Painting in Process--"At the Riverside Market"

16"x20"

Oil on Panel

$1350 framed, plus shipping

Available after May 6th

This painting (which is almost finished!) is for a specific juried show sponsored by the Arts Beauty and Culture Commission here in Bend, Oregon.  The process of preparing to do it and the actual painting of it has really been great.  The theme of the show (Place 12:  City Walls at City Hall) was to explore how the past in our town influences the present and future.  I was asked to create a painting that would also tie in with our town's Vision 2030 of what a "strong community" means.  At first I was feeling like this might end up being like doing an illustration job, but after a great conversation with the representatives of Vision 2030, the word "community" took on a much more personal meaning for me--a gathering place where people feel comfortable, get to know each other, where lives intersect in a meaningful way. 

One person suggested the Riverside Market as a place that fit that description for them.  It's a little neighborhood market/cafe that has served a part of Bend since 1935, beginning as a gas station.  I visited it and found it to be a perfect subject.  It is definitely the kind of place that has a homey feel--the people that own it and that I've met there are so welcoming.  It is a place where people from the neighborhood hang out, getting coffee in the morning and/or enjoying happy hour later in the day and it's definitely kid and pet friendly.  The words from the "Cheers" song "where everybody knows your name" kept coming to mind as I'd sit and sketch and take my reference photos.  They are really active in doing things that encourage improvements in the neighborhood and Bend--like fundraising for the development of a new park close by.   The setting of the little painting with Amber that I posted a few days ago is also here.  I loved painting this and I know a big part of the reason was the interactions I've had with the people in the painting. 

"Reading the Comics at Starbucks"

10"x8"

Oil on Board

$255 plus $10 domestic s/h

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Happy New Year to all!  It feels good to end the year by painting!  I've been away for the Christmas holiday and haved missed my studio. . .

I mentioned in the post before last that I wanted to do a larger painting of this young guy reading the comics while he waited for Mom to bring the hot chocolate (or whatever!), so thought I'd work on that today.  In the study for it, I worked on a dark-ground board and wanted to try a lighter one as well as different colors.  So for this, I pulled out the pthalo blue, dioxozine purple, rose madder, cad red medium, vermillion, cad yellow lemon and white.  It's one of those paintings that doesn't quite fit the mold for my eyes and that I will have to live with for a bit before I decide how I "like" it!  Even as I say that, I realize that I do--it's just that it feels like somebody else did it!!  Odd! 

"Study of Comics Reader at Starbucks"

6"x5"

Oil on Board

$90 plus $10 domestic s/h

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I saw this little guy yesterday at Starbucks happily reading the comic pages as his mom was buying his beverage.  I worked with a triadic color scheme using alizaron yellow, pthalo blue and fanchon red (similar to napthol red) and white.  My board was prepared with a dark venetian red gesso which I thought would work well for the chair and floor area.  I really like using the darker gesso except that I have a hard time getting the lights as light as I want them.  I am going to do another version of this large, a different choice of colors and with a lighter-toned panel.  I love the subject!

"Decisions, Decisions!"

6"x6"

Oil on Canvas-covered Board

$115 plus $10 domestic s/h

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The setting of this little painting is the "Sage Cafe" here in Bend. Their cases were full of yummy pastries--a dangerous place!

I found some canvas stashed away yesterday and decided to mount it on some of my boards and prep it with gesso to see how it would be to paint on. It feels very different from my prepared masonite! I am used to using soft brushes alot and they definitely seem to be better for the smoother surface of a board. Brushstrokes are different on this canvas. I normally prep my boards with two coats of gesso, then a coat of Golden pastel ground to give it some tooth and then another coat of gesso. I think it's still my favorite support.