I'm continuing my efforts to "paint trees" that I began before going to Laguna. On this outing, (last Thursday before I left) I drove to an area not far from my home just east of Lake Balboa between the groomed park and lake area and the wilderness preserve behind the Sepulveda Dam. There is a biking / jogging path along a large field of dried grasses which is surrounded by all sorts of trees. This path skirts Hayvenhurst Blvd. so I found easy parking.

I tried to capture the intense dark of these trees --both of them huge thickly leaved Eucalyptus -- as the morning light peaked through the branches. This contrasted with the hazy far away line of trees obscured by the moisture in the air. The lower, more vibrant trees on the left caste their shadows across the bike trail.

Once I set my sights on Eucalyptus trees, I realized that while similar, there are vast differences between species of these native Australian trees. This particular type seems to be a heavier and fuller species with a darker and coarser bark than some.

I will continue to hunt Eucalyptus trees for a while as there are absolutely stunning trees to be painting in this group.

Despite the slightly foggy day, I was happy to sit in the shade but also used my painter's umbrella to help shade my palette as I painted.

"Afternoon Delight"
9"x12" - Oil on RayMar linen



Sunday was our last day in Greg LaRock's workshop. We were back in Laguna Beach -- this time in Heisler Park at the north end. The day started off pretty foggy but ended up as another gorgeous Southern California day at the beach.

Saturday had been planned to be only the students painting all day with Greg's timely suggestions and guidelines, but he was convinced to finish with a quickie which I promised I'd post. Here it is:

On Sunday, Greg did a demo in the morning - reviewing all of the tips and information he had talked about on the previous two days and illustrating this as he did his demo. I enjoyed watching as he transformed a blank canvas into a lovely scene in about two hours... all the while talking and explaining (and trying to dodge the torrents of water as workers hosed down the bathrooms above us on the hill) the various points he was trying to make.

By about 11:00 he had finished his demo and he sent us off to find spots, eat lunch and relax.

I found a spot looking in the same direction but higher up on the hill and behind some tall purple flowers and a palm for some shade and a cool breeze.

As Greg dropped by to make suggestions and comments, I asked him how he managed to get the "crisp" look to his painting. He said that he doesn't mix the paints on the canvas but lays in the mixtures cleanly and then adds any pure color to attract the eye. Perhaps some day I'll get it.

However after struggling with what to do with the foreground (put in the purple flowers or leave them out and paint the part of the cliff I really couldn't see) I worked it out and in the end was pretty happy with my painting.

Greg ended the day with another critique session which I again found really useful. I think critiques and suggestions as you are painting or immediately after finishing up are really useful. Your mind says you're not "done" and you are ready to hear and accept these important and useful lessons which directly relate to what YOU'VE just done.

All in all... another good experience!!

We met on Balboa Island near Newport Beach, CA for day two of Greg LaRock's plein air workshop. Greg had told us that this was OUR day to paint and that he expected us to complete four.... ( YES.....FOUR!) paintings during the day.

Greg's a pretty smart guy and a good teacher. He had been talking about blocking in large shapes of a general color for each of the various big shapes in your composition in order to cover the canvas and eliminate the urge to noodle or pick at a painting. He said the only thing that should catch the eye was the area that attracted you as an artist in the first place. Your shapes should be planned. The artist has the obligation to create and paint what we know will make a good composition and lead the eye where we want it to focus......... even if the scene is different. He pointed out the "sweet spots" we all know about - approximately the four corners of the center rectangle when your canvas is divided by four lines horizontally and vertically.

Shapes should be varied from large to small.. and the artist should avoid making shapes that repeat or which are two uniformly spaced. He reminded us to save dramatic value changes or contrasts for the center of interest. This "focal point" is also where most of your hard edges should be placed.

By challenging us to paint four paintings (even if they were small) he knew we would have to keep them as simple as possible..... What I call the KISS principle.... Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Well I'm sorry to say that I failed Greg's challenge. I only completed three of the 6"x8" paintings I started. ("Waiting", "Yellow House" and "Fruit Stand".) I finished the fourth, which I had sketched out and made color notes about on site, when I returned home. ("Sidewalk Shadows" on the right side of this post.)

Despite not meeting the number quota, I was really pleased with myself. I tried to keep to the idea of large shapes of general color without noodling. I think I designed the paintings well enough so that the eyes are led to the focal point or center of interest in each case. I also challenged myself to paint boats and architecture which have always been difficult for me from a rendering point of view and I think I pulled them off fairly well. (Greg did a little mini drawing lesson on how boat shapes are simply rectangular boxes with a triangle attached.) AND... quite frankly... three's more paintings than I've ever done in a single day, anyway!!

Despite the fact that WE STUDENTS were supposed to paint all day, Greg was convinced... (we WERE pretty tired by then) at the end to do a demo which he pulled off in about one-half hour. He even put people in it!! (I'll post a photo of it in the next post.)

Each day of the workshop ended with a critique session and I have to say that, while kind, Greg did an excellent job of critiquing each artists' work. He talked about specific good points and made clear and doable suggestions for improvements. Another good lesson for me was to hear him say that he always waits at least a day after finishing a plein air piece to evaluate and make improvements / corrections on it. It was good to hear that every artist becomes so "in" to what they are working on, that it is necessary to walk away and see it with fresh eyes - the next day or later to really evaluate the work properly. I'll talk more about critiques in my next post.

Thanks for visiting!

When I was a Principal, I would take an art workshop about once a year and I'd try to take a class that met weekly in the evening. I really had never done any drawing or painting until I began to contemplate retirement and decided that I'd better have something to do... to challenge me and to help me to enjoy life beyond the "up at 5:00 off to work... work till you drop routine".

"Agave By The Sea"
8"x10" Oil on RayMar Canvas

Little did I know how engaging and fulfilling the art world has become in my life.

Now that I've retired, I find myself taking more workshops. I've enjoyed them all - the traveling, the learning and the meeting wonderful people. Initially I was absolutely and totally over my head. Luckily I didn't really know how much I didn't know. The artist-teachers were kind and patient. I still have so much to learn but now I can see that each time I hear the same thing in a different way from a different artist ..or the same artist.. I begin to understand it better.

I wondered, this time, however, whether I should take yet another workshop (I've taken 5 workshops since I retired two years ago). I'm glad I did. I had a great time, I enjoyed painting in a beautiful spot and I began to understand and apply a bit more as I painted. I had chosen to sign up for Greg's workshop because I like his work. Luckily I found during the workshop that he is a nice person with a well-thought out set of ideas that he shares easily with his students.

Greg talked about all of the usual important points in painting: focal point, composition, color mixing, values, edges and shapes. What I found most useful at this point in my journey was his emphasis on planning and designing the painting. What is it that you are trying to convey? (WHY are you painting this scene?) Does the drawing support what you are trying to convey (He came by often and made suggestions for corrections on drawing... reaffirming my need to work on drawing.) Do the colors create depth or atmospheric perspective? And probably most important... although it's by far not the first time I've heard it... Am I simplifying my shapes so that any details are at the focal point and all other elements of the composition lead the viewer's eye to the "main idea" of the painting?

Look how crisp and lovely his painting turned out. Where does the composition of the painting lead your eye?

On day one we met at a beautiful park in South Laguna. The day started out pretty overcast but was soon quite sunny and warm (emphasizing the need to block in all elements quickly and simply and not chase shadows and light.) Greg did a demonstration where he talked and showed us what he meant as he explained all of the principles needed in a successful painting.

In the afternoon we all chose our spots and tried to put into practice all he had discussed. Greg came by to each of us several times, making suggestions ... finding the good elements and pointing out what needed work. One of the endearing things Greg said several times to all of us, is that we need to take our failures and put them behind us. With each painting are some failures and some successes. We need to carry the successes forward and build on them.

I LIKE THAT PHILOSOPHY!! Thanks, Greg LaRock.

Last Thursday, before I left on my weekend in Laguna, painting in Greg LaRock's workshop, I scoured the neighborhood for interesting trees. Believe me, I found many, many beautiful trees. I was wondering as I searched, how many people really stop to look or realize how gorgeous some of these trees are... hopefully they do.

Anyhow for a variety of reasons, I ended up back at home. I remembered a garden area near the guard gates of my community. Mind you, I've lived here 15 years and I've never stepped into this area. Well, I tried the gate and it was open. ...(As it turned out, I lucked out... It's usually locked and you need "permission" to enter... but on Thursday the gardeners are working in the community and the gate was unlocked.) There I found a lovely "secret garden". It's full of old oaks and even more sycamores. Below you can see a view from the far side of the garden looking toward the gate. You might be able to see my painting set-up on the left side near the middle of the garden. Anyhow I sat in the shade and tried to capture the soft light as it stretched across the fallen oak leaves to the bottom of the gully area and the strong branches of the oaks on the hill.

I was happy with my painting. (However, after my workshop, I now think I'll go back and paint again - the next time with more compositional info in my "toolkit" to use.) The next few posts will describe a bit of the great time I had in Greg's workshop.

It was a great anniversary gift from my husband. He and Tyler came down on Saturday and my daughter and her husband came up so we could all celebrate together. Laguna and the beautiful sce

Today I stayed in the neighborhood. I just drove down a street until I saw an attractive tree. Guess what!! It was another sycamore. We're rationing water here in L.A. so the lawn in front of it was brown, but the tree was pretty. You can see the scene in the left photo. I decided to crop the scene a bit and just focus on the lovely bark patterns which help make sycamores so attractive.


It was an interesting morning. Usually when I paint outdoors I either try to stay out of the way or I'm in a whole group of painters so most people don't come up to talk. Today was different.

First the teenage girls who lived in the house with the tree came out "to see what I was drawing". At that point I had only put one dash of dark paint across the canvas so there wasn't much to see. After telling me that the tree was going to be famous, they left. Next a lady driving by stopped to ask if she could come see what I was doing. When she got out of her car and walked up, the painting was at the stage .... well, let's just say it was a mess. We had a nice chat and she said some encouraging words and left. When I was close to finishing a man who had been out walking stopped to chat. Thank goodness there was finally someone who saw something that LOOKED something like the scene in front of me. I was working on the bark patterns that I find so intriguing. We had a really nice chat. I gave him my card and when he left I was feeling pretty good. --- Glad I had decided to paint in my neighborhood and not hide.

As Mr. Rogers used to say, "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood."

I buy art books. I'm always thinking that somehow the info in these books is going to transfer immediately into my brain and I will suddenly become accomplished. However, often after I buy the book, I end up looking at pictures and skimming the text... not really digging in. For a lot of reasons recently I have REALLY gotten into Kevin Macpherson's book, "Fill Your Oil Paintings With Light & Color". Mind you the book has been sitting by my bedside for quite a while now and I've looked through it before... I've even referred to both of his books when I've had problems with paintings I was trying to resolve. But this time I was totally involved in reading and studying what he was saying. WHAT A WONDERFUL BOOK! And of course the photos of his paintings are inspiring as well.

Let's just say that having finished my first study of the book (I plan to go back and do it again) I'm still not accomplished.... But I am inspired!

I decided to set my sights on trees for a while.

Actually I'm going to be taking a workshop next weekend where I doubt I'll be painting trees. Yippee -- I LOVE workshops..! I'm looking forward to taking a class from Greg LaRock. More to come.

But here at home... trees will be my focus. Among my favorite trees are sycamores, so I found one where I could sit in the shade this morning and I just sat for a few hours and painted it. I tried to use Macpherson's suggestions ... failed miserably.... old habits are hard to break. Although I tried to simplify and block in big darks, big lights and get the colors (val-hues) right... I just kept picking at it till it bled. (A Frank Gardner quip.) The background trees are too blue ... my warms are probably too orange. Perhaps I'll fool with it later. (No plein air police in MY house!!) Probably I'll just leave it and do another on another day.. hopefully I'll do better.

It WAS a nice way to spend a couple of hours this morning, though.

Lagoon
16"x12"
Oil on RayMar Canvas

It's been a while since I felt the special feeling you get when painting something challenging but that with which you have a special connection. Those of you who paint know what I'm talking about... it's hard to describe, but in a way while painting you are "beyond" painting.

I won't say that this painting painted itself. I didn't quite reach that plane, but I was smiling while I was painting. Although I used reference photos, I also did some planning and changing. I remembered the elegance of this beautiful bird.. either a grey egret or a heron, as it crept up to the water about to pounce upon its next meal. It was a special moment. I tried to look through some books (Gruppe and Macpherson) and thought a great deal about all I've tried to learn from my friends and teachers about creating a painting that is well conceived and attractive to others.

I looked at my first version (bottom right) and decided to try to make it more interesting by adding thicker paint both in the foreground grasses and in the sky. I looked at the image in black and white to see if I had enough variation with value and whether the value patterns made sense. I tried to add some interesting color to the scene... it was there, but I enhanced it a bit. I wanted to make sure the aerial perspective sent the far grasses and bushes back but I also wanted to emphasize the lovely colors of the weeds and grasses in the middle ground.

There was lots of pushing and pulling of paint, but in the end I was still smiling. I'm not sure if any of you can see the changes I made, but I think they added interest to the painting.

Happy painting to all of you. May you always smile while you paint!

I'd also love it if this painting makes the viewer smile.

If you read my blog regularly, by now you know that I had a wonderful experience in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, when I took a painting workshop led by Frank Gardner in March of this year. I met terrific people, I painted a lot, I got to see a new and beautiful spot, I learned a lot, had a fabulous time laughing and partying with people in the class and, I feel I made a new good friend - Frank Gardner. He's a terrific artist, a wonderful teacher and a kind "coach". Plus he's pretty darn funny!

One of the great things about attending workshops is being able to see original quality work first hand and sometimes being able to buy it. I couldn't resist buying TWO of Frank's paintings. One is more typically Frank I think and I bought it because of that. (Las Sombras Del Ranchito). The other is just one that struck me and I had to have it. Frank described his process of painting it and I just loved the simple lines that said so much.... Although if you were able to look carefully there is a lot of interesting work in the background too. (Violin) What can I say??? I'm very pleased to own these two pieces.

I now have to find appropriate spaces in the house to hang them. I've been collecting for a while and have lots and lots of windows so not much wall space... and I want to be able to honor these paintings with a "good spot"... I've got two Scott Burdick paintings (small ones), and a few others from artists I admire. Some of these artists include John Paul Thornton, Julie Snyder, Linda Blondheim, Michael Maczuga and a number of Italian artists my husband has collected. Sometimes I also buy little paintings to give to my family members... small pieces that I can afford. I feel blessed to be surrounded by these paintings and sometimes I just sit and look at them... perhaps hoping to channel the talent of their creators... (As if)

But the arrival of these beautifully framed and wonderful paintings really has made me step back and smile and be thankful for the ability to travel, meet terrific people and have their fabulous work in my house.

Thank you Frank Gardner!!

VIVA Tenth Anniversary Celebration

“Tenth Anniversary All Group Exhibition”

Wednesday, July 15 – Saturday, August 8, 2009
Reception: Sunday, July 19, 2–5pm

VIVA or the Valley Institute Of Visual Art is a beautiful gallery in Sherman Oaks not too far from my home. I am extremely pleased and honored that both of the paintings I entered to be juried into the upcoming show were accepted. The juror of selection and awards was Gerald Brommer.

Here is what VIVA says about the show: "Every year or so, VIVA brings together all four of the founding organizations for a collaborative exhibition. We have highlighted each of these organizations and their members in separate exhibitions, but this combined juried exhibit gives all the members from all four organizations a chance to show collectively. VIVA is very proud to be affiliated with these extremely talented artists from four very diverse art organizations."

The founding organizations are Collage Artists of America, Valley Artists Guild, Valley Watercolor Society and Women Painters West. I've been a VAG member for several years now and was just recently honored to be juried in to Women Painters West. You can imagine that just from the names of the organizations, that the work displayed will be diverse, interesting and wonderful!

The two paintings of mine that were juried in to the show are:

China Cove Cliffs

Magic Hour At Malibu Creek
(Twilight's Sweet Song)

My work and all the work in the show is for sale through VIVA Gallery.

My family and I will be taking the Ausie cousins down to San Diego to visit my daughter and her husband AND then going to Laguna to see the Pageant of the Masters. We hope to come by the reception on the way back... probably around 3:00 if any of you decide you want to come by to see the art and also see me. (LOL) I've promised everyone that I will take it easy and not do too much so as not to have a pneumonia relapse.

Communion
12x16 o/c

I had started sketching this scene before I got sick. I was going to try my hand at rocks and there's hardly any better place to see rocks in a beautiful setting than at Matador Beach.

I had a series of photos taken the summer before last when my Italian niece, Giorgia, was visiting with her family. My brother in law had just bought me a new camera since I had "drowned" my original one while on a white water rapid trip down the Gallatin River. I have a wonderful little video of Tyler playing in the surf... but it's sideways... hard to watch but impossible to throw away the joyous giggles and screams as the water chases him back and forth.

Anyhow, since I got pneumonia I hadn't painted. I was feeling better Friday and Saturday so I decided to give it a try. Good thing I did it then because I'm flat on my back again today. I'm sure it's just a temporary setback but I wanted to be well, so I'm feeling sorry for myself. The Australian cousins are due for a 10 day visit tonight... Don't know when I'll be back painting. Hope I'll at least be out of bed!!

Last Tuesday I enjoyed another great day in Tapia State Park with painters Sharon Kaiser and Maria Klar. I got to meet another of their friends - George (Sorry, George.. I didn't find out your last name). The June gloom had begun to clear with just a bit of the "early morning low clouds" (aka fog) hovering over the tops of the Santa Monica Mountains.

This time I took a wood panel that I had gessoed with grey gesso and a little red acrylic paint thrown in to color it. I have to tell you that I really liked the feel of the non-canvas covered panel! On previous attempts at painting on these surfaces I had found them slimy and disappointing but with the addition of a coat or two of gesso there seemed to be just enough grab to the paint to make the painting time appealing. I think it helps me hold the integrity of the brushwork better than when I use canvas as well. This may be my new favorite support!!

I spent quite a while traipsing around looking for something that attracted my imagination. It's not that there aren't beautiful spots everywhere, but I wanted to sit down and use the scene to compose something that I felt would convey interest and a sense of place. When I finally found the spot, I took some time to do a value study ... this helps me "frame" what I'm trying to paint. Otherwise my eyes wander all over and I get lost in the scenery. What had attracted me was the way the morning light was hitting the sides of the trees and making them stand out against the background trees and bushes. Although I had to leave relatively early I was still able to complete this 8"x10" study.

We enjoyed another luncheon conversation before I left. Both Sharon and Maria bring wonderful homemade meals -- salads from the garden or meals from home.... George had pb&j and I had an egg McMuffin. Neither of our meals were really up to the standard set by the ladies -- but we all ate with gusto. Luckily Maria had brought cookies (for the plein air police -- LOL) and Sharon brought fresh picked cherries for us to share for dessert. After I asked, Sharon graciously gave me a few pointers, suggesting that although my painting was like a postcard, if I had wanted to show the light on the trees, the next time I might narrow the focus and do without the sky and the foreground... concentrating more narrowly on the trees. I think I may do that next time.... This time, however, I was happy with what I painted!! I didn't even fiddle with it once I got home. (No plein air police paranoia on this one.)

Purple Haze
14" x 11"
Oil on RayMar panel

The jacaranda trees bloomed earlier in San Miguel de Allende than they did here in Southern California. I absolutely LOVED my time in that city last March. I felt I learned a lot from painter Frank Gardner and so enjoyed making new friends (Hi Joy, Mary and Kathy) and seeing a bit of that beautiful city. Since then I've worked on a few paintings from photos I took while I was there. (Calle Dorado and Trinity)

I had started one of a scene from the top of Garita Street looking down toward the main cathedral of the city. The jacarandas were blooming and the scene was glorious. As always with scenes involving architecture, I was struggling. I had gotten most of the painting fleshed out when Frank posted a gorgeous painting of almost the same scene. Then he did another ... a night scene that was equally wonderful. I threw up my hands... Put my poor effort in the corner and went on to other things.

A bit later, another blogger friend, Paula Villanova, painted the same scene but VERY DIFFERENTLY. I loved the color and vibrancy of that one too. It was totally different but also wonderful.

About three or four weeks ago our local jacarandas began really blooming here. They were calling to me, saying, "Don't chicken out.... What is your painting is YOURS... It will never be someone else's." Okay, trees here we go... This is MY version. And it WILL always remind me of good times and good people.

Tapia State Park
Oil/RayMar linen 9x12

Last week I had the opportunity to join two painters in one of California's many beautiful State Parks. Tapia Park is very near Malibu Creek State Park where I have visited many times, but probably because of its proximity, I hadn't visited Tapia. I enjoyed seeing the picturesque scenes in this area.

I had met Sharon Burkett Kaiser, a well-known impressionist artist, through the California Art Club's quarterly paint-outs. Sharon manages the Ventura/Malibu Chapter of CAC and, in addition to being a terrific artist, is a friendly and gracious woman. Her friend, Maria Klar, made the outing complete. Both women had painted at Tapia many times and warned me never to venture there alone without a group as there are more predators than the four legged types around. Our visit was uneventful -- the only other people we saw were the rangers and a group of children.

We had a great day.. the skies were a bit cloudy, but it wasn't cold and there was enough warm sunshine to make the golden grasses sparkle. Each of us picked a spot and we all enjoyed our painting time. After a nice lunch discussion, Sharon offered a few suggestions to Maria and me, then we painted a bit more. I didn't finish and said I would have to work on the painting at home, but then it wasn't entirely en plein air. I laughed when Sharon scoffed at me and said, "What do you think? That the plein air police go around check to see that you finish all of your work in the field?" She said that many artists finish their work at home or simply use their plein air work as color studies and do most of their work in the studio.

All in all it was another fun day paint outdoors.

Hopefully, this post didn't go into your spam folder ... I get a lot of spam with this word in the title...(LOL) ....but in THIS post I'm referring to paint.

My recent visits to the California Art Club Show in Malibu and discussions with my painting friends, have gotten me to really think about using thicker paint in my paintings.

I decided to experiment on two "failed" plein air paintings that have just been sitting there waiting for me to do something with them. The first painting (McGrath Wetlands - oil - 9x12/linen) isn't too old and it was started in the middle of a "swamp" on a very foggy day. The weather gods were not smiling on me a week or so ago when I drove up toward Ventura to paint en plein air by myself. I ended up in McGrath State Park in a wetlands area .... sort of a California swamp. It might have been lovely if the sun had been shining and maybe if there were more than a few dismal looking water birds around but... Well, the gnats and I just painted away - trying to take advantage of our State Park before they are all closed. I figured if anyone wanted to authenticate that the sucker I was working on was painted in plein air, all they needed to do was pull off some of the gnats that were taking numbers to dive into my paint and canvas. It was also the first time I had ever painted on linen. All very interesting.

I reworked it here at home adding some thicker paint to the sky, but really didn't get the thick paint application I was looking for in the reeds and grasses. I did however, feel like the painting was better for my revisit.

The second painting (Canyon Grasses - 6x8 - oil/canvas) was from an outing to Towsley Canyon. I painted right over it, trying for THICK paint. I was pretty happy with it, but did have some trouble with the width of the grasses as they progressed from foreground to middle ground.

Two questions for anyone who cares to comment:
1. Do you use linen? If so why and does all of that justify the extra cost or do you use it because it seems that "better painters" use linen?
2. How do you handle grasses?

"Sunny Southern California" has been fickle this week. I mean we almost never get rain... we're in the middle of a terrible drought here with schedules for when and whether we can water our lawns and penalties for using too much. Besides that -- normally it is May gray and June gloom these few months. BUT yesterday it rained and there was thunder and lightening!! - Very strange for all of us in SoCal.

However, Sharon Weaver and Margie Murray and I had decided to go out plein air painting together and this was the day. Until early in the morning we were trying to decide whether it was worth it to drive out to the beach.

It was GLORIOUS!!! We ended up parking near Malibu Surfer's Beach. That was a treat ... so much fun to see all of the early morning surfers... all ages, shapes and sizes enjoying our beautiful gift of nature. We set up our easels and set out painting. What fun. Soon we were shedding our jackets and donning our hats.... The sun came out and the overcast melted away. It was clear and beautiful with a view all the way across the bay and across the ocean to Catalina!

Life is good. I even like my little 8" x 10" study. If you'd like it for your own, just drop me an email.

On our way home we went by Pepperdine to see the "On Location In Malibu Show" again. We picked some we all liked such as Calvin Liang's painting with its luscious brushwork and beautiful colors!! But there were so many others.

My family and I had a fun night last night out in Malibu. The California Art Club Artist Members were exhibiting their beautiful paintings of Malibu and the environs. What a treat! My 90+ year-old Dad, Jim, my 9 year old, Tyler, and my husband, Gastone, all joined me and the huge crowd at Pepperdine University to see the show opening. It was great! I had so much fun talking with friends and seeing the gorgeous paintings.

It was fun listening to Dad's opinions of the paintings, too. He loved the thick paint textures, the color combos but tended to like the more realistically rendered paintings more than I did. I loved so many..... couldn't choose a favorite. Need to go back and savor them, I think.

I'd say that the only drawback was the fact that so many people were there, it made it hard to see all of the paintings well. .... Guess I'll just have to go back. The good news was that because there were so many people there, I knew a lot of them and it was fun to introduce them to the family.

If you live anywhere nearby... make this a must-see on your calendar!

TUESDAY WAS ARTISTS' DAY AT THE RANCHO

(WHO CAN TELL ME WHAT CAUSES THOSE WAVY LINES AND HOW I CAN AVOID THEM????)

I had some problem with the glare spots but know pretty much how to avoid them... but no luck getting an image with "true" color and no wavy lines.

Finally I went with "as good as it gets..." I settled with almost good enough color and no wavy lines. I had to quit and use the images I could get or go nuts. Here's the painting.

"China Cove Cliffs"
16" x 12"
Oil on Raymar canvas board.

Hope you all had a Happy Mother's Day!!

RECENT GOOD FORTUNE
It seems that I've been getting really lucky lately. Actually this one is a winner not just for me and my hopes to get my work "out there", but it potentially can help a good cause too.

Dreams On Canvas is an annual juried benefit designed as a charity fund raiser to support The Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks and two other health related support groups. This one is a win-win. The artists make 60%, the purchasers get to support a good cause while purchasing a wonderful painting, and the Circle Of Care Foundation which supports the receiving healthcare groups gets 40% of the purchase price.

My congratulations letter came recently letting me know that TWO of my paintings were juried into this show:

Fresh Catch

Laundry Day

A call was put out to the selected artists after they were notified of the initial acceptance for "small works" .. less expensive, small and able to "stand" on a table. Three of my small format paintings were selected for the "Gallery Store":

Springtime
Silverhawk Sunset
Lean On Me

Put this one on your calendar... Support a good cause and add to your collection.

CITYART GALLERY
7723 Hayvenhurst Ave.
Van Nuys, CA 91406

Saturday, May 2, 2009
BENEFIT GALA, COCKTAIL DINNER AND ART SALE
6:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
(tickets required)

Sunday, May 3, 2009 Public View and Sale Day
12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

CALL (818) 817-3288 for more information

**********************************

If you know of anyone who might be interested either in my work or in supporting this wonderful cause, I'd appreciate it if you'd forward this email to them (with a little introduction from you!).THANKS!!!

Also... If you don't already get my e-mail newsletter and would like to, please sign up by clicking on this link and completing the information. I'd love to share my good art news with you!

Las Virgenes Barn
Canyon Riders
Radiant Ridge
Sunset From Silverhawk Ridge
After The Fires
Duck Wash
Resurgence
Canyon Colors
Fog
Storm Clouds Over The Valley (View From Mountain Gateway Park)

La Galeria Gitana
120 N. Maclay Ave. Suite E
San Fernando, CA 91340
(behind Cold Stone Creamery)
(818) 898-7708
galeriagitana.com

Exhibition: -- April 18 - June 20, 2009
Opening Reception, 6:00 - 10:00 p.m. Saturday, April 18
Gallery hours: noon-6 pmTuesday - Saturday

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY RELAY FOR LIFE BENEFIT
If you come to the April 18th reception between 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., you will have a special opportunity to donate to a worthwhile cause AND get a chance to win a painting of your choice. Every piece of artwork valued at $2,000 or less will be tagged with a yellow sticker and prices will be covered until 8:30 pm. Purchase a $25 donation ticket for a drawing to chose any of the pieces of art marked with a yellow sticker. If your ticket is drawn, you may choose your favorite painting for your very own! Whether your ticket is drawn or not, you'll know you've helped by providing valuable funding for the American Cancer Society.GOOD LUCK!!

All work in the gallery (including mine) is for sale!!

********
If you know of anyone who might be interested, I'd appreciate it if you'd forward this email to them (with a little introduction from you!).THANKS!!!

Also... If you don't already get my e-mail newsletter and would like to, please sign up by clicking on this link and completing the information. I'd love to share my good art news with you!

The electronic age continues to amaze me. Blogging has allowed me to meet new friends and learn from other artists. It was through blogging that I became familiar with Frank Gardner's work and I liked what I saw so much that when he said he was offering a workshop near his home in Mexico, I jumped on it...and had a FABULOUS experience....... All because of the Internet!

Although I LOVE blogging, I'm not equally convinced that social networks like Facebook are "me". HOWEVER, when people I worked with at Camellia, the last school where I was a Principal, began asking me to be their "friend", I said "yes" and began a tenuous connection with Facebook. Now I'm "friends" with friends, Italian relatives I haven't seen in 20 years, my other relatives and now a whole community of artists.

Margie Murray belongs to the same local art club that I do (SFVAC), but I really did not know her well. However, she asked to be my "friend" I said "yes" and then she started and encouraged me to join a Facebook group of artists called
The Beauty of California by Facebook Painters. So many artists ... some I know... others I recognize and many I have yet to know are in this Facebook group. We share our art, our thoughts and our art adventures.

Margie Murray, Lynn Sanguedolce, Laura Wambsgans and I started planning a paint out date several months ago and Wednesday was the day. We had set the date after many scheduling conflicts, so when the date got close and the weatherman said it was going to rain, we just kept our fingers crossed. I invited my painting buddy, Sharon Weaver. One or two others from Facebook wanted to come but couldn't make it this time. It turned out to be a gorgeous day at the beach!!! It was cool, clear and windy but really beautiful. It was nice to get together to paint and to get to know new people. Who among you can recognize this well-known Southern California beach from looking at my painting??? (LOL)

My painting was NOT a total lemon -- always a possibility when I paint en plein air. I actually think it turned out nicer than it photographed. Everyone seemed to paint well... We'll do it again for sure...... Thank you FACEBOOK!!

It has been a busy week since I returned from Mexico. I've been painting and trying to catch up on things that didn't get done while I've been gone. (I'm sure you all have been in similar situations!)

But a few of the happenings were rare, strange and or wonderful!

On Wednesday last week, while painting en plein air in back of the Sepulveda Dam, which is the San Fernando Valley's flood control central area, I came across this curious fish! The Los Angeles River never has a lot of water except during storms, but this creature appeared to have been stranded suddenly. Stranger yet, his foot-long mummified body hadn't been eaten by insects, coyotes, or the thousands of birds in the nearby preserve. It reminded me of those creatures that crawled out of the primordial ooze onto land.

This weekend the family drove to San Diego to see our daughter,

Gioiello Di Cinque Terre
A scene of Vernazza, the most beautiful of the five cities in Italy's Cinque Terre area


Morning At The Mission
The Carmel Mission in the early morning light

Stevie

A contemplative portrait of a lovely young woman as she is knitting

The exhibition of all the work that was juried in can be seen as follows:

Tyler, Gastone and I are going to San Diego to visit with our daughter, Francesca, and son-in-law, Greg, this weekend so I probably won't be there until about 5:00. If you're around the area, I'd love to see you.


All work in the gallery (including mine) is for sale!!

********

If you know of anyone who might be interested, I'd appreciate it if you'd forward this email to them (with a little introduction from you!).
THANKS!!!

Also... If you don't already get my e-mail newsletter and would like to, please sign up by clicking on this link and completing the information. I'd love to share my good art news with you!

My camera died in the morning on our last day of painting so although there were many beautiful scenes, I couldn't take pictures.

Fortunately my new friends came to my rescue and took many great photos of our last day of one of the most fantastic painting adventures yet. They are going to send them to me when I return.

Our last day of Frank Gardner's workshop was another fabulous day. Frank said he would do a demo but that if people wanted to paint... go for it. I watched the demo. Frank is amazing... He is a great teacher... As he painted, he reviewed color mixing and reviewed information about values using examples as he painted. He had a running joke all week that people had three chips so they could only ask three questions.... having to give up a chip each time they asked. However, today was "no chip Friday". Whooo Hooo .......................

Frank uses comparisons to determine whether the drawing is correct. He measured and compared a lot and it reminded me so much of measuring when doing figure painting. He said that it pays to go into a painting slowly. Block in the shadows early because they change quickly. He puts in some color notes to establish relationships without going into much detail. He says as much as he can with as few strokes as possible.

One of the things I really liked (which I'm sure Frank didn't) was that Frank made a drawing error. It was sort of cathartic to see that even really good artists make mistakes too. We all watched how he left the mistake and went back to it later after he had done other work on the painting. Frank talked about using hard edges to draw the eye. He also talked about how often we artists continue to work things to death. He said it's like picking at a scab until it bleeds. Another Frankism I will try to remember was "Exaggerate subtlety."

Another delicious lunch was followed by an afternoon of complete absorption in painting. Frank came around several times to advise and critique. It was grand.

To alleviate the sadness of the ending of our painting day we had as many of the group as wanted to come up to the rooftop of our B and B for drinks and another gorgeous sunset.  You can see several pictures of us.  The top photo is of Jerome Green, Frank's painting friend, and Frank.  There is a short video clip of a beautiful evening on the roof.
Mary, Kathy, Joy and I along with Frank, Jerome, Christie and Maureen all laughed and talked about life and painting until there was no more light.

Worse yet.... but lots of fun...... was that LAS QUATRAS AMIGAS went out for more dinner and drinks after the rest of them left. I don't remember a whole lot of the evening but I have an impression of lots of laughing... oh yes... and there are pictures!!

Hasta luego a amigos buenos!

Frank Gardner is the consummate workshop leader and arranger of a delightful time. This was another day in paradise. Today we drove pretty far out of town to a ranch called Rancho Del Sol Dorado. It is a beautiful area which has several large homes that can be rented out for vacations or special events and horseback riding. We were pampered with food and good humored attention ... between painting times.

Frank started out the morning by showing us how he mixes a wide range of greens using the additional colors of thalo (which he puts on the opposite side of his palette because it is SO strong), alizeran, and lemon yellow. He also talked a lot about composition and what makes a painting interesting. He reviewed a bit about values... one can never hear enough about getting the values right.... After that Frank did two demos showing different simple composition drawings. He talked about the merits of each then gave us another small sealed cardboard illustration board on which we were to try two of our own compositions.

He said that design is important when you pick a scene you want to look around and ask yourself:
WHAT am I going to paint? (the light as it moves across a scene, the sky and clouds... etc)
WHY am I attracted to it?
HOW am I going to get that "why" across to the viewer?

We all blocked in two compositions, chose our favorite then layed them out for all to see. Frank talked about the relative merits of each one... (both sides).. They were off to paint. I stopped several times to watch as Frank painted. He is so good about laying on strokes of paint "with confidence".

He also gave us little color isolators that he had made by punching three holes in illustration board, so we can see value and color relative to the real thing and the neighboring values/colors in our painting. On the first day Frank had given us a handout about why he uses the colors he uses and often referred to Emil Gruppe whose theories he uses.

He talked about how it is important to plan a composition in which the eye moves around in a painting and lands on interesting variations in color, brushstroke, value and shapes but doesn't leave the painting. He said the viewer needs to know where to look and the artist needs to tell them where to look.

A few other Frankisms:
*Simplify
*Put pure colors next to neutral colors to get the effect of sunlight
*Use negative space to help pull out shapes
*Avoid blending
*If you can't get a good start, no amount of picking at it will make it better.
*Mix neutrals WITH YOUR PALETTE knife, not your brush... Mix piles of colors using muds so that you don't have to start from scratch each time to get your subtle colors... neutral but colored
*Everything is relative

Once again we were treated to a delicious luncheon... fit for the best!! It was grand. Tonight however, there will be no nocturnes.... We're all just too tired!

Hasta manana!!

Okay... so this first picture isn't actually FROM the workshop... But the four of us were so inspired and fired up after a full day of learning about value and mixing color and painting and meeting nice people and eating delightful food that we decided to paint a nocturne.

I had never painted one before... Gotta tell you when you can't see the colors of the paint, it's pretty funny to try to do... resulting in lots of laughs.

There are three other lovely women (Mary, Joy and Kathy) staying at this Bed and Breakfast called Arcos de la Atascadera. It is a fabulous place and we all hit it off wonderfully. We're the only guests here right now so we're just having a ball.

We all met Frank at his gallery yesterday... WOW... what beautiful work to try to aspire to. Fortunately for all of us, he is a patient man who knows how to explain the processes to all of us... from highly skilled to not so highly skilled.

This morning after we drove out to our painting site in the country, Frank started with a demo in which he used only cad red, FUB, cad yellow and white. He mixed four values (piles of mixed colors) and used the value of the board which he had primed as the fifth value. He explained that we would be doing the same thing because he wanted us to really understand the importance of getting the values right before we started playing with color. It was sort of like cutting out five values of construction paper. We were to chose a place and do a simple block in. You can see Frank doing just that.

After that we all brought our work inside and he discussed the merits of each one... then went on to do a little color mixing to get us ready for the afternoon...... We were to use what we learned about values but if we wanted we could add in the color to get the scene.

Lunch was ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS. If you didn't like to paint and just wanted to come for the meals, you'd be in heaven. We had a salmon salad with beautiful edible flowers and a chicken lasagna for lunch. Heavenly!!

In the afternoon we all spread out and painted trying to use just the three primaries and trying to catch the shadows before they moved and get the values right. It was (as always) a real challenge for me, but fun. Frank moved around and spent a good amount of time helping each painter. He found things to make the painting better and pointed out good things as well.
We left around 5:30 and finally got home close to 7:00. The the four of us watched the sunset, had some tea or beers and painted again.

If you ever get a chance to paint with Frank in San Miguel, JUMP ON IT... This place is heavenly and even in day one, I think Frank has helped each one of the students move a bit further along on the journey.

I'm trying to get ready for my trip to Mexico to study en plein air with artist Frank Gardner. Frank sent his students a list of supplies a while back and in it he emphasized that we were ONLY TO BRING 7 COLORS. French ultramarine, Thalo blue, Alizerin, Cad red, Cad yellow pale, Lemon yellow and Titanium.

I tried a few outings using just those colors. Since I've never really limited myself to certain colors, I decided that I needed to practice. I am generally pretty good at mixing colors, but just didn't want to end up with total disaster on my plate (or palette) when out painting during the workshop.

So I decided to try to copy one of Frank's recent paintings to see whether I could match his colors. I believe all students learn to paint by painting the masters... so why not??

Here are a few observations I made:
1. Thalo blue IS A VERY STRONG COLOR... It will out color ANYTHING!!!!!

2. Frank's colors are "prettier" than I'm accustomed to painting on canvas.

3. I found it difficult to see much difference between cad yellow pale and lemon yellow and want to ask Frank about why he uses those two colors.

4. Did I mention that THALO changes the color of EVERYTHING?????

5. While trying to paint the shadow and sunlight patterns like Frank had in his paintings, I realized that I need to be more observant..... shadows and sunlight patterns are NOT random.

6. Frank used a lot of pink in his sky. He seemed to have patches of pink and blue throughout. I found that interesting and saw how the eye will blend them but the mind enjoys the bounces from one to the other. Although I realize now that I needed to put more pink in the sky, I was wondering while I did it whether Frank lets one color dry before adding the other. ........ Did I mention that the thalo gets everywhere and will overcolor any other color???

7. I enjoyed trying to paint this painting ..... It forced me to look at it all more carefully than I normally would and I found the process fun.

8. The hill seemed to have the same underpainting color as the sky... where the sky was overpainted (I think) with pink, the hills had some darker FUB blues and greens added in.

I enjoyed trying this and felt it was a good practice for the upcoming workshop. Now that I've posted the painting and compare it with the photo right next to it I can see things I should have refined a bit... More darks in the trees... better shadow shapes.... etc. However I did feel I got a good chance to practice the colors I'll be using during the workshop.

I'd like to learn how to do a quick block in like Frank did in his most recent post.
I'd like to continue my efforts to hone in on a scene and simplify it.

I'd like to learn to choose and alter a scene to create a better composition.
I'd like to continue learning and practicing atmospheric and linear perspective.

I want to have a great time.

Stay tuned. If I'm not totally exhausted, I'll be blogging about what I learned.

Storm Clouds Over The Valley (Mountain Gateway Park)

Last November the Sayer Fire devastated areas in the north and northeast San Fernando Valley very near where another huge wildfire had burned just a few weeks earlier. Each fire brought its own terror and destruction.

In Southern California, we sometimes become a bit immune to these wind-driven fires. Each year we have winds called Santanas that blow strong hot air down across the canyons drying out already dry areas. The winds are strong - often gusting over 50-80 miles per hour. Too often, the result is fire. Sometimes, it's caused by accident - electric wires blowing down, campfires not put out properly or nature - lightning strikes, but too often these life-ruining fires are caused on purpose by people without care for the lives they will adversely alter.

We hear stories of people who have lost everything ... even their lives. We know about the animals who flee or are burned. We see the ruined trees and chaparral. When acres and acres of forest and hillsides are burnt, the brown remnants are a long-time reminder of the fear and cruelty left by fire.

When searching out spots to paint en plein air, I've come across places I remember as being lush and green only to find blackened ruins.

This time I as I was traveling around looking for canyon and hillside spots to paint, I was struck by the realization that the destruction goes far beyond burning. After the fires ,come the rains, and without vegetation to hold up the hillsides, mud becomes the enemy. It buries homes, and roads and those brave trees and bushes that may have survived the fires.

These paintings were created to show two fire ravaged scenes. The top painting is of the arroyo below the Pacoima Reservoir. The trees and shrubs are blackened or gone, but the hills are just beginning to show a five-o'clock shadow of new green. The second painting to the left is of a surviving tree... burned and buried in mud but with new growth emerging from the burnt branches-- Resurgence.

Since they are not "happy topics" they may not be used for the upcoming Fringes show, but I DID paint them with that exhibit in mind.