The Right Rose Knows

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I posted a reference photo and a couple of process shots for this painting on my Facebook page. I am having a lovely time painting these roses but they are about done for. While I was in Portland I spent about 2 hours poking around the rose garden, so I'll have more close-up rose paintings very soon. I think I'll be sending a special thank you to the rose garden people in Portland and Eugene very soon!

Apart But Together

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Yesterday was a crazy day here in Portland! I've never been spotted before, but I was yesterday, and twice! It was very cool to be recognized by strangers. In fact my head has grown so much I'm not sure I'll be able to stumble out of the hotel room door this morning. Well, it would be hard except breakfast is calling. : )

A Lovely Gesture

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I have been travelling a lot these past few weeks so tonight my husband and I are escaping to Portland for a little weekend alone together. I did a few extra paintings today and yesterday so I would still be able to post, so expect to hear from me anyway.

Rose with Tea

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Lots to report! First of all, the reason I haven't posted in a while is I discovered a new weed in our front yard that turned out to be poison oak. For those of you who've been with me a while, yes, this has happened before, but I swear the Oregon version is totally different that the Texas version! So I've been dealing with that for the past couple of weeks.

During that time I taught a workshop on Vancouver Island, Canada. Unfortunately they had to look at my monster face all week, but despite that they were very nice. One gal (named Carol Jean, same as me!) even made t-shirts for the occasion (more on this soon).

The space we were in was huge, so everyone had plenty of room to spread out. I always spend a lot of time reminding my kids to squint, and the best way to do that is to close one eye and squint the other. One gal felt it would be easier to tape half of her glasses instead. : ) Below are cropped versions of most of my demos. (I've been looking for a photo collage program for my pc and so far I'm not crazy about this one. Anyone have a good suggestion?)

Below are my Canada kids. This was a really great group. Honestly, I can't say one bad thing about them. Anyone who can put up with a rashy, itchy istructor for 5 days deserves my full respect! Aren't they cute?!

Primary Egg

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The workshop with Marla Baggetta was awesome! I learned a ton, including how it feels to be on the other side : ) ... how frustrating it is to try something completely new and feel totally inept when you don't get it by mid-week ... etc. Obviously I also learned a lot about pastels. Just in time to head out for a workshop of my own. In Canada. Next week. I will post when I can. Meanwhile I posted a few photos from the workshop on my Facebook page.

Crooked Grin

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Do you see the face? I couldn't help myself.

Starting tomorrow (for a change) I will be taking a workshop, yay! A friend of mine recommended Marla Bagetta as a teacher and I was thrilled to find her in my own sister city. I could use oil, but pastel is also an option and I'm going to take it. I haven't used them since college. The best thing though is I'll be able to sleep in my own bed at night. Oh, simple pleasures.

You're Bugging Me

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This is a painting I've been wanting to do for a while - a larger rose complete with bug (please click on it to get a better/larger view). I also want to do some large square roses, and some even larger horizontal ones. I have to admit though, in a way I feel like I'm cheating. Even though I took the picture and did the painting, it's the rose (& the bug) that are so beautiful.

Breezy Windows

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This is from another photo I took in San Francisco. I was walking down a little street where traffic wasn't allowed when I looked up and spotted these three windows with their awnings flapping in the breeze. My breath caught a little and then I took a dozen or so photos, catching the awnings in various states of ruffle. I just adore the light!

We've had lovely weather here in Eugene, so today I walked down to a nearby park to revive my lost plein air spirit. I don't know if it was the 15 visitors (and their dogs) or my rusty gears, but the painting was a wiper. I will try again soon.

Morning in the City

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This was done from a photograph I took on my way from the little apartment I rented in San Francisco last week, to the school. I just loved the early morning light and the kind of fuzzy feel everything had. I found the apt. through airbnb.com, which I totally plan to use in the future. It lists all kinds of places (by owner) for the night, from a couch in a hallway, to a room, to an apt., to a whole house. Very cool.

The New Vase

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I am back from my workshop in San Francisco and ready to report! First of all, the space was a dream! It was held at the Friend's School in the Mission District, and we had plenty of room and (ahem) skylights, which were awesome. Honestly I forgot to take pictures until the last day, and I missed a few who left early, so our room looks less than full here:

We scampered around San Francisco for 2 half days, and painted the rest of the time. My kids were a great bunch, though a couple of them did pressure me to drink a little too much wine on more than one occasion. Peer pressure, I tell you, it's strong. Here are most of them:

I stayed in town through the weekend, visiting/hiking/eating/pedicuring with my good friend Randi, and then headed back to the school on Monday to give a presentation to the 8th graders about our workshop and all the cool things my kids painted. Even though I am terrified of 8th graders (I am embarrassed to admit) I somehow made it out alive and home on Tuesday. Since then I've been recuperating, catching up on email, hanging with the family, etc. 

Circus Rose

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I am running off this morning to catch a plane to San Francisco where I will spend all next week wandering around the city with my new kids, taking pictures of unsuspecting people, cars, buildings, etc., and then painting them. I will post when I can, and probably mostly on Facebook. I will do a recap here when I get back. : )

Full Sun Rose

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Sometimes I am inspired by another artist's painting, try to do something "like" it, and end up nowhere even close! I really liked yesterday's flower painting by Carolee Clark. Specifically I liked the mosaic effect. So today I shot for more of a mosaic-y feel. I'm not sure I quite got there, but I do like the result. Along with less guilt (yesterday's post) I am also shooting for more experimentation and risk. If I look back at the things I've done in the past that ended up being pretty cool, they all came from stepping out of my comfort zone and taking risks. I vow to be more daring! I've gotten way too comfortable!

Little Scissors, Little Flowers

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Often I will go to the grocery store and buy a bunch of props to use, and then feel guilty if I don't paint them for as long as they stay fresh, even if I get sick of them before then. Lately I have tried to ignore that guilt and be a bit more spontaneous with what I paint. I saw these flowers on a walk, picked them, and painted them right away. No thinking about it. No glancing at the apples still in a bowl in my studio.

Enter Here

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This is another one from a photo I took in San Francisco recently. It was actually the very first picture I took, on the first day, right down the street from our hotel, in the morning. The sun was just coming up over on the right, bouncing off some of the buildings on the left, making everything else glow. So cool.

Waiting for a Pardon

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I am finally getting caught up with everything since returning from Germany, and sleep is almost back to normal. We only woke up at 6 this morning, vs. 3, 4 or 5 on previous mornings. Jet lag definitely gets tougher as I get older. But I had fun doing this egg in between some last minute tax calculations.

Farmers Market Flowers

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Here is my entry for this week's Daily Paintworks Challenge. It's been a while since I did one, but the photo is one of mine from San Francisco, and I wanted to paint it anyway. It was real challenge making the flowers look like some were in the sun and some in shadow, but I'm really happy with the result.

Egg For Company

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Hello! We are home from Germany and recuperating slowly (jet lag is a drag!). You can see a few watercolor sketches I did while away, on my Facebook page. I really enjoyed this new medium, and will continue to play with it. Meanwhile, here is my first oil painting since returning.

Sugaraholic

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On Monday we are going out of town to visit my husband's birth-mother in Germany for 2 weeks. This was a tough decision, but I'm going to leave all my paints here and bring only a brand new watercolor set, some pens and my sketchbook. My hope is this will force me out of my comfort zone. Ahh! I might post some things on my Facebook page, but probably nothing here until after April 4 (unless I end up painting tomorrow). I also won't be able to ship any paintings until after April 4.

Not Tulips, Just One

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I've been looking through my old paintings lately and noticing how my compositions have been getting more and more complicated. So I've been trying for simple the last few days.

Put Two Lips Together

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After I posted yesterday about using cool LED to light your flowers, I got several other suggestions. In case you don't check the comments, I thought I'd share them here. Lyn says if you put an ice cube in the vase the tulips won't open as fast. Jean says a if you have hot lights, simply put a penny in the water and the tulips will keep their shape (under cool lights the stems get rigid). And I can't find this last comment again, but someone said put them in the fridge for a few hours before you paint them and that helps too. Lots of things to try!

Five Tulips

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One thing I know about flowers, and tulips especially, is they change quite a bit when you shine a light on them. What I discovered today when I painted these (twice) is - heat plays a big part in that. If your light gets hot you're going to be really frustrated when after 30 minutes your flowers have opened and even the shadows are different! If your light is cool (like an LED) your flowers don't change much at all, and in the end you have a sane artist instead of a crazy one!

Beloved

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I never get tired of painting apples. Today's apples were painted with my new Rosemary & Co. brushes. I bought them because simply everyone was talking about them, and I had to see what all the fuss was about. I bought the Ivory short flats, and they are very comparable to my Silver Bristlon brights. A couple of things you should know before you order: 1. be prepared to pay in pounds, as they are located in London (shipping is reasonable), 2. if you don't opt for the longer brushes (a teensy bit more expensive) they are going to be about 8 inches long.

On the left, a size 6 Silver Bristlon bright - right, a short handled, Rosemary Ivory short flat. -->

I have a friend who uses both and swears the Rosemary brushes keep their sharp edge longer. I've been using them for about a month and so far can't see a difference, but I may amend that later. For now, I'd say they are comparable.

The Many Shades of White

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I find the many shades of white endlessly fascinating.

Hostage Situation

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The big ol' mean cup is the bad guy. He's robbing a bank and the sweet little orange slices are the hostages. The plate is the accomplice. And that's it.

Ice Skating to Tea

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I recently spent some time searching online for some suitable boxes I could buy for shipping larger paintings. Mostly what I found were either way too huge, way too small, and/or not narrow enough. Finally, I landed on some boxes specifically for shipping art that are simply ingenious! The boxes are called ezartshippers, and you can get them from aswexpress. They come in 4 sizes: S, M, L & XL (exact dimensions on website). I use these to ship anything 12x12in. and larger. Following are some pictures of me using a "small" box. The best thing? No need for bubble wrap!!!

Knobby Shadow Maker

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Remember the little vase I made and posted a picture of (unglazed) weeks ago? Well, here it is again, all done, and in it's debut painting!

I've been going a bit nutso with Pinterest lately, pinning some awesome paintings I've found on the internet. It is great to have an inspiration wall, even if it's just a virtual one. In case you're interested, here are a bunch of paintings I love.

Red Mini, Parked

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I photographed this cutie in a parking garage in Portland last year. I loved the pop of red in all the gray of the parking garage, and the variety of highlights.

Dudes Having Coffee

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Here's another scene from San Francisco. Whenever I do little paintings like this with people in them, the people often turn into people I know. Isn't that weird? They're strangers in the reference photo, but friends in the painting. Does that happen to anyone else?

City Porch

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One day in San Francisco we walked quite a distance on Hyde Street, which, along with being extremely steep, has some lovely residences along both sides. I was particularly struck by the light falling on this porch. One day I'd like to do a whole series of front porches!

Hotel Lobby

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This is my dear husband, checking his email in our San Francisco hotel lobby, next to the giant lamp. I really love the glow from the lamp. It makes me want to paint more interiors. Next time I'll spend more time in hotel lobbies!

Good news - I finally ported my first three books over to Magcloud! So now they are all (4) available again.