Christmas fruit

This little piece (4x4) I painted as a gift to my daughter's friend who was joining us for Christmas Eve dinner. I didn't know until the last minute that she was coming, and I did want to give her something to remember us by. I had a 4x4 "block" lying around and it seemed so apropos since it can sit on a shelf or ledge or hang in any little nook or cranny. I had fun and she seemed pleased. Can't get any better than that. I have always enjoyed painting these little orange gems.

White on Black Exercise-"Cracked Pot"

On Friday I used this little still life to transition from my work week to my weekend of painting using a white object against a black backdrop. Not only do you get to see the variety of colors within black, but how the white object interact with the blacks. I saw both warm and cool colors in the enamel. I had natural light coming in from a north window. The surface was a painted wood table and then there was a warm wood door in shadow as the backdrop which I chose to put in as a solid surface. I had found this coffee pot in an alley and the bottom is so badly burnt that it is rounded and all the enamel has cracked off. Who knows what happened to whatever was in the top - but I use it as a vase. Just a fun little painting that is 12x9.

1300 South Pearl St Alley

The Saturday class assignment for last month was to do a white on white painting. I posted the still life I did in class already but I happened to see this alley while walking my dog, and thought what a great "white on white" landscape. I went back with my gear and first blocked it in, and then went back and finished it over the Thanksgiving weekend. I probably should add a bit more color into my whites to jazz it up but it was stark white in the glare I was getting. The far back building has some yellow in it and the trailer has some blues and pinks, but I think I need to force that concept further. This painting is 11x14 and may be used for a larger version. I sure do enjoy painting outside once I get myself out the door.

Weekend Work

I will post a few of the pieces I worked on this past long weekend. This first one is from a photo reference I took while in San Francisco the end of October. We walked Ocean Beach in the wind and rain and these two ravens were walking the wall  next to the entrance to the beach. This painting is 20"x30" and I am not sure it is finished, but it is pretty close. I am sitting on it awhile. I don't have a name for it so if any on you have any ideas, I would love to hear them.

This next painting I started a few weeks ago, got stuck (ie didn't feel motivated to work on it) and then just got to it. The reference I am using for it was taken this summer in what I call my parking strip garden (ie it is on the other side of our sidewalk, next to the street). I was going to keep it pretty graphic in the background but then I got started on breaking up the dark shape of the shadow that was across the street. I have not completed that because I am  not convinced I like it. This painting tentatively has the title of "Day Lily Riot" and it is 20x16x1.5. There is a swallowtail butterfly in one of the day lilies.

This little piece is 12x12 and I started it plein air while in Taos last May. It is of a little church that was a few blocks from the B&B we were staying in. I went out before breakfast and only had a short time to get the block in done. It has been sitting around awhile but I was finally motivated to finish it up. The church is called "Neustra Senora de Dolores."

And for something completely different is the painting above that I found while cataloging my inventory last week. I did this still life in Guilford, CT 5 years ago. I was enamored of my friends collection of old hammered pitchers. I did a few touch ups on the two pitchers in the middle ground as they just didn't read right. I also took out the solid black background that just was too dead and put the bluish purple back there instead. That was a vast improvement. I had done a number of w/c studies of her collection, so I did have something to go by. They are just such fun shapes.

Now the Work Begins

To have won The Best of Show at the Littleton Museum's "Own an Original" has quite the weight attached to it. To have one's own show is a wonderful gift. Most times when a person has a one person show, however, they are not expected to come up with 90 paintings! I have had a few one person shows at galleries and I think the most I had at any one show was 35. To get my self in order, I have started to inventory those paintings I have that I would put in the show, then those that I would use if I need them; next I have marked whether the painting needs a frame. I placed my first frame order just the other day, so I can spread out the expenses throughout the 9 months. I just about used up all the prize money I won (but have not yet received)! I am trying a new online frame shop so if I like what I ordered, I will let everyone know via a blog post. Their prices seemed pretty darn good, no tax and I got free shipping. I am glad that most of my new larger pieces are gallery wrapped stretched canvas so I won't have to frame those. I may buy one floater frame to see how I like it, though for one of the smaller profiled wrapped canvases. Organization I hope will keep me on track. The other day I put my list in a spreadsheet so I can keep track of it all. and yesterday I managed to pretty much wrap up two paintings and almost finish a third. May the rest of the weekend continue on such a "roll."

Best of Show

Last night was the opening of the OWN an ORIGINAL juried show at the Littleton Museum. Was I surprised to learn my painting, "Reading@the Metropolis," had won BEST OF SHOW? To say the least!  Not only did the painting earn me a cash prize but also a one person show to be held at the Littleton Museum next September/October. I must have 90 paintings ready to hang for the opening on Sept 15. I take this as a challenge.

Last week, Tuesday November 9, was the opening for the 4th Annual Denver Plein Air Exhibit. This exhibit is located on the 7^th floor of the main Denver Public Library. I discovered upon arriving that my one painting, "Curious Red Door," had won an Honorable Mention. I don’t yet know what that means other than a ribbon, but this is the third year in a row that I have been in this show and won an award (2 years ago I received a $100 gift certificate for my Honorable Mention but times are tougher now).  I seem to be doing well at the local level, so I need to continue to put my paintings into the national arena as well. That is much tougher competition, of course, but at least I have gotten into 2 out of the 3 national juried shows I submitted to this past year.

Black and White

The last two Saturdays I attended Kevin Weckbach’s class. Oct 30 was the critique for the month’s homework assignment. I had not been in town to attend the class at the beginning of the month so I had to glean what I could out of the email that was sent with the assignment. I misread it, so I did the following still life thinking it was a use of “mother” color and that mother color was BLACK (ie every color I put on the canvas should include black in the mix, even if the “color” being applied is white). Instead it was supposed to be a still life of “Black on Black.” To do this I should have had a black backdrop and all the objects should have been black. The Reflective objects I used where fine as well, since they would have reflected all the black around them to make them appear “black.” I failed in that I did not do the assignment correctly, but I passed in that I did the project correctly based on my criteria. I also timed myself so this was a very quick painting. I gave myself 1.5 hours to do a 14”x18” canvas. I cropped out a roll of blue paper towels as they just didn't add anything to the composition.

November 6 we painted in class doing “White on White.” The same concept using all white objects, back drop and table top. It is 11x14 and it took me the whole class time to do it. (10 am-1pm) We did not get to a critique but Kevin said I was getting it. The point of these exercises is to pay attention to the color variations within a color grouping, ie there are warm whites and cool whites and what reflects into or bounces off of each surface also impacts the color.(that is a billy goat's horn (hollow) on the right-not really a white but we got away with it.)