"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! 

Colors of Christmas

6"x8", oil, sold

May sweetness and peace fill your hearts this Christmas and the coming year!

"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!

"Green Pear and Mandarins"

8"x6"

Oil on Board

$115 plus $10 domestic s/h

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In the oil painting class I've been teaching, we recently focused on using specific color schemes and I realized that it would be good for me to put myself through the same paces!  So, this one is a split complementary scheme using cadmium lemon, cadmium orange, vermillion, ultramarine blue and white.  I like that this makes me work with tube colors that I haven't really used alot in the past year as I've worked primarily with a very limited palette--guess it's time to branch out!

"Malone Elevator"

6"x8"

Oil on Board

$150 plus $10 domestic s/h

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This is another painting of one of the "landmarks" of Klamath Basin (Oregon), the Malone Grain Elevator.  Though it doesn't really show it in my painting, this is one of the elevators that is slowly falling down.  It's hard to tell if they will be repaired as they age.  It seems like these elevators might be something that is disappearing along with the small and family-owned farms.  Hope not!

"The Old Takacs Elevator"

8"x6"

Oil on Board

$150 plus $10 domestic s/h

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I was down in Merrill, OR the past few days, where this grain elevator has been part of the landscape for longer than I know.  I love these old structures.  There is such an elegance about them--at least to me!  I brought this little painting out of the archives--it was done a couple of years ago after I'd visited the area on a very very cold weekend.  Pristine air, snow geese, swans--what beauties that area offers!

"Oceanside Office"

8"x8"

Oil on board

$150 plus $10 domestic s/h

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This grey day at the coast was warm and pleasant enough to be able to take out the paperwork and get busy--what a great spot for it!  This scene is of one of the participants in the Kim English workshop in September while we were taking a lunch break.  The rest of the day went from cloudy to pouring rain as it can.do on the Oregon coast.  We tried very hard to keep painting, standing under a big tree, putting up umbrellas as we could, placing the model in a comfortably dry spot, but the weather finally got the best of us!  The workshop was sponsored by Art in the Mountains and they had put together a great meal for us that afternoon of fresh-caught salmon, crab and cod (I think!).  A great feast which took our minds off the soaking we got!

This is my 600th post--how did that happen?

"Balboa Park Trolley Stop" Study (sold)

6"x8"

Oil on Board

$125 plus $10 domestic s/h

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This was too much fun!  In the oil painting class I'm teaching, we have been working with split-complementary color schemes, so I decided to go with that.  Also, I was looking at the notes and pics I took at Kim English's workshop in September and was inspired to try to see my subject in a simpler way.  I look forward to working like this more.  Even though I've painted and drawn seriously for all of my adult life, sometimes I feel like I am just beginning to see!  It is one of the beauties of doing artwork, I think!

"Rebecca"

16"x12"

Oil on Canvas

NFS

This is a study I did for a painting I hope to do soon.  I actually painted it twice!  The first one was with the palette I've been using alot over the past year and a half:  alizaron crimson, alizaron yellow, ultramarine blue and white.  The drama in it was great, the composition better, but the color ended up so muddy!  Skin tones were just plain ugly.  I decided to try it again using cad yellows, cad red, alizaron crimson, fanchon red and then cobalt blue and viridian.  It's better.  I am going to keep working on this, though!

"Anything But the Pits!"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

$100 plus $10 domestic s/h
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Admittedly, this is a strange title, but when I looked at these cherries, that's what came to mind!  They are SO BEAUTIFUL!!  It is amazing how everyday it is proven over and over that simple things can be the most affecting.  My goal today is to keep my eyes open for more of those gifts as I travel through the hours.

"Waiting and Watching"

10"x8"

Oil on Board

$290 plus $10 domestic s/h

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One of my favorite places for subject matter is at Union Station in Portland, OR.  I love the light and the reflections that seem to be everywhere and the variety of people I see.  I like going to a public place and being able to just snap away to get my reference photos, but at the station, I feel so obvious and so aware of security issues that I don't do that much anymore.  I ask permission and am often turned down--oh all those people who could've be immortalized!!  (:

"A Quiet Moment"

Oil on Board

6"x6"

Contact Tumalo Art Company for purchase information

  This is a subject that many of you will recognize as I go back to it trying different color, trying a different feel.  Needless to say, I like it!  The setting is the Memorial Union Building at Oregon State University.  It brings back so many memories--falling back into the worn, soft cushions of the many chairs and sofas in the huge room with wonderful light--trying to study and stay awake there at the same time wasn't easy!

"Kari's Daughter"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

sold

This painting is one of three "sister-paintings" of sisters.  It was nice to work with a summer subject and to imagine the feel of the sun on the skin when it is so cold and snowy here!

"Rooster' (commission)

6"x6"

Oil on Board

Sold

It's been awhile since I have painted any feathery friends and I thoroughly enjoyed this one!  It is a companion piece to another rooster/chicken painting I've done.  Speaking of fowl, happy Turkey Day to all!

"Abby Waiting For Her Friend"

8"x10"

Oil on Board

Sold

This is a commission I finished a couple of days ago.  It was a bittersweet painting to do!  Abby was a much loved dog who passed away awhile back.  She would sit at this window waiting for her owner to come home.  It was hard not to keep thinking about that while painting this, but it also made it that much more special.  I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to sometimes do these paintings that are enriching to those who commission them or receive them as gifts.  It's the best of both worlds--loving to paint and painting something that is loved.

"Betty-Boop Jammies"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

Sold

This was so fun, I could paint it again and again!  It's one of three paintings of the daughters of a woman who has a framing business here in Bend (Framer's Corner).  It is such a challenge to do these little things when you really want them to look like the person you're portraying--when it works, it feels like a true gift from above!

"Balboa Park Busker"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

$100 plus $10 domestic s/h
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This time last year, we were in San Diego--warm and sunny!  This young guy was playing beautifully at Balboa Park.  I have been working on getting together 30 6x6 paintings for a group show at River Bend Fine Art Gallery, here in Bend, OR.  This is one of them.  I can't believe I'm finished! 

"Pomegranate" (sold)

6"x6"

Oil on Board

I spent all morning working on a little figurative painting, wiped it off twice and got fed up and walked my dog!  I've been wanting to paint some of the beautiful produce that we've raised/traded.  So this is today's result!  Actually, I need to do this more often.  It feels so much more direct--both the process and the painting.  I know some of the best have said that if you paint from photographs alot, you REALLY need to paint from life alot, too.  I believe it!  Besides, I have to admit that it is just more fun to paint from life than to be looking at a piece of paper!  Uh-oh.  I may be opening up a can of worms for myself.

"A Closer Inspection"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

contact River Bend Fine Art Gallery for purchase information

This is a study of a fellow named Burke who was looking at art in one of the galleries I've shown in recently.  This started out really tight.  I was trying to paint him full-figure and after not enjoying it for too long, I wiped it off, focused in on his upper body and just painted it!  I enjoyed the spontaneity!

"Tobey, Mighty Mite!"

6"x6"

Oil on Cradled Board

NFS

Yesterday, our dog Tobey and I went for a walk along one of the river trails here in Bend, home of an absolutely GREAT parks and rec department.  I took a photo of him after he had scrambled up onto a boulder and this is the resulting paintng.  I love working with backlit subjects and I used black gesso on the board.  Nice to work on!  I couldn't possibly think of doing anything with this painting other than giving it to my husband!

By the way, I am available for commissions for your pet's portrait!

"Cruisin' Through the Park"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

Going through my photos today, I came across this one given to me by a friend and there we go!  I loved the carefree feel of the kid on his rollerblades.  It reminded me of riding my bike when I was a kid, feeling the air go through my hair, just being so into the moment. . .the wonderful thing is that it doesn't have to stop when you're a grown-up!  Think I'll get me some rollerskates!

"Breakfast Conversation"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

contact River Bend Fine Art Gallery for purchase information

I wish I could have overheard the conversation going on here!  They were so involved on a Saturday morning--makes me wonder what went on Friday night!

"Finely Crafted"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

$100 plus $15 domestic s/h

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I imagine this scene of people browsing at a Saturday market could be seen just about anywhere, but THIS one happens to be this past summer in Ashland, Oregon. Ashland is such a beautiful town, lots of culcha!

Here are TWO NEW DAILY PAINTERS that I hope you will check out. They both work in oils. Though I've been doing mostly figurative paintings, their work inspires me to do some still lifes. Gwen Bell's blog address is http://gwenbellsdailypainting.blogspot.com and Becky Drees's is http://beckydrees.blogspot.com. Enjoy!

"Willamette Valley Hillside in Autumn"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

contact River Bend Fine Art Gallery for purchase information

I love the Willamette Valley in the fall--big old Douglas firs against the cloudy sky, lots of color in the trees, the rich color of the farmland and the "spring" green of the grass. It's such a contrast from the high desert landscape I live in. I had to go to Portland yesterday which takes me up through the Willamette Valley and pulled over somewhere around Silverton and did this little painting from the car. Doing so definitely enhanced the travels!

Commission--Papa and Pup

6"x8"

Oil on Board

NFS

I was asked to paint this for a Christmas gift--it was so fun! The Papa looks like such a jolly guy and I LOVE anyone who obviously loves their dog!

"Little Britta"

6"x6"

OIl on Board

Sold

One of the framers I work with has generously offered to trade frames for paintings of her daughters as little girls and this is one of them. The children are beautiful. Painting from the older photos is a learning experience for me, though--working with pretty small images and wanting to get enough information in the painting so that Kari will "see" her children in them is a challenge! It brings me back to trying to see the value shapes in the faces, depending on them to give me a foundation to build on. It shows me how important contrast is in a case like this. The painting's so small, that when I try to do a detailed face, it looks very strange! I find I do best with getting the impression.

"Santa Monica Pier #2"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

contact me for purchase information

I am getting together a group of 30 6x6 paintings for a special show over the holidays and this is one of them. Besides painting new subjects, I'm going back through images I've enjoyed working with and want to do again in a different size. This one was first posted as a 5"x6"painting in May. Click here to see it. I love the subject, the light and the colors.

Study For "Wedding Day"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

$140 plus $10 domestic s/h

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I've been wanting to do a larger painting of this image (my niece the day of her wedding), and was only thinking of her as the subject with no background. I looked at the photos, though, and liked the story that it suggested. She was at her childhood home, looking out the window after she had put on her wedding dress. Maybe she was just conscious of the fact that pictures were being taken of her, but, then again, maybe she was thinking about what lay before her that day.

"Cleaning Up"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

contact Tumalo Art Company for purchase information

Anyone who waits tables (or has, like me!) knows this moment when all of a sudden the customers have left as fast as they rushed in earlier and you are faced with the daunting task of cleaning up everything and getting it ready for the next rush. This painting shows a waitress at the J&M Cafe in Portland, OR who is setting up the tables for lunch after the breakfast crowd has left. I have painted this image before a few years ago and have wanted to do so again, just to see if it would be different. This painting is a little looser than those that came before, the paintings in the background softer. I think it reads better.

"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.

"Purple Boots" (sold)

20"x10"

Oil on Board

 

I have been totally immersed in an illustration job the past couple of weeks and just got back to painting! I have missed it so much! I had "purple boots" laid out to paint 6 weeks ago, but like my roughing in so much that I was intimidated to finish it! Yesterday, I just figured what"s to lose?!!! I needed to just paint and let be what will be. I am reserving judgement on this one as I don't feel like I'm seeing it very objectively right now! What I CAN say, is that it was just very satisfying to be putting paint down!

"Looking Seaward"

6"x8"

Oil on Board

$115 plus $10 domestic s/h

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This golden was at the beach when I was there a couple of weeks ago and I enjoyed watching him running in the water and just doing what dogs seem to be so good at--being alive!

"Late in the Day Shadows"

8"x6"

Oil on Board

$115 plus $10 domestic s/h

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I loved the dramatic shadows and the warm light of this scene. My goal with the painting was to get my statement down quickly and not overwork it. I maybe should have softened the edges of the shadows a bit. . .

"Doggie Meet & Greet" (sold)

6"x8"

Oil on Board

Mazzerati, Ace and Tobey are doing their thing at a local dog park. One of the highlights of my life this year has been meeting a group of people that faithfully bring their pups to play at a beautiful park where off-leash play is the norm. I just wonder if those dogs have a clue about how smitten we are with them! Awwww, sure they do!

"Just Looking" (sold)

12"x12"

Oil on Board

This painting was created at the suggestion of someone who saw "White Winter Coat". He thought it would be fun to have the viewer be looking at MY paintings rather than someone elses! I liked his idea, and here it is. It was really fun to do. I loved working with those whites!

""Better Without the Glasses" (sold)

6"x6"

Oil on Board

These ladies are looking at paintings (mine, actually!) at a First Friday Artwork here in Bend. I really like the body language of the two of them and their interaction with the work. I've painted them once before but decided to do it again as I am curious about revisiting some of my past subjects since I was at the Kim English workshop. I'm trying to approach my work a little differently--more spontaneous, getting the shapes down and trying not to get into the rendering for some time. It is a challenge!

"Kaitlin Texting"

10"x8"

Oil on Board

$275 plus $10 domestic s/h

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Here's the larger version of Kaitlin texting. My past few paintings have been experiments with a different color palette--adding different reds, blues, pthalo green and alot more white than I am accustomed to. By the time I finished this painting, I was missing my regular palette of colors alot! I do like the softness of the pastel colors on this painting. I also have another view of Kaitlin walking down the street that I've begun with my traditional palette, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it will be different.

"Study of Kaitlin Texting"

8"x6"

Oil on Board

$115 plus $10 domestic s/h

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We were on our way back to our painting class when Kaitlin stopped to text and sip at her soda. As I look at this painting, I'm thinking about what could be done differently like letting the dark underpainting form the tone for the chairs on the left, the overhang above them and the cars on the right. I started another painting of this subject when this was finished, but ran out of time. Tune in tomorrow for version #2!

"In the Study Lounge"

10"x8"

Oil on Board

$250 plus $10 domestic s/h

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I have painted this subject before but was curious to see how I would handle it after the Kim English workshop. Kim really stressed value masses and getting the statement down quickly. It is a personal challenge for myself not to get too bogged down in detail and rendering right away and I feel like I succeeded pretty well in avoiding that. I have used different color palettes when I've painted this subject which it so red! This is my favorite of the red-toned paintings. The colors, though neutralized, have retained a fresh feel.

"On the Docks, Newport Bayfront"

8"x10"

Oil on Board

$135 plus $10 domestic s/h
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Posts have been few and far between! Spending all this past week in the painting workshop, I thought I'd have lots to post, but my laptop wasn't letting me do so and not alot of the paintings I did were finished. This was, though. I painted this before I did the one in the previous post--the light had changed considerably. My main focus was working with value shapes and trying to make a unified composition. A few things were very different in this workshop from how I normally work: one was the color palette which had many more colors on it than I am used to working with. Another was using bristle brushes and trying to get plenty of paint on. And the third was trying to paint rapidly, getting the statement down as quickly as possible. It was all good practice and I think I'm going to get myself a timer to try to keep working on spontaneity.

"Alicia Painting" (sold)

8"x6"

Oil on Board

This week I have the good fortune of taking a workshop by artist Kim English. This is a quick study of one of the other participants that I painted yesterday. We are in Newport, Oregon and had a gorgeous day on the bayfront yesterday, painting boats and docks and each other. To watch Kim paint is well worth the $$ of being here. Today we began on the beach on a cloudy day which, unfortunately turned to a wild downpour in the afternoon. We tried really hard to paint but had to quit in favor of a dinner of fresh caught crab, salmon and cod. Not bad! Tomorrow, though, we are back inside painting the figure. Really looking forward to that!

"A Real Classic"

6"x6"

Oil on Board

Sold

What a great pose this fellow has while sitting in the gallery listening to his classical music! I should have taken artistic license and put the painting "Whistler's Mother" behind him!

"Soaking Up the Sun"

6"x8"

Oil on Board

$115 plus $10 dometic s/h

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I've painted this little guy, Scout, once before as he was racing some other doxies. He's a handsome guy! And it is just starting to cool off here enough to remember how good it feels to sit in the sun and let that heat sink into your skin!

"Sweet and Sour"

6"x8"

Alkyd Oil on Board

$115 plus $10 domestic s/h

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This is a painting I did as a demo in a workshop I taught recently. What a joy to go to the market and have so much color to choose from! Tasted good, too.

"Walking Down Wall St." (sold)

8"x6"

Oil on Board

$115 plus $10 domestic s/h

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I am going to take a workshop later this month from Kim English so decided to do a painting with the color palette we were told to bring with us. I am so used to using a certain few colors that it was really refreshing to see what came of this. I am SO looking forward to the workshop!

"Evening in Dodds Hollow"

6"x8"

Oil on Board

$125 plus $10 domestic s/h

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Summer evening in Dodds Hollow, which is in the Klamath Basin in southern Oregon. . . I grew up on a farm here and I think it will always be about my favorite place. In this painting, the hay is cut and ready for my brother to get it baled.

"Simpatico"

16"x12" unframed, 22"x18" framed

Oil on Board
contact River Bend Fine Art Gallery for purchase information

I did a little 8x6 of this subject a couple of years ago and have wanted to go larger with it ever since. I love the solid feel of the two of them together, taking care of each other. The scene is at a rodeo. Maybe you'll recognize the cowgirl in the boots, hat and dress from another painting.

"Watermelon Party"

6"x8"

OIl on Board

$115 plus $10 domestic s/h

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In July I led a painting workshop and this is one of the paintings I did during it. I've had that piece of cloth for three years now and have been intimidated by it, but when I sliced up the watermelon, I just had to put them together! It was a really fun painting to do.

"Happy Hour at 900 Wall"

16"x12"

Oil on Board

contact me for purchase information

A local restaurant, 900 Wall, is the setting of this painting. I enjoyed painting from the perspective of the loft and I was attracted by the late afternoon light.

"Little Reader"

Linoleum Block Print

$55 includes domestic s/h

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I carved and printed this linoleum block print as a gift for the mother of the subject. Like yesterday's post, this is one of those pieces that was just a joy to do! This is a very limited edition of 4 prints plus 1 Artist's Proof. I used Daniel Smith water-base relief printmaking ink on a lightweight Japanese-style archival printmaking paper. The prints were made without a press and the image measures 5 5/8" high by 5 3/8" wide.