Palette Knife Painted Ladies

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"Palette Knife Painted Ladies"

Oil, 12" x 12" on canvas panel.

$550.00 with display easel.

The very famous houses in San Francisco are commonly referred to as the "Painted Ladies".  I have wanted to paint them for quite some time and finally got around to it today. We are at the beach and I am trying to keep the sand out of my paintings but it is not easy! But this is my favorite time of the year ... family, all of my boys together, great volleyball matches and lots of time cooking in a kitchen with an awesome ocean view!

At Ease

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 "At Ease"

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

$200 with display easel.

Close-up of palette knife strokes

So they are filming a commercial in my house and I am locked upstairs on our third floor, enjoying the peace and quiet. Finally ... I am ready to start painting ... . Apparently they are about to move outside and start all of the "Halloween" scenes.  I just can't get used to the pumpkins and spider decorations in front of my house. It's January!
Dreama and I had a very fun "Artists Helping Artists" radio show this morning. Our guest was Randy Higbee, owner of Randy Higbee Gallery and www.kingofframe.com. Randy talked all about the success he had with his 6" Squared Exhibition and Facebook. It's a great show and you can listen to it here.

The Good Life - SOLD

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The Good Life

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

Sold.

Close-up of palette knife strokes

The Good Life ... that's how I look at it. It's a new year and it's going to be a good one. I can just tell. I am blessed with an amazing family and husband who let me pursue my "late in life" discovered obsession with oil painting. Actually ... I am obsessed with palette knife painting to be a bit more specific.
So ... I know this painting is colorful (probably too much for some of you out there - you know who you are ...) but I am having a great day. So I decided to take the colors to the next level. Why not?
Oh ... and did I forget to mention that Stanford won the Orange Bowl game last night? Smile.

Best Buddies - SOLD

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"Best Buddies"

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

$200 with display easel.

I don't often paint using "purple shades" as most of you know I am an "orange girl". But this painting kind of took off and the next thing I knew I was painting with a very different palette. And since I premix my colors I still can't figure out how this happened! What happened to my orange?
I am heading up to my studio shortly to finish one of my larger commissions. I can't wait to photograph it and post it here very soon!

August

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"August"

Oil, 6" x 8" on museum quality canvas panel
$200.00 - On Hold.

I set another goal this month. Oddly enough most of the "art goals" I set at the beginning of the year are crossed off my list, so I decided it was time to add a few more. (I know, it's a huge character flaw that I can't just let things be ...) I am going to publish a calendar sometime (maybe 2011 or 2012) so I have vowed to paint a painting on the first day of the month. Hence the clever name "August" for today's post! And if I like the painting, it may just well end up on the calendar for that month too!
I am trying to "get ahead" on my painting although I know that is very unlikely to happen soon. I will be at the swimming national championships this week and so painting time will be sparse. Hopefully I can get back up to my studio and finish another one later tonight. I hope to have more than two paintings to post this month!

End Of A Long Day

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"End Of A Long Day"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel

$200 with display easel.

Even though this painting is titled "End of a Long Day" I do have to say that in reality today is the "end of a long month"! Between traveling, kicking off the "Artists Helping Artists" blog, painting, commissions and way too many hours at my computer marketing my art ... I am tired!
I am so looking forward to August! My oldest son is swimming at the National Championships, we have a beach vacation scheduled and all three boys are home ... so I am a very happy mother and wife! I will enjoy every single day this month because I can't even stand to bear the thought that next month the boys will be back in sch**l (I can't even type the dreaded word!).

I finished my newsletter a few minutes ago (quite pathetic since it is my July newsletter and today is the last day of July ... Dreama and I have been very tardy this month!). I do want to share with you a new program I kicked off in my newsletter today. If you recall, I sold a painting earlier this week and donated all of the proceeds to the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. I have decided to sell a special collection of "Pink Power" notecards (they are a set of six for $20, including shipping) and I am going to donate all of the profits to the Avon Walk. This is a cause very dear to my heart and I would love it if you would purchase some of these cards and allow me to make a donation on your behalf! Click here for more info. Join me in fighting this disease that affects one out of every eight women!

Summer Reruns - The Church

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"The Church"

Oil, 6" x 8" on canvas panel.

$250.00 framed.

This is one of my favorite paintings. It represents "anytown USA" and I love the shadows and light on the main building. I am still posting "reruns" although I never made it to the easel today ... ended up spending most of the day at the Apple Store and on my computer. I was able to install a "favicon" on my website (see Tuesday'a post if you are not sure what a favicon is ... or ask Dreama) and I changed the navigation bar on every page of my website. I created one that has the green from my logo and it took me three hours to change every page of my website. Not easy, but well worth it. I hope! Although I am seeing blurry by about now ...

Summer Reruns - In Front of the Golden Gate - SOLD

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"In Front of the Golden Gate"

Oil, 8" x 10" on canvas panel.

Sold.

I am going to post a few "Summer Reruns" while I work on larger commissioned paintings. These are paintings I have posted previously that are offered at a 20% discount. This first one is one of my favorites and portrays one of my favorite cities - San Francisco!

A quick tip! I finally figured out how to add a favicon to my blog. A Favicon is the little customized picture that appears next to your URL address. If you look in the photo above, you can see my logo ... I know it's tiny but it is fun to have! I found a lot of instructions on the internet but most were out of date. These seem to be the best "how-to steps" ... http://rumblinglankan.com/145/how-to-add-a-favicon-in-blogger/.

Please help me name this painting! - SOLD

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"Please give me a name ..."

Oil, 6" x 6"

Sold.

So, I painted this painting today and was in the mood to use bright colors. Now, I know I am in a "bright colors" mood practically every day but if you could see the "inspiration photo" which was a VERY gloomy day, you might get what I mean! The only problem is ... this painting needs a title! There are those days ... and today is one of them ... when the creative side of me is GONE and I just can't be clever. I even took this issue to the experts ... my boys ... and the best they came up with were "Two Boats" and "Lemon and Orange". Hmmm ... boring!
Whoever comes up with the best name for this painting will win a package of note cards (and my shipment of new notecards just arrived a few minutes ago!). So please ... help!
I also wanted to mention I just had a wonderful lunch with two blogging buddies ... Laurie Allee, who takes amazing photographs and posts them on Glimpses of South Pasadena and Kathy Watson who has a great blog and will soon be featuring daily photos from Mammoth, CA. If you recall, Laurie's photos have served as a great inspiration for many of my South Pasadena paintings and today was our first chance to meet! We had a great time and thanks Kathy for putting this lunch together!

Sunny But No Wind

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"Sunny But No Wind"

Oil, 6" x 6"

$200 unframed with easel.

Finally ... it feels like summer! My boys are sleeping until noon (except Andrew who has swim practice at 6:00am), the pool heater is on and there is no food in the house! And ... I am painting boats and loving every minute of it! The brighter, the better.
Now ... all I need is a big Laker victory tonight!

Lakers update ... Lakers won by 22 points so all of my paintings are discounted by 22% until the next game which is Thursday night!

Hope Street - SOLD

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"Hope Street"

Oil, 8" x 16" framed.

Sold.

There's something about this intersection that sums up our wonderful little town ... the beautiful trees, picket fence and of course, "Hope Street". In our wonderful little city, hidden, yet situated in the middle of Los Angeles, you'll see kids riding their bikes and families walking their dogs every day. There are block parties, concerts in the park and volleyball games at the park. Just yesterday I saw a lemonade stand on the street corner.

I am blessed to live in South Pasadena and to have been able to raise my children in such a wonderful town.

Ready To Go!

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"Hawaii", Oil, 8" x 16"

$800 framed.

All of the paintings for my show are framed and ready for delivery tomorrow. Yippee. I am really excited about the show and I have to admit, the unique idea and the extra work that came with it was absolutely worth it. I have learned so much about the history of South Pasadena as I spent days looking at past issues of the newspaper. I have found that the paintings I painted of the places that are dear to me ... turned out the best! No big surprise there. Oh ... and good news. I already sold one of the paintings. I had a private showing in my dining room tonight!
I will post the paintings on Wednesday when the show opens. If you are in South Pasadena, please stop by! I will be at the SoPas Gallery this Saturday from 6:00 - 9:00 pm and at the gallery the following Saturday (May 8th) for the Artist Reception.
I am heading to Hawaii next Sunday for a few days with my favorite client. I am actually going over two days early for a little R&R and plein air painting before we begin our site inspection for a big incentive trip in October. I love the Big Island so it should be so much fun! So ... posting this Hawaii painting made sense today!

Daily Painter's Cafe

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"After A Long Day"

Oil, 6" x 6" om canvas panel.

$250 framed.

I have been very fortunate to be featured on the Daily Painters Cafe this week. If you want to know a LOT more about me, click here. Just scroll down to the second interview posted. Enjoy!

A Day in Balboa

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"A Day In Balboa"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas.

Sold.

Now that I am back in town I am deeply committed to finishing the paintings for my "Headlines" show. I have all of the headlines selected (from the South Pasadena Review newspaper in the 1920's, 30's and 40's) and the inspiration photos taken so all I am doing now is painting! I will not post any of the finished paintings until the show opens ... so it will be another month before they are posted here.
I am trying to also complete a daily painting. I am doing a show in Balboa on May 16th so I am trying to complete some small pieces for that show. Be prepared to see lots of boats and coastal scenes this month. It might be a while before you see flowers again!

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!

Seeking The Sun

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"Seeking the Sun"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel.

$200 unframed.

We have completed our "whirlwind tour" of college campuses. My son really liked them all and the only part of our trip he didn't like was all of the driving! We visited Georgetown, UVA, Duke, UNC and Davidson. On two different occasions we ran into kids from his school also visiting the same colleges. We had no idea they were on a similar trip. What a small world.
Now we are in Atlanta visiting my brother and his family and enjoying some down time. It just started to rain so my wish to head outside and take some photos for paintings will not happen today. Maybe tomorrow? I am looking forward to getting home so I can get back to my studio and complete the paintings for my "Headlines" show. It is going to be a really crazy few weeks when I get back. Yikes!

Pink Power - SOLD

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"Pink Power"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel.

$200 unframed.
Sold.

Sorry I haven't been on my blog for awhile. I am on the East Coast touring colleges with my middle son and we are having a wonderful time! We have visited Georgetown, UVA and Duke. Tomorrow we visit UNC and then we visit Davidson on Wednesday. We have met all of the baseball coaches and have toured some great baseball facilities and games. We have attended all of the college information meetings and tours and wow ... these campuses are beautiful!

This is definitely a "boy week" so I thought it might make sense to post a "girl painting"! Enjoy!

He Loves Me ...

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"He Loves Me"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel

$200 unframed.

"He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" is a game of French origin, in which one person seeks to determine whether the object of their affection returns that affection or not. We played it as a kid and I don't remember if the daisy was usually right or not. What other ways have you determined if your loved one loves you?

I am heading out of town this weekend with my middle son. We are heading back east for a week to do the "college tour" and visit colleges in Virginia and North Carolina (and meet baseball coaches and watch lots of college baseball games!). It should be a wonderful time and I am really excited to spend this time with my son. I am trying to stock up on daily paintings but so far, no luck!


Check today's story about "color" at Empty Easel and you can learn about how and why I choose my colors to paint with! 

The Flower of Love

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"The Flower of Love"

Oil, 6" x 6"

$200 unframed.

I almost named this painting "The Misunderstood flower". Carnations are lovely flowers, but they just don't get any respect. Carnations are part of the "dianthus" flower family and their name is translated to "the flower of love". One of the world's oldest cultivated flowers, the carnation is appreciated for its ruffled appearance, clove-like scent, and extended blooming period.Carnations are nice flowers but somehow they just don't get the respect they deserve.

I think I know what happened. A while ago someone decided it would be really cool if you stuck a white carnation in a glass of blue food coloring because the flower would "suck up" the dye and voila ... you could have a blue carnation. Or a green one ... or even a black one.  I have to admit, when I see a green carnation I think they look "cheap". And yucky.

So, I panted this carnation to honor the true beauty of the flower ... as it was originally intended!

A Good Day

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"A Good Day"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel.

$200.00 unframed.

Today was a good day. I got a call from a friend who is in the restaurant business. She and her husband would like me to display (and sell) my art on a new wall they are building in one of their restaurants. The wall will have custom lighting and the art will look great. The art will be featured in the restaurant for a year and I will change it frequently. I expect this will be a great place for me to display my daily paintings!

Some of you have asked about my upcoming "Headlines" show and why I have been spending so much time in the library doing research for my paintings. The show will feature 20 - 25 paintings and all will be titled after headlines that I found in our local newspaper. The headlines are all from the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's.  The paintings will depict a scene from the headline, but in today's world. For example, one of the headlines I DID NOT use was "Man Pleased With Broken Legs, Neck Saved". Hmmm ... I am not kidding ... that was a front page headline in 1935! The painting would have to be something that depicts this headline but in South Pasadena today. So ... by now it should be obvious why I had to pick the headlines carefully and why this example was not picked!

The research was fun, interesting and also pretty emotional. I learned a lot about our town and was amazed that the headlines over the years are still about the same old thing ... fighting the freeway, local elections and human interest stories. Sadly, the headlines in the early 1940's frequently featured a story about a son, brother or father who was either killed or missing in WWII.  The paper is published weekly and every week there was a new story. So sad and so tragic.
So, the headlines have all been selected and I am painting away. When the show opens in the gallery, the original article (and headline) will be placed next to each painting. It has been a lot of work but I think it will be worth it! The show will be at the SouthPas Gallery from April 28 - May 29, 2010. I will keep you updated!