Basking in the Sun

8x10 oil on paper
$125 including shipping
PURCHASE

Sunny Stroll

20x16 oil on linen

Ask Edward Montgomery Fine Art about this painting.

A couple of hipsters strolling Sixth Street in Austin. Its always a fun challenge trying to capture the effects of bright sunlight. Oh, that it came in a tube.

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.

Tete a Tete

11x14 oil on linen

Ask Castle Gallery about this painting.

Happy Valentine's Day! For your listening pleasure - the wonderful Edith Piaf - l'hymne à l'amour

The E Train

12x8 oil on panel

Ask Tidewater Gallery about this painting.

This is one of my all-time favorite paintings and I am surprised it hasn't yet found a home. I love to paint scenes from the subway. The lighting is so garish and weird. People seem to turn inward, staring into space or nodding off with the rhythm of the cars. Makes me want to paint some more...

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.

Clowning Around

10x10 oil on linen panel

Ask Edward Montgomery Fine Art about this painting

This was a fun little scene. I couldn't resist trying my hand at those colorful socks! This little gem, as well as some other paintings, are headed to sunny California to Edward Montgomery Fine Art gallery in Carmel.

Thrill of the Grill

14x18 oil on linen

I often see stories about conservators using xrays and other technology to see what is under a masterpiece painting, and to learn about the artist's methods. I wonder if that will ever happen to my work? This canvas started as a cafe scene that just didn't make it. At some point, I used some of my palette scrapings to smear over that and lay down a nice grayish ground to paint this on. Its actually rather satisfying to use that palette mud to smear over a failed painting. It also creates a really nice, smooth, oil primed surface for a new painting.

This is still the same kitchen that has appeared in the other paintings. I got a lot of mileage out of dinner at Roaring Fork in Austin. Might be time to go back now. Valentine's day?

Flambe

10x10 oil on panel

Contact Tidewater Gallery about this painting.

Sizzle

12x12 oil on panel

Having a lot of fun playing in the kitchen this week. Its a great opportunity to suggest and stay loose.

Beach Girl

8x10 oil on paper
$125 incl. shipping
PURCHASE

Even with 30 minutes on the timer, I think I put too much info in the water and waves. I think had it been more graphic or solid in color it would have made the figure stand out more and been less busy.

Also - she appears very, very red (rock lobster) on my computer, but she isn't so in the painting. Can't make the red less intense.

Saucier

10x8 oil on paper
$125 including shipping
PURCHASE

I'm back to painting. Thank heavens the bookkeeping is done. Yesterday I actually felt tired halfway through a second painting. It was more than I'd done in awhile and while painting is wonderfully meditative and relaxing, it also requires concentration. And when the back aches and my arm feels heavy, my focus flags.

To combat that, its back to the quick sketches. Loosens me up both mentally and physically.

Studio Notes

I'm still here!
January always means bookkeeping, inventory, paying taxes, and cleaning up! All those ugly behind-the-scenes things we don't like to think about.
This place was a wreck. I about have the studio back in order and I've finished taxes and a lot of my bookkeeping. That was kinda of depressing too. But after feeling low for a day or two about sales last year, I reminded myself that I cannot help the economy and it wasn't for lack of trying. I had a good year where my art was seen in quite a few juried shows, I attended openings for two group shows here in Texas, I had good press coverage and created some really nice art. SO! Its time to pick up the brushes again and move on.

Speaking of moving on, I am not going to participate in the Moses Botkin Monthly Challenge this year. I was part of Diana's group for about 3 years and really enjoyed it. There are a number of good websites and groups offering challenges so if I feel the need to push myself I can look into those. If you are interested in seeing some of those, I made a list on the "Creative Block." There are yet more, and I think I will create a sidebar actually of those for reference. Putting that on my "to do" list now. :-)

Notice the top of the blog - there are links to my galleries which show the current inventory and I added a FAQs page and a bio. A website overhaul is on the to do list too, but honestly, the blog is really covering all the bases.

Be back soon with some art to share!

New Year, New Projects

Happiest New Year wishes to you all! I am very much looking forward to the new year and new projects. I love this time of year actually. Its also my birthday today, so I start the new year with all kinds of new hope and determination and good feelings! I'm making plans for the year, coming up with new ideas, and setting goals. Some of those I will share here, naturally!

To start, I want to introduce a project idea that I began just before the holidays hit. I'm working on a series called "First Impressions." I hope to show the paintings as a group sometime this year.

Founder's Room
10x12 oil on panel

Having learned that I waste a lot of time looking for the best images or subject to work with, and getting overwhelmed sometimes, I've determined to stop shopping around and respond to my first impression. Usually what catches my eye is light and shadow, but sometimes just the way something seems framed naturally, happening upon a scene as I pass a doorway, things like that. Sort of like with fire, I need to "stop, drop and paint" (or sketch).

Tea For Three
10x12 oil on panel

I paint more instinctively, I think, when I paint rapidly. So I am relying on my trusty timer, and allowing that first half hour to be the pure energy of inspiration. What follows might be some focus on the main area of interest and some cleaning up, but for the most part, I want to leave these paintings loose and undefined. So its an exercise in freedom and restraint! All of the paintings are to be 10x12 and I have a lovely batch of Ampersand gessobord ready and waiting!

I feel more focused than I have in awhile. Last year, to be honest, didn't feel like the best year for me creatively. I hope that trusting my instincts and following my muse will allow me to enjoy the process and create more beautiful work than ever. Cheers!!

Moses Botkin Monthly Challenge

Windy Beach
12x9 oil on panel

This month the theme was "blue" - in whatever way we wanted to represent it. Well, I had two thoughts - the big blue skies of Texas, which are pretty special, or the blue of ocean. Only it is bigger than the skies over Texas. Those skies are dripping some wet stuff on us lately, for which we are extremely grateful.

Enjoy my fellow challenge artists' interpretations this month!

Holiday Blues
5x7 oil on hardboard

©2011 Diana Moses Botkin

Blues
4x4 silverpoint and oil on gessoboard

©2011 Vicki Ross

Malibu Blue

4x8.75 oil on canvas
©2011 Ruth Andre



Blue Ice
16x20 oil on canvas

©2011 Suzanne Berry

Waiting for Godot

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

This was at a gallery for awhile - one of mine that frames the work for me - and its so small, I figured I'd sell it here rather than get a frame and send it on to another.
Its a scene from NYC with one of my favorite stories featured on a theater marquis.

Studio News

I keep forgetting to update some of my latest news on here! I had a lovely evening Friday night in Dallas at the Wisby Smith gallery at the Crescent. What a beautiful place. The artwork is really interesting too - ranging from the abstract to Native American figurative pieces. You can see the art on their website. Wisby Smith, like Russell Collection, reps some of the most important artists both living and past so I feel pretty good about being seen worthy of representation to their customers. The show there hangs until the end of December.

There was a video of the Randy Higbee opening reception posted which is fun to see. At least two of my pieces are still available as seen at about the one minute mark. :-)

I think all the gallery events are winding down now, but I have many paintings out there. If you are looking for a gift for someone special, look at pages linked in the side column for each of my representing galleries to see all the available inventory and contact them directly.

My days are now filling up with shopping, wrapping, shipping, decorating, baking, and parties, etc. Tis the season! School ends soon and I am excited that my parents will soon be here to make the holidays all the more meaningful.

I am looking forward to a couple of new projects for the new year! One being the works on paper which I will be sharing more of soon.

Beach Walk

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

I did a smaller version of these girls, which is at Randy Higbee Gallery for the 6" Squared show. And a similarly sized one which is at a gallery. And I thought I'd try it once again as I play with my timer and painting on paper. Obviously, I've enjoyed these girls on the beach.

I had a lovely surprise today - being recommended in the e-newsletter "Informed Collector" by Clint Watson. Thank you Clint!

Catch and Release

10x8 oil on paper
$125 including priority shipping (US)
sold

I've been trying to come up with a new way to create paintings for my blog again - for art collectors on a budget (and aren't we all these days, really?) I just can't paint those little canvases though. I find that they cause me to tighten up which could not be more frustrating for me. I've done 'sketches' on paper before and I like the results and the room to be expressive.

The paper is 9x12 and I am taping off the sizes I want to paint so there is a white border around the painting. The paper is substantial enough to stand up to the paint, its coated, acid free and it has a slight weave like canvas. While the works are larger, they aren't going to compete with my gallery work. I'm limiting myself to 30 minutes on these, and I can't tell you what a great exercise it is for me. A digital timer is the best tool in the studio. More on that later.

And finally, here are some fun ideas I've found while surfing the web for those of you who buy small paintings or my works on paper and want to display them creatively and cheaply.

1. Clipboards

2. Wooden hangers

3. Clips

4. Or you can easily get a ready made from with glass any home decor or craft store