Room for Everyone. Period.

Yes, I teach a lot.  I love it.  It is my social life.  Once the kids left home I found that my entire social life had existed because of their high school sporting and social events. That ended with them leaving the nest.  So I increased my schedule over the past few years and I want to share some thoughts.  The enrollment of my workshops has increased and I am so grateful! I see such desire to learn from the people that choose to study with me.  I LOVE it.  They are so earnest.  And I have been told I am a natural born teacher.  

Now to my thoughts and concerns.  I believe there is a small group that may feel I teach too much,  that it hurts my personal work.  And that I may be contributing to the rise of the amount of artists entering the market.  I have no love for "Art Snobs".  First, I don't teach formulas.  The information I teach has been available to anyone for centuries.  And whether a person started their career early or late should not be a concern.  I teach the fundamentals and encourage the student to explore their potential in order to be able to "say what they want to say".  There is no need to worry about the "wannabes"!  That is what they will remain.  It's those artists that put in the time, the 10,000 or 7,000 or whatever amount of hours it takes to become oneself.  And I firmly believe that if one searches with earnest and with quality mileage they will emerge with their own vision and there will always be room for those artists.  Whether it's two or two million.  

         

I teach that you may manipulate the values.  I teach you may use a full palette or a limited one.  I teach that you may vary the surface quality.  I teach that paying attention to "edges" can create it's own statement.  I teach how to paint form.  I teach simple proportions of the figure.  I teach how to draw.  I can teach how to capture a more representational version of an image or one that has a more personal vision.  I hope that I also teach how to think and how to see.  But I cannot teach someone "what to say".  That only comes through ones personal journey through quality "blood, sweat and tears".  There is room for you and me.  

Keep reminding myself.

I have to keep reminding myself to keep it simple!!  What's the deal!  Ok already!  How many times do I have to repeat it.  So back to value thumbnails to make things clear again.  I am going to do my best to "say the rest" with color changes in the large value shapes and not  more value changes.  Here's a start.  We will see what happens.  I always try to finish a work from 10 to 20ft back.  I go for that "immediate read". 

I Showed Up for Work.

There's a saying.  "Inspiration is for amateurs,  professionals show up for work".  Well, after our workshop here I was tired an felt uninspired.  I tried to paint the landscape and struggled.  It really takes the wind out of my sails.  I said to myself to get out to the studio, show up for work.  So I did.  The goal was to do just that.  I painted from images on my computer and made sure there was a figure in there.  Here are the results.  I would still like to be more "David Park-esque" or " Elmer Bischoff-esque" .  But at least I showed up for work.

"Ali at the Table"

10" x 8"

Gouache on Illustration board

SOLD

"Plein Aire Painters"

8" x 10"

Gouache on Illustration Board

SOLD

"Model holding Fruit"

10" x 8"

Gouache on Illustration Board

SOLD

"Reading on the Beach"

8" x 10"

Gouache on Illustration Board

Simplify for turning 60!

I will be 60 in September.  I am desperate to get things simplified, decluttered and just try and get a "smoother running machine".  I have gone through stacks and stacks and stacks of demo boards.  They have accumulated on my shelves over the years.  Ray has cut them apart for me and it has taken me 4 full days so far to barely make a dent in touching them up and signing them.  I think they make great small works and I am offering them here at sketch prices.  They are odd sizes so custom framing will be a must.  One of my favorite framers is Colorado Framesmith.  I usually ask for their Spanish Gold Finish.  

"Facing Away"

11" x 6"

Oil on Panel

$300

SOLD

"Beach Slumber"

6" x 7 1/2"

Oil on Panel

SOLD

$250

"Beach Family"

6" x 6 1/2"

Oil on Panel

$225

SOLD

"Purple Towel"

61/2" x 5 1/2"

Oil in Panel

$225

SOLD

"Guy and Umbrella"

4 1/2" x 4"

Oil on Panel

$75

SOLD

"Seated Figure"

16" x 6"

Oil on Panel

$375

SOLD

"Afternoon Shade"

7 1/2" x 11"

Oil on Panel

$350

SOLD

"Reclining Figure Model"

5 1/2" x 9"

Oil on Panel

$275

SOLD

"Figure with White Towel"

7" x 5"

Oil on Panel

$225

SOLD

"Simplified Figures"

9" x 9"

Oil on Panel

$375

SOLD

"Bathing Suit Model"

4 1/2" x 9"

Oil on Panel

$225

SOLD

Sneak in a little painting time.

I have been teaching a lot lately.  I do love it.  One thing frustrating is not getting enough painting time during a workshop.  I really try to give all my attention to the students.  I will do demos but they are never more than 20 minutes.  But when everyone seems to be humming along I will have my easel ready and I will quick sneak in a small work here and there.  I recently taught in Dana Point, CA and it was perfect!

Great people, perfect weather, great models.  These are some of the quickies I was able to do.

The umbrellas were up and some of those color relationships are so hard to capture.

It was a beautiful clear sunny day.

SOLD

I love to paint kids.  You know they are only there for about a minute!

SOLD

This was a quick demo to just help one of the students  see the value of the colors in shadow.

SOLD

These kids were there for one second!

We had fun with this capturing the transparency of the dress.

One day was iffy weather.  We found some sun by our hotel pool.

SOLD

This is pretty much how I get started when I am capturing something quickly.  I get a loose drawing in a warm neutral and then I try to mass my shadows first.  Just helps to get me on solid footing.  

This was a very quick sketch to guess what the subject might look like on a sunny day.  We were painting gray day works in the morning.

Just sort of got this one started and left some of the transparent under painting alone.  I am going to do a little more of that.  I like the contrast of opaque and transparent.

Another one of how I get started.  I was trying to finish this one from memory.  What a treat to have two models on one of the days.

The model loved his pose.  

Just trying to keep the values close when working in the shadow area.

Gray, gray day.  Don't like those.  

Reflections on water are always fun.

This is actually the light we were painting in the morning.  Values describing the form were very close together.  It's more of painting local color and local value relationships of the subject.  I call it "Pattern Painting".  Think Mary Cassatt aquatints.  

A few demos.

I taught a couple of weeks ago in Palos Verdes, CA and San Diego, CA for two wonderful groups of people.  My demos are pretty quick so as to get the idea across and to get the students painting!  I cannot watch a demo that goes too long!  I get so anxious to paint.  

A good foundation in the fundamentals and understanding them is important HOWEVER to get to your own voice you have got to put the mileage in.  You have to experience those moments where what you say is emerging through your intuition.  

  

Quiet light and shadow.

The models love these poses!

Simple and clear.  Not much else for me personally to say.

Call me crazy but . . .

Call me crazy but I love these works!  And to continue my confession, I had the chance to go see the Robert Henri show at the San Diego Museum of Art in the gorgeous Balboa Park  AND before entering the rooms with Henri's work I had to go to the Contemporary section first!  I love a good abstract! 

Not all these are abstracts of course.  I responded to many works and many "isms".

And I should have posted a few of Henri's work.  Did you know his last name was actually Cozad.  As in Cozad, Nebraska!  Yes, he was from Nebraska and if you get a chance to read his biography it reads like a TV drama mini series!  

So quiet. ?

Bob Thompson will always be a favorite.  He died too young!

And of course Joan Mitchell.  She did a series of sunflowers that are wonderful.

Huh?  Love it!

I should try some allegorical paintings.  This is a beauty!  Daphne resisting and fleeing Apollo's advances, she is saved by her father when he transforms her into a tree.

And these charming still lives by Mabel Alvarez.  Saw these at the L.A. 

Art Convention.

(Bad photo!)

Just fun!  ?

Exquisite! from all angles. ?

I'm here!

I am so excited that summer is almost here and that means planting season is right around the corner! My sweet peas are showing blooms!  The strawberries are growing plump and taking over the garden!  I love it.  I will see bees at the bird bath.  I will plant a few more trees.  I'd love to have an olive orchard.  (Orchard or Grove?)  And some goats and, and, and some cows and, and, and some ducks and, and, and some .  .  .

Just not enough  hours to the day.  

This work was painted from life in my last years flower garden. This will be in the Roger's Garden Show down in Corona del Mar, CA.  This show will host 5 women and a body of work in a beautiful home and garden setting.  I hope you can come by.  The dates are

May 10 - July 13, 2014

Roger's Gardens

2301 San Joaquin Hills Rd.

Corona del Mar, CA 92625

(949) 721-2100 ext. 379

I will always love a fluffy dress!

 I love beautiful dresses.  I don't wear them.  I never have.  I would have loved to.  But I love to look and adore.  I imagine myself being 20 again wearing one.  So next best thing is to live through my daughters.  Our son won't wear them either.  Tee Hee!  

I wanted to post these and confess I am neither tortured nor have some angry angst.  I love all things beautiful whether it's clothing, furniture, the way a lawn is manicured or how a blanket is folded over a chair, dishes displayed, laundry neatly piled after folding.  I believe in reference for every task.  This rant went further than just prom dresses!  But sometimes experiences make me feel like I need to apologize for myself and my "provincial tastes".   Man, what brought this on!   I think this all came about from recently checking out the arts district in Culver City, CA.  What a charming and very hip area!  So cool! Young people defining themselves and how they live.  And I felt like a duck out of water. I felt very "out of touch".  I just need to get out of my "cow town" more often.  What a great place to visit!  Now I have work to do to try and be more sophisticated.