Reflecting on Dreams

8x8"

Oil on Linen on Panel

DPW

Cat on a Mission (at San Antonio de Padua that is)

Cat on a Mission

6x6"

Oil on Gessoboard

To Bid

It's been a while since I've painted a 6x6 and I had a great time working small and on gessoboard again today.   I've had this photo reference since I visited the Mission of San Antonio de Padua 2 years ago.    My friend Daggi Wallace and I took part of a paint out weekend with CAC and got to meet some great artists and paint plein air.   This was the room we stayed in (no frills:) and there was just something about the light coming in through the window, the beautiful curtains and the angles of those bed that made for a really nice composition that I snapped a picture of.  

Here is the website for 

The Mission of San Antonio de Padua

I kept the image in my files and tested it out as a value study a while back.  This is a great tool we practiced in William Wray's workshop, really pairing it down to see what parts of your image can be pulled together into one shape.     It needed a focal point and the cat seemed a perfect choice.

 There actually was a cat that lived at the mission so it even made sense to put one in.

A fun day of painting!  And it didn't hurt that I got to spend the morning with 5 other fabulous painters in our Monday Morning Painters Group.

Happy Painting!

What's your favorite color combination?

Tony's Pizzaria

6x6

oil on gesso board

This was painted from a photo I took in Ventura.  I was driving past this little pizzeria and it stopped me in my tracks.   What I was drawn to beside the afternoon light hitting the building and the awning was two colors that I seem to be drawn to.  It happens when I see it in other people's work as well as my own when it comes to what I decide to paint.   Those colors are - a certain shade of orange in combination with a turquoise kind of blue.  It seems to be such an ongoing color theme in my work and it made me wonder if other artists have favorite combinations and what they are?  

Please share your favorite color combinations in the comment section!  If you want, please include a link to a painting with that combination, whether it's your own painting or someone else's work.

I look forward to seeing what you're drawn to!