Over The Bridge

"Over the Bridge"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel

$200.00 with display easel.

Today I tried something new for the first time. I went to a yoga class. Now, I should probably go ahead and remind you all that I am 5'11" tall and not really able to touch my toes. I was an athlete in high school ... not a gymnast ... not a cheerleader. I swam, played volleyball and basketball. I will even go out on a limb here and confess that I have never been able to do a cartwheel (and that even includes an evening in which my sisters tried to teach me ... once and for all ... in my front yard ... vodka tonics and all ...). Still no luck.
So back to today's yoga class. It was an advanced class but the time slot worked well with my girlfriends. And I figured, why not? I was a little worried when the instructor started talking about the light and reaching inside our hearts to find the light which somehow had something to do with the Royal Wedding. I am not exactly sure what she was saying because my mind instantly wandered to the huge auction I am in charge of that is next week.
So, once we got past the "touchy feely" talk, the work began. We spent an hour stretching and bending and stretching and twisting and stretching and bending some more. It was hard. But not impossible. And even the cracking in my knees wasn't bad. Loud, but no pain. And that's a good thing.
So, what was my take home? I probably should have started this 30 years ago. But it's never too late and I will go back. I just might want to buy a yoga mat, remember to turn off my cell phone and take three Advil before the class starts.

Let It Blow - SOLD

"Let It Blow"

Oil, 8" x 10" framed.

Sold.

So ... the Lakers played well tonight and beat the Hornets by 18 points. That means all of my paintings are 18% off until the next playoff game. I assume that will be sometime early next week. If you would like to make a purchase, just email me and I will calculate the discount for you.

If you missed today's Artists Helping Artists radio show, the recording is available. You can listen to it on-line or through itunes. It's a good show ... lots of good tips. I hope it is clear on the show excited I am about "Evernote". For the first time this year, I actually feel as if my "creative thoughts" are organized. I spend a lot of time on the internet surfing and finding really great ideas and "Evernote" provides a great solution to "organize these thoughts". You should really check it out.

Colorful Reflections ... and the Lakers Playoff Discount is back!

"Colorful Reflections"

Oil, 6" x 12" on canvas panel.

$350.00 unframed.

I spent most of the day yesterday in Balboa and so it was a forgone conclusion that I would end up posting a boat painting today. I took 73 photos which will inspire at least 20 new paintings so I am very excited to start painting Balboa again!
I forgot about the crazy LAKER PLAYOFF DISCOUNT I offered last year during the NBA playoffs. Since my team (the Lakers) appear to need all the help they can get, I am offering the same great promotion. If the Lakers win, then I will discount my paintings by a percentge that is calculated by the number of points the Lakers win by. So, if the score of tonights game is Lakers - 100 and Hornets - 75, then I will offer a discount of 25% off my paintings. And the discount only lasts until the next playoff game. Hopefuly this makes sesne ...
Need I remind you that the Lakers won a playoff game last year by 38 points?????

Update ... Lakers won by 16 so all of my paintings are 16% off.

Just Relax ... - SOLD

"Just Relax ..."

Oil, 6" x 8" on canvas panel.

$200.00 with display easel.

Just relax ... now that's a new concept. I have decided it is time for a life style change. Yep. I need to relax more. AND SLEEP MORE. I am not kidding.
At some point in my life I decided that "sleep was overrated". If you know me personally, you have heard me quote this a few times. But my oldest son, who took a class at Stanford called "Sleep and Dreams" (I am not kidding ... he really took this class) says it is very dangerous to sleep less than six hours a night. I probably average five. On a good night.
My lack of sleep probably started when I read somewhere that Martha Stewart only gets four hours of sleep a night. Now I do think that her lack of sleep led to some judgement lapses (and four months in jail) but other than that slight problem she is a pretty accomplished woman. Until now I have been able to get a lot accomplished on very little sleep. But I am thinking it is time for a change.
So I am looking for advice on how I should go about getting more sleep. Getting a good night's sleep begins with "going to bed early" ... continues with "actually falling asleep" and ends with "staying asleep once you are asleep". If any of you have any good sleep suggestions then post them here. Please.  And all suggestions that include alcohol will be disregarded. I promise.
In the meantime ... just relax.

Moving Forward - SOLD

"Moving Forward"

Oil study, 6" x 6" on canvas panel.

Sold.

There are moments in our lives when we will always remember where we were when the news hit ... whether it was a national event or something far more personal. It was just barely two weeks ago when I was sitting at my desk and the phone rang with the shocking news about my mother-in-law. At the time I never imagined the end result would be her untimely death but life has its way of presenting us with twists and turns. It's been a very emotional two weeks and definitely the time to spend with family. I have been away from my studio, away from painting (and posting on my blog and facebook) but grateful for the kind and comforting messages from so many of you. We hosted a beautiful memorial service here at our home yesterday. It was tearful but a wonderful celebration of a wonderful woman, wife, friend and grandma.

So, as the saying goes "life goes on". And this morning I knew it was time to start painting again. It felt good to head up to my studio and squirt out lots of new paint on my palette and get back in to my "routine" of painting. I had indicated to Dreama that I would "probably paint a boat painting" when I returned to my studio today. But a funny thing happened when I got ready to paint. I had an incredibly strong feeling of contentment and a very strong desire to paint something different. I felt I needed to do something different. I just felt different. So I changed everything ... my approach, how I start a painting, my perspective, everything ...  and I just painted. I felt more at peace painting today than I have in months.  And I am happy to be back doing what I love so much.

I should also mention this week is the one year anniversary of the "Artists Helping Artists" blogtalk radio show. So ... if you like to win free stuff ... such as original oil paintings, a workshop with Dreama and me, a free marketing consultation ... then you might want to call in live to this Thursday's show at 9:00 am PST, 12 noon EST. Because we will be awarding our live callers with lots of really cool stuff! So don't miss the show. We promise it will be a good one as we move on forward as well ...

Waiting For ...

"Waiting For ..."

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel

$200.00 with display easel.

That's right ... what have I been waiting for? It's been so long since I have actually painted in my studio that I was afraid maybe I had forgotten how to paint. I know these "stages" happen, and I had a lot of valid reasons why I haven't been painting ... but ... it was time to get back to what I love most ... painting!
I think I was inspired by our AHA radio show with Carol and David Marine yesterday.  If you think about it ... Carol is almost a month ahead with her paintings ... yes ... that means she has an entire wall full of paintings that are drying and just waiting to be posted on her blog. I still don't have any "waiting" to be posted, but at least I have one to post today!
I think I underestimated the response I would have to my private marketing consultations so I have been very busy working with artists to sell more art through their blogs, websites, newsletters and facebook. It's been fun but has kept me out of my studio for too long. Dreama even "threatened" me yesterday. She said if I didn't find something to paint today she was going to pick the subject matter ... and I believe the word "Eddie" was part of the conversation.
One final thought ... one of the good things about being so busy is that I just didn't have time to take advantage of the fact that today is April Fool's Day. Over the years I have been pretty creative and have pulled off some pretty funny pranks ... my favorite was when I put my girlfriends house up for sale. I know this sounds harsh but if you knew the pranks she had pulled on me this was actually pretty tame. Although I advertised a price that was less than half market value so she did get a lot of calls ... for months ...
So to my dear best friend Dreama ... you are safe for yet another year ...