Forget Me Knot

"Forget Me Knot"

Oil, 12" x 6" framed.

Available at Debra Huse Gallery

This is another of my 12" x 6" paintings that will be featured in the "Holiday Treasures" show opening this weekend at Debra Huse Gallery. I think I am hooked on this size. I m not even sure if I have ever painted this size before. Fortunately I ordered quite a few of these Raymar panels so there will be more paitings of this size in my January show at Gale's Restaurant.

Just a reminder ... only two more days until my annual "Twelve Days of Christmas" giveaways begins ... so stay tuned for lots of fun and wonderful free gifts. It's my favorite time of the year!

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

Days End

"Days End"

Oil, 6" x 12" framed

Available at Debra Huse Gallery

After putting away the last of the turkey leftovers and dropping two kids off at two different airports, I finally made my way back in to the Carriage House to paint. I put some finishing touches on five paintings I had going at the same time (I know, its scary but deadlines prevail!) and am ready to start on a few new ones tomorrow.

Today I made the drive south to Newport to visit two of my favorite people: Randy Higbee and Debra Huse. Randy owns the Higbee Gallery and Art of Frame Company and I needed some frames for three 6" x 12" paintings. After the paintings were nicely framed I took them to the Debra Huse Gallery.

I have two shows opening this weekend. The first, as I mentioned, is the Debra Huse Holiday Treasures show. It opens this Thursday night with an opening reception from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. The second is the Randy Higbee 6" Squared show which opens on Saturday. Don't miss the 6" Squared Opening Reception this Saturday, December 3rd from 5:00 until 9:00 pm. Click the links for more details.

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

It's Time You Did Something For You!

I have a complete schedule of workshops that I will be teaching next year. There is a good chance I will be adding adding another workshop in the spring in the North Carolina area but other than that, the schedule is pretty full. Most of you have heard me mention that teaching is one of my favorite things to do and the small and exclusive classes in the Carriage House are an amazing learning experience. With eight students or less, the classes are really intimate, personal and incorporate just about everything you would ever want to know about color mixing, values and palette knife painting. When my husband and I decided to convert an old carriage house in our backyard in to my new studio, I knew I had finally found the perfect location to teach.  Offering workshops in the Carriage House, which was built in 1915, allows me the opportunity to invite my students in to my home and share what I am most passionate about ... my family, my home and my art. Because of its size, these workshops are limited to eight students. The intimate nature of the workshop allows me the chance to develop both the skill and the motivation of all of my students.  

I have added an Advanced Class in April that will focus on "direct" painting at a quicker pace. All of my students have commented they wish they could paint faster, so this is your chance! For information on how you can qualify for the Advanced class, follow the link below.

Here's the workshop schedule for 2012:

2012:

Palette Knife Painting                Jan 11-13, 2012    South Pasadena, CA - sold out

Leslie & Dreama’s Workshop    Feb 13-17, 2012  Atlanta, GA  - two spots left!

Advanced Palette Knife Painting    April 2 - 4, 2012   South Pasadena, CA

Daily Painting & the Palette Knife   May 14-16, 2012  South Pasadena, CA

Leslie & Dreama’s Workshop    Sep 19-23, 2012   Pasadena, CA  

Palette Knife Painting                Oct 22-24, 2012    South Pasadena, CA

Colors & Values                        Nov 7-9, 2012       South Pasadena, CA  

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

How to Lose Weight After Eating the Big Thanksgiving Meal ...

"Parallel Parked"

Oil, 12" x 12" framed.

Sold.

Ah ... enjoying the day after thanksgiving with leftovers and football and having all of my boys home for the holiday. I do have plans to paint later today as I have a few last minute things to finish up in my studio. I just spent quite a bit of time placing a HUGE order at Vistaprint. If you received the Black Friday email today, please check it out. There are a lot of great free promotional offers.  The sale lasts until Sunday night.

I will share a very funny Thanksgiving Day story with all of you. As we all sat down at the table last night my boys thought it might make sense to run upstairs and weigh themselves before they began "the big Thanksgiving feast". About an hour after dinner they ran back upstairs for the "after meal" weigh in. Believe it or not, my youngest son gained SIX pounds after the meal. So glad my cooking is so good. And yes, that was enough incentive for yours truly to stay OFF the scale for a few days.

Since my youngest son to gain weight, I promised to cook the "Thanksgiving feast" more often this next year. But ... all plans were scrapped this morning ... because my son weighed himself again and he was eight pounds lighter than the "post meal" weight. Which means he actually lost two pounds since the first weigh-in.

How come this doesn't work this way for me?

Click here to order your 2012 Calendar.

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

Morning Riser

"Morning Riser"

Oil, 12" x 12" with display easel.

$550.00

What a glorious week ... all of my boys are home and the grocery shopping is complete. (Of course my kitchen is packed!) So we have four glorious days of cooking, eating, celebrating, sports (watching and playing) and just hanging as a family. This is why we work so hard ... so that we may enjoy these glorious moments. Enjoy this week and the Thanksgiving holiday. I hope you all enjoy time with loved ones and celebrating thanks with some really good food.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Holiday Specials

My favorite time of the year. And you know I will celebrate in a few weeks with my Annual 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway. In the meantime, while you are putting your shopping lists together, why not consider a piece of art, calendar, book, tote bag or apron? And perhaps you need some gift tags to make your gift wrapping extra special this year? Follow the link to see what is available this year ...

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

Painting Roosters in the Workshop

Here are the 7 rooster paintings from the workshop.

On the third and final day of my palette knife painting workshop we painted roosters. By the final day all of my students had a very good understanding about how to paint with the knife (we had practiced a lot!) and as you can see from the finished paintings ... wow! They were all slightly different and unique to each artist. I am pretty sure we will paint roosters in all of my workshops!

On Day Two, we painted boats (and reflections). Since we had been studying values, I chose a darker photo to study so we could make sure to stay true to the values. Once again, here are more great paintings!

I just added to my 2012 Workshop Schedule a new April Palette Knife Painting Workshop in the Carriage House Studio.  The dates are April 2, 3 and 4. Since January and February are already sold out, don't hesitate to sign up soon!

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

Painting Workshop in the Carriage House - Day One

"Under the Umbrella" 

Oil 8" x 8"

$350.00 with display easel.

This past week I taught my first workshop in my Carriage House Studio. It's a very different workshop for many reasons. It is small (with no more than 8 students) and very personalized. Not only did we complete four palette knife paintings in three days but we spent a lot of time focusing on color mixing, value studies, marketing, motivation and eating (as the workshop included a gourmet dinner and warm cookies and milk in the afternoons ...). We talked about art a lot. We shared our successes and frustrations. We laughed, shed a few tears and talked about why we love to paint.

The paintings shown above were completed on the first day with palette knives - wow! 

And below are Karen, Sylvia, Dan, Rose, Donna and Sharon painting away!

Stay tuned for updates on the second and third days of this incredible workshop which include beautiful boat paintings and the most incredible rooster paintings you have ever seen!

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

hazy Afternoon in Balboa - SOLD

"Hazy Afternoon in Balboa"

Oil, 11" x 14" framed.

Sold.

Ok. So I know you are thinking "Wait, the Lakers are on strike, how can she be offering a special?". A little history first .... Every year during the NBA playoffs I offer a discount on my paintings. The discount is based on on how many points the Lakers beat their opponents. So if the Lakers win by 20, then my paintings are 20% off. And yes, the Lakers did win by 36 points in a playoff game last year. So needless to say, I sold a lot of paintings that day!

So, since the Lakers are not playing (yet)  I decided to base my "discount" on the outcome of the Stanford v. Oregon game. So ... if Stanford wins, I will discount my paintings by the point differential. I realize Stanford has averaged a 26 point victory this entire season but we all know the Oregon game will likely be close. But if the Cardinal win big, then all of my paintings will also be discounted big.

And one qualification ... paintings already showing in a gallery cannot be included in the promotion. 

Go Cardinal! 

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

A Glorious Workshop

Teaching workshops has become one of the highlights of my year. When I started teaching a few years ago I never imagined it would be so rewarding and one of my most favorite things to do. All of the artists I have met are amazing and the I love the chance to really open up and share what I love to do! It is an absolutely great way to spend a day!

Last week I taught a Four Day Palette Knife Painting Workshop in Newport Beach in conjunction with Debra Huse Gallery. There were nine of us in the class and we painted (a lot!), talked a lot about marketing, mixed lots and lots of colors, enjoyed a boat cruise in Balboa, attended my Art Opening, painted with a view of the rain, painted boats on the docks and drank wine ... right in the middle of a very fun painting day! As I said "it must be five o'clock somewhere"!

Thank you to the wonderful gals and guy that came to the class ... from Michigan, Northern California Australia and Southern California. Your paintings were amazing and I'm thrilled you all left with a much greater appreciation of the palette knife!

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.

I'm Just Waiting ...

"Just Waiting"

Oil. 12" x 12" framed.

Available at Debra Huse Gallery

As ... what a wonderful week in Newport Beach. I spent four amazing days teaching a palette knife painting workshop with eight incredibly talented and wonderful students. We had so much fun and painted like crazy ... used a lot of paint ... drank a bit of wine ... and laughed a ton!  I will post all of the photos and stories this week.

My show opening at Debra Huse Gallery was packed and so much fun. Thanks to all of you that attended and took home one of my paintings! If you would like to see the show on line, just click here. It will be up until November 30th and mark your calendars for Sunday, November 20th as I will be painting a demo in the gallery! More details will follow.

Check out my upcoming palette knife painting workshops at http://www.saetastudio.com/Leslie_Saeta_fine_Art/Workshops.html.