"A Date With Art"

12 x 12"
oil on masonite
sold

This is one of those paintings I've wanted to do for a long time but didn't think I could pull off that carved seating without getting too tight in my brush strokes. Painting is for the patient, that's for sure. In these museum settings, sometimes it's all about the artwork or the figure and sometimes it's about the space. I think this is a little bit of all three.

From the sculpture gallery in the American Art wing, in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Please click here for a larger view.


Just a few thoughts to share on this last day of the year ~ I'm one of those people that plans out at least six months ahead. Not so rigid it can't be changed, but I often think in terms of what I am ready for, what needs to be different, what I need to shed. A year ago, I was wanting to try to teach a workshop or two ~ and did ~ but I realize it's something I've got to take more time to plan and get it right, before I officially go down that road. Perhaps in the second half of the new year. A year ago, I was sure I wouldn't commit to any solo shows ~ and I didn't ~ I joined in on group shows and a dual show, which was just right. It allowed me to explore different subject matters and grow a little more in terms of skill, with less pressure on my time.

Speaking of a date with art, I've got a couple of solid plans to tell you about ~

~ I will be presenting a solo show, taking place at the Morris & Whiteside Gallery in Hilton Head Island, opening March 13th. I'm concentrating on scenes from two southern cities, Washington DC and Charleston, South Carolina - including museum patrons, cityscapes, night scenes, interiors and beachscapes. If you want ... need a nice break from winter, please make plans to come to the opening ~ it's a lovely setting and it would be my pleasure to meet you.

~ I will be in a dual show, taking place at the Howard/Mandville Gallery in Kirkland, Washington, opening May 9th, with Fred Calleri. Talk about a lovely setting, you can't beat Seattle/Kirkland that time of year. Please pencil me in for the opening night, I'd be happy to meet you.

~ I will be participating in the various group shows at the 16 Patton Gallery, in Asheville, North Carolina, like this past year - I absolutely loved the different themes and hope to continue that in the new year. You can always get information on those shows on their website or on mine. That little city is a pleasure to visit any time of the year.

One change to note is that I have left the Cohen-Rese Gallery in San Francisco and the Twinhouse Gallery in Atlanta. Cohen-Rese, after years of a good relationship, chose not to pay me for a painting sold after I announced to them I was leaving the gallery. That's what some art gallery owners do to artists. I hope people take a cue from that experience.

I wish all of you a Happy New Year and thank you for your continued interest in my work, and all your comments and emails. That, above all, drives me every day.

"Big Boned"

9 x 12"
oil on masonite
sold

I remember this woman - she towered over me. She had quite a presence, much like the figures in Picasso's 'Three Women at the Spring, Fontainebleau', which hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Bay Breeze"

8 x 8"
oil on masonite
sold

I suspect the Ferry Building and the weekend market is a ritual for a lot of people who live in San Francisco. You couldn't pick a nicer spot to read the paper, sip a cup of coffee and take in the breeze from the bay. In the distance is the Oakland Bay Bridge, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Strawberries & Plaid"

work in progress

I've been obsessed with drawing and painting people ever since I can remember. As a child, I would copy the drawings on the sewing pattern covers, tear apart my mom's magazines and draw the people in the ads - as a teenager, I filled up sketchbooks with hundreds of drawings of people on the commuter trains. We, as physical forms, are fascinating. Add the clothes and we become more so.

I've also been spending my holiday time watching the epic movies ~ Ben-Hur, Lawrence of Arabia, King of Kings, etc. Gasp when I say it, I don't mind - television is a constant source of inspiration for me as a painter. Take 'Lawrence of Arabia' - the figures and camels against the blinding desert with long shadows. There's hundreds of paintings in that movie.

My work today may be altered, don't know yet. I'm gonna go watch a movie.

Unwrapped

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
nfs

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
nfs

Now that they're unwrapped, here are a couple of personal gifts given to my extended family.

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a peaceful Christmas.

Painting Us Different Folks

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
gift to the artist

I've got this interesting project that just got started ~ on my Different Strokes From Different Folks blog ~ 130 artists, including myself, will be painting portraits of each other. All from photographs they've submitted to me. I put all 130 names in a hat, randomly drew a name for each artist - presumably someone they've never met - and they are to paint that artist and that artist is to paint them. This handsome man is my victim.

My blog got a nice mention in the January issue of Southwest Art magazine as well. I'm very proud.

"Proof"

8 x 8"

oil on masonite
sold

Well, before I became a paintaholic I did a lot of gardening. My boots are proof. This subject is also the current challenge on my Different Strokes From Different Folks blog.

"Charleston Dusk"

5 x 7"
oil on masonite
sold

Maybe it was the big breakfast. Maybe the five cups of coffee. I had the most productive, wonderful day of painting today. Not one, not two, but three paintings were done. And they're all loose, expressive and yummy. I cannot show you the other two yet - they're gifts. This is one of those days when I finish up, thinking this is what oils are meant for. I love that. While I'm on the subject - I recently tried out a brand I hadn't bought before - Williamsburg oil paints. They're wonderful. I want to be their spokeswoman.

This little piece is a street in the charming city of Charleston, South Carolina. The city of steeples.

"Map Quest"

12 x 12"
oil on masonite
nfs

If you're paying attention to my postings, you'd know I painted this piece, posted it then removed it the next morning. It's a rare occasion for me to rework a painting - but there I was, in my pj's the morning after I finished it, wiping off parts that bugged me. I had to. The scene is from the welcome/assistance desk in the National Gallery of Art.

This painting is a gift for a good friend.

My Newest ArtBook 'a Painting-a-Day Volume Six'

The newest volume of my little artbook 'a painting a day' is now available to purchase. The featured paintings - number 251 thru 300 - can be viewed here.

Update ~ this volume has sold out.

I do have a limited quantity of the previous volumes one thru four, volume five is sold out. Please email me if you are interested. Thank you.

"Jolie"

5 x 5"
oil on masonite
nfs

For a friend, in memory of her Jolie.

"Two of a Kind"

12 x 11"
oil on masonite
nfs

For my good friend - from her visit to the Musee du Louvre, in Paris, an artist painting the masterpiece 'Atala Portee au Tombeau', by Girodet-Trioson.

Sydney

8 x 8"
oil on masonite
nfs

For friends of mine - in memory of their Sydney.

"Morning Zen"

8 x 10"
oil on masonite
sold

Painting a Buddha and hydrangeas is a pretty nice way to spend an afternoon. This grouping happens to be what I see when I wake up every morning - which is also a pretty nice way to start a day. I took a lackluster photograph of the Buddha and flowers, painted roughly 50% from the reference, then put it away and let intuition take care of the rest.

Also the current challenge on my Different Strokes From Different Folks blog - please enjoy many different versions of the same little arrangement.

Have a wonderful, peaceful Thanksgiving holiday.

International Artist Magazine

I appreciate all the congratulations I've been getting - I honestly couldn't grasp it until I saw it with my own eyes. I got my copy today. Yay. I was awarded Finalist in the International Artist Magazine's People & Figures Competition. They chose a painting I had done this past August, titled 'Walk Through'. You can read the copy here, on my website.

This is a lesson on self-doubt too. I entered nine paintings in the competition last year - and I placed as a Finalist - which blew my mind. When it came up again this year, I said to myself 'they wouldn't pick me again - I couldn't be that lucky'. As the clock was ticking down the days to enter, I got closer to just jumping in. So I did. And I couldn't be more proud. Don't doubt yourself - when you can acknowledge you've worked hard to get where you are - today - take some gutsy chances. You never know where it'll lead.

"Portugal Passages"

12 x 16"
oil on masonite
NFS

From Obidos, Portugal. For a friend.

"Cornucopia"

12 x 12"
oil on masonite
sold

It is a rare thing for me to paint someone I know - honestly, I'm usually traveling alone, so everyone's a stranger. But on this occasion, inside the Smithsonian American Art Museum, I caught a glimpse of my boyfriend underneath the massive mural 'Achelous and Hercules', painted by Thomas Hart Benton - an artist we both have a great affection for. When I was around 15 years old, I convinced my art teacher and the principal of the school to allow me to paint a 50 foot by 2 foot mural in the hallway - depicting American history events. A large portion of it was painted much like Benton - those recognizable, exaggerated figures with vivid colors. It got me out of gym class for three months, which was my intention in the first place.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Rainbow Walk"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

I think the real gift an artist has is the ability to see the world a little brighter, a little more colorful - even in the simplest moments. From a city sidewalk in Washington, DC.


This same subject was the past week's challenge on my Different Strokes From Different Folks Blog, resulting in 82 different artistic versions of the original reference photograph. I asked the participants to turn the photo upside-down and paint 95% of their piece inverted - to exercise the brain in a different way. I did the same. By doing so, you paint what you 'see', rather than what you 'know'.

"Red Meat"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

When in doubt - paint a cow. Turned out to be one of my personal favorites.

Stuck

A week? Where am I .......
Well, it's been a combination of catching up with real life (I'm still not done with my laundry) and my frame shop business, sorting out thousands of photographs I've taken in the past few months and frankly, being stuck. I experimented with several different ground colors on paintings, failed on four different pieces, then started a new painting that involves a complex and awesome painting by Thomas Hart Benton. Yikes.

Some weeks have no flow. It happens. I've come to realize it means I'm overwhelmed. Today I'll clean up my studio, finish my laundry and tackle the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle - and hopefully I'll feel that rhythm return tomorrow.

Happy Sunday.

Charleston Art Auction - Part 2

I'm back from Charleston - as you can see Mother Nature was very good to me during the entire three days. Warm afternoons, cool nights and crystal-clear skies. Lucky me. They don't call it the Holy City for nothing - you take ten steps and there's a church. It's a beautiful city.



The auction was a great experience - I was captivated for the entire two and a half hours. It was manic. Lightning fast. I've never seen anything like it. And I'm so proud to report both of my paintings sold. I am so proud.



So....... I'm happily home for a good while and it's time to get to work with new ideas and new paintings ahead.

"Them & Their Shadow"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

I am obsessed with shadows - mostly trying to understand them. Meaning if shade falls on a certain color, what color does it become ..... things like that. From the corner of 7th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue, in Washington, DC.

Charleston Art Auction

sold

I've never been to an art auction. Although I've contributed paintings to several charity auctions in the past years, I've never been included in a for-profit art auction until now. Gulp. This Saturday night is the Annual Charleston Art Auction, held at the downtown Renaissance Charleston Hotel - and I'm going. Gulp. I have two paintings to be auctioned off - and patrons can either bid at the event, cast an absentee bid or call in a live bid. I just have to see this - it sounds very exciting. The auction is sponsored by Morris & Whiteside Galleries, who will be representing me - if you would like more information, please go to the official website for all contact information as well as a viewable catalog of the art featured in this event. Wish me luck - it's a brand-new adventure for me.

Click here to view my two paintings in the auction.

Happy Trails ........ I'll post some photos when I return.

"Right To Privacy"

7 x 12"
oil on masonite
sold

There's one of many advantages to having my boyfriend join me on my photo-taking travels - he often spots something around the corner that I would have missed. And naturally, he appreciates the beauty of women. So thanks to Brett for my new painting today - from a phone booth inside the National Gallery of Art.

Please click here for a larger view.