Reflecting and Planning

Enough time has passed that I can now objectively look over my paintings and even think (somewhat) fondly of the moths that would attack my hair at night.

It's always a bit of culture shock when I step back into my 'life' after a long trip. Weeks of painting and driving, my only concern really: where to paint, shifts abruptly to alarm clocks, public transportation and sitting. Sitting on trains, sitting in traffic, sitting at my desk.

I'm now through the 'shock' phase and excitedly in the what comes next phase! I LOVE this phase!

First, I set out all the paintings. I'm very pleased!

These are the New Mexico and Oregon  residency paintings lined up together - a pretty nice set!

I've also downloaded, and then uploaded, all the photos from John Day Fossil Beds; selecting some to print to use as reference for the paintings that I'll paint in my studio. This is an exciting time because I see finished paintings in my head... Combinations of my Plein air pieces, mixed with photos I've taken, and hopefully - HOPEFULLY - some images from Native stories... They all come together as rich images in my mind.

The next, next phase is a frustrating phase (ha ha! so true!) where I try to reconcile the imagery in my mind with what I actually paint. I always get to the right place eventually but inevitably there is frustration and doubt on the road to I LOVE IT!

I'm so grateful for the Residency experience in Oregon. The family that hosted me at their delightful B&B, Lands Inn. The Park staff that fielded my many questions and provided me with wifi and respite from the heat.

This coming weekend I'll order the photos, clear out any distractions in the studio and start sketching out my paintings! I'm really looking forward to this!

Big House, Little Painting

The LGAA, Los Gatos Art Association, Plein Air painters group meet on Monday mornings. We have a pretty consistent group showing up - whether we meet in town or down the coast in Monterey or up at Davenport. A good solid 11-15 painters I think. Unless it is the Monday of the year when we meet at a spectacular home of one of our members. 

The home belongs to David. I'll leave it at that. It's amazing, a stunning hacienda on many acres with a pond, many fountains, a carriage house, an adorable shed, plants and flowering trees... the works. It's like a trip to Tuscany. So, it's no surprise that on this particular Monday.... we had over 25 artists.

I love when OTHER painters paint street scenes and corner stores, storybook cottages and barns. I love it and I struggle to do it. Architecture is not my thing. I have painted David's home before and although I like that painting, it shows more of a slowly sinking, aged and wobbly adobe cottage in my rendering ;)

This time I really spent a lot of time on the drawing. Getting the angles, the windows right, the roof top... I think it paid off. I am much happier with this painting and can see a lot of areas where I improved in the paint application as well. Having the 'good bones' of a good drawing underneath the paint worked out very well. There's hope for me!

Preparation

And so it begins.
The packing! It's always a tiny bit of a challenge to pack for a single trip with a variety of events.

We have the Road trip: endless drives across deserts and sierras. This means a cooler,  jugs of water and snacks: (apples, celery with almond butter, oranges and tomatoes from the garden, mixed unsalted nuts.) My CD player doesn't work so I have my iPod and portable speaker that plugs into the cig lighter. I downloaded a new Louise Penny book to listen to while I drive. I have my iphone and charger, flares for an emergency and loads of maps in case the wifi doesn't work on the phone which I'm pretty certain 9/10ths of my trip it may not. 

We have the sleeping: Tents. Yes. I am bringing 2 tents. Crazy? I think not. There is about a weeks worth of single night or 2 night stays, so for those I have my 2 person REI Dome tent. My go-to tent. Easy up, small and packs really small. The other tent is a 4 person tent. A Grand Trunk tent. SO easy. Love this thing. I'll have a long extended stay in one location while I'm painting so I'm 'settling' in and I suppose - Glamping!  There's room for a tri-fold 4" japanese futon in both tents so I will be comfy. I adore my Big Agnes sleeping bag, called the Ethel. She's WARM and I'll be fine on those 48° degree nights and mornings. (Fingers crossed!) A pillow is coming with as well as a thick wool blanket JUST IN CASE Ethel isn't enough. I'm also bringing a throw rug and extra footprint and good rain fly. Apparently a nice rain storm blows through the valley just about every day. Thunder too!

Then there is the actual camping. Tents and sleeping bags are a given, but then there is a chair, my AeroPress and hand grinder and pound of whole bean coffee. (I know the requirements for camping right!) My JetBoil and fuel. Tuna and Beans and Oatmeal. The basics. Spork. Cutting board and knife. (Yes, also, 2 bottles of red wine.) (I do know how to camp right.)

Next up: The essentials. Toiletries and Clothing and Camera and Reading material.
Clothing for hiking and canyoneering.
Clothing for painting.
Clothing for everyday.
Something a little bit nice for the Art Reception and Shows.
Rain jacket. Fleece for cold painting days. Down jacket for nights.
Camera. Charger. Extra battery. Waterproof case (remember the canyoneering!)
Books. Book on Bryce and Zion. Book on Grand Canyon. A new Lee Child/Jack Reacher novel (!!) and an old Sunset magazine I found, still sealed from last year, all on the Grand Canyon!

Lastly, the painting stuff.
My OpenBoxM pochade, tripod, BestBrella, turp, extra turp, paints (not really a limited palette but still less than my normal palette, panels and panels galore. Then there are the boxes of frames! 4 9x12 floaters and 4 6x8 floaters as well as a bonus 6x8 frame that is just super cool and will look great with a colorful desert painting in it. Brushes and a big hat and wet panel carriers... that pile adds up quickly.

Now to fit it all into the car.

American Treasure: Gregory Kondos

Everyone should know his name, recognize his paintings. Gregory Kondos.

I took a week long Plein Air painting workshop from him last summer. I was blown away at his work and he was a very good constructive teacher.

Today I made a pilgrimage to Sacramento's Crocker Museum. (Which is a fantastic museum! HELLO?! San Jose! Come on, we can do better!)

Ok. The Crocker's current special exhibition is a Kondos retrospective. From across the room many of his paintings look like photos, realistic. Up close they are alive, dancing, juicy and expressive. Color, design, energy; each landscape is breathtaking.

GO! Show ends May 19.

Hanging Local Artists...

That's part of the URL to the article that came out today about my painting at Starbucks ;)

Once again, the writer Mary Gottschalk has done an excellent job describing the situation, she always gets it right.  I so hate having official portraits and photos taken, and the lovely Jaqueline Ramseyer makes it so much easier. Thank you Jaqueline for choosing a good shot from all your options!

Here is the article:
http://www.mercurynews.com/willow-glen/ci_22189663/starbucks-san-joses-willow-glen-hangs-local-artists

Starbucks, progress!

Really enjoyed painting this new neighborhood piece for Starbucks!

I predominately paint in oils these days so the beginning of a new piece, in acrylic, is always a mind tickle. In oil you paint a certain way and in acrylic, it's just different. It dries fast for one thing. You don't get that creamy blending like you do in oil either. The colors dry differently than they look when they are wet, so there is always this balance and guessing and estimating what you will end up with!

I love painting with both though and the fact that acrylic does dry fast, is easy to clean, and can be layered endlessly is wonderful.

Here's a partial peek at the newest painting for Starbucks. I like adding in little creatures or funny items that can delight the customer. Numerous times I've observed a child pointing out to their parents a heart shaped spot on a dog I've painted, like they discovered something secret. In this new painting I've done the same. Little surprises here and there. I'm super happy!

Heavenly Day of Painting

The Plein Air Convention ended but my painting was just warming up. Drove up the road to the Red Rock Canyon and found a stunning spot to set up for an afternoon of painting; Calico II.  Big bold red rocks tipped in yellows with rolling pale green scrub at their base, heaven.

I was thrilled to get sunshine and fluffy clouds to top off this perfect setting.  Very happy with my piece!

Sunshine at last

Much better weather for outdoor painting! The convention painters descended on Bonnie Springs - Near red rocks to paint, we took a group photo too, 600+ artists!

Plein Air-ing!

First day out, we were met with drizzle and winds followed quickly by gusts and rain! Learned I am NOT an extreme painter despite my outdoorsy girl persona!!

Returning Home...

Fortunately for me, I had stipulated originally that if for any reason Starbucks no longer wanted the painting they commissioned, it would revert back to me. (Sometimes I am amazed at my good thinking!)

Here I am picking up the Starbucks painting, headed home where I hope it fits in my studio! I had to rent a uHaul truck since the painting is so big.

Cutting boards! They make great gifts...

My favorite product from my artwork is the cutting board.

I use mine all the time but I always hear from people "ooh, it's too pretty to use!" Well, forget that... use it! It's dishwasher safe and because it is tempered glass it doesn't cross contaminate if you cut veggies and meat on the same surface.

Okay, it is also really pretty ;) and I leave mine out in the kitchen standing up so I can see it. It's like stained glass!

The holidays are around the bend and a cutting board with a bottle of wine and a wedge of good cheese would make a memorable gift.

Graffiti gone, Painting Restored

I've already dumped my frustrations on Tagging in a previous post. It's clear, I'm sure. I hate it!

It was quite an experience working on the restoration of the painting underneath the Tagging. Finding, choosing, matching, buying the house paint to match, that was fun!

Paint swatches never really match the dried paint, so I supplemented the paint colors with my own acrylic colors and this worked really well.

Mimic-ing another artist's paint style was tricky and rewarding. The muralist had a very loose, watery style and since my work is so structured and bright and strong I found it really freeing. At the last minute I grabbed an old wide and pretty battered brush from my studio and thankfully I did because it was the perfect 'texture' brush for this impressionistic and loose feathery mural. Hoorah for impulses.

Goodnight and farewell

I had a commission to recreate one of my Chalk Murals as an oil painting. The piece is called 'Goodnight Sun' and it was always one of my favorite murals. The original was 9'x12' and created for the San Rafael Italian Chalk Painting Festival.

So I was asked if I would paint it on canvas in oil, something I'd already planned on doing down the line, but this would certainly make it happen faster ;)

I still love the piece. My favorite bits are the hands coming from the penumbra, holding the blanket of stars. If this wasn't a commission it would definitely be in my bedroom! (So probably best I sold it!)

This was the first time too where a client is out of state! Usually clients come to my studio to pick up the work but this time I had to have it professionally packed and it was FedExed to New York City. Not a calming experience... I knew it was packed well and being sent by a reputable company but still, what if??? I was super nervous until I received an email from the client saying it arrived safely. Phew!

I will miss this painting. I love it. I think it has a good home now and I was sure to get it scanned before I sent it away. Now I can have giclee and greeting cards and who knows what else made out of it down the line. Farewell beautiful painting, I miss you already.

More from Sedona

I'm pretty pleased with my little paintings from Sedona. Thought best to put more up!

This was a morning only piece, we painted from 8:30-noon and then met at the instructor's Studio for a critique.

A snake slithered under a tree to the right of me and behind me was bus after bus dropping off tourists to take photos of Bell Rock (to the left of this formation.) Nothing like painting outdoors with the sound of a diesel engine roaring behind you!

Sedona in Plein Air

I've always loved Santa Fe and the red rocks of Bryce and Zion in Southern Utah. But I'd never been to Sedona, Arizona which seems the obvious hybrid of the art and southwest vibe of New Mexico and the natural, unearthly beauty of Utah.

That is how I found myself enrolled in a 5 day Plein Air painting in Sedona workshop through the Sedona Arts Center.

I'm glad my first visit to Sedona was to paint. Meeting in secluded rock canyons or in the early morning at the river, I know I SAW Sedona. The real Sedona. The town of Sedona, the hodge-podge of tacky T-Shirt shops and fake Native American homages or woo-woo-psychic crystal nonsense... that's was a complete let down. What a disservice to the beauty of the land. What an insult to the power and energy you can't help but be humbled by when you stand beneath that incredible blue sky.

Sadly, even the galleries were bad. Super disappointing - I might as well have been walking on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Tacky, irrelevant, print after Giclée after poorly painted half dressed Indian maiden. UGH.

Thankfully, I was with talented painters for the week, exploring the natural beauty and being challenged to do justice to what we encountered. It was a gift to myself to paint consecutively for 5 days, from 9-4. It was exercise!

I'm pleased with my work and inspired to tackle more. I painted what I saw and what I felt... I painted with rhythm and color, shapes and mood. I can't wait to frame my little Sedona paintings so I can remember the 'real' Sedona, not the commercial 'Disneyland on Patchouli' version.