Tis The Season

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"Tis The Season"

(#2 in a series)

8" x 8" on museum quality panel

$350.00 with display easel.

So ... boat paintings will be on hold for a while as I am having fun with my new "gift box" series. It's funny that something so simple is so much fun to paint! But I suppose since I love giving gifts that painting them would be fun too!
Tomorrow's painting will be more themed with the current holiday, so I will take a step back from Christmas ... I promise! Enjoy.

Fit To Be Tied

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"Fit To Be Tied"

Oil, 8" x 8" on museum quality canvas panel.

$350 with display easel.

Now that I am officially "in the holiday spirit" I decided to make an attempt at painting my "annual holiday painting". This is the painting that will appear in many places, including our Holiday Party invitation (ah yes ... that's the party I cook for three straight weeks ...).
I had wanted to paint a wrapped gift so I have been out searching for polka dot wrapping paper all week. I found this paper yesterday at Paper Source and thought it might make a fun painting.
I had a blast painting this and in fact, I loved painting it so much I am going to do an entire series of wrapped gifts for the holidays. And maybe in to the New Year. So ... stay tuned ...

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year ...

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Ah ... yes ... the holidays ...
Some of you may remember the show we featured back in July on the "Artists Helping Artists" radio show titled "Christmas in July". Dreama will attest to the fact that this was one of my favorite shows ... so I get the blame for the idea, the suggestions and all of the work that went in to planning for the show.
What I had completely underestimated was the amount of time it would take me to create my own "Holiday Specials" section on my website. I really did start this project a few months ago and yet it seems as if I have spent WAY TOO MUCH time getting it ready.
So, just so I can be as ridiculous and crazy as all of the department stores ... I have actually launched the "Holiday" section of my website today. Yes ... it's official. I have holiday/Christmas colors and photos all over my website ... a full four days before Halloween! Hah!
Now, the site will be officially launched via my November newsletter (which should go out on November 1st). But I just couldn't resist pressing the "publish" button on my website. After all, I have a total of 11 new pages on my site ... all which are links to the Holiday Special page you see above.
So ... will it work? Who knows ... but it was fun. And I love the marketing aspect of it.
Now ... go visit the site and let me know what you think!

Vintage Charm

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"Vintage Charm"

Oil, 8" x 10" on museum quality canvas panel.

$400 with display easel.

I love anything and everything "vintage". The more chipped, the better. And if the color is anything close to sage green, I am smitten. When my husband tried to clean out the garage last month he left a large pile of furniture for the trash man. Each piece had been originally painted sage green and were showing varying stages of "vintage" wear. Needless to say, I snuck them back in to the garage before the trash man came around ...
Some days I feel a bit "vintage" myself. I forgot when you turn fifty some of the aging starts to show. I know I am showing signs of wear but I do believe you are only as old as you feel. Fortunately, most days I still feel like I am twenty years old. I have so many things I want to accomplish that I still believe you should enjoy every day to the fullest. Even if you are starting to show a few signs of wear and tear.

A Conversation with Kevin Macpherson

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"The Beach Club"

Oil, 8" x 10" framed on canvas panel.

$400.00 framed.

There are a few artists out there that have really set their mark when it comes to plein air impressionist painters. I think my favorite is Kevin Macpherson and I cannot believe that I get to interview him this week on my radio show, "Artists Helping Artists".  Most of you know I co-host the show with Dreama Tolle Perry and we are both so excited this week to have Kevin Macpherson on our show! I met Kevin and his wife Wanda at his show in Pasadena a few years ago and I absolutely love his art.
So, join in live at 9:00 am PST this Thursday or listen to the show after it is recorded. I promise it will be a great one!

Sunset Reflections

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"Sunset Reflections"

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

$550 with display easel.

I had the wonderful opportunity to teach a palette knife workshop this past Saturday at Cannery Paints in Newport Beach. The class consisted of 12 students and we had the most incredible day! Everyone had the chance to paint two paintings and as you can see to the right, the results were amazing. Dreama and I have a unique way of teaching/demoing and I love the fact that the students are all so thrilled with their finished paintings.

My demo is posted above and we really had some fun with some yummy colors! I gave away raffle prizes every hour and we even had time for lunch ... a very full day it was!

Life Sucks ...

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"Late Fall in Portland" by Annie Salness

Life has a way of sneaking up on you and sometimes things happen that are not fair and offer no explanation. Sometimes I just don't get it.
So, today, I need to ask all of you to join me in praying for a wonderful artist and dear friend, Annie Salness. Annie is a young, vibrant, strong and talented woman, mother and wife. She is in ICU as of yesterday and needs your prayers. Thanks.

Waiting ...

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"Waiting ..."

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

$200 with display easel.

It is so wonderful to be back in my studio and home painting again. I have two shows in December that I am getting ready for and all I need to do is paint ... and paint ... and paint.
I am teaching a workshop on Saturday at Cannery Paints in Newport Beach. I am really excited and the class is full, which is always fun! Some of my favorite paintings are from scenes in Newport Beach and Balboa so I am thrilled to have the chance to paint down there.
So ... where is your favorite place to paint?

Two More on Modern Family

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I promise this will be the last time I post a "screen shot" of my paintings on the TV show "Modern Family". But I was happy last night to see that the other two paintings purchased for the set were featured in the Dunphy house. They are the ones on the left and bottom right. I am curious if any of you can tell the location and building featured in the painting on the bottom right. Hint: My oldest son is very happy this painting is on the show!

Hawaiian Reflections

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"Hawaiian Reflections"

Oil, 8" x 16" on museum quality canvas panel.

$650.00 framed.

I am officially over my jet lag and back in my studio. It feels absolutely wonderful to be home and back into my routine. I missed my boys terribly ... and it is great to be home and cooking their dinners again!

I am pleased to announce that I have been asked to participate in the "Holiday Treasures" Show at the Debra Huse Gallery on Balboa Island from December 4th - January 6th. I am truly honored to be showing alongside Greg LaRock, Debra Huse, Michael Obermeyer, Christine Hooker, Randal Sexton, Patti Clifton and John Budicin. I am really intimidated ... but absolutely thrilled at the same time! Yippee!

Hanging with "Modern Family"

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From the set of "Modern Family"

I have received a lot of emails requesting a photo of my art on the "Modern Family" set. This makes sense, since it is REALLY hard to actually see my painting in last week's show. Anyway ... my painting is hanging in the Dunphy house in the photo above and it's crooked because the episode featured an earthquake. I am just glad it made the "directors cut" and made it on the set. Don't look too hard for it on the show ... it might be impossible to see! 

I am back in town and getting ready to head to my studio. So sorry that I haven't had much to post while I was out of town. But I promise there will be lots of new paintings this week!

Watching My Art on the Big Screen

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I have mentioned in previous posts that my art was purchased for the sets of Modern Family and Law & Order Los Angeles. I was very happy to receive texts and calls from friends that saw my paintings on both shows on TV tonight! The photo above is from Law & Order Los Angeles. I am thrilled that my painting is located in the District Attorney's office on the set. How cool is that!
I tried but wasn't able to get a photo of my "three boats" painting from the Modern Family set. I will try later. It's funny though as it is in a "post earthquake" scene and it's very crooked on the wall!
Oh well, I am thrilled. Watch these two shows ... they are both great!

Windy Hawaiian Shores

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"Windy Hawaiian Shores"

Oil, 8" x 10"

$400.00 unframed.

I am on the beautiful island of Hawaii just north at Kona in the Mauna Lani area. The weather is beautiful and of course I wish I had more time to enjoy the incredible beach here at the hotel. But each morning I am able to take about a 75 minute walk along the shore and I must say ... what an incredible way to start out the day!
I had a chance to sneak over to Lahaina Galleries yesterday to see Darrell Hill's latest paintings. He is one of my favorite artists and I really enjoy seeing his art up close and personal. His colors are stunning and I just love his art. I will probably get back there again sometime this week to see his paintings again!
Finally I have to wish Stanford good luck today up in Eugene, OR. They have an interesting game today and the winner could easily be headed to the Rose Bowl. It sure would be fun to host a big Rose Bowl party this year if the Cardinal win! Keep your fingers crossed!

Workshop - Day Four

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"Reflecting Hawaiian Palms"

Oil, 6" x 6"

Sold.

Day Four of the marketing workshop was all about marketing. The day was created to help ALL artists in attendance .... from those already selling their art to those who aren't sure if they will ever sell their art. Dreama and I shared our personal experiences, tips and recommendations as it pertained to mailing lists, newsletters, websites, blogging and marketing. We were able to share all of our resources on the big screen. This was not a time for us to hold back ... we shared everything!

Dreama and I are pleased to announce we will be holding another workshop in February in Atlanta, Ga. Signups will open in about a week. We are very excited to come east and were so thrilled with this workshop that we hope to teach again many times in the future. I also have some two day workshops scheduled in 2011 so visit my workshop page on my website for more details.

I head to Hawaii tomorrow to coordinate a large incentive program for my favorite client, so you should see some Hawaii paintings this next week. Mahalo!

Workshop - Day Three

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Workshop attendees (not listed in order): Nancy Goldman, Kadija Behairy, Fiddy Hakim, Julie Regan, Christine Benz, Carole Gentile, Jane  Copper, Lois Olsen, Sue Feldmeth, Jerry Stocks, Teressa Sliger, Stevie Denny, Carol O'Toole, Linda Phillips, Theresa Paden, Beverly Koldon, Joyce Dodd Harcharik, Gail Alexander, Dina Adamson, Susan Drake (not pictured), Drama Tolle Perry and Leslie Saeta. 

Randy Higbee from Art & Frame Company shows how his "floater frames" work perfectly for canvas panel paintings.

The third day of our workshop started off with a very fun painting exercise! I won't give out all of the details, but all I can tell you is that the group finished 19 paintings in 40 minutes! And they were all wonderful! And yes, I should probably mention that seven of them were painted upside down yet you could not tell which ones they were ...
Our group then broke off and painted yet another beautiful painting (if you are counting, that means they are on painting #4!) and Dreama and I each had a lot of time to spend with each artist individually. The paintings were beautiful. That reminds me, if anyone has pictures of the 19 finished paintings or any of the paintings competed that afternoon, please send them to me. Thanks!
Later in the afternoon we had a wonderful visit from Randy Higbee from Art & Frame Company. Randy showed us all his wonderful floater frames and then offered great prices to the class on the many, many frames he brought with him. So many of us took home finished paintings in beautiful frames!

Workshop - Day Two

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"Two Peas in a Pod"

Workshop demo painting, 12" x 12"

$550.00 unframed

Here I am beginning my demo of palette knife painting.

Stage three of the demo ...

After an amazing first day and very fun evening, on day two it was my turn to demo. When I taped up photos of the "boat photograph" on everyone's easels, there were quite a few dirty looks and comments that I was crazy to think they could all paint the scene ... let alone with a palette knife. But within a few hours I had successfully converted twenty amazing artists to "loosen up" and enjoy the thick paint and knife strokes. The day was absolutely incredible and everyone had so much fun. And with Dreama and myself visiting everyone's easels there was a large amount of time spent with each student! I was so impressed with the final results as there were 20 amazing palette knife boat paintings completed at the end of the day!

These are the completed paintings of the workshop attendees. Beautifully done!

At four o'clock that afternoon, Dreama and I raced home to prepare a dinner which consisted of crab cakes with lemon dill sauce for an appetizer and seared ahi with maple soy sauce (and flank steak) for the main course. Of course, homemade mud pie topped off the evening for dessert. Needless to say, we were all exhausted but very happy! And the dinner conversation allowed everyone the chance to talk about where they wanted to take their art and the exchange of ideas and suggestions was amazing!

The tables are set in my backyard for our second gourmet dinner!

Workshop - Day One

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Dreama's beautiful demo from Day one!

I never imagined it would take me so long to post about our workshop this week. But when you teach from 9:00 - 4:00 and then race home to cook a gourmet dinner for 22 people, there isn't a lot of computer time (or energy) to blog at the end of the day!

Dreama begins her talk about "transparent colors".

Finishing up stage one of Dreama's demo ...

When Dreama and I decided to teach a workshop together, we talked to a lot of artists about their own workshop experiences to find out what they liked and didn't like about workshops. We found a lot of artists were very intimidated when they faced an empty canvas after watching a half day demo.  We also found that many artists were frustrated with the paintings created during a workshop and really wanted to bring home workshop paintings they were proud of! And finally, we found many artists wanted to paint faster and with more confidence.

So Dreama and I came up with a new approach, a different way to demo and a really fun exercise to help our students to learn to paint faster. So we used a "team" format that was very different but really focused on "the joy of painting". And I must say ... say the workshop has been amazing!
On the first day Dreama did a demo of her amazing painting techniques with transparent colors. And as you can see, there were 20 beautiful paintings completed by the end of the day.

Twenty beautifully completed paintings! Aren't they incredible?

That evening we had the group over to my house for "fireside chats" and a gourmet meal. The flat bread pizza appetizers (both artichoke and pesto) were a big hit as was the barbecue dinner and homemade berry cobbler!

Here we are enjoying grilled flatbread pizza for appetizers!

Day one was an incredible day as Dreama and I were blessed with a wonderful group of 20 women who flew from all over the country to take our workshop! We had so much fun!

Fall Colors

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"Fall Colors"

Oil, 30" x 30"

NFS

I had a really wonderful opportunity to paint this painting for the set of one of the top new TV Shows premiering next week. It is a larger piece, 30" x 30" and although I completed it in record time, it was a blast! My art is also on the set of the popular TV show "Modern Family", so Hollywood ... here I come!
Dreama is in town and we are busy getting ready for our workshop. It starts today an we are so excited! I promise to take lots of photos and share them here. Gotta go teach ...

Sunlit Reflections

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"Sunlit Reflections"

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

$200 with display easel.

Today was a crazy day as I was taking care of all of the final plans for the workshop. Dreama and I really want this to be an incredible experience so we have lots of surprises and fun things to do during the four days. But the preparation is pretty hectic ... and we still have a few last minute things to do (like shop for the gourmet meals ...).
I managed to find a bit of time this afternoon to head up to my studio to paint. I am trying to finish a few paintings and I had a lot of fun with the yellow in this one. It's not a color I use often and wow ... is it fun to paint with!
I did get a notice that my painting "Stuck Together" was selected for the National "Painting Only" Competition & Exhibition at the Pacific Art League in Palo Alto. Oh darn ... looks like I will need to head up to Palo Alto to see my painting displayed! (Palo alto is the town next to Stanford). Sounds like an important "business trip" in my near future!

Hawaiian Sun Reflections

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"Hawaiian Sun Reflections

Oil, 8" x 10" on museum quality canvas panel.

$400.00 with display easel.

I am back from dropping my son off at Stanford and I think he is going to have an incredible year. His suite is amazing, his roommates are great (they are all of his teammates) and he is in a great place with his swimming. And oh yeah, I think he has some good classes this quarter. College is such an amazing time in your life and I must admit ... I want to go back! It seems like he is going to have so much fun ... and I am jealous. I guess it is time for me to grow up ...
I have a very busy week ahead. I am so excited I can hardly stand it. Dreama arrives on Wednesday and we teach our workshop Thursday - Sunday. I already have the "gourmet" meals planned for our workshop students on Thursday and Friday night. Hopefully they will enjoy the seared ahi, crab cakes, grilled steak, smoked salmon, grilled chicken and mud pie. I know I am going a bit overboard but I just want to m make sure there is something that everyone will like! I doubt we will go hungry.
I painted all day today. I am heading to Hawaii in a week and a half and thought it would be fun to paint in anticipation for my trip. Gotta love the color of that water!

Red Reflections

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"Red Reflections"

Oil, 8" x 10" on museum quality canvas panel.

$400.00 with display easel.

I am definitely going through a "red stage" right now. There is something about bright red (and orange) paint that makes me happy. So I hope you don't mind if there are a few red boats on my blog this week! Dreama and I are getting ready for our workshops next week. The three day painting class is full and I am so excited about everyone who is attending the workshop. We are going to have a blast!

Dreama and I do have space in our one day marketing workshop which will be held in Pasadena on Sunday, September 26th from 10:00 - 4:00 pm. If you are local, you won't want to miss it. This will be a hands-on workshop experience so be ready to have us look at all of your marketing efforts (website, blog, business cards, newsletters) as we will assist everyone personally! And if you don't have any marketing materials then this is a perfect workshop for you! For more info click here.

I do have a few spots left in my one day October 16th workshop which will be held at Cannery Arts in Newport Beach, CA. The one day workshop is all about palette knife painting and if you are in Southern California, I don't think you will want to miss it! Please email here if you would like to sign up for the class.

September Morning

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"September Morning"

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

$200 unframed.

One of the things that we all love about Southern California is our amazing weather. I have to admit that I was a bit worried this past week as it felt like fall weather had arrived ... which is at least two months too early! But today the sun came out and I feel like the weather is back to normal!
So ... we are filming a commercial at my house today and I am trapped up in my studio. And that is a good thing ... I should have locked myself up there last week ... and the week before ... and the week before.  I just finished this painting.
There is a little boy (he looks like he is about three years old) in my kitchen right now who has repeated his one line at least a hundred times. His mom is feeding him his line every time. Unbelievable ... these people are amazing as I have no idea how they have the patience for this!

San Fran From the Bridge

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"San Fran From the Bridge"

Oil, 5" x 7" 0n canvas panel.

$250 framed.

Two weeks ... I cannot believe I haven't posted for two weeks! It's weird because I have been around but for some reason I just haven't made it to my easel. Dreama and I were trying to figure out "where I have been" these past two weeks and I think I was just "soaking up" the time with my kids before school started. My oldest is back at college ... well kind of ... he is actually training with his swim team in Baton Rogue ... and we will drive his stuff up to Stanford next week when he flies in to Northern California. I have spent a lot of time coordinating the completion of my new outdoor kitchen (it's done!) and doing lots of art related stuff. If you listen to our Artists Helping Artists weekly radio show, we have all of the shows scheduled and posted on the blog for the next two months. We have a star studded lineup including Alyson Stanfield, Steve Doherty, Clint Watson AND Kevin McPherson! I am so excited and amazed that all these incredibly talented people have greed to be on our show. You can always listen to the shows anytime as they are recorded and the links are posted on our blog.

So, I am back ... and I won't disappear for two weeks again ... I promise!

Across the Bay

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"Across the Bay"

Oil, 8" x 16" on museum quality canvas panel.

$650 with display easel.

I am still smiling after my two day painting workshop with Debra Huse. After spending all morning on the second day chasing my "moving target" we moved to another location on Balboa Island to paint in the afternoon. I was a bit tired as I had skipped lunch to finish my painting from the morning but I was determined to paint another complete painting!
This time I spent a bit of time finding a subject that would not drive me insane drifting around a buoy. I was tempted to paint a small orange boat parked firmly on the sand but the rumor was it was going to be taken out for a sail in about an hour. So I ended up choosing three boats that were all the way across the bay. They were safely docked and did not appear to be going anywhere soon. (Of course I have permanent wrinkles from squinting all afternoon!)
Debra helped me with some editing and also pushed me to darken my colors. I think that is something I need to remember every time I  paint - don't go too light with my values or the painting will look too washed out. Even as I look at the photo of this finished painting I realize I could have gone with some darker values.
At the end of the day I was the last one painting (of course) but I do have to say that there was a moment that afternoon where I took a deep breath and I thought ... this is so cool. I was giddy and felt a rush of excitement that I hadn't felt in a long time while painting! After spending so much time painting in the comfort of my studio I realized that I need to get out more often ... and paint plein air. Painting outside,  with hundreds of incredible boats in the bay, is invigorating. I wasn't even annoyed at all of the people who stopped to talk and comment on my efforts. I actually enjoyed all of their input! I know it sees so obvious but I honestly think i was a bit intimidated to paint outside as it had been way too long. So I have turned over a new leaf. I have now committed to paint outside at least once a week, hopefully more.

A Moving Target

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"A Moving Target"

Oil, 8" x 16" on museum quality panel.

$650 with easel display.

One of the problem with painting boats is they seldom "sit still". Of course, the worst thing that can happen is right in the middle of painting an incredible boat ... it sails away (hopefully with its owner). Today, on the second day of Deborah Huse's "painting boats" workshop, we painted all day on the Grand Canal on Balboa Island. I found a wonderful boat but it had to be the only boat in the entire canal that moved and moved and moved. It took me over an hour just to get my drawing down because I would draw and then have to wait about three minutes for the boat to move back to the position that was reflected on my canvas. Within seconds, it moved again ...
It was frustrating and took me FOREVER to finish the painting. But fortunately I was happy with the result. I just bought a new umbrella and it worked perfectly so it was a very beautiful and pleasant sunny painting day!