May 12 - The Color System at Work

Ho ho! What fun preparing for the workshop next Tuesday! Since we'll be working with my Color System, I pulled out this 7 x 5 acrylic I did partially many years ago, and partially after I learned how to manage color. You can see the difference with the upper left corner done "before" and the lower right "after".
To more clearly see this in action, put your hand over one or the other triangles, and see whether you can almost feel the harmony in the lower side, and not quite so in the upper left. Now many nice paintings are made with the colors used in that upper left corner, but there is almost something magical in the way the lower part looks more in focus somehow.
I know how it works, based upon the wavelength of the colors' spectral reflectance curves, but for most of us, it is just "reads right".

OK, I could have made the grass greener. Hey.
Tomorrow off to the other house for the (hopefully) last time. I'll be so happy when all of this is finished and I can get back to making art videos, finishing the new pond here, and releasing my tadpoles into it. They're currently in the smaller pond and several tubs with my water plants. These are native Western Spadefoot toad tad-babies, and I'm adamant about sustaining a good population wherever I go. They eat TONS of bugs! At the old house we had as many as 35 toads coming to those ponds at night, and each year they bred new generations. I have little hope that the new owners will not use bug sprays and kill the remaining ones because of fear of a few creepy crawlies.


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May 11 - One for the Harness Tracks Auction

I took the time tonight to put the more finished touches on this 16 x 20 painting scheduled for the Harness Tracks of America auction in Lexington (October). You can see I've added the midground trees and the midsky clouds to bring it together, and also defined the horse and driver with more clarity. I just had a fun time working on this one!

Next week is the one-day workshop in Murrieta, and it is full, with a waiting list started. I do hope to teach a longer one in the early Spring here at my studio, as I can see that there is a need.
If I can share what I know, I will be most happy!


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May 10 - Unfinished at any speed!

I started this 16 x 20 oil painting for the Gem of the Valley art group in Murrieta last Monday, and thought I'd have it finished by now. But this escrow business is filling up niches of time, and I just haven't been able to get into the studio. I'll be really happy when escrow closes on the other house and it is in their hands. So I though You'd enjoy seeing it at this stage, knowing I am going to finish it tomorrow with about two hours' more work.

It is similar in many ways to others I've done recently--I'm on a sky kick! This painting lacks a mid ground in the clouds and also on the ground. Good paintings have all three--the distance, the foreground and a middle ground. Take out or forget to paint any one of these, and your viewers will have discomfort when they look at it, but perhaps won't know why. Tomorrow I'll do the major mid ground of the clouds and the details on the horse/cart/driver and pull it to a finished state. Can you wait?


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May 9 - Demonstration Painting, 16 x 20 Oil for the Associated Artists

This painting was done this morning during a demonstration for the Associated Artists of the Inland Empire, over in Rancho Cucamonga. What a great drive, to a grand location, with a warm and welcoming group of artists in attendance. I started it about 9:45, and finished up the talk at 11 with a break in between.

Some of the ideas I shared were about painting as a process, not an individual product, and to think of your work as stepping stones to a distant destination, rather than putting too much of your emotional self in the current work. I also shared vestiges of my Color System, and also a joke here and there. Even though i say I won't do as many demonstrations now, when I get in front of a group like today's it is tough to think of not doing it any more!

This one is an oil, and might get a bit more tweaking before it goes up on the daily paintings web site. My goodness, I need to update that!

The workshop in Murrieta, California, is full now, with 15 people ready to paint up a storm on May 15. Directions and other information will be forthcoming to the attendees.

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May 8 - Revisiting Cats, 5 x 5" acrylic

I realized that it has been quite a while since I've done a cat, and since I'm kind of running out of time before anohter art group demonstration tomorrow, I did this quick study of a green-eyed feline before getting ready for sleep.

Then it will be off to Rancho Cucamonga in the morning for the demo.

The Murrieta workshop on May 15 is filling, and for a one-day workshop, there's just a whole lot to share. It will be fun, and a long day!

Now back to the final bits and doings for tomorrow.
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May 7 - Out for a Workout, 9 x 12 Oil for Harness Tracks of America

I still have some minor detailing to do to finish this one, but at this stage I'm quite pleased with it. What appeals to me is the division of space, and the nice harmony of greens and blues complimenting the oranges and reds. Double complimentary color scheme!
On another note, living in the nature preserve means wildlife, and I came home from the art painting demonstration for the Murrieta Gem of the Valley art group to find not one, but two rattlesnakes as a welcoming committee. One was in the outdoor cat pen (our cats come and go outside, but don't get to roam beyond the "cage" to get to the wild birds), and the other was between the trash bins. Sigh. One knows that the warm weather is upon us when these guys appear. No more walking around after dark without a flashlight! One was a Mexican Red and the other was the more common Western Diamondback. Both were about 30". I have a snake stick to deal with such visitors.

"Out for a Workout" will be sent to the Harness Tracks of America auction.


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May 6 - On Being an Artist, the Lesson Continues (Ack! Headless Horseman!)

Being an artist is not something I chose to be, rather it evolved from not fitting in as a kid of about nine. I had a good hand-eye coordination, and was really poor at dealing with the teasing that comes of that age. Drawing was an outlet to gain acceptance. ("Draw me a cat, Elin, can you?")
Now art is inherently a part of my daily life, and to cease creating would be equal to having my hands tied. There is one advantage to being an artist--it is in one's head. I found out that i can paint with my brush in my toes, showing that the mental control is the delivery system for creating, not the facile handling of a brush.

Train the mind, the rest will follow. Today's work on the start of yesterday covers the canvas, and puts in the major areas of color for embellishment later. Big fields of color are easier to break down into harmonious pattern than just trying to paint the pattern alone. Tomorrow this one will be finished.
And tomorrow I have a demonstration in Murrieta from 2 to 4 pm, in oils, for an art group. There is also a one-day workshop the following week on the 15th.

Life is full!

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