Feb 15 - Laying in the Fabric Swatches on "Calicobermans"

It's a lot like doing a jig-saw puzzle. Cutting the pieces to fit, picking the right value and interesting patterns to make the shapes come alive.  I had such fun picking what will eventually be the distant background, too.

Do you see where I'm resolving the placement of the dog paws down front and center? That's the way I work, without confining decisions if I'm not sure. I like working with future puzzles to solve as the art evolves.  Of course, sometimes the puzzles win, and there's a problem to be solved later down the road. If the puzzle wins on those paws, it'll be too late, as the piece has already been accepted to the Art Show at the Dog Show and needs to be shipped this week.  So I'm boxing and filling out forms--part of the duties of an exhibiting artist.

On other news, I thought you'd enjoy seeing the picture I took last Saturday morning from the TOP of the mountain behind my studio (marked with the yellow circle). Making a new trail to the top of the mountain is part of the joy of hiking--and this one will be a good one for horses and people, connecting up to an established trail accessible from the other side of the mountain. I love making trails, and the weather was gorgeous. Today a rain front has moved in, taking the temps down to 60 and there's a misty rain falling as I look out my studio window. However, hiking in the rain is good, too!

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Feb 13 - The Beginning of "Calicobermans"

 On a 24 x 24 inch box canvas (no frame needed, and very contemporary), I sketched in these two dobermans in preparation for what I call a "Fabricritter" painting.  More of a collage, yet still a painting, these are so much fun to do!  You saw the carousel horse be created late last year with the fabric swatches, and this one is no different.

The painting, in final form, was accepted to the Art Show at the Dog Show in Kansas, and I'll need to ship it to arrive by the 25th. It was accepted into the "mixed media, other" category.

As it develops, it takes on a life of its own.  Here's the first fabric scraps added to the black and rust dobie.  I have boxes of fabric in the studio and sorting through the calicos is such fun! Adding each piece is similar to putting the fabric right on a real dog--following the anatomical contours and adjusting the patterns to give a "feel" of fur.  I love doing it!

On other notes, I had the sheep out and I went along with a book and seat and enjoyed the afternoon light as they grazed above the studio. It was one of those amazingly beautiful evenings, and I read my book with the serendipitous bells of the herd in my ears. Hard to believe this is February! That's Vince who just came by for a head scratch and is heading back to eat. The pines of Two Trees Studio are on the left near the edge.

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Feb 11 - Finished Lily Rock Oil and Spring in California

Finishing up this 16 x 20 was a joy, so easy without any issues of what to do to make it "be" more than what I felt when I was there. Easy color choices, too because of the Color System.

The dark area in the sky is cast from my easel, and doesn't show in the finished image--even though it acts as a design element, pulling your eye to Lily Rock. I will photograph this one better at a later time. I love to hurry up!

Next week I'll be painting in the Plein Air Artists of Riverside week-long competition, and plan to do several in stages for you. Before that, I'll be showing you the "Calicobermans" that was accepted into the Art Show at the Dog Show.  I need to ship that one quickly, to arrive in Wichita before the end of this month!

On other news, those of you still caught in the awful cold, rain and snow east of here might enjoy what I saw this afternoon as I went out to move some more compost. This is from the top of the stairs which go down to the studio entrance. These large granite rocks are above the driveway and one can see how large they are by the picket fence of the rose garden down and behind them. No snow here, and still space in the March workshop! Do you see the lizards? Already out in the warm sun!

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Feb 9 - The Mountains of Idyllwild and Lily Rock (Oil Painting)

In the studio, under the lights (sorry about the shadow on the sky!), I'm putting in the big fields of color to define and bring this painting further along.

Most of what's been added since yesterday has been done with the "Trifecta" trio of sky color--ultramarine, alizarin, yellow ochre and white to lighten the mixes.

My brushwork could be defined as erratic, loose, and non-repetitive. That's a good thing, because boring brush marks spell the end of excitement in painting.  Moving my brush outside the "norm" (writing style), creates these marks to catch the viewer's eye.

On other news, I've heard so many bad weather reports that I wanted to share with you what I was doing this afternoon--picking snow peas in my garden! And that blue sky is normal for this time of year in California--no clouds.  And I'm wearing a tee because it is almost 70 degrees. There are still spaces in that March Color Boot Camp if you want to get away from the wet and ice!

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Feb 8 - Doing Idyllwild's Lily Rock, in Stages, Part I

The gallery in Idyllwild sold one of my desert paintings and requested a replacement of a local landmark - Lily Rock, or sometimes called Taquitz Rock.  It is a favorite climbing rock and many dots of humanity are seen on its almost sheer face on any summer weekend.

I've painted it before, en plein air during one of their open air competitions, and worked one summer as a camp nature counselor there, so I know this rock and love this little mountain town.  This view is up North Circle Drive, from downtown.  My gallery is actually on the right side in the trees!

The canvas is 16 x 20 and was toned with an acrylic glaze of yellow ochre and cadmium red and yellow.  I like the warm contrasting against the cools, and have found that this helps me balance the end result as I cover up more and more of the warm with the cools.  I'm using oils on this one.  Yummy!

And I'm getting ready for the week long paint out put on by the Plein Air Artists of Riverside, which is always fun and so well done by PAAR volunteers. This year the theme is water--and we sure haven't had any rain since the deluge in January.

On other news, I entered the Art Show at the Dog Show with some different art.  I'll be showing you how the "Calicobermans" came into existence once this oil is finished.  It was accepted into the ASADS along with another oil that's coming along the blog down the road a piece.  Life is good!!

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Feb 7 - Second of the Plein Air Vistas at UCR Botanic Gardens

Heading up the hill from the first location, I sat down on a bench in the herb garden and looked out over the turquoise roof lines of the UCR campus. I pulled out a second 7x5 panel, and started to work, with the light slightly from my left and playing across the mostly dormant herb beds. Lavender is in bloom now, and it was a heady scent coming on the warm air. 

With the company of two of the board members for the gardens in conversation, I worked on this one only for about thirty minutes.  It was fun putting in the red bricks of the walkways and the atmospheric distance between the pines.

Here's a photograph of the actual vista, and you can see how I changed the composition to please my senses. That "dead" tree is a Gordon apple, and there were wizened, dried fruit still on the top branches. Later this spring, it will be covered in blossoms, as my apricot trees are today in this 80 degree unusual weather!

There are spaces in the March Color Boot Camp, and the links to signing up are up and running.  If you are a returning student, you have 25% off the price! (Of course, you KNOW so much more!)

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Feb 2 - Plein Air Painting in California!

Can it get any nicer to sit in short sleeves and sunshine and paint outside?  I don't think so!  Over at the University of California Riverside, in their Botanic Gardens, I spent a delightful half day getting my wrist moving with the oils on location.

Two 7 x 5 canvases later, and I packed up my gear and walked around the twenty eight acres of lush landscaping back to my car.  This little first one was done in the succulent gardens, looking toward Box Springs Mountain and the "C" in yellow up high.  At this time of year, the succulents and cacti are all in bloom or nerely so, and the colors are gorgeous.  I'm a lucky artist in that I can get out and paint all year in this climate! 

I hope the rest of the country is getting out from under the ice and snow of the past few days.  I wouldn't mind living where you are, as each area has its own charm and positive attributes.  But in February, I'll take short sleeves and sandals, if it is the same to you.  Please come visit me!

Here's the view from the high point in the Gardens, taken while I walked back to my car looking out over the UC Riverside campus toward Mt. Baldy across the Inland Empire. Please note there is no snow on the 10,006 foot peak?  That's Southern California.  No jacket on me, either.

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Feb 1 - Finishing the New Jersey Winter

Amazing how life gets in the way of the joy of what we really WANT to do, eh?  Tonight I finally finished the 9 x 12 acrylic that I brought back from New Jersey and present it to you on this cc-c-c-cold day for most of the country.  Snow everywhere except here, and I'm grateful for not having it here.  I bought seeds and a grape vine to put in tomorrow.

Tonight though, I am sharing this watery landscape with you.  And tomorrow the plein air pieces done as I finally get back into the swing of being an artist.  It's what I DO, that's for sure.

There's a March workshop on the web site now!  Special discount to "repeat offenders"!  Email me if you're interested in a three-day reinforcement of your Color System knowledge, March 12, 13 and 14.  There's always room for one more, beginner or not!  If you want to get away from the snow and ice, you can fly into Ontario (ONT) airport and I'll pick you up. You can help me harvest the gardens for fresh salads--yes, the studio looks bright and sunny just as the image shows below, so green with our winter rains.

More workshops are opening up, and if you can't make the March one, perhaps one further in the year will entice you! Now is a good time to improve your knowledge, especially about color!

I've been hiking these mountains and making some great trails into the preserve behind the house/studio.  Wonderful weather has made this a joy, and I plan to do more of it as the weather continues to hold.

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Jan 6 - Lambs and the Acrylic of New Jersey

Thanks to all for the feedback on my last blog post.  Good to know we are connected through our art experiences!

Can you see where I've altered the "Uglies" from today's posting compared to the previous one?  Ah, yes... working a bit longer on a painting can help us to create the missing links to good design.  Here I've greyed down the distance, heightened the feel of the water with layers and marks,  and worked to get more of the design feel of the whole scene's time of day (overcast daylight).  No strong shadows anywhere, but darks galore in the values of the wintry day.  It's completely in the Cool Box colors, too.   It's just a 9 x 12 acrylic, and I'm sorry I worked it to this point as one of you asked to buy it at one of the earlier stages!  Gotta be quicker with me... I paint FAST.  (If you can't see the images in this post, just go to my blog elinpendleton.blogspot.com for the most recent one!)

Coming home to the studio was wonderful, although leaving the love- and laughter-filled house on the East Coast (and Onslow) made me ache.  I do have new projects coming up and new workshop places and people on the horizon, and for that, keeping busy is keeping me focused.

First thing was to check on the new lambs, and I'm just over the top!  One of each gender, and the girl has a black ear, quite unusual markings.  As an artist, she just made me laugh out loud when I saw her.  I'm gentling her so she won't be as skittish as her mom, and here's a photo of her little head.  In the second photograph, her ear is black against the background.  She's on the right.  All are doing well.

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Jan 4 - Flying Home, and Thoughts...

Art is a journey.  I think I've said that before, but it bears repeating.  We artists choose to be on this journey, for the most part because to NOT choose would leave us bereft of the joy of creativity.   I love painting, and making those marks that together become more than their parts.

Art is fixable.  We create some real turkeys, usually in the process of our brushes' wandering to create a finished state in our endeavors.  I call these stages "the Uglies", because they wear the mantle of being SO unfinished, forlorn, and yet with some potential peeking through the brushmarks.  Look at this painting right now.  It is deep in the Uglies, lacking (a short list) details, depth, atmospheric perspective, focal point, lost edges...  Yet I can see its potential and have taken it further along the road to completion.  I am satisfied that it has potential, and so it was easy to overlook the "uglies" part and continue to work on those areas that pull it through.

Knowing what areas to leave alone, and those areas that don't is perhaps what separates the experienced painter from the novice.  With experience, choices become fewer.  There is only so much that will work--in the mind of the trained artist.

I've been told that an unexpected birthing of lambs happened while I was gone.  I didn't know the ewe was bred when I got her, so this came as a complete surprise.  I hope to post pictures of the lamblettes when I get back.

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Jan 3 - Continuing Into the New Year

This painting is interesting to me because it is developing in a different way than most of my earlier acrylics.  Oh, yeah, the layers are there, and the underpainting of an opposite temperature mid value.  I'm just being more careful in thinking about where I'm putting the values and those cool colors.

This is most probably due to the continuing influence of Lanford Monroe's paintings.  Those of you not familiar with her work ought to peruse "Homefields", the book authored by her husband.  Beautiful reproductions of many of her paintings are in between those covers!  I especially enjoy how she manages the Cool Box colors in her overcast days. 

This little 9 x 12 is just a study developing, but I'm enjoying every moment of its creation.  It's a journey....

My trip to the New Jersey forested area is about to end, and I'm heading back to California tomorrow.  It's been a wonderful visit, so full of love and family support.  Onslow will miss me, since he's been with Sparky and me every night, but he has a wonderful life here, and making him a part of my nephew's family has been good for him.  I'll miss him too!

On other news, the only East Coast Workshop that has any spaces is now filling up in Central Florida.  There are already "repeat offenders" ready to get back into a Color Boot Camp there.  We're finalizing dates for my return this year... stay tuned if you'd like a spot.  The Georgia workshops for folks starting out with the Color System are full--there "might" be a space for repeat offenders in the advanced one.  Let me know if you're interested!

I'm also doing a workshop in Riverside for the AAEA in April.  And there'll be a three-day Color Boot Camp in March in Riverside, too.  I have to finalize dates for that one.

The newest DVD on the Color System is HERE
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Dec 31 - End of a Really Interesting Year

One of the most enjoyable things about getting to the end of a year is looking back over the events and choices I've made during the past twelve months and either laughing or crying over the results.  Call it a place to evaluate and a place to assess one's choices, it really IS a place for reflection and organization, prior to moving forward.  So it is now on this evening of the last day of 2010.

I've started a 9 x 12 acrylic of the SAME view I did a year ago, and share with you the lay-in of the large abstract structure as I plan out the lights and darks of this acrylic exercise.  I'm so impressed by the skylines of tracery tree twigs and will be doing my best to interpret those in this landscape, photographed prior to the huge snowfall.

With a couple of glasses of wine in me tonight, and company waiting downstairs, there won't be any more painting tonight.  I raise my glass in your direction instead (white merlot--a lovely blush wine) with wishes for your peace and happiness in 2011.  I plan on a few more glasses before the night is over and the new year is upon me.  Lots of laughter coming up the stairs from family and friends below, and I will join them shortly.

I went into New York City today to photograph "Diva", the installed glass from the last project finished by WoodJanssen, my friend Ron Wood's architectural art glass.  It is stunning in the lobby of 2 Lincoln Square, right across from the famous Lincoln Center, here in New York City.  It is totally impossible to show you how beautiful this installed art glass is through photography. I was completely frustrated in trying to get the colors and beauty of this art glass installation on camera!  This one will have to do... amAZING to see it in person....

And to finish out this evening's email, I thought I'd enclose an image of my nephew's home here in New Jersey, bathed in the incredible evening glow that happens with such impunity here in these northern latitudes.  Walking the dogs tonight gives me gifts beyond compare.  May your visual gifts be so easily recognizable now and in 2011. I am so grateful for all the good fortune I have been enjoying for this past year, your friendship and contact, and the joy of knowing you value these emails.

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Dec 29 - Doing the Right Thing

 Sometimes it's hard to find a gift of value to present to those we care about.  Gifts of value to ourselves, as in "worthy" to give.  What I have to offer people is not measured in monetary value, since I don't make a habit of shopping at Nordstrom's.  And sometimes there is not anything I can do or say to someone who has experienced a profound change in their life.  So it is with my nephew's wife.  She lost her mother last July, and most of you know I also lost mine during the daily paintings.  (April 4-6, 2006 in the archives). 

Knowing I was coming to New Jersey to visit, and on a more limited budget without the material gifts of the holiday, I brought my paints and my ability and a plan.  On Christmas Eve, when everyone else was in the Land of Nod, I painted this 12 x 9 acrylic image of Anne Agnew from a black and white image provided by her granddaughter.   She received it on Christmas day, and her father paid me the highest compliment by saying it was as if she was with them in the room.

Sometimes the gift must always move forward.  Enough said.

On another note, I thought you'd enjoy seeing where the three terriers spend "the rest of the story" whilst not out in the three-times-my-height snow.

Gotta love the opportunistic pups, zonked and conked out!

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Dec 28 - Skiing and the Rest of the Story

The carousel horse presented to you in his finished state, with over two-thirds of the canvas covered in fabric swatches.  I love the freshness of this way of working, adn when I return to California, I am going to "paint" more of these.  I include a detail image of the poll and mane to show you how the fabrics lend themselves to becoming the bridle on the horse.

The whole purpose in creating these fun pieces is to give the viewer some great times figuring out what is painted, and what is printed or woven.  Can you tell?

Other news... What a GREAT day skiing today!  You can see a new link to the movie coming down this east coast ski slope here.  This was a blue diamond run--I did the black runs but needed all my attention while going there.  Maybe next time I can hold the iTouch AND ski!

The small image is the view from the top of the top lift at Camelback Mountain.  Beautiful weather and not too many people!  Such fun driving with my 14 and 16-year old gran-nephew and niece and their mother up and back--not far, and the roads were clear and dry, contrary to the news from NYC boroughs being not so good--roads there are still not plowed. 

And since I figured out how to make this work, I thought I'd share the video of Camelback skiing.  From coast to coast this year, snow in California and Pennsylvania!



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Dec 27 - Three Feet and Shoveling

 The carousel horse is continuing with more paint and fabric swatches covering the background.  I love the surprises that happen when I pick a swatch for one reason, put it down, and then realize there was more going on than I anticipated.  Look behind the pole to see the floral patterned dark blue creating a texture of colors I wouldn't/couldn't think to paint in there.  Enhancements like that are an added gift to the process.

Again, the process is to cut fabric and using the matte medium (or gloss, or the gels from Golden or Liquitex), to paint the canvas with a healthy amount.  Then stick the fabric down and paint over it with paint-stained medium or  leave it to dry clear.

And wow, the word blizzard has been revitalized in my vocabulary again.  It SNOWED last night!  Oh yeah!  The first image is me in the back yard, surrounded by anxious small dogs while I shovel down to some grass for them.  My left hand is showing you just how DEEP the show actually is.  Why am I shoveling in the back yard? I'm making a pot-spot for those short-legged pups to go. They showed no interest in chasing anything into the wall of snow three times their height.  I shoveled around the house to the front, with the trio of bark-barks following me.  I told 'em, "We're the Donner Party and no worries, we'll make it to the front without eating anyone." 

Last night at midnight I took the trio out before bed, and Sparky, being an inexperienced California dog, rushes down the front steps, off the last one and... disappears!!  A  black nose poking up out of the snow is all we saw.  He couldn't even touch the ground, and floundered and swam back to the steps.  Learning experience.

This morning I helped my nephew and his son clear the driveway so eventually a car can go out.  Sparky is below my feet, now clear on the concept of firm ground, but still not happy about cold and wet. 

Hope you're all staying warm and dry.

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Dec 26 - Let it Snow! Blizzard and Fabricritter!

The blizzard of New Jersey is blowing great gobs of light snow, thickly layering the wonderful neighborhood of Ridgewood.   I have enjoyed the beauty and cold weather of this trip, taking the three dogs out for "walkies" before the storm moved in.  It's amazing how it has changed completely from the image of the creek (below) on my morning walk to the early evening image further down.  With three dogs behind me waiting, expectations of me shoveling a place for the them to get out and do their "thing" this evening, it was quite a difference.  It is still coming down, and my last shoveling moved over a foot of snow off the patio.  I just looked and all that was for naught, as the cleared place for short legs has completely been obliterated.

I love snow.  Always have.  Since I don't have the regular schedule of working five days a week, I can enjoy it for what it is, and even get out and DO stuff in it with my good health.

Now let's look at the Carousel Horse.  I've started to add the fabric swatches, choosing values and colors to fill the spaces behind the central horse.  I've used matt medium (acrylic "glue") to hold down the fabric, and it works GREAT!  It's a lot like making a crazy quilt, but without all the stitching.

Where did these fabrics come from?  My aunt was a quilter, and when she passed, she left a 16 x 20 room with floor to ceiling bolts of cotton quilting cloth.  Amazing.  I took what I loved, and then added a lot of upholstery fabric swatches to the supplies.  I still have several boxes of fabric swatches and "fat quarters" from my aunt's inventory.

Brrr... stay warm!!

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Dec 24 - Holiday Wishes and the Carousel Horse

 I thought as a distraction from all the holiday preparations you might find yourself in, you'd like to see the progression of one of my Fabricritters (tm).  This carousel horse was in an earlier post finished, and I've never shown the procedure for doing one of these totally unique art pieces.  Now is the time!

This started as a standard 36 x 24 inch stretched canvas, and knowing I was going to cover most of it with cut fabric swatches, I didn't tone it like I usually do for a regular painting.  I used about three images of carousel horses, composited for the design--head from one, mane and tack from another, leg from a third.  Artisans who carve these horses have their own signature styles and are well known to historians.  I didn't want any one style to predominate, as an artist, that's one starting point for originality.

As you can see, I'm already thinking purple/blue/orange for the complimentary color scheme.  No fabric at this stage--purely drawing and thin layers to make my mental "connection" with the idea in my head to the white canvas.

On another note, I'm in New Jersey (like last year!) and brought Sparky along.  He reunited with Onslow, and Hiroo, and of course we had to go "walkies".  Here's an image of the trio in a tangled mess trying to figure out what's what!  No white Christmas here yet, the skies are blue and bright with the grays of the bare trees showing incredible variations of middle value grayed reds (aka rose), light grayed purple (aka lavender) and blues... I brought my traveling acrylics, so will be doing several landscapes again--just like last year!

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Dec 20 - Finished the Snow Scene and Just in TIME!

"Waiting for Supper" 16 x 12 Oil

So much fun to finish this painting up and post it for you just before I am leaving for the East Coast again.  Remember last year in New York City?  I went to both MOMA and the Met, and filled my mind with some amazing artwork.  I hope to do that and more this time!  Of course, Sparky is going with me.  Today he got his "traveling papers" for the flight.  

In finishing up this painting, I used some gel medium and painted in the rays of the evening sun coming through the branches.  This is yet another "stitching" move to link together larger areas of the painting.  Like telephone poles, tree trunks and the like, these linear shapes can make a quilt-like connection between larger areas of differing values or color. 

Last time I wrote to you, it was in the high eighties out here in California.  Now as I look out my window as the rain streaks it wet-down, and the wind buffets the big pines behind the house.  I make rounds to keep the gutters and ditches clear of debris, and enjoy this rain coming down.  Good for the dry soil, but not for the ski slopes, since the weather up there isn't cold enough for snow.  

I'm glad I had my chance up there, and perhaps it will improve for when I return.  I did go ice skating a couple of days ago, and tried to attach an image that had me going around in circles... to no avail!

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Repost - Dec 1 - To the Snow, and The Snow Painting

The painting has tons more details at this phase, but it isn't finished yet. There are many areas that are too rough for what I like to see in my work nowadays, and so I'll need to work over those areas before calling it quits and signing it. I don't have the sunrays coming through the trees yet, either. Tomorrow!

Even with oils, it is possible to work into wet paint and put those filmy sunrays shining through. How? By careful handling of your brush. It should almost be flat against the canvas to keep from disturbing layers underneath. Even my stiff filberts can do this delicate task when held horizontally near the canvas.

The snow in the foreground feels mighty cold right now, unlike the snow I experienced yesterday on my ski day at Snow Summit!!!!

Thirty-three years later, and I am back on the slopes! The equipment has changed, but the snow's the same! I had such a good time with a group of fellows in my age range, and we skied our buns off! I even put a couple short, less than one-minute movies on YouTube here, and here. Yeah, that's my shouts of joy and laughter in there! Couldn't help myself...SO much fun!

I'm definitely going back again....
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Dec 1 - To the Snow, and The Snow Painting, I think I fixed the problem with the mailing list!

I sure hope you'll see this "missing post" in your in box with images attached.  I hope it is fixed now!

The color excitement begins! In my last post, I was showing you how the cool box colors can create interest across shapes by various changes in value.

Now I've moved into the warm family of colors to add the "punch" of the temperature contrast int he areas of show and sky that are infused with sunlight.

Yes, you Color Boot Camp graduates know that the sky moves into the cool family as it leaves the "warm circle"!

Design note: Do you perceive the tensions of the diagonals caused by the shadows and fence line? Another "aha" moment!

It's still dark outside this morning, and I'm getting ready to leave for a day of skiing. No chains required on the road up there, and it is only an hour and a half away. I'll be sure to have pictures taken for tomorrow's blog!

"Self-reliance is the only road to true freedom, and being one's own person is its ultimate reward.” - Patricia Sampson

The newest DVD on the Color System is HERE
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.

Nov 25 (Sent On) - Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy holiday to you all! Here's the latest on this 16 x 12 oil of ....brrrr.... snow!

After the dark structure is laid in on this oil, I go for the midtones, putting in the large shapes of the snowfall, keeping my brushwork loose and not worrying about edges at this time. Squint at the painting, and you'll see that already it is doing what I've asked it to do--create a strong diagonal tension with the shadow shape and the opposing fence line.

Unconsciously I also created more value changes in the shadow snow nearer the viewer--an essential way to convey something closer on this flat surface.

Can you perceive the heat of the thalo blue under-painting in the non-painted areas? That's a subtle guide to me to keep adding cools for the dominance they will have in the final painting. The warms are the accents and surround the focal point.

Happy (USA) Thanksgiving to all of you out there enjoying traditional meals and gatherings of loved ones (and ones you can only tolerate once a year or so). I was spending this day solo, but have a last-minute invitation that I just couldn't turn down.

So the dogs will get good bones, and I will be ever so grateful for the love and life I have, and laugh with my friends once more. I hope all of you will do the same.

The newest DVD on the Color System is HERE
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.

Repost with images - November 22 resent Dec 5

(I think I've fixed the blog problem!! Yippee!)

A wonderful ten-day visit with Michelle Walker, from Ohio, almost eclipsed the joy of teaching the November Color Boot Camp! We painted, went gallery hopping in Laguna Beach, and had the best time laughing and just being joyful artists.

I've been rather thoughtful of late, pensive in contemplating how our lives unfold, and how we cannot live a life without changes (whether anticipated or not) that will come. It's how we deal with changes that says much of our value as humans to one another. Changes come in all forms, in our art, in our art direction and also in our thinking when we actually DO our art.

I'm changing, which is inevitable. That's not to say that the old "Art Me" is no longer there, but the one evolving and emerging now is one of more depth and richness. This is good. As our economy continues to erode, and we reach back to find some sustainable pleasure in the structure of our lives, learning more about who we are as artists is a good thing. Going out and making choices about self improvement is a good thing. Self-development brings us talents and skills that will be useful in the future we have to face. To become stagnant in one's art is so self-limiting, and leaves us dead in the water, repeating mistakes or stuck in the expectations of others.

I highly recommend finding an artist who is also a good teacher to push you out of any ruts you might be in. My week with Michelle and her insights has made me do that, and it is all joyful.

So I'm moving forward with my art, and will be sharing those paintings with you. Yes, they still have the Color System!

The image to the right is a 16 x 12 oil, started to show the students not only backlighting, but also snow, and a horse in a demonstration that will unfold over the next few days on my blog. This is the dark abstract structure that most all my paintings start with. The blue underpainting is acrylic thalo blue spritzed with alcohol and allowed to dry. Makes great visual texture!

The newest DVD on the Color System is HERE
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.

Test Message, please ignore.

Test message to Me. (Blogger isn't forwarding my blogs to my mailing list!)
(This is a "Fabricritter" made of fabric and acrylic paint.)
The newest DVD on the Color System is HERE
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 2 - Skiing Again! And Snow Painting, too!

The painting has tons more details at this phase, but it isn't finished yet. There are many areas that are too rough for what I like to see in my work nowadays, and so I'll need to work over those areas before calling it quits and signing it. I don't have the sunrays coming through the trees yet, either. Tomorrow!

Even with oils, it is possible to work into wet paint and put those filmy sunrays shining through. How? By careful handling of your brush. It should almost be flat against the canvas to keep from disturbing layers underneath. Even my stiff filberts can do this delicate task when held horizontally near the canvas.

The snow in the foreground feels mighty cold right now, unlike the snow I experienced yesterday on my ski day at Snow Summit!!!!

Thirty-three years later, and I am back on the slopes! The equipment has changed, but the snow's the same! I had such a good time with a group of fellows in my age range, and we skied our buns off! I even put a couple short, less than one-minute movies on YouTube here, and here. Yeah, that's my shouts of joy and laughter in there! Couldn't help myself...SO much fun!

I'm definitely going back again....
The newest DVD on the Color System is HERE
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 1 - To the Snow, and The Snow Painting

The color excitement begins! In my last post, I was showing you how the cool box colors can create interest across shapes by various changes in value.

Now I've moved into the warm family of colors to add the "punch" of the temperature contrast int he areas of show and sky that are infused with sunlight.

Yes, you Color Boot Camp graduates know that the sky moves into the cool family as it leaves the "warm circle"!

Design note: Do you perceive the tensions of the diagonals caused by the shadows and fence line? Another "aha" moment!

It's still dark outside this morning, and I'm getting ready to leave for a day of skiing. No chains required on the road up there, and it is only an hour and a half away. I'll be sure to have pictures taken for tomorrow's blog!

"Self-reliance is the only road to true freedom, and being one's own person is its ultimate reward.” - Patricia Sampson

The newest DVD on the Color System is HERE
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.

Nov 22 - Visiting with Friends and New Work

A wonderful ten-day visit with Michelle Walker, from Ohio, almost eclipsed the joy of teaching the November Color Boot Camp! We painted, went gallery hopping in Laguna Beach, and had the best time laughing and just being joyful artists.

I've been rather thoughtful of late, pensive in contemplating how our lives unfold, and how we cannot live a life without changes (whether anticipated or not) that will come. It's how we deal with changes that says much of our value as humans to one another. Changes come in all forms, in our art, in our art direction and also in our thinking when we actually DO our art.

I'm changing, which is inevitable. That's not to say that the old "Art Me" is no longer there, but the one evolving and emerging now is one of more depth and richness. This is good. As our economy continues to erode, and we reach back to find some sustainable pleasure in the structure of our lives, learning more about who we are as artists is a good thing. Going out and making choices about self improvement is a good thing. Self-development brings us talents and skills that will be useful in the future we have to face. To become stagnant in one's art is so self-limiting, and leaves us dead in the water, repeating mistakes or stuck in the expectations of others.

I highly recommend finding an artist who is also a good teacher to push you out of any ruts you might be in. My week with Michelle and her insights has made me do that, and it is all joyful.

So I'm moving forward with my art, and will be sharing those paintings with you. Yes, they still have the Color System!

The image to the right is a 16 x 12 oil, started to show the students not only backlighting, but also snow, and a horse in a demonstration that will unfold over the next few days on my blog. This is the dark abstract structure that most all my paintings start with. The blue underpainting is acrylic thalo blue spritzed with alcohol and allowed to dry. Makes great visual texture!

The newest DVD on the Color System is HERE
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.