Art Lovers

20x16 oil on cradled panel
Ask Castle Gallery about this painting

 This was fun to paint. And pretty fitting for the upcoming holiday. Happy Friday!

ps - the frame and the molding lines are not warped... camera does that.

Swan Lake Rehearsal

12x16 oil on paper

Another sketch from the ballet. Can't get a good photo because the paper is white wants to curve and the paint is reflective (dries with a nice gloss!)

City - Work in Progress

16x20 
work in progress
 
I thought I'd share my work in progress here. Three stages of a city scene I worked on Friday night. It is not yet complete but close to it. I had the evening to myself while my daughter was at an evening camp and my husband went to Texas World Speedway to do some racing!

Here he is getting ready for his laps today. The team raced the car for 7 hours both Saturday and Sunday. It was the ChumpCar "Habanero Hoon". Hubster's first such event. What a great team - I got to go and meet them and watch. Much fun - except for the 100° temps.

Sunny Stroll - Revised

20x16 oil on linen

Ask Tidewater Gallery about this painting.


I just shipped this painting to Tidewater Gallery in Swansboro, NC. It was painted in 2010 and had been in my gallery in Carmel for awhile. Once back here in my studio, there were certain things bugging me about it and needing fixed. So I revised it. * Gasp*  It was the first time I dared to (or bothered to) change an older work. Mostly I think its better to just paint a new one. But this was a good composition and the figures were well done and interesting... the other stuff just needed some tweaks.

I didn't like the foreground mostly and wanted to vary the rather strident orange tones. But then my changes escalated and I moved all around the figures making adjustments! Can you see all the changes? I've highlighted the big ones below and you can compare the two images. Then there were little changes like making her nose a little smaller, bluing up the sky and punching up the highlights on her shirt and his shorts to really make them pop. Its ok to use pure white paint! But, it can be cool, so add just the slightest touch of cad yellow or surround white with yellow (or another warm) to make it stand out as a "hot spot".

Just Desserts

18x18 oil on panel 
Ask Gardner Colby Galleries about this painting

The Slice of Life show opened last Thursday at Gardner Colby and I had a lovely email this weekend telling me about an article written about my work in the show. The article focused on the aerial perspective that I use in some of my paintings. I am really flattered to have sparked people's interest, especially Tom Hall, Arts & Exhibits Correspondent
of Southwest Florida. :-)
Click here to read the article.  

Promenade

10x12 oil on panel
Available at Tidewater Gallery

Don't forget to look at ETSY or my dailypainters.com or dailypaintworks.com galleries for available smaller paintings - works on paper, 6x6 panels, pastels, and some mid-sized works. Between the small online works and my galleries, there are plenty of nice paintings that need homes! I've been surprised that I've been getting interest in some older works lately. Some of you are looking deep! :-) 

Taking the Plunge

10x12 oil on panel

Available at Tidewater Gallery

Ah.. Barton Springs Pool... a truly special place for all Austinites. Year round, this spring fed pool is 68 degrees. Even on the hottest days, all I can do is get my feet in and splash some water on the rest of me. Its a great spot for people watching though and soaking up Austin's relaxed, friendly atmosphere. This is no small swimmin' hole either - its more than 18 feet deep at one end and I don't know how long. This couple is taking the plunge in more than one way!

Here is a great video someone put together of people plunging in - Enjoy!

What Looks Good to You?

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

Saturday brunch at the Bus Stop Cafe in the Village.

Final Touches

12x8 oil on panel

Available at Castle Gallery.

This is something new for me, this lighter palette. I'm trying to lighten up a bit, use more neutrals to emphasize light and color. I think for a long time, in order to suggest or have areas that were empty, I would use dark washes. Its easier to pretend something is in shadow, and obscured if you just lose it in blacks and browns. But I think neutrals actually enhance colors and light better. And add more punch to darks as well.

You can probably guess my inspiration for this. The models were actually posing for some photos for us at Kim English's workshop. We didn't paint inside, but had them pose in our hostesses beautiful home. I wonder if Kim will paint this scene? And how his will compare. At any rate, I am really pleased.

Adam & Eve

6x6 oil panel
$100 + $11 s/h

I did this yesterday before I began to experiment and play. Another view of people enjoying their lunch on the steps in the downtown plaza.
Today I am going to strip my daughter's room and clean it thoroughly. She is suffering more and more with asthma and allergies. I wish I could make her better. Been a bad week truth be told. Lets hope for better days!

Downtown

10x23 oil on panel

This is one of the pieces that has been keeping me busy the last week or so. Usually I work best "alla prima" - that is finishing a painting in one session, but this one took longer. I managed to keep it fresh and spontaneous looking by concentrating very hard! I had to concentrate to look loose - figure that out.
Frankly, its exhausting.
I have not decided where I will send this yet and have to get a custom frame ordered since its an odd size. But will post purchase info soon.

City Beat IV

6x6 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h

The colors here are a little unusual. I took the pink brick sidewalk to an extreme perhaps and used green shadows. Are there ever green shadows? I like the combination though and I'm a-keepin' it. Though this might look neat also with a very stark "white" background. I will perhaps do that on the next one.

Love Is In The Air

14x11 oil on panel

Ask Castle Gallery about this painting.

Well, this felt better today. Its a composition similar to something I did before and felt confident about. I thought it was a romantic little painting too for a Valentine's theme.

Breakfast at the Bus Stop Cafe

6x6 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h - sold

This is back in NYC in the West Village. On a sunny corner was the Bus Stop cafe and a lot of activity.

Five o'Clock Rush

7x5 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h via Paypal

I think I am back to work finally! Life is resuming a more normal routine and I hope very seriously to work on scenes from my NY trip, recreating my days there. I have so many ideas, I almost feel overwhelmed about them and have to remind myself... one painting at a time!

We arrived late afternoon and after the lengthy ride into town, set out walking and in search of dinner. We were in a great midtown neighborhood and joined the locals as they headed home from work and out for their own dinners.