Mar 3 - More Details on the Polo Ponies OIl, 16 x 20

The "Color Punch" begins to show up now! The difference between this stage and the earlier one may be minor in square inches, but it is major in pulling the color design toward the finished state. These few brush marks on the backs of the horses bring out the message of light and value difference (also color temperature difference) that need to happen to make this painting work. There is still much more to do, however seeing these few brush marks may help to show how the Color System works. There is no lighter value than the sunlight on the gray horse. There is no stronger edge (or will be) than the topline near that horse's tail.

If there is a strong edge elsewhere, it will be compromised by little value change, no temperature change, or act as a subordinate "supporting" edge in the design, and not be as important.

I've put a smaller image of the prior stage to show you how much those marks change the dynamics of the design of the painting. Suddenly there is "punch" whereas before it was just a nicely coming along painting.

When we as artists want to control where the viewer's eye goes, our tools are straight from the design box. Here I'm using value change, edge hardness and temperature difference to force your eye to go to that horse, even thought the rest of the painting may be visually interesting. While I continue to paint from this important step, I will be ever mindful that the gray's back as my focal point. No edge or contrast will be as strong as that area. Now on to finish this beastie!

There are still spaces in the Florida five-day workshop in May (first week--GORGEOUS time to be in Florida!). Please contact Kathie Camara if you'd like a spot in the Color Boot Camp, where you'll paint along with me for five fun and full days of learning in Central Florida!

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.

Feb 14 - Starting to find edges, Oil of Polo Ponies

In looking at the difference between this and my last posting, the changes may not be that large. I am working on the horse trailer and the grasses, bring them subtly up in details which will support the details yet to come on the horses. I know that these small endeavors are necessary so that when I work on the horses, they will end up surpassing the details I put in now.

On other news, the weather is giving me a taste of Spring to come, with a lovely 84-degree day today. Here's a photo of me taken this morning on a hike with a group of friends. Behind me is the mountain of Box Springs, and my home is directly behind me at the base of it. Beautiful way to spend some free time! I know there may be more rains to come, but a day like this puts me on top of the world. Tomorrow more on the painting... yes, details!

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.

Feb 12 - Still working on the Polo Ponies Oil

It is really coming together now with the start and the addition of the warm box palette in those grassy sunlit areas! The Color System works so well, because it was just an easy switch of the boxes to get to this point, and you can see how the dynamics of adding the warms makes the painting read right.

The colors in the grasses are not pure by any means, but are from the warm box, with the dominant pigments being sap green, cad yellow and cad orange. Can you feel the heat there? It contrasts so beautifully with the blue-green shadows laid in yesterday. Again, no edges worrying me at this point, just the big shapes.

A good weekend ahead, with fun, painting and laughter. I hope yours will be as much fun.

Many of you asked for mor info about my aikido training, so I thought I'd send along a photograph taken in front of the shomen (front of the mat area) at the place where I train. Yes, that's me, ready to take on all attacks. I'll be continuing with my training for as long as I can, and that will be many more years. It gives me connection in so many ways, including to you.

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.

Feb 11 - Demonstration in OIls for Hemet Valley Art Association Continues

Here's the 16 x 20 oil demonstration for the Hemet Valley Art Association after about 10 minutes with the brush on the canvas. I'm completely in the Cool Box of the Color System for these lower values, all representing shadows in the composition. I like to start with darks, painting UP to the light as I work.

Most interesting at this stage is the "warm" reflected light on the belly of the third horse--a gray. That's a "peach" color made by white, alizarin and yellow ocrhe. Great illusion of warm where it is needed. I do admit that the luscious blue-green of the Thalo green and white mix in those shadows gives me shivers of excitement, though! More tomorrow, and I hope you're enjoying the development of this one as much as I am.

I am not interested in edges or tight control, but more in the masses of value. Like good construction, one ensures that the walls are sturdy before putting in the windows!

Yesterday's email went out with a video on my martial art in it, and if you were not able to see it, I have it on my blog for yesterday. Worth a look! And I'm looking forward to teaching the Color System workshop this coming weekend, too!

Yes, life is good. Now where did I put my pina colada? Hmmm.... (grin).

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.

Feb 10 - Demoonstration Painting, the Beginning....HVAA

Today I had the pleasure of going back to Hemet and meeting 80 people who had come out to see my demonstration in oils. It was a wonderful afternoon, and everyone seemed to have a good time watching me paint and chatter along about how I do these images. I didn't quite finish the painting, but did photograph it in stages as I painted it. So here's the first step. This is a 16 x 20 canvas panel, and comes from source material I took while at the Kentucky Horse Park several years ago. This is the initial drawing of the polo ponies tied and resting beside their trailer, and shows the essential design. The canvas has been toned with a warm "peachy" middle value, and I draw the essential shadow shapes as well, so that the whole design is cohesive and shows the structure. The drawing is done with a brush filled with burnt umber thinned to an ink-like consistency.

The demonstration went well, and I have the wet canvas behind me, and will finish it tomorrow in the quiet of my studio.

Many of you have asked how it is that I do all that I do (in my 60s) and how I can be so positive and caring as I face recent challenges. I offer to you one of the major reasons I am able to live with joy and physical fitness (Believe me when I say I was pudged out and lost 27 pounds doing this!). The more I learn, the more it trains me to handle whatever life throws at me. I'm ending my third year of training now.



Although a true martial art (deadly and effective), it is based upon a philosophy of blending and taking the energy of what comes at you, without "winning" or resisting the attack. Powerful stuff, both on the mat and in my mind.

And now I'm sending this to you before I leave to spend a few days with a close friend in a gorgeously beautiful place, rejuvenating, relaxing and reassessing. Life is very, very good.

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.

Feb 7 - Another Acrylic Finished...Goats!

Called "Exploring", this 12 x 16 acrylic was started last year at a demonstration and talk for the Hemet Valley Art Association. I finished it up today, and will be taking the original to the demonstration next Wednesday. I just love working with the thin veils of color, developing interesting passages within larger values and hues. It takes time, but I have time right now. I especailly love the blues on the shadowed sides of the black and white kids.

Bringing a painting to a finished state is a sort of dance with what's going on in front of me coupled with the knowledge in my head. Choices are made for color, brush marks and areas to develop based upon that partnership. Oh, and listening to a good audio book doesn't hurt!

I did make time today to go with a great bunch of folks hiking on Sunday morning, and we all went out for brunch afterward. In the image below, I'm the one midway down the table next to the fellow in the black cap. Keeping excess pounds off is part of the strength I am finding, and I take great pleasure in being able to do many things at this point in my life. Being in good condition is a gift one gives oneself--no one else can do that for you!

Thanks to those of you who wrote yesterday, I know...however it is good to know there are others with this section on the road of experience behind them! Going out with folks helps, you betcha.

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.

Feb 6 - Finished the Acrylic "Dog Walkers"

Compare this image with my last posting, and you'll se some VERY important changes, but those changes might not even be noticeable at first glance. That's the beauty of the artist's eye--the subtleties that we are aware of because of our training, years of comparing and contrasting what we want versus what is already on that flat surface. The changes just HAD to be done. I still think this one should have gotten into the Art Show at the Dog Show, but when they are "show" people, perhaps they ahve a different outlook on dogs in general My paintings of the shelter cast offs didn't receive merit there, however YOUR response to that series made my day. So art shows are one good venue for exposure, but ought not be the end-all-be-all for measuring one's artistic competence.

I'm going to share with you the source material for the second painting (the acrylic) that's in the new DVD coming out "Misty Light and Overcast Days" in the Colorful Painting Series. Since this one has acrylic paint on it, too, I have had to drop the "Oil" out of the title! It is a composite (roughly assembled in Photoshop) of a 100% wolf that belongs to an acquaintance. Three images of the same wolf makes for an interesting composition, and you can bet I'll be adding to and changing it for good "painterly" execution. It's going to be on a 16 x 20 linen canvas.

On other fronts, I've shared with you news of moving, my horses and dogs, and many aspects of my life. So perhaps you would like to know the most recent. Tonight (Saturday evening) I'm home solo yet again, which will be an ever-increasing condition due to my spouse's declaration of having been and needing to love more than one female. While I have been adjusting to these "discoveries", I realize I am living in a "murky, complex, bizarre chaos" of an artistic life. There is nothing ordinary about the full life of an artist, and I am coming to realize that many choices I have made will never be "ordinary". Fraught with the magnitude of this side-swipe to my daily existence, I have positioned myself as an observer/bystander as these events unfold while I weigh my options.

Yes, that's why I was erratic in posting for the last couple months. Even the death of my mother (April 7-8, 2006, blog) didn't interrupt my painting. This did. Please withhold your comments as my strength comes from standing on a three-point solid base of focus, commitment and optimism. If I think I can lean on folks, I become unbalanced and off that base of strength. Not good, at least not right now. Know that I'm doing well, and continue to cope as things progress.

I am looking forward with great optimism to the workshop next weekend, the painting demonstration for Hemet next Wednesday, and the upcoming workshops in Georgia and Florida this April/May. And my heart swells with real affection I have for people (like you) who have been there for me for these almost FIVE YEARS!!! My goodness, time flies.

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.

Jan 29 - Signed but not finished

I signed it, but it isn't finished yet. However it really has that "feel" I was seeking when I picked up the brushes. Do you see the strong triangular design, with the black lab on the left anchoring that corner? An overlay of this image would show the many diagonals that work to repeat and support the structure of this work.

I really like it at this point, but it truly is not finished. I had pressure on me to use this image for entering the Art Show at the Dog Show, and it was summarily rejected. I entered it more because of what I KNOW it will become, rather than as a finished piece. But judges are arbitrary, subjective and totally in control of the shape of an art show, so I don't take that rejection personally. Sometimes that's just where the chips fall.

Below is the image with tension-creating diagonals for you. To me, this angled tension with so many lines sets the stage for excitement in this dog walker composition. Horizontal and verticals are static, lines that lean are tension-filled and exciting. Note the two vertical signposts in the upper left corner, effectively stopping the convergence of the snow lines off the edge of the canvas. "That's design, baaaybe!"

After I finish up both this one and the backlit Lab (which DID get accepted to the show), I'll share with you the second painting for the upcoming DVD on misty and overcast lighting--in stages, of course!

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

Jan 25 - The "Dog Walker" Acrylic Continues

Working in acrylics gives the user a lot of latitude in application techniques, and I've used a few at this stage. Although still covering the canvas, I'm layering the snow piles behind the walker with heavier applications of pigment, giving some texture to the end result. In the gray pavement, I'm using more transparent layers, allowing the subtle values to work in harmony. I have also begun to put in more and more details on the major "heartbeats" in the painting, but still only roughly.

You see, for me, getting the "gist" of the movement and "feel" of the action taking place is more about the generalized lines of the design at this point. I am not interested AT ALL in the details, although some do manifest at this time, such as the light and shadow, blue and white on the girl's jacket. Always mindful of the focal point, her coloration on the jacket and the subtle repetition of the blues in the blue-violet of the sidewalk unify the painting, even at this early stage! That's counterpointed by the yellows in the distant taxis and in the retriever.

Yesterday (Sunday), I went on a hike with a group of fun people, and we ended up at the top of a local mountain in Riverside, Mt. Roubidoux. As you can see, the weather has cleared up from the storm, and most of us ended up in tee shirts, even though there is snow in the distance. Fun!

I hope wherever you are, that you're dry, warm and enjoying your time with friends and activities.

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.

Jan 22 - "The Dog Walker" Lesson Continues

I'm doing what I always do--cover the canvas with the abstract structure by massing in the largest shapes and values. And of course, completely out of the "Cool Box" from the Color System. Not much concern with anatomy at this phase, nor with faces or calligraphic lines. I've found that the big masses draw in the viewer, and then they'll spend a pleasurable amount of time wandering through the variances and nuances of the lines and subtle value and hue changes, once entranced by the big structure. That's no mystery--the great illustrators of the last century made a point of doing this, too. Look into the work of Howard Pyle--and his students N. C. Wyeth, Maxfield Parrish, Violet Oakley, and Elisabeth Shippen Green, among others--to see how powerful the establishment of the big masses is to the overall impact of a painting.

Now that I've sent you on a joy-urney into American Illusatration, I'll just add that my demonstration in Hemet is scheduled for February 10 at 1:30 at the Simpson Center. And the workshops in Georgia are almost full--both weeks! There are still spaces in Florida (pdf file download, application info) at the Carriage Museum grounds (first week in May), and Mt. Desert Island in Maine at the end of August (plein air and Color System week!).

And the weather here has finally turned to rain and wet, yet the mountains are green as an Irish morning. The wildflower show at Two Trees will be spectacular in mid April! Here's a photo of Two Trees taken in June, mostly after the wildflowers, but still showing some of the green of winter rains. It is an idyllic place for an arteest...

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.

Jan 21 - Starting an Acrylic entered into Art Show at the Dog Show

Even while working on the oil of the backlit Labrador, I also had the easel occupied with this acrylic, destined for jurying for the Art Show at the Dog Show. It is a 12 x 16 board, and the source material was a dog walker spotted outside of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

You can see my source material printed and set to the left of the canvas. The lighting is overcast, so of course the first layin and the majority of colors will come from the "Cool Box" (Color System).

I was utterly fascinated by the seemingly indifference of the dog walker and the rambunctious Lab pup on the left side just SO wanting to get away and "do something". The white standard poodles, the Golden Retriever, the Catahoula Leopard Dog--yes, there is one in there--and the Newfoundland. My goodness, which category can it be submitted for jurying?

Ah well, I hope you'll enjoy how it unfolds. I'll finish up the oil this week as well and post the finished canvas for you.

Still a few spots in the Color Boot Camp in February--and a demo coming up for the Hemet Valley Art Association, too!

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.

Jan 19 - Working through the "Uglies"

MANY changes from the last posting of this "turkey", and now I no longer call it that... HA! Taking a long, hard look at what came back home with me from the demonstration, I could see easily that I'd lost both the value relationships and the color punch of backlit evening light. So I put myself to and spent a good amount of time working on those aspects of this oil.

It is now to a stage where I'm comfortable signing it, however, I still need to work on the dog's head. It doesn't read "Labrador" to me yet.

What I really do like about this piece is the colorful water int he foreground and the spash. Everything but red is in there and it is so joyful, like the dog, who is painted in muted hues of those same yellows and purples.

So don't give up on the ones that are giving you problems. They can be pulled through to become good paintings. Asking for some advice can provide an independent source of input as well. AS long as the core structure is in place, and the values are moving forward, most paintings can be brought to a finished state without too much work. I hope you enjoyed this one. I'll publish on my other web sites it when I finish the head details.

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.

Jan 14 - Oh dear... Problems!!! (All Fixable)

Ten more minutes and I'm making a bad problem worse. If I were in the studio, I would have taken a break, had a cuppa coffy and taken one huge step backward to see what was going on and what was going wrong with this painting.

The "essense" is there, but the values and colors are off in many places. I'm thinkin' (wrong) the dog's shadow side needs to be lighter because after all, it's a yellow lab and yellow is light, right? Not always, and making that shadow side as light as I have loses the "pizazz". The buzz and zap of color excitement is eluding me and I'm at a loss as to how to pull it back and fix it as I'm painting it. I'm talking and entertaining the group, so my focus isn't on the deep introspection of a quiet plein air location or standing in front of my easel in the studio, in company only with myself. Hey, it happens....

I had a doubt about sharing this painting at this "uglies" stage with y'all, but realize that perhaps the benefits outweigh the chaos in that someone can learn that artists "of a certain level" still can make major mistakes.

Tomorrow it will get better. (Didn't Annie say that?) Ha!

The weather here has been in teh 70s and sunny, and I've enjoyed the winter pruning of the roses and other garden plants, and also the lemon harvest. My freezer is already full of squeezed lemons, so the bumper crop will be donated. It's good to give back the excess. And I've been working on editing the Misty Light DVD, too. Hours of work, but all good footage.

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.

Jan 12 - Continuing to Cover the Demonstration Canvas

I skipped through a couple of ten minutes sessions to get you to this point because I want you to see the bigger picture of what happened. I'll add one of the earlier ones below for clarity. The Warm Box is open now, and I'm putting in the cadmiums that are int he sky on the left, and also in the water reflections.

The splash under the dog is WAY too green, and the blue is too strong--got carried away there, and didn't even see it until much later. That's the down side of painting for a demonstration, talking, and changing the time of day on source material! I'll pull it through and modify it later, but wanted you to see it now. That's because no matter what, everyone makes mistakes as they work through the process of painting. It's knowing where those mistakes are, and how to correct them, that may separate the less experienced painters from the pros. I can also see that the values aren't dramatic enough to convey the backlit evening time, so there is another major "fix" that will have to occur before I can call it done.

That's like life, though. We go forward, thinking we're doing what's right and "proper", only to be caught up short with new knowledge that radically changes our behavior and our outlook on things, as we formerly perceived them. In art, we can stretch our wings into new directions, as long as we are not shackled to the expectations of galleries and collectors. In life, the restrictions are more insidious--sometimes coming from within ourselves, even! So I'm leaning into my ARTIST mindset, and making some fun and exciting choices about how I'm going to spend the rest of my life. Conventional wisdom can go pound sand--I'm having FUN!!! The art is reflecting that outlook--more free, more interesting subjects and truly exciting to create. Life is GOOD.

Oh, yeah, good except for the cortizone shot they poked in my hip today. Seems I have a touch of bursitus from the motorcycle accident and the doc thinks that this shot will fix me up right 'n' proper. I'm not to do anything but WALK for three friggin' days, so she says. That is SO not fair. I want to chase my horses, fall all over the mats in aikido and dance the night away! OK, so I'll find a bucket of patience somewhere.... Friday cannot come too soon for this lady.

Still have one or two spaces in the February Color Boot Camp coming up Feb 12-15. Best value for your artistic money, in that this will not change your style or method, but will profoundly affect your color choices and color harmony in your work! Email me for the information. It promises to be an intimate and enlightening opportunity for you, right here in my studio.

Here's the one prior to the covered canvas image, and I can easily see I lost my concentration in that splash area, and the dog doesn't have much detail...

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.

Jan 10 - Continuing the Labrador Oil Painting, 20 minutes in

Blinga-bling! Twenty minutes into the demonstration at the Canyon Lake Art Association, and more of the canvas is covered--this time with the grays and sky areas made with the three Big Ones--Alizarin, Yellow Ochre and Ultramarine Blue (with white) to create these harmonious grays.

If you put your hand over the left side, and just show the right side, you can see that even at this early stage, the colors are beautifully harmonious--all coming from the Color System's Cool Box!

Other news, with our mid-70s weather, I've been working with the mustang and bonding with him in the corral. It is a lot of fun to have a young horse again--he's stout as a tank, still growing at 15.2 and even in winter woolies, he is a beautiful buckskin. I leaned all over his back today, and worked on reining left and right. And today (Sunday) I played water volleyball for almost three hours, so my shoulders are sore. Great exercise!
Here's a picture of him still in slick clothes. BIG mustang feet, too.

So even though it gets hot in the summer, there are certainly good reasons to enjoy California in the winter (what winter?). I know much of the country is in a deep freeze right now, and I hope all are doing well in coping with the ice and slush.

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.

Jan 9 - First ten minutes on the Labrador demonstration

I'm changing the source material from a late morning time to a backlit sunset, so the challenges to work the Color System are at hand. Looking at an image that can only guide the anatomy and then mentally rearranging the lighting and colors while talking to a group in a live demonstration has to be either very courageous, or totally nuts.

So I start with what is for me caution, only laying in the areas that are not going to be profoundly altered nor need major revisions later. Hey, play it safe! These are all cool box mixes, most notably the yellow ochre/burnt umbers in the dog and distant trees, with the counter point to these "oranges" being the blue and blue violet water reflections of the evening sky.

Last night I painted another dog painting, and captured it in stages as well--deadline to send off the submissions for the Art Show at the Dog Show is today, so this one, entitled "Entangled Relationships" will be my blog posting later this week. Late night in the studio, whew!

Now I can get back to painting the second (acrylic) for the Misty Light DVD this week. Cameras rolling?

I'm hearing positive feedback from the workshop folks on the East Coast--still a few slots at the Georgia Farm, the Carriage Museum in central Florida, and the Maine workshop at Mt. Desert Island/Acadia National Park. Looks like all will be filled, in spite of the economy. Why not take a restful mini-vacation and learn the Color System or plein air? Just email me and I'll put you in touch with the organizers for one of the few remaining spaces.

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.

Jan 8 - Starting One for the Art Show at the Dog Show

I did a demonstration of oil painting for the Canyon Lake Art Association last night, and painted this 16 x 20 oil for their pleasure. I am doing this painting for the Art Show at the Dog Show, and it is a yellow Labrador getting that spring into the water on a retrieve. The source material is from collector Dick's son, who raises these great dogs. And the body of water is Lake Elsinore, near where I lived for many years.

I've prepped the canvas with a base color of what looks like a cool yellow, but is Australian Red Gold--a burnt orange. The lights in the room weren't conducive for good color, which will play out in the other images coming. Sigh. I had one of the members stop me every ten minutes as I painted it, so there will be some nice progression.

If you look at the design of this drawing, you'll see that the splashy water and the dog's head occupy the Golden Mean of this surface. Intentional. The source material wasn't like this, and I've also moved the horizon line down into the canvas to create more distance for the viewer to enjoy. It's good to be back in oils!

Signups continue for the February three day Color Boot Camp here in Riverside! I'm looking forward to the new "recruits" to the Color System. You can go here for full information.

And on ebay is one of my book/kits for painting horses--Walter Foster had a run of these, and they are now sold out. I'm not selling this one, but find it interesting to see them come up occasionally.

My roots go way back with the CLAA, being a life member, so it was fun to visit with them again. Tomorrow you'll see what it looks like (and how I think, in the text) after ten minutes of painting.

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.

Jan 1 - Happy 2010, the Acrylic is Finished...

The 12 x 9 acrylic of the Saddle River is finished now, and the changes from the non-detailed image from yesterday's blog are really noticeable. The calligraphic lines and patches of slightly different value are the added ingredients to take this painting to this stage. I added the shrubbery branches and leaves on the lower left as the last element of the design, which brings the painting into balance.

In looking at the painting I find that the brushwork (textural marks) and complementary color change are the strongest design elements holding this one together. I find it good to be able to analyze my work using design principles--and if the work is good, several will be easily noted. Do you know your design elements and principles? There are good sources online to review them. This link is Wikipedia's, and although the terminology my shift from source to source, the concepts are valid for every artist.

Now off into a new year, full of possibilities and opportunities! Happy New Year to all of you!

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 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.