Sunday, November 6, 2011

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!

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