"All Hail Queen Tomato" - SOLD

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Someone asked me today if I ever get tired of painting fruits and vegetables. To be honest, I don't look at them as specific objects so much as shapes and colors. And really, there is an endless variety of situations they can be arranged in. Someday, when my son is older and it makes more sense in my life, I will be able to expand my subject matter and do more landscapes and figures, but for now, I am thoroughly enjoying what I do!

I also got an email today from a fellow artist, Mike Rooney, who recently posted on his blog about keeping crisp edges on brushes longer. Visit this post to learn his secret. Thanks, Mike! I plan to try this out tonight.

"A Cup'a Tomatoes" - SOLD

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Someone asked recently what colors I mix to make shadow colors on a tomato. Basically I use cadmium red medium and mix, usually, ultramarine blue or alizarin crimson (depending on how dark you want to go). I have not yet met a shadow that isn't "grey". My definition of grey is anything with all 3 primaries: red, blue & yellow. Because cad red has some yellow in it (it is an orangey red), mixing it with blue gives you a "grey" red, and also a darker one because blue is inherantly dark. Got it? : )

"Casual Apples" - SOLD

So, the next thing I wanted to try, was using the "real" colors as a guide, but adjusting as I saw fit. I didn't end up changing a whole lot. I did enjoy pushing some apples more green and some more yellow. This seems to lend itself to broader and simpler brush strokes, and I'm really enjoying it.

"Vibracolor Apples" - n/a

I couldn't wait to post this tonight! I'm so excited that I actually did it. Wild and crazy colors. I got a lot of suggestions that I follow a certain strategy, like always paint the compliment of the color I see, or have a certain color assigned to each value ... but I really wanted it to be spontaneous. And what I learned is: yes, as long as the values are correct, you can use any old color you want! I think I got lucky that it didn't turn out horrendous - I actually like the result. Now I can tone it back and change colors on purpose, just where I want them to be different. I did start out with a value study for this one - I put down a burnt umber ground, then drew in the darks with my brush and wiped out for the lights (see below). That helped.

"Apples Compliment" - SOLD

So what you're thinking is "where are all the wild and crazy colors we've been promised!?" Well, would you believe this was a green tomato and red apples? No, I suppose not. OK, I admit, this is a pathetic first attempt! I did exaggerate some colors, esp. in the shadows, but nothing too crazy. I really like the result ... but it's not what I set out to do. I, I, I ... swear I'll do better next time.

Here is the link for the KUT radio spot about my art (just 2 minutes).

Also (lots to report today) the Daily Painter Review did a review of my art as well. Man coverage everywhere - I am one lucky chickie!

"Stuck Together" - SOLD

I REALLY like this one. I've been thinking a lot lately about my propensity to put things down as I see them. I mean, obviously I interpret a bit, but when it comes to color, I stay fairly true to what I see. It seems to be in my nature. But I'd like to experiment with exaggerating some colors and maybe ... maybe even putting some colors where they aren't at all! I've heard that if you stay true to value (light/dark), you can make the colors anything you want. I keep thinking I'll do one wild and crazy painting where no one color is true, but I haven't found the guts for it yet. I feel if I can do one extreme version of this then I'll be more likely to experiment in small amounts elsewhere. Any advice?

"You Hide" - SOLD

Green and purple - perhaps the most yummy color combination ever! We took the day off from building today. They said it would be 108 degrees so we went into town and enjoyed lunch out and some people watching for a change.

"We Three" - SOLD

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I was having a hard day at painting so I decided to take the pressure off of coming up with a supremely unique composition : ) and just paint something simple and regular for me. Also we made more progress on the studio!

"Went Home With Who?" - SOLD

Can you imagine it? You have one too many and you end up going home with ... the short little green guy from accounting? Oh man!

Regarding yesterday's post about the radio interview, apparently there will be a full version online at some point. When I get it, I'll post the link. I assume it'll be next Monday.

"Crossing the Line" - SOLD

Today I was interviewed by a local radio station - KUT 90.5 (hosts NPR) - about my art. The interview was about 30 minutes long, but they will edit it down to just 2 minutes. It will be played all next week, M-F, twice a day. How cool is that?!

"Tipsy" & "One Cut Up" - SOLD

My good friend (and fabulous artist) Laurel Daniel kept me up WAY past my bedtime last night with no time left to post, hence two today. We were supposed to paint the sunset but ended up chatting for hours and hours instead. We both swore we'll actually paint next time. : )



sold

Today I am off to a mom/stepmom meeting in Austin so I thought I'd post early. The auction's for each of the above posts will start tonight, so don't click on the links until after 8pm PST.

"Languish in Lavender" - SOLD

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We've made some progress on the studio - yeah!

"Color Can" - SOLD

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I painted this turp can in a demo a couple of workshops ago and really enjoyed it so I thought I'd try it again. I find over and over again that metal is a hard thing to paint. I'll probably give it another go soon.

"Support Group" - SOLD

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To me one of the best (and most unexpected) things about this blog is the support I get from you all. Thank you so much for the very kind words after yesterday's post! On your advice, I am going to take a breather from the break-neck pace I was on, work on my studio, hang out with friends and family, and generally slow down and smell the ... apples. : ) I still want to paint a small one each day (don't want my painting muscles to atrophy) but the rest of each day, for a while, will be for other things. And speaking of my studio, I will post an update soon (with a link here).

"Reflections in Red" - SOLD

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If you haven't heard of Robert Genn and his regular letters that muse on all things art, it is worth checking out. It's called Painter's Keys, and you can sign up to get the newsletter, which is always very interesting. A few months ago he wrote about post show depression. I thought "not for me - it'll never happen." He said it has nothing to do with how many sales you make, and that every artist gets it. Well, I hate to say it but ... I have it. Not depression, more like a kind of directionless coasting. I'm sure I'll get a foothold on something soon, but for now ... I admit I'm spending more time outside working on the new studio than inside my temporary one.

"Good Times Roll" - SOLD

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This is the sort of thing I did when I first started painting small still life studies. Before I started buying panels, I was cutting up small peices of pre-primed canvas and taping them to a larger peice of plywood. I threw most of them away. I think that's a great, cheap way to paint when you're starting out and/or just want to experiment without feeling the weight of expensive materials and the fear of failure that comes along with it.

"Pyramid" - SOLD

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A few of you asked for more details about the frames I use. I should mention first of all that when I ordered this last batch for my show, my supplier informed me it would be the last! They are discontinuing this style. Argh! I was using Omega Moulding and buying just the moulding in 10 ft lengths, then cutting and putting them together ourselves.

A floating frame from the end is basically an L shape. They are really intended for stretched canvas, so for a panel they must be modified. If you can image putting a backing on the panel so it's LIKE a stretched canvas, that's close to what we've done. We make a square frame out of 3/4" baltic burch plywood that goes almost to the edges of the back of the panel, then put the whole thing together.

And in answer to one more question, there are 40 paintings in my show.

"Drinking Pals" - SOLD

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Reception night for a solo show is like being queen for the night! Thank you to all of you who made it - it was wonderful seeing my good friends, and meeting new ones! For those of you who couldn't attend, please enjoy these photos my husband took, including one showing a close-up of a floating frame.

"Plums Three" & kids - SOLD

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Below is a group photo of MOST of my kids. Three of them had to leave early. Do you see the crown of paper flowers on my head (in the middle)? Thanks, you guys! Ya'll were a great class and I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with you this week.

"Getting Cozy" - SOLD

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Wow, I got an overwhelming response after sending out my show invite - thank you all so much for your kind words!!! Again, I wish I could thank each one of you individually but time is too short. The last day of my workshop here in San Antonio is tomorrow. I'll post a group photo after that, in which I will be wearing the special gift my kids gave me tonight at dinner. ; )

"One Shy Plum" - SOLD & workshop photos

Now that I think about it, there are 2 shy plums in this painting. One in the bowl sort of hiding, and another ... where is it? Can you see it?

The workshop is going very well. Another fabulous group - I seem to be blessed with them! Laura is going to hate me for posting this picture of her, but I had to post this photo of one of my kids, squinting, as I told her to, and concentrating hard on her subject! And more kids below.

"Plum Stack" - SOLD

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Great first day of class here in San Antonio. I'll post some photos tomorrow - tonight I am blasted.

"Plum Full"

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Several people asked to see a photo of one of my paintings in the floating frame I've been talking about. Since I took them to the gallery on Friday I don't have any more at home, but I'll take some pics at the show and post them afterwards. Meanwhile, you can see a preview of the show (and some older paintings too) here on the gallery website.

"Pick Up Peas"

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We are visiting my folks for the holiday, but I did a whole slew of paintings ahead of time so I would have plenty to post. I know that is cheating a bit, but ... what can I say? Everyone needs a break sometimes. : )

"Two Over Three" - SOLD

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I am finally done framing all my paintings for the show, and will bring them in to the gallery tomorrow. If you can imagine, 40 paintings means 40 frames!!! We ordered tons of stock and put all the frames together ourselves. And they are floating frames, so they were a bit more complicated than regular ones!! I am bringing all my paintings in early because I have a workshop all next week, in San Antonio.

"Grape-Plated" - SOLD

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Beleive it or not I went around and around on how to position these grapes on the plate. Sometimes it just doesn't come easy. It seems my mood is tied closely to my last painting, which is really frustrating when I've done a real dog. I do like how this finally turned out, but I spent a few hours not liking anything else. Ugh.