Dancer Sketch

pencil on paper

My daughter's cold was worse today - her asthma is always irritated by colds - so she stayed home with me. I got some business things done, but no painting. All I have to show you is another dancer sketch. BUT....



I will also promote the first ever Daily Painter's Gallery book Colour, Obsession, Joy and Torment. It looks like such a nice volume, featuring 146 artists whose work is found on the Daily Painter's Gallery. This group began sometime around the time I started blogging and has grown so successfully. I owe most of my blog's success to that site. There are some wonderful artists who exhibit their work online and are included in the group gallery. The book also has several well-written essays on the inspiration for the title (a quote from Monet) and on the subject of the technological art age which we're now embracing. I think I now believe that this is an official art movement. Artists are so much more accessible than in the past and in a time when reproductions and cheap pictures can be found at any store, I applaud any effort that artists make to educate people about original art and to make it more available to patrons. I can't wait to get my hands on this book. Stay tuned for ordering information.

Snow Queen - 30 Minute Study

12x9 oil on paper
$50 + s/h - sold

Getting back into the groove of things today. The dancer here is one of the two snow queens the Austin ballet has performing in their Nutcracker. This was a great way to warm up after a break from painting. Setting a timer makes me see the big picture and not get caught in details. I literally paint for 30 minutes and then its brushes down. I wish I could describe why this exercise works so well for me. I am suffering a little disconnect though between doing and talking about. I will try again tomorrow!

Ballet Dancer

colored pencil on paper

As we gear up for the holidays, the Nutcracker is such a nice Christmas story to set the mood for celebrating. We go to Houston in two weeks to see it there. Also going to the Galleria to ice skate of all things!

Saturday was the opening of the Small Works North America show at the Greenwich Workshop Gallery in Connecticut. Exhibit winners are chosen by votes from patrons. You can actually register online and vote for your favorite small works. The show is really quite impressive. I am thrilled to have two works in the exhibit which are hanging alongside many of the top painters in the country. This was a milestone for me. I have a couple more to yet check off my list, but they will come in time.

Ballet Dancer

pencil on paper

Last Thursday my friend Tess Walls and I went to Ballet Austin for a behind-the-scenes look at a Nutcracker rehearsal. The dancers were below us. We watched from a landing above the studio, the wall behind them is all glass and they were often silhouettes in front of it, making the figures all the more dynamic. The girls wore their practice tutus and I saw Degas in my head. I wish I could capture more of that dynamic line he did. (and like my friend Tess's sketches... beautiful!)
I was tempted to add some color, but I sent my pastels to a friend who is convalescing in Houston area...
I am convalescing as well. The surgery went fine and I am laying about for the most part. I am sketching though from my photos and things in the room (dog, husband, child, toys).

Late Dining

11x14 oil on panel - sold

Today I have foot surgery so this is probably it for the week. I also have a cold starting, so have not made any use of the time I did have while waiting for this surgery - starving and dying of thirst - until late afternoon.
If I don't get back to this later in the week, I wish you a blessed Thanksgiving.

Macy Again

pencil on paper, nfs

If I dared post a picture of my studio at the moment, you would laugh. Its so packed with frames, boxes, paintings, etc. that I can barely get in. Poor Macy can't follow me in, there isn't even room for her to sit. Besides the mess in the studio, the rest of my life is rather brimming too. I've been volunteering a lot at school this week and not had the time I have wanted to paint. But here is another sketch at least. Macy has very bad posture. I've never seen a dog sit like her before. She rolls over on her hind end so that her back legs are lined up with her front ones.

Daily Grind - My Etsy Sale

20x20 oil on linen - sold

I have some larger paintings here in my studio that need homes! They have come back from galleries and are just in the way here, so I am offering them at 50% off retail. Please take a look at my Etsy shop and consider how you will be helping me clear a path through my studio.
These are really good prices for good paintings and I hesitated doing this. I could donate them, but would rather I know the buyer and get a little income from them. Or they can remain here stacked against the wall. Your help is very much appreciated!

As a reminder, should you ever be unhappy with a purchase, I will gladly take the painting back and give a full refund.

Wyeth Country

8x10 oil on panel
Sold

This is a commission I did for a collector in NY (Hi D.S.!) The painting is a gift for her mother's birthday. They are from Wyeth country and this painting is a favorite of hers. Mine too.

Favorable Review

16x8 oil on panel
Purchase info to come soon (I promise).

Another favorite painter, Cezanne, who has painted his father presumably reading reviews of exhibitions by contemporaries like Manet. Apparently Cezanne's father didn't care much for his career choice and so depicting him reading this newspaper was sort of a coup for Cezanne. The young woman is reading over one of the museum cards which tells the story of the artwork - The Artist's Father, Reading "L'Evenement"

Macy Sketch and Fall Shoes

Pencil on paper, nfs

I took the day off today. I went shopping with a friend. Very unusual for me. So here I have some more sketches of Macy. And yes, to answer my mom's question on the previous sketch, she is this fat unfortunately.
Ya'll have a wonderful weekend. I'm hoping we get some cold weather. 81 is too hot for mid-Nov. and I want to wear my new stacked-heel "oxford" patent leather shoes. This is really off topic, but I love shoes. My husband calls me Imelda. He buys racing tires - I buy a different kind of tread - and we're both happy.
Hmmm, maybe I should paint these - they are really pretty.

The Artist Within

20x24 oil on linen
on hold

I am so pleased with this painting. I was so excited when I saw this woman painting in the National Gallery of Art. I watched her for awhile. I watched the other patrons watching her. She is copying the painting "The Mother and Sister of the Artist" by Berthe Morisot.
The gallery was awesome in so many ways and seeing two of my most admired artists hanging side by side was awe inspiring. The other painting is Mary Cassatt's "Little Girl in a Blue Armchair".
This painting is to be entered in a contest. It will be available for sale later.

Deer sketch

This morning on my walk with Macy, I saw several deer resting under the oaks. Since Macy can't see now, she doesn't get all excited and disturb them. We live in the 'burbs, but we have a lot of wildlife all around. There is still a lot of undeveloped land, canyon land and hills, so there is a habitat for the deer. They are pretty used to people too so they didn't mind at all when I lingered with my pencil and scrap paper. It was a fun exercise to then try to paint what I remembered.

My teacher here in Austin, Elizabeth Locke, once told me of her professor who set up a still life on one floor of the art building and made the students set up their easels on another floor. They had to go up and down stairs to see their subject in order to paint. That made them work very hard to commit what they saw to memory and be very sure about every stroke. I can think of a whole lot of reasons that would be exhausting.

Macy - Doing What She Does Best

pencil on paper, nfs

I had the need to sketch this weekend. And what better subject than my dog snoozing in various positions? She is adapting to her blindness really well now. She loves her walks and does very well on them. She's learned new words which help her on the stairs and when I say "careful" she slows or stops quickly to avoid crashing headlong into whatever might be in her way. She really relies on her hearing and sniffer. As long as I continue to speak to her and let her know where I am, she is confident. She is pretty lazy in the house, though she always was. All in all - she is quite normal and many people don't realize she can't see them.

Looking Up To Lincoln

6x6 oil on panel
$100 + 12 s/h
Purchase this painting

These are my friend's daughters, looking up to the mammoth statue of Abraham Lincoln in Washington D.C. This has to be my favorite monument. He was such an amazing president, facing immediate succession and civil war upon his election. Reading his speeches again gave me goose bumps. I hope that we can all come together and be positive about the changes ahead. I am rather excited.

Taking Five - Cafe Du Monde

16x12 oil on panel

Ask Castle Gallery about this painting

A favorite subject!

East Sculpture Hall

14x11 oil on panel - sold

From the National Gallery of Art. The architecture of this building alone is worth a look. But the art contained within, is what drew me through this passage to the French masters galleries.

Hopeful

7x5 oil on panel
$100 + $12 s/h
Purchase this painting

We just got back from D.C. a few days ago and I began to go through my photos today. This one of a young lady looking at the Hope diamond in the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum really struck me. I love the drama of the lighting and the way her head is almost against the glass as she gazes at this gorgeous piece of jewelry.

The title too has meaning beyond wishes for fine jewels. I voted yesterday in early voting. You should too. Unless you are for the other guy. ;-)

Sitting Room - 60 Minute Study

9x12 on loose canvas
$50 + s/h
Purchase this study - Sold

Caring For Your Original Artwork

I thought I would share some basic tips for caring for original art - specifically oil paintings.

First thing to consider, especially owing to the frequent sales of freshly completed paintings from artists participating in the "daily painting" movement, is that oil paint will dry to the touch within a week or two, but may take up to a year or more to fully cure. During that time, the paint will be softer and susceptible to dents and scratches. Paintings with obvious brushmarks and lots of texture can be smudged or flattened.

Cleaning: Use a dry, "micro-fiber" cloth to wipe the surface. Do not use too much pressure, and check the surface for flaking or damaged areas. If there is a heavy buildup of dirt, take the painting to be professionally cleaned. Dust buildup and pollutants can allow molds to grow.

Lighting: Very high light levels can cause the darkening or fading of an oil painting. Conversely, storing a painting in the dark will cause the oil painting to become darker over time.

To avoid damage caused by light, don't expose paintings to direct sunlight. Lighting shouldn't be positioned too close; avoid using lights that are mounted to the frame. Try to use diffused lights that are positioned at least ten feet from the painting to avoid damage from heat.

Temperature: Extreme heat, cold or humidity can cause the stretchers and canvas to expand and contract, leading to cracking of the paint surface or causing the canvas to sag.

Hanging: Don't hang the painting in high traffic areas where it is likely to be bumped or scraped. If you are moving the painting, be careful not to lean the canvas against anything, as it can stretch or be punctured. Carry it by the sides, and protect the surfaces with stiff board and heavy fabric.

Salmagundi Stairwell

7x5 oil on panel
$100 + $12 s/h - sold

The beautiful stairwell in the historic brownstone. Above is an ornate skylight letting light filter down three or four floors.

We are off for a visit to DC this weekend. I can't wait to take my little girl through the Smithsonian museums and see the mint and the Monument. The weather will be a fun change for us too I suspect. Though none of us particularly like the cold! We're getting together with some of my college girlfriends too, so I am really looking forward to this visit.

Don't forget to check the auctions at the Texas Louvre for some rock bottom prices on terrific original art. Its a good cause too - helping some college seniors put their business skills to the test in the real world.