writing in the morning, painting by afternoon light

I try to do it the other way around - paint in the morning light, edit in the aftrnoon, but today I had to cut my time to suit my clock.
Worked on the right side and bottom edge of the wood bench. Layering grain, exercising patience.

shine up your party shoes

Look at what will be in Huff Harrington Fine Art's New Works show in September. If Frari Candles was for sale, it would be going too. Instead I'll be searching for another candle image to paint from among the hundreds of photos I (stealthily) took on my last trip.

you may already be a winner

I've been honored with a Kick Ass Blogger Award ...
I think this is the bloggy version of 'tag, you're it!'


It is my duty, as the recipient of the Kick Ass Blogger Award, to anoint five lucky winners.
Jocullum - an erudite and original voice of diffident passion, sometimes art-related.
John Sugg - farewells to print journalism on the CJR website.
Paul - at learning to see in the UK, started with the goal of reclaiming his artist's soul one painstaking exercise at a time. I followed him for a couple of years, and missed him when the site went quiet. He's back.
Stephanie - aka yarn harlot. The title speaks for itself. It's all about chicks with sticks.
Emily - a bold young voice of art, and a creative geyser.

I'd like to thank the academy, that is Nancie, for bestowing this honor upon my blog and then patiently explaining to me via email how to embed links, knowledge I was shamefully lacking.
Okay, it's your turn. Awards come with responsibilities. First, you have to read the instructions and follow the committee rules. Then choose some of your favorite bloggers to pass the award on to.

the numinous

One of the great pleasures of being a painter is choosing to paint what tugs at your heart and your eye.
I was seeking a way to make visible the point where the spiritual and physical intersect. The most difficult part was figuring out how to convey the feel of immensity.
These three sky and sea scapes were the result. They are a gesture gratitude for the chance to be a witness in the world, a valentine to 'being itself', to quote Thomas Merton.

Beauty shots

Back in the day when I was a working model, close up photographs for hair and make up ads were called beauty shots. It was all about the lighting.
Here are four of my Table For One series, carefully lit and photographed.

updating images

First a confession. My earlier paintings were photographed on the floor in uneven light at an angle that turned some rectangles into wonky trapezoids.

Every painting needs a sharp, well-lit photographic image, a jpg to post on a gallery website or send to a potential patron.

I will be photographing my inventory of paintings over the next couple of days. I'm glad to say I've made progress in photography along with with painting skills, and I've learned enough photoshop so I'm able to crop the image cleanly and size it properly for juried show applications.

As I work through my inventory I'll post the images here.

As usual I'm bouncing between two paintings. This is the beginning of a painting that comments on our drought and contemplates the innate, undeserved beauty of crumpled plastic in sunlight. It's like painting dozens of neutral abstract squares, and there is something about working on a chalk gridded mid-value gray canvas that is like taking a long drink of cold water.

Loving painting this.

I'm blocking in the slatted seats, arms and legs. I thought it would be really challenging but it seems natural. I'm drawing with paint, instead of painting a detailed drawing, new territory to me. I feel so in the zone that I am thinking about making a sketchbook series part of my upcoming trip. Sketch what snags me then take a photo of the sketch and the scene. I usually figure out why certain images hook me afterwards. At the time I'm working by instinct and hunch.