After working on the White Chief painting for awhile, the brushes and paint weren’t cooperating with me. I actually tossed a brush in the trash! It is so annoying to load a brush with paint and then have none come out when I place it on the canvas. I don’t have time for this baloney, so […]
Large Painting Situation
What is a “large painting situation”? In the life of your Central California artist, this means that all my large paintings are gone. They are now gracing my dentist’s office in Three Rivers. It was time to dive into the largish painting of White Chief that I began back in October, working to git-‘er-dun so […]
Oil Painting Workshop Day 2
On Day 2 of the oil painting workshop, we didn’t spend too much time mixing colors. Everyone took her palette home, covered in plastic wrap, and stored it in the freezer until the 2nd class. We dove right into painting, beginning with recoating the green, but this time we added details to resemble grasses and […]
Oil Painting Workshop
In the 24 years I’ve been teaching drawing lessons, I’ve never given lessons in December. But, some of my advanced students beg, plead and cajole until I cave in and give oil painting workshops during my “time off”. We start off with a little lesson in color, using the double primary palette. This means 2 yellows, […]
Growing a Poinsettia
Someone bought some cards of a poinsettia painting that I did about 8 or 9 years ago. (It looked fine as a 4×6″ image, back when I was first learning to paint. Be polite, okay?) She liked it so much that she asked me to paint the same picture for her as an 8×10″ oil […]
December Oranges
Did you know that navel oranges are harvested in December? If you are from Tulare County where the world’s best (and most) navel oranges are grown, you probably knew that. My grandfather and dad were both orange growers. I am an orange painter. A friend/neighbor called to say that her sister-in-law wanted an oil painting […]
Fruits of My Labor
I had a peach. It didn’t sell. Now it is an orange. I had some lanterns. I didn’t like painting them and didn’t want to finish. Now they are pomegranates. Welcome to the land of fruits and nuts, where you can enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Old Bridge, New Angle
The oil painting, Oak Grove Bridge XXII, sold. This means it is time to paint another view of my favorite bridge. I looked through my photos and found an angle I’ve never tried before. Is it lunch yet??
Eggs and Potatoes
Happy Birthday, Phoebe!! (23? 23!!!) These eggs sold. These eggs haven’t sold. At a recent show, someone asked me about this painting, “Brown Egg, Blue Plate II”. “Is this a potato?” Ahem. No, it isn’t. Guess it is time to rethink this painting. That blue plate was very difficult. I don’t want to waste it. […]
List of Activity
What a boring title – “List of Activity” – I’m sure that got people tripping over the Google to find this post. Not. But it has been active around my studio and art business lately with sales of oil paintings and pencil drawing commissions. Finished and sent to happy customer: Sold: Sketch approved and drawing […]