Sunny Cafe

10x12 oil on panel
Ask Gardner Colby Gallery about this painting.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT time!
I've been invited to join Gardner Colby Gallery in Naples, Florida. I am very excited to have my work represented by this excellent gallery in such a great market. 

There has been more than a little shifting around of my work this late summer and soon my gallery from Vermont will be relocated to Louisville, KY and renamed "Fine Art Firm." I will be sending them new work for their grand opening. More on these openings and events to come!

Work in Progress

Well here it is - a little glimpse of a work in progress. Isn't that white daunting? This is my first larger "vignette". I love the intimate, slice-of-life, subject matter and have wanted try working on a larger scale. I didn't do much to alter this blank sheet of linen (I'll stretch or mount it later). I first tried sketching in with my brush but then felt I needed more drawing so went in with charcoal. And made a mess.

Once I wiped off the false start, I used my more usual method of sketching a road map of sorts with the brush and then massing in. The goal is not to create an exact duplicate of a scene, so I forgave myself little errors in drawing and eliminated some clutter.

I made some "notes" on the darks and then used my favorite little trick of wiping out the lightest lights with a little OMS on a rag. Linen is great for this reason - you can wipe it back to a clean white surface again. And clean lights/whites are important to create beautiful highlights.

 Now I worked all the darker and middle tones -most of the painting.

A little more progress being made... but its not done yet. I've left her face and clothes undone and set the painting aside today to work on a new painting while I mull this one over for a few days. I'm not quite satisfied with the "tightness" either. (Everything is compartmentalized. ?) I might even have my model come back to sit for the final touches. This was painted from a study and photos of a model. My second go at a larger work began more easily - with lots of massing in and moving around the panel.

This is as yet unnamed, and is 22x28" on linen. My plan is to show it at the Russell Collection Fine Art Gallery "Femme" show opening in December in Austin. Its nice to have time to work on these larger pieces and live with them before sending them out.

If you care to keep reading, I will tell you that I my plan this year is to paint larger and slow down. I tend to work fast, but that meant that each week I was trying to create multiple gallery-worthy paintings and stressing about it. I have a lot of work available (lots of small works since the Vignettes show) and I think I can relax and really consider what I want to paint and what I want to say.

Basking in the Sun

8x10 oil on paper (paper size 9x12)
$120 + s/h
PURCHASE

An image of basking in the sun today following a full day of rain in central Texas yesterday. We have had beautiful weather and I do believe that fall is really here. I can't believe how quickly the days are going already now that school is in session.

My new goal is to work larger, and I have begun! It definitely takes longer than the small scale I've been used to. But I find that if I can move around and work in different areas, with enough interesting elements in the image, I don't get bored. I've taken some pictures during the process and perhaps I will show you those tomorrow as I wrap up my first larger scale scene.

Daily Distraction

5x7 oil on panel
$100 + s/h
PURCHASE

This is from the "archives" as was yesterday's post. After my studio clean up, I realized I have a lot of little paintings here that haven't been seen in awhile. Remember to look at ETSY for more paintings available direct from my studio.

Spring Fling

6x6 oil on panel
sold

A couple of kids swimming in the luxuriously cold waters of Barton Springs Pool in Austin. I love the green water - its so clear and reflective. And such a relief on hot days!

Sketches @ Le Cordon Bleu

I'm officially back to work! I spent the first two weeks of the new school year putting my studio back into order. I've rearranged and cleared out and have a beautiful space to work in again! I began painting again today - working on a few painted sketches for a beach commission. I hope the client likes one of the ideas so I can get to work on the large piece.

I've been sketching a lot lately. My friend V...Vaughan is teaching a sketching workshop once a week this month so I've joined her in that. And then I heard of an open house at our local cooking school in Austin and we met over there to enjoy the demo, sketch and take notes on some delicious French and Italian dishes.

I have more and more things in the works this fall and a full page of "to do" items so stay tuned. :-)

Double Latte in AIS show

I'm happy to share the news that my painting was accepted to show at the 13th annual American Impressionist Society show! The show opens in November in Indianapolis. Maybe 13 is my lucky number :)

Birds Eye

8x8 cradled panels each
sold

This set is probably arriving at Edward Montgomery Gallery in Carmel today, but is already spoken for we believe. I'll post otherwise if they are still available.

I'm in Jackson hole right now and this is likely the last Internet service I will have. It will be good to be "unplugged" for a bit.
This incredible landscape is just stunning! I want to move here. I don't think any words or pictures can do it justice. I'm walking around town continually staring upward at the mountains and tripping all over. Does anyone get used to this scenery?

Today we will get to visit a few local galleries and then head to Yellowstone.

Picking Up

10x12 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery
$900 framed
 
Ok - last one of this series. And though I am in the final throes of packing for our trip to YELLOWSTONE!!! I will write one last little story about model painting. This one isn't anything more than personality conflicts. I tired again to set up a model in public places over a year ago I guess. We had just a few artists at first, nice and small, but then someone invited so and so, and they invited another, and it grew and grew. Which is a good thing, but even the larger outdoor space we had at Mozarts on the lake, was getting cramped and I worried about our becoming a nuisance. AND we had someone join who was a real organizer and stronger leader than me (notice how politely I am saying this) so I was soon feeling pushed out of my own group. I didn't feel like it was going in the direction I had hoped. I'm kinda free-form and relaxed about things like this, and I shy away from organized stuff. If it gets too rigid, it isn't fun. Ultimately, winter came and we moved to a friend's indoor space and the models took on too traditional and stuffy a pose, so I stopped going and I believe the group kinda melted away again. 


Now I am just going to hire models when I need and want and invite a friend or two to join me if they like. No schedules, no drama, lots of variety, etc. 


We all have our ways of working that suit us best, and while its good to get out of our comfort zones to try new things, its also good to recognize what works for us and makes us happy and productive.  And there is no shame in preferring your studio, or being alone, or listening to heavy metal or talk radio, or having certain beliefs...the shame comes from not letting yourself be who you are. wow, I'm waxing kinda zen here.

May you all be happy and productive in whatever you do.  :-)

Mirror Mirror

10x12 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery
$900 framed
 
This is the same model as yesterday. This was mostly a photo session we'd done at this location, hence the different scenes. I had some comments about arranging models rather than just taking candids - which I do a great deal of too! A few years ago (I can't keep track of time!) I had the idea to hire models to pose at my house and even to pose in public spaces. I wanted to paint more from life, but still paint the scenes I love, not just a figure posed or nudes from a life drawing session. There are a lot of resources in Austin for models so finding references wasn't too hard. You can probably find them in your area through colleges, the art community, theater community, etc. 


BUT - you never can tell about personalities and I've heard horror stories from models as well as artists. I have a minorly scarey/funny story myself. Luckily, the model was fine when I had her at my house and another location in town, but she invited some of us to come to her property to paint there. Terri and Carol might chuckle over this memory! We drove out to this place, buried in the woods and a little rundown. No grand vistas, no water, lots of "funny smoke" in the air, shall we say. She took us on a grand tour through the brush telling us her big ideas about a music event she was planning on the property - spicing things up with some outlandish ideas of government plots, oil and gas industry poisonings, etc. It just got weirder. And we are all too polite to just take off, so we tried to set up and paint - our backs together in  a circle practically. Carol, as I recall managed to get a neat painting in of an abandoned car... hmmm, that seemed to become a theme for her! HA HA
Anyway, the woman was on something and unbalanced and we were happy to make as hasty a retreat as we could. I was a little shaken. 
Moral of the story, don't go out to paint alone. Ever. 


It took me awhile to decide to try the model thing again - and this time I focused on public spaces like outdoor cafes, etc. And it went well... for awhile. There is ANOTHER story. Stay tuned!

Finishing Touches

10x12 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery
$900 framed 


I had three paintings of this model in the show! I didn't realize I had quite so many of her. I'll show the others in the next couple of days. She is a lovely model and I loved the intimate "toilette" scenes we arranged during down times at a class. 

Two weeks ago my friend - and fabulous artist - V....Vaughan came over for a model session at my house. Its really wonderful to have the opportunity to compose scenes, photograph and paint from life in the comfort of your own home. Naturally, you want good people to work with in this case - and boy do I have a story for you about that!

Below is the study I started of Kelli. We had her in so many outfits and places all over the house and yard that we ended up only painting about 30 minutes. My daughter and her friend got into the action too and put on costumes and acted out scenes for us too. It was a lot of fun. I can't wait until I begin working larger scenes this fall from the images we captured during this session. I will unveil some new, big works, at the Russell Collection "Femme" show in Austin during December.

 

Barista

10x12 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery
$900 framed 

MapQuest

10x12 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery
$900 framed


Another scene inspired by my NYC trip in May. The light those first two mornings had a strange glare and brightness to it that seemed unusual for the city. Today I'm working on some beach scenes for a commission. I can share these studies in a week or so. This is the first year in ages we won't make a trip to the beaches in FL. We're vacationing in Yellowstone this year and are very much looking forward to that!

Sunny Cafe

10x12 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery

Promenade

10x12 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery

Don't forget to look at ETSY or my dailypainters.com or dailypaintworks.com galleries for available smaller paintings - works on paper, 6x6 panels, pastels, and some mid-sized works. Between the small online works and my galleries, there are plenty of nice paintings that need homes! I've been surprised that I've been getting interest in some older works lately. Some of you are looking deep! :-) 

Portrait Society

10x12 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery

I've been working on some commissions lately which I can share with you soon. For now, we'll keep looking at the new works available at Tidewater until the end of my show July 14th.

Taking the Plunge

10x12 oil on panel

Available at Tidewater Gallery

Ah.. Barton Springs Pool... a truly special place for all Austinites. Year round, this spring fed pool is 68 degrees. Even on the hottest days, all I can do is get my feet in and splash some water on the rest of me. Its a great spot for people watching though and soaking up Austin's relaxed, friendly atmosphere. This is no small swimmin' hole either - its more than 18 feet deep at one end and I don't know how long. This couple is taking the plunge in more than one way!

Here is a great video someone put together of people plunging in - Enjoy!

Working Lunch

 

Working Lunch

20x16 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery

I had three larger paintings in the Vignettes show and they are a hint of where I am going next with my paintings. I want to work a little bigger. Having focused on rather small or medium sized works for the past several years, and being used to working the paintings to completion in one sitting, it will be interesting to see how I like scaling up. The goal though is to still have the intimate scenery - the vignettes of life - but on a larger scale. 

Sunny Side of the Street

18x18 oil on linen

SOLD

Hanging Sheets

12x9 pastel on pastelbord

$250 

PURCHASE

Switching things up a little this summer and practicing with pastels. They are nice because I can set up at the kitchen table and be in the area where my daughter is playing and I can just walk away from them - coming back to them when time allows. No clean up or paint drying out, etc.

That is certainly a benefit. I'm going to be working with them more this summer with the aim of getting comfortable and confident with the medium before offering them through my galleries. I still have to figure out the framing AND the shipping. Those are definite drawbacks to the medium.

PS - I have a number of friends and a lot of art acquaintances in the Denver area and my thoughts and prayers are certainly with them all as they deal with the dreadful fires and heat.

Laundress

10x12 oil on panel

Available at Tidewater Gallery