"The Post" --- SOLD

Thanks so much to all of you who left comments encouraging my plein air work! I do really enjoy it, and will someday have much more time for it. Right now, with a 3-yr-old, it isn't often feasible.

This is the second painting from my Rockport trip. There was this cute little Marina just opposite our hotel, and I went wandering around it looking for the perfect boat to paint. I kept walking by this one spot thinking "oh that nice little area BETWEEN the boats is so pretty." Everyone else painted boats. : )

Robert Elliot wrote to me today in response to yesterday's post, asking what a "non-wipe" is. My bad! When I do a painting bad enough I don't want to waste the panel, I take a paper towel, dip it in mineral spirits, and wipe it off to use later. That's what I call a wiper. Robert calls them "turkeys." I like that too.

"Pelican Bait" --- SOLD

This is the first non-wipe painting from Rockport. It was also the first time during the weekend that the sun came out from behind the clouds. : ) Even still it all looked terribly gray to me. I am so used to being in full control of my subject - of trying out 5 background colors if necessary (all of them fairly saturated) - of making the light do exactly what I want it to - of taking out the odd orange and adding another apple! But, I loved the way this bait shack leaned, and how the white sign on top was slightly darker than the sky. Don't ask me why. I used the Ampersand boards again and my new fantabulous brush. I painted two more and will post them soon.

"Radishes on a Hill" --- SOLD

These radishes weren't on a hill, but it looks that way to me now. It has something to do with the bottom bit, and I'm still trying to figure out what I could have done to change that.

I went to Jerry's Artarama today and fondled all of their MANY brushes trying to find one right for this surface (back to the smooth panels today). I finally found one not too soft or hard and I LOVE IT! It's an Umbria bright from Princeton Art & Brush Co, size 6. It is perfect for this surface - perfect. Now it's just a test of how long it holds up. I'll let you know.

I'm off to Rockport, TX tomorrow for 3 days of plein air painting with my Austin painting buddies. Maybe I'll come out with 1 or 2 landscapes good enough to post. Mostly I'm looking forward to the break from REAL LIFE. : ) I may or may not have internet - back on Sunday for sure.

"Orange Parade" --- SOLD

Thank you all who commented on yesterday's post and took the time to state an opinion about the past few paintings. I got a really mixed response. The consensus? I am going to continue experimenting with both surfaces, and find some brushes that work a little better on the smooth one. Today's is back on the canvas, my comfort zone.

"Illuminate Us" --- SOLD

Today I thought I'd try the same general setup and lighting as the last 2 paintings, but with the "old" raymar canvas board and Monarch brushes. I've gotta say I enjoyed this one the most, but probably mostly because I am the most comfortable with the tools and process (and it is a little smaller, so it went quicker). I'd love to get some feedback about the differences and which ya'll think is most successful. Give me your worst - I can take it. : )

"Off to See the World" --- SOLD

This was another experiment with the smooth board: Ampersand. I think I am going to have to paint a little thicker as this is going slow slow slow. But I like it. This painting would have been entirely different with my other brushes and canvas. I would like to find a brush that is not quite so soft as the American Painters, but not as stiff as the Windsor & Newton Monarchs. I haven't decided to switch over to this, but I'm having a lot of fun experimenting and feel compelled to do more.

My buddy, Susan Carlin, is giving a workshop in a few weeks about blogging, for artists. It will be in San Antonio at the Coppini Academy, Saturday, May 24th, from 10am to 3:30pm. Go here for more info. I highly recommend it for those of you nearby! Susan has been blogging for a long time, is a fantastic artist, and is one of the most wonderful people I've ever met!!!

"Happy Planter" --- SOLD

This was an experiment. I re-tried some 8"x8"gessoboard (that I didn't like the first time). I started out using my regular brushes and found very quickly they were way to stiff, and barely laid any color down. Then I tried some brushes I recently bought and tried on my regular canvas surface - American Painter flats - (the same kind Karin Jurick uses) and found they were perfect for this smooth surface (they didn't work at all on my regular surface - too soft). I did end up wiping once and starting over as I realized I had to be a little more careful than normal in getting colors where I wanted them from the beginning. I couldn't fudge as much and fix later without getting messy fast. I really enjoyed this, and I REALLY enjoyed painting a face, even though it was made of clay. : )

"Good Morning" --- SOLD

I did this one yesterday but completely forgot to photograph it - duh. Then I did a larger one that is similar but ... has more stuff in it. : ) I really like it. It was a good day. Today I took a little break and ran some errands.

This evening I found out that the Jury's top 50 has been awarded for the Salon International show, and one of my paintings is included! There were so many incredible paintings there - I can't even begin to express how honored I am to be included in the show, much less receive this additional honor!!! Here's the painting:

"Pink Carnations" --- SOLD

One weekend last August I went to my mom's house and used her ceramics studio to make a bunch of vases and pots. A few weeks ago I went back and glazed them. And this last weekend my mother dropped them off, all fired and finished! They're mostly very simple and unadorned, which is how I wanted them. This is one, with a green finish, and pink carnations inside. I hope to use a few of them in a larger still life tomorrow.

Here is my sixth pear in the just a pear series.



SOLD

"Just a Pear 5" --- SOLD

Even though the colors are a bit more subdued here, I think this is my favorite of the series. I have one more that I am debating whether or not to post. It is the last one that I painted and my least favorite. We'll see how I feel about it tomorrow.

"Just a Pear 4" --- SOLD

I just spent 5 hours doing my taxes. Yikes! Did I put them off? Yes I did. And now it's time for a glass of wine. : )

"Just a Pear 3" --- SOLD

The Salon show was wonderful, as usual! I got to meet Darcie Peet, a hero of mine, who's painting was hung right next to mine - argh! I had a lovely time painting with my PAA pals this morning at La Villita in San Antonio. I did a couple of wipers, unfortunately, but while I was painting a couple came up to me to ask what I was painting. It turned out to be George Hallmark (and wife), the judge for the salon show! What a strange coincidence. And wouldn't you know I had just run out of cards. Argh. Thank you to Susan Carlin who put me up for the night, and her family who put UP with me! And thank you to my family & friends who came out to support me!

Here's my third pear of the series. It's one of my favorites.

"Just a Pear 2" --- SOLD

Tonight I attended the awards banquet for the Salon International Show that I am in. Tomorrow morning I will be painting along the Riverwalk and La Villita with my plein air buddies, and tomorrow afternoon I will go to the reception for the show. What an ideal weekend!

This is the second pear in my series. Did I say that green is my favorite color?

"Just a Pear 1" --- SOLD

Today, instead of using my time to do a larger painting, I did a bunch of small ones. One might call this cheating, as I am doing them ahead and will be posting them as my dailies for the next few days. But if the idea is to paint every day (or as often as life allows) then fear not - I will just be ahead for a little while, and still painting as much as before. This painting is the first in a series then, of single pears.

"Greco" --- SOLD

I have hired a new sitter for my son. Desiree has two cute little girls, Victoria (19 mo) and Lana (6 mo), and they will all come to my house 2 days a week to play with Jacob while I paint (today was the first day). The girls are both incredibly happy-go-lucky, and they make me realize how LOUD my son is. But I have these magical headphones that play my favorite music and drown out everything else. I did a larger painting today and had just enough time to do this quickie. These grapes were in my larger painting as well. I broke a big rule of mine here and have them floating right in the middle. All my students are saying "hey!" right about now. : ) But remember, there are no rules in art, just consequences.

"Wounded Escape" --- SOLD

Ever seen a white eggplant? I hadn't. I had a tough time arranging it in an interesting way. At first I had white on white - even painted it - but it was boring so I wiped it off and started again. I cut it into 2 peices, but that didn't help. The inside isn't terribly interesting, and it's just about the same color as the outside, with some tiny faint seeds that are sort of beige. I ended up with this. My favorite part is the plate - how silly is that?!

"First Place" --- SOLD

Yesterday I drove my two accepted paintings to San Antonio for the Salon International show that starts next weekend (at the Greenhouse Gallery). If you live nearby, it's always an inspiring show, with 300+ paintings - the reception is April 12th and starts at 4pm (I think). I've been going for years and never dreamed of actually being accepted. I had a lovely lunch with my in-laws while in San Antonio, and drove back home in time to attend the show of my friend Erin Cone. Her paintings are amazing to say the least. And to top it off she's a lovely person too!!

"Yellow in White" --- SOLD

If ever I am pressed for time, my creative side simply refuses to work. Today I was anticipating company at 2 (I began at 12:30). I used every relaxation technique I know, but all I kept thinking was "oh sh*t, now I only have 63 minutes left" ... and on and on. Well, my company called to cancel at about 1:30 and it was only then I was finally able to relax and paint.

I'd like to put out a little reminder of my upcoming workshops. The soonest is in May, in beautiful Santa Fe, NM. I LOVE New Mexico, especially in spring. This will be my second workshop at Andreeva, and I am really looking forward to it! Check out my entire schedule over to the right. Thanks!

"Simplicity" --- SOLD

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball so tough you've got to escape for a little while. That happened to me yesterday. I got in my car and drove for a while and stopped at this little cemetery next to the cutest little, old, quintessential, white church. All around the church and cemetery were fields full of the most beautiful wildflowers, just coming out here in Texas. I had a good cry, picked these yellow flowers and drove back home. All in all an interesting experience, and just what I needed.

"Out of It" --- SOLD

I'm here to say that painting is hard. I feel like a juggler most of the time (in addition to a herder). I juggle color, composition, value, paint strokes, medium ratio, proportion, temperature, and so on and so forth. I might as well be juggling fire while on a unicycle, on a tight rope, over a gorge a thousand feet deep, with alligators at the bottom. I am supremely grateful when I can cross the gorge in one piece. I try to learn from the times when I fall and am eaten by the alligators ... wait