Flipped Out

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I did this painting for this week's Daily Paintworks Challenge - Change the Color. The idea is if you keep all the values accurate, you can really make the colors anything you want. I don't normally recommend changing colors - it is surprising how many things each color will affect - but it was a fun exercise, and I am surprisingly happy with the result. Here are a few process photos.

Cherries Contained

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This is the last of the series and my personal favorite. Many thanks to Sarah for lending me the green bottle, which has complemented the cherries so well. And to my parents for giving me the confidence to pursue art in the first place ... wait, sorry I lapsed into my acceptance speech daydream. Heh heh ...

Coy Cherries

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For my second in this series I decided to play around with stacking and a cozy, little grouping. It may look simple but I tried about 30 minutes worth of different combinations with the bottles in different positions and stacks, etc. Oh man. Often the simplest compositions are the most difficult to come up with.

Bird's Eye View

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I did a series of paintings with bottles and cherries. This is the first one and arguably the simplest. Stay tuned for   more.

Pink Reflections

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I am so happy to have finally found cherries at the grocery store! Small, red and shiny - endlessly useful to the likes of this still life artist.

Disco Cherry

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I found this cute little hippo at a thrift store near the coast. He's actually a toothpick holder - got a big hole in his back. But I thought he was perfect paired with this single cherry. They're on a date - doin' a little disco dancing while the hippo contemplates his next move.

Happy Holidays!!

Two Beautiful to Eat

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We are having a lovely time here in Eugene, especially now that the rest of our little family has arrived! Today we did a lot of last minute shopping and I even managed to squeeze a painting in.

Orange Stempede

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I've been experimenting lately with putting more paint down with each stroke. I like it. It has a more luscious look I think.

Orange Sensation

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I found these lovely oranges (with leaves still attached) at our Market of Choice. I've never been able to find nice ones like these before and was super excited when I did. I envisioned them like a little band, up on their bottles to perform, with their leaves like fancy capes. You know, because all bands have ... capes ...

Radiating Reflections

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I think reflections of colorful things inside a metal bowl are super cool.

Reflecting Persimmons

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My buddy Sarah gave me these lovely persimmons right before I left last week for Illinois ... which is where I met my latest batch of troublemakers. We were a bit cozy in the space, which worked out since it was especially cold outside. Here they are acting like good little artists:

And below is my entire group of kids. Can you tell which one gave me the most trouble? But really, it was a great group! We had a lot of fun, despite Kristen's antics. : )

Red Bowl

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You'll never believe it - the best flight I could get back from my workshop in Illinois was via LA, then Seattle, and THEN Eugene. Ack! It's been a long day. I'll wait until tomorrow to report about the workshop. Meanwhile, here is a painting that includes a special red glass bowl I got from my Grandma recently. She is on my mind today.

Dressed for the Season

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These bananas were feeling awfully left out with all the holiday cheer going on all around them. They demanded a shiny ball.

I am away teaching a 5-day workshop in Aurora, IL, in case you thought I had dropped off the face of the earth. I've got a very interesting group. One keeps falling out of her chair and tripping over things in the class. Another is covered head to toe in paint at the end of each day. The others just wine about how I make them work hard. Come to think of it - this is pretty normal.

Fall Dishes

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I've been doing so many paintings with white in them lately, I decided to see if I could make it work with ALL color! I don't think I've ever done this particular combination of colors before, and I'm diggin' it.

Balancing Act

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We got our new silverware from IKEA, and the side benefit is they make great props! They have lovely shapes, even from the end. As for my other props, I find myself getting mostly the same basic stuff again. I already have 7 different white cups and several little white plates. I had this exact glass pourer before, and of course you've already seen a few of my new bottles and jars. I have my eye out for different stuff, of course, but I seem to be able to endlessly compose with cups, plates, fruit and silverware.

Troglodytic Tomato

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This is a new size for me - 5x7in. I saw a student recently painting something horizontal and I thought - why on earth have I been doing squares, exclusively for so long?! Duh.

And regarding the title, sometimes I look up words in the thesaurus so both words start with the same letter. Silly, I know. Troglodytic means someone who lives a secluded life, who is unaquainted with affairs of the world. Maybe the tomato wants to live that way, but it sure looks lonely.

Angelic Slices

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I found this ceramic angel at the thrift store recently. I had to start over twice to get the proportion right, but once I did it was a blast to paint!

Hide Behind Stacks

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Someone asked how I get the reflections at the bottom. I have a big piece of glass - just regular glass - that I put in the bottom of my shadow box. I tape the front edge and only handle it from that end so I don't cut myself. I generally put down my cloth or paper first so I have some color or something underneath. In this case I had a gray yellow behind and white underneath.

A Jarring Accident

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We spent most of the day painting ... the house. The living room is now a lovely yellow, and the kitchen terra cotta red. Is it a coincidence the colors are exactly the same as in the last house? Then this evening we had some friends over for dinner. This is my excuse for not having added any links yet to my blog roll. I am going to add a few tonight and more tomorrow.

Nutcracker Balls

I apologize in advance if the title of this piece offends anyone. I couldn't possibly have been expected to resist.

It has taken me almost 3 months to get around to this, but one of things that happened right after the fire, when suddenly my blog was changed under my feet by blogger, was my blogroll (my list of links to other artists) was erased and lost forever. When I revamped my blog I made a short list of artists off the top of my head and stopped there. I've been meaning to ask - could you please email me with a link if I had you listed before? It may take me a while to piece it back together again. Please don't think I took you off to be mean, or if I take a while to add you back for the same reason.

Just Leafing

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I NEVER experienced a fall in Texas like this one here in Eugene. The leaves have been absolutely spectacular. And there are still quite a few of them hanging on. I found this one on the way home from Jacob's bus-stop and HAD to paint it. It was orange on one side and mostly red on the other side, hence the awesome glow.

Holiday Spirit

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I found these little (snow?) people at the thrift store last week. I was trying and trying to arrange them with this gold ornament sitting on the ground, to no avail. It was (yawn) so boring. I decided they were going to have to do some work for me and hold it up between them. And you know? they didn't even complain afterwards.

Just One Volunteer?

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Some of you may have already heard I'm writing an instructional book! If not, I am. I had hoped to get it out at the end of this year, but the fire pushed things back a bit. I am shooting now for next summer, but will be happy with the end of next year. I was keeping it under wraps until I was at least halfway through, which I now am.

Dramatic Stacks

I went to a figure session tonight and lo and behold there was a naked tomato! It was shy so it undressed behind stacks of cups and refused to come out into the light. Ok, really, our model tonight was a good-looking African American guy, not shy at all. After the first break he didn't quite make it back into the same pose. I tried to change my composition accordingly, but I just ended up making a mess. So I wiped it off and called it lesson learned.

Picky Pig

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I borrowed this very cool pig from my little friend Ellie. Ellie is 2, and honestly I'm not sure she understood why I was taking her piggy bank, or if she even noticed. Do you suppose that is terribly ethical of me? Would it make things any better if I add a few coins to the bank before I give it back? Or does that just add insult to injury?! Thank you, Ellie!

Pear Love

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I borrowed this bunny from my friend James. When I first started painting every day I did a few stuffed animals and then completely forgot about it. Now I remember why I enjoyed it! I will be on the lookout for some good animals at the thrift store next time I go.

Tomato Quarantine

I just got the test copy of my new book - a collection of 100 paintings from 2011 - and if I do say so myself, it turned out great! It had a couple of typos so I fixed those and now it's ready to go. Check it out!

preview/order

Pear Migration

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Today, Black Friday, instead of joining the shopping masses, we drove out to the coast with the idea of taking a photo for the Marine Christmas card. It turned into a complete disaster because SOMEONE (I'm not naming names) forgot not only the tripod, but the memory card as well. It was a gorgeous day, and we consoled ourselves by collecting rocks. Ok ... it was all me, dang it - I forgot the stuff and I collected rocks. My poor guys.

Treasure Hunter

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I don't do a whole lot of paintings that are predominantly dark, but when I do I usually have trouble photographing them without glare. Especially here in Eugene and today since it rained all day. Not that I'm complaining. I will try again tomorrow and repost the photo. Meanwhile, I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving!!

Hysterical Hen

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More glass balls - I'm really diggin' these things. And the chicken again. I don't know why I love her so but I do.

Cups and Shiny Balls

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In the spirit of the approaching holiday season I decided colored glass balls were in order. It is amazing to me that Thanksgiving is in FIVE DAYS! What happened to this year?!?

Over-enthusiastic

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These guys jumped in the glass before they were properly juiced. Whazup?

Check out our new couch and a little snow.

Orange You Tempted?

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I am endlessly fascinated by the light coming through translucent objects like these orange slices. This painting will probably go in my next collection of 100 paintings book, vol. 3. I am working on it now. I should have it ready right before Christmas.

WORKSHOP - Dec 14-17, 2012 in Easton Maryland. Register with Easton Studio & School

One Helluva Party & Red Sweater

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Last night I went to another figure session with Sarah. Our model had some mega dreadlocks, and a fuzzy red sweater. About an hour into the 3-hour pose I started over. I decided on the second try to experiment with wilder colors in shadows. The part I'm happiest with is the suggestion of a hand. I find I spend about 2/3 of the time on the face and 1/3 on the rest (ha! - just read that was Sarah's experience as well)!

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And below is the belated group photo of last week's Sedona kids. It was a really fun group!

Protecting the Nest

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Red eggs? Yes, I thought it was funny too. But you don't mess with a nesting chicken.

So my favorite response to: How many artists does it take to change a lightbulb?

Answer: None. We can't afford a new lightbulb. We just paint outside instead. : )

And if you're interested in hearing more about my run yesterday, check out my New Beginning blog.

Following Green

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So I survived the 6 mile race, (whew!) and am here to report (will post about the run tomorrow). My class in Sedona last week went swimmingly. Ok, aside from the force fed wine and dessert. The first day we woke up to snow. This was the view from my hotel balcony:

The snow eventually changed to hail, and everything melted by the end of the day ... except for way up high in the mountains. It was a good day to be inside painting.

I always seem to forget something when I travel, and this time I forgot my camera. So I had to settle for iphone pics. Above are my kids slaving away. And below are some of the paintings produced, including 4 of my demos (sold), one row up from the bottom.

We took a group photo, but it was with a better camera than mine and is being emailed to me - will post later. So I'll end with a very serious question: how many artists does it take to change a lightbulb? My kids and I were brainstorming an answer. Please tell me your ideas and I'll post some good ones tomorrow, including our favorite from last week!

Free the Others

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I am back from Sedona but not quite rested enough yet to do a good recap of my class there. I had to get up at 3:30 this morning to catch my flight. Tomorrow I am scheduled to run in a 6-mile race with my new friend Sarah and I am really hoping my body is up for it. If I am still alive tomorrow night I will post pictures about my most recent gaggle of kids.

Pig in Shades

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Apparently I've created quite a reputation for myself. Everyone seems to think I'm some kind of wine guzzling party gal. I have no CLUE how you might have inferred that from what I've written here on my blog. No clue. So here I am in Sedona and my kids not only ply me with wine each and every night, they keep me out WAY past my bedtime (sometimes until 9!!!) and even pour hot fudge sundae's down my throat. What a horrible life I lead.

A big thank you to Cornelia who sent me a replacement pig (the brother to the small one lost in the fire). I painted him here with my cool new shades from Target.

Farmers Market Tomatoes

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Today we visited the very cool Saturday Market here in Eugene. It happens EVERY Saturday (yay!) and involves booth after booth of veggies, crafts, clothes, food, etc. It was raining a little and cold, but these Eugenians don't seem phased by weather one bit.

Tomorrow I fly to Sedona for my next workshop. This time I'll remember my computer cord so I can post occasionally while there.