Bleeker Books

10x12 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery

I'm back home after a too quick trip to the NC coast. The opening reception for "Vignettes" was delightful. My heartfelt thanks to Ray and Jan for hosting and for all their work preparing the show. I'm so grateful to have such good people to work with. It was really nice to meet new friends like Sue, Judy, Dan and Eileen - and to see my "old" friend Whitney who came to visit with me. That's her checking out my work below!

The gallery has just the most amazing collection of work - I would have gladly taken home many many items if I could have. If you are anywhere in the area, you really should visit.

The area itself is just beautiful. I've always loved the coast and I look forward to being able to return someday soon. Now, its officially summer for me! Time for R&R!

Student of the Arts

10x12 oil on panel

SOLD

This is it! I'm packing my bags and heading to coastal NC early Friday morning. The opening reception will be fun I think and it will be really nice to see all 25 paintings hung together. It was a big undertaking, doing a solo show! Its going to be nice to celebrate now after all my hard work. If you are in the area - please stop by and say hi!

You can purchase a show catalog for $15 and see all the paintings as well as a couple of pages where I show work in progress and talk about my techniques. This painting is one of those demonstrations. And its one of my favorites for this upcoming show. 

"Vignettes"

An exhibition of small works by Robin Cheers

Tidewater Gallery

107 N. Front Street

Swansboro, NC

910-325-0660

Opening reception Friday, June 15, 5-8 pm

Sketching With V....

Today I went to visit with V....Vaughan and her workshop students at Joel's Coffee Bar in North Austin. They had been out early painting the sunrise, but I couldn't join them until I had my daughter dropped off at a friend's for a playdate. Joel's is graciously acting as "home base" for V's Austin workshop and Brad very graciously let us sketch him while he was working his magic with chocolate. You have no idea how good it smells in there!

We had a very nice time and it makes me wish more than ever that Austin had a community arts center where we could meet, hang out, share, talk, commune, show our work, paint figures, hold workshops, critiques and classes. If I had a million dollars... or an investor? 

See V's site for more on her workshops - and just fyi - she is the most amazing teacher. She communicates so well, has so many wonderful ideas and approaches to painting - honestly, she's the Edgar Payne of our day!

Updates

I've been doing lots of techy things - and making a right mess it. Lots of panic moments, rash decisions, desperate calls to tech support and late nights. I actually deleted my website by accident. I am just not as savvy as I once was and technology has moved light years ahead of me. Unfortunately, it seems to be getting less user-friendly than ever.

Some of my recent decisions involved my website and email delivery system. I decided to drop my template-based website service and use my blog for now. It has everything you could need. Above is a set of tabs with links to all my gallery pages where you can see current inventory for each and their contact information. Also under those tabs are information about me and my work. The blog is also made to be viewed on mobile devices.

Next, I've moved my email subscribers list to Constant Contact. I think it will be a better way to manage and use my list. So all new subscriptions will go directly through them, and I've hopefully correctly loaded my google group list - test in progress! You can edit or remove yourself at any time with the "safe unsubscribe" button in every email contact.

When I was going over my list - I was amazed to see readers, NOT related to me, who have been subscribed since 2006! If you have really been watching me that long, thank you! Its humbling to know that some people have found my work informative and inspiring.

In future, I might get a more traditional website and hope to introduce a quarterly newsletter. Maybe put together a video. But I have all summer to play with those ideas. And clean up my studio. But not until I paint the scene. (Inspiration strikes anywhere!)

Where to Next?

10x12 oil on panel

Available at Tidewater Gallery

This is inspired from my recent trip to New York City. I painted a view of this West Village corner on site, but was so frustrated with it, that I wiped it off. I sort of regret that now. I took a photo and later could see that it was at least a good start. It was a funny day there though - the light was really super bright and intense. More like Texas! No matter where I set up, I couldn't see well. Ah, the challenges of painting "en plein air".

"Vignettes"

An exhibition of small works by Robin Cheers

Tidewater Gallery

107 N. Front Street

Swansboro, NC

910-325-0660

Opening reception Friday, June 15, 5-8 pm

Dolphin Watch

10x12 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery

I am looking forward to being at the coast of NC next weekend. I'm a little bummed that my family isn't traveling with me. When one works for "the man", the schedule isn't open enough. But then again, the paycheck is a whole lot better than when one is working for "the self". :-)

"Vignettes"

An exhibition of small works by Robin Cheers

Tidewater Gallery

107 N. Front Street

Swansboro, NC

910-325-0660

Opening reception Friday, June 15, 5-8 pm

Dîner de Fête

10x12 oil on panel (each)
Available at Tidewater Gallery

Cafe Gitane is in NYC right in the Jane Hotel. We ate breakfast there every morning and often ended our day there too with a nightcap (a yummy chocolate chaud). Its a French theme with a little bit of Morocco thrown in - very Casablanca feeling. At night, it glows with the vapor lights from outside and the dim lamps and antique chandeliers inside add to the warm glow. It was fun to try to paint everything with an orangey-pink tinge. These paintings, un and deux, are framed separately but make a nice pair. See them at my show opening next Friday!

"Vignettes"

An exhibition of small works by Robin Cheers

Tidewater Gallery

107 N. Front Street

Swansboro, NC

910-325-0660

Opening reception Friday, June 15, 5-8 pm

Show catalog available on Lulu.

Vignettes Show Catalog

Newsroom

10x12 oil on panel

SOLD

This is old school, right? At the moment I'm trying to figure out how to import all my subscribers to feedburner so I can make my blogging tasks easier and more streamlined. That's the new way to get news... in a feed online. I used to be very tech-savvy when I worked in web design but technology has advanced so far beyond my antiquated abilities that I struggle with the basics now. And once I've done something, it stays forever. Luckily the old fashioned ways still work.

"Vignettes"

An exhibition of small works by Robin Cheers

Tidewater Gallery

107 N. Front Street

Swansboro, NC

910-325-0660

Opening reception Friday, June 15, 5-8 pm

Dressed Up

10x12 oil on panel

Available at Tidewater Gallery

Its June and time to begin sharing some of the paintings which will be in my upcoming show in North Carolina. This is a pretty exciting event for me. My first solo show and my first series of works. Last fall, I wanted to explore rapid paint sketches and practice getting my ideas down quickly. I chose to paint on 10x12 inch panels because the size is doable in one painting session and its a nice format. The size and process of creation is 'theme' of the series, while the subject matter reflects my usual obsession with painting my observations of daily life - 

"Vignettes"

An exhibition of small works by Robin Cheers

Tidewater Gallery

107 N. Front Street

Swansboro, NC

910-325-0660

Opening reception Friday, June 15, 5-8 pm

L'Arlesienne Lady

12x16 oil on panel

Ask Edward Montgomery Fine Art about this painting.

Just shipped this piece off to Carmel. I haven't been doing much but preparing for my upcoming show. This week I am framing the last, boxing and going to ship. Then I can breathe a sigh of relief that my part is done and I can slow down for summer. Its heating up in Texas. A little weekend on the coast of NC will be a lovely break - opening June 15th. If you're in the area of Swansboro, I'd love to meet you in person!

The people above are reading about the Van Gogh painting of Marie Ginoux which is at the Met in NYC. I didn't make it into the museum on my recent trip. Our days were so full of painting that we were exhausted by the late afternoon and not good for much more than a delicious dinner and a glass of wine. One of these days, I need to make a trip with my family and be a real tourist in the city. Really, there is so much to do and see, its difficult to do it even in a long weekend.

Park People Sketches

I can't stress enough how great it is to get out of the studio -- not just for a morning of plein air -- but for a longer trip to really immerse yourself in creating art fully. It was so amazing to have no other plan for a day than to paint! Once back home, I am juggling my many roles and dealing with end of school activities. I'm also working hard to finish up my work for my show opening at Tidewater Gallery June 15th.

When I wasn't painting in NYC, I was relaxing on a bench people watching and sketching. There was something inspiring in every direction. 

I've been so excited to get to work on new paintings too. And I can't wait to start showing my blog friends the new work. Soon!!

New York sketches

I'm in the big apple painting in a workshop with Kim English. We're in day 3 and one more to go. It's a huge challenge. I need to try something other than this purple/yellow combo as you can see from some of my sketches!

Windy Beach on She Magazine Cover

I've had the honor of having one of my paintings printed on the cover of She Magazine - a faith-based publication located in South Carolina. Its a nice bit of publicity but even more of an honor because the May issue is all about motherhood. Its lovely to have my painting  reflect all those hard-working, infinitely loving, guiding, and nurturing moms out there. Happy Mother's Day early!

The painting Windy Day is available at Edward Montgomery Fine Art gallery in Carmel. Its 12x9 oil on panel.

Beacon Baitshop

11x14 pastel sketch on Ampersand Pastelbord
$250
PURCHASE

This is my final more "fully realized" plein air work from the past weekend at the Texas coast. It was the first time I'd used pastels on location. It was very different. I lack colors and can't "mix" them and I really had to stop and think about things that might have been more automatic with oil paint.
We found a place right up against the Lighthouse Inn to paint so we'd be in shade and out of the wind which was really whipping that morning. Overall though I think this little sketch came together nicely.

Estuary

9x12 oil on panel - nfs

Saturday morning we got to go out to Crane House which is a private wildlife sanctuary and bed & breakfast. It was beautiful and our host, Al, was very gracious and clearly loved this special place. We saw an alligator smiling on the bank, we saw pretty pink-footed whistling ducks and lots of deer. No whooping cranes though at this time of year. During winter, they are found in the estuaries I painted above. The mosquitoes could have carried us away if not for the wind. 

This is not my cup of tea - painting vistas. I learned a long time ago when I was painting the landscape regularly that I just could not do long vistas. My friend Terri asked if I was near-sighted or far. I'm near-sighted - and without contacts/glasses - I can barely see my hand in front of my face. She, on the other hand, is far-sighted and can't see well close up. So when we painted up close subjects in the dockyards, I was happiest. It made me wonder if vision is really a factor even with corrective lenses? I obviously like to paint things close up, intimate and personal. I like to have things cropped in the foreground, or door frames, or something framing a scene even. Its an interesting idea. Terri enjoyed this long distance view and much of her work is of western desert scenes from a high perspective. I liked my sky above. That is about it. Oh, and because of the wind and insects, we timed ourselves and painted just 30 mins. or so. I hope to go back when the cranes are there. What a sight that must be!

Texas Rose

11x14 oil on panel - nfs

This past weekend I went to the Texas Coast - Rockport/Fulton area - with Plein Air Austin. We had 10 artists attend the retreat and enjoyed the challenge of painting some really tough subject matter in some equally tough conditions. The wind was up, to say the least. The oystermen on these boats didn't like it any better than we did. This boat was begging to be painted with the afternoon light hitting the one side. My friend Terri painted along with me - here she is at work on her beautiful watercolor.

It was really cool to be alongside the working docks and watching the boats come in with shrimp and oysters. They would offload them directly to a waiting refrigerated semi for overnight delivery I bet. "Texas Rose" was the name of the red boat, but with the wind, there was no way I could paint a straight enough line to try to get that on the bow.

Bucket-Fulls

9x12 pastel

I haven't worked in pastels since taking Margaret Dyer's workshop in March. I got a few ampersand boards (which I really like) and I got some more colors as I needed some more interesting dark colors. And since I've been working away diligently on my June show, I thought I'd take a break and play with pastels for a bit. This is a work in progress, but its coming along. My favorite part? His ears! :-)

This weekend I am heading for our Texas coast with Plein Air Austin folks for a painting retreat. It will be a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to some interesting new subjects to play with as well as all the camaraderie of hanging out with a bunch of accomplished artists.

Peony Tea Room

14x11 oil on panel

Available at Castle Gallery for the Living Color show, opening May 11.

This little tea house has been the source of much inspiration for me. I need to get back to Fort Wayne for another visit! The restaurant is in a beautiful historic home not far from Castle Gallery and they serve a lovely traditional English tea.

Promenade - WIP

Wow - was it only two weeks ago I painted? Seems like months. We had a trip, we brought home some exciting viruses, and I've been nursing everyone and exhausted otherwise. I managed to stay well, thank goodness. I finally got everyone well and out of the house and managed to paint this week. But what a struggle! Its like I forgot how. Its amazing how a little time off can make the brain and the body forget. I thought by trying a simple subject and using my timer that I'd be able to step right in. But it didn't work. I made mud and couldn't figure out how to mass things in and then work them into nicer shapes. So I went back to the drawing board, literally. I had to lightly draw the whole scene on my panel and color in the lines practically. Its more like putting a puzzle together. And it was rather meditative.