Jun 21 - Recovering, and the 30 x 24 Still Life

The still life is about as finished as it's going to be, seeing it now. It didn't take too much fiddle-arting around to get it to this stage with those open acrylics. I finished the "real" color note of that purple plate by breaking the Color System rules to get that luscious of a plate color--using the cools in the light. In man-made objects we can do that, and it creates a wondrous excitement in otherwise follow-the-rules paintings.

I've not done still life in a LONG time, and found it different from the old days. I think I need to do more, perhaps some smaller subjects, and revisit the onions and other fruits. It will come. I do love the energy of this painting in the brushwork.

Sorry about not emailing more often--last weekend I crashed the scooter and have been limping around here feeling sorry for myself. The bruises and cuts are nothing serious, except the one on my hip where I hit the pavement. Dang, that asphalt is HARD. I've got more colors than the Color System in my left leg! I need to keep it up for a few hours each day. Turns out my aikido training again saved my hide, because it could ahve been MUCH more serious. As it was, I hit and rolled and did a 360 on my shoulder before coming to rest on my back. I just went with the motion, and didn't brace, and perhaps saved my 60 year old bones. Scooter's fine, just some cosmetic damage.

So I'm fine now, and rarin' to go into the July 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.

Jun 9 - The Acrylic Still Life Continues

Now I'm so much more pleased with this one. It is coming along well, with glazing done with traditional gloss medium and colors from the Open Acrylics, blending and unifying the upper left corner, and defining the green plate. The red grapes went in very fast, and yet are not painted as individual grapes. I'll still add much more, and have put off adding the lavender leftmost plate. I need to pull the entire composition together before making this bold statement.

I've thought about time of day for this painting, and it is definitely morning. I added bits of warm yellow to the whites, and of course there are all sorts of grayed purples in the shadows. Yes, even interiors can reflect the time of day--it just makes a better painting overall, in my opinion.

Every once in a while I like to share with you other artists' work, someone who has been in a Color Boot Camp. Since my epiphany of being a teacher vs. being an artist first, I want to share this site with you--this is my friend Louise Mellon, of Aiken, South Carolina. She paints what she loves and what is around her--mostly horses and their companions. I'm always pleasured by her courage in her work and her stunning designs. Check her work in progress through her blog: http://louisemellon.blogspot.com/

OK, OK.... if you want to be on the list for the October workshop, I'm going to take names. (Now stop pestering me! Just kidding!) I don't want to have to go to a lottery system, yet I understand everyone's frustration about not getting into 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.

June 8 - Back to the Normal after the Workshop

As I continue to cover the canvas, I'm working on the lower 2/3, bringing the colors back with the new, hopefully more effective design. The flowers "grew", and the plates moved down and off a bit. Again, I've moved to the Open Acrylics by Golden, to give me some more working time to make decisions. Although I love my traditional acrylics, working on a larger canvas tends to make me hurry when I'm using them.

I got a call from the Escondido gallery--suggesting that most of his clientele have homes that react better to "warmer" palettes. But he said that of all the artists' work he took over to show one of his high-end clients, it was my work that worked best. The Color System... what can I say???

Well, it is back to the "New" normal... It is mighty quiet around here now, after all the new Boot Camp graduates left yesterday, Sunday. The July workshop is full, and I'm looking at the second weekend in October for the next three-day Riverside Boot Camp. Those of you on the East Coast still have an opportunity to relax and paint your socks off in Maine in September. There's another three-day workshop scheduled for August in Sebastopol, but at this time is only open to their membership. I'll keep you posted if that changes.

Here's a photo from the workshop that was kindly sent to me from the Canadian contingent after she arrived back home. I send it to show the rack behind me with the work of the students from the first day--they did either moonlight or misty light paintings and the new "silly painting" using just the CS values. I'm wearing one of the "I survived Color Boot Camp" aprons, and of course, Sparky is doing his "bird on a wire" act.

Happy painting!

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.

Jun 6 - The Workshop for June and that Still Life

"When in doubt, paint it out," I said a few days ago. This 30 x 24 has been sitting on my easel since then, asking for attention. Today, after the workshop was over, I invited those interested to stick around and see how this would be changed. Most opted to continue painting after a great idea of pizza delivered to the door. They are dedicated!
So I redesigned the structure on this painting, now using the Golden Open acrylics instead of the traditional acrylics I started with. Fun, juicy and fast painting! Here I'm blocking in the lower half, and I glazed over a lot of the upper half with yellow ochre and gloss medium.

I redrew the plates and the vase larger and expanded the floral portion to more properly balance the composition. And just approached it as though it were differently composed in the first place. I like it better already!

The workshop is going well, with ten Color Boot Campers delving into nuances of the Color System, and taking control of their painting decisions, instead of letting the source material drive their work. It's refreshing to see the new paintings coming off their brushes! More tomorrow, and perhaps one or two will let me use their work in an email to you.

The second image is what the floral looked like after I did the major surgery with the brush and painted OUT the lower two thirds. Hey, I painted it once, I can do it again, and probably better. So it goes.

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.

June 2 - Paintings gone Wrong and Beauty Elsewhere

Uh oh. Some times an artist forgets what they're doing, and I'm happy to report to you that this painting is becoming a great teaching example of that!

Those lovely grays are gone now, and I caught myself getting so enamored with the small white rose, that I forgot one of the things I stress with students, "Don't rush the focal point!" So although this painting has some good things going on with it, I have a feeling that it is going to undergo some major surgery shortly.

Hey, this happens to all of us. But most of 'em arteests aren't courageous (or stupid) enough to share the ones that aren't going so well with the general public. I've had an epiphany of knowledge that I'm a teacher first and an artist second, so I see the greater good in sharing ALL the issues with painting, and that includes problems. Since I took this last image, I've painted OUT the lower 2/3 of the canvas. Gone. "When in doubt, paint it out." So it goes. See, I, too, have to slap myself up side the head and put myself back on track. The painting will get much better because of it. After all, "it's just paint".

On another note, here's a bit of beauty from my yard... after I took the image of the picket fence, I walked up to the front patio, turned around and took this second image over the koi pond to the rose garden. I love scenes like this... it may end up as a painting, too.

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.

June 1 - Continuing with the Acrylic Still Life

I'm still covering the canvas using only the cool colors--the whites you see are the canvas itself, which flies in the face of my normal procedure of toning the canvas. But since the source material is so harmonious and subtle in coloration, I wanted to use the whate canvas to "keep the sparkle" as I continue to develop the shapes.

Yes, not a BIT of warm in here yet, and the harmonies of color are really pleasant. I'm using the "Trifecta" of the sky trio with white to create all those areas of gray variations. All you Color Boot Camp Graduates will know those!

On the rest of the canvas, I'm just putting in the general shapes of the things--such as the grapes and the plate shadows. There is a bit of pure on the vase now, in the shadows on the left. Ultramarine and white. It looks so warm and advancing because with the Color System, if you use a cool color solo with just white added, and surround it with other cool mixes that have two or three others combined, there's an optical illusion created. That illusion makes the purer colors advance, and appear warmer. Can you see it?

On other news, I'm clearing out the workroom for the June COLOR BOOT CAMP here this coming weekend. Twelve people are going to fill their heads and canvases with the time of day system that seems to be revolutionizing painting for people who want good color, every time.

I'm putting in a white picket fence around my rose garden this week--here's an image of it in process. OK, all the stereotypes about "houses with white picket fences" come to mind, but I've always loved pickets and roses, and now I have both right outside my studio windows. Life is good. But then we also have a swarm of bees that came into the back yard this afternoon, so maybe not. A local beekeeper is coming by this evening to take them for his hives. That's the best for the bees, and they'll be gone before they can get hungry and testy.

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.

May 31 - Starting the Still Life in Acrylics

This is a 30 x 24 canvas, and the first lay-in of the large shapes is presented for you in this lesson on painting a still life using the Color System.

These colors are blends from the cool box, and create a harmony of related hues, and every one of them is at least two hues from that box. There is NO pure color at this stage. All of the shapes that are going in are going to play background roles for the coming layers.

I'm also attaching the photo of the setup I'm using, as this is from life. Sometimes the setup and arrangement of objects is just as important, if not moreso, than the actual painting! This is set up in my studio to the left of my easel, and is lit with one 50 watt halogen spotlight. I chose these objects from my "stash" for their unity of color and analogous relationships. It will be fun to see what happens with the Color System and my brushes!

I hope you'll enjoy the journey through this painting with me...


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.

May 22 - UCR Botanic Gardens Plein Air Primavera

Last Sunday found me on the grounds of the University of California Riverside Botanic Gardens as a guest artist for the Primavera event. Many fine restaurants and wineries were on hand with samples of their cuisine and beverages--and I enjoyed that as well as the light and activity.

It was a warm afternoon, and so I painted this scene of the tents, ribbon banners and people gathered around socializing in a quick 9 x 12 Golden Open acrylic painting. Mostly just gestural mark-making with the brush, nothing is clearly defined. But that lets YOU define it in your mind.

The warm and cool boxes are much in evidence with the light and shadows working together.

Here's another memory of the misty morning light in Florida, on the grounds of the Carriage Museum. Many ideas for future paintings down the "road" in reviewing these images. They are so peaceful. Grand place, as is the Georgia farm and the East Coast in general. I'm ready to return!

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.

May 21 - One from the Workshop (Mine) :-)

After the wonderful paintings from workshop folks, I thought I'd send you one of my own--done during the Florida workshop on the last couple of days.

This Amish image came from the collection of Judi Evans, and is used with permission. I used the subject to convey noon light, and loved the drama of the deep shadows and the interesting angle of the horses juxtaposed with the lean out on each side. Painting noon light can be fun, when the subject is as interesting as this one!

It is a 12 x 16 acrylic on textured canvas, and is available for $350, unframed directly from me. It's much better in person.

In other news, Rural Heritage Magazine is featuring my art relating to these draft horses in their upcoming issue. Summer work and big horses!

I'm also gearing up for the next workshop in less than two weeks!

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.

May 18 - Accommodations and more Florida

Another artist from the Florida Color Boot Camp, applying the Color System to make a good painting go into orbit. Nancy Moskovitz has a blog where she shares information on her art journey, and I was honored to have her among the wonderful group painting and learning at the Carriage Museum near the Villages, in central Florida last week. Her "AHA" moment, she says, "Just one? Learning how to use yellows, especially lemon yellow to create a morning mood. Learning how to keep sunlit fields in the distance with ochre. Thalo blue in sunlight; thalo green in shadow - wow!"

I just loved this evocative depiction of a common subject. Can you tell I love teaching? Both my Riverside workshops are full now, and I'm busy clipping and snipping around the gardens to neaten up the place after an absence of two weeks.

In Florida, below's an image of the Wisteria Lodge, one of two that were our accommodations for this workshop. Amazing place, the Austin Carriage Museum! Beauty in the site and beauty in the light. I slept in my Hennessy Hammock out in the trees and loved every moment of the Florida nights. The hammock has a bug net that prevents unwanted intruders, and it worked well even in the rain.

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.

May 17 - Home and Off to Paint Again

The Florida and Georgia workshops are history now, and I'm full of memories and have many images to share with you! I don't have images of my own work to share, since those paintings are either out of my hands or on their way home in shipping boxes. But I'm honored to share the work of one of the students, Jackie, who has said that knowing the Color System was the last key she needed to make her work reach that higher level. This is her 12 x 16 oil for her misty painting, and isn't it lovely? She already has a foundation of drawing, composition and a great "feel" for depicting the Florida landscape, so adding the time of day to her work is like the flowers on the icing on the decorated cake!

And here's the entire workshop on the front porch of one of our lodgings, on our last day, sharing the final images we were working on--backlit, and sunset skies. Represented are oils, acrylics and watercolors. Nobody had to say "cheese" to this group, and they all survived Color Boot Camp! I will miss them, and the fun we had. Some new terms they added to the CBCs are "Friggin' Green" and "Wine O'Clock". They want me to come back next year.This afternoon I'm painting on location at the UCR Botanic Gardens for their "Primavera in the Gardens" event. I hope to post the newest images later this week.

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

May 9 - Thank you and Goodbyes

Here's the demonstration painting for morning light done as part of the lecture for the Georgia workshop this week. It's a 12 x 16 and done with acrylics (traditional) on a board-backed canvas and is one of the views across the woods and hayfields of Georgia. I really like the light patterns that fall on the jump on the right of the scene. I've walked this path on Fay's farm many times and never tire of it.

The students ("Recruits") in the Color Boot Camps are producing outstanding work--all because of the Color System applied to their curret style and subject matter. I'm honored to be teaching such a great group, and will be heading optimistically to Florida tomorrow to meet up with yet another great group of folks with a desire to know the Color System.

Here I am doing the demonstration for noon light--on a 16 x 20 canvas in Golden Open acrylics, pill boxes at the ready! Fun demo, and I'll post the finished painting later this week.

I want to thank all of you--especially those to whom I've not had time to personally reply--who wrote about Shadow. It is tough to lose a pet, and those who wrote such kind emails cement for me the connection I feel to all of you, and for that I thank you sincerely. I have a busy life, yet there are those bittersweet moments of memory that still bring an ache to my heart.

Now I'm off to Florida tomorrow morning, and will be seeing new faces, new Color Boot Camp Recruits, with Sparky is by my side! I hope I'll have a good Internet connection while I'm there!

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.

May 8 - The Georgia Workshop Finished Up

It's Friday night, and the five-day workshop is finished here in Georgia, and what a great one it was! The students painted beautiful paintings, the time of day with the Color System keps falling off their brushes, and all went away worn out and ready to apply the new knowledge to their work.

I'm tired, but satisfied that I did my best in sharing the Color System with them. Tonight I reflect on how it went, what I can do better next week in Florida, and enjoy the quiet introspection.

Here for your pleasure is the 9 x 12 oil I did as a demonstration piece for evening light. This is "Susie" one of Fay's brood cows, and I quickly painted this for the demonstration and lecture of evening light. It is now in the hands of returning Boot Camper Joanna Karpay of Tampa, Florida, and on it's way to its new home.

And all of us had a silly night last night when they presented Fay (hostess on the left) and me with capes adorned with lines of praise and humor during the annual camp fire dinner we have now for the workshops. Note the full moon making fools of us all! What a great workshop, great place, and great folks!

Two days, and Sparky and I will be driving to Florida for the next workshop. Stay tuned for more images!

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.

May 6 - Georgia Workshop First Paintings

Yes, some of my students in the Georgia workshop do WONDERFUL paintings!!
After the value studies in the first day of the Color Boot Camp workshop, the "recruits" are given the challenge of painting without mixing--but choosing values (lightness or darkness) based purely on the colors straight from the tube. The results are wonderfully colorful, exciting, contemporary works. I share two of them with you in this email.

The first one of the draft horse is done in acrylics and is an 8 x 8 canvas. It was a great challenge for these folks to not mix colors, yet they all admitted that the exercise taught them volumes about the true values of their pigments.

When we know the values of our colors, it allows us to make exciting color choices and perhaps not trying to mix on the palette. It also showed the students that colors have an "inherent value" when they come out the tube.

The second painting I've attached is of a rooster done in oils. It is 9 x 12 inches and has a little glare on the right side. But it, too, is very successful in the exercise.

The third day has us doing misty light and finishing up our moonlight work from yesterday. These students are spot on with design and drawing skills, yet I have one who has not used acrylics before...just watercolors!

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.

May 4 - Workshop in Georgia Going On!

I'm in Georgia teaching the first of two workshops--five days of Color Boot Camp. This acrylic was a quick study done yesterday to demonstrate the value plan of a large light in midtones. The weather is WONDERFUL for this California gal, with rain ad cool breezes, I'm "plumping up" as the moisture kisses my face!

This image might look familiar to you because of my doing it for another workship at another time of day. This one is morning light, and that one was evening light. One can vary the time of day when working with source material with the Color System. Right now the students are doing a brand new exercise of painting without mixing any colors together--just finding the correct values by deciding which color straight from the tube is the value they need. Their brains are hurting!

The very sad note, and one of the reasons I haven't been able to post, is that we lost Shadow the Tibetan Mastiff pup to parvo virus a week ago. I cannot tell you how much of a hole his death has put in our lives, but it has taken until now to even write of it. He is buried up on the hill by Chiron's corral, and near the pond where he would drink and play.

Everyone else is fine, and Sparky is here with me in Georgia. A fun week ahead for all of us!

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.

Apr 11 - Workshop Demonstration in stages

In doing these Color Boot Camps, I need to demonstrate times of day for the attendees. Here's the first step of the acrylic for backlight, and I'll present it here in stages, so you can enjoy the process as well as the finished demo. This is a 9 x 12 surface (under the workshop lights some glare upper right).

I start by saying how important values are for backlit subjects. So in putting a large dark area down and covering the canvas this much at the get-go, I've "darkened the stage" for the drama that is to come. It's a mix of thalo green and burnt umber. Those swirly marks are my "designing mind" planting the location of the focal points that are to come. More on this one tomorrow.

Here's another image from the April workshop, this one done by Christine F., who was absolutely pleased that the Color System created this 18x24 oil canvas without modifying her painting style or subject choice! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did seeing it unfold so quickly to this point in just one afternoon. It validates my faith in the Color System to help artists change their work for the better. I'd like to also quote a recent "CBC" attendee who posted this email to the ColorSystem group on Yahoo Groups:

I finally did it! After lurking in the shadows of this list, reading all the posts while drooling with envy, I WENT TO BOOT CAMP!!! And am I GLAD I did. It was way more valuable than I could ever have imagined. I learned, and learned and then learned some more. Elin is a fantastic teacher with an abundance of enthusiasm, knowledge and generosity. I enjoyed every moment...I suggest strongly that you get yourself to Boot Camp. And if you can't get there quickly, at least start by studying the color flash cards. Your life as an artist, and your paintings will never be the same! Thanks, Elin, FOR EVERYTHING.

Congratulations to new Collector Donna Matson from Los Angeles/Palm Desert on her purchase of my painting "Solitude" from the PAAR Whitewater Preserve Show. See the painting here (new window).

You can see my entire blog HERE.

My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE. (Spaces only in the Maine-in-September workshop now.)

Color System information can be found HERE.

If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Apr 8 - Another Demonstration using Golden Open Acrylics

I am becoming enamored with the Golden Open Acrylics. I used them today (in their cool and warm pill boxes) for a demonstration for the Hemet Valley Art Association. The end result is this 16 x 20 acrylic you see here, called "Vernal Pools, Santa Rosa". Completely without reference except memories in my head.

What I enjoy about the Open Acrylics is the process of putting paint down that dries less quickly than traditional acrylics, yet still is tacky enough to have drag and blending opportunities, not quite like, but similar to, oils. The drag over the tacky parts is easily visible in the grasses. The blending is there in the distant mountains and water reflections. I talked the entire time during the demonstration, which lasted about an hour and a half. The HVAA were kind to let me come back, since I missed last month!

From the workshop, I wanted to share the moonlight painting that Harmony did on the last day. She really "got" it in this depiction of the waterfall--using a noontime color snapshot she took herself, and mentally changing the light to make this evocative view using the Color System. Just so you know, the paintings I'm showing from the workshop have had less than 5% of my hand, if that. Most, like this one, are 100% from the brushes of the attendee.

If you'd like a look into my life here at Two Trees, my friend Theresa who came through on a visit took these photographs while here. Lots of Chiron, and the workshop, as well as around the yard. I love seeing my life through another's eyes--it is full of surprises! Go HERE.

You can see my entire blog HERE.

My remaining workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE, updated. The June workshop is filled and I've opened another California one that goes over July 4th weekend. It already has two signups. Still one or two spots in Florida and several in September in Maine, though.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Apr 7 - Workshop Over, Next One Coming

I just opened the June Riverside workshop today, and already six of the ten slots are filled with deposits. Wow. I know that the Color System is such a needed tool for artists, as I can see that it works; I saw it in students' work this past weekend. I took some more images from this last workshop, and will be sharing their paintings with you in the days to come.

Here is the one I did as the demonstration for evening light, on a 12 x 16 panel in oils, using the Color System to convey time of day on the light falling on the pack mule and the landscape. It is a quick study, roughly done in about 30 minutes. However even at this loose stage, the light is set and the color "reads right" for the warm late afternoon. The students then took their own source material, and spent a half day doing their own paintings in evening light.

Here's Pat's 8 x 10 acrylic which she did from her own black and white photograph. I enjoy seeing every student's painting style in these workshops. And so fun to see the wheels turning in everyone's head as they THINK about painting!

I have a new flyer for the workshop in Florida. You can view it online here, and please share it with your friends "over there".

You can see my entire blog HERE.

My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE-Florida and Maine!

Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Apr 4 - Color Boot Camp in Progress--Student Samples

After the first full day of the Color Boot Camp ended, I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the students' paintings instead of mine. They say one can measure the success of a teacher by the quality of the students. Everyone "nailed" the morning light lesson, after the opening morning learning the importance of values in designing paintings. Here are two of the students' pieces, both completed to this stage in just under three hours. I asked permission to share them, and they enthusiastically said, "Yes!".

First is Christine's image of an elephant in water. She came in with a standard photograph taken by a friend on safari, and it was a traditionally gray and blue photo. By applying the color system, and relocating the head off to one side, she accomplished the goal of creating a dynamic composition and also set the time of day to morning. She'll add the ripples and define the water and the details on this 12 x 16 oil later. But this painting shows a great "AHA" moment for her, in that she said she'd never think to add the yellow to the right side of the pachyderm.

Second is a morning landscape from an ordinary photograph taken by Claudette. She finished this large (16 x 20 oil) in the afternoon of the first day! Knowing what colors to use allowed her to push forward and really get what she wanted without fighting to achieve the gentle light of morning. All of the students were successful in getting the morning light in their work.

Tomorrow, they'll be doing sunsets and noon lighting. I'll share more of their work with you then, if you like. I'm so pleased with the way the workshop is unfolding for these students. Then there are my demonstration paintings coming, too...

There's still room in the May Florida workshop (Georgia is full), and the September workshop in beautiful Maine. Color Boot Camps for FIVE FULL DAYS!

You can see my entire blog HERE.

My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE (except for the June Riverside workshop).

Color System information can be found HERE.

If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Apr 3 - First Day of Color Boot Camp

Today ended the first full day of the April Color Boot Camp here at Two Trees Studio. I am pleasantly tired tonight, yet smiling as I do when I know the students had a valuable day behind them. I demonstrated how to make a fairly good old painting I had much better, by the knowledge of the Color System I'm teaching. I took this 24 x 36 acrylic that I painted back in 1998, and with glazes and some enhancement of areas, transformed it from a ho-hum nice painting to a definite morning light piece. I'd painted it in 1998 during the month after my dad died as a series of pathway paintings, coming to grips with losing a loved one, and the path we are all on during this stay on earth.

In the Color System, morning light is suffused with yellow (mostly) and shadows take on some characteristics of the receding night sky. It was fun to change the areas of sunlight and shadow to reflect this, and yet to hold to the integrity of the original painting.

Here's the old version for you to see what the original painting looked like before the demonstration of how to fix a canvas.

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.

Mar 28 - Whitewater Preserve Evening

The second plein air painting for the show coming up on April 2 at Whitewater Preserve off of I-10 for your pleasure! This is a 24 by 12 acrylic, and I painted it SO fast.... Couldn't take any pictures of it in process, as the light changed so rapidly on that rock face on the right. I got that part in first, as I knew that as the light faded, the sun would leave those rocks. And it DID. So I painted this one mostly in the Cool Boxes of the Color System, using traditional acrylics, with just a few accents of warm on the water and wet rocks.

Doing the water while listening to the burbling ripples was such a joy. I was parked near the concrete creek crossing where many people pull off and enjoy the water, but at this time of evening, I was only worried about black bears. Sparky would have warned me, though. In this part of the pass area near Banning, the wildlife come down to drink, and the evening light takes on a special atmosphere. I love to capture it--(the light, not the bears!)

After painting the first oil, I went to leave, and they'd closed the gates on me while I was inside the Preserve! Fortunately, they didn't lock them, so I could come to this location and whip out the acrylics. Fun to do two paintings in two media on one afternoon. Yes, I do paint fast....

The April workshop is fast approaching, and I do have one spot available for anyone interested in a quick three days of INTENSE Color Boot Camp. Let me know... although nine is a good number, too.

Here's Sparky at my set up for the first Whitewater painting...he just woke up and is arching his back in a stretch--thus the strange pose. I hope you enjoy seeing the places "for real" that I paint?

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.

Mar 26 - Whitewater Preserve off I-10, Plein Air

Oh wow, oh wow, wow! I went to the Whitewater Preserve (used to be the old trout ponds) off I-10 west of Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs late this afternoon. The land up there is gorgeous and rugged, and Sparky 'n' I were out in the middle of nowhere capturing this vista, looking north toward the San Gorgonio mountains. Old sycamores are everywhere, and the valley floor has grasses and brittlebush blooming. SOLD

My Color System is alive and well here in this 12 x 12 oil, yet so tempered by the dove grays and soft value changes that it is hard to find it unless you KNOW it. I'm so pleased with this one, because the recent series of larger studio landscapes has helped me to "nail it" in the field. I may go back once more--the turn-in for this show is coming up on the 2nd, but I'm asking another PAAR artist who's offered to take the paintings in to take mine--I'll be doing the April Color Boot Camp here!

Thank you all for the warm welcome back in your email replies to this post. I truly miss painting when I'm not doing it every day, and your comments help me to keep going!

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.

Mar 24 - Baby Goats and Finished the "Secret Pasture"

I've been tremendously busy with springtime on the "farm" here--planting the raised beds, fertilizing and planting more citrus, and getting everything ready for the next Color Boot Camp workshop here in April. I'm so glad to be back to the brushes now, and finished the 30 x 40 of the "Secret Pasture"--another place where I'd love to spend time. Most of the finishing touches are related to the lights on the sunlit areas, and the addition of one horse off in the distance--thus, the "secret".

It's hanging on the wall behind me and I just so enjoy looking at it from across the room. I'll be back on Fay's farm in May!

Whooee, though...here at Two Trees it's been a long day! We doubled our goat herd last night with the birth of triplets from our milk doe Uke--six days early. From midnight to 2:30 I was on maternity duty with her in the brisk night air. Mom and kids are fine, two beautiful boys and one girl--who is the spitting image of her grandma! The middle boy is huge, and I had to assist to get him and his sister safely into their new world. Here they are only a few hours old, with mama, this morning.

Tomorrow I go out to the Whitewater Preserve to paint on location for an upcoming Plein Air Artists of Riverside show. This Preserve is the newest in a chain of open space parcels to allow the movement of wildlife, and links the corridors of the Mt. San Jacinto range to the San Gorgonio mountains to the north. It's good to be back painting!

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.

Mar 12 - Parent Washington Navel Orange Tree, Plein Air

At the request of one of the PAAR artists, and with her company, I went out to paint a landmark in Riverside today. I have wanted to paint this for over 20 years--the parent Navel Orange Tree that is an historical landmark in Riverside, at the corner of Arlington and Magnolia. This tree is one of two that are the original trees brought to Riverside and into California by Mrs. Eliza Tibbets in 1903. Her husband didn't think much of this project, so she watered the trees with dishwater. She sold cuttings from her trees for $5 each, an exhorbitant amount at that time. This one tree has survived and continues to blossom today. It is cared for by the folks here at the University of California, Riverside. The navel orange tree, and Mrs. Tibbets, changed the citrus industry forever. Available for $275.

This 12 x 16 painting is done in acrylics, and I stood in the median strip on Magnolia Avenue this morning to paint it. If you've ever been to Riverside and seen this bit of history, you'll recognize it right away! Standing in the median with all my gear, I felt at one moment like a homeless person, and then at another as if I were one of those people who hold advertising signs. Hard to ignore the traffic so close, but I had a few nice comments.

On other news, I am going to share that I owe a local art group a huge apology, for missing a demonstration I was supposed to paint on Wednesday. I just feel awful about it. I share this with you to show that even though I consider myself fairly organized, I can miss something really important. It just wasn't "in" my head, even though it was on my calendar. I could lean back on the excuse list of what has happened this past week--trying to save the red tail hawk, house guests coming and going, installation of new siding on the rooms above the studio (here's a picture), and even family health problems have thrown a few pot holes in the road.

But that doesn't take away my embarrassment about it, nor knowing that I let them down. I'm going to offer to do another demo (if they'll have me) for just a small bit of money to cover my expenses when they can fit me in. I love this group--so I am just sharing this with you to let you know that "stuff happens" even to folks who seem so organized. We're all just human, after all. Let's hope they can forgive my foibles. The siding is beautiful, but the pounding above my studio was a bit deafening.

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.

Mar 9 - Back to Horses, but a Tad Different!

Some of you may know that I used to be in illustration, many years ago. This painting is SO not the Color System, but there are parts of it buried in the pattern of colors splashed over the rider and horse. It's a strictly illustrative piece to catch the viewer and bright colors do that!

This is a distraction from the greens of "Hidden Pasture", and is done for the HITS posters for the show jumping circuit. I've been getting their press releases, and like a gnat, finally got out and swatted this 20 x 16 oil off my easel. I hope they like it.

Those of you familiar with the Color System will have a hard time telling what time of day it is. After all, there's a green horse, and look at that cadmium orange on the breeches! And in the shadows, too. ACK! This kind of color rule breaking can make for an exciting illustrative image, where realism takes a back seat to "punch" to catch the viewer's eye.

On other news, we've had an interesting four days doing all possible to save the male red tail hawk that nests in our pines. According to the raptor rescue I called, he was poisoned by eating a still-alive homeowner-poisoned rodent. I cannot tell you how agonizing it is to see such a magnificent bird in such distress and to have such a sad outcome. We nursed it and tried our best, but because we didn't get to it soon enough, we were unable to save him. Red tails mate for life, and I hear the female calling for him. PLEASE, before you put out that poison bait for the rodents, remember this red tail hawk, and know that you DO make a difference, one way or the other. Here's a photo of him in our outer studio, when he was still alert and defiantly beautiful. The dowel was needed to occupy his beak while we fed him. Rat poison doesn't stop with the rats, folks.

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.

Mar 6 - Plein Air Quick Draw (Inside!)

The Plein Air Paint Out in Riverside culminated with all the artists doing a Quick Draw (actually painting) in an hour and a half. This year celebrates a major anniversary of the Riverside Art Museum which is housed in a lovely building designed by Julia Morgan. Ms. Morgan designed Hearst Castle and was a respected architect in an era of few women building designers. So the artists were instructed to paint some aspect of Julia Morgan's handiwork.

I set up inside the central atrium, where Saffron's restaurant is located. The end result of my time at the easel is this 7 x 5 intimate acrylic, showing the dining atmosphere, the artwork on the hallways and the light suffusing from the glass ceiling.

The painting went on to win an honorable mention that morning. It is available in a nice frame for $250.

On other news, the first painting I did in this week-long event won first prize in this competition. "Victoria Avenue Morning" can be seen on my February 22 blog entry (opens in a new window). This PAAR competition continues to expand its awards and I'm so proud to be a part of it.

And the same day, I get notification from the Art Show at the Dog Show that my painting "Guardian" has won the award for Best Entry Depicting a Doberman. You can see that painting on my blog here (also opens in a new window).

Can you tell I'm flyin' 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.

Mar 2 - Mt. Rubidoux - Plein Air Paint Out

From Carlson Dog Park, I looked up in evening light to see the cross on the top of Mt. Rubidoux, here in Riverside. I'd taken Sparky and Onslow to the park for some much-needed socialization time, and yet I had my plein air gear and couldn't resist this evening view of the mountain that embraces the city of Riverside.
This is an 8x8 canvas, cut down AFTER I painted it from an 8x10. It's done in acrylics, and with the palette of the Color System that conveys evening light--but a softer side, since the cross and the mountain are messaging a gentler feel. It still has the characteristic orange and alizarin where needed, but whispered rather than shouted into the lights and shadows. $295 with a lovely custom frame in silvery gray-blue.

You've commented that these have no signatures, and why? Because for this competition, one oor more of the paintings could end up in the Riverside Art Museum show, and for that venue, they've asked that we submit unsigned work at the judge's request. It's a bit odd, but we can do that. Ones that are not selected will be signed this week.

The only workshop this spring that still has spaces is the Florida one at the wonderful Carriage Park near Ocala. I hope there are future Boot Campers reading this, and that you'll find one of those spots for your learning time. I don't think I'll be coming east after this year--for at least a year, so this one in May and Maine in September are your only opportunitites to be "drilled" with the Color System at 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.

Feb 28 - Plein Air at the Air Port

Yesterday's on-location spot was the 1930's Flabob Airport in Riverside. Now, some of you know that my mom had her private pilot's license when she lived in Hawaii before World War II, so I grew up with pictures and stories of flying small planes and pictures of even smaller airports.

Because of that history, I passed right by many of the artists who were set up on the OTHER side of the cafe (with its blue airport logo), driving around to the hangars to get the pilot's view. The management said to stay off the runway, so I set up on the taxi lane, and this is the first sight a pilot will see when he or she pulls in to park their plane. Flying in for lunch or breakfast is a hobby of many pilots, and the cafes at these small airports around the country serve quite good food!

I had fun with the Bonanza in the foreground, the plastic chairs in front of the cafe, and the ubiquitous wind sock. I felt as though I had dropped back in time as I was on the asphalt and carved out this 12x12 acrylic. And I know my mom was looking over my shoulder with a big smile. It is for sale for $350 in a nice custom frame.

The June workshop is now full, and thank you for responding so quickly!

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.

Feb 27 - The Big One Further Along

Now I'm adding the details on this 30x40 oil, and now I'm about half-way through that phase. The contrast of light is beginning to come into play, as well as the contrasts of color, value and texture. I'm especially pleased with how the gates are placed, one painted dark and the other painted light. They seem to be like a comfortable couple of friends.

The open gate may bother some people who are familiar with "range protocol" which is to leave the gate as you find it, either fully open or fully closed. But I wanted to give a suggestion of possible entry into this space with the gate ajar, and just open enough for the soul to slip through. The distant mists are in place, and I'll be finishing up these details and lights after this weekend's plein air event.

Today I did two nice little gems, one of Riverside's Flabob Airport--it was like stepping back to 1930 to be on the taxi-way and painting the buildings and aircraft! That's a 12 x 12 acrylic, which I'll share with you when I get good images of it. The second painting was of local landmark Mt. Rubidoux lit by the last light of the sunset tonight, as seen from Carlson Dog Park (yes, Sparky and Onslow were with me and worn out!). That one, too, needs a better photograph.

Tomorrow I'm painting the Riverside Art Museum for the Quick Draw part of this week's event. I have some ideas of what to paint, not your usual "building in sunlight"... more to come!

There is only one spot left in my June Boot Camp Workshop, and I haven't even opened it up for deposit payment yet!!! The Color System just WORKS....

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.