The Star

 "The Star"

10 x 20 inches, oil on canvas

$600

Available

"When the Star appears in a Tarot reading, be open to new ideas and growth. Listen to the still small voice within." 

I love the star card. I chose it for this painting because the shape of the star echoes the rays of light cast by the green glass cup.

 

"There is a deeper spiritual journey that you are going through which is all about bringing greater meaning and purpose into your life and renewing your inner energy." 

(from Biddytarot.com) 

I did feel I was on a spiritual journey as I was creating these Tarot card paintings. I rented a beautiful studio at the Oregon coast during the week before Christmas, and did nothing but paint and sleep. It was really a gift to myself, spending time there. I feel I am beginning the year with new inspiration - the promises of the Star card coming true!

Patti's Sugar Bowl

 "Patti's Sugar Bowl"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

$250

Click to buy

Over the weekend, I was invited to a studio-remodel inauguration party at my friend Patti's house. What a great idea to break in your new/old studio - by painting with friends! It was definitely an infusion of artistic energy. 

I was, of course, drafted to set up the still life. Can you spot my painting subject amid the jumble?

 I love setting up a big, sprawling still life and letting everyone choose which part they are most attracted to. Just like I do when landscape painting, I settle on a composition by editing out extraneous details and zeroing in on what my unique artistic eye responds to. 

If you'd like to paint a still life like this, you have three options. One: invite me over for a painting party at your studio (be sure to send me a plane ticket, too, where applicable). Two: join me for a session of Still Life Open Studio - the next one is Thursday December 8th. Or three: take my three-day still life workshop this January at Oregon Art Supply. Fun guaranteed, whichever way you choose. ;)

Here's how this one got started. I almost never work this way: laying in the background first. I have no idea why I did it this time, and no plans to do it again in the future. But it worked out fine.

Teaching in my New Studio

 "Sliced Orange Still Life"

8 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

Click to buy

I've been teaching my still life workshop in lots of places lately, but not right here in Oregon. That's going to be changing very soon!

My new studio is the perfect size to host a small group of artists, and I'm hoping to do just that April 10-12th. We'll be painting still lives very much like the one I posted today, and doing exercises focused on loosening up our eyes and our painting hands.

Here's all the information.

And here's a shot of my new studio (before I started messing it up!):

Can't make the workshop? I'm also offering private lessons, in 3 hour blocks, for groups of one to three. For more information on that, email me!

Lemon Wedges - A one dollar auction!

"Lemon Wedges"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas
Sold

A few weeks ago, I moved into a new studio - and as I'm coming to find out, getting acclimated to working in a new space is a process! Familiar objects take on new characters, colors don't look quite the same. Lighting has to be experimented with. If you're me, that one's an endless process!

This is the first sketch I made in my new space. Since then, there have been several wipers, a truly weird painting (I won't post it, I'm not really even sure who painted it, it looks nothing like my normal work), and at last, more recently, some better stuff. 

Which I'll begin to show you tomorrow!

I Run the Numbers

 "The Brown Dress"

16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas

Available here

Here it is completed: my first painting of the year. It always feels so strange to create a new desktop folder of paintings for a new year, and file away the first one in that vast empty space. I know it won't be lonely for long - it's time to start filling up that folder!

By my (most-likely faulty) calculations, I posted 81 still life paintings last year, 50-ish figure paintings or portraits, 15 plein air pieces, 2 self-portraits, and 3 portrait commissions. That's fewer still lives than in 2012, but twice as many figure paintings.

Here's an in-progress shot of my studio, my painting, and my friend Farley's painting on the left. See how much more paint he has down than I do? I struggled around with the drawing on this one for hours, but her luscious flesh tones flowed relatively easily.

A Big Fat Happy New Year and Some Paintings Too!

Woah, it's 2014! I spent the last few weeks of 2013 putting finishing touches on my solo show, and then jetting off to sunny Southern California for Christmas with family. 

I did, of course, manage to hastily apply some paint here and there.

These portrait sketches were done at some point during the craziness. They are both about 8x6", oil on Arches oil paper.

 

Just after the New Year, I was thrilled to wake up to this lovely article about the show, and The Gallery at the Watershed.

And I began the year on an excellent note, painting a model in my studio with good art friends. Here's a detail shot of the nearly-finished piece.

 Now I'm off to the gallery for some First Friday Artwalk fun! I'd also like to announce that I'll be gallery-sitting every Saturday this month, so if you'd like to see my show, and maybe test out how much I really resemble that self-portrait of mine, stop by!

Step inside...

...My new studio!

Seeing Red

 

 "On the Red Table"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

I think I love my new studio. What a relief! Especially because it would be awfully hard to take back my old one, already on its way to becoming a man-cave family room. Jesse wasted no time taking over that space! I didn't waste much time myself - there's no better way to settle in than to sling some paint, or, um, spray diet soda all over the room.

I didn't do it, for the record!

Today I started on a fabulous new commission, which I'll be sharing much more about soon!

An Homage to the Swedish Flag...

 "Blue and Yellow Stack"

10 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

...Or maybe just an homage to the Ikea logo. I've had Ikea on the brain a lot lately, working on setting up my new studio. In fact, this is the last painting made in my old studio. I'm ready to take a deep breath and dive into my new space. I feel like I should ceremonially break a bottle on the (as yet non-existant) doorframe. Maybe I'll just shake up a can of soda and spray it around a little.

Maybe. 

Anyway, if you happen to be near the aforementioned Swedish mega-mart, could you pick me up a carload of shelving and some lingonberries? Thanks.

Summer Break and a Vlog

 Here it is: my first Vlog - aka, video blog. Just a quick peek at my studio, all cleaned up for company.

I'm going to be taking some time off from bloggging - August will be packed with family, travel, and many other things, and my social-media-self is feeling in need of a general recharge, anyway. My plan is to do a lot of sketching and drawing, and paint if and when I can for the next few weeks, but my posts may be sporadic. Hoping you all are having a wonderful summer - there's plenty of summer still to come!

A Carnival in my Studio!

Let's kick things off with a painting (because it can't be all fun and games):

"Blueberries and Water"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

....And now, ladies and gents - step right up, no tickets required for this guided tour of my studio! 

Can't you just hear the slow creeeeaaak of the door opening...?

Ok, there's no freak show or tunnel of love in this post. It's a blog carnival, in which a group of artists get together to post about the same topic. In this case: our studios.

I've shared pictures of my studio before, but here's what it's looking like this week. Two easels, tons of plants, random still life stuff everywhere, and paintings all over the walls.

 

You can see canvases stacked and leaning on both sides of my cabinet. The left is for blanks, the right is for paintings. I find this to be a *sophisticated* yet intuitive method of organization.

Below you can see some of my happy little plants. Correct levels of Oxygen and Co2 in an art studio is critical to the creative process! I fool myself that they take my fume exposure down a notch as well.

Below I attempted a panorama of a painting-in-progress on the easel. Left to right, top to bottom: My still life setup with painting, my palette, my painting table (and glass bottle collection), my paintbrushes, and a jumble of paints. The last two I'm not too proud of, but the system does contain some cryptic orderliness, and it's been working for me so far!

Interested in going behind the scenes of some other amazing artists' studios? Here is a veritable fireworks explosion of links!

Marla Laubisch	Carol Schiff	Kaethe Bealer	Jo MacKenzie
Michael Chamberlain	Charleen Martin	Sally Binard	Jacklyn Karabaich
Sharon Graves	Sea Dean	Johnna Schelling	Taryn Day
Julie Ford Oliver	Sarah Sedwick	Kim Rempel	Cindy Michaud
Joanne Grant	Carmen Beecher	Cindy Williams	Cathy Engberg