Sorrow

 "Sorrow (Three of Swords)" 

14 x 18 inches, oil on canvas

$600

Sold

I'm loving learning about Tarot by researching each card as I use them in my paintings. This one, the Three of Swords, when it's in the upright position, is kind of a bummer - but not entirely without sunshine. Yes, the card represents a painful episode in life, but pain can be seen as an opportunity to grow stronger, to change the direction of your life. While the pain may cloud your vision for a certain period, it will eventually allow you to see clearly and to put the past behind you. 

If you let them, the Swords cards can rid you of your denial and teach you valuable lessons.

...And if you paint them, they can teach you valuable lessons about color mixing and edges!

As always with a piece this large, I began with a black and white study. This one has already gone to a collector who saw it on Instagram, but you can see a lot more of these oil studies in my Etsy shop.

Black and white studies really help me plan my paintings - specifically, the way my big value shapes will affect the composition. What shape and gesture do the darkest darks make on the canvas? How dark are my cast shadows, really? And where is my area of strongest contrast? I keep the study close to me while I'm painting the color version, to remind myself of my intentions.

Pear Power

 

 "Pear Power"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

This pair of pear paintings were painted with the same limited palette - three tubes of color, plus white (OK, two whites). 

It looks like a lot more, doesn't it?!

You can click on this image for info on the colors I used:

Change and Experimentation

 "Two Oranges (Blue Scrap)"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

Click to bid in the online auction!

The last of my 8x8 orange paintings from Playa, and the only piece I made there that I'll be auctioning online. 

It felt good to have familiar subject matter to fall back on during my first week at the residency - in an unfamiliar studio, in an unfamiliar landscape...an unfamiliar landscape with schizophrenic weather, I might add! One morning, I wake up to a rainbow, the next, SNOW! These pictures were taken from the same spot - I was just reluctant to venture all the way out to the railing to take the second one. Can you blame me? (By the way, both shots were taken between 7 and 8 am.)

With nature in such a blatantly experimental mood, I felt inspired to try some new things myself. Here's a pencil sketch on Arches oil paper that I painted over - from memory. It's amazing how having the sketch underneath helped my recall of color details, even with the still life itself dismantled. 

I did spray-fix the graphite before painting on top. 

"Playa Vessels"

6 x 12 inches, graphite and oil paint on Arches oil paper

collection of the artist ;)

A Still Life Commission

 "Membrillo and Moroccan Plate"

18 x 24 inches, oil on canvas

Sold, commission piece

Sometimes that perfect piece of art is not out there waiting for you to find it, and you have to take matters into your own hands! That's what one savvy collector did recently when she commissioned me to paint this still life of quince. There's a backstory here, but first: my process!

I began with the objects she supplied me - the fruit, a jar of her homemade quince jelly, the Membrillo (a paste made of quince) and its wrapping paper, and several lovey plates and dishes in a blue-and-white color scheme - and arranged them with some additions of my own. Then I did this value study - it's about 9x12:

 The great thing about still life commissions is that the general parameters come from the client, but the inspiration is still my own. I could have made a hundred different paintings with the subjects I was presented! The quince were lovely - a fruit I've never painted before. 

Here's how this painting came together - an underpainting in sepia tones, then I blocked in the blue plate so it had time to dry before I added the pattern. The rest just flowed from there.

 This family bought a painting from me four years ago - a gift for their daughter. And this commission was a gift for another of their daughters, the Membrillo-maker herself! When I delivered the painting, I got to meet both girls, and see the older painting again, which is always a treat.  

Feeling very lucky and blessed - both to have gotten to make this piece, and to work with these amazing, art-loving people.  

Thanks for reading!

Color Phases

 "Fall Four"

12 x 24 inches, oil on canvas

$700 

Click to buy

I've been painting a lot lately, and it feels great! I am ready to move on from pumpkins, though. It actually seems that I've been in an orange phase for a couple months now. I didn't realize that I go through these cycles with color until it was pointed out to me by my 11 year old private student the other day. She was gazing at the wall where I hang my paintings to dry, and said, "You paint a lot of orange, don't you?" And I said, "Well, um, yes, I guess I do!"

Perspective: just one of the benefits of letting other humans into your studio once in a while! 

If you scroll back though my still lives from this year, you'll see that I do cycle through colors - before orange, it was purple/red, and before that, yellow (a perennial favorite), then green, then red.  I tend to be into red in the winter months - and my current orange obsession can't be explained by the prevalence of pumpkins during this time of year - I've got oranges, cantaloupe, and grapefruit under my belt as well. Literally. I ate them.

Here's my work-in-progress. This painting took about three days to complete. 

As always, thanks for looking - and for reading this far! If you'd like to see my recent orange phase paintings in person, I'll be showing most of them during November at Out on a Limb Gallery, here in Eugene. The opening reception is Friday, November 4th, from 5:30-8 pm. Hope to see you there!

In Which I have a Rockstar Moment

 "The Apple Barn"

12 x 24 inches, oil on canvas

Framed, $700

Click to buy

I'm just going to say this at the outset: I'm really proud of this painting. We artists all know the feeling: a piece is working right from the beginning. I say, "It painted itself," "It fell off the brush," or "It was a rockstar moment," but I think the best description of this particular magic is that I felt in control the entire time I was painting it. And that doesn't happen all that often - maybe once every 20 paintings? 

As you can see, it was a heartbreakingly beautiful day - one of those fall afternoons that make you feel grateful to be alive.

I started with a 3-value sketch - oil paint in my sketchbook. This was extremely helpful, especially when it came to painting mid-value areas like the grass and distant hills. Green just doesn't feel all that light to my eye - in general, it's a mid-to-dark value color, and it's very saturated and beautiful in the sunlight. But, referring to my sketch, I told myself to keep it as light as those rooftops. 

 

Understanding that color has value - and how that works in our paintings - is a huge benefit of practicing in black and white. So, if it's been a while since you went back to basics, give it a try....you might have a "rockstar moment" yourself!

Plein Air Washington County, Take 1!

 "Plum Hill Barn"

14 x 18 inches, oil on canvas

I just got back from a fabulous paintout! The Plein Air Washington County event happens every fall just outside of Portland, Oregon in an extremely scenic area chock full of rolling hills, gorgeous vineyards, and farms.  

With so much to choose from, it took me a while to settle down and pick a spot, but I finally did: a weathered white barn on the property of Plum Hill Vineyards.

  

I knew I wasn't going to need a lot of greens for this kind of landscape. Two reds, two yellows, two blues and a bonus purple. My kind of split-primary palette!

 And my secret weapon for all plein-air painting: Radiant Blue, by Gamblin. It makes gorgeous skies. The anonymous guy on the far right is Ultramarine blue, by the way.

I started with a notan sketch, in a mixed dark paint, just in my sketchbook. If you think you can't oil paint in your sketchbook, give it a try sometime! I can't say enough about how helpful these preliminary sketches are - so be forewarned: I will be saying more. Because there were two more days of painting after this one, which I'll save for future posts.

So now that I've covered the future, I'll bring up the past.  Here are my posts about the first and second time I did this paintout. And obviously, the third time's the charm: this painting was awarded an honorable mention by judge Eric Jacobsen - and I do indeed feel truly honored!

"Orange Orbit" oil painting and work-in-progress, notan to finish

 "Orange Orbit"

12 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

$300

Available here

While I had this still life set up, I thought I'd try a vertical rectangle in addition to the square composition I painted first. 

These oranges were really patient! They stuck with me for weeks - and I even ate one of them after I finished this today. So maybe they really were from outer space....orbiting. Hm.

Here's my progression from notan to a 4-value sketch to my underpainting to the finish! No shot of me eating the orange, though. Next time.

Orbit: A new allaprima still life, plus workshop announcements!

 "Orbit"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas
Sold

Here's the progression for this one. On the left is a 3-value oil sketch, in which I resolved to keep my lightest lights in the foreground and on the left diagonal half of the composition. In the center is my underpainting, in a mixed up warm orange - you can use any colors you like for this stage as long as you don't add any white. 

 

For a lot more about my process, consider joining me for a workshop! I've got several coming up this fall, but my baby is the 3-day Dynamic Still Life class in Oklahoma City this October:

info and registration here!

If you're looking to try oil painting for the first time - or get a new perspective on a familiar medium - I offer a one-day Intro to Oils every month at Oregon Art Supply. September's is coming up, on Saturday the 10th. 

Info and Registration here!

More workshops, including two in the Portland, Oregon area, can be found in the right hand sidebar, or here. :)

Teaching In My PJ's

 

 "Purple Arrow"

8 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

My new online art mentorship program is off to a great start! It's been a couple of months, and the improvements I'm seeing in my students' work are exciting - plus, I'm loving watching them inspire each other (and me). It's like art school, without having to get dressed. Not that I put too much effort into that back in the art school days....

This piece was a demo for one of my students - I recorded our session, and edited it down from over an hour to about 20 minutes. You'll hear us chatting about various things... some related to this painting, some not. Enjoy!

Teaching The Figure

 "Nude with a Pear"

11 x 14 inches, oil on canvas

workshop demo price: $200

Available here

My Limited Palette Figure Painting workshop happened last weekend, here in Eugene. This was kind of a trial run for me - I've taught portrait several times, but never the nude figure - and I can humbly report that it went very well!  

On Friday evening I did a demo, which was open to the public. A few students of mine from other classes and private lessons joined the workshop attendees to watch.

The next morning, we started off with 4-value paintings. Two light flesh tones, and two dark ones to model the whole form. See? It can be done! And it's a great way to start a painting by working from the general (large shapes of value) to the specific (small anatomical details).

My demo of the 4-value exercise. 9x12" oil on Arches oil paper

Here is the progression of my demo from the second day. I can hear you thinking, 'All these demos, when did the students have time to paint?' They didn't watch the whole time - I just used this piece to demonstrate certain phases of the process. 

Believe me, much painting was done by my students.... 

Incredible painting!

 

I have two more workshops just like this one still to come in 2016 - one in September in Malibu, CA, and one in December in Eugene. Join me!

Figuring It Out

 "Humble Prayer"

12 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

Available here

I've been doing a lot of figures lately. I actually spent most of May working on a portrait commission, which I hope to share with you soon. Two figures in that one! I'm also teaching a figure painting workshop this weekend (a couple of spots still available - info here!), and have been drawing, painting, and thinking up a storm in preparation. 

But first, this piece. Painted over two sessions with a live model. And believe it or not....this is Zorn palette! Ok, not entirely. I added Alizarin Crimson to the mix - so the full palette is Titanium white, Yellow Ocher, Ivory Black, Cadmium Red, and Alizarin Crimson. As my painting buddy Farley said, Yeah, Zorn is turning over in his grave.

Sorry, Anders.

 

Left to right: first session, second session.

Want to watch me paint a live model? You can! This Friday night from 6-8 pm, at Whiteaker Printmakers, in fact. Belle will be my model.  

Here is all the info. Hope to see you there!

Self-Portrait Time Machine, and Subconscious Artistic Influences

 "Self-Portrait at 36"

24 x 18 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

Suddenly, it's been two years since my last large self-portrait.

Although I'd really like to avoid as many cliches as possible here, I'll allow myself one: it feels like only yesterday....

 

In looking at these side-by-side, I notice a strangely similar thing happening around the neckline of both shirts. They aren't the same shirt (though I do still wear the sweater from the first portrait), but my undershirt is peeking out in both. 

After wondering about it for a while, I noticed this print on my wall....which I've been looking at, on one wall and another, since about the age of twelve.

Thank you, Modigliani, for invading my subconscious.

And here are my works-in-progress. First the head gets bigger, then the body grows to match it!

Parts of the Process

 "Lemon on a Painted Dish"

9 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

There was some collateral artwork created while I was working on my last painting. :)

"White Object, Lemons (sketch)"

Auction, click to bid

"White Object, Lemons" Still Life, Work-In-Progress, and Black-and-White Sketch!

 "White Object, Lemons"

12 x 24 inches, oil on canvas

Available here

It's been a while since I painted this little plate, let's see - can I find any examples from the past to show you? Yes!

It's hand-painted, which makes reproducing the design with my own hands so much more enjoyable. At one point I actually forgot I was painting on canvas. I felt like I was painting a plate myself! This twisting floral style is common to decorative pottery made in Jerusalem, where my mother bought it in 1979 - when she was pregnant with me! Can't say I remember much about the trip.

Here's a progression. I didn't tone the canvas for this one, instead letting the underpainting create its own tone. The color is a neutral orange I had left over on my palette - probably a mix of alizarin, cad yellow, cad red, ultramarine blue.....you know, all the primaries. As long as there's no white in the mix, it works.

...And my black and white sketch. I love love love making these. If you're going to use Arches oil paper, I recommend brushing a thin layer of Gamsol (or your OMS of choice) onto the surface before beginning. Although this does tend to make the finished product dry at a snail's pace, it helps with the absorbent/chalky feel of the surface I've heard myself some artists complain about.

"White Object, Lemons (sketch)"

8 x 11.5" oil on Arches oil paper

click to bid

A New Still Life: From Sketch to Finish

 "Burnt Out (Lemons)"

18 x 14" oil on canvas

Available Here

I've been working on some larger still lives for a big show this spring, here in Eugene. Before diving into a painting that will take me several days to complete, I like to do an oil sketch....just to make sure I really want to commit.

And to warm up.

And to work out any compositional issues.

And because I love painting small, black and white studies. 

 "Burnt Out (oil sketch)"

approx. 11 x 8 inches, oil on Arches oil paper

click to bid

Can you spot the compositional issue I worked out from sketch to final painting? It's subtle, but I shifted everything over to the left a bit.

Here's a progression, click to see it bigger: