An "Idol" Night

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"Dual Reflections"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel.

$250.00 framed.

Click here to purchase.

I am so excited! I will be heading downtown in a few hours to attend the American Idol Finale Show! I am a huge fan of the show, even though my favorite singer James, was eliminated a few weeks ago. Regardless, a chance to go to the Finale and watch everything live will be wonderful! The invitation came from a very close friend ... so thank you again!

Apparently I am also going to attend the "After Party". So you better watch for me ... on Fox tonight, in People Magazine, in the nasty tabloids, hah hah hah ...

Happy Hour - SOLD

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"Happy Hour"

Oil, 6" x 6" with display easel.

Sold.

Every once in a while I find a composition that I like and I usually paint the same composition in many  variations ... different scenes, colors, light, whatever ... This painting is a newer version of the one I painted in my workshop last week. The larger one, a 12" x 12" sold so quickly that I was bummed. So, I decided to paint a "greener" one and try it in a smaller size. Next up? A ... 24" x 24" canvas ... and I am not kidding!
And ... I should probably mention the title of this painting is based on how happy I was for the hour (ok, it was a lot longer than an hour) while painting this one!

Color Reflections

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"Color Reflections"

Oil, 12" x 12"

I participated in the Balboa ArtWalk last Sunday which is a one day, very high quality art show that takes place on Balboa Island. The weather started out a pretty bad in the morning (as in pouring down rain ...) but by 9:15 the sun was out and we all decided to make it a day.
I am so glad I did as the art sales were fantastic and I met a lot of great people and artists. This was only my second year in the ArtWalk but I decided to paint a demo while working my booth ... I mean ... why not? It caused a lot of people to stop and watch so in the end it was a very wise decision. I painted this bright but fun painting while talking to hundreds of people that stopped by my booth. It's from a photo I have used before but once again I decided to change up the colors. (The actual boats are white and dark purple.) I actually used this photo for a demo in my Atlanta workshop so there are a few more paintings of this scene out there .... I know!

The day was so sunny that I painted the entire painting with my sunglasses on. That's a big no-no in the art world but I think I got lucky. The hardest part about painting in front of a group of people is the beginning ... when the canvas looks pretty awful and mot much is going on. I tried to paint quickly in the beginning but still had to stop and talk to everyone about my art. I laughed when a couple came back just to see my progress and commented "Wow, you really did make that in to a nice painting!". They did seem a bit surprised ...

Koi Pond

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"Koi Pond"

Oil, 12" x 12" on canvas panel.

$550.00

Throughout my painting workshops I find myself always asking my students "What did you like about that exercise?" or "What did you learn and what was frustrating for you?". At dinner most of the class agreed that they wished they could paint "more loose". So ... we painted "fishies" on the morning of Day Two.
I think the exercise was a wonderful one as it really required everyone to "paint loose" and we ended up with some beautiful paintings. Unfortunately my photo does not show how beautiful these paintings really are!

One Plus One Equals ...

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"One Plus One Equals ..."

 Oil, 8" x 8"

$250.00 with display easel

On the first morning of my Palette Knife Workshop I did a quick study to give the students some practice with the "knife".  These pear paintings were completed in about an hour and our focus included holding the knife, creating texture and using paper towels to keep your palette knife and colors clean! As you can see, the students did a great job!

After finishing two paintings on the first day, I raced home to finish dinner preparations. We all enjoyed a fun dinner complete with homemade crabcakes, seared ahi, steak, homemade cobbler and lemon ice cream/gingersnap pie. Oh, and a few bottles of wine ...
For more information on my workshops, click here. Please note ... there are less than ten spots left in my workshop with Dreama this September!

Where's the Dock? - SOLD

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"Where's the Dock"

Oil, 12" x 12"

Sold.

I just finished my "whirlwind" two weeks and although it was a very busy time, it was wonderful. This past week I taught a two-day palette knife workshop. My students traveled from Florida, Texas, Arizona, Nevada and California and we had a VERY productive workshop! In two days we completed four paintings! The painting above is one of my demo paintings and only my students know why the title is so appropriate. (Maybe one of them will leave a comment here and let you know why it is so aptly named ...). The finished paintings from the class are amazing ...

I will post the rest of the paintings this week and also let you know about my experience at the Balboa Artwalk. Hint ... this painting above was one of many that sold at the Artwalk!

Balboa Artwalk and Workshop This Week! - SOLD

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"Watching the Sunset"

Oil, 24" x 24"

Sold.

This week is another busy week as I am preparing for my Palette Knife Painting Workshop and the Balboa Artwalk. The workshop is this Friday and Saturday at the South Pas Gallery. It sonds like a great class as I have students flying in from all over. I am cooking dinner once again and will probably make my famous crabcakes on Thursday night as I will be cooking all by myself this time!

On Sunday (May 15th) I am participating in the Babloa Artwalk. It's a wonderful show and if you are near Balboa Island you should really stop by. I will be located at S. Bay Front and Diamond Avenue which can be seen on the map here. The show is from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm. I will be painting a demo and anyone who signs up for my mailing list will win a chance to win a free painting. Come by and say hi!

Crazy Days ...

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"Sunset Marina"

Oil, 24" x 24" framed

Available at Balboa Art Walk

Sunday, May 15th

Many of you will be surprised to know that I am in charge of a huge school event that takes place this Friday (kidding ... about the "being surprised part"). There are tons of amazing volunteers that  are in charge of the events and my big job is the Silent Auction. It's a huge project and for those who have ever been involved in coordinating an auction ... you know what I mean. So ... 94 auction items later and hundreds of hours later ... I am just about ready ... well almost ready ...
Once I survive this event then I move on to next week. And it gets worse. I have a two day workshop on Friday and Saturday, which includes a dinner at my home on Friday night for my students. Then my husband and I are hosting the "after prom" party for our boys on Saturday night.  Then ... on Sunday ... I am showing at the Balboa Art Walk which means I need to head out on Sunday morning at about 6:00 am. So ... if I survive the next 10 days it will be a miracle ...
Needless to say,  I haven't had a lot of time at my easel this week. The painting listed here will be one of the many paintings I will be showing at the Balboa Art Walk. Assuming I am still awake for the event!

For the Graduate

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College Paintings

It's hard to believe it's that time of the year but high school and college graduations are already underway. Graduating is such an important step in a young person's life. The experiences and memories truly do last a lifetime. If you are looking for the perfect graduation gift, I can paint a small painting depicting a high school or college. The collage above shows many of the colleges I have featured. Of course a few of them are from Stanford, but that's because it is the most requested college painting I get! Just email me if you would like me to create a perfect gift for your favorite college graduate.

I am offering a tip in every one of my blog posts and today's has to do with the iphone. If by chance the fonts on your phone seem to be shrinking, there is a setting to increase the font. Just go to settings - general - accessibility - large text and select a larger font. It will make your phone a lot more user friendly, I promise!

And don;t forget my paintings are all 18% off since the Lakers won their last playoff game by 18 points. But the discount changes Monday night as they start round to against the Dallas Mavericks. If they win then I will discount all of my paintings by the point spread. Go Lakers!