I paint and paint and try new things and am always happy when my work is appreciated by others.  This 12"x12" was the one "left out" of the recent One Foot Show.  I, however, like it and still feel good about it.  Although I don't usually do still lifes, I tried to set something up which would be lively and interesting and challenging.  Since it's painted on a deep framed canvas support, I even had fun painting the peppers continuing onto the sides of the painting!

"Taking A Break"o/c 12" x 12" x 2"

Contact me HERE if you are interested in purchasing this painting.

I have a series of paintings that I've begun recently.   Mostly I paint the scenes that are familiar to me.  I'm surrounded by beautiful landscapes and, of course, I enjoy painting my family when I can.  However, I spend almost every morning at Gelson's coffee shop with a book, a glass of tea and a bagel.  I sometimes walk down the hill to go there and then walk back and sometimes I drive the short 2 miles down.  Over the years I've come to know - at least by face - the people who are "regulars" there.   Sometimes we strike up conversations, and sometimes we just sit reading in the same area.   There are some who use the area as meet-up places with regular friends.  It's a great place to get your day started.

I decided to do a "Gelson's Series".   I painted one scene several years ago and the people who work there seemed to like it.    I used to sit and sketch people, but I think it made people uncomfortable, so now I take photos and paint from the photos.  Two of my series are being shown at "La Galeria Gitana" in San Fernando until March 20 in a show called "Urban Spaces - The San Fernando Valley".  It is a group show and I have 15 paintings in the show alongside some fabulous other artwork.

My most recent of the series, called "Taking A Break" will be showing at Orlando Gallery right here in Tarzana... (not too far from Gelson's!).  It will be part of a Women Painters West show called a "One Foot Show" since all entries had to be 12" x 12".   The reception will be this Saturday, February 6, 2010 from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. and everybody is welcome.   Perhaps I'll see you there!!

The CAC's monthly paint out was rained out by the spate storms that came through SoCal in the last few weeks so some of us emailed one another decided to try to team up and go out on a different day.

Maria Klar had suggested that we meet at Leo Carrillo State Beach and since I'd not been there painting, I jumped on the opportunity.  I drove out with Sharon Weaver and there we met Maria and Nita.   WHAT A GLORIOUS DAY!!!  When Sharon and I arrived, it was calm and warm and clear.   we each set up and began painting.  By the time Maria and Nita arrived just a short time later, the wind had kicked up a bit and the temperature dropped some, but it was still clear and beautiful.

I had decided to take a larger (11x14) RayMar board... I wanted to stretch myself a bit. It was also (gulp) linen.  I really enjoy painting on linen but I'm so darn cheap thrifty.  Since not everything I try turns out wonderfully, it KILLS me to spend the extra bucks on a support with out knowing it will be WONDERFUL.  (OMG!!!  ;o) )   I know............ I need to get over it.  Interestingly, since I've started experimenting with different supports, I've found that I like plain MDF boards that I've coated with toned gesso, canvas boards AND linen boards... I like them ALL... but for different reasons.  It adds another layer of decision making before I start out... but that kinda adds to the fun, too. 

If time spent trying to get something down on the support counts as progress, I know I've gotten to be better as I've been painting outside over the last few years.  I used to go out with a small board or canvas - usually 8x10 or smaller and I'd labor for well over 3 hours and end up with ..... well it was the best I could do... but ... well, you know.   Now I can go out for an hour with a 6x8 like last Thursday and come up with something I liked.  After about 2 1/2 hours on Friday I felt I had gotten a decent painting and was fearful of doing more and messing it up. 
No worries... I'm a LONG way off from starving to death and it only made the day more memorable!!

On Saturday my husband, Gastone, and Tyler and I drove down to Irvine to the Irvine Museum.  I have known about this muse um for YEARS, but have never driven down to see it.

However, the California Art Club hosted a guided tour led by renown museum director, Jean Stern, and I couldn't resist.   It was wonderful!   Not only were the paintings absolutely stunning... Oh how I wish I could achieve that mastery.. but Mr. Stern is a wond erful story teller and thoroughly entertained the group of art lovers who were there.  Among the many listeners were current well known painters I admire, friends, collectors and art lovers ...  (some people fit into more than one category...LOL).   We were all rapt!  There were so many gorgeous paintings.... here are photos of just a few.

Paintings shown above with Jean Stern:  Maurice Braun (left), Edouard Antonin Vysekal (right)
Paintings shown in photos here from the Museum tour were painted by: 
ABOVE: Sam Hyde Harris (left), William Wendt (center), Guy Rose (right) 
BELOW:  Franz Bischoff (left),  Hanson Duvall Puthuff (right)

What a treat that was....   soon to be followed by my family's artistic efforts.  When we returned we got to watch my dad do the final step of the casting of a part of his silver-handled cane.  My dad, Jim Beach,  was also video-taping the process for another video to add to his award-winning collection.  Here is one small segment of video I got on MY little camera.  (He had two of his own running.)
From there we went to my son, Jon-Paul Fortunati, and his wife, Alexandra's, house where we were treated to a gourmet meal of aged prime rib, asparagus spears, and three-cheese scalloped potatoes.  What a joy to share time with my terrific family!  The perfect end to a perfect day!

"Canyon Shadows"
14" X 18" - Oil on Canvas

(detail on below right)

It has been an interesting two weeks.  I've been painting and thinking, talking to lots of people about my work at the "Urban Spaces" Exhibit at La Galeria Gitana, and happily delivering a few paintings that I've sold!!   I also recently was contacted by a person in Minnesota who requested some note cards.   This resulted in my reviewing some of my older work and going in to rework it and repost it. 

Several years ago I had painted a scene from a summer trip with the family.  We visited the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert.  We also visited the Little Colorado Canyon which I recalled as a child and again as a young mother for its terrifying straight-down no-rail canyons.   They were also awe inspiring and beautiful -- just as the Grand Canyon is.  The colored layers of sandstone turn all sorts of colors as the light and shadows dance across them.

I was driving home from shopping this morning.  The rains have stopped, the sun is shining and the far mountains are COVERED with glorious sparkling snow.   I saw the same view I had finished painting early in January.   It was so beautiful!!...  I'm ready for tonight's show...  But I remembered something I haven't yet done... 

Today was the day the San Fernando Valley Art Club had scheduled a paint out.   I know several of us were looking forward to it, but when the weatherman said it would be raining all week, we pretty much knew it was not to be.

We Southern Californians are pretty much weather wimps.   The worst weather we have is really drought.  Our storms are too often FIRE storms from hot winds and vegetation which is too dry.  We've been trying to conserve water for a while and this year we went on mandatory conservation measures.  Rain is not unknown, but when we get it -- it's not too much to worry about. 

Well... This week is a bit abnormal for us.  We've had storms....   WET, WILD, AND WINDY STORMS!  I was soaked through and through yesterday when I went to deliver a painting to a client and then got stuck on a major freeway for an hour and a half because one of the freeway's drains had stopped up and formed a LAKE on the freeway!  Today I went out to get gas at just the wrong time.  As I put the gas nozzle into the car suddenly the overhang shade "roof" let lose with a WATERFALL right over my head!...   Oh well, at least I won't melt.   I can whine and whine but in reality we really need this water...   Hopefully a snow pack is building up in our mountains which will relieve some of the drought conditions in the year to come.


Although several storms are expected to come through even into the next week, a break is expected between the storms for the weekend.   This is good news as my show is opening on Saturday night and I am hoping that many people are able to make it out to see the wonderful art.  If you live in or around the San Fernando Valley, this show will be a fun look at the urban scenes we are most familiar with.   I'm very excited to be a part of this group show with exceptional artists that I have long admired.   Come on by!

Just click on the underlined links to see images of my paintings and details about them:

"Eaton Canyon Rocks"
11"x14"
Oil on Canvas Board 
If you are interested in purchasing this painting, please contact me HERE.

Almost every Thursday a group of painters loosely called the "Thursday Morning Irregulars", who are mostly from the nearby San Gabriel Valley, get together to paint outdoors.  It's a nice group of painters some of whom use oils, others acrylics and watercolors.  Skill levels vary from somewhat new to painting outdoors or using a specific medium to really very expert painters.

Although they usually meet at a location which is quite far for me to drive, I enjoy going... both because I like to paint with my artist friend, Sharon Weaver, and because at the end of each session the group breaks for lunch and one or two of the more expert painters is willing to critique all of the artwork so that each painter can learn how to make better paintings.  Usually Brenda Swenson critiques the watercolor work and Walter McNally does the oil work.  If one isn't there, the other does it or if neither is there, we all offer opinions.  Everyone is supportive and the aim is to help us all become better artists.  It's a special opportunity.
Sharon, who lives much further east from me, is a regular "Irregular" (LOL).   I just tag along when I can.  Thursday was a GORGEOUS morning... probably the last for a while, because heavy rains are scheduled for our area next week.   I hiked down into the riverbed to set up.   Eaton Canyon has a wonderful wide mostly-dry riverbed filled with jumbled rocks and I wanted to try to capture that in my plein air study.  I took an 11x14 ochre toned canvas and tried to get something down in the 2 1/2 hours before the critique. 

I was pretty satisfied with my painting, but Walter apparently wasn't.  He talked about artists who let the "technique" get it the way of the beautiful scene.   Hmmmmm.   (I wasn't aware that I HAD a "technique".)   Although I tried to get him to clarify, I was left clueless as to how to improve the painting.  My friend, Sharon, suggested that I need to try not to put in large blocks of pre-mixed colors but rather paint so that the eye blends the colors on the canvas.   Okay...

When I came home (still fairly clueless) I decided to just make some adjustments that I thought would improve the painting ....  I think I was successful.

All it all it was a fun day... Beautiful place, gorgeous weather, lots of nice people, and good practice... I'll be back with the group again as soon as I can.

While the frame was beautiful and very reasonably priced, (and the required "gold") I am, however, basically more tight  er "thrifty" when framing my work, so when I found that I needed to purchase nice frames for the show - some of which were odd sized, I revisited the moulding store.  I found a moulding I liked and had some "test" frames made.  WOW!!  I liked them!!  So as I kept painting, I had more made.  Yesterday I spent the day doing all the hardware and wiring.  Doesn't seem like such a big deal until you have ALL of your paintings to do. 

Happily, I finished it all yesterday evening and had time this morning to go to an uninstructed figure painting class before I delivered the paintings to the gallery.   I needed to paint something NOT URBAN!!  I enjoyed talking with artists friends I had made and even was able to dash something off that didn't set my teeth on edge.   There are some really wonderful artists in that group... WOW it's inspiring just to walk around and watch how the paintings unfold under their brushes!!    This was the second sitting of three that wonderful model, Toni Czechorosky, was doing for Julie Snyder's uninstructed class.   Most of the others were doing larger pieces that required more time and thought...  But I had fun just the same.  I always enjoy painting Toni.  I told her that every time I paint her, it looks like a different person... but oh well.

Afterward, I delivered all 15 paintings to Karen Nichols, the curator/director/artist at La Galeria Gitana in San Fernando.  There are some really awesome paintings there... some by artists I am familiar with and whom I admire and some by artists I have yet to meet.  But the work all looked great!!  I'm hoping that she wants to hang all I gave her... There was so much diverse and interesting work there - even though the gallery is large it might not all fit, so we'll see.