Apples in Tarnished Silver

5"x 7" Oil on gessoed board.
not available

After life gets in the way of painting for short periods of time I find it so hard to get back into the daily discipline of painting. As I approached this still life it was as though I was uncertain of how to even begin. For a painting that should have been done in one session, I noodled on it here and there over three days. Placing it in the freezer to attempt to keep it wet only partially worked so some repainting of areas was necessary to keep it fluid. The original has a cooler red in the apples, which is always hard to depict in photos.

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day tomorrow! Please honor those who have given their lives for our nation but at the same time keep our farmers and ranchers prosperous and eat lots of corn, tomatoes, potatoes, and hamburgers!!!! And don't forget the ice cream!

Back from Seclusion

I've learned a lot this week. I'm totally hooked on the internet, blogging, email, ebay and all things related to connecting with the outside world via the computer. Last Tuesday our phone line went dead due to some upgrading by ATT on the neighborhood lines. Because we use this line exclusively for DSL internet service I was not happy. Upon calling in a repair report I was promised a "by Saturday" repair date which did not happen. It was today (Monday) that we finally gained our phone service back, thus our DSL internet connection.

Six days without that "outside" connection was much harder to bear than I ever expected. It wasn't just not being able to check my bank balance, email, pay bills, sell on ebay and communicate with customers, but I felt so isolated. Usually I spend some time most days checking on the art community family on line. Having made so many connections, I have the sense of being part of an artist colony walking in and out of artist's and friend's studios and sharing in our work. It was pure painful withdrawal that I felt this last week being cut off from all the inspiration, encouragement and knowledge that I gain from you all. It's great to be back!

I haven't accomplished too much in the way of painting this last week. Below you will see the one painting I did finish, a commission to paint another "Tarzan and Mary Jane" piece. It was commissioned by an ebay collector that missed winning the original painting. I think this is the first "re-paint" I've done and was more difficult than I thought it would be. The client wanted it to be as close as possible to the first painting, so concentrating on a likeness proved contrary to staying loose and spontaneous with brushwork. I pulled it off, but it wasn't as "fun" as painting the first painting. The process of this assignment felt familiarly like my past illustration work in which all art is commissioned. I learned to appreciate my current freedom to paint those things that inspire me day to day. What a great joy and privilege!!!

"Tarzan and Mary Jane #2"
6"x 8" Oil on gessoed board.

Commissioned work - sold

Grandpa Elliot - New Orleans Street Musician-SOLD

"Grandpa Elliot"

6.5"x 11" Oil on gessoed board.

New Orleans is known for it’s many street artists and musicians. My husband was born there, has family there and we have spent many vacations in the French Quarter, the enchanting old section of the city. Recently on a fellow artist’s blog ( Vern Schwarz ), Vern posted a painting of a street musician, Roger Ridley from Santa Monica, California. The painting was inspired by a video of some fabulous street artists from all over the world performing “Stand by Me”. What a joy and inspiration it is watching these musicians perform one of my all time favorites! I’ve painted performer Grandpa Elliot in New Orleans who you’ll find in the video mix. Vern and I have immortalized two of these musicians and maybe you’d like to join us. Link, enjoy and rock out!

Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai - SOLD

"Cloudy Day in Shanghai"

5"x 7" Oil on Ampersand Gessoboard.

Click on images to enlarge.

I was looking through my Dad's travel photos and fell in love with a few of his from a trip he and Mom took about 10 years ago. This is a scene in Yuyuan Garden in the old city area of Shanghai. It is a classical garden built during the Ming Dynasty with over 400 years of history.

This was a bit too complex for the small 5x7 format and I included more detail than I wanted. You know how that goes! Someday I'll try this in a larger scale but for now, just zoom in on those detail shots and pretend like they are life size!

This maybe have been good practice for the next cityscape DSFDF challenge. I don't have much (hardly any) with that subject and am really looking forward to it. I'd love to go to NY city and paint there - let's go!