1. There is a strange thing about my daily paintings of fruit. Have you noticed that all of the fruits begin with the letter “P”? This is truly peculiar. Peculiar P Paintings: pomegranate, persimmon, pumpkin, pear, pepper, plum, peach. It is true that I haven’t shown you all of these in this particular series, but […]
List of Random Subjects
Not For Sale. Pencil on Paper. Approximately 5×7″. Currently Untitled. Today is a list of thoughts for my regular readers. Irregular readers may peek too. (Take that any way you wish.) Congratulations to Sophie, Leslie, and Kim on winning a prize. They were the first 3 folks to subscribe by email via a new gadget […]
Why I Make Art, #3
Reason #3: I make art because it is my job. (Duh, hunh?) Some people make art because they feel like it or because they can; I make art because if I don’t, there is nothing to sell. Being an artist is a great way to earn a living, even if it is not always easy, […]
Why I Make Art, #2
His Other Car Reason #2: I make art because I feel compelled to do so. When I was a child, I would get this overwhelming urge to make something. “Mom, I feel like making something.” She probably dreaded those words. She’d send me to Highlights to find a project. We NEVER had the materials, even […]
Always learning
If you’ve been reading this blog in the last week or so, you are aware that I have a large, nay, HUGE (I refuse to accept “ginormous” as a word), nay, ENORMOUS project underway. There is much to be figured out, tons, freak-me-out amounts. (Deep breaths, deep relaxing breaths. . .) One of the things is […]
Sneak Peak
I’ve dropped a hint or two about a lot of drawings coming up soon. Here is another little preview, but I’m not ready to disclose any details yet. This is for 2 reasons: 1. The details are a little squishy and 2. If I think about it too much, I will have to go lie […]
Let Us Spray
This is what drawing student Gerald said to me when he finished his drawing. “Spray?”, you are asking, even as you read this. (Yes, I can hear you.) Spray fixative is one method of preventing the finished drawing from smearing. Framing is another; workable fixative is a third. I’ve been told it adds “tooth” (that […]
Teaching without a degree
Honeymoon Cabin, pencil, 11×14, unframed, $300 A few years ago I took 1/2 a semester of oil painting at a local junior college. I learned more about painting from only the primary colors, and I learned about layering (called “glazing” in Artspeak). I learned that I need more light to see than a 19 year […]
Old and New
In 1906 the Smith Hotel collapsed. That was in Mineral King, and it was the San Francisco earthquake that caused its demise. Those Mineral King pioneers weren’t easily daunted – instead of wringing their hands in defeat, they pushed together the pieces and created the Mineral King Store and Post Office. 1969 was a heavy […]