6 x 6"oil on masonite
sold
Of all the hundreds of photographs I came home with - some stand out immediately and I'm anxious to paint those first. This young lady is one of those. There is an awkward elegance about her, mostly, it's the strong light on her bare back that is striking to me.
6 x 6"oil on masonite
sold
Hello all - I'm back home, rested and now that I've caught up at work, I'm happy to say I'm painting again. Oh how I missed it.
As you may know, I spent three days in Chicago - it was fantastic. The weather was perfect, the people were out in droves and I was envisioning paintings just about everywhere I looked. This new painting pretty much depicts the beginning of my adventure - as I arrived in the city early in the evening, starving and ready for a plate of chicken marsala at a little restaurant just around the corner from my hotel. The pressed, white tableclothes glisten in the sun, the waiters are handsome and the food is outstanding. Many more new paintings to come - I'm totally psyched.
One more thing before I head out this morning.....
Hello to all - I just arrived in Chicago, it's a b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l evening here and I'm craving pizza already. Tomorrow I'm going back to my old high school to visit my art teacher, who is retiring in less than 2 weeks - and the murals I painted on the walls may just retire with him, so I'll take some pictures to entertain you all. The "Tute" is waiting for me, I should get there sometime tomorrow evening - one of many trips to my favorite art museum. I certainly intend to get a firm answer on the Seurat mystery - I'll report back as soon as I know. For now, I'm gonna grab my trusty camera and venture out in this fabulous city. Enjoy your evening, wherever you are.
I am truly stumped - thinking someone out there knows the answer to what this object is in Seurat's painting "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte". I won't sleep until I know.
12 x 12"oil on masonite
sold
I've worked hard this week, trying to use available days to get in some painting on larger pieces for the galleries. That usually means the small, daily paintings get the shaft, but that's okay - it's good for me to keep a happy balance. I promise I'll get back to the little squares very soon.
This new painting was a challenge, to say the least. "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte" is an incredible task to depict - and no, I did not do it with little, tiny dots of paint like Georges Seurat. If you've been to the Art Institute of Chicago, it's one of the premiere works of art. It's absolutely mind-blowing, considering the artist's technique and the size of his canvas. It always makes me think of "Ferris Beuller's Day Off" - when Cameron stands, transfixed on the thousands of dots on top of dots. I also took liberty in portraying the painting in another frame - truth is I hate how the original is displayed in the museum.
Last night was the opening for Atlanta's ArtHouse 2007 - it's really a cool event and if you're in the area during the month of May, take the time to hit this venue. Basically, the Atlanta art galleries showcase select pieces under one roof, in a newly-built home. Visitors get an interesting assortment of different styles and different mediums and see it in a more livable environment. The Twinhouse Gallery included two of mine (shown above) as well as works from my fellow artist/friends Neil and Karen Hollingsworth, Jeff Cohen and Elizabeth Stockton. Also, try to stop in the gallery during the month of May to see more new paintings of mine and the others.
8 x 10"oil on masonite
sold
I really like this piece - it's loose, dark and, to quote someone else, "buttery". I think all that is better appreciated in person. These two bald gentlemen were in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
6 x 6"oil on masonite
sold
Chicago's my favorite city, no doubt, and "The Bean" is my favorite stop. And one of my all-time favorite subjects to paint. Officially titled "Cloudgate", it sits in Millennium Park and draws in people like honey to a bee.
This subject is great to paint for a couple of reasons - certainly it's fun and challenging, in that it's made up of shapes and colors, warped and unreal - so the challenge is to rely on your eyes to make all the shapes and curves and colors make sense in the end. Which, I guess, is what the challenge of painting is, no matter what you're depicting.
9 x 12"oil on masonite
sold
A woman spending a summer afternoon in the Art Institute of Chicago, before her is Renoir's "Acrobats at the Cirque Fernando".
12 x 12"oil on masonite
A new piece finished tonight - a well-suited woman viewing Henri Matisse's "Bathers By a River", which hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago.
6 x 6"oil on masonite
sold
I couldn't resist trying another of this subject. There's been some discussion on my blog about painting on a black background, and I think this piece shows how a little bit of black can be used within the edges. This is another little crowned artist drawing on the sidewalk at an arts festival.
9 x 12"oil on masonite
sold
A new piece that I did today - I always relish a full day of painting. I was asked to do a piece for a small show titled "Paper or Plastic" and chose this candid moment, of a young woman reading Catch-22 (the paper) with her biker glasses (the plastic) perched on her hat. By the way, for those who may be familiar with the artist Jeff Cohen, this is his daughter Emily.
16 x 12"oil on masonite
Just a little follow-up with this piece - I decided to go with it and title it "High Class" - the scene was from the top floor in the High Museum of Art, where a figure drawing class was being held. These women were waiting patiently for the live model to finish up her break and resume her pose.
6 x 6"oil on masonite
sold
Looking for inspiration, I headed up to Chattanooga on a whim, figuring an arts festival would be a great place for people-watching. Blessed with a clear, sunny day - I saw shadows everywhere, including this one with a delightful, little tiara to top it off.
Allow me to fill in the gap with answering to why I paint on black. I can remember, as a young girl just starting to draw, I preferred using chalk or white pencil on dark paper. In my early 20's, I always used pastels or colored pencils on dark paper. Years later, when I started to paint again, I used acrylic on black. Oddly enough, I guess I've always preferred to do it that way in whatever I used. I guess early on I realized even a dull still-life or human skin 'emerged' out of the dark and made for a more interesting piece. I thought so anyway.
Another crucial point, for me, is I can see the colors more accurately when I paint on black - what goes down stays down. The result is that I rarely go back and rework any of it, which makes for a quicker process, which is a good thing.
I went ahead and finished the undone - perhaps you can better judge with this image. I'm stumped whether it's a success or not. No doubt I need to walk away and get a fresh look at it tomorrow. Obsessing can lead to either throwing it across the backyard or nit-picking. Anyways...... have a pleasant evening. I think I need some good old fashioned escapism from the news - an hour of American Idol should do the trick.
I've been working on this new painting for the past two days - there's a little bit more to do on the far right and bottom. I mentioned I have the opportunity to put a painting into this special exhibition, here in Atlanta, and to me, that's an invitation to do something different than I normally do.Now this can end up being a good painting or a collosal waste of two days. I'm still not sure which way it'll go. The reason I picked this image is because it's mostly about the composition (there's a third figure to the right) and the light (in this case a blinding light) and less about the figures. I do know, when I was standing in this room, that vision really struck me - and I suppose that's why I'm determined to make this work.
Your feedback would be welcome - good or bad. In my defense (before you start typing) the dark areas do have a tad bit more detail than you can see. Being wet, it's tricky to get the most accurate photograph, as most of you know. Okay..... I'm ready. Start typing.
12 x 12"oil on masonite
sold
As you can see, I decided to carry on and finish this piece as I initially planned - and I'll tell you why. You know I was about halfway done and was tempted to try something different and essentially subtract the surroundings from the figures. Convinced that that idea is interesting - and that it has such great potential - I decided to save it for another painting.
The comments I continue to get in both emails and blog posts are really helpful - in that I realize what I didn't want was for the figures to appear as cutouts. I also realized that if I planned that from the beginning I would have changed some things about the composition. In other words, it takes a lot more thought and planning from the get-go when the strength of the painting relies solely on the placement of the figures.
I also think I'm partial to the scene finished, in this case, because I can remember that room so well - how spacious it is, how the marbled floor reflects the people, how light comes from all different sources and mostly how that painting "Paris Street, Rainy Day" is the major spectacle of the room.
I also intended for this painting to be in an upcoming exhibition in May - but I've changed my mind. For that, I still want to do something unexpected of me - and perhaps take on the aforementioned challenge.
This painting will be slated for my upcoming July show at 16 Patton Gallery, in Asheville, North Carolina.
I want your first impression. Let me explain.... I do paint on black - and the majority of the time I work the whole area at the same time. Except when I have a lot of figures in the picture. So for some reason, I'm more comfortable working on each person at a time. Frankly, it's more fun that way.As I'm at this point, about halfway done - I start to see some really interesting possibilities - like surrounding all the people with just black. Or white. As if they're suspended. Almost like you want to guess where all these people are.
I threw this same subject out a while back, with the painting of a line of people waiting to get into Starbucks. I really benefited from the comments - and if it weren't a commissioned piece, I would have had the guts to carry thru with my idea. What I want is your first reaction. Does it grab you - more so then if there was a realistic surrounding. Thank you.
PS - I'm talking about the idea of just the figures, not including the painting on the wall.
6 x 6"oil on masonite
sold
With some (lately rare) time to paint today, I just had to try a little one of this pretty, little church lady.
I don't know these people - but their warm smiles are what I wanted to show. I had the best Easter Sunday, just driving around this city, watching people and taking pictures. This gentleman and lady certainly caught my eye - I love the ladies' church hats. They put a smile on my face and apparently I did the same for them.I now have an additional 10' x 10' space in my little studio - yay! - and I've been situating everything. It rocks. I started a new painting tonight as well.
I also got my new artbooks today - I'll get all that organized and up in my eBay store tonight or tomorrow night, along with the previous volumes.
So....... that's what's happening in my little world. Enjoy your evening.
8 x 10"oil on masonite
sold
I've been expanding my studio this past week, painting a little bit in the evenings, and instead of doing a couple of small pieces I kept on working on this new painting. It is a bit larger than the usual sizes I offer on eBay, and I wanted to experiment with how this composition would look - the figure close up to a huge piece of artwork that pretty much takes over the entire space. I thought it might be too busy, but really I like how the figure is slightly hidden in the scene. The painting that the woman is looking closely at is Henri Matisse's "The Moroccans", which hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
