My Cup of Tea

 24x24 oil on linen

One of the recent deliveries to Russell Collection and framed in a nice contemporary gold frame. Its a nice transition between gold impressionist style and sleek and modern.

Its pretty cool to have my art represented at Russell Collection where they have a broad range of styles of art available, but also some of the old master's works. Its like a museum and next month they have a show featuring Pissarro and 5 of his descendants' work. Pretty cool. If you are in Austin you should definitely visit the gallery. What a legacy.

Maybe some of that magic will rub off on me.

(note: I'm updating this blog still sometimes because I have no idea if people follow it still, how they follow, or if they are moving to the new website/blog or follow on something like Bloglovin'. Technology!)

Horse and Groom - Greeting Card

5x7 water soluble graphite on watercolor paper
greeting card
$30 + $5 sh

And so Christmas is around the corner. I wish all my friends the happiest of tidings at this blessed season.

Jeannie Seated Serendipitously

12x9 oil on paper - work in progress

Tuesday I was finally getting to work - having moved my things into my living room downstairs where it was so sunny and bright - when V called. She was nearby and wanted to see if I could meet at Starbucks. Then her sister called her and we agreed I should focus on my work and she'd visit her sister. THEN she called back and said her sister would like to pose for us if I'd like. Well, of course I liked that!

She sat in my sunny window and we all visited while we sketched.
I am definitely going to finish this up. It's a nice start.

I am in Atlanta - Marietta specifically - come visit with me at dk Gallery tonight 6-9 pm!

Thankfully

7x5 water soluble graphite portrait sketch

Commission - nfs

Happy post Thanksgiving! What a perfectly lovely afternoon we had at Joel's on Wednesday. I got to paint and sketch a perfectly lovely young lady for a friend's Christmas gift. 

I think I made my model look a little older, unfortunately. But hopefully she will grow into her portrait! Lol

I started a second sketch using casein. But the eyes are all wrong. My limited palette of casein is an issue. As is my inexperience with the medium. I will finish this at home  either with oil or casein. 

Now - I don't want to ignore the fact that this is the biggest shopping weekend of the year (though I almost feel ashamed for us at all the desperate commercialization I'm seeing.) But truly in the spirit of expressing my gratitude to my friends and fans, I have a special discount for my email/newsletter subscribers only! Sign up today - in the right column ➡ and I will send you codes for 25% off and/or $100 off purchases over $500. My shop on ETSY is filling up with my studio inventory finally. Help me make space (literally and creatively) for new work!

Breakfast Table

18x18 oil on cradled panel - SOLD
 
I shared this before but didn't show the final version or title. I didn't make many changes from the initial work but did lessen the blue in her hair and shortened her little pinky finger which my husband thought looked crazy. 
I'm happy to say that the painting quickly found a new home already! Thank you DK Gallery and S.D. 

I am using this model again to paint a very large canvas. Its a 36x48 and the largest I've worked on. I've wanted to explore interiors and "home" - kitchens and dining rooms, etc. I like the idea too that such a scene can create the illusion of more space in a home. People use mirrors to do that, but maybe a painting is a better answer!

Have a good weekend friends!

Making Expressive Paintings

Time passes and I have to look at my blog first to see what I've posted.Wow! Has it been that long?

I've gotten the girl back to school. She is very excited to be a 5th grader. And I am very glad to get back to a routine and have hours of studio time. The early mornings are tough tho. 

Yesterday I met V.... for hot chocolate and painting. I started a chef scene. Will finish it today. Also, I'm shipping out some work for the Farm to Table show at DK Gallery this week. 

I continue to think a lot about my work and am considering workshops or maybe asking someone - some "master" - to mentor me and help me push through to the next level. Less representational, more expressive. But I am not sure that can be taught. I think I just have to be willing to risk messing up a good painting to create something that is great. I have to stop analyzing and correcting until the soul is gone. 

The painting below has been on my easel a month now. I like it. But there are certainly things that are incorrect or odd looking. But if I go over it and make changes, won't I tighten it up and just create another average picture?

untitled, 18x18 oil on cradled panel

If I look at Dan McCaw or Tom Balderas - two amazing expressive impressionists - their perspective is off, their figures not perfectly rendered, etc. They are still much looser than I, but I am working my way there. Slowly! And I think that is part of the secret too. Their paintings might look random and messy but they have worked very hard to create that illusion. I imagine every stroke is planned and put down and left alone.

Off Broadway

30x24 oil on stretched linen
deep sides/unframed

Ask DK Gallery about this painting

This was fun for me. I painted a small version of this (also below 7x5) and it sold ages ago. I always considered working it again, but I have this aversion to repeating myself. I  love the play "Waiting for Godot." I've never actually seen it, but have read it. Read the Wikipedia description of it here.  Perhaps "abdsurdist" is up my alley.

I feel like some of my best works were those I did small for the blog. But I can't seem to paint that small anymore and am not sure the market is even there anymore for the small works. So maybe its time to look back at those early paintings like the interiors and cities and consider revisiting the scenes for larger works.    

 

I'm really excited to be showing my work in a new area at a really exciting gallery in Marietta, GA. The show opens tomorrow night and I hope the paintings are well received.

Blue Belle

8x8 oil on panel
$375 
Email me

I was frustrated with this one for awhile. I loved the figure, her shape, the polka dots, and the blue tube she was holding - but it was all so much blue. After some fussing, I scraped off the background and then scraped my palette. The palette knife then had a variety of the subject's colors on it so I scraped it over my painting and really began to like the effect. Its something different. Enjoy!

Afternoon

24x18

oil on 2" cradled panel

Ask Gardner Colby Galleries about this painting

I am so clever with titles. Not. Anyway - this is a larger bird's eye scene than I have ever done before. I love to paint these scenes as they are so simple and almost abstract. Its always fun to play with shadows. I think though that they have taught me how to fill in large empty spaces in interesting ways. With subtle shifts in temperature and color and by varying brushwork, the empty fields are not boring. Its also taught me to make interesting greys.

This week is spring break in central Texas and I sure wish I was able to visit Naples, FL for the opening this week. If you are in the area, go and tell me how this show is. I'd love to see all these artists work in person, and see their subjects. Would be very inspirational.

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.

 

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

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

30 Minute Start

10 minutes

30 minutes


Final
10x12 oil on panel

I frequently post work in progress on my Facebook page, but haven't done so here in awhile. I am working on paintings for my "First Impressions" show which will be at Tidewater Gallery opening June 15th.

I still work with my kitchen timer as a way to get that initial impression sketched down as quickly as possible. Once I have the big shapes massed in, I can work as long as I like modifying those shapes and working them into smaller divisions. I like the looseness and variety of brushwork that I get during the quick block in phase, its all about the energy and excitement of inspiration. I get my idea down before any external distractions can pull me away and before I analyze and question the idea to death.

I don't spend a lot of time after the timer goes off. For small works, I often stop there and love the results. But with larger works, I will go into the focal area and make more sense of things and get some nice hard or soft edges and modify colors and shapes. You can see the difference in the figure above... when the timer went off, I had the big shapes there, but spent some time bringing that figure out of the dark. In the background, I only added a few suggestions of the door, the door frame and the lamp - the rest was left alone after the first mad rush.
I'm not sure I explain this well... but it works so well for me. I find if I don't stop and paint what first inspires me, and if I spend too long composing, drawing, analyzing, etc. then I lose the "vision." The only preparation I make is to draw an X across the board and use a viewfinder with 2 strings likewise, or draw those lines across my photo reference to give me a way to measure quickly. I recently got the MVP viewfinder (scroll down on her page) from the fabulous Peggi Kroll Roberts and its pretty neat - but a whole gird is more time consuming. Maybe a few dots could mark those lines... will give that a try perhaps tomorrow.

Basking in the Sun

8x10 oil on paper
$125 including shipping
PURCHASE

Judging A Book

16x12 oil on panel - sold

We had a morning that felt like this today - but its warmed up quite a bit and I had to take off my trench coat and roll up my sleeves.

I admit to owning and loving my e-reader, but there is still nothing quite so nice as browsing bookshelves. Its not unlike looking at art. The covers and titles promise us an escape, a learning experience and commentary on the human experience.

Contemporary Spaces

12x8 oil on panel

Ask Castle Gallery about this painting.

I have a lot of paintings available in the six galleries that represent me and it dawned on me that I should use my blog as a way to bring some attention back to those pieces while I am working on new works. I'm working on my First Impressions series and planning a summer exhibit of 20-30 of those in NC.

A note about the galleries I work with. They are owned and run by lovely people. If you see a painting you admire online and its available in a gallery, don't hesitate to contact them. They will be very happy to talk with you about the work. Many will work with you financially and can offer payment plans if its an investment piece [not that my works are so expensive yet ;-)]. They offer guarantees if you aren't happy with a piece, even if you do not live nearby. I have had buyers contact and purchase from my galleries out of state and had very good experiences. I've done it myself when I've bought other artist's work. So I encourage you to follow up with me or my galleries if you see something you love. Don't let it get away!

Maid Marian

8x8 oil on paper
$125 including s/h SOLD


Sometimes, when I sit down at the easel, I hear the Monty Python blurb in my head - "And now for something completely different."
This scene, glimpsed through a shrub at the Renaissance Faire, just appealed to me. I had to try it.
The light on her shoulder and face was irresistible. Its a little confusing in its impressionism at first perhaps, being a 30-40 minute study, but I think once you make sense of it, its a pleasing scene. Maid Marian and her young Robin Hood perhaps.

Leading Edge

6x6 oil on panel

Available at Loretta Goodwin Gallery

This is available at the gallery for their Tiny Treasures show which opens Thursday night in Birmingham. The last month has been such a whirlwind that I am not sure if I posted this already or not! If its a repeat... sorry. The fans at Daily Paintworks won't have seen it yet. I've joined that online gallery site finally. And I gave my blog a little facelift too today.

Sorry about my rant the other day. I was overwhelmed, but things settled down nicely this week and I've been able to focus on a new project in the studio. While excited about a new idea, I'm at a loss for creating these small works for the blog/online galleries. I really struggle with finding a subject to fit on this small format. But I can't paint larger and offer those at low prices. I'm trying to find a new project idea for the blog to get my juices going and provide fans with affordable, collectible art. Its still very important to me to do that. Heck, I can't afford most of the art I'd like to have - being able to buy small pieces and books from my favorite artists is wonderful.

I know that the subject has to be simple, a single figure works best. Beach scenes. I might become the "beach scene blogger." The weird thing is, I paint loosely and quickly. You'd think a small format would be ideal for simplifying. That is my challenge. And maybe I ought to embrace that and work on it.