Hopscotch

"Hopscotch"

24" x 18" oil on panel

I thought that Ivy looked cute in the outfit that 

she chose by herself (as only a three-year-old can). 

She was wearing this on the day of her 

birthday party. 

Simplifying the background and placing Ivy on 

an outdoor hopscotch seemed natural. It clearly 

made her the focal point of the painting.

Here's the image of Ivy that I used for a reference:

By editing our work we can create whatever we 

want in our paintings. Our references are merely ides 

that help us to catch the vision of what we 

want the viewer to see and feel.

We get to paint what we want!

Water Park

"Water Park"

36" x 48" oil on panel

I love painting images of water during the summer 

months.It was fun to sling the paint around and create 

the look of splashing water!

Here are some of the images I considered before 

deciding on my final composition.

When considering these images I decided to eliminate the 

background information. Instead of going with the tube on a 

white waterslide I put my subjects in a swimming pool. 

The moving water and the splashes were more colorful 

and better portrayed the movement in the scene. I increased 

the contrast between the kids and the background 

by making the sky (actually a waterfall) lighter. 

This is the image I decided to paint:

Day of the Dead

"Day of the Dead"

36" x 36" oil on canvas

Amber wanted an artwork to go in her master 
bedroom to match her comforter.

I didn't want to match the comforter design exactly, so I chose 
something that would compliment her room. The floors of her 
home are a turquoise color with yellow, purple and green accent 
walls.

Yes, She is an artist!

After toning the canvas with a transition of turquoise, 
I drew in the major shapes.

I began blocking in the major color masses and started 
to rough in the major structure of her face.

After tuning the major shapes and color masses, I had fun 
working the details of her face paint, moving her ponytail over, 
outlining the white borders of the background flowers and 
finishing the roses in her hair.

The finishing touch was to take my palette knife and distress 
the background so that it wouldn't compete with the figure. 
I scraped and added texture to give the painting some depth.

Completely fun!!!

Painting From Life

Usually when I paint flowers from life I place them in a vase with water.  Most often the flowers wilt under the heat of my lights. 

Last week I purchased a bucket of potted daffodils at the store - thinking that if the flowers were growing in dirt they might be a little more stable and last longer for the duration of my painting. 

Here is what I blocked in from the first day:

The very next day when I came into the studio, this is what had sprouted overnight: two red tulips and some hyacinths!! 





















Two days later it was a completely different arrangement. Who knew? Ha-ha-ha!!

So much for a potted plant being more stable than flowers in a vase...

Colley Whisson Workshop

I had the pleasure of attending a 3-day workshop with Colley 
Whisson hosted by the Illume Gallery of Fine Art  in Salt Lake City.   

He created a non-threatening atmosphere by teaching us in 
a relaxed manner with a healthy dose of gentle humor. Colley 
shared a saying with us: "I am not a perfectionist, I am a 
correctionist"  

Here's the start of his first painting demonstration.

 My version of it:

Colley's palette was limited to eight colors. He likes to emphasize
keeping the tones in the shadow areas warm and rich and also to 
eliminate unimportant detail across the entire painting.

He painted a beautiful beach scene that was simple but well 
composed. Note the reference photo on the left and an image
of his painting on the bottom right.  He used both of these as
a reference to paint yet another version of the scene.

Here's my finished version. 

This is a painting of a windmill outside a window that I 
completed on the last day of the workshop. 

Colley also showed us how to block in and complete
a quick still life painting. He said that it is a good
exercise for daily painting and suggested that it 
should be completed in no more than 30 minutes.

If you ever have the opportunity to take a workshop from Colley 
Whisson, go for it!  You'll learn a lot from this master painter!

My Homeless Painting Found a Family!

I am thrilled to say that my piece "Breaking The Surface" 
found a new home!  It makes me happy when art collectors
send me an image of the place where they hanged my work.
It's a satisfying ending to a long story.

Painting is truly a multi-step process. First an artwork is planned, 
sketched and blocked in. Then the many layers of painting begin; 
a series of adjustments and refinements. 

Next, a completed work is varnished. It's like pouring water over 
chalky river rocks restoring them to their warm vibrant tones. 

Selecting a frame for an artwork is as pleasant as choosing a tie 
to go with a suit or trying on shoes. It's important to get this step 
just right.  

My favorite part of the cycle of painting is when a buyer is moved 
enough to purchase my work! That means someone, perhaps a 
total stranger, connected with the idea behind my piece and my 
passion became their passion. 

I love it when this happens!

It gives completion to my painting. A finish. An end. 
And then the cycle begins again...

"Unfinished" Art II

"The Arrival"

24" x 17" oil on panel

There is an innovative art show coming up at the 
Bountiful Davis Art Center (BDAC) August 12 - Sept. 12, 2016.

Each artist who enters the show must turn in 2 "unfinished" 
paintings. Other artists will "finish" the work. BDAC will then exhibit 
the completed paintings.

Here's what I was given to complete:

 






















This is how I decided to finish the painting.  I can't wait to see 
who got my painting and what they decided to paint on it!

"Unfinished" Art Exhibit

 "Enigma"

24" x 20"

oil on panel

There is an innovative art show coming up at the 
Bountiful Davis Art Center (BDAC). 

Each artist who enters the show must turn in 2 "unfinished" 
paintings. Another artist "finishes" the work. BDAC will exhibit 
the finished works. 

This abstract painting is what I received from another 
artist. My job was to "finish" it in any manner that I wanted.

This painting with the woman (I call it "Enigma") is what I decided
to paint over the top of the abstract painting. Now it's finished!
It was a lot of fun being able to consider painting anything that I 
wanted. The show will run August 12 - Sept. 12, 2016 at BDAC.