Chit Chat

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This'll be the last painting until I get back from the mountains. Unfortunately this means I won't be able to ship anything (paintings or books) until 8.27.19. Cross your fingers for me, please, that I avoid seeing any animals close up that are capable of eating me or any of my artist friends. I'd really like to keep painting.

Waiting for the Boys

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Just three days left until I head up into the wilderness (Sierra Nevada Mountains). Meanwhile, a few more paintings done in the studio. Here's one from Florence.

Lovely and Waiting

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These are the same steps as yesterday's, but in the sun.

My Yellow Bag

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Here's another scene from my trip to Italy this spring. Apparently Florence is famous for it's leather, and this gal had clearly invested in a beautiful yellow specimen. The wall she was leaning against was the same color as the steps - gray. So I used Photoshop to mock up some alternatives. A purple wall was the winner, which is how I painted it, being careful to keep the "shadows" around her. But my favorite part is that little light reflection on her glasses. It's pretty funny, the things I'm proud of.

Lemanticized

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This is the last of the lemons. To see other lemons I've painted (including a couple of things that just include lemon in the title) go here.

I am currently packing for another trip into the Sierra's. This means I'll climb up into the mountains with art friends and all my gear and paint landscapes for a week, with absolutely no access to internet or running water, sleeping on the hard ground, bathing in a glacier lake, and apparently, this year, being eaten alive by mosquitoes. It's ... fun. Really!

Break It Up Lemons

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I haven't mentioned this in a while (because it hasn't happened in a while) but this was one of those paintings that just magically appears after a trance. I'm sitting there, with a brush in my hand, minding my own business, and suddenly it's like I wake up, and this magnificent painting is in front of me. This is what I live for. My husband calls them "paint-gasms." Yes!

Hallowed One

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I'm heading off tomorrow for a little getaway with my husband. We are self-employed, and tend to forget to take weekends off. So every once in a while we force ourselves to head out of town and not work for a few days. I'll be back on Thursday (8.8.19) and will ship again then.

Alotta Lemons

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And now, lemons! Often the only ones I can find at the store are the giant ones. But the small ones are so much cuter, I think, especially to paint.

In other news, I just slashed prices on all my remaining abstract collages to $50/ea. Shipping is free (within the US) for you - it costs me $25, and the frames cost $25 - so you are getting them completely at cost (not counting materials or time or any of that silly stuff). If you'd like to see them framed, click on the link above, then an image you like, and then the second image (under the big one) in the pop-up. I framed a collection of 4 for myself that is hanging in my bathroom, and I think they look so good together!

Talented Tomatoes

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Well here it is, the last tomato painting (for now) - we made it! I did this one on a black gessoed board. I like how moody it is. Like a pile of tomatoes you'd find in a dark kitchen, on a midnight prowl for grub.

Cut Clear Tomatoes

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Before I did this one, I painted some quick, 10-minute tomatoes (to the right). I ALWAYS learn a lot from them, even if I've been painting lots of this subject anyway. And it's because I know they won't be "finished" (or saleable) and so I experiment. We aren't learning new things unless we're TRYING new things. 

In other words, if we always do what we always do, we'll always get what we always get.

So pull out a spare panel, divide it into smaller parts, and try sh*t. Do it today. Then show a friend. Tell them what you learned. It doesn't have to be something HUGE! You'll learn tiny little things that you can apply to the next one, times four.

Troublesome Tomatoes

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Here's #5 in my current tomato series. I was just looking through all my other 127 tomato paintings to date, and thought you might want to see as well. : ) What a long strange trip it's been.

Totally Tomatoes

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Creating a Beautiful DPW Artist Website

This is my fourth (way overdue) post in a series about DailyPaintworks.com (DPW), which my husband, David, and I created. DPW is an online fine art gallery where artists can have their own artist website to show and sell their work.

If you missed them, here are the links to my first three posts about DPW:

1. What is Daily Paintworks?
2. Common Misconceptions about Daily Paintworks
3. I Love My Website

We recently added a bunch of new features to let our artists customize their DPW websites to suit their personal style. This rounds out other long term customization features, such as being able to organize your art into custom categories and pointing a custom domain name to your DPW website, as I do with carolmarine.com.

Many of our artists have really run with it and created beautiful websites for themselves! Here are some examples. (click to enlarge)

As you can see, you can change the layout, fonts (over 60), colors, borders, and more. Click here to read more about DPW and to join us and have your own DPW artist website. We would love to have you with us!

Clingy Tomatoes

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For the rest of these tomato paintings I used my stronger, halogen bulb. This makes for more contrast in the shadows, warmer lights, and a more "spotlit" effect. Overall I think it's a more dramatic feel, or it can be. I like to switch back and forth depending on what I'm going for.

Who Called This Meeting?

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Here's my second pass at these tomatoes. For these first two I used my "daylight" florescent bulb to light the setups. I did this because tomatoes are fairly translucent, and my stronger light can obliterate the form shadow (the shadow ON the object, as opposed to the cast shadow, which is cast FROM the object) in a way I don't always like.

As for the title, I'm actually trying to remember the last time I attended an actual meeting, like an official one. That's one great thing about being a self-employed artist - no meetings!

Passing the Plate

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I bought some tomatoes yesterday and went to TOWN with them. This is the first of seven paintings (that worked out)!

I had a goal in mind for each one. For this one I was just trying to blow out the cobwebs. I've had a lot of non-painting things going on lately, and haven't been in the studio as much as usual. So I was feeling a little rusty.

Three Cuties

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Here's one more of the trio of flowers from my granddaughter. Soon they are headed back home to Texas, and I am off to Seattle for a few days. Ahhh, summer.

Cute Flowers From a Cutie

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My granddaughter (5) has been visiting this week. The other day she gave us each (me, hubs, & son) a little yellow flower. So of course I collected and painted them, while they lasted. It tickled me to show her the paintings later. She was impressed that her old grandma could do such a thing.

Being Seen

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Some people seem to get dressed in the morning with the sole idea of being SEEN. I find this especially funny when the outfit looks uncomfortable. But over-all I am so GLAD about it! Because I get to 1. enjoy it, and 2. take pictures to paint later! So, if fashion is your thing, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

This is a scene I photographed in Florence, and actually tried to demo for my students. "Tried" being the operative word. Luckily it was the only demo that didn't turn out. But of course I had to try it again in the comfort of my own studio, and this one I like.

A Market Chat

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Here's one from my France files. Suppose they were chatting about produce? Girls? The weather? Oh well, I guess it would all be in French anyway, which I know only about 3 words of. Loved the light though!

Taking Notes

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I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make this one work. I had to remove a few awkward people in the background (and their shadows), and another weird shadow near the front, but it finally came together. The finishing touch was the white zipper on his jacket. I debated about putting it in, but when I did it was so right.