Lunching in the Square

 

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An old scene from Germany. There was some sort of political thing going on with balloons everywhere. A few were floating in the background, but they didn't read well when I painted them. So I took them out because I figured ... there was plenty going on without them!

Lunch in Italy

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Here's another scene from Florence. I got a lot of comments after my previous post about taking pictures of people, mostly very positive(!), but I just wanted to clarify something. I've done my research, and it is completely legal to take pictures of people if they are out in public. They might not always like it, and it might sometimes feel a little weird (even for me), but it's legal.

To anyone who might feel it is stealing or morally wrong, or I should ask for permission every time (ugh), there's this: 1. I am never shooting for a likeness when I paint them (if I was, I would definitely ask) and 2. I try to be very discreet. I never ever get in someone's face - I have a zoom lens and I use it. If they see me, I move on.

No one has complained to me about my picture taking in years! The last one was in San Francisco, the guy was homeless, across the street, and I wasn't even taking pictures of him!!

Elevensies

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Never before have I had a tiny little head go so well as this! And it only took one try. Man oh man that feels good. : )

A Late Breakfast

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I've been taking a few days off to do some woodworking projects. I'm currently making new cabinet doors for our bathroom. : ) And helping my husband re-organize the garage/shop for better workflow. It helps me so much to have another "creative" outlet. Also I spent a fair amount of my childhood out in my dad's wood shop, so all the tools and wood smells are very familiar.

Here's a sunny scene from Überlingen, Germany. This cafe was right at the "mouth" of the market I was photographing, so I got a few angles, and a couple rotations of visitors. I have a feeling it will appear in future paintings as well.

Guard Dog

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I was having lunch with my class one day in France when I spotted this little scene at the coffee shop across the street. This was the first appearance the sun had made all day, so I nearly tripped over my chair trying to get up in time to take a picture.

Lunch in Germany

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Above is a painting I did from a reference photo I took in Germany. Honestly, I forget the name of the town. All I remember is that it was really hard to pronounce!

To the right are a few pictures from our backpacking trip this last weekend. My husband and I joined Leigh and Terry Sparks for 2 wonderful days in the Cascades! We found the most ridiculously beautiful spot to set up camp, right on Crescent Lake. You can see both the sun-rise and -set, as well as a photo of the boys cooking our dinner (while Leigh and I sat with our feet in the water, drinking wine!). Today Terry is back to hiking the entire PCT (from Mexico to Canada), where he averages 35 miles a day! He was really slumming it with us and our meager 25 miles over 2 days. Because of that, I am quite embarrassed to say we are still sore from the hiking. Oh.

Sparkling Water

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In Germany (where the reference photo for this was taken), if you ask for water, they bring you a bottle of sparkling water. They call it wasser mit gas, which translates to: water with gas. I always ask for wasser ohne gas (water without gas), which I always feel funny saying. But there you go. Captivating, I'm sure.