Week 4

Tennessee Valley Beach, acrylic on board, 14"x 11"

From a photograph taken a few weekends ago. Since I've started this series, I have a new eye for taking photos of landscapes. We arrived at the beach looking out to the ocean and I sat talking with my husband and a friend with our backs to this rock for an hour or so. When I stood up and turned around, I thought "There's the painting!" Landscapes have to have a There there. 

Girl Sewing, 10"x 8"

Portraits! This is a member of our family... my children could not figure out who it was. 

She has a Meyer flavor, though, and I like her gesture.

Flowering Quince, 16"x 20"

The painting I was looking forward to the most this week and the hardest one to paint.

 It's a little stiff.... I may have to repaint it. Again. 

The actual branches have been on our kitchen table for a few weeks with the blossoms 

gradually unfolding, I may be intimidated by its actual beauty. 

Week 3

Alcatraz, Acrylic on board, 12"x 9"

My Father's family was a big sailing family. We have a photograph of my Grandfather 

as a young man on a sailboat near this spot on the Bay. I've never been to Alcatraz, even though I am from a four-generation Bay Area family.

Sabine, Acrylic on board, 8" x 10"

This week was my friend Sabine's birthday—a great opportunity to paint her a portrait!  

And then I started and thought, "Am I mad?" Having not done many portraits I was nervous and started this painting first this week, scouring I photo for every picture I had of her. You can see a succulent crown behind her—one of the images she works with. I have to say, I really liked the way it turned out, it was great having her eyes watching me working for the rest of the week. I think she liked it too!

Smith Corona, Acrylic on paper, 18" x18"

The last of the commissioned typewriters.

Portrait and Object, week 2

A busy week as usual, and I craved painting all week.

Swallows, acrylic on canvas, 10"x 8"

I was going to paint my niece for the portrait this week, but I had to do these birds today for 

Valentine's Day. I took this photograph 4 years ago near Ft. Baker. 

I know birds hardly count as a portrait, but I'm going to need to mix animals and 

humans in that category.

Royal Typewriter, acrylic on paper, 18"x 18"

This painting is not quite done and is a commission of two typewriters to match a third to go in a lobby... Wasn't sure which typewriters I was going to paint when a friend called out of the blue and asked if I wanted two typewriters she had just inherited... this is one of them, 

I'll paint the other next week.

Landscape for week 2

Acrylic on board, 14"x 11"

This painting is from a photograph I took a long time ago... It's Black Butte near Mt. Shasta. I remember on that day taking photographs of Black Butte, Mt. Shasta in the same position and a cloud formation over the roof of a house that mimicked a mountain shape. I was going to paint all three as soon as I got home, but it never happened.

I like images with roads, it reminds me of traveling.

Art Series for 2013

A new series of paintings... 

Working in series is the best way to set an assignment for myself, I learn so much when focused on one subject and know what it will be when I sit down at my easel.

I considered a series of California landscapes, but realized I would miss painting objects, and thought I really should paint portraits, my weakest subject and the one that needs the most practice. 

To make it interesting and fun, I decided to paint a landscape, an object and a portrait each week beginning in February. Here are my first paintings:

Road outside of Willits, Acrylic on board, 12"x 9"

Onions, acrylic on board, 12"x 16"

Labrador, acrylic on board, 11"x 14"