Forgive My Absence...But, It's Time For Some New Releases!

I've found it very difficult to get to the creative work recently - it's always hard this time of year with the ending of the school year and trying to get things completed, the end of the Family CoOp and related celebrations, the end of spring soccer seasons and it's related celebrations...if I never have another pizza it will be too soon!!!

"Spring" Signed, Limited Edition giclee print on paper
of original pencil drawing, 9"x12" $50.00

Anyway, during this hiatus from actual art production, I did manage to FINALLY have some new prints made!  They are lovely quality giclee prints from the only place around here that seems to do them (and Les does a wonderful job) - Palette Arts in Nipomo.  They are available directly through me (if you want a signed limited edition, quality guaranteed) or through my site at Fine Art America (which would not be signed and they print on demand on various sizes and surfaces, however I am unable to check the quality against the original - looks good on screen, though).

I'm sure long-time visitors will recognize the drawing above - the first to be released in a series of 4 seasonal drawings.  Obviously, this one represents spring - my goal is to try and release a new one during each season until the series is complete.

"Tweet" Signed, Limited Edition giclee print on paper
of original gouache painting, 6"x 8" $40.00

#2 in the series

#1 in the series

You'll also recognize this little guy - part of a series of 3 kid-friendly, primary color images that were originally done in gouache.

"Still" Signed, Limited Edition giclee print on paper
of original acrylic painting, 9"x 12" $55.00  OR  16" x 20" $65.00

Of course, my favorite is the recent painting "Still."

Last but not least, I have some 9"x12" prints of the chef study that I used for the mural.

Springtime, Easter Vacation, and the Pre-Painting Begins...Finally

Believe it or not, these are flesh tones
 (base, warm & cool shadows, and highlight)

I can't believe it's already Wednesday and I haven't started officially painting yet - Easter Vacation is just flying by!  But, yesterday, I updated my playlists with some new songs and headed out to the garage for some of the prep-work.  I always like to start a larger-size project with as many premixed colors as possible so I don't end up running out of something in the middle of painting.  It was my "mad scientist" day - I felt like I should be wearing a lab coat and laughing maniacally when I achieved the right shade.  I will still have a palette for additional mixing and fine tuning of colors, but I should be able to do a lot with these.

Mixed, labeled, and ready to go...

One of the nice things about working in the garage on a sunny spring day is that my littlest gets to play in the front yard (which she doesn't normally get to do).  Although her big sisters are usually with her, there's a nice big window so I can keep an eye on her and she has her boundaries so that she's stays within that window of sight - of course, that's also the window where crane flies go to die this time of year.  They were all over, stuck between the glass and the screen or in webs in the corners.  So, I had to clean up that disgusting mess, too - YUCK!  But, it's fun to see my bouncing beauty enjoying the sunshine.


Now, I can't wait to actually start painting - maybe I'll get to do that tomorrow.  Hopefully, I'll get at least one painting done this week and still have some family time.  In the meantime, my painting looks a little freaky with all of the test spots created as searched for the right base colors, highlights and shadows.

Color test spots making the subject look a bit strange

Spring Is In the Air...

So, where've I been?  Well, busy as usual - getting one child ready for high school graduation and another enrolling in high school, proofreading the annual research papers for my 5th and 8th grader, running my mother-in-law to and fro on errands...the usual.  Not to mention daylight savings - can't get used to that one!  I've actually been productive on some art projects with some newfound springtime motivation - I just haven't been able to get the laptop away from my teenage daughter lately to download my pictures.

Kids presenting research paper summaries to the Writing CoOp

The weather is getting to where I can work in the garage again, so I spent all day yesterday clearing out the piles that have built up and reorganizing the workspace (post-mural).  I picked-up a 30"x40" canvas for the study I recently did (shared in the previous post).  I wouldn't be able to work that large in the corner of my small bedroom.

Garage work space ready for new projects...

I actually did have a request for some artwork for a friend and the charity organization that she's involved with.  There is an upcoming fundraiser for Royal Family Kids and she asked me to do a design based on their Old West theme to be printed on placemats along with their logo.  Maybe a little something for the portfolio...

So Much For Being "Done"...

A rare day-off for Lincoln's Birthday, the big kids all gone to friends' houses, and a little sunshine on the front patio means that my littlest can have fun playing out front while mom updates things on the laptop.

Spring flowers have already arrived.

Anyway, didn't I say I might just tweak the painting a little?  Well, that wasn't exactly true.  When it came down to it, I think I tweaked it a lot.  Of course, it may not look different but, with a little close observation, one might notice differences.  Frankly, I became frustrated with the 2 flowers on the right - they became rather muddled by overworking with to many colors - I even completely painted out the bottom one and started over.

I think it's done - but I'm still not happy with the leaf - I'll just tweak it a little...

Light was an interesting challenge as I had a changing light source (a south-facing window) to my left which caused moving shadows and a secondary interior light overhead/right which created shadows of its own.  I realized that I was giving conflicting information with cast shadows of the flower petals on both sides of the vase/creamer, but I liked the shapes and decided to keep them.  And that's what was truly liberating about this project compared with the first one which was much more dependent on observation.  For this one, I gave myself permission to use more artistic license and mostly responded to what was happening on the paper.  Besides liking the shapes of some of the shadows, I also liked the orange from the flowers reflected on the porcelain surface - it wasn't nearly as pronounced in real life, but I liked it in the painting.

I still have dreams of one do doing a "quick" little still life that captures its essence with a minimum of strokes... (sigh)

From One Season to the Next

Well, yesterday was a celebration of my oldest daughter who turned 14!  And today, it was back to school. We started with about half the subjects - I like to go in light (for my benefit as much as theirs).

Of course, last night - the last possible night of vacation - I actually sat down to work on something more than just sketching and doodling.  Well, I can't say that it was a new project - it was really one that I'd posted about before when it was almost done, and it sort of hung in that state ever since.  So, since diving into a major new project seemed unreasonable on a Sunday evening before the start of school, I just worked on fine-tuning the old so that I could call it "done."

#1 in the series - Spring

You may remember the "Mother Nature" doodle I did years ago, and this endeavor was simply finishing a re-do of that.  It is the first of a series of 4 woman/tree drawings that will represent each of the 4 seasons.  This first one is spring and I'm really excited about my idea for summer. I did do a little planning in the sketchbook on that one, but I won't reveal anything...yet.

Planning for the next one...Summer

Of course, for better or for worse, drawing and painting (or any other creative process) is energizing to me.  So, working into the night last night has its consequences - it was impossible for me to "wind down" and fall asleep for quite some time.  Not good when I had to get the girls up to do lessons this morning.  Still, I'm glad to be moving on from a lot of planning and idea exploration into actually producing something - it's invigorating.  But, I'm anticipating many more sleepless nights coming up.

Spring Fever

Aahhhhh, spring! It was a beautifully warm day and none of us felt like doing schoolwork today - spring fever big time! Of course, we had to anyway. But, things are winding down. The kids' P.E. co-op is finished, and science and history are almost done. Math and writing will continue into summertime (as usual - we take our time in those areas).

Anyway, the picture I posted today is from my sketchbook and I had autumn in mind when I did it. However, seeing just a couple of leaves starting to appear on the tree in our front yard reminded me of it.

I haven't had much of an opportunity to work on the Bathing Beauty, but I hope to spend some time on it this weekend. I don't have the background issue solved, but I do have some ideas that I want to pursue. It's a drag, however, when there's no time to actually do the things I have in mind.

Another thing that's aggravating me is that I wish I could participate in the whole Illustration Friday thing. I think it would be fun. But, I'm one of those that likes to "stew" on a concept for a while. I don't usually have an image pop into my head right away. Of course, I don't have time for that thinking process to happen before the next Friday comes around. Perhaps when summer comes...

Spring Fever

It's the first day of spring and it's a beautiful day here is California!! The kids had P.E. this morning (the Presidential Physical Fitness CoOp) and there's the 1st day of indoor soccer practice later this afternoon. After that, it's off to work I go (Hi Ho).

So, if I'm going to have any studio time, I'd better skip the chatting and get out there. I thought I'd share this image from my sketchbook as it's appropriate for today (done last fall).

Also, where possible, I've added some Youtube video of some of the artists and/or songs to several of the links in my "Sounds From the Studio" sidebar. Have a listen, if you'd like.