We Saw the Light - SOLD

Hello from sunny, dry Arizona! Please note I won't be able to ship paintings until I get home, June 5th. I apologize for this inconvenience!

You're So Transparent - SOLD

The whole title for this painting is: "'You're So Transparent,' Said the Apple". My husband really came through for me tonight. I knew there was something obvious to name it, but the naming center in my brain is currently overloaded and malfunctioning.

Tomorrow my fam is flying to Sedona for 3 days of r&r before my workshop starts on Monday. As usual I painted ahead so will post whenever there's time and internet.

Also, if you haven't seen it yet, we just put up a critique section on the Daily Paintworks website. If you have a painting that you need some advice on or ideas for, and/or if you have some opinions for other people, please take a look.

What's the Secret? - SOLD

Sometimes it is such a relief to return to something familiar. For me that's apples. Someday I'll actually count how many I've painted, but for now lets just say - lots! So when something else isn't working out and I'm feeling frustrated, I give myself a little confidence boost by painting something I know well.

Timid Sunflower & DPW NEWS!

Click Here to Bid

Starting tomorrow, June 14th, Daily Paintworks will be open for general membership! That means, if you are an artist and you've been looking for an online gallery to be a part of, this is it! The cost is $9.95/mo. All members can list their paintings for sale with DPW Auctions, and anyone can bid on them.

I just have to say here that I have been quite jealous of this website for the past 8 months. Sometimes it seems my husband is married to it instead of me. He certainly has been paying it more attention. In fact from the moment he wakes up in the morning, to the wee hours at night, he is on his computer making this site perfect. It's all he ever talks about. And if it wasn't such a kick-a** site, I would have kicked him out long ago. Ok, not really. He's way too cute for that. But seriously, what a fantastic husband I have!

"Two Green" --- SOLD

I read in a book a while back that that you should never do a still life from a 45 degree angle - that it makes the object(s) look like it's going to slide right off the painting. Lately I have found that I can get a much more dynamic view this way, so I am questioning this "rule". Any thoughts on this?

"In Your Face" --- SOLD

Still the same big tomato but a different vantage point. I'm envious of those who can make objects look like they're going to reach out and grab you. This tomato may not grab you, but it's at least a bit 3-D, yeah?

"Tomato-ettes" --- SOLD

We signed up this year with a local organic farm that delivers a box of vegetables each week. This week we got a whole bunch of these tiny orange tomatoes. I love the color as they wander into the shadow of the large tomato. The light shines through the large tomato leaving red on the small ones. I love it.

"Mondrian Tomato" --- SOLD

I thought of a great new diet idea for artists: paint all your food before you eat it. Either we'd all learn to paint really fast, or we'd die of starvation. : )

"Piggy Bank" & the last photo from Canada --- SOLD

I did this pig before I left and completely forgot to post it.

Last night was the student show. Most of my class was there so we got some pictures (see below). It's been a great class and today is the last day. As always I am ready to get home but sad to leave my new friends! Thanks, ya'll, for making it great, eh?!

"Apple #854" & more workshop photos --- SOLD

Ok, I haven't painted 854 apples, but sometimes I feel like I have. : ) This apple was my demo yesterday. I give my students first dibs ... and at this point I've still nothing to put on ebay. Below are a couple of photos from this week's class. There are 17 students, the most I've ever had on my own. They say herding artists is like herding cats, but so far I haven't had nearly that much trouble with this group. : )



My kids, hard at work.

"Codependent" --- SOLD

I was out all evening with my students and am back with enough time to post just this before I collapse from exhaustion. I did this before I left home - a flower from my garden. It's a very delicate little flower, and was closed up before I finished the painting. I left it in my studio and the next day when I went up it was open again. It opened and closed for a few days and then the pedals fell off right before I left for Canada.

I am having some technical difficulties with my email. I can get it but I can't send it. So if you've sent me something in the last few days and are wondering why I haven't responded ... well, that's why. Please be patient with me.

"Family Matters" & Canada Workshop --- SOLD

BUY NOW $90

Well, I had quite a time getting here to Canada. My flight was late getting into Dallas and my connecting flight was clear across the airport (the Dallas airport is GIGANTIC!). I ran all the way but still didn't get there in time. The airline couldn't get me on another flight until the next day, so I stayed over in Dallas one night and ended up here yesterday at 4 in the afternoon on my first day of class, quitting time! So I met my class this morning and am going to squeeze a 5-day workshop into 4 days. Below is the view from the dorm room where they put me up. The trees are gorgeous. It gets dark here at 10 pm!!!



This is the huge room where I am teaching. I took this before all the students arrived this morning. We had a great first day and more to come.



And here are a few of the students in action. By the way, the painting above is one I did before I left. I'll post more from here later. Now I need some major sleep, eh?!

"Magic Carpet" --- SOLD

This is a tomato from my mother's garden. I picked it myself and got it home before the stem started to dry out, which is quite a change from the tomatoes I get at the store.

Tomorrow I leave for Canada for 2 weeks. I'll have my computer so I'll continue to post. In fact I've just purchased a new backpack that my laptop will fit into. It also comes out easily, which was my main objective. When you go through security anymore at the airport you've got to remove your computer from the case, in addition to taking off shoes, taking out cameras, removing coins, etc. Ugh. It's rather embarrassing to hold up the entire line. :{ Perhaps I should think about slip on shoes ... hmmmm

"Stacked" --- SOLD

I have many, many cups, and they all get regularly rearranged as I pull them out and put them back on their shelves. These 3 got stacked together by chance and I just loved the color combination.

I discovered the scrapbooking section at Hobby Lobby the other day. They have tons and tons of papers ... some with patterns and some with solid colors. I found quite a few new solid colors to use as backgrounds that I didn't have before. This new teal was among them.

David Lobenberg, a great artist/teacher in CA, left a comment on my blog today pointing me to New England artist, Colin Page. I did and his work is outstanding! Check it out.

"Yard Bug" --- SOLD

I loved the old broken down VW in the yard of this country home. This is the last of my run of landscapes. I plan to do them more often after this. At least as often as I can get out ... which is totally unpredictable with a 3-yr-old in tow. : )

I'm off to Canada this Sunday for 2 weeks. I've got 2 back-to-back workshops at Red Deer College in Alberta. Speaking of workshops ... I've recently added a 2-day December workshop in San Antonio, and a 5-day January workshop in Salado, TX. My entire schedule is listed over to the right.

"All Downhill" --- SOLD

This is my last painting from Inks Lake. It was the first composition where I put my viewfinder up and immediately had it. Where the others were a struggle and I had to keep mentally taking things out and moving things. This was perfect.

Now I'm off to do today's German lesson. : )

"Goin' Home" --- SOLD

Sally and I got one last painting session in on Sunday before she had to dash off to the airport & back to Florida. This was a scene close to my house. We live in the outskirts of Austin, in a neighborhood but very close to "the country". I have 2 more landscapes to share, but they were both slightly damaged coming out of my wet painting box. I'll post them as soon as I can fix them.

"Owees" --- SOLD

My son calls anything with thorns "owees," including this prickly pear cactus.

Thank you all for the great response about easels!! I really appreciate the feedback. Unfortunately the comments were about half for EasyL and half for Open Box M. Soooo... I haven't decided yet what I'll do but I did get my husband thinking about the idea of making one (when I told him how expensive they are). He is the handiest guy I know, and if anyone can make it, he can. But there's also a time crunch, AND he has a full time job. So we'll see.

"Windy" --- SOLD

This spot was very near the spot from yesterday's post, just further up the hill. It was a very windy day, especially up there, so it was a challenge to remain sane long enough to finish this.

Until about 4 years ago I painted exclusively from photos. Then I met Gordon Fowler who recommended I try plein air painting and lent me a Guerrilla Box to use. I fell in love with painting from life and the next time I saw Gordon he said the box was mine! I've used it ever since, but I am now considering buying a lighter one, especially for my upcoming trip to Germany. I am looking at either an Easy-L or Open Box M. There is a fairly large price difference between the two and I am wondering if anyone has any advice/experience with either, or another they like better. Thank you in advance for your input.

"Pink Rock Hill" --- SOLD

When I painted this the sun was directly over-head, I was standing on granite (hence the pink rock) and there was no shade nearby. I have an umbrella that pokes into the ground and it was a no-go with all the granite, so I, and my painting (& palette), were directly in the sun. I'm sure there are rules against this in the plein air world (please let me know if there are). I definitely thought the granite hill was going to be lighter than it is here, but otherwise it's pretty much what I thought I was painting. : )