stapeliad

Pavonia (after Leighton)

2012-01-02T16:26:00.003-05:00

I started this painting last spring sometime and finished today...it was the only unfinished painting left in my queue. This is as far as I am taking it. Working with old master paintings is always such an enriching experience.

14x18 oil on canvas. click for larger view.

2012!

2012-01-01T21:30:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year!

As always, it's time to set new intentions. Here are mine for this year:

1. Drink a lot of tea. (already off to a good start!)
2. Paint 100 portraits.

That's it!

Here is a pretty color chart of my new Rublev paints. I love them muchly.

George The Pencil Pirate

2011-11-30T00:26:00.000-05:00

This year I participated again in the annual portrait swap over at wetcanvas.

When George sent me his picture, my first thought was "he has stubble!"
My second thought was "He is wearing glasses, too!"

I spent a few minutes feeling sorry for myself. Not because George doesn't have a nice face, he does for sure, but stubble AND glasses...I thought I was in trouble.

Then George did that knockout portrait of me in ONE weekend. I didn't think I was in trouble anymore, I knew I was toast. There was just no possible way I could follow that act.

So I had to come up with something that could have a redeeming quality if it ended up being frisbee status. In one of the reference pictures George sent me (not the one I painted), well, I thought he looked kind of like a pirate. It got me thinking. Also, George likes colored pencils a lot. I thought maybe if I did something clever it would conceal my faulty portrait skillz, and I wouldn't mind so much if everyone laughed at my painting.

Here is George the Pencil Pirate.

11x14 Oil on Panel (click image for a larger view)

Detail

Roopa

2011-11-28T23:45:00.000-05:00

Tonight I challenged myself to paint a portrait in exactly 1 hour.

Maimeri Natural Earth Pigments
8x10 oil on panel

2011 Swap Paintings

2011-11-09T07:19:00.004-05:00

This year I participated in another painting swap. I did a series and used some really cool metallic and interference paints paints to enhance the colors ad add a little zing.

All are 5x7 on panel

And here is the very fun paint:

Becca's Magic Garden

2011-10-29T17:07:00.002-04:00

I started this painting last December, and it took almost a year to evolve. This is my dear friend Becca, who is an expert gardener and also an excellent painter. The reference is an image she took of herself in her beautiful garden. The plants in the background are based on plants from a medieval herbal. I also got to use my gold paint.

When it is dry enough, I will send this to Becca.

12x16 oil on panel

Self Portrait

2011-09-27T12:50:00.001-04:00

I decided to do a self portrait this year. This has been on the easel since July.
18x24 oil on canvas

Ratfest Portraits 2011

2011-09-15T13:24:00.003-04:00

For those of you interested in Ratfest portraits this year, please email me with your questions (my email is in my Blogger profile). While I greatly appreciate your comments on my blog, sometimes there is no way to email you back directly if you do not have an email listed in your profile.

Please bring printouts of your photos. Work space is very small, very sorry but I cannot work from your computer monitor.

Portraits are 9x12 on archival vellum.

Special Prices Only for Ratfest!
$10 for color
$7 for black and white

*Prices are for 1 rat only. Additional rats in the same photo are $2 extra each.

Portraits from previous years can be viewed here.

Thanks for your interest!

How PRT Really Works

2011-08-30T17:25:00.000-04:00

The whole east coast should have joined me in PRT instead of August,. Then, hurricane Irene would have just drifted out to sea.

I was in Charlotte since last Wednesday. My stepmom and I were laughing at the hurricane hype on Wednesday. On Thursday, we thought it might be a good idea to seek alternate flights, just in case. My Sunday nite flight was cancelled. We got it moved to Saturday night. Then, just in case, we changed it again to Saturday morning. Everything got cancelled, with re-bookings stretching through September 8th. Both my parents were going out of town for work, so staying there was not an option since I don't drive and getting anywhere would be a problem.

I was so bummed about leaving early...but then the Saturday morning flight got cancelled, which was a problem. We did finally manage to get a flight out first thing this morning at 6am. The return flight cost $15 less than my round trip ticket.

I ended up missing the storm completely, got to spend extra time with my family, and Jet Blue refunded my entire flight both ways, and I made $15 in the whole deal. Not too shabby. Everyone should join me in PRT, it does provide a great buffer for Bad August Things.

Gamblin Paint PRT

2011-08-12T22:50:00.004-04:00

I like Gamblin paint very much. I also like the company. They are environmentally conscious, make high quality products right here in the USA, are committed to conservation, make the best varnish ever, and they have a great website with lots of info.

Truly, I want to love all things Gamblin. But sadly, that has not been the case. Back in 2006 I had terrible problems with their titanium white yellowing. Noticeably, within a week. It was awful. Side by side tests with WN really showcased the yellowing. I contacted Gamblin, they sent me another tube which also yellowed in a week. Since then, I have remained a huge fan of their colors but have avoided their white like the plague.

A few months ago I picked up a can of their oil primer. A canvas I primed yellowed after a few weeks, which was very noticeable after I put on the second coat. So I called Gamblin and told them the situation. They said they had reformulated their whites and I should try them. They even sent me two huge tubes of their radiant white and the titanium zinc, plus a new can of oil primer. That was pretty nice, I only expected and asked for small sample tubes. I told them I would try them, test them out, and if they are ok I will switch over to Gamblin for all my whites except lead, because they do not make lead white.

(I LOVE lead. )

The jury is still out on the primer...the second coat so far seems ok but I need to give it more time before I am comfortable.

Gamblin's customer service, however, is excellent...yet another reason to love them. I hope their whites are up to standard, because I really would like to give them my business. And I do go through a lot of white paint. :)

What they sent:

And here is a pretty pic I took for the website I am building: (click to enlarge)

Color Chart PRT

2011-08-04T11:33:00.003-04:00

Here is a little color chart...they are very relaxing to do. :) Click for a larger image.

Left to right top:
Vasari caput mortuum
Vasari red umber
Maimeri terra rosa
Rembrandt raw sienna
Vasari capucine red light
Gamblin venetian red
Vasari burnt sienna
Gamblin brown pink ----> I LOVE this color it is fiery!!
Vasari transp red oxide
Gamblin Transp red earth

Bottom left to right
Maimeri verona green earth
Maimeri antique green earth
OH green umber
OH Green earth (natural pigment only)
WN terre verte
Lukas 1862 Bohemian green earth
Gamblin terre verte

#52, The Pool, Central Park PRT

2011-08-02T11:18:00.001-04:00

I had a little time yesterday to paint. This time I used a slightly different approach and worked on a white oil primed panel, instead of a reddish toned panel over gesso. (I primed with Gamblin's oil primer over gesso)

Over the white oil primed surface, I made a very detailed underpainting. This approach worked well and forced me to handle all my problems at the start. Next time though, I will use burnt sienna instead of red umber. The oil primed surface was nice for this, as it can be wiped back to white unlike gesso, which stains.
I also used real turps and put copal resin in the underpainting so it would tack up quickly and not interfere as much in the color layers.

Palette was the Vasari proprietary greys from Scott Christiansen...I didn't want to deal with color as much as drawing and composition. Time was limited and I worked large, so this enabled me to not have to mix colors so much.

!4x18 oil on panel

PRT 2011

2011-07-31T10:33:00.002-04:00

It's almost Pigeon Risk Time again. *sigh* Since it's gone from awful to non-eventful, I am inclined to hope things can swing towards positive?

Plein Air #51

2011-07-04T22:18:00.001-04:00

At the beach again...it was really misty and beautiful early in the day, but it cleared up and got sunny later on. I was looking forward to painting the mist, guess I'll have to do it in my studio.

Here is my little sunny painting, 8x10 on panel

Prozac Kitty

2011-06-28T16:38:00.001-04:00

I actually made an appointment last month to put my cat down, and I couldn't go through with it. She's been pretty good lately, although that could be because she does not have access to the laundry anymore.

A few weeks ago she peed on a bag of onions. Last night she peed on a bag of apples.

That's BEYOND NASTY.

So I called the vet again, and we are putting her on Prozac, and it's only going to cost me $6 a month! I hope it works to calm whatever crazy anxiety she has.

The Ocean (#49 and #50)

2011-06-26T23:42:00.001-04:00

FINALLY I have made it to 50 plein air paintings. After 120 I won't consider myself a total newbie anymore, I'll be a beginner. :)

We went to the beach today, it was so wonderful and relaxing. I can't wait to do more ocean paintings. This was my fiorst time painting at the beach, and my first time painting the ocean.

Both are 6x8 oil on panel
49

Stapleton Kearns

2011-06-08T18:23:00.002-04:00

Today I met Stapleton Kearns! He posted that he was painting in Central Park today, so I took a slightly long lunch and went to say hello.

Stape is a very friendly person, and he talked to me for a long time. He has a pink camera and I tried on his eyeglasses. Perhaps now I can say I have seen through the eyes of a master painter?

I deeply appreciate people who are true masters of their craft yet remain not only friendly, but truly strive to share their knowledge. If I ever become so proficient, I want to be like that too. Admittedly, it isn't every day one gets to meet such an accomplished painter- next to Stape I really feel like I know nothing, but not meaning that in a negative way. It doesn't make me feel bad, it makes me want to take one of his workshops.

46 & 47

2011-05-15T10:19:00.003-04:00

Last Friday and Tuesday I attended two painting workshops in Central Park with Danielle Hatherley, who is an excellent teacher. Both days were very productive and educational. I got to work a little larger than normal with my new paint box.

From Friday May 7th, Shakespeare Garden:
11x14 oil on panel

Tuesday May 10, Conservatory Water
11x14 oil on panel

Sid's Vicious Dogwood

2011-04-24T21:53:00.003-04:00

I had leftover paint from Thursday, so I panted Sid's dogwood tree because he posted such pretty pictures of it. Sid is an excellent painter who lives in Maryland.

This painting was particularly good practice to find masses in very lacy areas.

8x10 oil on panel, hour and a half

#45

2011-04-22T11:13:00.000-04:00

I went up to the Cloisters yesterday and did a little painting in the park, spent about an hour on this one.

The palette is from Kevin McPherson's recommendation....Cad yellow light, cad red light, alizarin, viridian, ultramarine, black and white. I might try this one again but without the black.

8x10 oil on panel

****
I was in very low spirits yesterday. There are some not-nice things I have to think about concerning my cat. She has become a real problem, and it is more than I have the capacity to deal with. Basically, she pees on laundry. In fact, she will go out of her way to pee on laundry. I am extremely short on living space, time, and stress capacity. There is nowhere to isolate her, and nowhere to isolate the laundry. Otherwise I would do it.

Also, she does not get along with my daughter and considers her a rival.

As far as I know, my cat is 14 years old; she has been with me for 13 years. She got a recent clean bill of health from the vet, nothing in the household has changed, I tried Feliway spray, odor deterrents, keeping her litterbox fastidiously clean, and finally an animal communicator who I met through a friend in Connecticut. The animal communicator actually worked- perfectly- for six months. After our first chat my cat even stopped peeing in front of her litterbox-a habitual behavior she had been doing for a year and a half straight.

Then a couple of weeks ago she started up again, in the laundry. I had another talk with the animal communicator. She said my cat has some pretty deep mental issues. (Which has always been true) Apparently my cat just got tired of being good. She has no sense of caring for anything beyond herself- well, she does love me but she is so high above herself nothing else really matters. She simply doesn't care that she is causing hardship and unsanitary conditions. Sleeping in the laundry she just peed on doesn't bother her either.

The bottom line is that I can't live like this. If, after a first talk with an animal communicator my cat's long-term habitual behavior changed drastically and immediately, it is pretty obvious evidence of comprehension and self-control. I don't want to live with anyone (person or animal) that has such a basic disregard for everyone else in the household.

So I have some terrible options: keep the cat in a cage overnights and when I can't supervise her, re-home her if possible (but who wants an old, mean cat that pees everywhere?), or take her on a one-way trip to the vet.

I'm pretty devastated about the whole thing.

Watch Out! There's Some Nudity About!

2011-04-17T09:10:00.000-04:00

Friday night was the Draw-a-Thon at Pratt, and I went this year, and I made it through the whole night!

I don't have a whole lot to show for it work-wise, mostly a bunch of drawings like these below, which are between 3 and 10 minutes. I prefer 5 minutes or less for figure drawing. It's better to go fast, and it was so nice to work with live models again. All the figure drawing is one of the things I miss most about being in school.

These are all 18x24 conte on newsprint, click for larger view:

It's such a different world, Pratt and the art environment in general. I really miss it. Being back in that space, in that zone was literally like being on vacation. And I saw a old friend from my college years, which was really great.

I also did one ink wash drawing which is not finished, a pastel drawing which is not finished, and a really terrible painting with a bad pose and terrible lighting. It was so crowded- very difficult to find space. I even had to drink coffee...nasty stuff! But all in all it was a great time and I am definitely going back next year.

Really Cool Central Park Tree

2011-04-09T01:08:00.002-04:00

There is a tree in Central Park that I particularly love. It lives right by the zoo. This tree reminds me of one of my most favorite genius artists of all time, Eyvind Earle.

Eyvind Earle used to live here in NYC. He ran laps around Central Park a lot. I like to think that he, too, saw and loved this particular tree, and that he also found inspiration in it.

This painting was very much an experiment, mostly to see if I could pull it off alla prima, meaning all in one session. It took a little over 2 hours.

8x10 oil on linen panel

CMYK Rose

2011-04-07T00:09:00.001-04:00

Three hours, magenta, yellow, cyan, black, white. The reference is from a pic I took in Brooklyn last June.
8x10 oil on linen panel

Here are the paints. They were on sale at Jerry's Artarama. They are really cool and fun to work with. I want to try them with optical mixing in glazes.

My Sweet Rose (after Waterhouse)

2011-04-03T20:17:00.010-04:00

I have been working on this painting since January. It's big, and it was difficult and frustrating, but was a great learning experience. This painting also prompted me to get my new easel, which was a long-overdue upgrade.

24x36 (61x91cm) oil on canvas
(click image for larger view)

I have also been studying like mad.
Finished these 2 books cover to cover:

And have made serious progress reading these:

Plein Air #42 & #44

2011-03-13T12:23:00.000-04:00

I went out painting on Friday, then yesterday did another little painting while Daya was playing.
All weekend I have been feeling so discouraged with plein air...but will keep at it.

#42 6x8 oil on panel

I did a color version of the same scene but it turned out pretty awful. The weather was colder than expected, I got tired, and my mind was just not clear.

Here is #43, 6x8 oil on panel, a quick tree study from the playground. The sky needs another layer, because the venetian red tone was lifting and came through. That's what happens from toning panels last-minute.

I will probably start tweaking my paintings at home from now on...so far once the outdoor session is done, so is the painting. Perhaps now I will try and focus on both the mechanics of outdoor painting and also getting a good end result even if that means going back into the painting at home. Most plein air painters do this. Perhaps I am being too ambitious to try and get it all done in one session.

This plein air stuff is really difficult. It is frustrating that I can do a decent alla prima still life in the same time and size as plein air, the the plein air is hit or miss... more often a miss. I need to keep reminding myself...plein are really is a lot more difficult, and I am still very much a newbie to it. Also, I never did any landscape before I started plein air. First 120 paintings before you *begin* to pregress... that's where it starts........ I'll get there eventually, given my time restrictions it just takes me longer than most. But this is something I *really* want to get good at, and every single available chance I get, I go out to practice and i take local workshops.

It just seems like not enough sometimes.

From the Sketchbook

2011-03-09T22:35:00.004-05:00

I need to draw more and spend more quality time with my sketchbook.
Here is a little graphite drawing from tonight...this is a portrait of Nichole from the January portrait challenge over at WC.

Notarized Lunch

2011-03-09T18:52:00.001-05:00

I took a walk this afternoon and encountered this Indian food truck on the corner of 39th and 6th...which is also, apparently, a Notary Public.

Sandra's Painting

2011-03-06T16:51:00.002-05:00

My friend Sandra painted a picture of me! This is a photo taken by Drusilla from this past December. I'm painting in the snow in Central Park. It was really cold that day! The painting was never finished, I really should do that.

Sandra's painting (posted with permission):

Dru's photo:

Tea for One: White

2011-02-27T23:57:00.000-05:00

My white porcelain teapot.
8x10 oil on canvas panel

Tea for One: Black

2011-02-19T15:35:00.002-05:00

Tea for One
8x10 oil on canvas panel

New Easel and Some Torrit Trees (#41)

2011-02-19T07:31:00.002-05:00

I got a new easel! It's about time too, my largest easel has been a full size Julian, it is extremely rickety and I had to fold in the legs and put it on top of my drawing table. It was all right for small work but... since I started the Waterhouse painting in January, which is quite large, well let's just say things have been uncomfortable. It's just not fun to stand on a chair just to reach the top of the painting.

Here is my beautiful new easel!

On Tuesday I went out painting in Central Park again. It was COLD, even my snow-loving self got chilly after one painting. I'm going to be doing tonal studies for plein air for a while- no color. I need the practice with values, and they are fun to do. It's actually nice to not have to worry about color.

Torrit Trees (because I used Gamblin's Torrit Grey)
6x8 oil on panel

For some reason I can't paint skinny trees no matter how hard I try....

The Record-Breaking Dentist Appointment

2011-02-02T22:00:00.001-05:00

I got my teeth cleaned today-and I was in and out of the dentist's office in a half hour! Including x-rays!

I Love Oil Paint

2011-01-31T22:38:00.004-05:00

(Not shown: 4 more tubes in transit from Blick.)

Day 28

2011-01-30T22:57:00.000-05:00

Last day! :)
Joy today is having all my dishes and clothes clean!!

Day 27

2011-01-29T23:36:00.002-05:00

Joy today was a nice day out with friends at the museum of natural history. I love it there.

Day 26

2011-01-28T23:09:00.002-05:00

Joy...my Daniel Gerhartz dvd arrived!

Day 25

2011-01-27T14:18:00.000-05:00

We got a lot of snow, and I am working from home. School is also closed. Joy today is being able to stay home and drink tea all day.

Day 24

2011-01-26T22:22:00.000-05:00

Joy is more snow! What a great winter. :)

Day 23

2011-01-25T23:15:00.002-05:00

Joy today is getting LOTS of stuff done and feeling accomplished- cat went to the vet, Daya went to the dentist, and we went to see a movie with friends after wards.

Day 22

2011-01-24T23:55:00.003-05:00

Joy today is my Oily Girls over at WetCanvas. It's wonderful to have such caring, supportive, intelligent, and talented friends.

I'm working on a neverending painting... well, I hope it ends!! I have to get through the tedious part... here is a detail sneak-preview! (ignore the background; it is blacked out on purpose)

Day 21

2011-01-23T23:48:00.000-05:00

Joy today is painting. (again)

Day 20

2011-01-22T20:33:00.000-05:00

My friend and I took the kids to Chuck E Cheese today. My daughter loves it there- me, not so much. But she had fun.

Joy today was LEAVING and going home!

The 2010 Portrait Exchange

2011-01-22T09:16:00.000-05:00

Back in November I did a drawing and painting of Dave- my portrait swap partner. He is a wonderful gentleman from Wales, with a great face.

I mailed Dave's portrait out this past Tuesday morning via regular airmail- I was shocked when Dave sent me a note early Friday morning that it had already arrived!!

Here is a pic of the lovely painting and drawing I got from Dave! (Images posted with permission.)

Thanks Dave for being such an awesome portrait swap partner!

Day 19

2011-01-21T23:27:00.002-05:00

Joy today is FRIDAY!

Day 18

2011-01-20T22:02:00.002-05:00

Joy today is oil paint. I finally spent some time at the easel for the first time this year. :)

Day 17

2011-01-19T19:02:00.002-05:00

Joy today is Tylenol, because my head and shoulders really hurt a lot...a hot shower didn't fix it, but the Tylenol is working. So I am glad it is here.

Day 16

2011-01-18T23:18:00.000-05:00

Joy today is getting my driver's license renewed. Now that might seem an odd thing to be a joy- but since I was told growing up that I wouldn't be able to drive due to my wonky eyes, it's a big deal to me. Even the trip to the DMV was painless and relatively fast.

I think the eye dr I had as a teen wasn't a particularly good one- since he might have contributed to the no driving thing. He also told me once that I have no peripheral vision, which is completely wrong. My vision field is, as my eye dr today said, textbook perfect. And he would know, since I have to take a visual field test every year.

Day 15

2011-01-17T10:40:00.000-05:00

Joy today is a whole entire day to not have to do anything, go anywhere, run any errands, or take my daughter out,

Day 14

2011-01-16T12:27:00.001-05:00

Joy today is unexpected alone time while my daughter is at a no-parents birthday party! And even better, her friend is also vegetarian! It's good for her to have peer support. :)

Day 13

2011-01-15T12:33:00.002-05:00

Joy is getting my portrait swap painting in the mail!!! Almost a month and a half after it was sent- we thought it was lost in the mail and I was very sad. I painted Dave, and Dave painted me! Picture later.

Day 12

2011-01-14T23:31:00.001-05:00

Joy is a hot bath with grapefruit lemon soap.

Day 11

2011-01-13T23:48:00.000-05:00

Joy today is evening silence.

Day 10

2011-01-12T20:52:00.000-05:00

Joy today is good friends.

Day 9

2011-01-11T23:15:00.002-05:00

Snow!!
I don't have to drive in it, I don't have to shovel it. Joy. :)

Day 8

2011-01-10T22:30:00.002-05:00

I am feeling joyful today about the snowstorm that is coming tomorrow night!!

Day 7

2011-01-09T16:05:00.002-05:00

Joy today is an absolutely perfect cup of looseleaf organic assam tea.

Day 6

2011-01-08T23:46:00.002-05:00

Joy today is a relaxing day.

Day 5

2011-01-07T22:57:00.002-05:00

Joy today is having finished all the tasks I had to do at the office this week, with nothing hanging over me this weekend.

Day 4

2011-01-06T21:50:00.003-05:00

Joy today is reading a good book. :)

Day 3

2011-01-05T20:47:00.000-05:00

Joy today is a warm furry purring kitty cat.

Day 2

2011-01-04T21:16:00.000-05:00

Joy today is making and decorating gingerbread cookies with my daughter! They didn't come out as good as the ones my friend Jane gave us, so I'll have to make them again to perfect the recipe. :)

Day 1

2011-01-03T23:06:00.001-05:00

Today was my official start of Soul Coaching. This is my third year going through the program and it really is wonderful. Like last year, I will keep my joy journal online this time around.

My joy for today is unexpected gifts. Today was the first day back at work after the holidays. It is well-known in the office that i love my tea, and I am always sharing tea with those who sit around me. My co-worker went to Disney World over the break. He went into a tea shop and saw a box of green tea with different flavorings. He said he thought of me and got me a box! Wasn't that nice?

2011

2011-01-03T22:59:00.000-05:00

Well, it is the start of yet another new year. As always, I set intentions rather than resolutions.

Here are my intentions:
*Drink a lot of tea
*Go through my Portrait Painting Atelier book
*Artistic focus: direct layered paintings, portraiture and plein air. Last year I completed 74 paintings!! It is time to slow down and start applying all that practice to longer, more finished works.
*Go through the Soul Coaching program again.
*Change my name back (finally!!)
*A secret intention that i am not announcing publicly until it is concrete

How to Get Everything You Want for Christmas

2010-12-27T22:43:00.002-05:00

My 5 year old basically got everything she wanted for Christmas. But not because she is some super-angel child (which she is most of the time) or any successful wheedling tactics.

No, she did it the old fashioned way and wrote a good solid list for Santa. She even put in there (somewhere) "tea for Mommy".

This list, however, was a little non-traditional, guaranteed to get Santa's attention. She used the back of a piece of paper that was floating around my apartment...the color reference I used when i painted Twilight...

Whatever works, right?

Mr. Jitters

2010-12-22T23:56:00.001-05:00

Drusilla and her 3 rat boys are staying with us for the holidays. Here is a little painting of her hairless rat, Mr. Jitters.

2 hours, 8x10 oil on canvas

Plein Air 39

2010-12-10T15:56:00.003-05:00

It's 27 degrees out today (that's -3 for you Celsius fans) and I have a day off, so I went out painting in Central Park. It was cold and I was standing on a steep slope which was really uncomfortable.

This morning before I left my friend sent me a text WITH CAPITAL LETTERS telling me I HAD to get a copy of Pema Chodron's Unconditional Confidence as soon as possible. So I did, because I usually recognize obvious Signs when I see them.

I started listening to the lecture right exactly as I started painting. Pema's opening lines in the speech were about- the act of starting a painting- and I do mean I was literally laying out my first brush strokes on the blank panel as she was saying it. And this was not a lecture on painting.

(By the way, it is an excellent lecture and I highly recommend it)

I like when things like this happen, the moments of obvious synchronicity. Things for me have been very quiet on the spiritual front. And life in general. I have felt uninspired and generally in a flat place. Like the Nice Guidance Voices have gone quiet and have been busy with other things. So it is really nice when the universe says HI I AM HERE!! in a way I cannot possibly miss or misinterpret.

Anyhow, here is the painting. 8x10 oil on panel, one hour, it was toned with yellow ochre but I like an earth red undertone better.

Palette: Fanchon Red, Yellow Ochre, Lemon Yellow, Pthalo Green, French Ultramarine, and Burnt Umber.
I like this particular palette quite a lot, it might be my favorite plein air palette to date.

Today was also my new knife's first outing. She had a great time. I should have put more of that red leaf ground color in the rocks.

Dave

2010-11-26T21:40:00.004-05:00

Here is Dave from this year's portrait swap. I love portraiture and need lots of practice... next year, in addition to plein air, I want to really focus on bettering my portrait skills.

Dave was so much fun to paint.

9x12 oil on panel (click image for larger view)

How To Traumatize Your Cat

2010-11-24T21:35:00.003-05:00

My daughter has a purple unicorn marionette.
It got terribly tangled. The task of untangling it fell on me, by default.

Untangling it took over an hour.

When I was finished, I played with it near the cat, who is sitting next to me on the couch. At first, she was curious. Then, she realized THIS THING IS ALIVE! and freaked out- screaming and hissing!

My cat does not think it is funny but I do.

Here is the scary cat-terrorizing unicorn. Kitty hissed three times during the shooting of this photo.

Plein Air 37 & 38 & Retirement Day

2010-11-19T19:08:00.006-05:00

Today I took a vacation day and went on a painting workshop with Danielle Hatherley again. One of her students got permission for us to paint in the health club of her building, 36 stories up. It was an awesome building with an incredible 360 degree view right on the East River.

I finished 2 paintings, both are 9x12 oil on panel:

The second is a Leftover Paint Painting... just a quick something to use up the extra paint from the first painting.

The view was wonderful!

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Today also marks Retirement Day of my Painting BFF- so I am glad it got to go on such a nice outing.

My fabulous palette knife, an old Lowell-Cornell, model number long obscured by layers of paint. I have been painting with this knife for the last 14 years. In fact, I can't paint without it. It's comfortable and has character, and it is well-made.

Knives like this are hard to find these days- the reason it is so good is because the blade and handle are all one piece of metal. They just don't make them like they used to.

Because there are cracks in the paint which covers the blade, and because my friend on Wet Canvas recently had her much-beloved palette knife break, I'm a little nervous. So I used some birthday money to finally invest in a Holbein Knife.

There are no better knives than Holbein knives. With the exception of something tragic and unforeseen, I will never have to replace this new knife for as long as I live. It is tempered Japanese steel, all one piece. It is beautiful. lightweight, and wonderfully flexible. I will miss my old knife, but I know I'll love the new one just as much!

Dave (Study)

2010-11-08T21:44:00.007-05:00

This is a pastel study of Dave, my partner in this year's portrait swap. I'll move on to the oil painting this week.

9x12 pastel on Colorfix

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T22:13:00.003-04:00

Halloween this year was a great time. It was the return of Bumble-Rat and Ladybug Rat. The cool thing about having white rats is you can paint them with airbrush markers.

I carried Ali around for Trick or Treating. People gave them chocolate and their very favorite treat, Swedish Fish.

Daya also had a great time. She was Cinderella this year.

Twilight (after Bouguereau)- Finally Finished!

2010-10-24T18:00:00.003-04:00

After seven months this painting is finally done!
I started in March and finished the underpainting in July.
It needs to be scanned instead of photographed but it is too wet right now.

I am not doing anymore grisaille/glazing for the foreseeable future; this is not how i enjoy working.

View progress shots here.

10x20 oil on canvas

Another photo with different light:

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I bought the cutest little gourds at the store the other day so I could paint them. For the past few days I have been wanting to paint a gourd with my Maimeri Italian Earth paints... so as a reward to myself for finally finishing Twilight, and also for the Feat of Extreme Discipline for not starting another painting until Twilight was finished, I painted a little gourd.

The Italian Earth paints are fascinating... they are actual earth pigments from different regions in Italy. They are low chroma and transparent, and although I find I can't push them the way I can with other pigments, I still love them. especially the greens.

I do think I'll do better with them when they aren't the only colors in the palette, but as accents to a more well-rounded selection. I like the earthiness and somewhat grittiness of them, and also like thinking of what the old masters did with such limited materials.

8x10 oil on canvas panel, an hour and a half.

Plein Air 35 and 36

2010-10-21T21:12:00.002-04:00

I took a plein air workshop today with the wonderful Danielle Hatherley. Since Daya is usually with me when I am not at work, it's rare to have a child-free full day of painting outdoors. I have been wanting to take a workshop for a while and this was a great experience, something I'll definitely do again. It was great to spend lots of time on each painting.

We painted at the Boat basin in Riverside Park. Palette: Alizarin, Cadmium Red Light, Indian Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Light, Maganese Blue, French Ultramarine, and white.

Both are 9x12 oil on panel

Plein Air 33 and 34

2010-10-12T16:23:00.002-04:00

Since I had to go to Daya's school this morning, I just took the whole day off to make the already-long weekend extra long.

Of course I went out painting. I have been having trouble getting into the painting zone lately, and I had trouble today even though I was excited to be out. These two are not really great paintings... but I read the other day on Wet Canvas that even some professional plein air painters admit a good percentage of the work they do in the field isn't great. Plein air painting sure is hard.

I used the palette I'll be using for my upcoming plein air workshop on the 21st: Alizarin crimson, Cadmium red light, Indian yellow, Cadmium yellow light, French Ultramarine, and Maganese Blue. Oh, and white. I am having trouble mixing my darkest values with this palette- they all come out looking like really dark purple or some sort of indefinable brown.

My setup for the first painting:

#33, 8x10 oil on panel ( I really have trouble with pine trees) one hour

For the second painting, I found a tree that was literally growing out of a huge rock. I thought I had a good start with this one but am not quite sure what happened.

6x8 oil on panel one hour, maybe I spent too long on it. Oh well, next time.

Plein Air 32

2010-10-09T20:12:00.002-04:00

We spent the day in Central Park and had a wonderful time. I did a little painting while Daya played in the grass.

For today's painting I used 2 new colors- Indian Yellow and Maganese blue. I like them very, very much but also think the addition of cadmium yellow would have made more variations in the greens. I was really trying to go for masses and impression over details.

Alizarin crimson, Indian yellow, Maganese blue, French Ultramarine, and Titanium white.

6x8 oil on panel

Daya got her face painted:

Retro or Antique?

2010-10-09T00:01:00.001-04:00

I've been goofing off with oil paint this week... . Here is a copied image from 1992...anyone out there recognize it?
Next week I'll get back to serious study (maybe ;) ) and plein air.

8x10 oil on panel

Note: I am sure the original source image is still under copyright by Sierra Online.

WN Titanium White

2010-10-02T19:27:00.001-04:00

I can't believe I haven't painted in three weeks! (I don't count last weekend... it wasn't oil paint! :) )

I am a little rusty...

This is another in the Paint Tube series... WN Titanium White
6x8 oil on panel, maybe 35 minutes or so.

Portraits from Ratfest

2010-09-28T22:07:00.002-04:00

I use oil pastels exactly once a year- at Ratfest to do commissioned portraits. This year I did 5 portraits. It makes me so happy to make other people happy with my artwork.

All are 9x12 on archival vellum.

Meet the Oily Rats!

2010-09-27T19:44:00.004-04:00

Ratfest was this weekend. I will post pictures later.

Two Siamese rat girls came home with me! I am SO EXCITED to have rats again, I really missed having them around these past 5 years.

Of course I named them after oil paint.

Quinacridone (Quin) is a blue point Siamese and Alizarin (Ali) is a seal point.

They are friendly and curious, and Daya LOVES them. My cat is jealous of them but she has always tolerated rats before and I have no reason to worry about it this time either.

Williamsburg Cadmium Red light

2010-09-08T20:17:00.003-04:00

Another one today!

6x8 oil on panel
40 minutes

Vasari Pthalo Turquoise

2010-09-08T12:18:00.002-04:00

While i was waiting to pick Daya up from school I did a little painting.
Vasari Pthalo Turquoise
6x8 oil on panel
45 minutes

Kindergarten!

2010-09-08T09:35:00.002-04:00

Daya started kindergarten today! She is there right now. It is a half day, so I have to pick her up in a couple of hours. She has been so excited, I have been freaking out. They grow up so fast, it's both sad and exciting.

Old Holland Violet Grey

2010-09-07T23:32:00.001-04:00

I bought this tube of paint today with a 40% off coupon. Isn't it pretty? :)

6x8 oil on panel
1/2 hour

Plein Air 31

2010-09-04T20:37:00.005-04:00

I am so glad it is September. PRT was wonderfully uneventful this year, I am very glad about that. Now i can look forward to the weather changing and the days getting shorter.

School starts this Wednesday. I am really nervous. The school is not great at communicating, and i finally got the registration confirmation with this schedule... making me wish more than ever that I had other schooling options.

Scary. This from a SCHOOL.

Today I went with my friend to Central Park. It was a lovely day. Everyone is out of the city on account of Labor Day. I did one little painting. I have painted often enough in Central Park now that when I walk around I recognize my previous painting spots! I fondly passed by three of them today.

6x8 oil on panel, half hour

Willow 7 (PRT)

2010-08-28T21:32:00.002-04:00

9x12 oil on panel

Willow 6 (PRT)

2010-08-28T21:28:00.003-04:00

9x12 oil on panel

Willow 5 (PRT)

2010-08-27T21:28:00.000-04:00

9x12 oil on panel

Willow 4 (PRT)

2010-08-25T23:41:00.000-04:00

Still painting the willow tree...
9x12 oil on panel, 3 hours

Willow 3 (PRT)

2010-08-24T20:33:00.004-04:00

I am very pleased with tonight's painting. I learned a lot- very specifically about thin application of paint while working alla prima. This is something I have been really struggling with, especially working small-scale en plein air.

The palette is a combination I discovered while experimenting back in college. It makes nice subtle tones and I enjoy working with it occasionally: Venetian (or Indian/any earth) red, naples yellow, and cerulean blue. (with mars black and titanium white)

6x8 oil on panel, an hour and a half

Willow 2 (PRT)

2010-08-23T21:30:00.003-04:00

Another image of the willow. I actually did an acrylic painting tonight for the first time in 10 years!

9x12 acrylic on panel 2 hours

Willow 1 (PRT)

2010-08-23T00:43:00.005-04:00

Here is another practice painting.
I like it and don't like it all at the same time.

The original image is one I took of a willow tree in Brooklyn. I am thinking I might do a little series on this image just to play around and see what happens.

8x10 oil on panel, hour and a half, split comp palette yellow green, red, and violet.

While I was painting this I listened to a Wayne Dyer lecture on living an inspired life. My subscription to the Hay House Radio archives auto-renewed, and as a free gift I got the 6 CD set in the mail... unexpected. What a nice surprise. (And I do love Wayne Dyer)

Towards the end of the 6th CD he spoke about prayer and specifically St Francis. The "Make me an instrument of thy peace" prayer. For the first time I really get how that prayer works... it has to do with aligning yourself in remembrance to Source and attracting that source energy because God can only be what God is and God is not lack. Wayne said it better than I am writing it, but I really got it. "Peace" can be substituted with anything. Anyhow while I was painting something really clicked and I had a wonderful moment of clarity. I even had to stop painting for a moment because I had such an energy surge.

It is something i will always remember and associate with this particular painting.

More Alla Prima Trees (PRT)

2010-08-18T22:51:00.004-04:00

I'm still practicing alla prima landscapes. Here is a little painting that took one hour and 20 minutes, from one of my Central Park photos.

It was supposed to be a split complementary palette of violet, yellow orange and yellow green, but I chose incorrect pigments for both yellow orange and yellow green. As a result my color mixing was completely thrown off and I had to add a blue pigment in... my new Vasari Video Blue.

Lesson learned: inaccurate color selection for split complementary palettes makes a HUGE difference.

I like last night's painting better than this one.

6x8 oil on panel

Spring in Central Park (PRT)

2010-08-17T23:32:00.003-04:00

I am supplementing my plein air work with some study and practice at home.
Here is a little painting from a photo I took on a plein air trip last spring in Central Park.

9x12 oil on panel, took an hour and a half

Plein Air #29, 30, Vasari, Purple, & an Oily Girl (PRT)

2010-08-15T23:06:00.011-04:00

My friend from WetCanvas, Nancy Park came to visit NYC for the first time with her granddaughter. Nancy is one of the Oily Girls- we are a group of oil painters who chat with each other a lot. Over time we have become online friends and did a painting exchange a few months ago.

Lucky me, I got to meet Nancy in person! We went to the Guggenheim.

We went to the Vasari store and adopted some expensive paint. It is very important to give homeless tubes of Vasari paint a good paint-friendly home.

And we painted. Nancy's painting looks fine but mine both look better in the dark.

#29 6x8 oil on panel, Zorn palette, Battery Park
My foliage needs desperate help.

This one I did the next day while Nancy was at the King Tut exhibit.

#30 6x8 oil on panel- pthalo turquoise, rose madder, cadmium orange, Central Park
My weeds need desperate help.

This painting did not come out very well but I had one of those epiphanies that should have been obvious from the beginning... I know I need to work on my composition, and I need to DRAW more when I am painting outdoors. DUH. Why it took me 30 paintings to figure that one out I'll never know. I was trying to figure out my difference in approach between plein air and still life. Drawing. Important. Obvious. Basics.

Then I took Nancy's lovely granddaughter to the West Village to go shopping. There were some lovely scarves on sale at one of the Tibetan shops, and i have been wanting a new altar cloth for a long time. Purple is pretty.

Plein Air #25 and #28 (PRT)

2010-08-10T13:27:00.006-04:00

I am not up to date on posting my plein air paintings, but here is one from last week. I went out after work and found a nice comfy spot in Central Park.

6x8 oil on panel, 45 minutes #28

Here is another one from a few weeks ago.
6x8 oil on panel, 30 minutes, Riverside Park #25

PRT Buffer #1

2010-08-03T19:15:00.003-04:00

It starts already... this time my teeth! I'm nuts about my teeth, never had a cavity in my life, although I have had quite a lot of orthodontic work. Perhaps my great teeth make up for my wonky eyes....

Anyhow, I recently got a supercute lipstick case at the Silk Road show at the museum of natural history. It has a little mirror inside. Imagine my absolute horror when I used it and noticed my bottom teeth were turning brown! Seriously, I felt sick, but wondered what could be the cause since there has not been any indication of problems.

I did a quick google search on "brown stain near gumline" which a list of websites all related to problems people have been having for YEARS with Crest Pro-Health mouthwash. Which I started using just over a month ago. My staining issue was described in detail by many others, along with other, more serious sounding problems. I booked an appointment with the dentist today.

Thankfully, my teeth are (still) absolutely fine and the hygienist was able to remove all of the staining! I am so relieved.

Puff the Magic Badger (PRT)

2010-08-01T00:36:00.005-04:00

Another little 2 hour study, 8x10 oil on canvas
"Puff The Magic Badger" is what I named my hand-made badger blender brush from Rosemary & Co.

A good start to Pigeon Risk Time (PRT) 2010.
Anyone else who can't stand August, feel free to join me in my alternate time frame.

Pigeon Risk Time (PRT) Starts Tomorrow!

2010-07-31T09:32:00.004-04:00

Get ready for Pigeon Risk Time (PRT) starting at midnight!

Mala Beads & Incense

2010-07-28T00:06:00.002-04:00

Another little 2 hour painting.
8x10 oil on canvas

Rock Candy

2010-07-26T23:56:00.003-04:00

I am 4 glaze layers into Twilight, but needed to get some alla prima painting out of my system.

This little study took 2 hours.

8x10 oil on canvas