October Treats & Tricks

Painted Pumpkins on Pearl Street

TGIF and Happy Halloween Everyone! Thanks again to everyone who supported me through last month’s “30 in 30” painting challenge.  While I wasn’t able to keep posting the entire month (kudos to you if you did!), the challenge was a fantastic launch to super successful fall art season. It's been a warm and sunny October in Colorado but I've managed to keep busy in the studio too. Here are some highlights.

All Colorado Art Show
The little bird painting I featured on day one of the challenge was not only accepted in the All Colorado Art Show it sold on opening night to a delightful new collector. Plus my student won a ribbon for her beautiful abstract—congrats Nancy!
Framed Image Gallery Fall Show

Sold my horse painting (thank you another new collector!) and completed a another horse theme commission. I’m so glad buyers share my lifelong love of horses! I’ll be likely painting at least one other equine painting for the gallery’s upcoming January “Ranch and Range” show. For more equine art, please see my Pinterest Board "Horsing Around."
Favorite New Studio Product
As an oil painter I usually wear barrier cream and sometimes gloves but I still manage to get little bits of dried paint on my hands.  The solution? Trader Joe’s Lavender Salt Scrub. It’s tough on paint but leaves your hands super soft and moisturized—and it smells like a French garden. A super affordable treat!

Like a mini-spa for tired artist hands! Mmm...

Amazon’s Best Selling Painting Book
I’ve had Tues. November 4 on my studio calendar for ages in eager anticipation of Carol Marine’s new book “Daily Painting” which debuts that day. (You can pre-order now and save some money.) It’s already the best selling painting book on Amazon! Congrats and thanks Carol for sharing your painting insights!

Caroil Marine's New Painting Book Debuts Nov. 4 on Amazon

Free "Painting Preview" Software: FotoSketcher
Deciding what photo to paint from next can be a challenge but here's a program that can help. Typically, I'm very cautious when downloading anything from the Web but so far I've enjoyed this easy and free program that applies different paint effects (my favorite is "expressive brushstrokes") to your photos. (Note: Higher res photos may take a few minutes.)
Country Club Demo
I’m very honored to be a featured artist at the lovely Cherry Creek Country Club in November.  This is a private “members only” event but if you happen to be a member of the Club please stop by and say hi on the evening of November 14. I promise I’ll be painting not golfing!
October Pearl
Just in time for Halloween I’m posting a sunny pumpkin painting on DPW today.  FYI my 8x10 oil paintings now sell for about $400 at the gallery so these are a super value (like most DPW paintings) starting at $75.

Challenge Day 14: Reaching for the Sky

Rainy Sky Study--9x12 on linen (study for larger painting)

The sky is the soul of all scenery. It makes the earth lovely at sunrise and splendid at sunset. In the one it breathes over the earth a crystal-like ether, in the other a liquid gold.  American landscape painter Thomas Cole

Almost at the half way point in what feels like a painting marathon but in a good way...

Tomorrow AM I have to have a chipped tooth fixed. I'm lucky that I like my dentist but I’m already hoping I won’t be too uncomfortable to paint afterward.  I’ve already put the appointment off for a few weeks but felt it was time to just get it over with. Also, I didn’t think my dentist would quite understand about the 30 in 30 painting challenge.

Alaskan Sunset Study

In the meantime, I wanted to post a few sky color studies today. Why skies? If you enjoy painting landscapes I think the sky is one of the most interesting places to both study and inject color. On any given day, as Hudson River painter Thomas Cole points out, the sky can display a prism of painting challenges. Skies can be every color on the color wheel especially during unusual weather. So if you're working on a landscape that you feel needs some extra color interest look to the sky.

One of my fav sky photos this summer--double rainbow over Red Rocks

P.S. For all you sky, sunset, and cloud fans you may enjoy more colorful sky paintings on my Pinterest board: The Sky’s the Limit.

20 "Gotta Have It" Art Studio Tools

Got tabby? Always.

Happy Friday everyone! Recently AHA featured a podcast about "favorite artists products”—(I don’t know about you but I really love these “checklist”shows.) This show inspired me to look around the studio and share my own “must have” studio stuff.

These are “tried and true” tools (rather than brushes, knives, and paint) I keep near my easel and use almost every day. Most are fairly inexpensive and low tech. With a few exceptions...

My iPad is a splurge but honestly, it’s changed my art life. So here are 20 items that I at least for me make my creative life a little easier and more enjoyable--hope they help make your art life a breeze too!

1. iPad—holds my reference photos, paint from it, crop, watch art demos...
2. Joby iPad holder (Note this one is for original iPad)
3. Crank easels (old, new—Don’t get me started on the ratchet or sliding kind.)
4. Gray palette paper (like the mid tone and don’t care for glass)
5. Mini plastic spring clamps (assorted sizes)
6. Green Frog tape (varies widths—it’s a ruler on a roll!)
7. Large and small T-Square and rulers (great for quick canvas or paper gridding)
8. Saral transfer paper—especially the white/yellow—Just comes in handy
9. Big Sharpie and Post it Note Pad (good for supply notes, title ideas, etc.)
10. Rolling red taboret cart from Harbor Freight (see my post on taborets)
11. Red plastic value sheets (red acetate from art store)
12. Foam plates and foam brushes
13. Good old Kemper Wipe Out Tool (or similar)
14. Round grippy rubber jar opener (from dollar store, hardware, etc.)
15. Adjustable height rolling drafting chair (no arms)
16. Paper towels: Bounty (watermedia) and Viva (oil media)
17. Hand creams (Aveda, Skin Safer, and my new fav: Desert Essence Vanilla Chai--yummy!)
18. Winsor Newton Brush Cleaner (non toxic but powerful)
19. Old mats/frames for checking composition
20. And most importantly...A studio manager/muse. Mine are always striped and furry. 

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to check out the paintings from my YUPO workshop--Plan to post more YUPO paintings soon but this week I'm working on a large 3 panel oil painting commission. So I better grab some of these tools and get back to work!

A Creative Spring Break in the City

"Splashdown" 8x10 oil on archival panel

SOLD--thank you!

Before I took my “spring break” a few weeks ago to recharge my creative batteries I was thinking that spring was just around the corner…But I’m still eagerly awaiting the pale pink apple blossoms which mark the official start each year. 

I wish I could say I ran off with my paints to sunny Cabo--especially as I watch the tiny spring snow flakes fall outside the studio this morning. But I’m saving up for some May travel. So I decided to find as much positive creative energy as possible in my own neck of the woods. Here are a few things that have kept me busy (but in a good way), inspired, and ready to take my art to the next level...

Beautiful tiger at Denver Zoo

Photos , photos, photos…At the Zoo, at Rocky Mountain Arsenal (which is now a wildlife refuge), lots of parks and trails, etc. Today’s gull painting was a photo I took a few weeks ago at Washington Park where the ubiquitous waterfowl are some of the best wildlife models in the city year round.

Visited Denver Art Museum Georgia O’Keeffe exhibit.  You see so many O’Keeffe’s on posters, mugs, etc. that’s it’s always fascinating to see her art in person. This simple but powerful turkey feather and horseshoe painting was one of my favorites.

Traded my paint splattered apron for black sequins to attend the Art and Soul event--Wonderful to see hundreds of people attended a fundraising event in support of the arts and local artists. Thanks Denver!

Tried out some new art supplies—including Lefranc et Bourgeois titanium white—Used in the gull today and loved it--It's like French vanilla butter cream frosting...

Went to the movies (not just a DVD), enjoyed a "real" sit down lunch (amazing cheddar soup at Ghost Bar--thanks George--and yes it's haunted),  took my first bike ride of the year, had my eyes checked (super important fellow artists!), re-read some of my favorite art books, shopped for "non black" spring clothes and ended up with black capris (ladies you know how that goes). Most importantly I actually feel like I'm ready to paint with a refreshed vision and "cleaner" energy...It's good to be back!

P.S. Spring always brings new students so I want to welcome you all and thank my ongoing students who have also been at the mercy of this crazy spring weather!

Good Things Come in Small Paintings

"Pink in the Park" 6x6 oil study
Sold-thank you!

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. 

Art is knowing which ones to keep. 

Scott Adams

There's so much to paint in the summer it's almost overwhelming. Painting smaller studies (like these 6x6 squares) remind me why “almost daily” painting can be so rewarding. Finding the time to paint every single day might just not be realistic in your world right now. But if you want to grow your artistic vision and skills, I think it’s extremely helpful to paint MORE than you are now.  Whatever that may be for you. 

I promise you’ll find this extra time at the easel beneficial in the long run. Here are three key reasons I think “almost daily” painting is a great goal for any artist who wants to improve:

"Redbud Rester" 6x6 oil study

I love the creative process but the reality is you’re not always going to have a stellar painting day.  In fact, you may have a disappointing painting day when you least expect it.

This can really catch you off guard.  But when this happens to me I have some sense of comfort and hope that a more successful painting may be just be around the corner--rather than weeks or months away.

Also, many artists at one time or another are challenged either by time or budget or both. Small-ish (under 8x10 let's say) paintings are not typically a significant time or monetary investment.  This doesn’t mean you have to use cheap materials for daily painting. On the contrary I prefer linen panels (Raymar), professional paints, decent brushes, etc.  I feel like I can "splurge" because I'm not using so many supplies at once. Plus, if you paint a "keeper" you'll be happy you used nicer materials.

With regard to time, it may take a few tries, but I find I can paint a 6x6 in under 120 minutes give or take. Check out Craig Nelson's excellent book: 60 minutes to Better Painting for more ideas regarding quick studies.

If you enjoy painting on a larger scale, smaller studies are also a wonderful way to “brainstorm” and have fun with paint. For example, in my light and shadow rose study today I tried some some "looser" dragged edges which I thought worked pretty well. Thanks DPW for featuring my little rose on the DPW Facebook page!

In the sparrow study, I tried a strong orange toned canvas to help give a sense of the warm August sunshine. Some of the orange bits work and some I'm not as crazy about. Still worth the test. 

I often compare painting to puzzle solving.  Painting more often allows to test a variety of solutions before you commit to a bigger canvas. For example, you could try different color strategies, take a new color for a test run, change your value key, experiment with your brushwork etc.  It’s also fun to do quick small abstracts and then scale them up--particularly small squares because they scale so easily. Happy summer painting everyone!

Spot On Color

"Seeing Spots" oil on canvas 11x14

I had such a fantastic time painting the colorful pinto horse a few days ago, I decided to paint an appaloosa. I love working with patterns and textures when I paint animals. This time I chose a higher key and added more surface texture. In this case, I used a painting knife along with the brushwork. I really had to stop myself from painting more leopard pattern spots--it's rather addictive.

My color selection for this painting was a few more pigments than I typically use, but still fairly limited. Also, I'm sometimes I asked about my preference for paint brands. I've tested almost every brand over many years so on a palette like this it's not unusual that each of these is a different brand. This doesn't make replacing your colors very practical though, so you may want to pick a few favorites and stick with those.

Permalba White, Indian Yellow, Trans Red Oxide, Perm Rose, Aliz Crimson, Ultra Blue, Thalo Blue, Yellow Green and small amount of Ivory Black.

Also, quick note about black since I'm often asked about that as well. Personally, I don't usually use black but I find myself using it sometimes and in moderation when I paint animals. Like many artists, I work with ivory black as a very dark neutral blue. And I usually mix black with another pigment help warm it up such as a touch of Alizarin or Red Oxide.


I don't know about you but I always think of colorful or patterned equines such as palominos, pintos (paints), and appaloosas being featured in Native American or Western art work, but in doing some research, I came across this interesting 17th century Flemish painting by Meulen of Louis XIV riding an appaloosa. In fact, artists have been depicting spotted horses in art since the 11 century.

This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

So my painting challenge to you today is a patterned animal--have fun and see you in the studio! For more info about my classes, please click on my class link at the top.

Painting Colorado's Most Iconic Subject

"Ancient Roots" Mixed Media on Canvas 36 x 48

Now, I've not conducted an official poll but I've been a Colorado based artist for almost my entire adult life. In that time, I've conservatively assert that I've proudly attended hundreds of art shows, festivals, workshops, etc. so I feel that I'm a fairly good judge of popular and beloved subject matter.

Now you might think it would be our Rocky Mountains--in particular snowy capped peaks. Yes, I've seen many versions of mountainscapes so that's a possible landscape favorite but even more than mountains, I'm going to go out on a limb (pun intended) and say that Colorado artists have an undying passion for shimmery, quaking aspen trees. In all seasons, forms, shapes, and sizes. How can you resist a tree with patterns?

I've painting aspens before of course but it's been a while and I this time I wanted to paint on a relatively large canvas help express the scale of a towering pale forest. In this painting on stretched canvas, I used many layers of acrylics, molding paste (for bark texture) and oil pastels for line work and details (personally my favorite  part). 

I recently read that aspen trees grow as large stands of genetically identical trees (technically, stems) connected by a single root system. The largest known fully connected aspen is a grove in Utah nicknamed Pando. Some experts believe this aspen grove to be the heaviest organism in the world.

I really loved working on this and can't wait to paint another with I think a warmer background next time. But I may need to taking a painting break later this  week for the new Ikea Grand Opening! Don't think I'm going to camp out, but I have been waiting for years for the store to arrive in Denver. I'm certain I'll be able to find an interesting and colorful studio accessory--if I can get into the parking lot. Wish me luck and in the meantime enjoy all your creative endeavors!  

Ampersands of Time

Happy Monday everyone! Lately, I felt it was time to push myself to do a larger, more expressive and graphic non-representational painting. So over the weekend I bought a 3 foot by 4 foot gallery wrap canvas and which lurked liked a big white wall for a few hours. For me the best way to get started is to just dive in and start making marks--working with line and mass (more sold shapes).  I also used acrylic paint here so I could quickly stamp into areas, collage, etc.

Painting Detail

I always enjoy incorporating symbols, gylphs, words, letters, numbers, etc. into my art. In this piece, I wanted to include two of my favorite symbols: the ampersand and asterisk (which derives from the Latin for little star).
I read that asterisks where originally used to denote birth dates in family trees and the ampersand is an ancient symbol dating back to the first century.  It represents the written Latin "et" meaning "and" as you might have guessed. 

Since I was thinking about words and how they relate to art, I thought it would be fun to write a haiku (a traditional Japanese poetry form that follows the 5/7/5 syllable format) about painting abstractly. (I'm a former English major, but my poetry writing is a bit rusty, but here goes...)

Paint marks on canvas
Letters value hue collide
Whatever you have


White wall towers empty
Brushes tell a story
Colors sing in harmony


Colors swim below
Shapes emerge born of shadow
Brushes reach the sky

For those of you who paint on large surfaces you know how freeing this can be.  While I think I've still got a few adjustments to make, this was one of the most enjoyable pieces I've worked on recently.  Quick welcome and thanks to my new March students, as always I look forward to helping you reach your art goals while enjoying the process along the way!

Sweet Sprouts

Happy March everyone! I'm back from my trip to beautiful, sun-kissed central Florida (I can see why so many painters live there) and eager to get back to painting and teaching this week. Before I left, I painted this quick oil painting study of a sprouting sweet onion.

I really wanted to paint a red onion for the red-purple/yellow-green complementary color scheme but I can't get the thing to sprout no matter what I try. (Feel free to email sprouting tips!) My favorite part was painting the semi-transparent onion skin.

Speaking of spring, I think this is a great time of year to start spring cleaning in your studio--weed out old brushes (they can still be used for texture but maybe not careful details), let go of that paint tube that's so old and dry it's become a mystery color, organize paintings by subject or size, and maybe donate rarely used supplies to a local art non-profit.  I don't know about you, but I feel much more productive and creative in a well-organized, well-stocked studio.

Finally, this week one of my students kindly gave me one of the Splash Watercolor Series books. If you paint in watercolor, you may already be familiar with these, but this consistently high quality series (currently their are 11 books in the series) is a marvelous resource if you work watermedia. Have a great week and happy painting!

Springy Sparrow

Happy Weekend everyone! Last last April I posted a small oil painting of a sparrow from a photo that I took out my kitchen window. It was one of my personal favorite oils so I thought I'd work another one this week but work in a different color family.

Speaking of birds, I saw that it's also "Great Backyard Bird Count" this weekend. This is an annual bird watching event that allows anyone to be an ornithologist and record their local birds. Unfortunately this week, I've only had three at the feeder outside my studio this week: a sparrow, chickadee, and a house finch.

Back to my painting, for this 8 x10 oil study my "self assignment" was three fold: 

1. Pay attention to (and accurately record) smaller shifts in color and temperature 
2. Capture the way birds seem to melt into their background with varied brushwork
3. Maintain strong overall diagonal design plan 

Since I tend to paint "from the gut" many days and this usually works for me, I still find having 1-3 painting goals like this really help keep me on track as evaluate the subject vs. the painting. Later today I'm headed to a near by Wild Oats for a demo about painting from your photos by local artist David Griffin which I'm looking forward to. (You have to love free demos but the pastry/coffee bar area gets me every time...)

Finally, I've added a Student Work page tab at the top where I'll be positing some of their work for inspiration and ideas. Thanks for stopping by and happy bird watching!

My Top 10 Favorite Studio Tools 2011

Since its award season I thought I’d post Part 1 of My Annual Best Art Studio Tools and Helpers. Here are my Top 5 2011 “Golden Mannequin” Awards...
Best Overall Studio Helper: My iPad
My big splurge item last year.  But, if you already have an iPad I probably don’t need to convince you how fabulous they are. At first I didn’t really think it would be a “must have” in the studio. Now, I use it everyday--it's always in reach of my easel. 
 

I also enjoy listening music and podcasts such as Artists Helping Artists. Since I tended to keep my larger laptop in my office, the iPad’s also a handy time saver for checking a website for show deadlines, check out a Youtube demo, the weather, my calendar, my mail etc. It’s also great for travel (plane sketching with the art apps!). I’m certain I’ll continue to find more art and studio uses for it. All around, an A+ artist tool.  

My studio mascot gray tabby Dash is also a wonderful muse and studio helper, but he's one of a kind.

Best Organizational Tool: The Wonder File!
OK, a bit embarrassing, but from the first time I saw the late night TV ad, I knew I had to have one. I have two (one red, one black) and could easily fill a third. Like a fold able scrapbook, I use it mostly for organizing those pesky reference photos into categories like: floral, horses, still lifes, abstracts, figures, landscapes, etc. As you may read in some reviews, it’s not perfect (the elastic straps kind of crunch thinner printer paper, pocket sizes a bit odd, etc.) but it works better than my loose file folders. Plus, if I need to take my reference photos with me, I can just grab it and go.

Best Storage Tool: Mayline Oak Flat Files
Many years ago I found a vintage 10 drawer Mayline oak flat file cabinet at an office liquidation center. It’s a giant oak whale and it cost more than my sofa, but I it's a must have for storage. It safely stores a ton of unwieldy materials such as full 22x30 watercolor sheets, mat board, random collage scraps, yupo paper, illustration boards, prints, large drawing pads, my art clear bags, etc. I must have over 100 items in there. The large flat top can also be used as a work surface and the drawers have handy changeable label tags.  Can’t imagine where in the world I stored all these items before “Moby” came into my art life.      

Best Painting Tool: Rubber Tipped Scrapers/Shapers
I’ve mentioned these tools before--I use them for both oil and acrylic painting particularly when I’m working on a firmer surfaces such as canvas board, Masonite, or illustration board. You can find these firm but flexible rubber tipped tools in a variety of shapes and sizes. They used to be hard to find but I just spotted some the other day at our local craft store near the painting knives. And of course you can order them on line. Runner up: Oil paint Sharpies for my line work--love the gold and silver!   

Best Green Tool: M. Graham Non Toxic Walnut Medium
Thank you, thank you Graham for making this. As I’ve mentioned before, the more I paint the more chemical sensitive I become so I don’t tend to use much medium anyway.
But when I do, it’s nice to have this option. Runner up:  I use Turpenoid Natural for all my clean up now. Pop up baby wipes are pretty nifty too.

I'll be back in a future post with the rest of my Top 5. In the meantime, have a great weekend and as always if you have any questions about art supplies, studio tips, or my classes please contact me.

31 Art Sparks

For some time now, I've wanted to display and organize unframed paintings for extra studio inspiration. Yesterday I finally added some nice clean and contemporary white floating shelves I found at The Container Store.

These shelves (which also come in black) were perfect for displaying art because they are not too deep (just a few inches) and have a little front lip to keep your unframed pieces from sliding off. Plus, they are sturdy enough to hold a few small framed pieces. 

Seeing a collection of my pieces (as well some student work) gave me the idea to put together a quick list of art painting projects or painting challenges. Here are some quick ideas for the next time you wander into your art space thinking...Hmm, what the heck should I paint today? Enjoy!

1.    High key (very light) large landscape—snow, spring trees…
2.    Low key (very dark) still life—eggplants, black objects, rusty things…
3.    Still life with something inside something else (jar of marbles, etc.)
4.    Base your painting off of one key pigment that you don’t typically use on your palette
5.    Start your painting with a complementary outline for your subjects (blue line for an orange object, etc.)
6.    Paint from a photo (landscape, figure, floral, etc.) upside down
7.    Use a tool you’ve never used before for entire painting—palette knife, credit card…
8.    Paint a master copy of an artist you’re less familiar with (i.e. you’ll need to do some research, review their body of work, etc.)
9.    Pick a strong emotion—such as “Jealousy” and create an abstract painting about it
10.    Recycle (or complete) an old painting from the basement, studio closet, etc.
11.    Stretch your own unprimed canvas and leave some raw canvas showing for texture
12.    Something with stripes or another strong repetitive pattern
13.    A toy, board game, keepsake or something that evokes strong memories
14.    A multiple collection of something (stamps, coins, rocks, etc.)
15.    Something with letters, words, or numbers
16.    Add a figure to an existing painting (abstract, representational) for a new focal area
17.    Paint in order of the color wheel from red, to red orange, to orange, etc. Use every color somewhere.
18.    Mostly white subject(s) with a very dark background (or vice versa)
19.    Take a favorite painting and repaint it with a different composition
20.    Something borrowed before you return it
21.    Speed paint an abstract in 60 minutes (or less) with larges brush, no planning, etc. Just paint!
22.    Something with an interesting label or strong graphics (cereal box, etc.)
23.    Crumple, fold, mutilate large piece of heavy paper (black or white)—all those folds make for great value practice
24.    “Hide” at least 2 personal and secret visual symbols in your painting 
25.    Paint something very modern in a classical style (e.g. Rembrandt paints an iPod)
26.    Something or someplace that represents the state or town you grew up in
27.    Take inspiration from one of your favorite song titles
28.    Paint a new cover for one of your favorite books (classical or contemporary)
29.    Other than art, honor another unrelated passion or hobby in your art
30.    Your favorite food or snack next to your least favorite
31.     In an artist under the gun “Iron Chef” like way have a friend or family member bring or pick out a “mystery” object or photo for you. Paint this in under an hour.

Need more art sparks? Here are a few others I found online:
About's Monthly Painting Projects
A Day Not Wasted Painting Challenge
Red Bubble Acrylic Challenges 
Monthly Painting Challenge
Artists Helping Artists Monthly Challenge

Thanks as always for stopping by, please feel free to Contact Me if you have any questions about painting or my classes. Creative joy and happiness from my studio to yours!

Autumn (in Progress)

Happy Thursday! Keep telling myself that autumn is a favorite time for many artists and I'm doing my best to embrace the changes and let summer go, but it's never easy...Here's an autumn inspired abstract in progress that's almost done, but not quite. I thought a longer, tall format would be a challenge...

I also created "living" stamps from the leaves in my yard which often end up looking like colorful, layered flora fossils. Another busy week, getting a show submission ready and meeting some great new fall students. Don't want to jinx the show entry so I'll let you know later if I get in.

One of the best aspects about teaching and being an online artist is that I'm always discovering new painters  that I would have likely never found on my own. For those of you who enjoy unusual landscapes, one of my students who hails from the South lent me a gorgeous book called Marsh Mission that features dramatic, colorful marsh and bayou paintings by artist Rhea Gary.

If you're like me, I'm always looking for art related TV shows. So I was thrilled (not an exaggeration) to discover that our Denver cable now has the Create TV Channel. It's kind of a "best of" art, cooking, crafts, travel, etc. PBS channel that we now have in Denver. I'm really looking forward to watching Passport & Palette which starts in a few weeks.

Questions about painting? Please feel free to email me. Also, in November, I'm offering just for fun a FREE short (and friendly) critique for anyone who would like to send me a painting. Thanks and enjoy the rest of your day! 

Bite of Red: Apple #2

6x6

Oil on panel

Here's apple study #2. A bitten red delicious as you can see. I read there are more than 50 varieties of this type of apple. I'll be honest, I'm a Macintosh gal from way back, but the red delicious still makes a nice shiny, angular model with lovely cool and warm reds. And it's flesh is a really interesting almost white-yellow-green before it begins it's golden rusty oxidation.

My favorite apple painting story, which I think I'm remembering correctly, was one that the late Helen VanWyk (the wonderful PBS oil painter from many years ago) would share about her mentor. Ms. VanWyk's books are some of the first oil painting books I purchased years ago and they remain some of my favorites.

I'm likely paraphrasing here, but it has always stuck with me. As a young painter, Helen was tasked with a painting a bowl of apples and not until every single apple could be identified individually could she move on. In other words, painting is really observing carefully and recording accurately--which is really for me what these little live studies are really about each day.

Tomorrow, I'm looking forward to running up to our local Cherry Creek Farmer's Market before teaching my first class to find some more inspirational apple/model options. Quick thanks this week to all my home studio  students who are graciously putting up some remodel noise along with me--the end is near! In the meantime, I greatly appreciate your patience and sympathy.