Dec 31 - Landscape in Acrylics Continue, New Year's Eve

The end of the year, and I'm still working on this 12 x 9 acrylic landscape of the Saddle River. From yesterday's image, you can see that I've moved into the phase of making larger shapes more interesting with variations of hue and value across them. Going from big to little makes for an interesting transition, and one that many masters practice in executing their work.

The feeling of the sun's light on the left is coming through, done by reducing the value of the other areas with washes of burnt umber mixes over the right sides. Again the dominate hues are ultramarine blue and burnt umber, yet I've used some of the warms in the lighter areas--mixed well to disguise them!

Other news:
On this New Year's Eve, I sit here at home having a party of one (not counting the dogs and cats) with a wood fire going, a glass (or more) of Menage a Trois wine, some black-eyed peas cooking on the stove, and the fixin's for S'mores at the ready over on the mantle. There's a container of peppermint stick ice cream in the freezer (holiday tradition), to offset the heat of those marshmallows. Rolling Stones' Shine a Light CD playing, and I plan to enjoy a decadent, delicious exit to this year in a "thumb my nose" gesture to my successful dieting. And the black-eyed peas at 12:01 a.m. in my stomach for good luck all through the next--another family tradition. So here's to you as I raise my glass; I wish each and every one of you a joyous evening, a morning without hangovers, and a brush in your hand to memorialize those special moments in your lives. That's my plan anyway!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Dec 30 - Day Off to Recooperate...

The canvas (12 x 9 acrylic) is covered now with the basic hues that will dominate the finished painting, and I'm stepping back to let it dry so I can continue to lay in the layers of detail to follow. If this were done in oils, I'd continue to proceed, yet handle my brush at a different angle to keep from lifting up the under layer into the new hues and values going on top. With acrylics, that's not an issue (more non-thinking painting!). This painting is going to hold to the complementary blue/orange grays in the final stages, so no surprises coming there. Where you will find surprises, is in edges, value changes and shapes!

I'm back in California now, over my jet lag, and it is cloudy and cool. Much warmer than New Jersey, but I still have had a fire going for most of the day while sorting out mail, shipping DVD orders and planning my work on the finish of the "Misty, Overcast and Difficult Light Subjects" DVD. Not much more to go, and then the final editing on that one. Good thing I didn't have "real" deadline for it--I'd never have made it. Deadlines only control those who need them.

The New Year is approaching, and I have several ways I can celebrate it, one of which is to stay centered in my path and gather strength from my friends while staying home by the fire. Or I could go get a tattoo and go out and make a fool of myself in several social situations....Hmmmm, well I am an artist!

Interesting, though... I don't have any resolutions to make and break, because I am greeting each day with my own honest living, in the choices I make (didn't gain any pounds over the holiday!), and in where I want to spend my money and time. I value my family and friends over all, and will continue to let them know how important they are--YOU are--to me. Let's hope for a bright 2010 full of opportunities and good choices. Even if we have to realign our paths, I hope that the new path will be just as exciting.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Dec 28 - Starting the Saddle River View in Acrylics

After yesterday's dog walk along the edge of the Saddle River (in Bergen County, New Jersey), I came back with a need to paint the "feel" of what I experienced. So here's the start of a 12 x 9 acrylic (I will take larger canvases in the future!) and the complementary colors of blue and orange are already in place. "Orange?" you ask. Yes, burnt umber is a dark orange, and that's why the autumn and winter woods are so delightful in color when combined with any water that reflects the sky. The grayed oranges of the leaves and forest floor is a complement to the blues.

The day was gorgeous and sunny, and the light was coming through the leafless woods creating traceries of shadow, so I went off the path into the browns and grays to take this source material of the river in the afternoon light (below). I chose the vertical format for the painting, because as with pastoral views being so calming, I wanted the longer plane of the canvas' vertical to offset and balance that tranquility with some strength and power. (Besides, these verticals have more opportunities for placement on the walls of collectors' homes.)

Here's the source material:
Tomorrow the painting continues! But first, this afternoon I get on a plane with my sister and Sparky, and we fly for over six hours back to California, where instead of the high 30s, it is in the high 60s. I do enjoy this cold weather, though, having been raised on the East Coast. Yet my garden is calling to me, and coming back as a first class passenger for this long flight will be a nice cap to a wonderful vacation.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Dec 27 - Finished the Three Pears

Here they are, the trio of pears in acrylic finished, 6 x 12 inches. I've finished putting the rest of the warms on them and cleaned up and detailed out the stems, background and surfaces.
After seeing the work of Gustav Klimt in the Met, I'm really realizing that loosening up is a good thing, and so the paintings are starting to come across with the strength of energized brushwork instead of tight details. I'm pleased with the new direction.

Available, $295, and scheduled for the Women Artists of the West online show this January, when I get a better photograph of it.

Off and running today--I took the dogs on a long walk along the Saddle River watershed, and came home with visual experiences that are going to come to light in the days ahead. I have already blocked in a new work from today's visuals, which I'll share tomorrow. Ah, tomorrow! I pack and fly back to California, coming in late, and will see the sunrise on Tuesday in the hills of Two Trees. Back to the dogs, cats, goats and horses who have been idle and well fed while I've been here. Back to routines and yardwork, the big studio and painting with my friends.

This trip has been wonderful, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to revisit the eastern hardwood forests, extended and near family and New York City. I hope I can return someday, and without too much time in between. Nice news is that Sparky and I are flying back first class. Nice!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Dec 26 - The Pears in Acrylics Continued...

Check out how the color is developing on this 6 x 12 canvas now! I've started to add the warms over the underlayment of colors (look at yesterday's to see the initial layers) and it really is coming along.

By putting layers of more subtle colors UNDER the final layers, the painting develops a depth that is not possible any other way. Each one of the pears is starting to have a character now, and their shapes are interesting and hold the viewer's eye--even at this early stage. I have found that I don't need Yellow Ochre, but can mix a decent one from the cool burnt umber and the cadmium yellow--OK, it BREAKS THE RULES. But by careful manipulation, it still remains in the cool family.

So a limited palette can work with my Color System, yet it is not for the faint of heart. One must have a good deal of experience in mixing colors, and have an "eye" for the temperature inherent in the mix before moving out of the System for new expression. My visit to the MET museum really toasted my eyes for this, and I'm more than ready to stretch my wings!

Ah, only two more days here in New Jersey, then I head back to California with Sparky. My eyes are filled with the lovely greys of the winter here, and I'm sure that will enhance my paintings in the future. Today I walked in the rain over to the central part of Ridgewood, Sparky in his rain gear, and me without an umbrella, and took in all the wondrous sights of value and muted colros on this rainy, gray day. I think I may have to travel more!

The February three-day Color Boot Camp is OPEN now! Did you get a Christmas surprise that you'd like to use on that workshop? For a link straight to that page, click HERE.

And in other news, I'm enjoying my visit with my family, and had a wonderful Christmas with a whole bunch of them! Here's that Vermeer, "A Maid Asleep" that I didn't know existed before my visit to the MET....

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Dec 25 - Next Step in the Still Life, Happy Holidays!

Now I'm starting to add color to the 6 x 12 acrylic painting--noting the basic structure of the pears with my brushwork. Knowing these pear-boys are going to be warm in the lights, I've added some cadmium red and burnt sienna to the sides away from the shadows, because on the next "go-pass" I'll be putting many thicker layers of color. Having an underlayment of the basic color helps me to unify the finished work in those areas. Note I've also put a warm wash over the horizontal surface, and the relationship to the pears' coloration is obvious. This will bind and unify the painting as it progresses.

On other news, the Christmas Day was wonderful with family and laughter here on the East Coast. One of the laughs came when Sparky decided to sit on my host's five-month Teddy Roosevelt Terrier, Hero, and his look of surprise. He's adorable, and has been going on long walks with Sparky and me using the tandem leash. Much like driving a team of ponies, albeit small versions. They are staying warm by the wood fire! I wish all of you a very peaceful and happy rest of 2009 and a year full of wishes met and dreams realized in 2010 and beyond.
Peace.


You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Dec 24 - Still inside and painting!

The guidelines from yesterday are driving the values as I push the design further into the darks. I elected to put a strip of dark under the edge to push the pears back from the viewer. Although not a relatively good design choice, I believe that linking the middle shadow to it will create the visual path that we need to "get into" the composition. Let's see how it develops.

No color yet, just the grays of the ultramarine blue, burnt umber and some thalo green whispered in to create that backdrop. (You can refer back to yesterday's post to see the source.)

Now later today, family will be emerging from all quadrants of the compass to bring holiday cheer and laughter to my nephew's here in Northern New Jersey. The snow is still on the ground, but the roads are clear. The tree is surrounded by presents, firewood is laid in, and the food is being prepared as I type this.

Aren't the shadows and the blues of this scene out the front door just wonderful? In California, we're dominated by browns, grays and gray-greens. Here it is all about the complementary hues of blue and grayed oranges! More paintings coming from this trip, "you betcha"! Getting my eyeballs filled with snow patterns and shadows!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Dec 23 - New Still Life for the WAOW Show (Acrylic)

I've started another painting while I'm here near New York City... this time a still life of those luscious pears. I set the trio up under a single light in the basement, and am having fun painting this 6 x 12 acrylic.

Here's the first pass across the white canvas, blocking in the large darks (gee, I do that a LOT), with the ultramarine blue and burnt umber. Who cares about edges? I found that the paintings in the Met that caught my eye from across the room had a strong value structure--especially the Rembrandts and paintings from the 1800s. Oh, well, there were many paintings that were about value structure--not until I got into the Impressionists did I see that change. I learned and reinforced so much from that visit.

Here's the source material for this painting--I took a photograph, but am painting the pears from life, not from this image. I share it with you to show that simple subjects can come from your local grocers. These pears cost a small amount--the painting will hopefully transcend their temporary existence on my nephew's shelf.

The Met still comes to my mind and here is an image of a detail of the HUGE canvas by Rosa Bonheur. This image, even only part of the huge canvas, would represent about seven FEET of her master work in oil! Look at the values and how they reverse from the backs of the horses to the legs. Light backs, dark legs. midvalue surrounds the backs, mid-values surround the legs! Amazing.... The pears do the same thing!!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Dec 22 - The Snow Scene Finished (Acrylic) and the MET

What a day... I finished up the 12 x 9 acrylic (shown here) of the snow scene on the dog walk day. It didn't take too much to bring it to a finished state from yesterday's phase--just more layers of filmy color and caligraphic lines.

I then went to the most magnificent museum I have ever experienced! The Metropolitan Musuem of Art in New York City rocked my socks off--with hundreds of paintings and sculptures, it was as if I were visiting some very old friends from my art history courses.

First I headed straight for Rosa Bonheur's "The Horse Fair", because seeing it in the flesh is an incomparable experience. This painting is huge, and one of the unsung main attractions of the museum in my opinion. And I saw four Vermeers, one I hadn't known about, several Van Gogh's, and Monet's paintings of Rouen cathedral, haystacks and water lilies. I was overwhelmed after three hours, and had to leave... I wonder if I can return before I depart and see more of the other exhibits? I don't know. I'm just reeling from the visual input.

There were two more exhibits, one on Samurai weaponry, and the second one on American genre paintings, which included several Winslow Homer pieces. I was in Heaven!

I encourage anyone who has time to visit their local museums and see real art "up close and personal". It can change your life! Here's a closeup of Monet's haystack--check out the subtle colors in the entire area, especially the shadows! Wow!

Speaking of that, my workshop schedule is updated with the FOUR new workshops scheduled for 2010. Please check THAT out!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Dec 21 - Acrylic Snow Scene, Second View

I've covered the canvas, which all you seasoned followers recognize as a characteristic of how I work. Turns out I don't even need that cool red in this one, since the coloration is lending itself to the palette of colors I brought along (see yesterday's post for those). Still have a lot of loose brushwork, and will tighten it down on the next "go round".

Today I took the train into New York City to the Museum of Modern Art, and saw many of the original paintings and sculptures that are in the text of the online Art Appreciation courses I teach. I learned a lot while there, mostly that Chagall's "I and the Village" is a LOT larger than I imagined! I'm not smiling because the guard just came up and told me to move--I was too close!

And I saw Van Gogh's "Starry Night" and was astonished to see raw canvas showing in it--and here I thought he used tons of paint....The image below shows the left side and part of the framing. Can we forgive our own mistakes when we see the masters of art history doing the same? I think so.

I've attached both images to this posting because I think you'll enjoy the visuals.

Tomorrow I hope to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, although I may take a day off and enjoy the local sights here. Who knows? This is a fun trip and I'm enjoying myself immensely.


You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Dec 20 - Snow Scene in Acrylics, Part I

My "neighborhood" here in New Jersey got up to a foot of snow yesterday, so this morning I took the dogs out for a snowy walk. I realize as an artist it is essential for us to have sensory input to put the "real" in our work. (Unless of course, you are not a realistic painter!) So after the walk, I set up my traveling "light" supplies (see below) and began this 12 x 9 acrylic. I'm using the traditional acrylics, and did NOT tone the canvas. With acrylics, especially the traditionals, one of the great features is the luminosity that is possible with glazing and layering the colors.

This is the stream that runs through Ridgewood, New Jersey, and is near the swimming pond--now covered in a sheet of ice and snow!

My supplies... on the dining room table, as the rest of the relatives went into the city for storefronts and Rockefeller trees. Me, I loved my walk and afternoon painting. The wind is up now, and I imagine the chill factor is HUGE. Glad to be indoors with the doggies!

When we went for a walk, here's the scenery that greeted my snow-starved eyes. That's Sparky on the left and Hiroo ("hero") on the right, the family dog, also a Teddy Roosevelt Terrier. He's just five months and quite a bundle of energy!

My supplies for the painting are a Bob Ross easel (packs flat, holds all sizes of canvases), about seven brushes, a glass pie plate on which is folded a wet paper towel, on which I have placed a limited palette of burnt sienna, cad red light, cad yellow, titanium white, thalo green, ultramarine blue and burnt umber. Perfect for snow scenes, except I think I might miss my cool red, and a spray bottle of water.... hmmm, holiday shopping anyone? I brought gloss medium/varnish for glazing. Newspapers and the plastic drink cup for water finish out the scene. Yup, it can be done!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Dec 19 - New Card for Collectors

So much has happened in the last two months that it is hard to put it all into words. Suffice to say that I am going into the 2009 holiday season with a renewed spirit and being more upbeat and happier than I have been in many years! Right now I'm typing to you from (drum roll!) northern New Jersey (Ridgewood) where I'm spending the Christmas week with family and friends--at the opposite end from the 85 degree California weather! It is wonderful! Snow tonight--and I haven't had that for many a moon, and I'm looking forward to the pleasure of the cold, crisp crunch (reminding me of the skiing I used to do!) and comfortable with the knowledge that I don't have to live with it, nor shovel it.

Here's the new design for the postcards that I'll be using for the winter and early spring business cards. Those of you who have DVDs from me have the earlier, lighter green ones. These are all new paintings from 2009, and feature the first painting from the fourth, new DVD "Misty Light and Twilight". I'll have them when I return--amazing Internet!

I did bring my acrylics for this ten-day trip, and will be painting some still life works (the pears in the market here were SO beautiful!) and perhaps some SNOW scenes. Plein air is not an option because outside it is in the high 20s--and I don't have the gear for keeping them thawed. I've painted snow scenes plein air before, however I don't think Sparky would enjoy sitting around with his short little legs in a snowbank. Yes, he is with me, flying under the seat on the 747.

There are plans afoot for a three-day Color Boot Camp over President's Day Weekend (February 13-15) in 2010. Interested? Email me...

I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas/Holiday time with people who care about you, and that you'll keep going with me as I stretch new wings into 2010.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Nov 30 - Finished the DVD Misty Light Painting!

I've missed you ALL, and am back! Life has settled down and I'm painting again, and I so appreciate your emails asking how things were going. Here is the finished painting for the DVD on Misty Light and Rainy Days (title still up in the air). I'll be starting the seond painting this week, and will continue to fill your email with its progress. Then the editing and master disk to the duplication service, and this one will be finished--the FOURTH in the Color System DVDs.

I never even opened the warm box for this painting, and I believe that the time of day is effectively conveyed by just the subtle use of the lovely grays--green, red, orange, purple and the earth tones to accent. Misty morning light with NO distinct light source, nor strong shadows. I'm pleased wiht it, and can hardly wait to start the next one!

The workshop in November was a rousing success (I'll post some of the demos and images from that one in the week ahead) and I'm scheduling another three day Color Boot Camp in February of next year. Lots of good art and learning comes from these sessions, so if you can make the time (three and a half days), you'll definitely be a beneficiary of the "CS". HA!

Now it is back to the easel to get the digital tapes and set up for the next painting. Yippee! I'm Baaaaaack!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Oct 26 - Misty Light on the New DVD

The DVD painting is coming along well, and now the second layer of color has been added over the stronger hued first pass.

No details at this point, and still more to do to reduce the color intensities in various areas (can we say "purple"?), but the basic time of day is now coming across clearly.

The filming is going quite well, although my painting has been slowed down by "life events" of late. I'm hangin' in there, and can see the light at the end of the tunnel--and it isn't a train coming! One good thing is the loss of weight--I'm down over 25 pounds and with exercise and good nutrition, continue to find curves and places I forgot I had.

And here's Onslow sound asleep yet again--ah, to have that ability to just leave all worries behind and go "toes up" for a good night! He's actually curved around my hip as I sit in my office chair--those are my jeans, and that's the black arm of the office chair going off the top edge. Comfy, Onnie? Yeah, me too. Fur kids. Gotta love 'em.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Oct 17 - The New DVD's First Painting - In Process

I have been working on the first painting for the newest DVD, and it is really fun! The canvas is an 18 x 24 inch panel, and is being done in oils. I'm focusing on how to compose a painting, how to paint using the Color System, and in this case, how to specifically create a misty light situation across distance in a landscape.

At this stage, I usually call it "being in the Uglies", but even now, you can easily see the harmonious colors and related shapes, although the edges and details are long ahead and yet to be found. I've done about 40 minutes of filming at this phase, and will be editing for content and quality when I go into the "cave" to work on the master movie files.

However, for this DVD I'm actually doing the editing as I shoot each sequence, which seems to keep me more focused on what I need to convey to you, the watcher. Below is the painting at an earlier stage, showing how I cover the canvas. Of course, the vocal commentary while I paint is continuous. And yup. There are definitely outtakes--such as when the canvas fell off the easel!

So, come with me on the journey as I complete this painting and the next one for this new adventure! I am quite sure that the second painting will be done in acrylics, so both media will be well represented. And the Color System crosses all media, so that's not going to be an issue, is it?

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Oct 14 - The Finished Tennessee Walker Painting and the New DVD Painting Started

Here's the finished 11 x 14 oil commission of the Tennessee Walker done and ready to ship. Yes, the Odie boy is a light champagne instead of palomino, so most of the finish work to the signature was done on his coloration. The new owner is very pleased, and so am I that I can present this to her sister. This rescue horse has helped her in many ways--just like my animals around me offer support and unconditional love as I meander through my waking moments.

But meandering is not on the agenda for the next few days as I work on filming the paintings for the next DVD--"Misty Light and Twilight Paintings" (or something like that). Titles come later. Below is the first image for the first of two paintings--the 18 x 24 oil that will be misty light. I won't share all the details (Because that will be in the DVD as I never hush up while filming!) but will let you peek at the progress on this one and the next one as the filming goes forward. Then there will be 16-hour days in the cave with the Mac G5 and the editing software to put all the pieces together into the master DVD for the duplication service. Yes, I do it alone...sigh.

And then there's the cover, the DVD label, the packaging and getting the DVDs ready to ship when they come back from the duplication service. Can you say "where's the wine?"

To all the incredible people who have read this far, please know that I had leaky-face moments as I read your yesterday replies with offerings of solace, peace and hope. You are wonderful, and I treasure you. You give me strength and fill my heart, which has sorely been in need of that lately.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Oct 13 - Riverside National Cemetery, Evening

Last weekend I painted on location at the Riverside National Cemetery near my studio. A 12 x 12 evening light oil came off my brushes, and I left the site both satisfied and sad. Satisfied, because the painting was done to this stage so easily, with my brushes flying across the surface. The nuances of color reflecting the evening light of the Color System are readily apparent as one gazes across the hundreds of grave stones.

And sad, because just before my Dad died in 1998, I asked him, when I needed some love and support, if he could come to me in this specific place. He replied, "If there is any way possible, I will be there for you," and I am sure he was. Before I painted, I walked through the grave stones, and was stopped short on one with part of his name inscribed. I knelt down and cried, so much so that just remembering it brings me to tears again. He was there with and for me, in so many ways I needed just that support at that time.

You see, sometimes bad things happen to good people, and I'm dealing with something particularly difficult right now. It is taking all my strength and support from family and close friends to deal with it. Yet I continue to do my art, continue to be who I am, and I cannot change what is or what will unfold. I so appreciate your continuing to be with me while I go forward and onward, and please know I gather strength from your presence.

Like my Dad, I can be there for you, too, in all things about art and painting.

I am continuing to work on the newest DVD. The cameras are rolling, and after I share the final painting of the Tennessee Walker commission, I'll be sharing snippets of the first and second paintings with you. They are going to be really corkers! The first one is an 18 x 20 oil of misty light across a pasture, from material gathered in Florida this year.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Oct 10 - The Commission Continues

I'm working on the TWH commission today, and have brought it further along, making the larger shapes in the background more interesting. It isn't finished yet, (no buyer approval at this stage) so I will be adding more grasses and details to the focal areas.
And having the horse's head this way is due to the source material--tough all the way, with a winter/no sun/furry head shot and the other being inside an arena in summer coat. Verrrry tough!
My question is whether the horse is a palomino or champagne color. I've painted it more as a palomino, but may have to rework it if I am told it isn't. Thus goes some issues with commissions.

I'm filming the video for the next DVD now, and loving every moment! I must be part actress, because the cameras are like old friends. I had a moment when I thought that there might be some consternation with hitting the "record" buttons, but nope! Action! After the filming comes the hours of editing... and then forming the results into a DVD master. If you don't hear from me for a few days, that'll be why.

In other news, fall is finally here with cool nights, and the garden boxes are full of the winter crops coming up--Swiss chard, beets, lettuces and lots of spinach!
You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Oct 7 - Fun with the Model, Drawing and Painting

Last night a great group of artists came to the studio and painted/drew this model. I'm enjoying sharing with you the three (worthy!) images that came off my Conte crayons and acrylics last night. I'm seriously rusty on the 3-minute poses (the drawings) but didn't do too badly on the 15 minutes acrylic. In these drawings, I used black and sepia Conte and allowed the white of the paper to be the lights.

It was quite enjoyable to have a man smile and laugh with me, as I know this fellow from another "lifetime". And I'll be seeing other good friends this week, too. My art is so connected to what's going on in my life, and sometimes I have to realize that what I am is not determined by others, but only by my own self--and continue to do what I know best--make art that speaks both to me, and hopefully to others.

Here's the second three-minute pose. Looser, less shapes and more line. I do like that my drawing ability is still available to me when I need it.

And the third, the acrylic, was done with little regard to temperature (the Color System) as it was done in less than 15 minutes.


“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Character is everything.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The wonderful, enriching friendships I have with so many people across the globe reinforces this quote, and I am honored to have you enjoy my art and musings.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My November workshop schedule for 2009 (some spaces still left) is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Oct 5 - Getting the Masses in on the Commission

Those interested in the upcoming DVD on misty/twilight paintings will enjoy how this one is unfolding. I have a misty background working against a patch of sunlight which will illuminate the light palomino Tennessee Walking Horse in the composition. At this stage I'm only concerned with the separate areas of warm vs. cool and not at all with the anatomy or look of the big gelding. The sky will go in, and the bigger shapes in the background before I tackle the details. It is coming along.

On the home front, tomorrow night I open my studio for some artist friends to come and draw and paint from a live model. It's been in the works for a while, and I'm just tickled that they are coming over and it is all working out for us. It will be a great social evening with peers (I've missed those!) and camaraderie.

And renewing a friendship from years ago will be joyful as well--an artist of extraordinary talent, we have let too much time go by between laughter and art. His site is here. The scope of his work and the phenominal art glass he designs are awe inspiring and may take my own art in new directions.

The music rolls on, both on my piano and my head. I think I've played my piano more in the past few months than in all the last half decade! Gutsy ... joyful, poignant.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Oct 3 - Organizing the House and a New Commission

I've started on the 11 x 14 oil of the Tennessee Walker commission here. Just the quick layin of the placement of the horse, and the division of space to show you that design begins from the first brush mark. The gift giver wants the full body and a relaxed pose in a pasture, so I am working from the long history of equine portraiture and moving it into a contemporary setting. Unfortunately, the source material isn't the greatest, and many artists would not have taken this one on. But the back-story on this horse and its relationship with its owner moved me so much... I'll unfold the story in the days to come.

This one will also have the changing values to focus your eyes on the horse, with the landscape being secondary. I've toned the canvas with the warm value to contrast nicely with the cool box colors that will make up the majority of the background.

On the home front, I'm having a bit of a "spring cleaning" time, moving things about and changing the uses of various parts of the house. It has been most enlightening, with new discovery of things unknown and finding things long forgotten. Now that the proverbial "dust" is settling, the new feeling in these rooms is very satisfying, and the two cats have found new places to sun themselves. Not exactly fung shui, but the results give me a "wicked good" grin. I guess spring cleaning doesn't have to happen in spring, eh?

The November workshop is shaping up to be the best one yet, with new lectures in the theater, and I'm looking forward to meeting new people interested in working with the Color System. And the cameras are pointing at the easel, with the painting after this one being featured in the first half of the new DVD on "Misty Light and Twilight" paintings. Camera, ACTION!!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Sep 27 - Finished Girl with Chickens and a New Commission

The painting is finished, and I'm pleased with it. It tells the story of a friend of mine who recently passed away from cancer, and this was her family's image. Yet it is all children everywhere interacting with other living things, and the continuity of life from youth to final passing that is a reality for all of us.

I'm getting ready to start the fourth video in the Colorful Oil Painting series, where artists can use good color every time to depict the time of day. This one will feature the soft overcast or misty light and twilight situations, and will have two complete paintings done.

I also have a new commission on my plate, of a lovely Tennessee Walker who has special meaning for her owner. I'll be starting that one as a lesson for you in the days to come.

And I'm getting the studio cleared up for a life drawing session on the first Tuesdays through my plein air painting group. And that studio will see MORE use in November, as I have only three spots left for immersion into the Color Boot Camp!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My next workshop for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Sep 22 - Girl Feeding Chickens

It's almost finished, and I wanted to share it with you, so that you'll have a comparison from the one two days ago. The canvas is completely covered now, and all that remains to be done is to make each of the larger shapes in the composition "stand on its own" in visual interest. If I left those passages Plain Jane, I'd not be happy with it--would you say, "boring"? The variations on those areas may be subtle, but I always think they are necessary to have a canvas that really sends a message of a great work.

I'm sitting in the studio, hunkered down for one of those Santana wind conditions outside--dry, hot, windy weather--the nemesis of Southern California in the fall. But I've cleared the perimeter of our land, and Vincent van Goat and his friend Heather have taken down a lot of the overgrowth outside our fences. Preparation is the key when faced with any calamity, and I run through my mind the steps I'd take if I needed to evacuate--animals, crates, etc.

There are six people in the November workshop so it is a GO (not that there was any doubt!). Got Color? How about a Color Boot Camp? Direct link below.

Speaking of animals, when the hot weather comes on, Seiko (the watch) dog comes into the studio to keep cool. Here she is on the other side of my taboret snoozing away--snoring to the beat of "Beast of Burden" by the Stones. That's 105 pounds of Tibetan Mastiff. We ask her where she wants to go. Good dog.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for California this fall, 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Sep 20 - Continuing the Chicken Girl

I mentioned that this painting is falling off my brushes, and it certainly seems so tonight. I've been working on some of the color notes in the girl's dress, the three lower chickens and the white bird. I'm especially pleased with how the light is coming through the tail on that one, and included a detail image of that part of the painting so you can see how it is done. Cools, with yellow ochre and then going to the warms where the light actually is on the edges. Fun to do! That Color System makes it easy. Who would have thought to put the ochre there? And yet it works.

I've been listening to the Rolling Stones. Somehow soothing to reach into one's past and listen to the beat of those (now) ancient rockers--connecting a lifeline to survival mode. Painting is an escape, a return to knowledge and certainty for me. "Let me please introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste...."

Too bad there isn't a horse in this painting, I might think it ought to go to the American Academy of Equine Art show. I'm having so much fun making GOOD paintings lately.

Here's the detail shot of the unfinished white chicken. You can see how I first put in the larger color notes to hold down the shapes. Of course, the shadowed sides are the Cool Box, and the sunlit edges are from the Warm Box in the Color System! I'll come back and put in the blends, calligraphic marks, and wrap this painting up in the next few days.

My love for painting is only superseded by my gratitude for my dear and close friends out here in cyberspace. Thanks for coming along on this journey with me--you are very special right now!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Sep 19 - Laying in the Mid Values

I've spent some time laying in the mid-tones on this canvas, and absolutely enjoying the grays I'm making with the Cool Box of the Color System in the shadows and the warm gray-greens in the sunlit areas. I haven't started any details, except to define and locate the masses of the large shapes. And if course I haven't painted the focal point!

The upper edge is fogged in with the glare of the sunlight, as this is so very backlit. That creates an interesting ethereal atmosphere, which will be pulled out and developed on the next session. The interesting mid-tones of the chicken nearest the child, with the green lighter midtones is really easy to discern. Controlling the temperatures of the colors I use is ever-so simple with the Color System, and makes painting like this, so easy.

The shadows are an integral part of the design, too, so they are placed without details in their proper areas, too. There are currently no chicken colors in the warm family on any of the birds. Some look warm though, don't they?

I've also taken a close up of the lower left corner of the painting so you can see the large, loose brushwork. It is fun to paint this way, because I don't have to worry about any details!

This painting is coming off the brushes with an inner strength I had forgotten I had. I'm focusing on the new book, and the next (YES!) DVD on the Color System. I think it is definitely time. The cameras came out today, so I'll be planning the paintings for "Misty and Challenging Lighting Situations, DVD #4!.

The November workshop is half full already, and I'll also be contacting the applicants with the information, supplies list, and lodging paperwork this upcoming week.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Sep 17 - Painting "to the Bone"

Starting this painting is significant for me, because it relives many sweet memories of a time when I didn't have to worry about feeling loved, because I had the love of my parents when I was this size, and that lifelong love is a sustaining strength now, even though they are both gone.

They say that artists paint what they know, and create from their center--their being--and that it is truly impossible to have a mature artist create a travesty or a sham--it reads clearly and comes through as false work--both weak and uninspiring. To be an artist means we are open and receptive to things around us, and we allow ourselves to be accepting of our environment. However, this sensitivity in creating art comes bundled with a vulnerability that can be assaulted and abused. This painting comes to you, unfolding as I am with the emotions of my life, raw and revealing as the canvas on which it is painted. As one of you commented, "Elin, you are writing and painting from the bone."

On the technical side, I am putting in the darks first to shape the design of values--just a rough mark-in to pull together the knowledge of good design into the work. I haven't placed the midtones yet, however, this painting will have the "small light, large dark in midtones" theme as it progresses. Of course the rim light around the girl and her chicken will be the lightest lights, and enhance the focal point which will be developed later.

The November workshop is filling with folks interested in three and a half days of "yellin' by Elin" here in Riverside. Sorry about the link only taking you to past workshops yesterday. Here is the correct link for the two workshops this fall:

http://www.elinart.com/pages/wkshpriv.html

Hope you'll join me for a COLOR BOOT CAMP!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Sep 16 - A New Message and a Thank You

As I begin this new painting, I find that I am more connected to the message of the subject and how it interweaves with who I am as an artist. Gone are the days of struggling with technical issues, and also gone are the "what shall I paint?" scenarios.

Rather, now I MUST make statements and allegory with the work I create. Perhaps that is the sign of an artist in a career point where the work--all of it--truly matters. For today this artist is completely interwoven with her best work, and my last painting of my father is one of those.

This one, too, may well prove to be one of my masterpieces, for I am strongly connected to the unfolding story. We shall see. It is a painting of a small child feeding some chickens. Full of innocence, backlit with her future before her, she is unsullied by the realities and abrasions of relationships and her position within them. So, let's begin this journey together.

It is an oil, 24 x 18 vertical, and the design will have the child in the upper right, and a value pattern of dark shapes coming forward to the viewer representing the line and group of chickens. I tone the canvas, and have sketched in the major shape patterns at this point. I used Australian Red Gold for the toning, and am sketching with burnt umber.

And to the folks who wrote expressing concern about my absence from the blog, please know that I am now strong, now focused, and moving forward with purpose and joy. Thanks so much for caring enough to write.

I've opened the Riverside workshop for November, and also one for October, but that one may not fill because of my tardiness in posting it. If you want a Color Boot Camp experience this year, November 12-15 are the dates. Please check my links below for the Workshop Information page.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Aug 31 - Final Painting of my Father

This is him, my dad, Pops, Daddy...
Finished now, the last details in place. Oil, 12 x 24 inches, never for sale. It's been very, very hard to paint this image. When I did my mother (April 1-6, 2006 blog pages) I was deep into the last days with her, and could drop her image off my brush with true oneness. Not so this one. I've been truly on artistic emotional roller coaster as I painted this one. Perhaps tonight I can finally get some decent sleep!!

My father was a wonderful dad to me, and eleven years after his death, I see this pose, this facial expression, and it is as if he were right here with me. As I developed the painting, I could feel him coming "on cat feet" to be with me. Now I sit quietly, and feel his presence. Tears come. For we cannot undo the past, we can only accept it and move on. Full of emotion as I give you this gift, I can say that this painting will be one of the cornerstones of my collection. It will hang in my studio with my Mom's image.

For the fires, we are still not in danger, the mountain we're on is Box Springs, and as of now, the fires are all quite north of us. But we do prepare, and hope never to have to implement the plan for evacuation. I earmark paintings if we need to be evacuated, and this will be one of them.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE (still not updated, see above for why.)
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Aug 28 - My Dad, Almost Finished

It is about 90 percent finished at this stage; now I'm working on the likeness. I don't have it yet, and have to work on face and arms more. Just like my relationship with my father, I find myself striving harder than I normally would to depict the essence of who he was, on a level I know he would expect. That's the tough part. Rising to the level of expectation.
Another day's work, perhaps.

The summer dry heat's on out here now. Over 108 today and record 110 degrees tomorrow. I stay deep in the studio where it is cool during the day, and make sure all the critters that are outside have plenty of clean, fresh water. It was too hot for the goldfish in one water tub--they just got too much sun. I moved it to the shade and populated it back up with mosquito fish.
Last night I slept outside in the trees in my Hennessy Hammock, with only a sheet. It never cooled down enough to need more. There was a nice light breeze though. The hammock is the same one I used while in Florida, out in the pasture--great sleeping, anywhere!

Making compost, having hay delivered and stacked, working with the horses--the days are full. I'm also busy responding to the many kind emails from people who have found hope in my posting my husband's success with his protocols for cancer. I'm honored to have made a small difference in peoples' lives, whom I've never had the pleasure of meeting. What astonishes me most is that this information isn't available to everyone, and so few people know about Dr. Budwig's research, and how supplements and diet completely affect our health.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Aug 27 -Begin Details of my Dad's Portrait - and the Response to Healing Cancer

Now that the basic values and hues are in place, it is time to cover the canvas and start to pull in some of the details. The long, narrow canvas was intentional, as I wanted to show his long life symbolically, and his position on the far right, looking across that space, is a reminder of the life well lived, and retrospectively enjoyed. When the source material was taken for this image, he had not been diagnosed yet with melanoma, but he had undergone many surgeries to remove skin cancers. His mouth and nose are a bit deformed, and I'm working how I'm going to convey his "selfness" without detailing out too much of that. It will come.

I've been overwhelmed with kind responses to my posting the protocols and my husband's success with it. Yes, it was hard to go raw (but salads are raw, Elin!). I have been able to make some really good recipes and, like anything, it is a conditioned response--what we're used to. And what is it worth? That steak and fries, or preventing/healing cancer? No-brainer for me. The biggest difference is how one feels using the flax oil/cottage cheese mixture. I had this kind response to yesterday's email from one person who is fighting her second bout with cancer:

I gave my body a kick start last night. When I got home I put about a cup of CC and mixed it with some of my super reds powder (high anti-oxidant and good for flavor too) and emptied 6 capsules of flax seed oil and stirred it until it was thoroughly incorporated. This is all until I can buy that flax seed oil today after work and a smoothie machine/stirrer or whatever it is you use to make 'em. Anyway I ate that and you know what, those mild puffy feeling sort of cramps I had yesterday are gone. I feel completely normal like before all this ever happened to me. That never happened before or that quickly. I have been using the herbs like Esiak which is supposed to be the gold standard for cancer, but it never made me feel this good so fast. Can't wait to get the book. I saw they already shipped it yesterday.

(She ordered Bill's book, Cancer Free.) When I can know that my knowledge helps people make choices, like hers, I am rewarded beyond belief and feel the overwhelming response that my time here on Earth has meaning. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your lives.

I'm opening up the workshops for fall for registration. Just a few more tweaks on the pages. There will be two--one in October, and if you can't get in that one, there will be a SECOND Color Boot Camp in November. No snow here, and I already have a list of emails to send out to let people know the workshops are open. If you'd like to be sent that email, just let me know.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is not yet updated.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.