Art Display at Mercer Estates Winery in Prosser, WA

Three of my sunflower paintings have found their way onto the beautiful clay walls at the Mercer Estates Winery tasting room at 3100 Lee Rd in Prosser, WA 99350 (509-786-2097). The grouping just vibrates on the walls there, in this contemporary styled tasting room. If you are up that way, and if you are wine tasting, please support this friendly family owned operation.

18 Miniatures hung all in a row ...

I couldn't resist posting this ... the array of 18 miniature paintings that I did this month hung all together on the wall...and ready for the February 3 ArtWalk (come see me! click for the flyer/map). The process of aligning the nails took a while, as did mounting the ones that were painted on flat boards rather than the little cradled canvases. Here is the month's effort towards my personal miniature portrait challenge.

Hey what's that in the bottom right corner. Ha Ha!


I didn't quite get #18 finished, but couldn't leave a blank canvas there. Whatdya think? Shall I leave "Mr Smiley" like this, or do a more serious painting to round out the arrangement? I was actually planning to do 30 miniature portraits ... and although I didn't meet my challenge in a month, I will continue (once the rest of my canvases arrive). It is fun to note that the process of creating art daily is easier this year than it was the past 2 years...each year it gets easier. Say-la-vie! The challenge continues into February. Want to join me??

Miniature #17 (revised)

I admit it, I'm the queen of tweaking. She just didn't look right with her two toned face and five o'clock shadow, so I've evened out her skin tone, adjusted the tip of her nose, brightened up the lips, cooled her chin, and redefined the eye. The eye is now sitting down into the face better than it was before. (original post is here). It's still not the quality of the famous, amazing talent of John Singer Sargent ... but more closely resembles his painting of Ana, a girl from Capri. At least I'm happy with her!

Skywest Magazine

We are so thrilled to have my painting "Through the Vines" selected for the cover art on this month's edition of Skywest Magazine.  Page 10 features an Artwatch article about me. Please check it out if you get the time. And if you are flying on United Express through the end of February, be sure to pick up a copy. The magazine also features a beautifully written 3 page article about the Tri Cities. Go to the publisher's website, click the current issue, to see the entire magazine online.

Spiritual Series Triptychs

Triptych of my Spiritual Series

Part of this triptych was started the end of last year, and finished in January (the two on the right). The third one (left) was started and completed this month. They each measure 2ft x 4ft in size. It's a size I'm really enjoying. Unfortunately they are not a gallery wrap canvas, so will need to seek out a form of framing or mounting. They are meant to hang separately, rather than connected together. The landscapes are ethereal and all have a spiritual representation. The rose has an unfinished portion near the bottom, that I've finally grown comfortable with. I struggled to consider the rose part of the trio, but once I've had them arranged together in this way, they seem to complete each other. They are titled, "Beyond the Bounds of Earth" ... "Acceptance" ... "Blessings Float on Love's Wings".

"Beyond the Bonds of Earth", "Acceptance", "Blessings Float on Love's Wings" 3 oil paintings,  24" x 48" on canvas.

Figure Sketches

My contribution to the figure sketching session, featuring Jessica. This is really a white sheet of paper, but when I went to adjust the levels these colors showed up - so we'll go with it. She was an excellent model. Hope to sketch and/or paint her again some day.
(BTW, not much from me recently as I came down with the stomach flu on Thursday. Finally feeling like a human again today.)

mini Portrait #17

I enjoyed this mini portrait. It's based on a John Singer Sargent painting of a young girl from Capri. (sometimes copying a master is easier than painting from a live subject). The image I referenced was black/white so I made up the colors. She has a long nose, but in his profile it was lovely; and I'm not sure if the set of the eyes is quite right. This one was also started on a toned canvas... can you guess the color? You can see peeks of it in the hair - a bright red-orange tone. It almost burned my eyes when I laid the brilliant "bice" blue over top to create the background. I think I now fully understand the tension created when two complimentaries are next to each other. Well I'm nearly out of these mini canvases ... and my order from Cheap Joes hasn't yet arrived. They are on back order. Cross your fingers that they arrive soon!

mini Portrait #16

Here she is again ... this time with a frontal view, cooler light, glasses, and eyelashes. Also am observing that the whites of the eyes are rarely really white--but we already knew that, right?. And the translucent skin takes on so many different tones.

Had a fun day, and delivered 3 paintings to the Mercer Estates Winery in Prosser. I've not been there before and so it's fun to be part of that. They have this gigantic wall, that is covered with a clay surface treatment. Very beautiful. I have no idea how they manage to hang art on these walls, they are using nails. Will post a picture of the display once it is hung.

P.S. If you are interested in a treat, check out our daily blog of creative pursuits shared by many other local and regional artists. Anyone can participate. I'm just a small part of this challenge to create art daily in January of 2011. It's the 3rd year we've done it and I've been involved all along. http://art-a-day.blogspot.com/

Miniature #15 (process)

This "study" is based on a lovely painting by Jules Elie Delaunay "Portrait of Madame Georges Bizet (1849-1926)" (here's a link). My study was of the head only. Here are a series of images showing my progression to the finished image, and an attempt to make the face look feminine. The original feels so modern in style, though the clothing is definitely vintage. The canvas was toned with cerulean blue (a compliment to the basic skin tone). The skin tone is misleading in these photos, and most closely resembles the pinker tones from in the 3rd image.

Step 1: After the canvas was toned in blue, shapes were blocked in.
Skin tone and background color identified.

Step 2: The nose and lips were defined and shadows are forming.
The chin is looking very masculine -- I'll get right on fixing that.

Step 3: Dark values were filled in and the hair (blue is still leftover
from the toned canvas). Chin size has been adjusted.

Step 4: Eyes defined and skin modeled. The original painting's model has much
deeper set eyes (so more in shadow). The skin tone is less yellow in reality,
and actually more closely resembles the image in Step 3, above.

When artwork is not accepted (and "Chatting at the Sky")

I've fallen in love with the writings in this online blog (below). She has a fine way of expressing herself. I especially like this quote about the rejection some artist's feel when their work is not accepted into exhibitions and juried show:

"The job of the artist is not to convince people to like what you have created. The job of the artist is to CREATE."

http://www.chattingatthesky.com/2011/01/20/3-things-to-do-when-they-dont-like-your-art/

Mini Portrait #14

Original 

Highlights were brightened after the paint dried, and a spot of tone added to the eye area.

Same model, with a slightly different angle. Have you noticed that the chin is actually quite cool in tone, and areas where the forehead is visible through the hair is very "hot" that it almost glows. This was an exercise in again seeing the value differences from the dark to the light side of the face (with a strong interior warm side light). Since the eyes are in shadow, they were left a bit undefined.

mini Portrait #13 (revised)

Here is one of my first mini portraits painted from life. I'd like to say I got it in the first sitting, but had to do it in two. It took me a while to see the skin tones which were mostly in shadow, as I had wanted to make them quite dark. I've got ready access to this model, so hope to do a few more as the days go on. Enjoy.

Mini Portrait #12

      I haven't done many paintings with "rim-light" . . . so this was a treat. It's that little bit of light that hugs the edge when the object is lighted from the side. Another goal here is to find a true representation of white, which even though in shadow is very dark. Also focusing on glow and reflected light while striving to again capture the effect of "light on the planes." I feel this mini portrait feels more effortless than some of the others.
      A couple years ago, my Dad grew a mustache and goatee. He was asked to portray William Henry Jackson at a centennial celebration of their local Scottsbluff National Monument (click here for more information about the park and that connection.) He had a lot of fun with that, and folks claimed he looked just like the historical photographer. Later that year, he and Mom visited us here and we took them up to Leavenworth. My Dad, also an avid photographer, went crazy capturing a plethroa of picturesque old Bavarian scenery. In one shop, he slithered into a gap between a display wall and an outside window to photograph the streets below. This mini portrait portrays his profile bathed with rim light.

Mini Portrait #11

He has a happy crinkle eyed face, but somehow his eyes belie a bit of masked sadness just below the surface. Our faces become the roadmaps of the paths we've traveled in life. Some experiences etch more deeply into the terrain there--coloring and carving into new formations, like the wind and rain are wont to carve the soil beneath our feet.

The treatment in the upper left is a bit abstracted with touches of green and that happy turquoise. I'm finding the representation of "teeth" to be a challenge. A wise artist friend once told me to paint the light and shadow (cool/warm, dark/light), not necessarily the details of the object. Afterall, "it's just paint!"