Moving the lighthouse

Moving the lighthouse? Well, sort of.  This small painting is moving to a new home on Whidbey.  It was SOLD at the Holiday Lites show at a great gallery/coffee house, Timbuktu Java Bar in Freeland, Washington.  You can see the painting's back story on my 11/29/10 blog 'Light on Light'.

2011 Reflections

It is 2011!  And I am still here.   But why no posts for a while?
In January 2009 I decided to be a serious amateur painter and started with taking a painting class...
In January 2010 I realized and that since my picture hanging spaces had run out, (1) I needed to get serious about showing and selling...of course all the time keeping up the painting and in aid of that, (2) I really needed to step up to technology. So I opened this blog.  What a year it was!! 
So here it is 2011 and time for reflections. The main thing I have learned is that time is the issue.  No surprise there.   We all have 24/7, but it is no secret that some folks get a lot more done than others without apparently sacrificing anything important.  I know of very few ways to speed up the right brain stuff (sans mind altering chemicals), although if anyone does please let me know.  So it has to be the other parts:  technology and information have to work harder for me.  I have arranged for young college student friend to teach me Facebook,  I have borrowed a DVD on running my new (used) Nikon and bought a dummie's type book about Photoshop.  I trust that the learning curve will not exceed the time gained.
So I look forward to efficiency in technology and more happy days painting... I should be posting again soon.
Hey, if we don't have dreams what are we?

Pepper

What an amazing spice! Noticing the huge assortment of bottled pepper sauces in a well know store led me to wondering how many I had. Assembled bottles, dry and fresh peppers, grinders... I saw the lively colors and decided to paint some (but not all) of them. The old movie title seemed right. "Some Like it Hot" is a 6"x 6" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.  It is SOLD to a dear friend.  I hope she enjoys it as much as I did painting it.

Aroma

Hot latte, fresh cookies...ah...you can just 'see' the fragrant scents. Buoyed by holiday energy, I wanted to express the colors, the tastes, aromas and comforts of the season. The pleasures of painting are visual, kinetic and tactile. All the more fun to evoke the other wonderful senses of taste and smell. Christmas Latte' is a 6"x 6" acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

Fresh Snow

The first snow of the season is always exciting; it came the week before Thanksgiving this year. Many leaves were still on the trees and the slow steady fall transformed my woodland garden into a wonderland. This little picture is the view from the warmth of my living room. 'Fresh Snow' is just 7" x 5" and done in acrylic.

Light on Light

The ferry was delayed on a fall day in Mukilteo, Washington, so I grabbed my camera and found that the late day sun added glory to an already interesting scene. The old rose bushes were full of hips exactly the color of the roofs, and of course the cream colors of the walls glowed golden. The ferry finally came and I rushed home to put my brush to work. This painting, Mukilteo Light, is done in acrylic on a small 6 x 6 gallery wrapped canvas.  This painting was SOLD at  Timbuktu Java in Freeland Washington to a Whidbey resident.  Thanks, Lauren, for showing my work. 

Ratatouille

Once again, the beauty of the ordinary captured my attention. After placing a luscious eggplant into my shopping cart, followed by a bright tomato, my focus changed and I knew that dinner plans were supplanted by the need to use these beautiful veggies as models rather than ingredients in ratatouille. By adding a head of fragrant garlic, I completed a compostion that was great fun to paint. 'Ratatouille' is 3.5" x 5" in acrylic. Of course with a few more ingredients, they all did double duty at dinner.
This small work is available at the Whidbey Art Gallery, Langley, Washington.

Another Red Barn

The rich red color of barns is a natural complement to the beautiful greens and golds of the fields surrounding them. They are irresistable as subjects to paint. I found this one on a painting expedition near Winthrop, in eastern Washington. This small painting is only 7 x 5 and painted in acrylic. and SOLD at the Artists of South Whidbey Galleria show in Langley in December of 2010.

Mist and Moss

Rivers carry a mystique all their own. Add the colors of autumn and the moodiness of a misty day and you have a recipe for a visual delight. Driving along the Skykomish River in Western Washington during the first week of October, I spotted this moss covered rocky outcrop which led me to this charming scene. It is a 6" x 4" miniature painted in acrylic on canvas and called 'Autumn on the Skykomish' and is vailable at the Whidbey Art Gallery in Langley, Washington

Kitchen Towels

Sunnier climes and simpler times... Inspired by a photograph snapped in Portugal, I painted this scene just because it made me feel good; I was charmed by the bright red clothespins and the reminder of the fragrance of sun-dried cotton! It is in acrylic and is 12 x 9.  It is called 'Red Clothespins' and was SOLD at the Commons in Langley.

Ubiquity

Omnipresent, trees are so often taken for granted; they suffer from over exposure. We see them just as background, and except for perhaps a few days in spring or autumn, fail to notice their individual beauty. Forests provide shade, water conservation, soil enrichment, wood products for our shelter and oxygen for us to breathe. And still we don't notice or appreciate them! Ok, there is Arbor Day, but how often have you celebrated that? Framed in a black beaded wood frame, this little (3.5 x 5 inches) painting, 'Alder Grove' is my quiet homage to the common 'weed tree' of the Northwest, the Red Alder. There is always beauty if we are willing to look for it. It is available at Whidbey Art Gallery in Langley, Washington

Echos

A hand-thrown vase I have loved and that was a special gift over 40 years ago is now recorded in fine art. Taking art from three dimensions and re-creating it to two only enhances the pleasure. As I was looking for a companion object I lighted on one of my own little miniatures displayed on an easel. Aha. Then came the thought of repeating the one I was doing! What fun. And what a challenge. This miniature acrylic is 3 1/2 x 5 inches and the miniature 'echoed' in the piece is less than 1 x 3/4 inches. The next echo is only 1/8th inch by 3/16th! 'Echo' was SOLD at the Artists of South Whidbey show in Langley, Washington.

Subtlety

Warm colors in winter are especially welcome and are enhanced by their rareness and subtlety. Sunsets come early and cannot warm the day, but never lose their beauty; their glowing golden light contrasting with the cold, grey bleakness makes them a special treat. This painting is in acrylic and is a miniature only 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches. 'Winter Sunset' is charming in a simple and classic gold frame and has been SOLD.

Tiny Treasures

Today has been one of those glorious northwest spring days: sunshine, flowers, more flowers and balmy breezes. So fitting that this daffodil farm was the subject of my latest miniature. I love the shades of yellow; what joy Mother Nature gives our lives. In acrylic and framed in a proportional gold frame, it is just 3.5 x 5 inches and was SOLD at the Artists of South Whidbey show in Langley, Washington.

Drama

The Pacific Northwest is known for fog shrouded trees, rain veiled views and dream-tinted skies. But in a simple farm field of calendulas destined for market, it was not softness but the majesty of tall trees and the strength of bold rows on a bright August afternoon that needed to be painted.
This 4 x 6 inch painting is another miniature. It was painted with some artistic license from a photo taken by artist and friend Karen. I call it simply 'Calendulas'. (March 21 Update: It won 'Best in Show and SOLD at the miniature show and competion at the Gallery North in Edmonds, Washington.)

Rain

Puget Sound residents both love and hate the rain. We love the glowing greens, the freshness, the smell that rain bestows on the soil; we love the droplets sparkling in the sun after a shower, the drama and variety of rain-laden clouds and endless more eye-enriching sights. Then the flip side ... the inconvenience ...oh, well ...

While the mist still lingered in this small view of my own driveway, I tried to capture the first weak ray of brightness following a late winter shower; 3 1/2 x 5 inches is all I needed. I entered 'Winter Rays' in the Miniatures show at the Gallery North. (March 31 update: it SOLD at the show!)

Smaller

Objects in paintings are generally smaller than in real life, but here we go one step further and make paintings smaller than the norm, properly called miniatures or small works depending on just how small they are. This one is 4/1/4 by 3 1/2 inches, or just about the size you are likely viewing it on screen, and so is a miniature. The subject is a barn on Heggenes Road, which winds through rural south Whidbey Island. This work, called 'Whidbey Barn' is the first of several miniatures that I plan to paint and enter in a local Miniatures Show, so I cannot commit them for sale just now. These little guys are just plain fun to do, so my next few entries will be small. this work has been SOLD at the Edmonds Art Festival show in June, 2010 .

Groceries

Visit the grocery and fill your senses with color! Rich reds, dusky purples, tans and all the shades in between. Glorious!! How marvelous that we can enjoy the vivid colors of nature in our everyday lives. I started this painting of "Just Some Onions and Plums" at a workshop with artist Michelle Usibelli and finished it at home. It was a total joy to do and to view. Now framed in a traditional gold frame, it is simply a pleasure. It is 8 x 10" and has SOLD to a young couple from Anchorage.

Sunshine

Daffodils do more to capture the fresh new sunshine "After a Spring Rain" than anything I can imagine.
(Please note that the dark smudge in the middle sky is a function of my scanner and not in the painting). Sky, sunshine and reflected light, this scene in nearby Mt. Vernon, Washington, known for its bulb growing industry, just begged to be painted. It is in acrylic on canvas board, 11 x 14 and available framed for $175.

Small

Miniaturization is big in technology to carry information, but for the same reason, miniature portraits were used for centuries. The idea has always fascinated me. Referencing a 16 x 12" plant portrait (see my January 12 blog post) I did last spring I have painted a miniature in only 4 x 5 inches. It is available for $55 framed. These small paintings look great set on tiny easels on a desktop or end table.