I started this series for a friend of mine that was active in the Winters Chamber of Commerce. They were in a small section of a downtown store. People seemed to like them. They served as a nice memory of drinking wine, eating yummy food, or just spending time in Winters. I recently expanded the drawings to include a few new spots of interest. You can buy them at Yolo 365 Artisan Market in Winters or from me direct in Vacaville. Each card is $6.50.
I taught Hand Drafting (and many other interior design classes) at the Art Institute of Seattle for several years. This experience translated nicely into this type of architectural drawing. My book “Hand Drafting for Interior Design” is in it’s third edition and available on Amazon. It is still used (believe it or not) in colleges around the world. Let me know if you think there is something or somewhere else I should add to this collection. Most of the originals have already been sold. The clock, The Preserve and Yolo 365 are available at Yolo 365 Artisan Market in Winters.
This painting called “Saying Goodbye” was done for an organization I am actively involved in for a show about death. It was rejected for the show, as they were looking for pieces more universal in nature and dealing with the figurative aspects of death, not something so explicit.
When I painted this piece, although I did use people I know and love (and loved) I did not see it as being specific to these two people. Death is something we all face eventually in life; and my piece is intended to share the emotion of the moment of death. It references the tenderness of loss, not of any individual, but of many who have lived this experience.
My artist friends have described the painting as poignant, powerful, capturing a real moment in life, deep with sharing a sadness that makes you think about the life you are living now. It was painted to reflect how people who have undergone loss may feel, and how it affects their life going forward. The painting captures “the moment” you no longer exist.
The local art gallery had originally asked if the organization had reached out to me to ask if I had been contacted about art of the exhibit. I had not been asked about art for it.
The local art gallery is having a show called “Kindred”, so I asked if they thought this was appropriate for the show and they thought the piece showed love and caring and they are happy to have it in the show. On another note, I was in an arts festival this last weekend and I put this painting in the front of my space. Although I received many compliments on my other work, not one person said a thing about this painting. It was anniversary of my late husband’s birthday and I showed it to honor him. It made me think that people are afraid to talk about the inevitability of death.
I did a second painting for the exhibit at the art gallery from a photo I had taken when traveling with friends. I called it “The Best View of Life”. I posted the painting on Facebook, but my friend asked me to remove it, so I did. I took a photo of it, but the photo does not show up on my iphone or in my photos, so I guess the Cloud ate it.
You never know how someone will react to one of your paintings? I paint a wide variety of subjects, so I’m not surprised when some are not liked or appreciated, but I personally know I wouldn’t say anything to the artist if I felt something was wrong about the piece, but some people think criticism is acceptable. It’s kind of like, would tell a friend she looks fat in an outfit she selected to wear? I don’t think so!
Helen Mirren once said: At 70 years said, if I could give my younger self on piece of advice, it would be to use the words “F* off” much more frequently.
Too many years are wasted trying please, be liked, and fit into places never meant for us. We bend, compromise, bit our tongues – util one day, we realize that none of it ever really mattered. The opinions we once feared, the obligations we felt trapped by, the people we exhausted our selves for? They were never worth the weight we carried.
So, to my younger self: Speak your truth boldly. Don’t’ justify your decisions to those who have not place in your life. Stop explaining yourself to people committed to misunderstanding you. Protect your time, your energy, your peace. And if something doesn’t serve you, have the courage to walk away – without hesitation, without apology and without looking back.
I took this photo one day we were there for lunch a while back, and finally got around to painting it.
This is a small study of the two chefs busily at work in the kitchen. There was so much gray in the photo, it was a little hard to find color for a painting.
It is an old world wonderful place to have lunch and we have been there several times. I was attracted to take the photo, as the chefs were so intense in what they were doing. Having owned a restaurant when I was much younger, I know how much hard work goes into making a restaurant a success. Mine did okay, but after a year of owning it, running it and being the main chef I closed it, lost a lot of money and knew I would only cook for family and friends going forward.
I have so much more respect for anyone that works in a restaurant, as it is long and hard work. Trust me, I tip the staff a lot better having had my own restaurant experience.
It’s spring, so I always think of flowers blooming and birds singing. I painted this lavender field in honor of spring. l would love to know what you think of the colors. Flowers make me happy, as they are beautiful and smell wonderful. There are a few stinky ones that should be avoided like a skunk. There are so many to enjoy, it is hard to pick a favorite. I love Tuberoses for their scent and Passion Vines for their amazing design. I am inspired this spring to put together a journal of all the flowers just in our yard. As I start the project, I’ll share the progress on my blog.
As the grapevines start blooming with grapes, they too are a beauty to behold. I hope to capture many images of vineyards to paint this year. When you first view the vines, they seem monotone, but looking more intensely they are profusely filled with a great variety of colors. Bringing in the surrounding scenery has more life to a painting. This one is 16 x 40, as I had a frame that size and am wanting to use what I have in my studio before buying more.
Moving to Vacaville from the PNW it is surprising how few paintings I sell, as I used to sell several every month. What do you think about putting up a sign in front of the house on Saturday Farmers Market, as many people walk by on their way there.
I’ve been so busy painting and cooking and not writing, I decided it is time to get back to my blog. I just finished this 30 x 40 inch painting. I painted over one that is similar, but I did not really like the colors. This year, I would really like to work on having the right color in the right place.
I’ve started studying other artists to see how they paint some of the same things I like to paint. I believe you can always learn by looking at how anyone does something differently than you. I’ve always enjoyed taking classes for that reason too! One of the complications I find in painting, is how much detail to use to make it readable without taking away from the creativity.
I love painting abstracts, but do not seem to bring that into my impressionist painting. Where do you find the balance, or how do you find the balance? I like abstracted realism, but it is just not my style. Finding one’s style at any age is important. Hope you enjoy this new painting.
Life is about the experiences we have, not about what we have or often what we do. I’ve been painting for several years and never really entered a larger competition. I took a class in Mendocino and my teacher suggested I should join the upcoming Mendocino Paint Out; so I signed up. As the weeks went by, I collected frames and made sure I have enough canvases. I made an hotel reservation, and thought I was set to go.
About a week before I was set to leave, I thought I should check with the hotel about my reservation. I am glad I did, as I accidentally booked a room with twin beds and a bathroom down the hall. I upped it to another room with twin beds, but my own bathroom. In the interim, my husband decided to join me for the weekend festivities, so when I arrived I asked if I could upgrade a little more, so I would have one bed, not two. I ended up having a living room, bedroom and bath, which was large, but very old and very sad. The draperies in the rooms, had blackout shades in shreds. At one time they must have been beautiful, but today they were old and looked tired. Everything looked tired. It could have been spectacular with a little love and maybe a little money.
When I got back to my room after dinner, and discovered the TV did not work, I was glad for my IPad and was set to watch a movie on it. But as I pulled back the sheets I noticed a fairly small drop of blood on both the top sheet and the bottom sheet. That did not make me smile, but I was tired from the long windy drive in pouring down rain. I just crawled in, poured myself a glass of wine and watched my “Chick Flick”.
And then it began: The first day, we all (or those who started that day) lined up to have the back of our canvases stamped. We could enjoy viewing the one piece painted before the paint out, that everyone was to bring and hang. It was a wide of assortment of talent and style. The three main artists (the judges) had their work on display. The work was interesting and varied, consisting of two oil painters and a watercolorist. Although their work was artistic, it was not particularly to my personal liking. I would learn a lesson from this later in the week.
So we all took off to find out place to paint the first day. I headed to Little River Inn, where I has stayed before, and enjoyed the distant view. I finished my first painting in a couple of hours, and headed back to town to get a bite of lunch. Waiting in line, a nice young man informed me there was a spider on my backside, before he knocked it off. I had been sitting on a quite old and damp bench painting. As it turns out, I was lucky he saw it and ended its life, as it was a Black Widow. So that was how my week began?
View from River’s End Inn
My first painting was 20″ x 10″, and I painted it in an already framed canvas. I forgot to have this one stamped, so had to call to get permission for it to be allowed. They were very nice, and let me use this the first day. I had time after lunch and it was a beautiful day.
I had discovered when I set up my palette to paint, that my plein air paints had all dried out, so I decided to drive to Fort Bragg to a local and wonderful art store to refresh all my oil paints to the tune of $260. Fresh and new, but an expensive lesson. Since I was already in Fort Bragg, I ventured to MacKercher Park, hoping to paint the lagoon. As I was setting up, a creature crawled out of the lagoon with a direct line toward me. I did not know what it was, but it did not look “friendly”! I had never seen, what I found out a few moments later, was a Crawdad, alive. Luckily a young woman in the parking lot knew what it was, as her father was a commercial fisherman. But I decided I would go to the other side and paint the beach!
When I got to the beach, the fog was setting in and I could not decide what view to paint. It was busy with lots of people. I generally like to paint quietly in my studio or in a more deserted spot for Plein Air. I did spend a lot of time on this one, and I am afraid it shows. By the time I finished my first day of painting I was pretty tired and wind-burned. Nevertheless, I took it back and hung it on my wall. The Art Center provided free pizza that night, and they even had gluten free. That and glass of wine was perfect!
The next day, I decided I would paint one of the beautiful houses downtown. I worked on it most of the day, and wiped it clean at the end of the day, not liking it. The next day I tackled it again and upon finishing it called it “a day”.
By this time, I am beginning to think that I do not work as well under pressure. The next day I went to Fort Bragg with a very nice woman I met to paint at the harbor. I decided to paint something a little more simple. I painted the trees on the hill above the harbor. It was fun and relaxing and we painted in an area where there were not many people.
The last day was a quick draw contest. They give you a location and send you out. You have about a half hour to set up and two hours to paint. This year it was downtown Main Street. You could paint the beach or turn around and paint the town. There were 50-60 artists all painting downtown. I chose to go quite simple and painted the distant shore. I never knew so many small bugs could fly into a painting. Apparently they like the smell of the paint. I still need to finish the piece I did, as a gnat flew into it after I hung it up on the wall.
You can see the bug and the scratch marks, where someone tried to remove it.
That evening they had the rewards ceremony. My lesson with all this was: If you are not particularly fond of the work of the featured artists (judges), why would not be surprised that you would not have selected the same pieces to win the awards? Of all the talented artists in the contest, I did not agree with most of the winners. Many that were by far better, did not win any awards. Of the awards given, often another piece by the same artist was more beautifully executed. One of the awards went to the husband of one of the judges, and it was the one I really thought was color straight from the tube, poorly drawn and actually a little ugly.
I did not go expecting to win. I went for the experience and an experience it was! I met a lot of really nice people, and a few that were a little too overzealous about their art. I ate some great food, and some not so great food. I could not find a good latte anywhere in town, but the raw oysters in abundance made up for it, even if they were flown in from Washington State.
Many artists do ten to twelve of these a year. I found it exciting, exhausting and challenging. Would I do it again? Maybe for a shorter duration? I might try doing another medium, as no one was doing gouache, there were only a couple pastel artists and maybe one doing acrylic. That might up the odds of having a chance to win. Some paint outs provide a free place to stay, so that might make a huge difference expense wise. There are so many factors that go into deciding what to do with your art.
I signed up for my first ever Art Sale called the Crush, as it is held at a local winery. I paid for my space and went to put it on my calendar realizing I was out of town that week, at another “art first”! I signed up for a Plein Air Open Paint Out in Mendocino the same week. I already paid for that, and the week of lodging and am very excited about entering a contest, but disappointed I won’t be able to do both.
Trying to stay on top of everything you sign up for and want to do can be exhausting. Next week I am taking a figure drawing class in Sacramento, then meeting a high school classmate for lunch. It is a casual class.
In the interim, I decided to paint a couple of wine pieces. This one is 9x 12 inches and was fun to paint. I will start showing in Village 360 in Suisun Valley starting the 23rd. This piece is available for $450.00.
The other piece I am working on is 30″ x 40″, featuring grapevines and mountains and big sky. I worked on it all day, and forgot how long it takes to do big impressionistic painting. I am trying to expand my horizons on what I paint.
So many artists paint one thing, and I think it is important to experiment to see where you excel. I have been painting for a long time, with more in the last view years and love to try different things. At this point in my life, I like to go big or stay small, with nothing in-between. Just a random decision I made lately.
Every time I go to San Francisco, I love to stop at Buena Vista and have an Irish Coffee. I have been doing this since before I was even 21. (Oh no). I only ate there once with my family when my sons were very young. I highly recommend the Irish Coffee, but not so much the food. (Although it may have improved in the last thirty years) The fries were good.
I recently went there with a group of fun women, where we laughed and loved our Irish Coffees. Can’t wait to go there again. It is always perfect, no matter what time of day! I loved the ambiance of the restaurant, even though the view was cut off by a tent outside because of Covet 19.
I painted this a couple of months ago and just kept looking at it, thinking it was just “too light” in color for a bar. I’m hoping to paint a few more bars in the future, as they just seem way too interesting to me.
It was a last minute happening, so I have to take pieces that are already framed, as other than two inch canvases everything needs to be framed and ready for hanging. Fifteen pieces are now ready to go. In other galleries where I’ve shown my work and had my own show, you took your work in, hung it yourself and each one was labeled on the wall with information: Price, size, material & etc. At this one, there is a list to be made, someone else hangs your show and each piece has a rather complicated tag. It took all day to pull this together, and I still do not have a list of cards yet. Those need to each have a description, even though I put the name of the piece on every one.
It is about this point if you wonder if it is worth the work? Since I am new to the area, it will be interesting to see if anything sells?
This the largest piece I am showing at 36″ x 36″. It has been in my family room for the last year and I do like the piece, but needed a “Show-Stopper”. Hope it catches the attention of people coming into the gallery. It was painted after the fires in Vacaville and is called: “The Air is Clearing”. It is available for $2500.
Lagoon Valley was painted from a photo I took while walking around this lake. It is 24 x 18″ and is for sale for $750.00.
“And the Ducks Liked the Boat” was a derelict boat in a small canal that I photographed, while we were out looking for Christmas Trees last year. We did not get a tree, but this photo of the boat was lovely. It is 14″ x 11″ and available for $550.00“Down By the Sea” is a Plein Air from Monterey. It was such a beautiful spot! Hope I captured the essence of the scene! It is 12″ x 9″ and can be yours for $450.Mardi Gras is a smaller 7″ x 5″ watercolor that is framed and for sale at the gallery for $250.
A River Runs Through is 12″ x 9″ and available for $450 at the gallery.
There are several other pieces.
Come visit the Fairfield Suisun City Visual Arts Association
My mind has been exploding with painting ideas lately! I want to paint small. I want to paint big. I want to find time everyday to paint, which often seems impossible. So many other things get in the way. I originally painted this without the calligraphy, but it did not have enough life for me, so I flipped the painting and totally changed the look.
The is a 30″ by 40″ oil that I painted for my 1912 Bungalow home in California. I was very energized while painting this and loved the process. Such freedom in an abstract. It can look however you want it to look and feel. This one feels explosive to me and makes me smile. What art do you do to make you smile?
My blog is a little funny, as it combines two of the things I love to do in life: painting and cooking. I have Cherry Galette in the oven right now, with the first cherries our cherry tree has produced. Thinking about the richness of the red, reminded me of this painting I just finished last week. I’ll do a short blog on the Cherry Galette when it is done, as if you were to have food and art, this would be wonderful with a beautiful and rich Crocker & Starr Cabernet Sauvignon!
