Peppermint Pillows is a Holiday Treasure

 This little guy has been accepted in to the Holiday Treasures show at the Debra Huse Gallery on Balboa Island.  It is 3"x3" and it will be framed and hanging on a Christmas tree.

229 Marine Ave

Balboa Island, CA 92662

opens

Thursday, December 5th

http://www.debrahusegallery.com/debrahusegallery/EVENTS.html

6 inch Squared

Very exciting!  My painting "Red Swingline" was juried in to the 6 inch Squared show at the Randy Higbee Gallery.  Come check it out and some other amazing mini-masterpieces starting December 7th!

Great Blue Heron

"Great Blue Heron 1"

Oil,  20x35 on wood board.

Within walking distance from our house is a lake.  Living at the lake is a tremendous variety of bird species. One day when I was on a path that bridged a stream flowing into the lake, I saw this very large bird standing in the stream.  He was not afraid of me being there and posed for some pictures. When I returned home, I looked him up in my bird guide for the area and figured out that he was a Great Blue Heron. I had this piece of wood I had been saving and it seemed the perfect size to put this giant bird on. 

I have not painted anything this large before and my biggest challenge so far is mixing enough paint.  I am used to mixing small piles of colors and having that be more than enough.  Well, it is when you are painting 6 inches square but not when you are painting something this big.

This is stage 1 of Great Blue Heron.

Balboa at Topaz - revisited and completed

"Balboa at Topaz, revisited"

Oil, 8" x 8" on linen panel.

$125.00 

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This piece is now finished.  I worked on the values in the buoy and added palm trees in the distance. In order to capture the shimmer of the water I went even lighter  with the light color in the water and deepened the cool blue. 

Balboa at Topaz revisited, continued

Balboa at Topaz, continued

I went back in and worked on the values in this painting. I defined the island houses in the background with some darker values and additional shapes.  I thinned down the buoy and added more shimmer to the water. I need to add a few more details before it is finished.

Balboa at Topaz revisited

Balboa at Topaz, pt. 1

On Halloween I had the opportunity to return to the same place on Balboa Island I had painted in August. I decided to paint the scene with the bouy on the other side with my real focus being on the water.  Thursday morning was slightly hazy the distance with a huge portion of the water just shimmering.  I am not done with this piece so stay tuned.  When I am not painting outdoors I have been indoors getting some entries ready for some upcoming shows I hope to get into.  Stay tuned for that too!

View from the Montage in South Laguna

"View from the Montage at South Laguna"

Oil, 8" x 10" on linen panel.

$125.00 

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Last week I had the opportunity to be in a workshop with Kim VanDerHoek where we painted in South Laguna.  There is no bad view here.  On the left you can see part of a key hole behind a large rock in the foreground. There is a small beach surrounded by rocks that are starting to become visible as the tide recedes. It was an overcast day but that did not take away from the beauty of the location.

Peppermint Pillows

Peppermint Pillows

Oil, 3" x 3" on gesso board.

This is another piece that I hope makes it into a show. It is really small! I used a #2 flat brush for the entire painting.  The one benefit to painting candy is that the family gets to eat it afterwards.

Emerging Pink Poinsettia

"Emerging Pink Poinsettia

Oil, 8" x 8" on gesso board.

I have been working on some pieces I hope to put in some upcoming shows. I really liked how the Emerging Gerbera turned out last month so I really wanted to try going a little bigger and thought it would be the perfect entry for a holiday show.  Fingers crossed!

Undead Aesop

"Undead Aesop"

Oil, 8" x 10" on canvas.

$125.00 

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Like my last zombie portrait, this also began as a replication of the face of a full-body Velazquez painting of Aesop, of fable fame. Since I was only focusing on the head and face, most people who saw it thought it was a woman. Although my replication actually looked like the Velazquez, I decided the portrait would make an excellent monster. Since Velazquez painted a large number of interesting people with interesting faces, I hope he would approve. I love making the monsters.

Eisenhower Park Plein Air

"Eisenhower Park"

Oil, 8" x 10" on canvas board.

$125.00 

Click here to purchase.

Today I was at a plein air workshop with Kim VanDerHoek. Our venue was Eisenhower Park in Orange, California.  The park is a gorgeous gem tucked in between vintage homes and the freeway. This particular park has a lake, pond, geese, ducks and this beautiful, gigantic moreton bay fig.Today's focus was on simplifying what you see. Was it necessary to include the strip mall across the street and the cars whizzing by behind the marvelous bay fig to tell its story?  Today we learned that less can be more when you are telling stories in paint.

30 in 30 - Day 30 - Garlic Emerging with palette knife

"Garlic Emerging"

Oil, 6" x 6" on gesso board.

$100.00 

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2 years ago I took a workshop with two fabulous painters, one painted with bright, transparent colors and the other with a palette knife. I did great with color and I was horrible with the palette knife.  In spite of the demos I couldn't hold the knife or move the knife correctly - I had palette knife block!  Since this 30 days of painting had a lot of experiments in it, I thought I would try another emerging painting using the palette knife and I loved it!  So, Leslie Saeta, it only took two years but I now "get" the palette knife.  Thank you for this 30 Day Challenge and for your patient palette knife training long ago.

30 in 30 - Day 29 - Gerbera Emerging

"Gerbera Emerging"

Oil, 6" x 6" on gesso board.

$100.00 

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For a while I have been thinking about doing a painting where the object looks like it is materializing out of the background. I made a few piles of paint in different shades and then painted the flower in first, starting with lightest shade first.  After I put the flower in I started on the background, starting next to the flower and working out to the edges of the board.

30 in 30 - Day 28 - Wicked

"Wicked"

Ink

Print Available.

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I was interested in exploring  some other colors in the Halloween palette - olives, grays and black. The other day I was wearing green and black with striped socks and a friend told me I looked like the Wicked Witch of the West.  Perhaps that is what inspired this piece.

30 in 30 - Day 27 - Pumpkink

"Pumpkink"

Ink

Print available.

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I wanted to see if I could do a combination of drawing in ink and the abstract and this is what I came up with.  I applied the drawing first and waited for it to dry before I added the abstract elements. At some point it reminds me of stained glass.

30 in 30 - Day 26 - Painting on Furniture

"Audrey on Red Stool"

Oil, 8", on wood stool.

This 30 day challenge has had me doing a lot of experimenting.  Today I thought it would try using furniture as my canvas.  The flower is a small version of a large piece I did earlier this year. The stool is 8" across and 9" high so it it pretty small. Painting on this piece was a bit awkward at first as I tried to figure out the best angle to paint at and where to put my materials.  What do you think about furniture as a canvas?

30 in 30 - Day 25 - Pears on Tile

"Pears on Tile"

Oil, 4" x 4" on tumbled tile.

Today I decided to try using a different surface for the painting, tumbled tile. I used a smaller brush to accommodate the reduced surface area.  The bumpy surface was definitely interesting to work on.  I let some tile peek through the blue background and left it exposed around the edges. I had no idea what to expect but I now have some ideas about next time!  

30 in 30 - Day 24 - Green Shades

"Green Shades"

Oil, 6" x 6" on gesso board.

$100.00 

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I was reading about the Metropolitan Museum of Art's opening today, "50 Years of Collecting Islamic Art". With the story, an image was posted of a circa 1700 tapestry from India, "Chand Bibi Hawking with Attendants in a Landscape". The detail in the landscape is beautiful - hills of cream, brown, pink and green - so many different shades of green. The many greens in that landscape are what inspired this abstract piece.

30 in 30 - Day 23 - Just Peachy

"Just Peachy"

Oil, 6" x 6" on gesso board.

$100.00 

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You never realize how many colors are in an object until you paint it. This peach has reds, oranges,  and yellows - nature is just marvelous.

30 in 30 - Day 22 - Equinox

"Equinox"

Ink

Print Available

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Fall is here!  Hard to believe that summer is over. Even though nature is starting to go dormant, it does so with such vivid color.

30 in 30 - Day 21 - Candy Corn

"Candy Corn"

Ink

Print Available

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When you think of Halloween, you think of candy, and when you think of Halloween candy, you think of the candy corn. The Halloween stores are popping up all over the county and the stores are stocked full with candy.  What a wonderful time of year!

30 of 30 - Day 20 - Ring Around the Rosy

"Ring Around the Rosy"

Ink

Print Available

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Emerging from the burst of color is a mysterious black ring. What do you see?

30 in 30 - Day 19 - Tulips up Close

"Tulips up Close"

Oil, 6" x 6" on gesso board.

$100.00 

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How close could I get to these tulips and you would still know they were tulips?  I love the variety of purples in the flowers especially against the sage green background. The challenge was making the tones different enough for you to see the variation.

30 in 30 - Day 18 - On Halloween Night

"On Halloween Night"

Ink

Print Available

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Once again, the ink gods have spoken.  When I set out to do this ink painting, what you see here was not my intention. I was thinking about Halloween but I was also thinking about stripes. What I ended up with is an amazing web of Halloween colors. Let your mind go and the ink will follow.

30 in 30 - Day 17 - Gerbera Gold

"Gerbera Gold"

Oil, 6" x 6" on gesso board.

$100.00 

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Not only the reflection but the different colored reflections in the flower and the stem attracted me to this piece along with the multiple shades of yellow and orange.  I love the simple subjects that have so much going on.

30 in 30 - Day 16 - Alizarin Gerbera

"Alizarin Gerberas"

Oil, 6" x 6" on gesso board.

$100.00 

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I could not resist buying these flowers when I saw their gorgeous color.  I brought them home, put them in a vase on the counter, and the cat tried to eat them.

30 in 30 - Day 15 - Blue Bubbles

"Blue Bubbles"

Ink

Print Available

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Today I purchased this great color of copic ink called Antwerp Blue so I had to use it in a piece immediately.  I like the shape contrast between the darker and the light blues.

30 in 30 - Day 14 - Blue Violet Storm

"Blue Violet Storm"

Ink

Print Available

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I just love how this ink painting turned out.  I used four shades of blue violet and a cool gray to get this stormy effect.  Some of you may look at it and not see a storm at all.  The fact that we can look at the same image and get something completely different from it is one of the great things about painting with inks.

30 in 30 - Day 13 - Fire Ink

"Fire Ink"

Ink

Print Available

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I had no idea what this ink painting would turn out to be when I started. Whenever I try to plan too much, I am never happy with the result.  Best to let the ink do the work. When I look at this I can smell the smoky air of a beach bonfire.

30 in 30 - Day 12 - Ode to Yusuke Yonezu

"Ode to Yusuke Yonezu"

Oil, 6" x 6" on gesso board.

Yusuke Yonezu is an illustrator and I saw his work for the first time last year in the Kinokuniya bookstore where they were selling a calendar of his illustrations.  The title of the calendar translated to "Simple Life".  His seemingly simple lines say so much.  I did not do him justice but I enjoyed trying.

30 in 30 - Day 11 - Spooky Gray Palette

"Spooky Gray Gerberas"

Oil, 6" x 6" on gesso board.

$100.00 

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Here we have Gerberas in gray tones.  I was hoping to evoke something spookier this time around.

30 in 30 - Day 10 - Halloween Palette

"Halloween Gerberas"

Oil, 6" x 6" on gesso board.

$100.00 

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I seem to be in the Halloween mood so today I thought I would experiment by doing a painting I had done previously of pink gerberas using a Halloween palette of black, gray, purple, green, orange and yellow.  How do you think Halloween translates to the Gerberas?

30 in 30 - Day 9

Oil, 6" x 6" on gesso board.

This is a study I did of a Cripps Pink apple. My goal was to do a quick study with as little color mixing as possible to see if I could capture the essence of apple.

30 in 30 - Day 8

"Skeletea"

Oil, 6" x 6" on gesso board.

$100.00 

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We have an amazing plant nursery and gift place near by called Roger's Gardens.  They go all out with amazing Halloween merchandise.  One of the items I could not resist was the skull and cross bones ice cube tray which I had to try out immediately.  I think adding these ice cubes to green tea makes a perfect Halloween refresher.

30 in 30 - Day 7

"Spooky Landscape"

Ink

Print Available

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Halloween month is right around the corner so to start getting you in the mood I did a Spooky Landscape. This landscape is painted with ink on Yupo paper. I decided to use a Halloween palette of black, gray, orange, green and purple and then go with the flow!

30 in 30 - Day 6

"Hart Park"

Oil, 8" x 10" on linen panel.

$125.00 

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This is another really neat location in Orange County, Hart Park in Orange.  Next to a beautiful mission style swimming facility sat this little shed.  The colors of the shed were nice and bright against the luscious green background.

30 in 30 - Day 5

"Petulant Pitcher"

Oil, 6" x 6" 

$100.00

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This pitcher has taken me about 1 1/2 years to get right. I tried to paint it at a workshop last year and I could never get it to look right.  There was always something about the color or shape that just wasn't working.  I attempted to paint it again several months later, recreating the set up exactly.  Consequently, I replicated the failure as well.  I decided to try it again this week, shaking up some colors and doing a lot of visual editing as I worked.  I think I have finally conquered my nemesis, the petulant pitcher!

30 in 30 - Day 4

"Experimental Calla Lily"

Oil, 6"x6"

$100

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This calla lily was all about the experiment.  Normally I do a photo shoot of what I am going to paint. Inspired by my plein air experiences, I painted this flower from life.  I used a walnut oil based paint by M. Graham which I have been using for plein air and I painted this on a gessoed board instead of a linen board.  Not bad for an experiment.

30 in 30 - Day 3

"Back Bay"

Oil, 8" x 10" on linen panel.

$125.00 

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The Back Bay the inland delta in Newport Beach, California. It connects the Upper Newport Bay with the Newport Harbor. It is a nature reserve home to several species of birds with hiking and biking trails. I have driven past this place for years but this was my first time to stop and consider it as an artist. I look forward to meeting the Back Bay again with my easel many more times.

30 in 30 - Day 2

"Balboa Island at Topaz"

Oil, 8" x 10" on linen panel.

$125.00 

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Welcome to Balboa Island!  This is a wonderful place in Orange County with adorable beach cottages and lots of boats.  The streets are historic and many locals can look at a photo or painting from the area and tell you exactly what street you would have to be on to see that view. For this painting, I was standing at the end of Topaz.  This painting was mostly completed on location, with a few final details added in the studio.  A beautiful and peaceful place to work for the day!

30 in 30 - Day 1

"Irvine Regional Park"

Oil, 8" x 10" on linen panel.

$100.00 

Click here for more information.

Well here we are again with another 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge hosted by palette knife artist, Leslie Saeta. This painting was started au plein air (out of doors in natural light) and completed in the studio. It is a lovely view from the vast and gorgeous Irvine Regional Park. I have recently started studying plein air painting with a fabulous artist, Kim VanDerHoek, and let me tell me you, plein air and studio painting are completely different in approach but they complement each other each other in the end.  When I am in the studio, I make most of my editing choices before I pick up the brush.  When I am outdoors, I am continuously editing what I see in front of me.

Thank you for following me in the challenge once again!

Watercolor Experimenting

I have had a set of watercolors for two years and never opened them. I was way over-thinking getting started.  recently i was reading posts by artist Dreama Tolle Perry who finished leading a two-week workshop in France.  During the trip she posted some watercolor postcards that she painted along with reference photos for those of us who did not go to France.  Yesterday, I reread all the blog posts from the trip and that was what finally got me to open the watercolors and just jump in.  Today i did this watercolor version of a painting I did previously in oil, Red Pear.

Is there anything you have thought about for a long time and are afraid to just jump in and try?

Audrey Completed

I have completed Audrey, the succulent flower that blooms once a year.  What a treasure to catch this in a painting.  This is an 18x24 piece and is much larger than the pieces I have done recently.  It was enormous fun to spread that much color around!  Initially I had planned to do more with the background but after I got all the initial pinkish gray in, I felt like to do any more would detract from the star of the show.

Audrey - a little background

Today I was able to start adding some background to Audrey - laying in some pinkish, gray tones.

Elephant Marching 2x2

So my husband brings me this adorable 2x2 inch canvas he finds at the art supply store and he says he wants me to paint something for him.

"Well, what do you want me to paint for you?" she asks innocently.

"An elephant."

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Oil Painting of Elephant on a 2"x 2" canvas.

Audrey - Add Green

I have added some green to Audrey to leave her a little less exposed. Was that a pun?  With the greenery it is not only about the light but how old or new the greenery is.

Audrey - the Stages so far

First there was this...

Then this...

And then this...

Stay tuned!

Portrait of a Japanese Bobtail

In case you did not get a full sense of Suzu the cat in the last painting, here is her portrait.  She is so adorable, funny and cuddly.  Bodhi the dog is so used to her now, I might go as far to say they are friends. We are so lucky she needed to be adopted just when we needed her.