two dog night...

well - we celebrated ruby's 7 month birthday by having a sleepover!! - we brought her crate up to our room earlier this week and, after some play time, bedded her down each night...and she was such a good girl! - we took away the squeeky toy the second night and got a better sleep...so last night we decided, after she romped around on the bed and then settled down with nels...maybe we'd let her stay! and stay she did...and she was a good girl...but i don't think there's any turning back now! she is one smart puppy and she intends to spend every night from now on nestled somewhere between our leggers and her big sister - my goodness...what have we done???...on another note, i think i'm finally ready for the opening tomorrow - spent the afternoon down at the gallery, helping set up - i took a few pics of some things i forgot to photograph here so i'm not sure about the quality - here's my painting entitled "the butler way"....go dawgs!!!!

OH..MY..MERCY!!!!!!!

"Big Poppies" 36x12 oil on gallerywrap canvas here's another of the paintings i did recently...one i really like..and i just got a phone call from my daughter boogie...telling me she loved the "elizabeth" painting and did i realize i said "gone with the wind" was my favorite movie of all time!! - oh man... yes i said that and yes i know elizabeth taylor was NOT in that movie..it was vivien leigh, for crimeny sakes...but i may have had a glass of wine or something..or maybe my mind and memory just went out the window...wow!...anyway...just wanted to clear that up!... i'm getting ready to haul a big bunch of stuff down to bob's stillframes gallery and then home to work some more on the butler painting. when i photographed it this morning, as so often happens, the camera catches something i miss so it's back to work for me!

bobby flay..where are you?

i just had, without a doubt, the best meatballs and spaghetti...the ABSOLUTE best warm spinach salad i ever tasted....and all here in my own home.... i'm tellin' ya...MY BOY CAN COOK!!!!!!!

"Pears"

4x12 oil on gallery wrap canvas here's a very small piece for the show - i've been so busy today - and i think i'm actually ahead of schedule. the problem is, i still have ideas in my head for paintings but i don't think anything else will dry so i may have to call it a day. i still have tons to do - but i'm getting very excited! hope somebody shows up! tomorrow i'll post this big butler painting i did - sort of a leroy nieman sort of dealie...

butler homage.....

i can't post it yet but it will be dry tomorrow - sort of a leroy neiman-esque basketball painting...done in acrylic...honoring butler of course and their amazing run...not over yet, hopefully...i think i may have to be done painting for the opening on friday - nothing i do from here on in will dry, i'm thinking..unless i have time to do a bit of acrylic stuff...but there's much to do to prepare - framing, catalogueing,(?), organizing food and drink...i'm getting very excited...just hope some people can get away for a bit to join us...

my homage to elizabeth...

24x18, oil on gallery wrap canvas

....we share the name elizabeth...her first name, my middle name...but she was something, wasn't she??...she had violet eyes and i'm not sure they come through on this photograph but violet they are... she had 7 husbands and eight marriages..(she married richard burton twice...couldn't help herself, if you remember)...i heard years ago the reason she kept getting married was because she wouldn't sleep with anyone she wasn't married to and she was a very passionate person...can you imagine that philosophy in today's society? how refreshing!! and a bit whacky..i loved gone with the wind..i think my favorite movie of all time..and the original father of the bride..although we love the steve martin version around here...(that's an-i-mal..... armani don't make no blue tux-ah-do......)...anyway - i wanted to do this painting in memory of this grand old dame - reminds us all that we must be getting a bit older and i hate to think that way...i swear i'm getting younger...at least that's my story and i'm sticking with it....

the puppies were a hit!!!

i was able to present the puggle painting yesterday...and i think she really like it!! - she welled up pretty good!..and that's always a good sign!! planning to spend the whole day upstairs and maybe i'll be able to post something later.

"home-made"...painting for japan

6x6 original oil on canvas panel

so i managed to get this done today. it's for the japanese relief effort and i encourage you to go to the daily paintworks website (www.dailypaintworks.com), click on the challenge and bid on one or more of the fine pieces of art you'll find there...it's for a very good cause and all the money raised goes to help the displaced japanese people. this piece is a smaller version of a very large piece i did for the upcoming show and, provided it doesn't sell during the run of the show, it will then hang in the sweet rose bakehouse. i spent much of the day doing mundane stuff...cleaning up after my very bad puppy...she's now tearing up stuffing and chewing up plastic bim bags but she's still a good little girl...sort of...spent a good bit of time doing necessary promotion for the show next friday and then jen came over for a much needed game of rummy - we were both so ready!!! i'll be able to paint some in the morning and then it's up to indy for a baby shower and on to see our new IU recruit in the high school basketball finals. kokomo's in it, my hubby's alma mater and he's very excited, to say the least!

i need a name...

36x12 oil on gallery wrap canvas

i didn't get this cropped very well and i don't have a name for it yet - it was hard to get it to stand up straight but i think you can get the idea...it's dry enough to carry around and possibly by later today i can varnish it. there are more up there that are still too wet. i need to work on my painting for the japan relief today. hope to get to that when my chores are done!

reallly getting excited!!

just have a moment to post something...i can't post any paintings because everything is wet but i'm having a wonderful time and doing some very fun stuff...(at least phyllie likes it...)..all in preparation for my show that opens one week from tomorrow!!!! i am freaking out.....

high rollers...big winners!!!!

10x20 original oil on gallery wrap canvas - NFS

home from our trip and are we ever happy to be back! - we had to sit through a two and a half hour presentation - they wanted us to spring for a time share condo - to the tune of 17% interest...can you say...what?"??!!?? - who did they think they were kidding?? - probably most of the potential suckers they had filing in and out of there. they actually brought in two different closers and when they finally got it that we weren't interested...they were over us so fast and couldn't wait to get us out of there and on to the next fool!!...but we did have a good time in the sports book - couldn't stay in there for too long at a time because of the crowds and the smoke...but it was fun to have a little action on the games. i'm happy and proud to say we won $1100.00!!!!!! - and yes, all we had to spend to win that amount was $1000.00!!! and the only thing that saved our butts was a four-fecta we had on yesterday's games - we won florida, uconn, butler and san diego state...and they all had to win for us to win this particular bet. we're doing some virtual gambling on today's games and thank heaven we aren't using real money!! - the thing is...you may have picked the team that wins but they have to cover the point spread or you lose your bet, even though they win the game. BIG lesson for moi!!!...but we had fun and had some great food and saw this fabulous show called mystere - a cirque de soleil show - fantastical, to say the least!! - so now it's home and on to my show ...but first i had to do a little puggle painting for our dear friends' first grandchild. i have some other stuff drawn and looking forward to tomorrow. there's a new challenge from the daily painters i hope to get to - it's a fund raiser for the disaster effort going on in japan. all the paintings will (hopefully) be auctioned off and the proceeds go to the efforts. so i'm encouraging all who read this to go to the site and buy something - maybe mine?? - when i do it?? for now, i'll post these little puggles.

sweet rose's bakehouse

one more thing....yesterday i stopped in at rose's to chat about the art i will be doing for her walls. jen met me there so tils and ollie could have a sweet. when i arrived tillie was digging in to the most gorgeous-looking thing i'd ever seen. it was coconut cream pie and i swear it had a 5 inch meringue on top!! of course i had a bite and it was the best i ever tasted!!! i mean the best! - and then there are the cookies...i love "george's" the best - chock full of good things! anyway - for you locals, it's just been open for 2 weeks and it's located at 16th and home avenue, in the old "terra cotta" building. i'm telling you....good people and good sweets!!!!!

"girl in a straw hat"...a la mary cassatt

20x16 original oil on stretched canvas

so this is the painting i've been working on for a while...another mary cassatt homage...the top photo is the original image...a bit oil stained at the lower left because i'm always picking it up to get a closer look.....i have always loved this painting..the tenderness of the child, her very big straw hat, the simplicity of the piece...and i think i've finally captured her essence. we leave today for las vegas and i think i'm all packed. (actually i'm not packed at all but i have things in piles)...i hate when i'm not living in the moment...at this point, i'm excited for our trip but ....i can't wait to come home and get back at it!!!!

"Steppin Out"

12x12 original oil on gallery wrap canvas
so my friend diane brought me her fancy ruffled kickers...gorgeous shoes and so much fun to paint! - we head to vegas tomorrow and since we're only taking carry on luggage...yes, you heard it here...i'm not sure my computer will make it. i may be totally on the loose with no supervision and i may get into all sorts of trouble....

new work...

i did a fun high heel painting yesterday but it's not quite done - meanwhile i met the nicest lady who's opened a new bakery in town. i stopped in there friday, looking for cookies for the grands and our sleepover...she was closing and was out of cookies - a good thing since that means they've been busy - but then she thought she might find some i could have - she doesn't sell anything a day old so we lucked out and got a few lefties....also ...she had very bare walls...just opening and all..and i am going to do some pastry paintings for her..maybe a cupcake, some milk and cookies, a big juicy piece of pie...we'll see... hoping to get to the studio one more day tomorrow before we head to vegas for the first round of the ncaa's and the sports book...and a few shows..and some great food...and a time share tour...ah well...can you say "CHEAP VACATION????"....should be fun and i'll be well rested and ready for art when i return!

two paintings...

we had a great time!! - never did get to rummykub...too much other stuff to do...the kids stayed up much later than i did..but thanks to jase, i got to hear about all their exploits in the morning instead of being right in there for them...we hit the hay about 9:30 and according to the kids they stayed up til 11:00, 1:30, 2:30, 4:00, you name it...and jase was in charge! - so all in all it was a huge success and so much fun to be together! we actually climbed trees this morning...some of us...and then i managed to get to my studio this afternoon for two paintings..which i will post...

getting ready for the grands!!!!!

no painting to post today...yesterday was TAX day - we went to drop off our numbers to our tax guy and once again...i think i may be getting some phone calls...i really try and squeeze every last bit of write-off possibility out of my business...and i still think it's terribly unfair that the pieces we artists donate to various organizations - and i do several each year - are not in anyway deductible. we can deduct the cost of materials but not the fair market value. the person buying the art gets the deduction - good for them - and bless them for buying the work! - but still a bummer for the artists. anyway...enough of that...i am preparing for the onslaught of 5 - count 'em FIVE - small to medium-sized people...we're having a sleepover at gan and pap's and everyone is very excited! - they love to get together and i think it's been since christmas since they've all been under the same roof at the same time...i can see a lot of rummykub in my future since they all love to play - even joe who's going to be four in june (the youngest) - well..maybe he just plays along and doesn't actually play. but the rest of them are really good and getting better all the time. ollie (5 last november) LOVES it when he beats me! and i'm no slouch!! my good friend katie taught me this game a summer or so ago and little does she know she has created a monster! - a bunch of monsters, actually, since my girls are freaks now, too!..we also have toy story 3 and a new game of kid's clue and of course plenty of popcorn and the wii is all ready for them. i think the frenchies from next door may even join us for a while!! what fun we will have! and tomorrow...if i have one ounce of energy left, i will head to my studio. i bought some gorgeous white roses today and thursday found a wonderful blue ginger jar at the antique mall...hoping to see how they fit together for a still life. stay tuned!!

dressing table

6x6 oil on canvas panel
well - i got home from my match today...and there was my boy..announcing that i had gotten a "D" in tax preparation! and here i thought i'd done a presentable job - i forgot we both had to get new cars last year...( can you say sales tax?)...and i forgot to put our household numbers on his desk..i HAD them...i just forgot to put them with the rest of the stuff. i told him he could handle my tax stuff next year and take over paying the bills if he was so inclined!! - no painting today...planning to get back at it tomorrow - we have an abe lincoln challenge so that should be fun! and i got some interesting sizes of gallery wrap canvas at michael's on the way home - can't wait!

One Shoe...Red Shoe....

original oil on 6x6 gallery wrap canvas
after working almost all day on my taxes yesterday..i'm still not done! - and i have a tennis match tomorrow so i must finish today!...just a quick post so i'll think i'm doing something....

"One Shoe...Blue Shoe"

original oil on 6x6 gallery wrap canvas
so today is the dreaded "tax" day....the day we get organized to hand our taxes over to our accountant....and, according to my hubby, unless i get my work done, i can't paint!...SO!...i've been sitting at my desk for the past two hours...working on my taxes!! - i don't have a computer program to keep track of all my stuff...just my trusty notebook! will i ever get dragged, kicking and screaming, into he 21st century?...my eyeballs needed a rest so i'm having lunch and thought i'd post one of the small paintings i've completed in the past few days.

carol marine's challange..

6x6 oil on canvas panel
here's my rendition of this week's challenge -we were supposed to put one stroke down and leave it and mix another stroke, put it down, etc. ...the object was not to noodle so much -to keep the paint fresher...this is hard for me - i tend to go back and rework things - STOP THAT!!! - i'm heading back to the studio to try and finish the mary cassatt works ...i may do another one - i love her so much!

back to the studio...and mary cassatt...

i'm finally back to work! - the picture on top is the one i'm copying...and then my painting is below...as i look at this through the camera's eyes i can see some things i need to fix - i neeed to adjust the values for one thing...plus she has a unique, sad and pouty look and i'm trying to capture that! - i found a book on mary cassatt i had around here and it shows a big close-up of breakfast in bed...i've been agonizing over that one and, after seeing her art so close, i think i know which way to go. she was actually very loose and used a tremendous amount of color...i'll work more on that tomorrow. i've also done a few small pieces - i need to wait til it stops raining so i can photograph them on the tripod. too blurry!..i'm trying to paint some new things for my opening the first of april. i don't know if i mentioned that i will be doing a one-woman show and it's thrilling but nerve-wracking all at once!..i had a good day today - i love this painting - at least i will when it's finished - mary was quite something - and my inspiration at the moment!!!

zippo challenge...and other stuff...

6x6 oil on panel

so here's the latest weekly challenge - this comes from michael naples (you can access his site from the list on the right)..he was so helpful and encouraging to me when i first started this journey! - he's a member of the daily painters and they are providing a challenge a week - i actually missed this one because we were on our golf trip to doral...carol marine's issued this week's challenge - single stroke painting. we're supposed to paint something - whatever we choose - and put down a stroke and leave it - this will be good for me - i tend to go back and rework things - what they call "licking" - oftentimes this is death to a painting because it can take the life right out of it...so i'm looking forward to this! - we have to go to a calling today - the second in as many days...we lost two good people this week - my friend and fellow artist, catherine burris and a wonderful educator and athlete, steve hollenbeck. so sad and such losses for the community! ... maybe tomorrow i can describe a bit more about our trip and maybe find some pics. we took some videos but i'm not sure i know how to do that - we'll see...

what a mess!!

ok - so we're home from our trip - i had to cancel my tennis match because of re-entry issues...picking up dogs, having a new garage door installed, going through mail...housework...laundry...and then - to finish off our day - i get home from errands and find that the phone, cable and internet is all down!!! - i felt like there was some sort of conspiracy going on - you know...get everyone to rely on comcast for everything and then jerk it all and you're at their mercy. that's what it feels like - nobody can get here til tomorrow - we do have electricity so maybe i can do some painting yet... i'll tell more about the trip tomorrow - i'm on my verizon chip and i can't use up too much time.

today...the blue monster!!

i haven't even taken a photo yet...davey's gotten a couple - we're having such fun - discovered last night that if you go to joe's crab shack in miami beach...and they take your name and say you have a two hour wait...you can go next door to the take away area and order and buy a bottle of wine and sit at one of the tables - no waiters..no dark atmosphere..but the same food and i felt like i was stealing something!!! -off to play the blue monster today - the last of our courses - the pros play it in two weeks and it will be great fun to watch that after having just played it@!!

taking a break...

i did a bit of painting yesterday...trying to finish my copy of mary cassatt's "breakfast in bed"...so i can varnish it and be done. i have so many half-finished and unfinished pieces up there...and...we're heading to doral in miami on saturday so i'm busy packing and organizing. taking my laptop so i can post some pictures of the gorgeous golf courses we'll be playing. not sure if i'll get to my studio anymore at all for the next week so i'll be dying to get back at it by then!

carol marine's 10 minute challenge..

this week's challenge was to do 8 ten minute paintings of any object from life. you have to use a timer and when it goes off, you're DONE! - this is great practice and i learned a lot. i used different colored papers under my pear and turned it around a bit - on the last one i used a reflective paper and i thought that was neat. the object was to really look at values and shapes and paint what you see. i used 2 6x6 panels and divided each into four areas so the whole piece is 6x12. as i mentioned earlier - you can go to daily paint works to see all the entries - last i looked there were almost 200...i've been a bit tardy in doing mine but i really wanted to get to it before the next challenge so i won't get too far behind!

whew!!!

it's almost two p.m.....and the kids all just left...we spent time scurrying around to tidy up the house before pappper gets home from saving lives...and did it ever need tidying!!! but that's what happens when you're having fun. this morning tillie, ols, joe and i all had a rousing game of rummykub....joe, who's 3 and a half, mostly played along and did what we told him to do but tillie (8) and ollie (5) are really quite good! we played and played and got down to not many tiles left to choose from and finally oliver won!! the little sh%#*t!!...we watched movies, did puzzles, played games and generally had a great time..and i'm enzausted (as my kids used to say),,so no painting today...resting and watching the IU game. back to the studio tomorrow for sure!!!

blue nude

14x11 oil on stretched canvas
this is the other painting i did yesterday..or was it wednesday?...i'm not sure it's done but i had a great time with it! - today a tennis match in indy and tonight a sleepover with 3 of my grands...what fun we will have!!!!

i couldn't stand it....

so i've been working on my bathroom redo...picking out tiles..talking to people...really getting excited! but i also HAD to get back to painting today...my studio's not done but i had to! - i did a small flower study with pallette knife and a blue nude. i posted the flower today but now i have to go and eat dinner....my hubby's been patiently waiting!!

making progress...but who can tell!

so here's what i'm contending with!!! MY SPACE IS SUCH A DISASTER!! (didn't mean to do caps but thought it was fitting)...i've spent hours and hours on my project - first of all i went through my reference books to figure out which ones i have to have and can't part with...the rest i'm giving to the new senior center. i'm also going through maybe 20 years of three art magazines, culling the articles i need to keep and then the rest will go to the center. i've gotten all my paints on that one table...watercolors, acrylic and oils...the boxes of pastels are in a closet in another room, along with frames and stretcher bars. i've spent hours going through my reference photos, trying to throw some away but it's hard for me. i will get there!! - my friend lillian suggested i do a painting of the mess. i couldn't figure out how to encorporate the whole room and then i thought i might just throw some stuff together and take a few pics and think on it...we'll see...as i look at this photo i can see it needs to be a little better designed. i also want to do carol marine's latest challenge but i have to do one or two more good days of work before i'll allow myself back to the easel. you can see last week's challenge at www.dailypaintworks.com ...i think there were 80 entries last time i looked. this challenge is for us to do 8 ten-minute paintings of one single object. should be fun! ok - onward and upward!! and my nubby is so happy for his pack!! great game and now we can get ready for golf!

bummer...

ever have a day when nothing turned out the way you wanted it ?? that's the way things have been going in my studio lately. i totally reworked the nude i had on the easel and you know what they say..."it's never done til it's over-done"....well i over did it...and all i can do at this point is trash it! - i also discovered, while searching for something for what seemed like hours on end, that i have serious organizational work to do up there. every workshop i've ever taken...every video i've watched...every book i've read...all have one thing in common - an organized work space! - and anyone who's ever been in my house can attest to the general clutter! - i love to have interesting things around me - mementos, gifts from children and friends, antique shop finds, you name it. my studio is a disaster. i have a zillion refence books on watercolor, pastel, oil, mixed media, etc... i'm always cutting out things for reference, saving bits of this and that in case i ever get into collage...every issue of all the art magazines i've ever taken is up there..shoved in cubbies, piled in stacks..i'm not even going to try and count the tubes of paint...and i just ordered more, of course!! so the bottom line is this: i'm going to take a few days and really "work in my studio" in stead of the way i usually "work in my studio"...i'll report on my progress! and wish me luck!

carol marine's challange..

i think i'm finally finished with the first carol marine painting challenge (http://www.carolmarine.blogspot.com/). it's a rear view of a vintage chrysler imperial and i think we actually owned one when i was growing up! i wiped my first one and then reworked my second attempt and i'm thinking i need to move on. there are a ton of entries..and there's no prize - it's just a chance to respond to a weekly challenge and i'm psyched for it!!! i also did a little figure study which i'll post tomorrow...meanwhile!!!!......our hoosiers won again!!!!! - and we weren't there!!! - the roads were so bad we were not allowed to travel to bloomington, according to the state police...so rats..but yeah!@!!!!!

3 color cloud study

big sky 6x6 oil on panel
today we had the threat of a big ice storm hanging over our heads so i went out to my car to get ready for tennis and i saw that my car was totally iced over and i almost killed myself on the way out there!! you know when your feet fly out from under you and you fall or nearly fall on your bodoon?? i am so agile for a 65 year old so i caught myself and thanked my guardian angel and promptly went in to call and cancel tennis!....had the day unexpectedly to myself so i plunged into my art!! - so today i wanted to do a cloud study. i have some panels that i gessoed earlier so this has lots of texture in it. maybe too much, as i look at it, maybe not.. but a good chance to practice...i also wanted to work with a limited palette so this was done with just ultramarine blue, cad red medium and lemon yellow. titanium white, also of course. you can make all the colors you need with just the three primaries. i intend to try lots of different combos of the primaries...maybe cobalt blue, light red and yellow ochre, maybe cad red light, cad yellow light and ultra or cobalt or maybe even cerulean blue...i love the combo of hansa yellow and quinacidrone red...very good for sunsets but i've never done a whole painting with just those two plus blue...lots to look forward to!!!!

view from the "W"..in progress..

i'm trying to portray the cavernous feel of new york city..not sure i'm there yet but this has been fun to work on. this might be looking down broadway and i love all the bright signage everywhere. my hubby's finally on the mend..although he's still wearing his t-shirt that says "i'm not out of the woods yet"...it's come in very handy over the years...

times square..(i think)..

so i finally got back to my studio - i finished quang ho's video on the still life and you'd think i'd go straight up and do a still life..and i will...soon...i have lots of subject matter to choose from - but i have to figure out the lighting situation. when i started this daily blog, i set up very small things and i used a spotlight but i'm trying to find a way to use natural lighting and still be able to see what i'm doing. that will take some working on...in the meantime, and i'm sorry for the glare, this is from a photo i took on our trip to new york about a year ago. we stayed right on times square in the "w" ..a neat place to stay but not very roomy. they had a mirror stretching across most of the room, behind the bed, and i couldn't figure out why i looked so terrible in everything i tried on. then i realized: it was a "fat" mirror. you know how some mirrors are "skinny" mirrors and you could just stand in front of them all day??? not so much this one! so i figured i could eat anything i wanted because it was just the mirror, after all....anyway - this is not a view of times square - i know i have a couple photos of that but i think this is looking down one of the streets leading from times square. i'm not finished but i kind of like how it's falling together - loose and looser...

my sick boy...

well - i haven't done any more work on tillie and ols but i did a little project for my friend sukey today - i feel like i'm still totally immersed in art because my second batch of quang ho's videos arrived and i've been watching the one on still life...mesmerizing...i can't wait to get at it! - the problem is..i have so many things i want to try and i just need to get started...practice practice!! - i spent yesterday unpacking my package from jerry's (whee..it was like christmas!!) and organizing my paints and brushes a bit...also starting to think about the redo on the bathroom and met some nice people at lee's supply...don't give me too many decisions though...sometimes i can't decide what to order when we go out for dinner...not sure i'll get to the studio tomorrow because i have a tennis match - plan to stop at the downtown midland to work on my wall there since i sold my lady in the hat. most of all...i need to be sure my hubby's ok - he came home sick from the ER yesterday and he's been sick all day today - we're finally going to try some good ol chicken noodle soup...here's hoping!!

tils and ols..

ok - so i'm still working on these guys...i like ollie better but tillie's still not quite there...she's very angular and i don't have things the way i need them to be...more work tomorrow...meanwhile, linda callahan came by yesterday and made a cd of several paintings to show her client...hopefully we can find a fit! - and the best part:...a huge box arrived today from jerry's artarama!!! yeah@!!!!!

starting tillie and a bit more of ollie...

spent some time in my studio this morning because this afternoon holds nothing but sports! - hoosiers play at 3 and then the playoffs so i needed to get crackin!! i'm liking ollie a bit better - i softened and shortened his chin and that helped a lot. starting on tillie - they both have very angular faces, tillie in particular.. and it's tricky to capture the chin, the nose, all the angles - without making them look too old...i'm really working on getting the right drawing, shapes, proportions...color is a sidenote in these studies...ok - so off to the ballgames!

today i wanted to do a study using a lot of paint and not a lot of blending. this is a painting of my grandson ollie - i'm thinking this is what he'll look like in a few years. it's hard with kids not to get too angular and that's what's happening here...i'll work more on this tomorrow - i have a whole bunch of paint out and it's fun...can't wait to get back up there!!.....i want to give kudos to my daughter boogie. she participated in the "bop to the top" this morning! the "bop" is an annual RUN/WALK/CRAWL up 37 flights of stairs in the AUL building in indianpolis. boogs did this 2 years ago and really wanted to beat her time from then..and she did! - by a good margin!! - she's been training for this for weeks and she's so happy it's over! - it's very hard on the lungs, not to mention the rest of the body. so we are very proud of her!!! way to go, boogs!~!!!!

no painting today...

in keeping with my new year's resolution of doing something art-related every day...i spent a whole bunch of time ordering from jerry's this afternoon. plus i'm getting ready to finish a video i'm in the middle of...but most importantly...i spent some time gathering images. my friend linda callahan has a client who wants to hang several of my pieces in a hallway overlooking a stairway i think...anyway..she's only choosing giclees (digital prints, most likely on canvas) so she can get the most bang for her buck. linda's coming over tomorrow to take several for her to choose from. i'm excited and hopeful at the same time!!

sneaking up...

i'm sneaking up on them...i would love to stage a scene like this, using my kids and grandkids - and give it a go! actually all of my grands are too old to stage this - bummer! - anyway - i'm having a lot of fun, trying to mimic her brushstrokes and color ..it's been a long time since i saw this in person at the chicago art museum so i can't really remember..but i think she painted rather thickly - i think the underpainting of cool color worked as i painted over in warm flesh tones..there is so much color in her skintones..remarkable!! anyway - i'll let this rest for a day or two and go back and see what else i need to do. i have a couple other cassatt images i may tackle. NEWSFLASH: i just found out i'll be doing the last one-person show at bob anderson's stillframes gallery - that will be in april and i have much to do to prepare. i have enough pieces right now to hang a show but i sure want to do some new work especially for this opening. should be good incentive!

breakfast in bed..by mary cassatt...in progress...

so this is what i've been doing this afternoon...it's always such a good thing to copy the old masters because you learn so much...remember the vangogh sunflowers i did? - and actually i've done "breakfast in bed" before which i sold.....but that was several years ago and i'm thinking i'd like another crack at it! - mary cassatt was such a fabulous artist - i'm not sure if she started off with cool colors under her skin tones but that's what i'm doing here. the first image is her painting..then my start - getting the drawing in and starting the darks...then the cool undertones of the skin...may work, may not...but i'm thinking it will...i'm rather sneaking up on this and i'm having a lot of fun!!!..the reason it looks so strange is i completely lost track of time...(davey says i do that a lot..)...and i had to quit very abruptly so their faces are so unfinished...be patient...i'm hoping tomorrow will be good...!!

grand canyon study

6x8 oil on canvas panel

so i started the edgar payne book...it will be fantastical!!! - just getting started and so much to cram in my head - i feel like i'm in school again!...anyway - i wanted to get to the studio this morning because of the games today so i started another study of the girl from yesterday. i worked for a while and then took a break for lunch and when the bears game appeared to be a blowout, i trotted back up there to finish the piece. but....it was not working so i wiped it!!!decided to do a landscape piece instead because that's what i've been reading about...so i searched through some photos and found several from many years ago. we visited the grand canyon with our good friends tim and katie and i took lots of pics! - i did this small study..of the grand canyon...oxymoron?...i quite like how it turned out and i think i may do a larger piece one of these days for the gallery. fun day - now to the jets - patriots game which has already started AND to a glass of wine!!

study...

6x6 oil on panel
so yesterday was a very good day!!...first of all, i wanted to do a portrait study...i have so many images around and not having the luxury of a live model to work with..( by far the best scenario)...i looked through my stuff and found this exotic looking gal from an old anthology catalogue. she has a very unique look and i may just paint her over and over to see what happens. also, my edgar payne book "composition of outdoor painting" arrived yesterday..and i've really been anxious to get into that. it was written in 1941 and i can tell i'm going to absolutely love it! i have so much to learn and the principles of outdoor painting apply to every other type of painting and so i'll dive in soon!...also we went to a delicious dinner with good friends before the IU game - and we finally got a win!!!!! - they played great defense and pruduced enough offense to pull it out. the best part was that they withstood michigan's late rally and in past games they just faded...couldn't get over the hump. now they know they can and we're looking forward to the next game!!...and then, to top things off, when we got home there was a check in the mail from midland in carmel. i sold "missed opportunity", my painting of the lady in the hat. it's bitter-sweet because we were about to bring that one home and hang it over the fireplace cause davey loved it so much. ah well - at least it's found a good home and someone else is hanging it...perhaps over their fireplace?...... plus, i forgot, the pack won!!! my hubby's a happy boy!!! - looking forward to today's games - after i've painted of course!!! ("christmas vacation", anybody?)

first project

mountain stream study 6x6 oil on panel

today i tried three things: i wanted to practice tonal painting so i started with 3 values (or tones)- darkish, medium and lightish - hopefully it shows that in the first photo ( for some reason my photos are a bit glary!)..and then i wanted to maintain those values throughout the painting. i also used a limited palette: light red, yellow ochre and cobalt blue - plus black. i found a big tube of zinc white which i don't think i've ever used so i wanted to experiment with that. not so sure about the zinc white! - not so crazy about the consistency.... not wanting things to go to waste, however..(remember the starving children in china?)...i may just try it again. i'm planning to go through a lot of paint this year so maybe i need to use that up to get rid of it! (waste not want not...) i could work on this more this afternoon but i think i got out of the exercise what i needed and i may go on to something else! we're kind of snowed in today so i may just head back up there! - finished my quang ho dvd and i must say he is something - i love his philosophy and he has so much to offer!

i forgot to mention..

i plan to keep a diary of the journey i'm on - so i'll try and post as many of the practice pieces i can...sort of like starting over with my daily painting series - only with a more purposeful intention! i'm sure there will be some real losers but that will be fun too - wish me luck!

i'm getting excited....

i've decided this will be the year i get better!!..and to that end, i've spent the last several days reading, studying, ...yesterday and today i've been viewing my new video by Quang Ho..one of the artist's recommended by david slonim...boy is he good!! i am so excited to get started - but i think i need to order some student grade paint to use for practice - i really don't know if this would be a good thing - they always say " use the best quality paints and brushes you can afford"..but i intend to go through a lot of paint in this next year and i may have to think about the frugality of things...ive been through kevin macpherson's new book and he lays out a bunch of exercises - more grist for my mill...i'm thinking if i'm just doing practice exercises and not intending to sell the pieces, i might as well use student grade paint, right? but sometimes wonderful things happen along the way so would it be fair to use lesser grade paint? im at a loss! i'm posting a couple studies i did last week - they need work but they were fun to do..this one above is a ballerina tying her shoe - very loose...but fun

will and lucy...

...
here is my rendition of will and lucy at the beach...i had to work a bit because for some reason lucy was looking more like my daughter jen than her own self! she's better now! we're welcoming in the new year rather quietly - didn't even stay up to see that ball drop..but then again, we almost never do@! easing into 2011 but i have big plans for getting back to painting on a more regular basis - i've just ordered a couple dvds and books - hope it won't be information overload! happy new year!

happy new year...almost...

we have had quite the time!!!...first the prep...pounding, flattening, rolling up and otherwise preparing chicken breasts...and then the feast.....imagine seven adults, five children and three golden retrievers...all gathered on sunday to celebrate christmas. of course the kids had to open their gifts right off the bat...keeping the dogs at bay as best we could. they had a high old time and then went off to play and wreak havoc on the house...this time the flat screen in the basement was spared!!) the colts game started at 4 so we decided to do our presents at half time and then eat dinner after the game...more time for rummykub for the girls, of course....so it was COLD!!! - and the guys were snuggled on the porch, smoking cigars and drinking beer and scotch and wrapped in hats, coats and blankets..what a hoot! when it came time to start up the deep fryer, the guys realized we hadn't thawed the peanut oil left over from thanksgiving (did i mention it was cold?)...and things were just not working! - water and oil don't mix, after all...so the girls ran out to get more oil and we poured out the old and started over. we sat down (quite late) to our chicken kiev..our christmas dinner tradition...what a wonderful feast with all the trimmings and the dishes and pots and pans that go with. i always use my good china at christmas...hand washable......so we wake up monday morning - and after the dogs come in from their morning ablutions in the back yard, we notice ruby's not acting quite right...drinking lots of water and nuzzling me even more than usual. then i smelled her breath. the tell-tale scent of peanut oil with just a hint of kiev told me all i needed to know! - what on earth?...then we found a pan of oil on the ground - part of the first batch that had been poured out and she apparently helped herself! - think about how good a greasy meal is going down and then how bad your tummy can feel later...times twenty five, i'm thinking!!! i won't go into the gorey details but she threw up in the family room - BIG time - and then had continual little grease burps all over the kitchen, where i decided to contain her. then she had huge outside explosions..from both ends...and i finally called the vet. davey had gone off to work of course and i had the whole aftermath of the feast to deal with...a task i usually relish because i take my time and remember all the fun...but with a sick doggie?? - thank heavens she's all right and back to her wild and raucous self, dragging things around...and i'm cutting this short (*short?) because she's at this moment trying to climb up in my chair with me. i'm going to start posting the kids pics. the one above is baby joey - from their christmas card. and as an after thought i 've added some pics of my grands from our thanksgiving gathering...the first is their thoughtful pose and the second their normal pose....here's to a happy and healthy 2011!!!