City Beat XIII

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

Fun in the studio this week - but not much to show for it. Yesterday I was derailed by my chocolatier friend wanting me to design her trade show booth asap!! Needless to say, I was thrown off my balance there. Sometimes people think that because you create one kind of art, you can do ANYTHING. Well, maybe some people can, but I'm not one of them.

But I did get her something in the nick of time and I get paid in chocolate!

I continue to play with some small pieces again in between working on finalizing some larger pieces. I've learned to appreciate the process of larger works and am enjoying slowing down a little. Its all part of the learning and growing process.

Wash Day II

6x6 oil on linen
$100 + s/h
PURCHASE

I love painting figures outside and on the lawn. Its time to contact a model to come pose for me again. Now that our weather is tolerable, it will be lovely to be out painting again.

Wash Day

6x6 oil on linen
$100 + s/hPURCHASE

I've been doing a few small format pieces to enter the Randy Higbee Gallery 6x6 contest this year. The gallery is associated with King of Frame, makers of nicely finished ready-made frames. Loretta Goodwin Gallery is also going to have a "tiny treasures" show this holiday season. I think its a great idea... and naturally I think small paintings are a great way to start a collection, give a meaningful gift or fill in a large collection. Everyone has room for one more!

Its been interesting going back to a very small format now. Its yet another challenge. The subject has to be simple enough to be doable on a small scale, and I find that its better if its not too subtle in color. Its been good practice in seeing and putting down color notes, and not fussing too much.

Chinatown Market

16x12 oil on linen

Available at Loretta Goodwin Gallery

You got a glimpse of this painting below on one of the pages of the book. It was a really busy painting... and I worked on it for a couple of days. As usual, I didn't like having to work on it a long time and felt like it got bogged down and heavy. But after some time away and looking at it with fresh eyes, I really liked the results. Working "bigger" is definitely out of my comfort zone. I am finding that I have a very small comfort zone. ;-)

Looking Back...

I've finally made a little book of my most favorite paintings from the past 3 years. "Looking Back... The Artist's Favorite Paintings" is an 8x10 book featuring 42 paintings from 2009-2011. It is available on Blurb and can be ordered in softcover, hardcover with a dust jacket or hardcover with image wrap. Enjoy!

Looking Back... | Make Your Own Book

Masters Exhibit

12x12 oil on panel

Available at Loretta Goodwin Gallery

I sent this and 5 other new works to the gallery for their Fall Open House which is today. I wish I could be there. This week has been chock full - culminating with a Girl Scout campout this weekend. I'm excited that our weather is turning cooler so it will be a lovely weekend in Zilker Park.

I've added the new paintings to my Loretta Goodwin page - linked over there on the right - if you want to see all the new pieces. I find the blog easier to update with all my gallery works so people can see what's currently available. My website is a disappointment at the moment.

Moses Botkin Monthly Challenge

This month it was my turn to pick our challenge! I thought it would be good to paint from a grayscale photo reference - but in color. The idea is to use the black and white photo to gauge your values as you choose color. You can see that for some reason, I gravitated to the purple and green again - just like the paintings in my last two posts! I have to put those colors aside - and yesterday I consciously kept them off my palette.
This was a good exercise. If you get your values correct and have a good composition, then you can really paint any color scheme you want and the painting will work.


Summer Chores
11x14 oil on panel
©2011 Robin Cheers

Below I thought I'd show my painting next to my photo reference. You can see that I did not get dark enough on the sheet in shadow or the shadow on the ground. But overall I did pretty well.



And here are the paintings done by my brave challenge cohorts. I think most enjoyed it. :-)



Fresh Sheets
14x11 watercolor on Aquaboard
©2011 Vicki Ross



It's A Wash
8x6 oil on canvas
©2011 Ruth Andre



Fetching
10x8 oil on hardboard
©2011 Diana Moses Botkin



Untitled
8x10 oil on canvas
©2011 Sharman Owings



Thursday
16x20 oil on canvas
©2011 Suzanne Berry

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)

Prep Work

18x18 oil on linen - sold

I don't know what has happened to me in the last two weeks, but I think I have too many irons in the proverbial fire. This was done a week or so ago. I don't think I posted it yet.

Last week kinda fell apart, and I learned to not schedule so much! Between hair cuts, drs., early release from school, girl scouts, tea with friends, etc. I just didn't get to focus on artwork. Its amazing how fast your schedule can fill if you aren't careful!

I'm an involved parent too so I have to really balance things carefully. The art has to be top priority between 9-2 basically. My work so far this week has been less than stellar and I've mostly put final touches on pieces and prepared them for framing. Lets hope I can do better tomorrow and finish the week on a high note.

A Day with Degas

12x12 oil on panel

Available next month at Loretta Goodwin Gallery.

Feeling a little, I don't know, ennui? Maybe I just like that word. Anyway, I turned to something contemplative today. I am pleased with the looseness, the variety of color and brush stoke I worked in here. Its not perfect, but my goal isn't realism, right? I was listening to a Dan McCaw interview this morning on Artists Helping Artists and he talked about painting "past the likeness" and other ideas for expressing your individuality. His book is wonderful, by the way.

This photo is too light, the painting is a little more muted and a shade more cozy than this appears - but when I try to adjust the photo, the red becomes too vibrant.

The scene might be one of my favorite rooms in The Met. Full of Degas' paintings and his beautiful little dancer proudly taking center stage. When you enter it from the main gallery, its really quite striking.

Moses Botkin Monthly Challenge

Grab your pearls and put on your party dress! This was a fun challenge. I had to try a couple of different set ups and dresses, the first being a pale pink that was really difficult to paint. Having donated my daughter's other dressy dress, (she doesn't wear ANY dresses if she can help it and I don't have any party clothes) I ended up painting a Halloween costume which has a renaissance feel to it. It was fun. Might be something I want to paint again.


Faire Dress
16x12 oil on panel
©2011 Robin Cheers


Stephanie
12x6 oil on canvas
©2011 Ruth Andre



Party Dress on the Beach
9x12 pastel on paper
©2011 Vicki Ross



That Party Dress
24x18 oil on canvas
©2011 Suzanne Berry



New Dress
10x12 oil on hardboard
©2011 Diana Moses Botkin

Riding the Glory Train

14x11 oil on linen

Now I don't know if the subway in NYC might be a train bound for glory, but this man who sat with his prayer rope while he rode certainly put me in mind of greater things. I wanted to paint some kind tribute to all those who carried on after the events of 9/11. The losses were dreadful, as are the material losses right now in my home state, but the way people respond and recover from such tragedies is remarkable. Its the spirit to move on, to help, to rebuild and resurrect that moves me.

My title references any number of familiar gospel/folk songs. Here are some of the lyrics from one Randy Newman did, "Glory Train" -

I see some hard times coming
Fire and wind and rain
Billions of people, all scared of each other
Hearts full of envy and anger and pain

There on the edge of darkness
People come together again
Standing on the platform
Waiting for the glory train
Get on the glory train
Get on the glory train
They'll be standing on the platform
Waiting for the glory train

Lift up your head and stand tall
Let faith be your only guide
With all that love inside you
Salvation cannot be denied
Just when the storm is breaking
Just when no hope remains
Rollin' into the station
Here comes the glory train

Double Latte

20x16 oil on linen

I really enjoyed this painting. I needed to focus on something other than the news. And this gave me ample opportunity to lose myself in lots of shapes. Something like this could be overwhelmingly confusing. Its really just a matter of ignoring objects and seeing just color. I painted the color/value in the right places and it turned out to describe a pitcher, or an espresso machine. It helped a great deal that I kept the colors similar and well matched.

Its hard to describe, and I have no idea if others do this or not, but I tend to start with one color mix and then continue to work that morphing new color shades and values in and around that original mix as it spreads across my palette. Each color I place has some of the original DNA.

Now, if I apply this to a city scene.... it could look like a patchwork quilt. I think there one has to ignore some of wide variety of broken color you see and focus on values. Learning to edit is the key there.

(Its been a long day, forgive me if I sound like I have no idea what I am talking about.)

Speaking of news, we're still battling wildfires in central Texas and just staggering numbers of families have lost their homes. This while friends out east are heading for higher ground from the monsoons. I could be wishful for more balance in life. My thoughts continue to be for all those suffering.

Firestorm

I'm trying hard to wrap my brain around painting, and even puttered in my studio - alternately planning some things and rearranging the mess, but spending a great deal of time surfing internet news on the fires raging in central Texas.

If you haven't heard in the daily painter's community yet, Carol Marine's home is certainly a loss and probably several other artist friends have lost their homes out in Bastrop, but I haven't heard of them yet. The loss of property and the environmental impact is huge but I am so thankful loss of life is minimal - only 2 deaths that I have heard yet.

Now fires are about 2 miles from my community in NW Austin, but I have no fears of them spreading here. But all my thoughts are for my neighbors, friends, the animals and livestock, the firefighters and my poor Texas suffering insult after the injury of this dreadful summer drought.

I thought I'd share an ancient painting of mine, "Windswept", a scene from Round Top, Texas that I painted maybe around '05. Its an old favorite.

Bellman at The Jane

18x14 oil on linen

Thanks mucho for all your kind comments yesterday. My hubby liked yesterday's painting too - though he thought the colors were not very harmonious. Someone hit the nail on the head with the comment that it might not have been what was in my head. Very true. So I can always paint it again and try to get that image! Unfortunately, it kept me up most of the night thinking about it.

I wasn't sure about this one either, it is a hard thing to tackle all these colors, textures, shiny surfaces, different light sources and temperatures, etc. But when I looked at it again this morning I saw only one area that needed a proper alignment. I like that it has a somewhat tilted composition, but still, things need to line up properly.

This is one of the bell men from The Jane Hotel in NYC. My friend and I stayed there during our recent trip (Tess was the woman in the painting yesterday btw.) The hotel is really great. Its very old, has an interesting history and some amazingly cool rooms - and very friendly staff. The bar was this big, ornate room with a huge fireplace, 12 foot long sofas, lots of comfy seating and really funky decorations. It must be on trend too - Tess got into NYC in the middle of the morning (3 a.m.) and people were lined up waiting to enter. Bless them. I was snug in my bed hours before. Claustrophobic more like, as we stayed in a bunk room that first night - about the size of my laundry room - something like 50 sq. ft. We upgraded to the bigger room first thing next morning. I recommend the bigger room.

Needlework - WIP

12x8 oil on panel - work in progress

There is a lot going on in this painting. And I am not sure its working. First, the figure ended up too small and the room is really quite cool in person, but a little busy in the painting. I need to look at it another day, and probably simplify. Its tough getting my brain and hand communicating right when I've had a break. This might be one of those that I just start all over.

I just wanted to post something to tell you all that I am here! My daughter began school this week and I pushed past the boxes, frames, and other debris littering my studio space to get back to work. Painting time is spotty this week still however since we have had some work going on in the house. As of tomorrow sometime, we will not be able to come upstairs at all. I plan to get my pochade box out and try to work downstairs, but the noise might drive me away entirely.

Moses Botkin Monthly Challenge

Really? Something in or on our car?
Ok - I looked around, even staged a Starbucks cup in my cupholder which would be pretty authentic, but the angles were all wrong. Then I see the beautiful lines of my husband's car. He has had sexy, beautiful cars since I've known him and he races them. They aren't just pretty faces, he goes to the track regularly for high performance driving. Hence the special after-market wing on the back. Can you guess what the car is? And no, I do not drive it.


Aerodynamics
5x7 oil on panel
©2011 Robin Cheers



Just Working
6x6 oil on canvas
©2011 Ruth Andre

Rocket Girl
7x5 oil on hardboard

©2011 Diana Moses Botkin

Cherry
5x5 oil on panel
©2011 Vicki Ross



Old Mobile
6x6 oil on panel
©2011 Sharman Owings

Our challenge was Sharman's brainchild. I can't wait to see what is on for next month! My schedule is about to return to more regular programming as school starts in 8 days!

If My Paintings Were Music

Just sitting here musing tonight.

Musing about the song "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega. It makes me want to paint. It pretty much puts to music what I want my cafe paintings to describe. I love quietly observing all the activity of the world moving around me. And in my paintings, I try to make that activity interesting and memorable.

Sometimes I wish a painting could capture it all. Maybe have life and motion like the paintings in Harry Potter. How cool would that be?

Juried Show Thoughts

I've gotten a lot of interesting feedback on my whiny post about being "rejected". Its been fun to think about it from many sides - and some folks have sent me some interesting articles so I wanted to share them below.

I pretty quickly got over my rejection. I knew my work was good (puffed up as I am), but it baffled me as to why it wasn't seen as meriting inclusion (let alone awards!) LOL
Art is subjective, there is no denying that what I like and what my next door neighbor like are going to be very different. I enjoy the nontraditional work of Pollack and Kandinsky but I know some artists get rabid thinking about their paintings. Personally, I find them more exciting, say, than a beautifully rendered photorealistic still life.

This being said, a panel of several jurists, viewing art projected on a wall perhaps for a minute if the work is lucky, will each have a very different opinion and if your work is among thousands of entries, and they have wall space for a couple of hundred, the jury is going to have to be very quick and cutting to limit the work. Now, some mediocre work does get in, and friendships are hard to ignore, so I believe there is favoritism. We used to laugh heartily over the show catalog from one association because the work was so questionable, but it was the work of board members, etc. You can't reject them!

I was a juror of awards once for an organized show. And I think I was lucky that the show had a theme because when it got really tough deciding between my personal favorites and the best executed works (in a variety of media), I was able to judge which best represented the theme (to me).

A recent show I was in had us all scratching our heads over the grand prize winner. In fact, it seemed to be WAY out of nowhere, based on the other award winners that juror had selected. Then I read an article about a juror who admitted to choosing a huge $ prize winner based on the toss of a coin. Could that have been complementary to the artists involved?

So I believe juried show acceptance is based on three things: 1. who you know (or who knows you) 2. the merit of the art and 3. a roll of the dice.

Is it worth it to enter juried shows? Yes. I am selective in my entries. I learned a long time ago to never enter a show that was judged by an academic (no offense) or critic, or layman and to only enter shows which would include my peers or those I aspire to count as peers. I want my work to stand among other excellent work. I also don't enter shows that will most likely be filled with abstract or very traditional work, which my work would not fit in with. So I will continue to enter and try not to be bitter when my entry fee brings no return and just continue to paint what I love. When I am accepted, its good for my resume, when I am not, it has no effect on me.

Here are some interesting articles for your perusal. And thanks to everyone who commented, shared, patted me on the back, and commiserated.
http://faso.com/fineartviews/33055/should-i-enter-art-competitions-and-shows
http://stapletonkearns.blogspot.com/2011/07/thought-about-juries-for-exhibitions.html
http://www.sageartsstudio.com/drawingboard/?p=239&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

ps - the painting above is mine (nfs) - its my daughter with her gramma and its in honor of our recent trip to Cozumel which was amazing! Its hard to come back to reality - no buffets and friendly service here - and no chillin' in the Mexican Caribbean when it hits 104 like it is now - it was cooler there btw.