Passport to Pink

 "Passport to Pink" 

24 x 24

Mixed Media Collage on Panel

Price: $495 Framed

Hope everyone is enjoying a great summer weekend. I'm getting ready this morning to drop off my very rosy mixed media collage to Core New Art Space (a great contemporary co-op gallery located in the Art District on Santa Fe here in Denver) for their PINK show which starts on September 9 where a portion of the proceeds will go our local Susan G. Komen For the Cure chapter.  Inspired by passports and travel, this particular piece includes old text (both Western & Eastern), stamps (both postage and painted), and words in French and English.    

Core New Art Space holds a special place in my heart because it was one of my first major sales and I've also won an award there as well. So if you are in the Denver metro area, and especially if you like pink and want to support a wonderful non-profit please be sure to check out the show. I'm really looking forward myself to seeing how other artists interpret the pink theme.

This week I've also been working on a larger piece (about 3ft x 4ft) on an older stretched canvas I came across at a local tag sale. As much as I love painting small daily studies, working on a more expansive scale can be very rewarding and has really inspired me to continue paint some larger pieces in late summer/early fall. So be looking for those...

Finally, quick kudos to all my ongoing students this season for all your hard work! I do have a few slots open for fall students so please drop me a note if you want to join the Monday painting group in Littleton or take a private/semi-private session in Denver. My fall class special is 20% discount for any new students who sign up for a minimum of 4 sessions.

Sunflower Power

"Sunflower Power"

Transparent Watercolor on Arches 140 CP

12 x 12 

Is it really Friday already? While I paint mostly in oils now, particularly since I joined the daily painting movement, I still like to splatter colors, layer rich glazes, and "wipe out" out interesting shapes. Push pull, push pull...And it's also a glorious way to wind down from a busy week.


Last weekend, I was reading several watercolor books including artists Jane Hofstetter's excellent 7 Keys to Great Painting. One of her 7 keys is "Pattern" so I was really pushing myself during this painting to focus first and foremost on the BIG light and dark patterns (letting your  midtones find their own way). I think this is especially important with complex florals and/or nature scenes.

This reminds me of one of my favorite studio tips (which originated from one of my favorite watercolor teachers--Ms. Jackie McFarland) and those are red colored glasses.  You can also use a sheet of red acetate of course, but red glasses are usually easy to find online and any style will do. Anyway, pop on a pair and you can instantly see and compare your values. 

Finally, thanks to my eBay painting collector for your purchase! Here's this week's eBay painting--an 8x8 original oil Daily Painting of a pear. I'll be donating one of my larger mixed media collage pieces (which I'll post soon) to the Core New Art Space "PINK" show in Denver where a portion of the proceeds will go to the local Susan G. Komen Foundation.  The show runs September 9-26, 2010.

Bon Painting!

As I may have mentioned before, in addition to painting, I love to cook and try new recipes for relaxation. I've always admired small, fresh still life oil paintings of fruits, vegetables, desserts, etc. There are some amazing daily painters out there who do marvelous things with simple, edible subjects.

Inspired by these painters, I was planning to set up a small scene of wine and cheese in my studio. But I decided I wanted to paint a much larger piece of Swiss cheese (I really wanted to paint the holes) than I had on hand. Quite frankly, I thought a photo would have less caloric impact as well and summer is just around the corner... 

So I'll confess here that I reluctantly used an online photo reference for this study. I try to "borrow" as little as possible and certainly I would never do so for any art competition. But there are times when I really want to paint  a particular subject matter that I just don't have easy access to such as a charging African elephant, a spewing Fiji volcano, or the Helsinki skyline.

Let's face it, most artists today are busy multi-taskers and I'll take some help where I can get it especially if it saves me time. While I do utilize online photos as learning and teaching tool, I do feel strongly about indicating when I'm NOT using my own photo, set up, etc.

And when I do work from these helpful reference photos I also prefer to print them out in black and white so I'm at least applying my own color sense. In this particular case, I immediately knew I wanted to work with a lively, mostly high key yellow green/red violet complementary palette--one of my favorites. I have to say though while this piece is not quite complete, I loved playing with the colors and textures (i.e. glass vs. grapes vs. cheese).

Call it artistic karma, but I also can't help but notice without my own reference material, as much as I enjoy the process these paintings always lack a certain spark and charm. Still any dedicated painting time in the studio is a pure luxury and learning experience.

This week I'm looking forward to several new students (Welcome all!) as well as hopefully taking some time to take a painting class myself. 

I'm also working on an abstract for the annual WOW (which stands for Wide Open Whatever--and trust me, they mean it) Art Show at Core New Art Space. The show has a special place in my heart because it was one of my first large oil painting sales almost 20 years ago.  I'll never forget when the collector invited me to her home to help her decide where to hang it in her home. And on that very positive art note, I'll wish everyone a creative and happy week!