first acrylic

I've been curious about acrylics for some time and finally had a chance to try them. I'm not sure what I think about this medium but I do have the opposite complaint from when I first tried oil earlier this year. Then, I was wondering if they would ever dry; acrylics dry before I want them to. I'm sure there are tricks. If anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear from you. 9 x 12 inches, acrylic on canvas panel.

Artists' Retreat

Last week I attended the Third Annual Artists' Retreat at the home and gardens of Anita Halstead on Vashon Island, WA. We had a wonderful time. This little 5 x 7 plein air pastel is the same scene I painted there the first year. While I was painting it, artist Mareth Warren was painting me.

ghost rose

I've been painting this rose for two days. grrrr...paint on, paint off. I've wiped it off five times. I finally decided to stop at the "ghost rose" stage. Anything past this turns to...something I have to wipe off again. I was especially determined after having received a wonderful award last evening at the Northwest Pastel Society's 2008 International Exhibition. I'll post it on my exhibitions blog. Happy weekend.
6 x 6 inches, oil on masonite.

raspberries

My goal this morning was to pick the raspberries and get them into the freezer. Now that is my goal for the afternoon because the morning was spent painting this. For 12 years I taught at Sitka Center for Art and Ecology the same week of July. That was always the week the raspberries were ready to be picked so much of the job was done by my husband. For the past two years I've done a lot of it. I also eat a lot of them. 6 x 6 inches, oil on gessoed panel.

rainier cherries

Rainier cherries. Nothing like them. 6 x 6 inches, oil on gessoed panel.

first egg

Eventually, everyone has to paint a raw egg. We were given a dozen beautiful, brown, organic eggs. First I saved them to paint, then we began to eat them so today I had to paint one before they were gone. The changing light made this a real challenge. It would have been much easier to paint it from a photograph or from my laptop with the image on the display. But, after finding yellow oil paint on my laptop over the weekend, I'm done with that process. 6 x 6 inches, oil on gessoed panel.

daisy

I'm ending the week with one daisy in a juice glass.
8 x 6 inches, oil on masonite.

suckers

Last evening my husband and I had dinner at our grandsons' favorite restaurant. The server remembered us and gave us suckers for the boys. I'm painting the suckers today so the boys can see their treat on this blog. Two grandsons, three suckers...maybe I'll eat one.
6 x 6 inches, oil on gessoed panel.

mini pepper night life

One night before leaving the studio, I set up these two mini peppers for the next day's painting. But, I got sucked into the play of night time shadows created by artificial light and ended up painting them before I went to bed. 6 x 6 inches, oil on gessoed panel.

waiting nightfall

6 x 6 inches, oil on gessoed panel.

mini peppers

Today's painting: orange mini peppers in a blue-rimmed bowl.
6 x 6 inches, oil on gessoed panel.

breakfast at the barn

This isn't what I planned to post today but the one I'm working on is having a meltdown. I've wiped it off once already and it may get wiped off agin. This little painting is from a few weeks ago - a sunny morning out of town. It won't be framed or shown (except here) but it reminds me of a nice weekend. Happy Fourth of July.

pond

A change of pace today. I guess I could have named this little painting Pond Scum... Love the colors. 10 x 8 inches, oil on masonite.

watermelon (seedless)

Whatever happened to those good old watermelons WITH seeds? This one has no final seed details to paint and I miss them. Fun subject though so I'll probably try it again soon with seeds. Big painting revelation today: instead of an audio book or NPR radio, I'm listening to JAZZ. I must be a different person now than I was 45 years ago when I found jazz in coffee houses to be torture.
6 x 6 inches, oil on gessoed panel.

gallery flowers

I recently had the honor of judging a gallery show. A nice addition to the art were these beautiful, fragrant roses. I know these aren't readily identified as roses. They started out looking like roses but I got carried away with my application of thick oil paint. Now, maybe they're peonies. 8 x 6 inches, oil on masonite.

cheeries

These cherries scattered on yellow paper looked so cheerful that I named them cheeries. Happy weekend and happy summer.
6 x 6 inches, oil on panel.

kiwi

Today I painted on Ampersand™ gessobord™ for the first time. Boy, is it slick. The surface improved after a while or maybe I just got used to it. We have sun for summer in Washington...and not a moment too soon. This kiwi was in kitchen sunlight. 6 x 6 inches, oil on panel.

paintings this week

The past week was unusual. "In sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, 'til death do us part." We're getting over THE COLD, great news this week - a job opportunity for a family member, and the sad, unexpected passing of journalist Tim Russert. Cloudy mornings here in Washington State but we're starting to get some sun in the afternoons. It is supposed to be summer. Somehow, I've actually had a good painting week with the three new paintings. Larger images and more information on my Current Work blog.

teabag

It has been a week of sneezing and coughing at our house. Hot tea has been good. I've graduated to the larger format of 8 x 10 inches, oil on masonite.

morning peach

And, I'm posting this one to remind myself to wait for "real" peaches. These are small and hard; first of the season in the grocery store. I'll paint peaches again when our Frost Peach tree produces in a few months. 6 x 6 inches, oil on masonite.

midnight peach

I'm posting this to remind myself to NOT try to paint at night without natural light. 6 x 6 inches, oil on masonite.

sunday sweet

It is unusual that these chocolate carmel bites are still around. I thought I better paint one before they're gone. 6 x 8 inches, oil on masonite.

friday lunch

Right after my last post I made myself some lunch. But painting it was suddenly more important than eating it. I guess I REALLY needed to paint. 6 x 8 inches, oil on masonite.

Six Little Oils

I'm still putting my studio back together after tearing it apart to paint the walls blue. Haven't been able to get to my easel this week but I did frame six of the little daily paintings. They will go to Jeffrey Moose Gallery soon.

My Studio Walls

My painting yesterday, all eleven hours of it though the clock shows only 55 minutes, was my studio walls. From beige to blue.
500 square feet, Ralph Lauren GH03
AFTER

BEFORE