I Am Working!

I have done some painting in all the Thanksgiving rush. I was filmed for a couple of hours by PBS locally on Tuesday morning. So that took time and then the prep for Thanksgiving. I have begun a new small painting that is a Christmas gift so I can not show the steps until I send it off! But then I will post them. I hope to get to paint through the weekend../we will see how it goes with company in the house sometimes it is not easy. Everyone thinks I am the cook and only cook...thus I get little else done...Oh to have the joy of maid service! Ha! 
I actually have a new painting nearly drawn so as things wrap up I will be able to jump right into the new piece! Yipee!

In the meantime, here is one of the trees outside by the lake...I have now done 3 so if the weather is nice I will take a new picture. This helps to lift the spirits in these long northern nights!

Moving Closer!

Ok...I could write a book about why this is taking so long. I have been sick since Pasadena...but am improving daily now. Also I was asked to do 3 paintings for a book from Quarto Press in London which I began and was ready for the first photo shoots when my son rolled his truck and totalled it and things just had to be cancelled. He is ok...but it was a crazy few days there and the deadlines were right then...impossible for me to do. So that took time as I had 4 paintings going of the step by steps...now they are useless! ARGH!

I finally dared to just do something with the background. Yes, I considered the wash outside the window but this is such a complex piece I feared too much was going to distract from the point of interest...so this is what I have decided on...just the appearance of a shadow across the wall behind and sun coming in...Hopefully this will be enough to support the subject and not detract. I would keep painting on this but on Tuesday our local PBS station is coming to do some filming and so thought I might leave some of this now to do when they get here...but I will need to get it done quickly then and photographed as I already missed AWS submissions because of the book painting...that really got me off track along with being sick. Thanks for your patience!

Finally A New Update!

Alot has been going on and I am sorry to not be here as much as I wanted. I have had vertigo problems that are now somewhat better and then got a terrible cold which I am still battling. I also had begun work on a six step painting demo for Quarto Press out of London and had completed 3 of the steps when my son was in a roll over trying to avoid a deer and I just knew I did not have the strength to do anymore of it...my attention has to be here at home for now. Luke will be fine, the truck is totally a goner and we hope that something very good will come out of all of this.

I did get to work more on the clothespin painting...It is getting closer to the end but the background is still evading me. I thought I knew what it should be but that changed as the lighting changed in the painting... and so that has been keeping me at a much slower pace! I will think of something however...hopefully soon! Ha! This is a little crooked but hopefully you can see it well enough. The sun was finally shining this afternoon so grabed the chance to shoot it.

Dinner In Pasadena

Here is the first night of dinner with art friends. I am sorry I did not take picturs but I decided to bring my big camera in case I could capture something for a winter painting project and it doesnt flash and is so heavy I did not drag it around. Unfortunately!!!! But here is a  picture of Joyce Faulknor, Laurie Humble, Guy Magallanes and I having supper and chatting like crazy! It was fun to meet so many artists whom I have been visiting with online but never met! This was the beginning of a wonderful 5 days with friends!

ACT International Invitational

I was invited by Karen Vernon to participate in the first Act International Invitational and there are now over 100 aritsts from 3 countries involved. You can read all about it at http://artguildtexas.org/act.html 

I wanted to take pictures as I went along on this process but it was my first time ever on Ampersand and it was sure a struggle back and forth...I think if one would stick with it you could get some amazing results! I tried to do my glazing but not sure it worked as well as I had hoped. But it is done and I hope to paint more on this board through the winter months and if I get the hang of it I surely will pass along the info to you!!! SO here is my entry, Evening Peony, and it is 12x12 on a 2 inch deep cradled board. It is watercolor on aquaboard.

I'm Back!

Well I am back from the Art and Learning Expo in Pasadena. It was not full like years before and that is in part due to the economy. many classes only had 2-5 students in them and so that was tough. I did meet alot of people including a few of you from here which was wonderful!!
I wanted to get back to the clothespins but a new deadline is looming. I have been asked to participate in ACT International Invitational 2010. It requires that I paint in watercolor on Aquaboard and the format is 12x12. I have it now and will begin today hopefully to figure out what I am painting so that I can hit it hard...as it should be shipped within the next few weeks...so I will be showing you that as it progresses. I think I am going to enjoy this new surface for something different and will try to talk through problems and what I learn in case any of you would like to try that surface as well. The fun part is the paint sits on top and so it is more brilliant and you can wipe down to white very easily. Also you varnish it so it doesnt need to be under glass. The piece I will be doing has about a 2 inch cradle in wood so it will be already framed once complete which is a very nice thing!! We will see how this progresses and then on to the clothespins as I have so many lining up here that I want to do it is overwhelming! That is why I do not mind winter and being locked in...I paint like crazy and it is wonderful! This year I am setting up my hulahoop near my studio and making myself really use it inbetween washes...ha! Hopefully it will keep my back in better shape with all this tight painting! Glad to be home!

Winter Has Come!

We really missed fall this year...winter has come 3 weeks early. It came in the night on high winds from the north. A few days ago I took a picture of the back deck...the flowers were fading but still color...the second picture is today...everything is black and frozen...cold and howling winds...oh boy...Pasadena is going to feel mighty fine!!!