April 22 - Earth Day

"Earth Day Light" What better for Earth Day than a celebration of light uplifting the soul on a glorious morning? this is a 5 x 7, and came off my acrlyic palette for several reasons: 1) I'm an optimist and know things are going to be OK, 2) it is wonderful to be alive and enjoy such sunrises, regardless of not sleeping great, and 3) I'm looking forward to another commission (Fritz) and a major show next weekend. So life is good, and you and I can bask in the sunbeams. Original acrylic on canvas, 7 x 5 inches.
$100

April 21 - Del Mar Racetrack Backstretch

"Hustle (Del Mar)" There are breakthroughs in painting, we all know exactly when they happen. This painting represents a breakthrough for me, with groundwork laid on yesterday's figurative piece. What's the breakthrough? Utter freedom! Piles of paint, the essence of the subject, no worrying about details, more shapes and color fields. This painting was pure fun. I am looking forward to tomorrow's, too! Original oil on canvas, 9 x 12 inches.

April 20 - Self Portrait in Hawaii

"Io Valley, On Location" Several years ago, my husband and I went to Maui and Oahu for a vacation and conference. I spent a lot of time painting on location while there, and enjoyed what my parents experienced in their beautiful Hawaii. As we plan the memorial and honoring their wishes to have their ashes co-mingled and spread off Diamond Head, I thought that revisiting one of those balmy days would be appropriate. I'm looking forward to the trip, as I will again get to paint on location. I hope to do some plein air with Roger Whitlock, who lives there, as we've painted together several enjoyable times. Original oil on canvas, 9 x 12 inches.

April 19 - Cat in a "Patch of Sunshine"

"Patch of Sunshine" Today has been the day of cats. I spent most of it painting ceilings (Michaelangelo? I don't think so!) while the roofers finished up outside. It is slow work, but gives great satisfaction. Rollers and plastic drop cloths... thus the connection to the cats, and today's painting. Pesto, the young calico (half sweet and half nuts, like a Hershey bar) has decided that plastic makes great noise and pouncing onto it is great fun. Those shenanigans annoyed the heck out of the painting process to the point where I had to finally shut her out of the room, much to her consternation. Very vocal, that one. Listening to a Brother Cadfael audio mystery, I had the volume up loud.
I'm painting the ceilings white, and I have paint spatters from here to tomorrow afternoon on my hands and arms. So today's painting is a white cat, perhaps the result of falling in the paint bucket?

This is a 5 x 7 acrylic. $100

April 18 - Sea Otter

"Rolling Along - Sea Otter" Cleaning the studio today, I came across some images I'd taken when I was up on the ocean in Monterey Bay. The sea otters are tame enough to get some good imagery. This fellow is floating on his back, washing his face, in the relatively clear waters of the Pacific. I like the design of this acrylic 5 x 7 piece, as the lights and colors work so well. Yes, the roofers are still here, but at least they finished the studio today.
$100

April 17 - Del Mar Fair Commission

"Still Life, Commission" I finally finished the commission for the Del Mar Fair Art Education Presentation. I was selected to do the still life that all the artists are doing, but mine is in acrylics. These 20 x 16 canvases will be collected and framed and shown together to show the public how artists approach the same subject and end up with unique personal visions from the same starting point. Not for sale--being donated to the Del Mar Fair Arts Committee. Here's the source image:

April 16 - Shallots

"Shallots" Today's bigger commission painting isn't falling off the brushes with the ease I'm used to, so I detoured into another nicely colored image of those boiling onions, or shallots, or cream onions--regaional names for the one-inch-sized onions you can buy at the store for a myriad of recipes. this is an original acrylic, on gallery wrap, and is 4 x 6 inches. I like the positioning of the three onions. Nothing casual about the story there. $100

April 15 - Another Lily (Figurative Work)

"Another Lily" In the United States, citizens are looking at today as the day to pay taxes.  And I recalled line about the "pound of flesh"  (was that Shakespeare?) and renovated a life study I had.  I love the pensive look of this lady, and also the loose brushwork.  This study probably was from a 15 minute pose, as that was the length of these studies.  I highly recommend taking a life drawing or life painting course, as this kind of disciplined finish-it-now regimen will prepare you to capture the essence of whatever you need to paint in the future.  This is an oil study (I cropped out my signature for better design) of a model named "Lily" 14 x 11 and it was done with thin layers underneath before the thick lights were laid on in the second pass.
  I wish more of my work would get like this.  But it seems to work best for quick studies only.  Tomorrow I have another commission to do.

April 14 - Easter Lily

"Easter Lily" On Wednesday, when I went to the San Diego Museum of Art, I saw three original Georgia O'Keeffe paintings. Her detailed brushmarks were a powerful message for the abstracted florals on the wall. Since Easter is Sunday, and since I have one of my commissions out of the way, I thought I would detour into this lovely blossom from one of the bouquets. Original 6 x 6 inch oil. $100

April 13 - Wolfy (German Shepherd Commission)

"Wolfy" A commissioned 16 x 20 painting, Wolfy was a challenge for me, as the source material was an assemblage of indoor photographs, outdoor sunshine and flash photography. Whew. Solving a lot of those problems occurs when you put the dog in a formal background, and having looked thousands of times at dogs in general. Wolfy's owner came to me after seeing the other dog and cat portraits on my site. Original Oil.

April 12 - Sign of Spring (Tulip)

Ever get a spring cold?  I've got one now, and it's slowed me down a bit.  Couldn't get the commissions finished, so I gently lifted out a lovely tulip from a bouquet and put it in this bud vase.  Of course I went to Balboa Park today, and walked through the botanical gardens--perhaps that's why this tulip whispered, "Paint me tonight".  In any case, I hope you'll enjoy the intensity of color against many different grays, showing that, to make a painting sing, contrast is one good way to do it.  
Original oil, 7 x 5 inches on gallery-wrap (no framing needed).  $100

April 11 - More Foot Traffic (Study)

Today my siblings and I removed all of Mom's things from her assisted living apartment, and it was wonderful and yet sad. do you know I saw my sister and brother with new eyes?--seeing how much each reminds me of either Mom or Dad, and enjoying their company knowing that in being with them, I am also enjoying many of the characteristics reminding me of my folks. Mom's wit, Dad's dry humor and so much more. We are beginning to plan the trip that will provide closure for us--to take their ashes to their beloved Hawaii.
So today's painting points my "foot" in new directions. Kinetically posed, ready to step off, it is a study of light and dark and flesh tones on a mirrored image, backlit. About 6 x 8 inches, on un-stretched canvas. Moving onward.
And new directions it is! Tomorrow I go to San Diego's Balboa Park to the museums for my Art Appreciation online students (who are not aware of all that's gone on), and see more of the continuity of human art-making at the Timken and San Diego Museums of Art. Then I start the new commissions that are awaiting my brush--1) Wolfy, a German Shepherd, 2) a landscape of the Santa Rosa Plateau for a most patient collector, and 3) a still life for the San Diego County Fair Educational Pavilion, due May 1. So for my 100th painting of the year, new directions is most appropriate!
Life (and living it fully) is grand.

April 10 - Moving Forward (Foot Study)

"Quick Study--Foot" I need to disengage my mind from the past few days and redirect...here's a mini-lesson for you! Take a limited palette (white, cad red light, alizarin, ultramarine blue and yellow ochre) and do some quick studies of your own anatomy. Great savings on model fees! All you need is a mirror and yourself--and a spot warm enough to keep you from seeing goosebumps. Makes you think, makes you see, and for me, makes me realize that I am starting from the ground up--"On a new footing". Sometimes the simplist images convey the most poignant message. Original oil on unstretched canvas, 9 x 6 inches. Oops, forgot to sign it. Ah, well, too tired tonight, and besides, it's just a sketch.

April 9 - Flowers, Grieving

"Flowers from David and Suzanne" When we came back to our gate this afternoon, there was a bouquet of mixed flowers waiting by our lightpost, with a card from dear friends, artists with both guitar and brush. Their kindness and my daily painting come together with selections from the bouquet. The roses lie here horizontally, more appropriately representing the passage of a life. Yet their beauty reminds me of the strength of friendships. A huge amount of paint on this 8 x 10 oil, as I used both palette knife and brush to paint these beauties. $200

April 8 - Disbelief

The first stage of grief is to deny its happened. I'm there right now.  Today's painting is an on-location study of a creek near our home, and the babbling water was restful and a good escape from accepting what's happened.  I'll freely admit I'm in the first stage of grief, which is denial (For example, "Oh, here's my Mom's watch in my purse, I'll have to give it back to her.") 
  So I met my beloved husband at this stream, and while he napped, I painted this 8 x 10 oil.  It may not be the most spectacular work I've ever done, since I'm so exhausted, but it eases my eyes.  $150.  Now I'm going to sleep, for I only had about an hour last night.

April 8 - Death of my Mother - She's Gone

My mother passed away about three hours after I posted her image on the blog.

April 7 - My Mother Dies

When one chooses to remember a loved one, it ought not be the image of the last moments spent with them, their physical frame hardly recognizable as the specter of death approaches. Better to remember the light in their eyes, imagery of earlier times, and more. My vigil continues with my mother, and I brought my brushes again.
Concentrating on an image of my mother as a younger, vital woman distracts me from the reality of the shell of the person I love beside me. I'm sending this from her room, as I am staying the night, since her time is near. I do these paintings because I love her, and I need to be here to lift her spirit to the next life.
This amazing woman got her private pilot's license while living in Hawaii in the late 1930's, and was there for the bombing of Pearl Harbor, too. I chose a black and white photograph of her in the flying cap and goggles, as I know her spirit will be soaring again soon, to meet up with my father who left this Earth eight years ago after 58 years of marriage to her.
Here on Earth I will have her sparkle and smile in this painting forever. Original oil on board, 12 x 9 inches. Never will be sold.

April 6 - Spring Torrent

"Spring Runoff" A painting of movement, yet with the stoic and solid large rocks holding on throughout the torrent, a fitting statement of the last week's events. Spring runoff water comes down the creek, washing the winter away, and leaving the stones clean and in place, as the water is transitory, like events in our lives. Original oil on 5 x 7 board, sold.

April 5 - Mom, Resting

"Mom, Resting" What is it that makes a work of art MORE than just the subject or medium? We spend a lot of our lives honing our skills to be able to create our art. We do studies, we do practice paintings, we do classes, we work hard to make our marks. I am beginning to realize as I come to this level of painting, that creating nice paintings is well and good, showing technical excellence. But greatness comes from creating paintings that will stand the test of time, by marking such a specific moment, that universally anyone can relate to it.
I spent my day caring for my mom, and as you can expect, brought my brushes. I did this 8 x 10 oil while she was resting. When I look at it, I see so much more in the painting than it's just being a painting. I see technical certainty from miles of canvas, I see good design. But I also see a complete infusion of me, the artist, in the work. Along with that, I also see the reason for the work, the merit of the subject, and what I have been trying to do for many years--connect the work to the world at large and capture a specific moment of living--of life.
"Mom, Resting" is not for sale

April 4 - Sunset in Oahu

"Sunset in Oahu" After coming home from dealing with hospice and details currently filling every waking moment, I wanted to just chuck it all and go to sleep.  But I cannot.  I need to excise a little beauty from the events unfolding around me, and so I spent a goodly amount of time choosing an appropriate subject for today's painting.  It is a sunset, painted with evening light colors, and is of the waters of my mom's beloved Oahu, where, in 1935, she came and began a stay of 12 years, meeting and marrying my dad, and also getting a private pilot's license.  
  It is appropriate as an end-of-day image, filled with the beauty of all of the intervening hours, and the beauty created in part because of the earlier formation of clouds and moisture--like the events that create a full life, creating also a beauty to the finish.     5 x 7 inches on gallery wrap in oil

April 3 - Revised Floral

 "The Orange Jug" I did make a window of time today to work on the 16 x 12 still life I showed you two days ago. Here it is newly modifed and "improved".
No longer bland, it has better light, better values and better color. Sometimes putting a work aside for a year or two can make a major difference in the end product. You just get smarter. Smarter about what to do to make a painting go from "ho-hum" to "ho-Whoa"!
My choices were to contrast the background with the flowers
and to lighten the values in the vase and foreground cloth. I wanted to consciously stick to the complementary blue/orange scheme, though. The end result is far more intimate than that "other thing". US $ 375 and it's yours.

April 2 - Mom in Bed, Sadness

Today was supposed to be the revised painting I showed you yesterday, but the only time I lifted my brushes today was to paint my beloved mother in her hospital bed.  I just returned home from spending all of today into the evening staying with her and authorizing comfort care.  She's 98, had fallen, and has pneumonia and a fever.  Why did I paint her? I painted her because I could do no less.  It brings out from deep inside me the feelings I have for this remarkable woman, and allows me to really see her--etch her nuances forever fin my mind in these final days.  It gives me something productive to do when one feels so helpless to change the course of things.  I had my plein air gear and just set up next to her and did this little 5 x 7 canvas in oils.  It's a very poor image, taken in almost twilight.  I'll get a better one tomorrow.  I may do another one when I get to the hospital again.  These won't be for sale.

April 1 - No Foolin' Still Life

For today's visual imagery, I bring to you an older image that hasn't been on the web site for a LONG time.  It's a nice enough painting with the brushwork, but rather bland in color usage.  What I have planned for April 2 is t
o take this and repaint much of it with a much better usage of color dynamics.  No foolin' !!
  So enjoy this ancient piece and know that you'll see it again with it's new "color jacket" tomorrow.

March 31 - Out like an Onion

"Out Like an Onion" (In like apricots, at least for the month of March!) This onion was done at the request of a collector who already owns one of the earlier onion pieces. I cut one of those big Spanish onions and placed it far enough away from me so that I wasn't crying while in the midst of painting! (I could at least blame the onion if it didn't go well!) This is a six by six inch gallery wrap canvas, and is done in acrylics.

March 30 - Older Demonstration Painting

"Demonstration, Five Years Ago" I thought I'd share with you one of the many, MANY demonstration paintings I've done in the past, for today's painting. Since we are anticipating wildflowers in a few weeks, this one seems appropriate. I used to do three or four demonstrations each month for art groups, and GIVE AWAY paintings like this one as a raffle prize! They were usually 16 x 20s, and earlier they were even larger. I still do an occasional demonstration, but the people who have these paintings ought to be really, really happy today. I know I learned a great deal about how to " cut to the chase" when limited to about 85 minutes to paint one!

March 29 - Rabbit, Spring

"Four-footed Spring Bird" I looked out the window of my studio today, and on the top step going down to the barns was this furry visitor to my bird feeder, sunning himself until he caught my eye. I usually trap these fellows and take them to the park down the road in the new development, because it is devoid of wildlife except for these relocated bunnies. This was fun to paint with a limited palette of cobalt, raw sienna, rose madder, Payne's gray, green earth and cadmium yellow light, with titanium white.

March 28 - Skoal - Horse Shoer, Quick Repair

"Skoal" Amazing what you can do when there are four guys scraping your ceilings and tons of noise are coming from your home. The house smells like wet laundry, the ceilings are beautiful, stuff isn't back where it belongs yet, but I had a lot of fun focusing on the back pocket of this shoer. This is a 12 x 16 oil on linen, and is from the San Juan Capistrano arena, where they held a major show a while back. The painting is also known as "Quick Repair" $500

March 27 - A Path

"A Path" Tomorrow there will be construction workers throughout our home as we redo the ceilings, getting rid of the "popcorn" texture, and I'm going to (hopefully) be holed up in the studio. Since I have a commission to do, and want to do some more smaller pieces, I hope I can handle the confusion and noise. This is a 12 x 9 oil, done in preparation with lots of textural brushmarks, perhaps indicative of the visual invasion tomorrow? But like all paths, there's always a new view in a few steps. $100

March 26 - Canadian Cat

"Yes, I'm Warm, Thank You" I was offered this delightful image of a Canadian cat, cozy in mohair, and asked permission to paint him/her.  I'd not seen such a nice image of a cat all fluffed up in something so cozy, and just felt I had to paint it.  The source material for this was also so good, I changed hardly anything--perhaps the expression a bit, making the cat a teenager.  When I have to do details like this, I prefer my acrylics, as the layering of colors allows for infinite details and corrections.  This is a 5 x 7 acrylic on gallery wrap; it sold the minute I sent it out to my daily paintings email list. The Daily Paintings Email List.

March 25 - Baby Goats!

Yesterday I went over to my friend's house in Hemet and picked up our newest milk goat, and she has two kids that came along with her. It made me remember just how adorable baby springtime animals are, so tonight I came in and looked through many, many images of goats that have been born here, both Alpine and Saanen. This Alpine doeling became a great milker, like her mother. The adult goats in our herd wear Swiss bells and the soft ringing music as they roam the pasture is melodic. I could spend hours watching the kids leap and run with pure joy. Original oil, 6 x 6 inches, on gallery wrap canvas--ready to hang. Already sold, sorry!

March 24 - Spring Daffodil and Wine Glass

"Spring Daffodil" (and the wine glass). A sure sign of Spring is here.  I picked one of the daffodils from the planter in the front yard and brought it in and put it in one of our wine glasses.  No ordinary wine glass, my folks bought a set of six of these deep blue-violet blown-glass vessels with the brass bands while on a trip in Mexico. I was along on the trip, done right after I graduated from high school, so these are pushing 40 years old.  I've always loved them, as the glass bulges out through the holes in the brass, making a grand tactile feel not possible with clear stemmed traditional glasses for wine.  The daffodil shows you the scale of the glass, which holds about four ounces.  This is an acrylic, 6 x 4 inches on gallery wrap (no framing needed). $100 

March 23 - Garlic

"Garlic" Why not? Onions and the companionable garlic, substance for all Italian dishes and bane of werewolves. Shopping is a treat when I can buy things like this common cooking ingredient, and pick just the right one that will be preserved forever, and safe until the next batch of spagetti sauce! This is an original oil on gallery wrap, 6 x 6 inches. I'll put it on ebay later this weekend. $100 if you can't trust you'll get it.

March 22 - Layers (Onions)

"Layers (Onions)" I received a very kind email from a listmember who is newly engaged to be married, saying that my onion paintings are statements of how people reveal themselves to one another, taking the layers off slowly to finally get to the most piquant part of themselves. This 4 x 6 acrylic is done for her, to celebrate the layers we all have. It is already sold.

March 21 - Molly and Daisy Commission Portrait

"Molly and Daisy" I had mentioned that I've been working on commissions, and this is the first of two that are coming off the easel. It is a composite of several photographs taken by someone other than myself, but I am able to design a workable composition and make a decent go of it. This is a 20 x 16 portrait, and it gives me a great deal of pleasure to do work like this. As it is a commission, it is already sold.

March 20 - Draft Horse Halter Class

"Morning Halter Class" At the Draft Horse Classic in Grass Valley, they always have the halter classes (conformation classes) in the mornings. I enjoyed doing this 5 x 7 on board oil of the early morning light on the horses and handlers. If I have the patience, I may do a larger painting. This one is sold.

March 19 - Sunshine and the Field

"Sunshine and the Field" Back in 2000 I was on location south of Fallbrook, California, and painted this field scene with less than stellar color--it was, well, bland. I have brought in my new color knowledge and made the landscape sing. 12 x 16 oil on board.
  $275

March 18 - More Red Onions

"More Red Onions" The yellow onion went into tonights meatloaf for dinner--at least part of it. So these two sweet red onions are left, and I pushed them together as cosy friends and swept them onto a 4 x 6 inch canvas using acrylics. This one is sold.

March 17 - ONIONS!!

"ONIONS!!" How fun to have a plate of red and yellow onions... the plate was trasluscent green glass, on a redish cloth. This was a setup that my students used on Tuesday, and I painted it (different cloth color) for today's painting. This is an oil, also only 5 x 7 inches. I like the fact that the plate tips a bit, giving some subtle tension to the image.  And of course the oils make such a rich feel to the surfaces.
  Do you recognize that yellow Spanish onion?  Yes, I still haven't used it in a winter stew yet.  I painted it in acrylics on February 10! $100

March 16 - Detail Man

"Detail Man" Folks not familiar with the horse industry might not know the significance of folks like this fellow and hundreds like him, who are the real backbone of what goes on in the show ring and race track. Men, and women, who work in the stable area cleaning tack, cleaning stalls--to me they have great value, and I honor them by painting their portraits. And besides, they are very appealing!
Original oil, 12 x 9 inch canvas, available for US $385.

March 15 - Matilija Poppies, Oil

"Matilija Poppies, Oil" Another of the same subject, this time of a long-ago set up when I was in a workshop with Joyce Pike. She taught me the importance of brushwork, and for that I am forever greatful! So from Los Osos to today's painting, many years have gone by. This is a 7 x 5 inch oil of a subject that was done several years ago in acrylics. This one is sold.

March 14 - Floral Study, Oil

"Floral Study, Oil" I occasionally take the same subject matter and do two paintings, one in acrylics and one in oils. this is a 7 x 5 inch oil of a subject I have done in acrylics. It is interesting to see how the two media handle the same imagery. This image is sold.

March 12 - Stoneware Jug

"Stoneware" My Mom has owned this little stoneware jug, and then gave it to me some years ago. It has been tucked up on a high shelf, and when I was going through some things, found it. I enjoy painting simple objects with complex brushwork. Original oil, 6 x 6 inches. $100

March 11 - Fruit Medley

"Fruit Medley" I received a nice email from an artist I admire, asking if I would do a 9 x 12 still life. This one's for you, Bob! Original oil, 9 x 12 inches. $225

March 10 - Winter Cowboy

"Through the Woods" REvisiting the snow scene of a couple of days ago, I decided that a rider would be a good focal point on this odd sized 12 x 10 canvas, scheduled for the Cattlemens' Western Art Show April 7-9.

March 9 - Single Rose

"Joan's Rose" Even with dropping my laptop and sending it to the Mac hospital, I can still do these daily paintings! But I couldn't post it for a day, since I mislaid my ftp access. Oh, technology!. Original oil, $100
This one is sold.

March 8 - Snowy Path

"Snowy Path" It sure was a lot of fun to go to Hemet and do a demonstration for my friends and artists in this nearby city. I decided to do pines in snow, since I'd also started a smaller, similar painting in the studio. This one is 20 x 16, and might yet get some "tweaking" after I look at it in the studio for a few days. Original oil, $300
Pending SALE.

March 7 - Cream Roses

"Friend's Roses" Returning to the studio laden with the generosity for which she is well known, Joan knew I had planned to paint roses, and in she comes with these wonderful yellowy cream blossoms.
The original oil is 20 x 16, and was done from a small set up with the roses in a vase that my folks received as a wedding gift back in 1942. I will always look at them seeing more than just the colors and brush strokes, and even though they may leave my life to adorn the walls of a collector's home, I still know a part of me is in the painting. $300

March 6 - Mallard Ducks

"Just Ducky" Fun to do a small one again, and this Mallard pair were seen on a pond near our local wineries.  I had fun tasting the wine, however the ducks were enjoying courtship!  Water is so much fun to paint.  All those colors and the reflections, too!  A 5 x 7 oil on gallery-wrap canvas, $100.


This one is sold.

March 5 - Reenactment Man, Walking Tall

I spent this morning finishing up this fellow for the lesson page--don't have a title for him yet.  You can see what I've done to finish up the painting by comparing it to yesterday's image.  I also included a detail shot of his head and torso below. 

I think I will take him up to Cattlemens next month, and might spend another couple hours on him, making some corrections.  Sometimes the paint just goes where you need it to, and some other times, what seems easy on reflection is going down the wrong road! Still, US $550