A Gift from the Heart

Here is one of the commissions that I have been working on. My client commissioned two of the same house. She grew up in this house and now lives in it with her husband and children. One of the paintings is for her, the other she is going to give to her parents for Christmas. Many of my clients have given a painting of their home or vacation home to their spouse for an anniversary gift, Father's Day or birthday. I love hearing the stories of how happy and surprised the recipient was.

Plein Air Painting with Andy Evansen

Here is some of my work I did in a week long workshop with Andy Evansen. It was so wonderful to paint plein air all day for an entire week! We even had the most perfect weather, too. Andy is such a pleasant and humble teacher. He really tried to help each of us with our struggles to paint loose. He had us work on 4x6 or 5x7 paper in gray scale to practice capturing the values. Andy works very fast and makes it seem so effortless. My favorite quote from him that I will remind myself was "just indicate...". We do not need to paint every brick etc., just indicate it is brick.

My favorite piece is the value sketch in the middle photo. I feel like it has the eurythme I always want to capture. The darks, the movement, the hint, the looseness and the freedom. I did not finish the color image below it. This was all done on site. I didn't get the darks in as dark as in the value sketch. Notice one of the value sketches at top was from one of my plein air paintings from the Cape. The bottom photo is from the last day of the workshop. We painted in the trolley barn down on McKinney St. We did White Rock Lake, Farmer's Market, the West End and Turtle Creek.

This Saturday is the BIG day. The show runs through January 3. But, I would love it if you came by to see me at the reception this Saturday:

Where Texas Gets its Color
The Dutch Art Gallery
10233 E. Northwest Hwy (corner of Ferndale)
1:00-5:00

Friends in Dallas, I hope to see you at the Dutch Gallery Reception. This will be a great collection of art in various styles and mediums from a select group of artists. Each artist is allowed to put in up to 7 pieces so if there is an artist you like, you will get to see several pieces. This will be a large show, so I am sure you will find something you like.

Apologies for having few posts. I have been working on commissions of home portraits for the Christmas deadline. I cannot post any of those paintings until after Christmas since they are going to be given as gifts. I do want to post my work from the Andy Evansen workshop as soon as I get a chance.

Highland Park Village

11x14

This is a scene in a shopping center in Dallas. One can park their car and walk around to the various shops and restaurants here. I painted this last week in preparation for the Andy Evansen workshop I have been partipating in this week. I cannot tell you how great it is to do plein air painting with Andy. He is ovbiously a great artist, but, he is also a great teacher, too. We have been all over Dallas painting street scenes, landscape at parks, boats at White Rock Lake and today, trolleys on Mckinney St. I am very happy with my value paintings, but, the color ones are not so hot, yet. Maybe I will post next week.

Fair Day

Cotton Candy

11x14

Photo of Big Tex

Yes, it is time for the Texas State Fair. This is my husband's favorite event. Although, he would never tell you that, you just know by how many times he says how great the fair is while we are there. For years I have taken pictures at the fair for paintings, but, I have never painted one, yet. When I saw the Cotton Candy stand, I was inspired. I specifically took the photo of Big Tex for everyone who does not live in Dallas. He is 52' tall, talks and makes announcements and has his picture on the cotton candy bags. Do you see the ferris wheel in the bottom of the photo? It is in my painting, too. P.S. my toddler HAD to have the beautiful cotton candy. When he tasted it, he started crying and saying, "Hair, hair, get the hair out of my mouth." I guess he will be scarred now.

Fall Harvest

11x14

I have never really been one for painting holiday themed art, but, the weather was so amazingly gorgeous with beautiful, bright sunlight and just the perfect mild temperature I had to sit outside and paint this gorgeous fall display created by my friend, Richard. Richard relocated to Dallas from New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. He and his family were actually considered refugees for a time when they first evacuated their home. They didn't bring much when they left and when it was safe to return to New Orleans, they found very little to salvage. They have been living in Dallas since. He is extremely creative in making the most beautiful garden scenes using flowers and plants one would not typically put together. This is just a part of the display. That pumpkin is so large, it makes the perfect seat for my kids. Every time my toddler sees this display he shouts out, "Look at all of those pumpkins!" Then he goes to sit on this giant pumpkin.

ANNOUNCEMENT:
Alan Barnes Gallery
2011 Juried Exhibit
(I am in the show!)
Tuesday, October 14
5:30 - 8:30 Reception

Grapes in the Sunlight

The photo that inspired this painting was an ad for Mexico on the back of the Conde Nast Traveler magazine. The way the sunlight was coming from the side/back creating interesting shadows and then even illuminating some of the grapes. Two other things came to mind, the Grape Escape which is a fundraiser for Heart House, coming up (my friend is chairing it, so I hear about it daily right now) and one of my favorite watercolor artist in the blogger world, David Lobenberg. He has been blogging about his vineyard experience. He paints with very clear, clean wild colors and has the best sense of humor.

Colors of Fall

Fall Bouquet, 11x14

A Secret Garden, 6x14

Believe it or not, the colors of fall in Dallas right now are really what you see in A Secret Garden. Inspired by a real garden I found on a walk, this is a plein air study. The blooms are a little embellished, but, it is true, the flowers are much happier now with the high 80 degree days vs. the +100 temps. The encore azaleas are blooming, as are the crepe myrtles and the roses, hibiscuses, inpatients and perennials are all happy. However, the shadows are getting much longer. I walked out in the backyard the other day and noticed I was in the shadow of the house as it stretched far into the yard.

I wanted to share that gorgeous middle photo with the plant alive with the glow of the sunlight.

Fall Bouquet is painted from a bouquet I put together for a school coffee at my house. I couldn't resist using the pumpkin branches or the bright orange and magenta colors.

Thanks to both my blog readers and my email subscribers for your comments on my posts. I love that connection!

Art Therapy - You can still paint even if you can't see

Meet my father-in-law, Grampy. He has had Macular Degeneration for about 30 years. That means he started to lose his vision in his early 40's and can no longer do the things he once could, like drive, for example. Imagine if your vision started to go away very rapidly and you could no longer do all of the things that require eye vision. Every summer we visit my in-laws. I use to drive my father-in-law around to antique shops. He would pick up a piece and have me look at it and tell him what the writing said and I would answer his questions about an antique he was looking at. Now with the economy and increasing loss of his sight, he is not in the antique business anymore.

Every summer I always encourage Grampy to take clay sculpture classes or pottery classes so he can use his hands and creativity. It never happens. I guess because I had just done our little impromptu painting workshop with my nieces and nephews, I talked Grampy into painting right at that moment! Of course, he resisted. He said he had no talent and his painting would be ugly. I told him who cares, we will paint on a paper plate and then throw it right in the garbage so nobody sees it. I told him that we were going to paint just for the experience, not for the end result.

I myself learned so much about painting. I would ask him, do you feel how much water is on the brush? Do you feel how the brush feels on the paper with this amount of water? Can you feel how much paint is on your brush? Then he would ask me questions like, "Were is green, I want to use green. How do I make it darker? I like how that looks, what color is that? How do I make it darker?" Grampy can see through his peripheral vision, but, I don't know how well.

Here he is holding up his favorite of his three paintings. Look at that smile on his face, especially the one where he is painting. I haven't seen him smile in a long time. Grampy had some great ideas for his first time painting. He said, why can't each color have its own tray/bowl so that the colors are not so close together (talking about my paint palette). I told him that there are artists that do that and I happen to have a book of one of those artists on the table.

I hope you find this story encouraging and that you may pick up a brush and paint on a paper plate one day, too. P.s. Grampy didn't throw his paintings away. I hope Grampy keeps painting.

To find out more about Macular Degeneration or to get a free screening, visit the Retina Foundation of the Southwest.

Stoli Doli and Friends

Stoli Doli and Friends
11x14

I have been collecting photos of ice cold beverages during the 107 temps in Dallas. I saw this jar of Stoli Doli in a bar in Cape Cod. The bartender was already working on my martini, so it was too late for me to try the Stoli Doli. I have heard it is good. Pineapple soaked in vodka. In any event, I couldn't resist taking a picture of it to paint one day. Limeade has sold so I wanted to paint another jar of sliced fruit before I missed it. I couldn't believe how strong the local color influenced me in this painting.

DALLAS Exhibits Announcement - Mark your calendars!

Three great shows in Dallas with wonderful art by local Dallas artists and by Artists of Texas. All works will be for sale! Yes, I have paintings in two of the exhibits and maybe even the third. However, I already saw a painting by someone else in the show that I just have to have!

September 10 - October 2

Fine Art in Dallas 2011: A Retrospective

Artisan Style

2417 Mahon St., across from the Crescent

Please join us at the opening on Friday, September 10, 5-8

This show will feature the art of over 50 Dallas artists that are in the 2011 CityARTCal book.

October 11 - October 24

Alan Barnes Fine Art - Juried Exhibition

1019 Slocum Street

Please join us at the reception, Thursday, October 14, 5:30-8:30

November 6 - December 31

The Annual Artists of Texas Show

Dutch Art Gallery

10233 E. Northwest Highway, Suite 420

The reception will be on Saturday, November 6, 1-5

This show will feature art from Artists of Texas.

Apples, Peaches, Plums

15x15 original watercolor

Here is the painting that I have been working on. As I said before, it was inspired by a photo that I saw on PaperPumpkin. I saw the photo right after I had posted "Locally Grown".

I tried something new to me in this painting. I used a clear oil pastel to save some of the whites. I did not use it everywhere that you see the white because sometimes I like to go over the whites with a very light wash. Also, I wanted to be able to control soft and hard edges. The clear oil pastel is so clear that it was a little hard for me to control at first. It is an absolute great permanent resist. Some of you have noticed that my work is changing a little. I would love to hear your comments if you like or you don't like this new direction.

I have some great news, I was accepted to the Artists of Texas blog. Please visit me and other fine artists of Texas over there!

Thanks for visiting and enjoy.

CityARTCal Artists Party

The above photos are from the 2011 CityARTCal Artists Party. CityARTCal is a calendar that features local artists and also sponsors several exhibits, a silent auction and other social events for the artists. The photos above are from the most recent social events for the artist selected to be in the calendar. We met at Painting with a Twist and had a little painting contest in acrylic. The winner, determined by votes of the artists involved, would get an extra page in the book to feature a second piece of work!!!!! It was such fun to meet other artists and paint together. Painting with a Twist is on Lovers Lane and teaches classes to ANYONE who wants to learn how to paint. They have great music playing and you bring your own bottle of vino.

This is a painting I am working on right now. It is inspired by a photo from the blog PaperPumpkin. I liked the photo so much that I asked PaperPumpkin if I could paint it.

Revisions, Memories and Friendship

Thank you to everyone who immediately replied when I was in trouble with the above painting. I took your advice and I am happy with the mountain scene painting above. When I posted this painting last, I thought I had ruined something that I was very happy with. I am so thankful that my friends I have met through the blogging world came to my rescue.

Now I can tell you the inspiration for this painting. My friend who was pregnant with her third child insisted that she and I go on this 4+ hour hike up a mountain in Red River, New Mexico. It is not surprising that I would rather sit for 4 hours and paint vs. hiking up a mountain. It is embarrassing to say that I could barely keep up with her even though she was 3 months pregnant. She told me that at the top there was this glorious pond with the clearest water and giant rainbow trout. Well here it is. Although I was resistant to the hiking, my friend didn't believe me when I told her that I would indeed go swimming in the pond because I have an obsession with natural clear bodies of water. I told her to be ready with the camera and take a photo once I was in the water for evidence to all those that would not believe. The water was absolutely freezing, but, very exhilerating. I am giving this painting to her husband for his 50th birthday since he loves the mountains so much and he is taking up painting, too!

I truly appreciate your comments! Have a great day!

Happy Friday!

I saw these sailboats from far away. It turns out it was the local summer camp sailing. The shapes of the white triangles moving about each other against the blue water and sky was so calming. I wanted to capture this dance and I wanted to be in one of the sailboats, too!

I had one piece of hot press paper left. I cut it in half to get these two very horizontal pieces of paper. Once I had these long pieces of paper, I was getting more comfortable with the idea in my head and how I would put it on paper. It made sense to have these very long pieces of paper emphasizing the experience of what I would see if I was in one of the boats right there.

I am starting to really like hot press paper. Because of my lack of experience using it, I feel that I have more freedom to experiment. These boats may look like it was very easy to do. But, for me, achieving a look that looks free and quick is so hard. The image at the top was the second painting. In this painting, I am pleased with myself for having the confidence to use my artistic license more. I kind of just imagined this one.

I posted these paintings because they make me happy. So Happy Friday. It is our official last Friday of summer. School starts Monday.

Thank you for all of your comments, they make my day!

WAS pretty... now?

I was doing this mountain scene for a friend's 50th birthday. There was a point when I thought it looked so pretty. I don't think in person the sky looks as ugly as it does here. It is not so spotty in person. I know I need to darken and add detail to the trees on the left side. Should I lift out the darks in the water. I can also lift out the blue in the sky. I was trying to create atmosphere and distance in the mountains, that is that obvious line of nothingness in the middle of the mountain. Does anyone have suggestions? I did enjoy painting it up to this point so I guess I can start over, too.

Thanks. This is where I put down my brushes and walk away.

Boys want to Paint, too!

How powerful an image on the computer screen can be. When my sons and nephews saw Rachel's painting (previous post) on my blog, they were thoroughly impressed and inspired! They asked, "who can see her painting? can everyone see her painting?" I told them that people from all over will see it, including my blogger friends from the other side of the world in South Africa and India and DR Congo.

They all responded with, "Can I paint, too! I want to paint, too! And can we put our paintings on the internet, too?" So we had an immediate impromptu watercolor workshop. I only had one sheet of watercolor paper left so we used paper plates to paint as our canvases. I just let them have fun with it. I did ask them to notice what happens when you have a lot of water on your brush vs. when you have very little water on you brush.

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who commented on Rachel's post. She was so thrilled to receive comments and couldn't believe how fast they came. She asked her mom for some paints for herself!!!! And if you want to paint, try painting on a paper plate, it's just a paper plate, so it doesn't matter how it comes out. Make sure to stay tuned for my next post. It will be about a blind man painting!

More Cape Cod Scenes

Seagulls at Sunset

Cape Cottage

Beach House

These are paintings that I have done over the last few days.

Seagulls at Sunset was inspired by a photo my niece, Rachel took, actually. I didn't get a chance to make a copy of the photo so I had to do this from memory. I thought that it was to my advantage to do it from memory because then I wouldn't be able to get caught up in the detail. I was imagining it to be more on the abstract side.

Cape Cottage is very typical of the cottages and gardens you see on Cape Cod. Some are really tiny and then others are made to look small. I saw this cottage in the morning. The picture here got a little washed out. I was most excited about the brilliant colors on the barn. I used 2 reds, an orange and a blue. In real life it looks just fantastic with these colors mingling together. By the way, I am not exaggerating the flowers. There are just multitudes of perennials in bright colors, giant blue hydrangea bushes and rows of sunflowers!

Beach House is inspired from the beach we are staying on. That is part of the cove I have shown in previous photos. I showed more of the house than one can really see through the foliage and added a few architectural details. This was done at low tide in the morning. The clouds were rolling and reflecting the golden morning sun.

Sunday at the Beach

7 1/2 x 11

In contrast to the last post of the pristine beach on Martha's Vineyard, here is a scene from a Cape Cod Beach done plein air. I always love seeing all of the beach umbrellas on the beach whether in real life or in photos, posters or cards. I have painted many beach umbrella scenes over the years. On this one, I used my artistic license more to connect the umbrellas and figures for composition sake vs. having a bunch of individual "things" spread out on the paper. This painting does capture the feel of a perfect Sunday beach day on the Cape. Crowded, lots of umbrellas, kayaks, sailboats - everyone enjoying the weather. This beach has a lot of tall foliage between the beach and the houses compared to other beaches on the Cape.

Thanks for visiting. Your comments are always appreciated!

Introducing a Young Artist, Rachel, 12 yrs. old

• Looking Out the Window at the Beach

I wanted to paint in watercolor when I saw my Aunt Liana painting on the beach as I was playing on the beach with my siblings and cousins at the Cape, which we all go to every year in the summer. At first I thought she was tracing something, or just copying a picture, but then I saw her from scratch make something outstanding. I asked her if I could try, thinking I would be horrible, but whatever, I thought, I'd give it a try. Earlier in that week I had seen some flowers that looked like the ones in my painting when my family went out to lunch. I really liked them, so I decided I wanted to paint them. The rest, I sort of just made up in my mind. I really enjoy painting flowers and beach scenes. Also, I'd really recommend my Aunt's blog to everyone because it's pretty awesome!!!

Days at the Beach

Vineyard Beach

The painting above was inspired by a beach on Martha's Vineyard on the Atlantic Ocean side. It was one of the most pristine beaches I have seen. On this day the water was very calm with small, friendly waves. It was such a contrast compared to the day before when the roar of the ocean waves was such a loud continuous thundering with giant crashing waves. In the distance was this curve of land jetting straight out of the water. I kept imagining how I could paint this sloping land with geometric shapes and layers of transparent color.

The photo is the sun setting on the beach we are staying at in Brewster, Ma.

Busted by the hubbie!

Well, I didn't think my husband read my posts! He read what I wrote about him getting the "wrong apples" in the last post! Out of the blue he said, "oh, by the way, you didn't specify what apples to buy". I thought for a second and then smiled, "you read my post?!!!" Believe it or not, nobody has eaten the red delicious apples, yet. I even brought them on the plane with us to Cape Cod because I can't be wasteful with food. I received many wonderful suggestions on how to paint the apples. Thanks so much!

As you can see, from the photos above, we are at the beach now. The photos above are of low tide in the morning and in the evening. Notice the location of the sun in each photo? I have said before, low tide is my absolute favorite time at the beach. I just love how far the tide goes out on the bay side of the Cape. Does the tide go out this far anywhere else? Please let me know. The house we are in this time has a tide clock. It tells you how many hours until low tide or high tide. The beach is ever changing here, you can literally measure time as the tide comes in, hangs out for a while and then slowly goes back out.

About the two paintings. Cathyann suggested I darken the left side of the painting on the watering can one. Well, I darkened the "other left". Cathyann, I am sorry, but, I am so impatient that I did not try your suggestion on acetate first. Very good suggestion and I highly recommend it. I ended up giving this painting to our gardener. I think he tried to fake a smile. Oh, well.

The second painting is on hot press. Experimenting painting glass. I took this photo when I noticed the evening sun coming in across the table. The dining room was so dark in contrast with this bright ray of sunlight coming in the window. I had 5 different vases holding uneventful flowers and herbs. I decided to paint three since it was my first time to paint clear glass. The glass is not gleaming as I have seen other artists achieve. I do like the free flow of the paint in the background and on the table though.

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here so despite a boot on my foot, I have been enjoying the beach. Maybe I will take my watercolors out there today.

Thanks for visiting and don't forget to tell me about your tides!

Limeade, sold.

Limes in a Blue Bowl, sold.

With the heat now in Dallas, one is always trying to stay cool. That is how this jar of sliced limes came about. I worked on the bowl of limes at the same time while I waited for paint to dry or contemplated what was the next step. Limeade started out as one of those old fashion glass beverage dispensers with a little spicket at the bottom of the jar. The background ended up getting muddy so I cropped it on the computer. I really liked how the lime slices looked so I didn't want to trash the whole painting.

What I learned from painting the peaches is that I really like the light and shadow patterns on these round objects. Most of the time I am painting rectaliner shapes or if there are curved objects they are in the distance and the shadow and light just gets lost with all of the other information in the painting. I guess that is why I also like to do close ups of flowers. To explore the curves of the petals, the light and the shadows with paint. I don't know what I am going to paint next. I sent my husband to the grocery store to buy 5 apples. I didn't specify what kind. He came back with 5 Red Delicous apples. I don't like the color of Red Delicious apples or the shape. They look more like red bell peppers. Unless I go to the store with my broken foot.... any suggestions?

Thanks for stopping by.

Locally Grown

Locally Grown
11x14

I really enjoyed painting these peaches! I have been wanting to paint peaches since last summer, but, peaches do not seem to last a day in our house. Especially local Texas peaches. They have so much peach fuzz on them and our slightly smaller, but so sweet. Whenever I see the shape of these Texas peaches I immediately remember when I was a kid and picking the peaches off of a peach "bush" in our backyard. I say a bush because the tree was there when we moved in and nobody ever seemed to do anything with it. Prune it/shape it or fertilize it. It wasn't an attractive tree/bush, but it produced a lot of peaches and we were free to pick them off and eat them without even washing them! My friend has a large peach tree here in Dallas. I will have to ask her if I can go by and take some photos of the peaches on the tree. Last summer she sent us home with a giant paper bag of peaches that my kids had the pleasure of picking.

Oh, back to the painting, I enjoyed this painting because I loved "playing" with the yellows, oranges, reds and magenta. I was inspired to paint the peaches in one of these little baskets from a drive we took to Tyler, Texas. All along the way there were stands on the side of the road selling "Locally Grown" everything. We were dropping my son off at camp so I couldn't ask if we could stop and take photos for maybe future paintings. I had one of these baskets at home so I set up my own little peach stand to paint. When I was painting (outside) every now and then I would get a whiff of the awesome fresh peach scent.

Enjoy and have a peach!

Dented but Still Works

Old Watering Can
11x14

Well my watering can turned up with a dent right on top of it. I asked my 3 sons how did this happen and I got 3 "I don't know" answers with each one shrugging his shoulders and running off. Do I continue to paint the watering can with a dent in it in every painting? How can I buy a new one if this one still works?

In any event, I cannot complain about the perennials or the heavy rains that we have had. The flowers are just thriving. The tall pink flowers in the back are over 4 feet tall. There is a whole mess of this pink "bush" which continues up beyond the painting. It is like a wild tangle of Medusa's hair. There are so many blooms on the zinnias and they are just spilling out over the walk. The black salvia is spiking out tall and proud.

This photo has an overall blue overtone compared to the painting. The upper left corner is unpainted but in the photo it came out blue gray. I did use the auto correct on the computer, but, this is the best it came out. I think I may need to connect some of the darks to get rid of the spottiness.

Strawberries

Strawberries
9x12
Here are some strawberries I painted outside around 4:00 in the afternoon that's why they have the long shadows. I set them up in two different bowls as well, but, I liked this composition the best. One of the bowls was cut glass which would be a good study and the other is the same silver bowl from the lemons. I really like the reflections of the strawberries in that bowl so maybe on another day I will try that.

4th of July in the Country

Glen Rose, Texas
Above is a plein air painting that I did from the balcony of our hotel while my toddler napped. Because of my broken foot, we went to Glen Rose, Texas where the kids could do all sorts of activities and I could sit. So for 4th of July, we were in landlocked Texas. This turned out to be a wonderful experience. My family enjoyed the activities at the hotel and the fireworks while I got to sneak in some painting!

I did two ugly paintings and two decent paintings. I thought the one above was okay, but, my husband who is pretty honest and critical thinks it is outstanding. Everyone has their own opinion. This is however, a good representation of seeing land, land, land as far as you can vs. my favorite which is ocean side!

The highlight of the trip was a drive we took through a safari park. The wild animals are more like friendly house pets. I had to post these because I couldn't believe how the animals would stick their heads into our car waiting for treats (every car gets one bag of food). If one animal was being a bully and not allowing the others to get to the treats, the animals knew to walk to the other side of the car to get treats!!! To see more of these photos, they are on my blog.

More French Riviera

Well, I broke my foot! Really. The only positive thing about it, is that I can sit and paint. So I worked on 3 paintings today. I painted outside with my foot propped up. Both of the above paintings are from photos. The other was a scene of giant Oak leaf hydrangeas. I will post that another day.

You have seen the black and white study of the Bike Race in Nice in a previous post. It is almost how I imagined. Still I would like to treat these cyclists as a single shape with colors mixing, just giving you the idea that they are cyclists. In the photo the cyclists are backlit so you really can't see as much detail as I have here. I did this on hot press paper. I sat on my back porch as the sky grew dark and thundered just before the rain came.

Beau Rivage was started a few weeks ago. Since I was so unhappy about my new status of being stuck with my foot up, I just finished this painting without being too careful. I liked how the finishing touches came out. Much looser than when I started. I also enjoyed the experience of "just do it". Because of that feeling, I started the Bike Race. Although I started Bike Race in a loose style, as the time went on, I got tighter, unintentionally.