Cliff Shadows

sold. (8x8in.)

Last year I took a trip down to California, driving along good portions of the coast. This was my last day, driving north towards home from Mendocino. I'm not sure where I was exactly, but I loved the morning light casting such blue shadows on the beach below. I'm including the reference photo because I love seeing what other people change, and I thought you might too.

Loud Water

Click Here to Bid (8x8in.)

This scene is the view from a winery near Mendocino, CA. (what a view, huh?!) My friend and I positioned ourselves up on a cliff in a spot where it wasn't quite so windy, but by the end I have to admit I was a bit frazzled, and cold. This was after my umbrella turned completely inside out and nearly blew me and all my gear off the cliff. Let me just say - painting moving water is hard! And clearly I have much to learn. But I captured the feeling, of the mist and the rocks and the waves, and for that (and for surviving the experience), I am proud.

Distant Cliffs

Click Here to Bid (6x12in.)

This one has what I was really hoping to achieve in California - atmosphere! I find that it is MUCH easier to see AND paint this when you've got one (closer) layer directly in front of another (further away) layer. As was the case for this scene.

Another thing that made it easier to SEE the atmosphere, was to have a tear in one contact. Yep. It was so bad I had to throw it away. Luckily it was the one for my left eye, so my dominant eye was still clear. All I had to do was close my right eye to see everything fuzzy, which helped me see the whole scene and all the relationships at once. This is something I preach about in my workshops (squinting for the same effect), but somehow I get stupid when I'm outside.

Meanwhile, I didn't post Sunday night because my family took a little impromptu camping trip. If you're interested, you can read about it/see pictures on my new beginnings blog.

Coastal Cave

Click Here to Bid (8x8in.)

I did this painting in Mendocino, where I stayed for a few days last week painting with my friend and fabulous artist, Erin Dertner. This view was literally a 3 minute walk from her house. The whole time I was there I kept saying, "Wow, you LIVE here!!!" While I was painting this one in particular, some people walked past me and asked if I'd seen the whales swimming by. Dang! I was so wrapped up in my painting I completely missed them.

I promised more info about the wet panel carrier I built and here it is (pictures below). First of all, I had some 12x24" Ampersand gessobord panels that my husband cut up for me into 6x12" panels. Because of the width of the table saw, there were a few short ones at the end, so I'll use those for something else.

Then I had him make the little wooden inserts/dividers that you see on the inside of the box. These are made of wood, which works fine, but if I had it to do over again I would buy some plastic ones from Raymar. Each slot holds 2 wet panels, back-to-back. Raymar also carries a variety of these boxes made from a kind of corrugated plastic (like cardboard but plastic) and the ONLY reason I built this one myself is because they don't carry this particular size.

I crafted my box from black (because I had some) foam core and black Guerrilla Tape (amazingly strong!). I was VERY careful to measure everything 5 times and really think about how the box would be put together. A small error means the whole box is worthless (I know this well because of previous attempts!). I taped everything well, and used some velcro strips to create a closure for the lid (cutting a strip of tape for the top of the velcro).

The only thing I wish I'd done was fashion some kind of strap for easier carrying. I'll do that soon.

my custom built 6x12" wet panel carrier

Sea Slice 2

sold

Here's another sea slice from Ventura. Plus a lovely little video made by my friend/artist, Julie Ford Oliver about my book! Don't worry, it's just a short, flip through. Just 2 more days to get the pre-order rate for my book!

Sea Slice 1

sold

During my recent trip to Ventura, CA, I took a few pictures of the ocean, intending to paint them. I had seen some really simple paintings of beaches, years ago, in a gallery, somewhere ... with just a few horizontal stripes to describe the water. That is what I had in mind for this, but in the end it just didn't work for me without the details. So there you go.

Tomorrow morning, at 9am PST, I will again be co-hosting the AHA (Artists Helping Artists) show. This one is about using photographs for paintings (how/where to take them, what to look for, how to edit them, etc.). The show is recorded, so if you can't listen tomorrow, you can always hear it later.

What Are You Waiting For?

Click Here to Bid

This is from one of the photographs I took on the beach in Georgia. I love the expectant dog and the tennis ball thrower. It was really fun doing people for a change.