In the Mood...

I really got in the mood to paint after my success with "Standing Guard". Since there was still time to spare and I really didn't want to venture out into the Black Friday madness I just kept going. My next painting was a potential contender for this year's Christmas Card "Christmas Cardinal". By the time I finished that and cleaned up it was time for dinner.

"Christmas Cardinal" 6"x6" oil on masonite available thru DPW click here for more info

Today after sitting down to write our annual Christmas newsletter (yes, we are those kind of people - we like to let folks know what we've been up to and some actually want to know), I sat decided to try a still life using a brass vase and some sunflower-ish flowers I had on hand. It was another fun one to paint. I seem to be enjoying the process more and more on each painting. I wonder why?

"Sunny Posy" 6" x 6" oil on masonite will be available thru DPW tomorrow.

Visible Improvement

Sometimes you just paint along and it's hard to tell if you're really getting anywhere. Anyway today I picked out an old photo to paint from and realized it is one I had attempted "en plein air" during a workshop a few years ago at a friend's hill country ranch. The painting I ended up with the first time did not work. I never even finished it since the start of it was so dismal. With lots of practice behind me and a better feel for what I wanted to do, I tried the same scene again this time from a photo in the studio. This time the painting I ended up with was one I was proud of and very happy with. Putting the two paintings side by side is the best illustration of how far I've come as a painter in the last few years. It's good to see that you are making progress.

"Standing Guard" 6"x6" oil on board $35 available through my gallery on Daily Paintworks click here

On Wednesday I had fun with a photo I took downtown on 6th Street while out painting with Plein Air Austin. The photo showed some historic buildings on 6th Street (our entertainment/clubs district) and the skyscrapers including the Frost Bank Tower behind them. The buildings were challenging, but I really enjoyed trying to render them in paint.

"Sixth Street" 6"x6" oil on board available through DPW auction click here for details

On Saturday I went to a mini workshop with Susan Carlin at the Windberg Art Center. It was put on by Central Texas Pastel Society. Susan did a demo in the morning during our regular CTPS meeting and those who chose to pay a nominal fee could stay to do the workshop in the afternoon. The idea was to paint a simple still life with just one fruit or veggie as a subject. I found that the hardest part was to try to represent the fabric we used to drape our still life boxes. I managed to do two pieces, my pomegranate and the persimmon I borrowed from a friend. I was pleased with both pieces and found the workshop very helpful.

"Pomegranate" 8"x8" pastel on Wallis paper/board available through DPW auction click here for details

"Persimmon" 6" x8" pastel on Wallis paper/board available through DPW auction click here for details

Come See Me At E.A.S.T. on Sunday at Stop #71

I'm so pleased to have confirmed a booth space this Sunday at the East Austin Studio Tour. It's at the Clay  River Studio EAST stop #71 at 906 Koerner Lane just off Bolm near Airport Blvd. It's just behind Big Medium. I will be there from 11 to 6 on Sunday November 20th showing my work and selling my new 2012 Art Calendars. Come visit with me and I can show you what I've been up to over the past few months.

Today I met with friends and we painted at Bull Creek again, only this time we painted the other side of Loop 360. There was a lovely little pool of water below a cliff of big bolders. The fall leaf colors were lovely. It was a cloudy overcast day, I'm sure it would have been even more lovely in brighter light. I called the painting "Peaceful Reflections" however the three little girls there on a rock hunt were shrieking and making it anything but peaceful for much of the time we were there.

"Peaceful Reflections" 8"x 8" oil on board.  Listed for auction at DPW. Click here for details

On Tuesday I hosted a paint out for Plein Air Williamson (County). Naturally it was the day we finally got some rain. No sooner than I arrived it started to rain. Only two other intrepid painters showed up and one got called away on an emergency so the two of us remaining set up under the railway bridge to shelter from the rain and made the best of it. It was really nice to finally see a little rain around here. Kinda wish there had been more of it.

"Rainy Day at the Park"  8" x 8" oil on board. Listed for auction at DPW. Click here for details.

Another Arty Week

"Abstraction I" 6" x 6" oil on board check out the Daily Paintworks Auction here


Somehow another week has sped by. This week I attended Life Drawing, two plein air paint out sessions, showed and sold my work in a holiday market, and spent two afternoons looking at art at the annual E.A.S.T. (East Austin Studio Tour). What a wonderful art filled week. I was inspired by some of the art I saw this weekend to try my hand at an abstract painting. The result is "Abstraction 1". I had so much fun playing with it that I may make a series of "Abstractions". Next weekend E.A.S.T. continues and I am considering taking over the space our friend Nancy Germond occupied this weekend and try to sell my art. Judging from the prices in most of the studios, my art would be very underpriced, but that might be a good thing. Christmas is coming and it should be a good time to market my work. Since I am attending a workshop next Saturday, I would only be able to display on Sunday, but since the landlord of the space is agreeable to renting me space for just the one afternoon (at a great price) I think it might be worth a try to see what happens.

"Texas Grazing" 8" x 8" oil on board check out the Daily Paintworks Auction here

"Texas Grazing" was painted at the Michaelis Ranch in 30 mile an hour winds. I won't guarantee that there is not quite a bit of Texas dirt embedded into the paint. The wind was relentless all morning. My friend Susan and I had set up a table to display our paintings at the Holiday Market that Mrs. Michaelis is putting together each Saturday running up to Christmas. She kindly offered us the opportunity to sell our work as well as the opportunity to paint at her beautiful ranch. The table only blew over once, but some of the paintings (fortunately all dry ones) blew off the table several times. Oh the joys of painting en plein air.

"Fall Colors from the Creek Bed" 8" x 10" oil on board check out the Daily Paintworks Auction here

Painting together with a few friends in the dry creek bed of Bull Creek on Friday. The fall colors improve every week. It is perfect weather to paint in Central Texas this time of year. Cool in the morning but warming up to t-shirt weather by about 11 am.

"Distant Barn" 6" x 6" oil on board check out the Daily Paintworks Auction here
When I painted this one, I was simply painting it straight out of my head. There was no reference photo. I had started to paint a horse and failed miserably, so I wiped it out and started over just trying to create a pleasing scene from memories of driving through the US. This is what came out.

New Paintings and News

As my friend Susan S. mentioned yesterday I have been rather remiss in keeping up with my blog. So let me  catch you all up on my news and what I've been painting lately. 

The Round Rock Art Space Show closed last weekend and I was very pleased to find that 3 of my "wet" paintings sold in the silent auction. 

Today I painted with Plein Air Austin at Westlake Beach before their annual picnic. It was mostly dark and cloudy with a little intermittent rain - something we need so badly that no one complained at all. The trees were resplendent in their fall colors and the grounds were just lovely. This is my painting from this afternoon.

"Westlake Beach Marina" 8" x 8" oil on board $45.00

On Friday I painted with a few friends from Laurel Daniel's class at Bull Creek.

"Dry Creek" 8" x 8" oil on board $45.00 (or bid in the DPW Auction)

On Wednesday I tried the Daily Paintworks Challenge "Paint Your Pumpkin" using the example they offered and adding my cat Coco.

"Leave it alone, Coco" 6" x 6" oil on board $35.00

On October 29th I painted with a group of Plein Air Austin painters in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Austin. I chose to paint the Avenue B Grocery. It's a wonderful old store that is in the middle of a residential block. It's been in constant operation as a grocery store for over 102 years and has been in the current owner's family the entire time. They serve the best sandwiches in town and are very reasonably priced. We sat outside at the picnic benches and had lunch there after we finished our paintings.

"Avenue B Grocery" 10" x 8" oil on board $50.00 (or bid in the DPW Auction)

October 28th I tried the Daily Paintworks 10 minute paintings challenge. The objective was to paint a simple still life multiple times with a strict 10 minute per painting time limit. I used one board and divided it into four parts. I then painted my pear from various angles using a kitchen timer to measure my time. By the third one I found I could finish in less than 10 minutes.

"10 Minute Challenges" 6" x 6" oil on board $25.00

October 27 I painted another cat portrait in pastel. This one is a portrait of my mother's cat, Josephine. This will likely be one of her Christmas presents this year.

"Josephine" 6" x 6" pastel on Wallis paper. Not for Sale.

October 25th another plein air excursion, this time with Plein Air Williamson (county). Oddly all the members who attended were also members of Plein Air Austin. We met to paint at the Hill Country Water Gardens nursery. It was a beautiful day and the lilies were stunning. I couldn't resist trying the main lily pond again. This time I tried to capture the Koi in the pond as well as the lilies.

"Koi Pond" 8" x 8" oil on board $45.00

On October 20th I met Plein Air Austin friends for an impromptu paint out at Barton Springs Pool. Unfortunately, the pool was closed for it's weekly cleaning (it's always closed on Thursdays, but we didn't realize that until we arrived to paint). Faced with that problem we did what all good plein air painters do, we improvised. We walked down to the spillway below the pool and painted there instead.

"Hints of Fall" 8" x 8" oil on board $45.00

October 19th found me attempting another Daily Paintworks Challenge painting. This one was extra challenging for me as portraits, particularly children, are very difficult for me. The challenge was to create a simplified painting out of a very complex photo. I decided to focus in on just the head of the little girl rather than the entire scene.

"Cute Challenge" 6" x 6" oil on board $25.00 (or bid in the DPW Auction)

October 18 found me scrambling for a subject. I painted several that I wiped off in frustration. Finally late at night I got this one finished and posted. In fact I was so late I missed that day's paintings and it posted for the following day - I couldn't believe it was past midnight already.

"Barely Hanging On" 5" x 7" oil on board $35.00 (or bid in the DPW auction)

October 16 was a small landscape from a photo taken on our last Colorado camping trip.

"Highland Meadow" 6" x 6" oil on board $35 (or bid in the DPW Auction)

October 15 and I painted a close up of a Poppy I took when staying with my in-laws in Evergreen Colorado also from our last trip there in July. This painting sold at the Jonestown Street Festival where I shared a booth with my jewelry making friend Denise Donnelly.

"Sunny Poppy" 7" x 5" oil on board SOLD!