The Times - Greeting Card

 

7x5 water soluble graphite on watercolor paper
greeting card
$30 + $5 sh

One of my favorite things to do - sketch people in coffee shops. Its interesting to note that its primarily men who read the newspapers.

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There is still time to buy a piece of original art for a gift that lasts lifetimes.
See my ETSY store for large and small works.

On A Wintry Day - Cafe Scene

6x6 oil on panel - sold
$100 + s/h

Aside from a few commissions this week, I am painting some small works that are perfect for gift giving. I've been debating ways to sell - there are so many options from ETSY to the daily painter's websites/auctions, to a store on my own website. For now, ETSY seems the best bet since there is a whole community or artisans drawing people to the site.

Later in the week, I am heading to Georgia for the opening at dk Gallery Friday night. I am really looking forward to this little excursion. I always enjoy exploring and it will be very nice to meet some of my new collectors. If you live in the Atlanta area, come by on Friday night 6-9 pm. 

Barista

10x12 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery
$900 framed 

Sunny Cafe

10x12 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery

Working Lunch

 

Working Lunch

20x16 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery

I had three larger paintings in the Vignettes show and they are a hint of where I am going next with my paintings. I want to work a little bigger. Having focused on rather small or medium sized works for the past several years, and being used to working the paintings to completion in one sitting, it will be interesting to see how I like scaling up. The goal though is to still have the intimate scenery - the vignettes of life - but on a larger scale. 

Sunny Side of the Street

18x18 oil on linen

SOLD

Dîner de Fête

10x12 oil on panel (each)
Available at Tidewater Gallery

Cafe Gitane is in NYC right in the Jane Hotel. We ate breakfast there every morning and often ended our day there too with a nightcap (a yummy chocolate chaud). Its a French theme with a little bit of Morocco thrown in - very Casablanca feeling. At night, it glows with the vapor lights from outside and the dim lamps and antique chandeliers inside add to the warm glow. It was fun to try to paint everything with an orangey-pink tinge. These paintings, un and deux, are framed separately but make a nice pair. See them at my show opening next Friday!

"Vignettes"

An exhibition of small works by Robin Cheers

Tidewater Gallery

107 N. Front Street

Swansboro, NC

910-325-0660

Opening reception Friday, June 15, 5-8 pm

Show catalog available on Lulu.

Double Latte

20x16 oil on linen

I really enjoyed this painting. I needed to focus on something other than the news. And this gave me ample opportunity to lose myself in lots of shapes. Something like this could be overwhelmingly confusing. Its really just a matter of ignoring objects and seeing just color. I painted the color/value in the right places and it turned out to describe a pitcher, or an espresso machine. It helped a great deal that I kept the colors similar and well matched.

Its hard to describe, and I have no idea if others do this or not, but I tend to start with one color mix and then continue to work that morphing new color shades and values in and around that original mix as it spreads across my palette. Each color I place has some of the original DNA.

Now, if I apply this to a city scene.... it could look like a patchwork quilt. I think there one has to ignore some of wide variety of broken color you see and focus on values. Learning to edit is the key there.

(Its been a long day, forgive me if I sound like I have no idea what I am talking about.)

Speaking of news, we're still battling wildfires in central Texas and just staggering numbers of families have lost their homes. This while friends out east are heading for higher ground from the monsoons. I could be wishful for more balance in life. My thoughts continue to be for all those suffering.

Sweet Spot

12x9 oil on panel
Available at Russell Collection

This is a similar setting to a painting I did of Mozarts this winter. As usual I am drawn to the unusual light to be found in interior settings. The pastry fridge radiates a pink glow and the blue light through the blinds tries to creep into the space. I almost fee like I can see the dust motes glinting through this piece too. I think I've become addicted to the coffee shop atmosphere. I've been to one of my nearby Starbucks 4 out of 5 days this week. I've been reading a lot actually. Its been really nice to wind down a bit. I'm avoiding being alone in my studio I think by surrounding myself with people and conversation - none of which I actually have to participate in! I know that people might look down on the chain coffeehouses, but I have to say that I am really comfortable in them and always meet friendly faces there. More so than some other shops. There is something to be said for consistency too. They've been kind of an extension of my living room. Comfortable places to read, check email, sketch, have a warm cuppa something and watch the world go by. I have an idea brewing too. lol

Tonight is the opening at Russell Collection. I'm anxious to meet all the other artists and see all the work together. Should be a lot of fun.

Campus Bookstore

12x36 oil on linen
Available at Russell Collection

Here is another for the show this month. Its an unusual size and its another piece I thought about for a long time before I actually painted it. I did a small study of it as well trying to work out the color and light. So often these scenes lend themselves to dark colors... dark floors, dark walls, dark tables and chairs - so much wood!
So I want to try to not resort to losing everything in heavy dark paint.


6x18 oil on linen - 30 minute study

The line that is like wainscotting in the final painting is straight (for the most part) but my camera kept giving it a fish-eyed bow. I hope its straight - will have to check that at the gallery tomorrow night and hope its not so pronounced as in this photo!

Sweets for My Sweet

20x20 oil on linen

I thought I'd give my blog viewers a sneak peek at some of the work that is now available at Russell Collection in Austin. They are mounting their Best of Texas show featuring 10 of the Texas artists they represent, including me. It should be a fun opening reception Friday night with a diverse collection of artists and live music. If you are in town you should rsvp and attend!

This painting might be my favorite. I actually have thought about this scene for a couple of years but hadn't painted it yet. Perhaps I didn't think I could. But I am so pleased with the results. The setting is actually across from Russell Collection at Sweetish Hill Bakery. They have one of my small daily paintings on their wall. Its also a scene from their bakery. Pretty neat.

Chance Meeting

16x20 oil on linen

Gallery info to come.

Earlier in the week, I shared some sketches and the beginning of this scene in oil paint and here is the final piece. A lot happened in between that beginning and this end. I heard a really interesting remark from an artist who was on the Independent Lens program about origami - I can't remember it exactly but the gist was: "You try to strive for the final thing being good, but you're also aware of how beautiful the process is...people in a gallery viewing the object are missing like 2/3rds of what's special about it and how it got made..."
I liked that. Its very true. And perhaps that is why when I finish something, I feel it could be better and can't wait to move onto another painting to try again. Sometimes I wonder if its not more about making the marks on the canvas, than the actual picture they create.
Anyway, I highly recommend you watch that show (Between the Folds) online, or on your local PBS station if its airing.

Whats on my Easel

First some sketches working out some designs and value studies. All of these are from a visit to a really hip Austin espresso bar, Little City. I like the marker value studies a lot. Lets see if I can pull the oil painting together.

Pastry Counter

12x10 oil on linen

Available next week at Edward Montgomery Fine Art.

Three New Messages

18x14 oil on linen

Gallery info to come.

On Monday, I got together with a group of artist friends to paint a model at a local coffee shop. Its something I've wanted to do for a very long time. Its a little difficult to paint strangers in a cafe... people become uncomfortable when you study them for a long time. And they tend to finish up and move off before you are done. But I want to get better (and quicker) at painting from life.
Several friends are interested too and we're forming a group to regularly hire a model to pose in a public setting. Not your traditional model sessions; the nude bores me frankly. And I want to paint the setting and atmosphere as much as the figure.

And boy do I need to work on painting from life... even with her longer pose, I was baffled. I had more than a few distractions though and I will now throw out a few excuses for not posting any of my sketches. My daughter was "sick" and had to stay home from school, so she was bounding around feeding the ducks, turtles and fish in the lake. I didn't have a tube of white to "travel" with. I had my tiny pochade box which is really useless... I can't paint that small. It was overcast. And I didn't have the right color choices on my palette. There! Is that enough excuses?

I did get great photos though and look forward to next Monday for more practice from life. I'm scheduling it now.

Life & Times

12x9 oil on panel

Ask Studio 47 about this painting.

This is it! I believe I have shown most of the new pieces which are in Vermont for the group show. 15 new paintings have been sent there and my bag is packed and I'm flying to Boston tomorrow morning. I will spend the afternoon and night in Boston with a wonderful girlfriend from college. She will meet me there and go to the opening at the gallery with me on Saturday. I am really so excited to share this with such an old and dear friend. What a long way I've come from my drawing and design courses.
I'm excited to see Boston - I've never been. And excited to see Vermont. I bet its gorgeous. And excited about the opening and meeting the other artists and the gallery owner Wojtek. The space looks so beautiful online. Can't wait to see it in person.
Not sure I can blog while on the trip, but you can be sure I will when I get home!

The painting above is a scene from one of my favorite people watching places, Starbucks. I've noticed that more men than women read the newspaper. Personally, I don't read the paper because I am allergic to the inks. At least I used to be... found that out when I worked for a community paper in South Carolina and had to touch them all the time. I can't stand the way newsprint feels and it makes me itchy and sneezey. So, you won't really ever see me read a newspaper like this. I only get the first parts of stories, on the front/top page until "continued on B4" or something. I would not be a good partner for Trivial Pursuit.

Baristas

12x9 oil on panel

When I thought about the idea of complements yesterday I decided that I didn't want to paint from a photo and be guided by "reality." I needed to change things up a bit and try to loosen up. I find that when I've had a break from painting, I have a relearning curve and it takes a couple of wasted panels to get things worked out. I have vowed to paint daily now... whether its full blown or working on something large in sections, or just a small sketch. I've relocated my painting supplies to my kitchen eating area now and can work there more easily while my daughter plays... though my light isn't as good.
Anyway - I decided to play with complements again and wanted something very warm for this scene. So I first mixed a big dark puddle of ultramarine and cad red and then began to blend (gray) with yellow ochre. I mostly stuck to those, but did add in a little sap so maybe this is a tertiary? combination. Hmm... where is my color wheel?
Oh, I also painted from a b&w image on my laptop... forcing me to be very aware of the correct values, but leaving color choices totally up to me. As long as the values are correct, the painting should read well.
I think I will like this one better framed... maybe in a nice pale gold. It will probably be included in my Vermont show pieces.

Just as a note, you should check out Margaret Dyer's blog. She is an incredible pastelist. Makes me want to work in the medium. She is in France teaching now and her posts about her trip are fascinating.

Tête-à-tête

11x14 oil - linen mounted on gatorboard

Finally following up with my demo painting. I really liked the loose quality I had when I finished at the New Braunfels Art League meeting and didn't want to muck with it too much. So I worked a little more in the faces and gestures of the couple and filled in some of the white canvas... but left the majority alone.

There is a good lesson in that. Stopping before its done. Was it Richard Schmid who wrote something like that? It takes two people to paint a painting... the artist and someone to tell the artist when to stop.

Today I needed that person. I lost my vision, got carried away with too many small brush strokes and ended up with a busy mess. The only good thing about a bad painting is that it makes me anxious to get back to work first thing in the morning and do it right.

Painting Demo

Last night I went to New Braunfels and did a painting demonstration for the New Braunfels Art League. I have never done one before. I am pretty proud of myself today! I think it went well and I was reasonably relaxed. They talked and asked questions and I described my working methods some while I painted for about an hour.
I had a harrowing drive down there through rush hour traffic in Austin. But once out of town, the highway cleared and I made it on time. (just)
I have to say, I think New Braunfels is one of the nicest small towns in Texas. They have a thriving downtown area, a large art community, nice landscape, and really warm, welcoming people.

As for my demo, I chose to paint something that I have done before. I actually took a large version of this which is finished and going to my show in July. I thought it might be nice to show the final product while I developed the new painting.


11x14 oil on mounted linen

I worked for about an hour so its still quite loose. I massed everything in and then just began to refine areas. I'll probably put another hour into this to complete it. I will post it again then.

Thank you to Gaye Sekula who so gently pressured me to trying this and to the NBAL for your interest and attention and a warm welcome!

All Gone

7x5 oil on panel
$100 + s/h

This may look like its glowing in the dark. Hard to tell what it will look like on other monitors! It is red. I took myself out for hot chocolate yesterday and sketched this cozy corner with its abandoned cup. I thought the mix of reds was striking and would be fun to play with.

I wonder if Starbucks puts something extra special in their hot chocolate because I seriously think I am addicted to it.

Glimpse

12x6 oil on canvas panel

I was waiting in a small hallway and looked back to see the light just pouring over this woman seated in the window. We have just such a day here today... our little snowman is disappearing quickly. The snow was fun while it lasted.