Big Announcement - ArtBytes!!

If you caught the radio show this morning you now know the big news - ArtBytes on Daily Paintworks! We've been working on the idea for months and I've been absolutely dying to post about it.

ArtBytes are basically byte-size, online art tutorials. I've created 6 so far (from the content for my instructional book) and will continue to add more (posting about them here each time I do). Eventually we'll have lots of ArtBytes by other artist/teachers, but first we want to work out all the kinks. By the way, if you notice any of these kinks, please let us know.

Each ArtByte contains text, images, links and (often) video. They are full of great information, but not so long you'll get bored. Once you buy an ArtByte it is yours forever. Take a look in the ArtByte store to see what's available now. Please let me know what you think!

Queen of the Asparagii

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Many of you have tried to guess the big surprise tomorrow. It's been very interesting to read the guesses. : ) But I am not giving anything away. You'll just have to wait. Sorry about that. Meanwhile I've been trying my hand at asparagus after a long break. What do you call more than one of these green things? Asparaguses just sounds plain wrong.

Way Past Five

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This Wednesday at 11am CST my husband and I will be interviewed on Artists Helping Artists, again. : ) This time we have a big announcement - one I think some of ya'll will be particularly interested in. I'll announce it here as well, after the show, but if you want to hear it sooner be sure to listen in. We've been working on it for months and I've been itching to scream it from the rooftops!

Grape Fixation

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I felt it was appropriate, in my second cheese stack painting, for there to be a pig involved. And while he fell in love with the grape I fell in love with the reflection of the cheese back on him.

Cheese and Grapes

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I get my best ideas right before I fall asleep and right after I wake up. I don't know why. I had this idea recently, in bed, to paint little stacks of different kinds of cheese, paired with fruit. Why on earth was I thinking about this in bed?! At any rate, I was very excited to try it. And it turns out cheese has some lovely translucent qualities that are very interesting to paint. The only problem is after it sits out for a while it starts to ... "sweat" a bit.

Chicken for Dinner

This is my entry in this week's Daily Paintworks Challenge - the Raw Meat Challenge. Pretty silly, I know, but I've been wanting to paint a chicken like this for a while. It was really fun.

And speaking of Daily Paintworks, check out my interview on the DPW blog!

Silly Sunburn

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This is the kind of thing I get a real kick out of painting. Lots of color - apples - a funny kind of ... spork. It really floats my boat.

In other news, I have just discovered the joys of Pinterest! It's like an online bulletin board. I was busy last night and this morning pinning all kinds of art that I love. Check them out. Once you get going it's pretty addictive.

Cinderella

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This red pitcher is a friend from my past. I found it at an antique store years ago and they wanted more than I was willing to pay. I struck a deal with my friend Jen who went halfsies with me. I painted it a couple of times and then she kept it at her house until she recently loaned it back. But the star of this painting is good ol' Cinderella who just walked in. But where's the prince?

Tomato Tea

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I have to admit I did a little happy dance when I found this green teapot at the thrift store recently. I did NOT do a happy dance last night when I attended a figure session and had to wipe my painting after 3 hours. I think it is so easy for a figure painting to get ... awkward, and that's what happened to mine. But not to worry, I was doing a sort of sloppy, happy dance after drowning my sorrows in wine with my friend Sarah, whose painting DID turn out (though she hasn't posted it yet).

Guided Tour

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WORKSHOP - I just posted a new workshop to my list for 2013. It will be in Feb, 2013, in Southern California. If you're interested sign up quick - they tend to fill fast. Here are the details. Email Debra to register, or call 949.723.6171.

I bet you didn't know it but at night our apples take guided tours of our cabinets. Yep.

Considering Balance

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I am home from my latest workshop and on the road to recovery. : ) A little more wine should do it. I say that but actually this one was superbly organized. If you're looking for a good workshop experience check out Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio. Every student had their very own shadow box, plenty of lights and tons of room. Every day a whole slew of food was laid out along with coffee and tea. We even had a camera and  projector so everyone had a good view of the demos. Here's a view of about half the classroom:

And below are a couple of my foreign (Canadian) students. It was tough getting past the language barrier, what with them saying MAUVE so weird (among other things), but we worked through it.

And here's a family photo - me and my kids. Aren't they cute?!

Will Perform for Alcohol

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In my workshops I stress using a viewfinder to set up a still life. Some of my kids complain that they aren't able to hold the viewfinder steady enough or can't find the same view each time after they draw a little. If you have this problem I recommend this nifty device below, or something like it. You can clamp one end to something near you (like your easel or shadowbox) and use the other clamp to hold the viewfinder. After that the only challenge is to get your head back in the same place every time. : )

One Brave Soul

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Today I started a workshop here on Whidbey Island, which, if you've never been, is a real treat to visit! Not only is the scenery to die for, the town itself is incredibly cute. My kids seem nice so far, but they always do at first. We'll see how they shape up as the week progresses. Today I painted apples for my demo, but this one is actually from last week and available. I envisioned them as young swimmers on the first day of the year it might actually be warm enough to swim ... but still chilly. And the one in front has been told to dive.

Distorting the Edge

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Tomorrow I am off to Seattle. I lived there for a year when I was 15/16, with some very nice folks who agreed to take me in (a teenager ... what were they thinking?!) and tomorrow I will visit them and generally apologize for the rotten kid I was. Then I am off to Whidbey Island for a 5-day workshop. I will post when I can. Please note the shipping of paintings will be delayed until I am back.

A Balanced Breakfast

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I've been wanting to paint a little rock stack for a while. I've got dozens of them - stacks that is. I thought this one went perfectly with this new cup I found recently at Goodwill. There's something quite peaceful about it all.

Wading to the Waist

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I know this one might seem a little silly at first glance, but, well, it represents some very important stuff. Like ... social inequality and ... misguided expectations and ... internal peace. Yeah, like that.

Sitting Still

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Right after I finished this one, as I was taking it off my easel, I managed to drop it on the floor - you got it - paint down! (sigh) What I have learned from past experience is - resist the temptation to get all the grit off while it's still wet!! If you wait until the paint is dry all the little bits come right off and usually the paint is just fine, as it was in this case.

Rising Roses

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These two were tough to compose with. I went around and around with different containers, different angles, and different colored backgrounds. Oh and did I mention other objects in there with them? Some wise person once told me - if there is something in the composition that isn't actively helping the composition, take it out. So more often than not I end up with rather simple scenes. Like this one.

Apple Divided

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I enjoyed the apple slices so much yesterday I decided to try them again. I love that half apple shape.

Queen Over All

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My folks are visiting for a few days and we are trying to kill them with hikes. Yesterday we climbed the Butte here in town and today we drove to a canyon and hiked to a beautiful waterfall. Oregon is wonderousful!

Happy Happy

Here is my latest silly face painting. The teeth especially were super hard, but I am really happy with this one. I recognize now that these are incredibly personal so I've undecided to sell them. : ) I am going to frame them all at some point and hang them up together and it's going to be incredibly cool.

Veggie Royalty

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My husband just came out with a new widget for my blog. You can see it over on the right here. It cycles through my latest 20 paintings from my DPW gallery, with the title, whether it's sold or not, and a link to buy or bid. He will soon have versions for all Daily Paintworks members. It is super cool!