Party Pictures

"Grand Opening Flowers"

12 x 9 inches, oil on canvas

NFS

Last Saturday was the Grand Opening party for The Gallery at the Watershed. As part of the invitation, Amy asked everyone to bring a flower from their garden, and this (after some editing of wilted foliage) was the result:

Obviously, I was not going to tackle this beautiful bunch of blooms with a limited palette. I think it got a little out of control, though....

 Party pictures, please! I can hear you all the way from here.

 (Left to right, top to bottom: my painting peeking out from behind a very cool sculpture by Randy Ortiz, Amy and Robert welcoming their guests, yours truly posing with Amy the gallery owner, and my wall. Really, they call it "Sarah's Wall." Love!)

By the way, if you couldn't make it out last weekend, we're on the artwalk this Friday night - that's tomorrow, for those of us wondering where this week went - and I'll be there! So come say hi. 5:30-8 pm.

Madame M.

"Madame M."

14 x 11 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

Resisting the urge to be a control-freak is easier for some astrological signs than others. Or so I've been told. Since I've lived in Eugene, Oregon, I've met people who really REALLY know about astrology. I respect it. I'm a Libra, and my desire for balance usually fuels my work - and makes it predictable....

Which is why I've been loving the model-in-the-middle version of MK figure painting night lately. So many new ways to see models I've painted many times before. I'm so grateful, really, truly, that I don't always paint alone. 

Fortunately, we all have an opportunity to rub elbows with one another - and many artists that I admire greatly, this Saturday night at The Gallery at the Watershed. Please join me....I think I might even wear heels!

I know, it's kind of blurry. Totally my fault. Come out, criticize my graphic design skills, allow me to introduce you to Eugene's newest Gallery-owner, meet some cool PDX artists....it will be a great time!

Good News Comes Early

 "Calla Lilies on Black"

8 x 6 inches, oil on canvas
Sold

I was lying in bed this morning - before 7 am - just texting with my Gallerist (because that's totally normal), when she dropped the extremely excellent bomb that my scheduled show-slot this year had just become a SOLO show.

This news is especially excellent because the opening is December 13th. 

But just because I have six months to prepare doesn't mean the work doesn't begin today. And it also means that you all need to be opening Orbitz in a new tab and seeing about getting some plane tickets! Oregon in December. Pack your raincoats.

One Last Fling

 "The Swedish Student"

11 x 14 inches, oil on canvas

$450

Available from The Gallery at the Watershed

Big, cheap, and raggedy - No, I'm not talking about my model! It is a pretty accurate description of the brush I used to paint her with, though. It's an old, cheap, number 6 flat that I keep around for applying tone to my canvases - that orangey color you see behind this one, for example. Anyway, I sort of forgot to switch brushes after toning my canvas, and once I noticed - hey, it was working, so I just kept going. 

Worn out brushes often give me one final cool-looking painting before dying completely. One last, loose, sketchy fling!

Here's my progress, taken at 45 minute intervals. I'm pretty proud of the fact that once I'd painted an area, I managed to leave it generally intact, except for some minor blending and adjusting. It's so frustrating when I feel like I'm repainting the entire thing, over and over what I've already done.

An Exotic Reverie

 

"Touching Her Shoulder"

11 x 14 inches, oil on canvas

$250

click to buy

 Not only do I love this graceful pose, but the lighting (which I can take no credit for) truly makes the painting. The way only her nose and cheekbone emerge from her face, while most of the light falls across her opposite breast and shoulder is what drew me to this view of the model.

What thoughts are brewing behind those eyes?

Could it be 'Ow, my hip hurts in this position'?

I choose to imagine a more exotic reverie.

My Avatar, the Sequel

 

"Ali in Stripes"

11 x 14 inches, oil on canvas

$250

click to buy

I haven't seen this model, Ali, except for random sightings around town - this is a small place we live in after all - since last May. And I wasn't the only one happy to see her this morning! Some of us were giddy. (Lol, Joy).

I've had such success painting Ali in the past that her likeness has been my online avatar and another has been on my business cards for the past year.

 I loved the stripes.

But then, I've been known to rock a few myself, from time to time. 

via Instagram

Rainy Plein Air

"View From the Alpaca Farm"

 11 x 14 inches, oil on canvas

$250

click to buy

Just because I faked you out the last two years running doesn't make it any less awesome that I'm following up on my new years resolution to paint outside in 2013, right? I believe 'Better late than never' is what they say....

Luckily for me and my follow-through, I found a great group of artists ready-made for me to join: Plein Air Painters of Lane County. One of their regular haunts is this gorgeous Alpaca Farm, only about five miles from my house. Aragon Alpacas. My god, Alpacas are cute.

 

....But they have funny teeth.

It was raining on and off all afternoon, but I usurped a covered Alpaca shelter (hey, they have fur) and settled in cozily, considering it was a comfortable 60-ish out. If you can't get into the colors of Oregon in the rain, what CAN you get into? Look at all that green. Spring!

Somebody get him a can of Bud!

 

"Shirtless Man"

11x14 inches, oil on canvas

$250

click to buy

Ah, figure painting. So good to be back to you after what felt like a loooong spring break, during which I actually took no time off from you.

Well, Maude Kerns Art Center figure painting is just better than other kinds of figure painting, what can I say?

Here's what I can say: when I saw this model last night, I was less-than-thrilled. We're all human, deserving of respect, and beautiful in our own way, but some of us make better painting subjects than others. At least that was my initial reaction. Then I started thinking about some of my art-idols and imaginary boyfriends, and realized that their subjects aren't always young, thin, female, and gorgeous. One of my current favorites is Sean Cheetham - he doesn't paint the classical beauty, ever. So I decided to attempt to work on some of the things I want to improve in my figure painting - flesh tones, composition, looseness, gesture - and forget about the fact that most likely no one would want to put this one on their bedroom wall.

 

 Though I admit, I'm a horrible judge of what-people-will-buy. Without fail, whenever I finish a painting feeling like a rockstar, I'm in luck, because that painting stays with me forever.

 ....So someone get ME a can of bud - or 250 cans, even. I'll share.

Crossed Flowers, Crossed Fingers...(A BIG Announcement!)

 

"Crossed Daffodils"

11 x 14 inches, oil on canvas

$250

click to buy

Ok, ok, I won't keep you in (too much) suspense, but I will just show you the sketch for this piece first:

Sketch for 'Crossed Daffodils' 5.5x4" oil on arches oil paper $1 auction - click to bid

Now, on to my announcement! A brand new art gallery opened its doors in downtown Eugene today, and I am one of their artists! This is actually huge for me, as I've never been represented - let alone exclusively represented - by a gallery before. The Gallery at the Watershed is located in a lovely, walkable, parkable spot near fantastic restaurants, the Willamette river, and parkland - and the building itself is a modern-architectural work of art.

If you live nearby, please stop by the next time you find yourself downtown. Hours are Tuesday-Saturday 11-5. They are going to have the best of my work, old and new - and their stable of artists include my friends Randall David Tipton and Lillian Almeida. Follow the gallery's Facebook page for lots of events coming up this summer - including painting demonstrations by yours truly, art history lectures, and plein air workshops by some seriously awesome folks.

I'm really, really excited about this. The gallery already feels like a big happy family, and I think everyone that visits will feel that energy too. There's going to be a huge party for the grand opening on Saturday June 1st, and I expect hope you all will be there.

I Get Some Sun

 "Looking Towards the Butte"

9 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

 Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day to be outside, and I was excited to tag along with my friend Patti on a plein-air expedition to Mt. Pisgah arboretum. Yes, there are some powerlines, and a few bugs - not all of them as cute as this curious ladybug - but look at that view! And I didn't even get a picture of the shimmering river curving its way through the foreground. Here's Patti, with her much-used and very efficient setup, and her finished painting, entitled "Farmland."

 

Mt. Pisgah is on the Southeastern edge of Eugene, and only about fifteen minutes from my house. the butte you see in the distance, and in my painting, is our most famous landmark, Spencer Butte. Here's a picture from a few weeks ago, of Jesse, Ellie and I at the top!

I Get Romantic

 

"Springtime Romance" 

9 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

We've all heard of spring fever - and it's not just for Turkeys! I see this still life as a simple bouquet picked on a walk to the beloved's house - the pink paper a love note scrawled on an index card, read avidly by its intended, pressed quickly to their lips and put face down on the table, to be picked up and read again and again, while gazing abstractedly at the yellow flowers....

Are you feeling spring-like today?

"Hand on Her Knee" female nude figure figurative oil painting

  

11 x 14"

oil on canvas

$250 

click to buy

I usually finish these pieces during the 3 hour model session, but as you can see in the third picture below, by the time the clock struck nine, I was not done. This morning I told myself I would just see what I could do with it in my studio, and if I completely messed it up, so be it. With the aid of my memory - and a very washed-out cell-phone picture - I finished it, and am happy with the result. Go memory! 

 

click the image to see it larger.

 If you'd like to see a shot of our smiling model next to my semi-finished piece, head over to Facebook. While you're over there, you can see pictures from a really fun art meetup I went to with Carol over the weekend, and you can also enter to win a print of my painting "Squash Harvest." All followers are automatically entered to win, and I'm giving away three prints, so share with your friends! Thanks.

"Long Legs" female figure painting portrait nude oil on canvas

  

11 x 14"

oil on canvas

Sold

If every night was like last night, life would be a dream. As an artist, I live for the rare moments when my brush feels like it's moving itself, and each stroke is more satisfying than the last. When I finished this painting, my heart was beating out of my chest! The best thing about painting experiences like these, though, is that I know someday in the future I'll have an even better one.