Goin' for the Gold-Finch!

"Goldfinch Blossoms" SOLD--thank you!

Happy Summer everyone! First a giant thank you to everyone who helped and supported me during my busiest event of the year--the Denver Summer Art Market a few weeks ago.

Any outdoor event in Colorado is always a bit of surprise but it was gorgeous dry sunny weekend. Almost 100 on Saturday but thankfully my tent partner had a portable bucket misting fan (from Home Depot) which was very popular! I also tried a "gel cool pad" for my chair which I threw in the freezer the night before. Highly recommend for any warm weather event for a quick cool down!

And of course thanks to Denver's best art shoppers for stopping by and collecting my art for yikes almost 20 years! (Started very, very young..;). Sold many of my favorite recent paintings like this cheerful goldfinch painting posted today.

It's a lot of work getting ready for an art event like this but it's so rewarding. You get some time out of your studio, you meet and connect with many new people, you get a ton of painting practice and build your inventory--I painted over 50 new paintings.

With the Market behind me though I'm getting ready for some exciting new art events including...
My NEW 2 Day Glowing Colors Oil Painting Workshop: August 23& 24
Location: Foothills Art Center in Golden, Colorado
Click here for more info or to register.

Foothills Art Center Golden, CO

In the workshop I'll be sharing my tips for using transparent colors to create an exciting under painting which the method I use for many of my animals, including the goldfinch here. I don't often offer a 2 day intensive workshop so this is a good opportunity if you've been looking for an in person painting experience to learn this very popular method.

And finally thanks to all my current summer students for taking time out of their busy summers to paint with me! See you at the easel soon!

New Colors are Like a Box of Chocolates

"My Sunny Valentine" 8x8 oil on archival Ampersand baord

Please click here to bid--SOLD-Thank you!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone and a special birthday shout out to anyone with a Val Day birthday like my Dad!

Ever since I’ve returned from the beach I’ve needed a “mid-winter” color pick me up.  So I treated myself to some fresh oil paints—which is almost as exciting as a box of dark chocolate.  Almost.
After shopping around online for a bit (budget: $100) and finding a “discount shipping” code I chose an special promo Daniel Smith Quinacridone oil paint set. The 11 juicy colors span the warmer side of the color wheel from the deep yellow orange Quin Gold (a rather hard to find pigment) to a new violet Quin Purple.

I like “quins” because they’re powerful, non-toxic, and highly transparent which means they mix cleanly and glaze well.  Quin Gold, Quin Rose, and Quin Magenta are some of my pet pigments for floral painting.  And I love using Quin Gold to mix interesting greens. (I tried the Quin Red in today’s sunflower painting.)

In my next post I’ll show you my results of a very challenging “limited brushstroke” painting exercise…Stay tuned.

Back from the Beach

"Sunny Dreams" 8x8 oil on linen (collection artist)

How I Spent My Winter Break
Have just returned (reluctantly) from my Dreama Tolle Perry oil painting workshop on sunny Marco Island where I happily traded my boots for sandals.  The beautiful Marco Island Art Center was the perfect place to begin a creative and color filled 2013. 

I don't travel that often out of state for workshops but I just had to take another Dream workshop. (Quick travel painting tip: I mailed most of my heavy and expensive supplies in an insured USPS "fits ships" box to myself and they were there waiting when I arrived.) Not to mention Florida in January was just too tempting. In fact, the day I left Denver it was about 60 degrees warmer there. 

Dreama is one of those artists that you could watch paint everyday. It's no wonder her workshops fill up so quickly. It’s mesmerizing watching her paint alla prima in her opaque over transparent oils method. It’s one of those magical painting approaches where the painting just seems to suddenly appear—and it’s gorgeous—full of luscious glowing color and flying brushstrokes.  It’s a painting method that I plan to continue to practice and incorporate into my own work. Here's a quick recap of the three days--which goes by much too fast...

Dreama starts with a loose energetic paint sketch in transparent oils

Dreama continues to cover her panel with clean transparent oils.

Dream's final painting--a pleasure to watch from start to finish.

Day 1 : Dreama demoed a sunlit sunflower and tulip still life (12x12) painting in three stages. I really enjoyed painting this painting (posted above) since I love florals so much, particularly sunflowers as many of you know. 
Day 2: Today's painting was a more complex shady French garden. This one was a bit trickier—lots going on but I enjoyed the “editing” and “simplification” challenge particularly since I was using an 8x8 linen panel.
Day 3: The morning brought the infamous “musical easel” exercise where all the artists rotate work stations and paint on many paintings in less than an hour. It’s both freeing and terrifying at the same time! Finally, we had the chance to work with our own photo reference.  Just like last year, I enjoyed every minute of it and the time just flies by. It’s also the type of workshop where you can’t wait to paint when you get home.

"Musical Easel" exercise painting 6x6 oil on panel

My thanks again to Dreama and all the talented ladies I met (a few who were also "repeat offenders" from last year as Dreama calls us) for helping to make my winter break so energizing, fun, and memorable. In my next post I’ll share some Florida photos including my first trip to Key West to see the famous 6-toed Hemingway cats and my first manatee sighting!