Happy Birthday, Ruthie! (Or is it on the 25th? Will I ask this question the rest of our lives?) Isn’t “Painting at Home” a weird title for someone with a home-based studio? My painting studio is cold and dark on a rainy day. Sometimes I paint there anyway, using an Ott light and a propane […]
On the Easels and On the Needles
And in case you were wondering if all I do is work, please be reassured that I always find time to knit. A friend is waiting for a new pair of lungs, and there will be a fund raising dinner with silent auction and pick-a-prize items. I made these 2 infinity scarves for the event, […]
Did You Miss Samson?
Samson is still around and participating fully in everything. So far he has wrecked 3 pairs of tights and a cable knitting needle. I began this painting of a jalapeno pepper, and he immediately began batting the pepper around the workshop. I encouraged him to bite it, hoping it might cure him of this nasty […]
Finished Oil Paintings
Did you think I had forgotten my promise to show you recently finished oil paintings? Nope. First, the commissioned piece. It isn’t totally finished, but I never show you the sides of the canvas anyway. It is Oak Grove Bridge XX, which means #20, but is probably the 25th time I’ve painted it because sometimes […]
Repainting Mineral King and Prudence
Happy Birthday, Gordon!! The big Mineral King mural in Exeter has faded. Yellow fades the quickest, so gray becomes purple, tan becomes gray which then fades to lavender, and green becomes blue. The mural colors were like this when I finished it after 52 days of painting in 2009. Now the colors look this way: It […]
Whole Lotta Oak Grove Bridges
Whole lotta bridges going on around here. All the Oak Grove Bridge, of course. 2 paintings, a calendar, 2 photos. Samson was busy with other things (thank you, GE for babysitting) so I tackled the bridge again. This time I started over, working from back to front and top to bottom. This layering and layering […]
Particularly Challenging Challenge
Oil painting is a real challenge at times. Getting the colors right in addition to the darks, lights, textures, shapes and proportions, along with seeing what is really there instead of what I think might be there plus adding and subtracting whatever is necessary to enhance the scene . . . it is just hard. […]
Three Oil Paintings
Happy Birthday, Robin! Today’s post is an update to several paintings in progress. I carried this one outside to the sidewalk to photograph for you. That’s what the weird gray texture around the sides is. The leaves on one of the pomegranates need another layer, because they were an afterthought. And, when it is dry, […]
He Liked It!
The Commissioner and Mrs. Commissioner were very happy with their commissioned oil painting of the Kaweah Blacksmith Shop. This little building used to be up the North Fork of the Kaweah where the Kaweah Colony was. The flood of 1997 took it away, and in recent years, The Commissioner and his wife bought the property […]
This, That and The Other Thing (and my job description)
Natalie, please tell “Jee-um” Happy Birthday from me today – thank you! This rain is wonderful. I went driving around, not just for the sake of burning fuel, but to see some stuff. Artists have to see stuff. What’s my job description? I see stuff and then decide if it is worth showing to other people. I […]