December 24 - Peace on Earth

Peace on Earth to all this evening, and I hope for all who read this that each one has a gentle and loving time on this special night.
Original oil, 7 x 5 inches, in the holiday spirit.

Decmeber 23 - Evening Light

This painting a day is getting to me... a little bit. I spent all day working on video/DVD paintings, and was really tired, after transfering clips from the tapes to the G5 Macintosh. Then at 10:30 pm I realized my painting a day was not done. Headed back to the studio, and in the reference images for the one larger painting I'm working on, I found a series of evening clouds that told the story for me. Taken over Arizona and New Mexico, the skies are profoundly beautiful and subtle in their colors. Tiny at 4 x 6 inches, I'm happy to say, I have made my daily painting. Only available from my dailypaintings web site, for December 23.

December 22 - Greek Harbor

It is so late tonight. Almost 11 pm, and I'm tired. My family went to my mom's assisted living place and celebrated an early Christmas with lunch there. Mom's 96 and is alert, but very frail and afraid of falling now. I painted this scene from photographs I took while on my honeymoon in 1997, and still love the complete feeling of escape that happens when I look into the waters and the opaque reflections of the boats and white buildings. Paradise. I'm not going to put any more paintings on ebay until after the holiday--no one is shopping expecting to get a painting shipped by Christmas now, so I'm relaxing a bit, and just painting for myself. This is an oil, 8 x 10 inches, available only from my dailypaintings.com site.

December 21 - Beach Scene, The Rock Pickers

I have always wanted to paint this painting--I had done a larger version years ago when I had returned from Baja California, in acrylics. These two ham radio operators, him single, she in a bad marriage, came together first as friends, and then later on, were married when she was free to do so. They developed their friendship on this crazy trip South of the Border where we camped on the ocean in my camper.
How fun it has been today to bring this memory alive in oils. A quick painting, I started it around 8 pm, and wrapped it up by 9:30 or so.
Available on ebay HERE.

December 20 - Sebastian

I enjoy the challenge of commissioned paintings. Most of the time. Unfortunately, the challenge of working from flash photographs makes creating a decent painting a really tough call. I never feel as though I've done the subject justice because of all the loss in a frontal flash image. But the light coming in from the back window of another photograph provided gave me some blues to bounce off the compliment of his orange coat, and although he is light in front, the balance of blue/orange seem sto work. At least it satisfies my artistic sense.
Oh, did I mention that the pupils were vacant due to the flash? Gotta pull out a few stops to capture the life in eyes taken by a flash camera.
I'll still do them, because I cannot deny the gift of the wonder at being able to please people with an image of so an animal that is so beloved.

December 19 - Sunset View from My Studio

This is a peaceful painting. I needed peace this afternoon, as changes are in the wind for my husband and I. We may move... a daunting thought! Coming home tonight, we had our bi-weekly massages, and relaxed and yet energized, I walked into the studio to do my work. Today just wasn't right for a detailed, larger work. Tomorrow will suit for that endeavor. The sunset light on the hills and in the sky was just so subtle and gentle--that's it, I said.
Grabbing an already prepped canvas (this one had some dry Australian Red Gold on it), and since I had left the paints out on the taboret in their pill boxes, it was no time at all before I was working on this one.
My effort was in getting the mixtures of the greyed sky without it being too garish, and yet conveying that gentle light. I used to waste a lot of canvas trying for these, but now, knowing the color system to make it right the first get-go, it is no longer a problem. That sky and those clouds went in first, and then the land. The last brushmarks were done on the yellow portion of the lightest sky.
Available on ebay HERE.

December 18 - Pesto Pose

What a cat. She comes and "Pests" me at every opportunity, wanting to be close. She fell asleep in my chair after I took a couple of photos of her playing with the tangerine.
I liked the light on her, but the nifty part of painting this one was depicting the foreshortened front paw.
This painting also has a LOT of heavier paint application--those whites are really, really thick. I always add the "sparkle" of the focal points and the lightest lights last.
It's for sale for $195 from my daily paintings web site
http://www.dailypaintings.com/2005dec.html