Still Waters - SOLD

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"Still Waters"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel.

Sold.

Click here to buy a print of this painting.

I am still in awe as to the difference my new Carriage House studio has made on my general sense of well-being. I cannot recall ever being this excited to paint. Or inspired. Or motivated. It's hard to fathom that a "space" could turn in to such an inspiration. But I've got it. And I am really happy.
Enjoy your weekend. I will. And you can guess where I will be ...

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

End of The Day - SOLD

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"End of the Day"

Oil, 30" x 30"

Sold.

Now that I am finally home for awhile I was hoping the word "routine" had finally come back in to my life. Having been gone for the last four weeks and with one more trip next week I am not really sure when things will be completely normal again. Perhaps never. Life is never normal. We all know that.

When we were in Atlanta this past weekend we shared a tragedy that really made me stop, gasp and hold my breath. A tragic accident which involved a young woman killed in the crosswalk instantly by a bus makes no sense. She was the daughter of close friends of my brother and his family and when something like this happens it just knocks you off your feet. It can't be explained. It can't be accepted. And in no way does it even seem real.

As a parent it is so easy to start thinking "what if" and I have to say, don't go there. Instead be there for your friend who needs you. All you can do is be there to pick up the pieces. It takes a long time and for some, perhaps a lifetime.

So, go hug your kid today. Life is precious and don't forget to be thankful for today, yesterday and tomorrow. 

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

Moving On ...

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"Taking the Day Off ... Again"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel.

$200.00 with display easel.

Click here to buy a print of this painting.

OK, so the tears have dried and my middle son is "safely tucked away at college". My husband and I have fulfilled our responsibilities ... his dorm room is set, we know there will always be enough food and there is enough toothpaste and shampoo to last until Christmas.  It is comforting when you know your child has moved on to a new chapter in his life. My sadness has been replaced with excitement for him. The amazing education and new experiences are going to be wonderful. And fortunately, I think he will do a good job in keeping his parents "in the loop".

For those of you sending off a child to college this fall, my heart is heavy for you. Congratulations.

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

Relaxing in Newport

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"Relaxing in Newport"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel.

$200.00 with display easel.

So we have been at the beach for almost a week and it has been heaven.  We are so fortunate to have all of our boys here with their friends. Each day there are between 11 - 15 guests staying here. And every night I cook a gourmet dinner for the hungry mouths (as a long day at the beach playing volleyball always seems to create a big appetite!). I am running out of ideas for menu's so if any of you have any suggestions, please help! We have already made BBQ steaks, chicken, burgers, Italian night with pasta and lasagna and taco night. Some of you must have some suggestions as to what I can cook for the next five nights ... and did I mention we will have 40 over here for dinner on Saturday? And this is supposed to be vacation ...

Actually, I am cooking in a kitchen with a fabulous ocean view so I don't mind it a bit. I guess you could say I am "relaxing in Newport" ...

Club Med 2 - SOLD

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"Club Med 2"

Oil, 8" x 8" framed.

Sold.

I am finally back painting again.  Construction has stopped for a few days on my studio while we prepare to shoot a commercial at our house tomorrow. It's a commercial for Gogurt - which is kind of like yogurt in an otter pop. If you have kids you know what I am talking about. My kids single handily consumed a ton of gogurt in their early years. And I am not kidding. 

My kitchen has been transformed for the commercial tomorrow in an "unusual way" which means the island is gone, there's really ugly wallpaper on the walls and lots of curtains. This is not a bad reflection on the set decorator, as they always need to create a very busy and overly-decorated set. It's just different from my taste.

Tomorrow should be a crazy day so I will hide on the third floor and paint! Sounds like a good day to me.

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!

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

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"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.

Taking A Break - SOLD

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"Taking A Break"

Oil, 6" x 6" 

Sold.

I guess you could say that's what I have been doing ... taking a break. Its been a weird few weeks. Lots of highs but also a few lows. Great stuff and yet some scary stuff. Just remember to be thankful for good health and don't forget to tell your family members how much you love them.
Needless to say, I haven't been painting much. Finally got back in my studio and had some fun with this one.  Now that things are all okay again, it's time to put my "cheering" hat on. Big soccer game today and lots of baseball and volleyball games. And ... the Pac 10 Swimming Championships start tomorrrow. Go Stanford!!!!!

A Lazy Sunday Afternoon - SOLD

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"Lazy Sunday Afternoon"

Oil, 36" x 36" 

Sold.

I shipped this painting off today. It was one of my "Larger Painting" specials. It's a pretty big size ... 36" square. I love to paint larger paintings but I am a bit amazed by the quantity of paint needed for these bigger palette knife paintings. That reminds me ... in my workshop in Atlanta a few weeks ago one of my students commented that I wiped off almost as much paint as I put on my canvas. As a palette knife painter, I do not use any terps ... just my knife and a paper towel. I usually wipe my blade after every stroke. Maybe I need to re-think this and find a way to save my paint! Kidding ...

A Boat Load of Boats

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"A Boat Load of Boats"

A collection of boat paintings ...

Yep. I thought it mght be fun to put together a collage of some of my recent boat paintings. All of them are for sale and you can find them here. I might even paint a few more this week ... so check back soon!

I have been busy these past few months with my One on One Marketing Consultations. I absolutely love providing this service and helping artists sell their art. Each session lasts 90 minutes and usualy involves a pretty comprehensive discussion about an artists' blog and website.

The last two sessions acheived some pretty remarkable results. With one artist I spent some time examining the pricing structure for her art. Within a few weeks she sold two paintings each valued over $500 as a result of our session. Another artist changed the process in which visitors to her blog could purchase art. In the first week she sold two paintings totaling $500. Both artists told me they would not have made these sales without the marketing consultation. Of course there is no guarantee, but I am absolutely thrilled!! Follow the link for more information about my One on One Marketing Consultations.

A Warm Day - SOLD

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"A Warm Day"

Oil, 6" x 6" 

Sold.

Ok ... so a warm day it is not! But wishing and dreaming for a warm day is always a good thing!
This has been a really busy week and now we are headed up to Stanford for the biggest dual meet of the year. The weather forecast is not good but we are hoping for a Cardinal victory. Somehow I managed to fit this one in today. I love the colors!

Atlanta Workshop - Day Two

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"Hanging With Friends

Oil, 12" x 12"

Sold.

Day Two of the workshop was my day to "demo". With such an amazing group of artists in attendance, it I knew the chance to discuss limited palettes, color mixing and palette knife paint application would be fun. But I had no idea that this day would be such a personal and rewarding experience for me.
The day was packed ... the paintings from Dreama's demo yesterday were photographedfirst thing and they are displayed below. When you look at this incredible group of paintings, don't forget we had some artists in this group that had painted for only 9 months and others who were attending their first workshop. Dreama's demo was wonderful and our painting method allows the artists the chance to understand not only the "process" but also enjoy the final result!
Here are the paintings from Day One:

After a full day of palette knife painting, we had the group over for another home cooked meal. The food was good (and yes Dreama ... you are a better cook than you think ...). But, the intimate conversation (or fireside chat) was incredible. It's too late to write about it now. I am both fulfilled (and emotionally drained) and so thankful for the opportunity to share tonight with these 24 artists. It's funny though ... as one of the artists commented tonight "Did this workshop start last week ... or was it really only yesterday?".

Orange Reflections - SOLD

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"Orange Reflections"

Oil, 6" x 6" on museum quality canvas panel.

$200 with display easel.

Sold.

This week has been insane. We are heading up to Stanford this weekend for Swim Parent's Weekend. We get back on Sunday and I leave on Monday for Atlanta for a three day workshop with Dreama! I have a list with 37 things on it that need to be completed before Monday. The good news is that about half of them are crossed off. The bad news is that half of them ARE NOT crossed off.
I underestimated the preparation required for an out of town workshop, especially when it comes to logistics for securing a location, hotels, dinners, etc. I will forever be indebted to my brother and his wife as they have been very helpful with the arrangements. They are also opening up their house for the "After Workshop Dinners" and that is simply incredible!
Somehow in all of my craziness, and in-between finishing commissions, I was able to paint this small, bright and happy painting. Of course this wasn't one of the 37 items on my list. But because I love the feeling of "crossing things off my list" ... I added it to the list and promptly crossed it off!  So ... in truth, there are 38 items on my list.

Tranquility

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 "Tranquility"

Oil, 6" x 6" on museum quality canvas panel.

$200.00 with display easel.

Close-up of palette knife strokes

Next time we film a commercial at my house and the producer says they want to throw eggs at my front door ... please remind me to say no. What seemed like a simple request, and actually included a promise to re-paint my front door if needed, turned into eggs not only being thrown at my door ... but also the front of the house and ... um ... inside my house. Apparently someone came up with the idea that the scene would be much more effective if the eggs were thrown not only at my front door but also at the person answering the door ... and subsequently inside the house. Even though they were told "absolutely no" they did it anyway. So, the bad news is my house has a lot of egg on the outside ... and on the inside of the house. The good news is the painters will be here on Monday to start re-painting everything. So, other than the rotten egg smell in my house, it will actually look better than it did before we filed the commercial. But, no eggs ... ever again.

We have filmed a lot of movies, TV shows and commercials at our house and I am usually pretty easy going. A friend asked me tonight .. so do you ever say no? Let's see. I said no to CSI when they wanted to film a murder scene in the living room with blood everywhere and the kids were maybe ... ten years old. And another time they wanted to use our house for the movie about the Zodiac killer with Robert Downey Jr. The scene was going to be about the only victim that survived one of the attacks. When I asked why they weren't filming the scene in San Francisco, the location scout told me everyone was afraid to film it at their house since they never caught the killer. Needless to say ... I passed on that one too.

A Blonde Moment ...

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"Blue Bayou"

Oil, 12" x 12" on museum quality canvas panel.

$550.00

Most of you are aware that I am a blonde. A natural one, in fact. You also need to know that occasionally (and I do mean occasionally!) I do a dumb thing. And on these rare moments, my children seem to think it is important to remind me of my natural hair color.
So yesterday, when I was making lunch for my ailing husband (it's ok to feel sorry for me here ...) I somehow managed to completely bend one of my toes in to a position that I don't think it's supposed to be bent. So, needless to say, I have yet another purple/blue/black toe and cannot really walk ... very well. So, as much as I wanted like to hide this from all of the male species living in my house, it just isn't/wasn't possible. (Just to be fair, I should probably mention that a few months ago I pretty much did the same thing to a toe on my other foot.)
So ... similar accident and now the dumb blonde jokes. Hmmm. Where are all of the "brunette" jokes? Or "redhead" jokes?
So, after spending this morning at the hospital with my husband (he is fine ... you should be feeling sorry for me ... not him) I went up to my studio, and proceeded to paint ... while elevating and icing my toe. Not such a smart idea. Have you ever tired to paint with one foot up in the air?
It's a miracle that I even have a decent painting to post ... and yes ... it's ok to send any good dumb blonde jokes my way. I think I have heard them all ... thanks to the "male species" living in my house! But I sense there might be a few more out there I haven't heard yet.

So really ... what's a girl to do? Oops ... I mean, what's a blonde girl to do?

One Fine Day - Sold

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"One Fine Day"

Oil, 30" x 30"

Sold.

Sorry I don't have a better photo of this commission, but I have discovered I am much better at photographing smaller paintings. I just can't get a good photo of a 30" x 30" ... even in 95 degree sunny weather (isn't it November?). The photograph does not do justice to the painting as you cannot see any of the highlights or detail work ... I guess you will just have to take my word for it!

Summer Reruns ... #3

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"Dual Reflections"

Oil, 6" x 6" on museum quality panel.

$200 with display easel, $250 framed.

As summer winds down I seem to want to spend more time outside with my boys.  We have had some awesome late summer dinners. The "outdoor kitchen" is still under construction and I think it will be completed within another week or do. Last night we enjoyed grilled pizza and tonight we had ahi and steak ... very fun with wonderful friends! Now that's my idea of a perfect summer night!
This painting is one I finished a while ago and it seemed like the perfect painting to post tonight. I love the colors and reflections ... (big surprise) ... and I am taking a painting workshop this week and I am very excited. It's with Debra Huse and it's about painting boats! It may seem odd that I am taking a workshop to learn how to paint boats, but I figure ... why not? I might as well get better at it! So I am heading down to Balboa for a couple of days with the boys for lots of painting and lots of fun .Gotta enjoy those last few days of summer while we can!

Another Great Day - SOLD

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"A Great Day"

Oil, 6" x 6" on museum quality panel. 

Sold.

Today was a great day. Two more wonderful artists signed up for our September workshop so we are almost full. Plus my October workshop in Newport Beach is full and I am currently scheduling two more workshops for the first quarter of 2011. Now if I could just focus a bit of time on tomorrow's "Artists Helping Artists" radio show!
Speaking of which ... the show (which is only a few months old) has had a huge impact on my art. Because each show requires a lot of research and planning I am finding that I am way more organized and ahead in my marketing efforts. Every week as Dreama and I get ready for the show (and it takes hours and hours ...) we marvel at how much we are learning. I am also so thankful for the hundreds of artists I have met through the show and for all of the great input you have all provided. We are currently scheduling all of our shows for next quarter (and that is sixteen shows ... yikes!) and I am really excited about the interesting topics and great artists we will have on the show. Next week's show is titled "Stop Procrastinating and Update Your Artist's Statement". After the show I promise this will be a painless task for everyone! And that even includes those of you that don;t have an artist's statement.
Also, this week Dreama and I announced the "Monthly Painting Challenge" and I hope you will all participate. Each month we ask that you submit a painting (any medium) that fits within the theme of the upcoming month! So even though we all want summer to last forever, it's time to start thinking about a painting titled "September!

Waiting For Wind

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"Waiting For Wind"

6" x 6" on canvas panel.

$200 unframed.

I am finally back from our east coast college trip and although it was a wonderful week ... it is good to be home! My youngest is sick and I have so much to do I am kind of freaked out. I am in charge of a big school fund raiser in two weeks and I have a lot of paintings to finish for my upcoming "Headlines" show. So, it should be an interesting month. Back to reality!