011 Vicki Ross



Just Hanging Out
6x6 oil on hardboard
©2011 Sharman Owings



Converse Reds
6x6 oil on canvas
©2011 Ruth Andre

Imagine

14x11 oil on canvas

This little scene is my donation for the Lutheran Social Services New Life benefit Feb. 26 in Austin. I donate a painting for their event every year. New Life is a treatment center and home for abused and neglected girls ages 11-17. Its a wonderful place of healing and growth for these girls and so very important. The theme this year is "All You Need Is Love" with a bit of Beatlemania going on. The Eggmen, a really talented Beatles tribute band, will be playing after a very fine catered dinner and the live auction. Its a fun night and I'm proud to offer something to help them reach their goals to support the girls at New Life Treatment Center. If you are local, you should get tickets and enjoy the fun!

Over the Line

14x11 oil on panel

A Well Balanced Diet

12x12 oil on panel

I have no idea where I will send this yet.

Here is the painting I showed yesterday while being varnished. I'm currently stewing over how to paint a restaurant interior without so many dark colors. I did two others last week that just seem to dismal and dim. I will let you know what I come up with.

Q&A Time

I got a lot of questions about recent posts, so I thought I'd answer them here.

How long did you need to wait before you could varnish? Can you share ... what kind of varnish would you recommend?

I do not wait the recommended 6 mos. before varnishing. My paintings barely have time to dry before they are framed and sent to galleries. BUT, I paint kind of thinly, use zinc/titanium white, don't add medium and I live in Texas where there is almost no humidity in the air - indoor or out. Often my paintings are dry to the touch overnight (as is my palette... which is annoying.) I wait a week or so at least though and then test. If the color doesn't come off on the sponge, I varnish. I read something somewhere once that said it was ok. So I'm going with it. I apply it with a makeup sponge too. It goes on beautifully!
I use Synvar varnish. Its an acrylic resin and won't yellow with age. "It may be removed with mild solvents for subsequent cleaning and conservation of paintings." I wanna be sure that the conservators can clean my works later at the museum. ;-)

Do the people realize you are sketching them?

Sometimes. But most people are absorbed in their work, computers, books or conversation. A few might catch my eye and I might look elsewhere or just smile. Same thing when photographing. I take a lot of shots from the hip. And sometimes I act like a tourist and like I am aiming at some interesting object or feature, but really, the people are the element I am most interested in capturing. If well and truly busted, I just tell them that I am an artist and getting some reference material to work from. I've never had a negative encounter but I've seen one mom get mad at an artist friend for taking shots of her youngsters. So be careful about the privacy people might expect to have even in public places. I take very general shots of the whole place, not zoom in on one person.

Just curious is this from a photo ref and how were you able to take a photo of the kitchen?

This was in reference to the chef painting. Yes, it was from a photo. And this was one of those ideal times when I WAS a tourist - I figure in NYC they are used to gawkers wanting to document every aspect of their visit. The kitchen was open and I had a good view so walked over there and chatted with the chefs and took some pics. I LOVED their tall togues! Theory is that the taller the hat, the higher the rank of chef. These must be culinary geniuses! Or maybe its like the Texas saying - "the higher the hair, the closer to God."

Varnish

I sat down to varnish today finally. I've had several paintings that need it, but its been so cold I couldn't do it outside. The house stinks now and I felt lightheaded all afternoon - jk! - but the work is ready to go to galleries now.

As I was varnishing this restaurant scene, I was struck by the difference it made in the colors. So I thought I'd share. The left side is varnished, the right is not. Its quite dull in comparison. When you thin your paint with OMS or some other solvent, you break down the oil - so the paint will dry duller. Since I paint a lot of fat over lean, my paintings can really vary from gloss to flat, so I like to varnish everything to bring the colors to life, create an even surface, and of course, protect the painting from dirt, dust, oils, smoke and other environmental hazards.

Coffee House Chatter

Notes from my sketchbook:

I sit here in Starbucks - very noisy if I let myself hear it. Funny that I can tune it out. But when I listen -
"Allison, I have your nonfat vente latte." A clatter of spoons.
"Excuse me," taking an unused chair. A woman's voice carries over the lower din of voices; papers snapping when turned; espresso machine runs with a hissing rumble, like steam from a train; a blender; and a call for Ralph to get his drink.
Lastly, as I pack up, "Miss, are you leaving?"
Miss!? Thank you! ;-)
Then out the door, "I have a grande Americano...." and into the cold of a February morning.

The sketch book I have been using since '09 is a Fabriano Artist's Journal. It has 12 different colored sections of Fabriano Ingres paper. I'm in the green section right now and it actually scanned a little lighter than it is. It and the red pages have been the hardest to sketch in. Color doesn't work. Chalk might! But even black ink doesn't show up very well. But I love the book - I am going to order another because I had to search awhile to find a link for it and I don't want to miss getting one if they are scarce. This is the one that I've carried everywhere, and its got stickers in it, family notes, sketches of my daughter at Tae kwon do, sketches from many airports and planes, travel notes, and endless coffee shops! Its just a good size to stick in your bag and fairly light with the soft cover.

Too Many Chefs

12x9 oil on panel

This was a fun painting. Thinking of warm cooking fires while we watch our little snow melt outside. School was canceled of course. Snow in central Texas paralyzes the city - my neighbors laughingly called it "snowmageddon." Keep in mind, it was maybe a quarter inch. But it was fun. And its cozy inside. Soon all will be business as usual.

A Closer Look

16x16 oil on panel

This painting was accepted into the Salon International show in San Antonio. The show runs from April 1-22. I think this is my third year in a row to have work included. I submitted more than one entry, but never seem to get multiple pieces accepted. We're never satisfied are we? LOL

Play Day

Today we had no power most of the day due to rolling blackouts. I hunkered down near a window for some light and painted a bunch of small sketches just for fun. I was experimenting and also trying to work up ideas for possible larger works. It was a lot of fun. I was pretty cut off from the world. Except for a cell phone, I had no means to waste time surfing the internet, emailing, etc.

So, here are some of the fun things I did today. I need more days like this!



















Wow - I didn't realize I did so many! These are all 6x6 or 8x8 on loose linen (my scraps). Major, the dog, was painted from life as he was irresistibly cute cuddled up on my daughter's bed. Who can blame him - it was pretty cold for Austin! We're keeping our fingers crossed for some snow though.

Birds Eye View - Winter Series

8x8 each, oil on cradled canvas board

Available at Edward Montgomery Fine Art in Carmel February 8th.

I love painting these. I think its cathartic after painting complicated cafe and restaurant scenes. The shadows and blocky shapes are simple and graphic. They are painted on a 2-inch deep cradled board so they don't need framing. I think I will try a couple on larger canvases too. Maybe much larger - very contemporary.

Chance Meeting

16x20 oil on linen

Gallery info to come.

Earlier in the week, I shared some sketches and the beginning of this scene in oil paint and here is the final piece. A lot happened in between that beginning and this end. I heard a really interesting remark from an artist who was on the Independent Lens program about origami - I can't remember it exactly but the gist was: "You try to strive for the final thing being good, but you're also aware of how beautiful the process is...people in a gallery viewing the object are missing like 2/3rds of what's special about it and how it got made..."
I liked that. Its very true. And perhaps that is why when I finish something, I feel it could be better and can't wait to move onto another painting to try again. Sometimes I wonder if its not more about making the marks on the canvas, than the actual picture they create.
Anyway, I highly recommend you watch that show (Between the Folds) online, or on your local PBS station if its airing.

Whats on my Easel

First some sketches working out some designs and value studies. All of these are from a visit to a really hip Austin espresso bar, Little City. I like the marker value studies a lot. Lets see if I can pull the oil painting together.

Moses Botkin Monthly Challenge

This month's creative challenge was to paint something beginning with the letters pi. I found this difficult because it had to be a specific object once the word had been chosen. I had to kind of back into it. First, try to think of a word/subject, then try to find something inspirational to paint. I have to say, I am not altogether happy with my results. I haven't put brush to canvas in a couple of weeks I think too, so there was the usual clumsiness with mixing and paint handling. And I'm not even sure this qualifies as a pick up... it might be an old VW van cut down, but with the open back it could be used for hauling and likely was before being left in this shed. Its an interesting way to work though. Definitely a challenge.


Old Pick Up
6x8 oil on panel
©2011 Robin Cheers

If you love this and want to own it, tell me now before I do my good deed for our environment and "recycle" it under some new paint. :-)



Pilsner
6x6 oil on panel
©2011 Sharman Owings


Apples for Pie
14x11 pastel on Pastelbord
©2011 Vicki Ross




Piggy
10x10 oil on linen
©2011 Suzanne Berry




Pineapple in the Snow
8x10 oil on hardboard
©2011 Diana Moses Botkin




Pink Piglet
6x6 oil on canvas
©2011 Ruth Andre

Bakers Racks

12x9 oil on panel

Gallery info to come.

I'm trying to get back into things here. What a wonderful break I've had though. I always seem to shift from art to decorating mid-winter, so am thrilled to have a new sofa and chair in our family room and have still been having fun arranging things. I'm also plugging away on the last pages of my book for the Sketchbook Project 2011.

The above painting was one of the last I painted at the end of 2010. As I walked down a street late one evening in Boston last July, I passed the back door of a bakery. The warm light flooded out of the open doorway (not to mention the delicious smells) and obviously grabbed my attention. Several bakers were working some dough and when I took my first photo, my flash went off and announced my presence. They were very good-natured about it, and all these months later, the scene is reinterpreted in paint. The sketchbook project too is rather becoming a year in review. You can chronicle my life through my paintings and drawings.

Lady Waiting

8x6 oil on panel
$225 - including shipping

This lady was outside the Met on my last visit to the city. It was dusk, we'd had a little rain shower, and she looked so very European sitting there. I'm planning to visit NYC again this coming year. Either in May or June. There is a Weekend with the Masters being planned for June and it sounds fantastic.

But first, I have to get myself in order for this week leading up to Christmas! My parents arrive in less than an hour and I'm so excited! But I still haven't sent cards, haven't done any baking, haven't gotten my shopping done, etc. etc. And its near 80 in Austin today. That puts a damper on things! Nothing like sweating while you're baking Christmas cookies and trucking in and out of stores blasting Christmas tunes while in shorts and flips flops. I don't think I will ever get used to this aspect of living in Texas.

Sanctuary - Mission San Jose

14x11 oil on panel

Ask Tidewater Gallery about this painting.

I don't do many interiors, but I like them a lot. Maybe its just that I don't like empty spaces. This is Mission San Jose in San Antonio. Its the first stop on the mission trail, if you are going to start from the visitor's center! What I love about these missions is that most are active parish churches still and people attend services there just as in old days. They are still loved and used and amazing spaces.

Moses Botkin Monthly Challenge

This month Suzanne chose our challenge and really stumped me. We were to paint our favorite cliche', saying or game. I wasn't thinking very creatively. Why is it that when I have to think of a favorite saying, I am totally blank? But I have no doubt I throw out all kinds of things all day with my daughter - "do you think money grows on trees?" "were you raised in a barn?"
Suzanne had some good suggestions too which I wish I had pursued.
Ah well - I played with "You can lead a horse to water." And my painting is a scene from Florida of a wild horse on Cumberland Island. The horses graze on the grasses in the water even though its very salty. And so I assume they don't drink there. Their story is quite interesting. Enjoy the work this month.


You Can Lead A Horse to Water...
10x8 oil on panel
©2010 Robin Cheers




Why Not Queen Me?
6x6 oil on masonite
©2010 Sharman Owings




Good, Bad and Indifferent
10x30 oil on canvas
©2010 Suzanne Berry




Double Mint Twins at the Paris Metro
16x12 oil on panel
©2010 Vicki Ross



No Time Like the Present
6x8 oil on hardboard
©2010 Diana Moses Botkin

Putting the Shine On

12x8 oil on linen

Gallery info to come.

My week was rather uninspiring so I thought I'd share this from last week's work. I think I put it on Facebook one day to show "whats on my easel" but didn't share the final image.
This week was full to the point of frustration! My hubby was out of town all week - just got home at midnight last night and left to go auto racing this weekend. I volunteered at school most of Monday, we had a short school day Wed. We had our weekly DI team meeting and I had lots of paperwork/registrations to do for that. Fill in the rest with doctor appts., hair appts., errands and chores and the time I did have to paint was dedicated to commissions or searching for the right image to spark my interest. Lets hope for a restful weekend and more time at my easel next week!

Pastry Counter

12x10 oil on linen

Available next week at Edward Montgomery Fine Art.