Afternoon Stroll

Afternoon Stroll

12x12"

Oil on Linen on board

DPW

The painting on top here is the Final version of the painting I started on location 2 years ago.  As with anything painted plein air it has a certain freshness to it that I love.  I just wasn't thoroughly happy with the foreground rock formation:-)  Worked on it the other day and even though neither of the photos probably captures the exact color temperature I feel that I resolved a few things...and it only took me 2 years?!:-)

And whether it's an improvement...only you cant tell.

I have a lot more paintings sitting around my studio these days, waiting for that final critical step...

Wendy Wash

Wendy Wash

Oil on Canvasboard

16x20"

My favorite part of this painting is probably the simplicity with which I painted the trees in the back.  I'm trying to say more by doing less.

It's a great local spot.  I love the fact that you can find water in this wash almost any time of the year and it's home to several kinds of birds and critters...right in the middle of Newbury Park.

Speaking of saying more with less.

I recently listened to a great podcast on the Ted Radio hour on "The Source of Creativity" and what it means to be in the flow.

From the website:

Part 2 of the TED Radio Hour episode The Source of Creativity with Charles Limb

About Charles Limb's TED Talk
What happens in the brain during musical improv? Researcher Charles Limb scanned the brains of jazz musicians to find out.
About Charles Limb
Dr. Charles Limb is an Associate Professor in the Johns Hopkins Department of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery, as well as faculty at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. He combines his two passions to study the way the brain creates and perceives music. He's a hearing specialist and surgeon at Johns Hopkins who performs cochlear implantations. In his free time, he plays sax, piano and bass.
In search of a better understanding of how the mind processes complex auditory stimuli such as music, Dr. Limb has been working with Dr. Allen Braun to look at the brains of improvising musicians and study what parts of the brain are involved when a musician is really in the groove.

As artists I feel that we experience this state of being in the groove as well.  You know how some paintings just seem to flow without any effort...Why is that?  This Ted Radio Hour speaks to why that is and what happens in our brains when we are in that groove.

There is also this one phrase said by host Guy Raz on the show that really stayed with me in regards to getting out of our way....:
  
"... practice doesn't make you perfect, but it does help you stop thinking that you have to be"

I've been thinking about what it is that really makes us improve as painters/artists etc with time?  And what has struck me is that it seems to have  a little something to do with building confidence.

Practice helps build confidence in the fact that you start knowing more about  the technical aspects of the craft of course, but more than that, what it also seems to lead to (on a good day:-) is that:
With confidence - I can play more, be bolder with my paint and braver with my brush strokes etc. because in a sense - I care less about getting it right.  (or as this study explores; with practice, I'm shutting of that censoring part of my brain that gets in the way of the natural flow of creativity).


If you are an artist, what do you feel it is that happens with time, the longer you have painted and practiced?   What do you feel happens for you when you're in the flow?

A boat ditty

6x6"

Oil on Gessoboard

DPW

Here's a little ditty of a boat...:-)  A close-up of a boat in the Ventura Harbor.  Perhaps not a ditty though? as I just learned that a ditty is a short song...but I just like the ring of it!

Enjoy!

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!

Nantucket Walk

Nantucket Walk

Oil on Canvasboard

10x10"

Sold

Here's another piece that never made it into a blog post before it sold.   It captures one of the many sunny days we had as a family on the east coast last year!  It's also a reminder of how important it is to make sure you get a photo to keep of all the work you do:-)...

Underwater Wonderworld

Oil on canvasboard

20x24"

I'm happy to announce that this piece is being purchased by the Community Memorial Hospital for their Maternity and Pediatric Floor.   I have a special place in my heart for art being placed in hospitals to bring some joy to patients and visitors!

Barn Treasures

Barn Treasures

8x10"

Oil on linen on board

Got to paint by this old barn of Las Virgenes last year, through a call to a park ranger on the property.  It's a beautiful old barn and when peaking in we ( my painting friend Lyn and I), found a sign from a restaurant that was once open in Malibu....so many stories to be found!

When it comes to the painting...Shadows are an interesting challenge and I worked on the shadows to make them less severe and cut-out looking, which I think helped:-)

Edge of Afternoon

8x10"

Oil on linen on panel

The Railroad Play House

The Railroad Play House

6x8"

Oil on linen panel

2nd painting of the day Saturday.  Painting up in Naples with my friend Carolyn Counnas and members of the organization SCAPE (whose goals are to have exhibitions to help raise money to protect open spaces, to increase public awareness of environmental and conservation issues, to promote camaraderie and provide education for artists).   

 

Sometimes getting the first painting done opens me up to be more free with the second...especially if I have a limited time:-)

This building, I learned, used to be a playhouse belonging to the girls who lived on this property in Naples on the Gaviota Coast before it burned down.   I don't know if it was right by the railroad back when it was built...would have made me a little nervous Nelly as a mom for sure...

Used to be Thurman's Place

Used to be Thurman's Place

8x10"

oil on linen on panel

sold

I'm catching up and posting some paintings that somehow slipped through the cracks.

 

Life is filled with some wonderful coincidences.   One day this past fall my friend Shannon and I decided to go to Hidden Valley to paint.  It's this jewel of a valley tucked away, from suburbia, with horse stables and old farms - this being one of them...

On this day we precariously parked ourselves on the side of the road to paint the morning light on this barn when I thought I saw the owner in his pajamas on the property, changing something by an electrical box.   I quickly ran over and asked him if he wouldn't mind if we set up to paint inside his fence, and to our delight he said yes!  It was warm and there were a ton of red little bugs crawling around in the very dried out grass, but we were so happy to be a little further from the cars zooming by.

A couple of months later I have my open studio and my sister-in-law is telling us about this property she's looking at in Hidden Valley.   And as she describes the location it's starting to sound very familiar to me.  When I show her the painting and describe Thurman to her, we realize it is indeed the same property she was looking at...?!... The owner she met was always - in his pajamas...

Such a small world:-))))

Day 25 - DIY BubbleBath

"DIY BubbleBath"

8x10"

Oil on Linen on Board

DPW

Not sure if anyone has noticed...?!, but I haven't quite kept up with posting every day for the 30 paintings in 30 Days challenge that Leslie Saeta hosts.  I love the daily routine it creates, but this time around I just had to go a little easy on myself and leave time to work on larger work as well.  So - still painting, just not posting it all and partially taking part is still a great thing to do, and better than not painting regularly for sure!

I've been looking into Plein Air Events for this year, hoping to at least do one and this is the list I've come up with so far - Please let me know if you know of a great event that I've missed!

PLEIN AIR EVENTS 2015

February 14-22, 2015 Maui, Hawaii

2015 Schedule of Events - Maui Plein Air Painting...

mauipleinairpainting.org/2015-schedule-of-events   

View the full 2015 Schedule of Events for the Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational event! Maui beaches + outdoor painting + artists and observers = Must see!

May1-11, 2015, Florida

Forgotten Coast en Plein Air 2015, America's Great...

www.pleinairfl.com   

Nationally recognized plein air artists have been selected to capture the allure of the Florida's Forgotten Coast with paint and canvas. Artists will be painting on ...

May 12-16, 2015   Wayne, Pennsylvania

Plein Air Festival 2015

http://waynepleinair.org/index.htm SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: PRESS: JUROR: PLEIN AIR WORKSHOP: ... Member of the Plein Air Painters of America, Laguna Plein Air Painters Association and California Art ...

Apply Jan 1-March 1

May 14-17, 2015

Carmel-by-the-Sea Plein Air Juried Painting Competition...

www.carmelartfestivalcalifornia.com

... 2015 Carmel-by-the-Sea Plein Air Juried ... Carmel Art Festival in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, 93921. In 2015, ... Gallery Events: Carmel Art ...

June 10-14, Ontario

Finger Lakes Plein Air Festival | painting competition...

www.fingerlakespleinair.com   

Deadline January 30^th

June 14

http://www.paintsanclemente.com/

June 14-22……register by June 1^st…?

June 15-20, 2015, MD

http://www.easelsinfrederick.org

"Easels in Frederick" Plein Air Event. Begining June 18, 2013 artists painted en plein air (in open air) throughout Frederick County, MD. For more information:

June 16th-19th

Los Gatos Plein Air 2015 lgpleinair.org    The deadline for applying is February 1, 2015.

Los Gatos Plein Air 2015. Los Gatos Plein Air 2015 is a fine art exhibition and sale that will be held in Los Gatos, California on ... 2015. Events of Los Gatos Plein Air

July 19-25, 2015

DOOR COUNTY PLEIN AIR FESTIVAL July 19-25, 2015

www.doorcountypleinair.com   

Door County Plein Air Festival event presented by Peninsula School of Art, July 20-26, 2014

July 27-August 1, 2015, Alameda, CA

http://www.frankbettecenter.org/plein-air-paintout.html

Plein Air Paintout - deadline to apply for 2015 is April 27. 

http://onlinejuriedshows.com/Default.aspx?OJSID=388

September 7–12, 2015

Mendocino Plein Air. - Mendocino Art Center, Art Center,...

www.mendocinoartcenter.org/pleinair   

A Plein Air Festival on Northern California's ... 2015. The festival includes plein air painting, ... All events are free and open to the public, ...

September 14th-19th

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS :: Sonoma Plein Air Festival

www.sonomapleinair.com/events.html   

Stay tuned for information about Sonoma Plein Air Festival 2015, September 14th-19th! Artists, the application process opens Jan 27, ...

September 6^th-13^th, 2015, Washington

http://www.paintthepeninsula.org/

September 30-October 4th

Plein Air At The Lost Coast - Plein Air Event

www.pleinairatthelostcoast.com  September 30-October 4th

Plein Air at the Lost Coast Plein Air Event ... 2015. Shelter Cove, CA. Advance registration may be made by mail or phone or you may register at the time of your arrival at the event. 

For advance registration, please complete the form below and mail with your check for $65. 

 

Day 21 - Road Home

Road Home

11x14"

Oil on linen canvas

My sweet kids are finally on the mend!!   And I can take a breath:-) 
Here's a piece I just finished of a cute neighborhood in Santa Paula.   This piece has been donated and is available for purchase through an up-coming annual fundraiser for Santa Paula Art Museum.
Click here for more info

Day 14 - Sunlit Pines

Sunlit Pines

8x10"

Oil on linen board

These pines are making me pine for the many trees on the Swedish island where I grew up.  In Sweden there are 2 distinct types of pine-trees.  The Christmas type variety, called "gran".  And this variety which is called "tall".   Making me a little home-sick...

Day 13 - A Restful Stop in Ojai

A Restful Stop

8x10"

Oil on Linen on board

$275

Had the pleasure of painting with Dan LaVigne and Dan Schultz in Ojai today!  This year is getting off to a fun start with all these paint-outs with friends.  Always great to see how different each artist's take is and what subject matters we all choose.

Here's a great clip on YouTube about how we each have a unique voice and to embrace it!

It starts with Walt Disney quoting Robert Henri and ends with 4 Amazing Disney Artists painting a tree 4 ways.  It's great!!

Day 12 - After David Noter - Exercise Inspired by Catherine Kehoe

Still Life after David De Noter

oil on panel

8x10

Today I painted with Shannon Celia and Wendy Gordin.  So much fun!!  We are all part of the Monday Morning Painters (the MMPs) and this particular morning I brought in an exercise for us to do.   This exercise was inspired by some paintings I had seen of Catherine Kehoe's where she used the work of old masters as a source to fiercely observe and translate the visible, turn objects into simple shapes of color to arrive at the essential.  Translating this image into as Catherine called it "intuitive geometry".

She shared this work in her excellent artist talk last Sunday and since I missed out on the workshop that followed I thought "Why not just paint something inspired by what she does and learn from that as if I were in the workshop?"  I am always on a search to get better at simplifying what I see and this seemed like a perfect way to practice that.

So I found a still life online similar in style to what she had used.

Here is a cropped version of that original painting that I worked from!  "Still Life of Flowers, Asparagus and Lobster" was painted by David Emile Joseph de Noter [Belgian Painter, 1818-1892]

There are always things I'm not perfectly happy with..?!...but this exercise helped me see just how simple you can go with shapes and still have it read.  It was also great practice in seeing - and breaking a complex object into simple flat shapes.  And next time I'll work on going even farther!

If you visit Catherine Kehoe's website, you can see Marine plant still life after Anne Vallayer-Coster :-) and what I was trying to achieve.

Day 11 of 30 - Balboa Island "Early on the Dock

Early on the Dock

8x10

Oil on Linen on Board
$275

This past Friday, I was fortunate enough to get in an actual Plein Air Painting day.  And lucky enough to have my good friend and painting buddy Shannon Celia brave the early hour (leaving at 5:30AM) to come paint as well!  We drove down to Newport beach where we also met up with Kim VanDerHoek on Balboa Island.   Each of us got a painting done before having a nice lunch and getting to talk shop at Picante Martin's Mexican Restaurant.  Check out both Kim's and Shannon's websites to learn more about their work!

I am so grateful for the artists and friends I make on the journey!!  It is at least half the fun of painting for me.

On this particular day I was interested in doing something based on an unusual view and composition, cropping in to get more of an abstract feel.  I also started with my most delicate color and I liked the direction it took for the most part.  

It's such a great challenge to paint water, and reflections, along with all the movement of the water, and the sky reflecting in the water surface.
 There is a lot going on!   
What I noticed is that I tend to lay in all my brushstrokes to describe the water horizontally, and that makes it look really busy.   As I'm always working on getting better at simplifying.....I'm now thinking it's better to save those horizontal strokes for describing just the surface of the water and keep most of the reflections as shapes, just like I saw Wyllis Heaton do the other night in his demo.

 I get a little caught up with all the edges to soon and this new way would keep it more unified and not so broken up.  Something I will get even more conscious of next time I try it:-)

Happy Painting!

Day 7 of 30 - Starting with the Sun

Starting with the Sun

8x10

Oil on Linen on board

So after watching Wyllis Heaton's Demo (see yesterday's post)  I decided that I would start this one with the lightest and purest colors, and go from there.  I'm fairly happy with how the Sun-light through the trees worked out and the simplification of the building!  Might still work on the sky...it needs some help:-)

Day 6 of 30 - With Lambie...

With Lambie

8x8"

oil on gessoboard

Happy about some of the simplification and the composition of this one.  Leaving a few more things to the viewer to read:-)  Not sure whether to leave the face the way it is..or work on defining it more?..

Had a pleasure of watching Wyllis Heaton do a great Demo this evening.  Thank you Wyllis!!

 Lots of great little nuggets of truth about painting and helpful tidbits.

Among them:

When it comes to the drawing - if you can map the corner points, the inside can be a mess.

Paint, then draw, then paint again...

A little wavy leaves more for the viewer to interpret...you get more empathy when it's loose.

Use big brushes - and twist the brush so that it's not all the same and mechanical looking.

What was really neat to see, is that he also starts his work with Delicate...or Fragile colors just like Carol Marine.   Do the brightest colors while your palette and brushes are still clean.  Makes a lot sense doesn't it?

Here's the finished piece:

Day 5 of 30 - "Finding My Strength"

Preliminary study - Finding My Strength

6x12"
Oil on gessoed board

 

My friend Daggi Wallace and I went to hear a talk and see a slideshow with Catherine Kehoe yesterday and it got me really excited to get into the studio today.   Her work has been on my radar for a while and I love the way she simplifies and relates shapes from observation of the fragmented nature of the visible.   In her ongoing exploration and observation of the  world, she has created a very distinct personal style and visual language all her own. 

SP in orange 2010 oil on board 6"x4"   

Catherine Kehoe

What I took to heart from her talk is the importance of following our own preferences...It seems like it's something I'm reminded of over and over.  That, as an artist I need to focus on pursuing what I'm obsessed with.   I can be inspired by others work, but my journey will be unique to me.  There's no one "right way to Paint" - what a concept..?...;)

So even though I've heard it before, I guess I needed to hear it again.  And feel validated in the pursuit of going forward with "my own thing.  Trusting that I will get to where I want -  even when I sort of wish I painted like anyone but me:))).

Catherine shared some great quotes...and I apologize for not having all the sources!

...Eliminate the unnecessary so the necessary can speak.

Art is the organization of shapes.

The secret to being a bore is to tell everything (Voltaire)

Question to ask:

How much can I leave out?

Check out her great website:

http://www.powersofobservation.com/

Day 4 of 30 in 30 - On Surfwatch

On Surfwatch

8x10"

Oil on canvasboard

"Peekachoo for Two" Study - Easing into the 30 in 30

Peekachoo for Two - Easing in to the 30 in 30

Oil on Canvasboard

8x5.5"

December got sort of swallowed up by Holiday, End of school activities and travel preparations, so with Leslie Saeta's "30 Paintings in 30 Days" Challenge I'm now easing my way back into my normal painting routine!

Any time I'm away from painting it's easy for me to loose confidence and question what I'm doing?:-) so painting small and quick studies helps me get excited about new ideas and get back in the groove.

After William Wray's workshop in November, see this earlier post, I've been really yearning for more simplification in my work.   Because of the subject matter I pick, I might not always be able to do a value sketch as simple as the ones we did in his class, (Three values narrowing it down to almost 3 shapes).   But focusing on just a few values, as in this preliminary study for a larger piece is so helpful!  

The challenge with this piece will be how to create interesting variety using 4 main "figures".   The number 3 is always a more dynamic number than 4 and I want to avoid having it get too stagnant looking, so placement and colors might help in avoiding that.   We'll see...

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!