Nov 28 - Rocks and Open Acrylics, almost done!

Although the image has glare on the right edge, you can get a general idea of where this painting is going now. I haven't signed it yet, nor photographed it outside as it is late tonight and I wanted to get something out to you before the weekend is over.

This austere terrain is not uncommon here in Southern California--we have rocks and brush exactly like this out behind our place. The wildlife is there, and only the ground squirrels pose as they keep watch for predators from a relatively safe perch.

This painting is about atmosphere, heat, and light. I'll finish it tomorrow, as I get out the holiday decorations and work on another commission for the holidays. I need to get a much better image for submission to the Women Artists of the West show in Denver next year.

I do really like the Golden Open acrylics--the best of all worlds with working time and yet the brillance and handling of regular acrylics. I do think I may be a convert!

We had a quiet Thanksgiving here after the rain. Nice to have a fire in the fireplace and be with someone you love and not have traveling in the plans for a change! I hope your holiday continues to be full of whatever you wish it to have.

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Nov 24 - More Rocks and Open Acrylics....and me

It's been interesting thinking about those Open acrylics from Golden... I hesitated to start using them because I wasn't quite ready to deal with the lesser known drying time (longer) and the workability on the canvas (also longer). But now that the company from the past weekend is gone, I can settle back into the studio and progress on this canvas and others.

The Open acrylics are now out and in their own pill boxes, and I'm using them from the last image until this canvas is finished. It is fun to "fudge" edges long after regular acrylics would have long dried.
I'm still completely in the cool box in the Color System, and the "fire" of the underpainting is only visible by that large round rock. No details here, just more layers of color, and more blending happening.

On another note, how about a recent picture of me by our pond? Some of you don't even know what I look like without that painting hat, so here's one I took yesterday morning in (yup!) Morning Light on our front patio. That's Sparky on my lap and Onslow's head in the lower left corner.

May all of you have a happy Thanksgiving this week who celebrate it. I'll be posting more on this painting and another commission I've started, but some of you may already be out on long vacations to visit family and friends. I'll see you when you come back!

You can see my entire blog here.

Color System information can be found HERE.

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

December 4 - California Landscape, 12 x 12 Oil

"California Ridge" Today I took a break from working in the studio to make a new hiking trail on the mountain behind our place. It was about 3 p.m. and entailed the following steps: I took the machete out and sharpened it on the grinder. I led Vincent van Goat out of the pen and put his pack saddle and red pack bags on, loaded with water and my sweatshirt, and off we went. The mare (who thinks Vincent is her foal) went crazy neighing and running back and forth most of the time we were up on the mountain, creating quite a dust storm as she galloped back and forth in the corral. Using the machete, I cut about three-tenths of a mile of new trail through the brush until the sun was gone and it started to turn cold. Trail cutting is both hard work and euphoric, and I do enjoy it. A new hiking area is opened up, I can let the terrain guide the location and direction of the trail, and working in the company of a friendly white goat is very much in touch with nature.

Of course, since I was looking at those rocks up behind the studio, I needed to switch gears when I returned and paint some! So here's today's painting, a 12 x 12 oil, of rocks and possible trail locations, so very characteristic of California hillsides. One ought to paint the things that are close to your heart, and I was very close to the brush and rocks as the trail opened up due to my effort. $250 from the Daily Paintings site for December 4.