Lunchtime "A Moment's Rest"

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - Sold

This weeks submission for the Daily Paintworks "Paint Your Muse" Challenge.  You can read all about the theme there, but in selecting and painting this, I realized, though I love the great outdoors, it's the juxtaposition of man made elements in nature that really get me.

The scene can therefore be seen as a muse of sorts, and more than just "man with nature", for me it has the personal as well. Lunchtime, teatime, at your parents house, is that moment when you all take a break from the days tasks and sit for a bit, together. Never long enough, but always welcome.

This is the seating spot just outside my mother's kitchen. We don't eat here often, but it's always relaxing when we do. So close to the house, and yet your mind can wander, over the field of straw, past the trees, and the creek beyond. Ah.

Online Interview

It's interview Thursday. The wonderful painter/designer/teacher Marla Laubisch interviewed me last week for her blog. The interview is boring, because it's about me, but you should check out her website not only for her work but she also has a great tip section and lots of great links.

Read the interview on Marla's blog >>

View Marla's gallery on Daily Paintworks >>

Water Tower

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches Ω

Ok, it's an ugly little wood, milk-bottle-shaped thing, but it caught my eye. I'm not proud, but there, it is done. This photo is also terrible. The trees are really a lot greener than they appear here.

The best part was that there was a juvenile falcon that appeared in the window, watching us intently and debating wether today was a good day to try flying or not. He did eventually glide (more than actual flying) to the far end of the field. Not sure how he was planning on getting back up in the tower.

Phone Photo

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches - Click Here to Bid

Getting a jump on the Daily Paintworks' Phone Photo Challenge, so I can git outta town. Hopefully I'll get some field work in while I'm at it.

The challenge this week was to take the provided phone photo and see what we could do with it. I wanted to try two. With the first one, I tried to keep it in the temperatures it looked like in the reference, and in the second one, I wanted to try and warm it up, to represent a sunnier day.

Jelly Jar

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - Sold

I selected this scene to paint for the Daily Paintworks Gift Challenge II.  Basically the theme was to paint something that was given to you as a gift that has a special meaning to you. For me it's this jelly jar I was given years ago, made even better because the flowers in it now were another gift.

It's sitting in the window right now, and there are only three flowers (the other splotches are the reflections in the window). 

Shadow Study

Pencil on Paper - 6 x 3 inches

Another value sketch of the Conservatory of Flowers, focusing only on shadows.

Glass Haus

Pen on Paper - 6 x 3 inches 

It's sketchbook Wednesday. Actually, I've been too buy to paint recently. No, really.  But I do have to get out for a walk every day so that atrophy doesn't set it.

So I've decided to take a sketchbook with me and do some field sketches, and then post them, just so you know I'm not completely abandoning my creative development.

Above is a sketch of the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park.

Stag

Ink on Paper - 6 x 4 inches - Click Here to Bid

Starting to get caught up on the other non-creative nonsense around here and getting back to making art. And here's my submission for this weeks Daily Paintworks Challenge: The Insect Challenge. (in case you're not familiar, I chose as my subject the might stag beetle).

I'd bought a bunch of supplies to create some linoleum prints because this is something I've been itching to do. Naturally, I bought the wrong stuff. Well, wrong for the tools I had.

So, I simplified my design a bit, and just went for it. I tried printing with a thin layer of paint, but it was too hard to control, so I cleaned everything off and when with stamp-pad ink. Also, trying to transfer directly to card stock did not work, but paper did quite well.

Polka Skirt

Acrylic on Panel - 5 x 7 inches - Click Here to Bid

Well, I thought if I kept the canvas small, I'd be forced to simplify, which was generally true. It's just so hard to make a face with only three brush strokes and be satisfied with it. I mean, it would be easier if it was just one face in the crowd, but when it's the subject of the painting, it's really hard to leave well enough alone.

I must have scrubbed this face out and started from scratch a dozen times. Each time I'd just cross that line of too much detail, and wound up making everything cartoonish or mask-like.

Well, as I've found with things on this scale, that just a few millimeters in one direction or the other can really distort proportions. Not so bad with trees, but terrible when painting humans. So, head too big, legs too short, and more plagued this piece. Other than that, I really like it. Ahem.

Just another rush job, with lots of poor judgements in order to submit to the latest Daily Paintworks Challenge - Polka Dots. 

Value Study

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - Click Here to Bid

I had a short window of free time, so I set up and decided to just concentrate on values for this one, using only ultramarine blue and white. It was also easier to keep just two blobs properly damp in the hairdryer environment that is Sonoma on a hot n windy day.

Not sure if I'll turn this into a finished piece or not. I think the cropping might be a bit tight.