The Night Shift

24x18

The was derived from a reference photo taken at Toulouse Petit Restaurant on the south slope of Queen Anne Avenue North.

Light a Candle

12x12

I have started a new series featuring Seattle restaurants and bars. This was based on a photo I took at "The Whale Wins" on Stone Way. It was late afternoon and the waitress was lighting the table candles for the dinner crowd to come. I like the ambience of the restaurant; an appealing mix of cottage, contemporary and industrial in mostly wood and white.

Young Wine

6x8

This was painted in response to the DPW Challenge- to paint a vineyard. I opted to stop the vineyard at the foreground, which I can see now make s it rather ambiguous. It could be an orchard as easily as a vineyard. Hmmm...the easiest way to solve that would be with a name change.

White Camisole

6x6

I was so drawn to this young woman's stance. I will probably use her somewhere in a larger painting, but I felt compelled to do a little painting featuring her alone.

Contemplation

This is the painting I created last year  from the same reference photo that I used for "Me Time". It was much smaller- I think 12x9. I have to say,  I like the vertical format. I bet I could paint this same figure many more times and come up with different versions. Maybe I'll do one every year. That could be interesting (to me, anyway).

Me Time

20x24

I have used this photo reference before for a small painting, and I really like the contemplative mood. My previous painting was pretty neutral. This time I had fun with color. 

As Anybody Can See

                                                                         

18x24

Here's another bocci painting. These guys are so expressive. I just love that! So fun to paint....

Close Call

 18x24

Just started painting on oil primed linen panels. Boy, do I like them! They're a bit on the expensive side, but I decided to give it a go anyway. I'm thinking they're worth it. I like he fine texture combined with the firm surface.

Dining in Style

Dining in Style 24x24

Still on the theme of waiters and restaurants. I love the gesture; that's my favorite thing to paint. I now have an idea that I will visit Seattle restaurants soon after they open- before they're too busy, and ask if I can photograph wait staff and bartenders for a series I want to paint. I think it could be a fun project- and, what the heck, may as well stay for happy hour...

Order Up

                                                                      18x14 oil

This is not a (very) little painting, and neither will be the next few I post. I have been painting almost daily, though. This painting and 2 others will be shipped to Edward Montgomery Fine Arts in Carmel, CA as soon as I get them framed.

I have made it my summer project to work hard on strengthening my compositions. To that end I'm spending a lot more time in the planning stages thinking "link values", "create just a few interesting shapes" think in terms of "most", "some" and a "little"(shapes, colors, values), decide whether the painting is to be mostly warm or cool...I try to work all that out before I begin.  It's kind of like a puzzle to make the "picture" work well literally as well as abstractly.

If I were to describe my desired goal in my paintings it would be to express the gesture of the human form loosely and correctly, with the rest of the painting dissolving into abstraction that supports the figure(s). Within all that I want the brushstrokes to be varied and loose, and the rightness of the paint itself to shine. Is that asking too much?

Step it Up

6x6 oil on gesso board

This was painted in response to Daily Paintworks weekly challenge, which was to center a painting around Pantone's color of the year "Radiant Orchid". It's not a color I often use, so I really enjoyed giving it a try. I love how it sets off the lime green.

Basking in the Glow

6x6 oil on gesso board

I had a commission for a painting similar to one I did a year or so ago, so I painted 3 versions of this still life setup. It was an interesting exercise, as I considered possible ways to crop and light the picture.  Below is the painting the client selected. And below that is the third view (with a different bowl).

At Your Service

6x6 oil on Gessoboard

I'm preparing to paint some larger canvases, and this is a study for one of them. My goal is to create lively scenes with lots of movement, and plenty of abstraction to accompany the least amount of realism required to suggest the scene. Can she pull it off? We'll see....

Encounter

6x6 oil on Gessoboard

                                                               
This week's Daily Paintworks Challenge was to use a photo reference, but to quickly isolate the basic shapes from memory. I was intrigued with the heavy lady and wanted to capture her essence, using the other figure only as a supporting element.

I'm Back with "Splat"!

"Splat" 6x6

I'm finally back in my studio and happy to be painting again! I've been in Arizona since mid October, where I have access to a fabulous clay studio. Since I don't have that opportunity when I'm here in Seattle, I take advantage of it down there- and I don't paint. I love both ceramics and painting, so it's a win/win.  I look forward to re-establishing communication with my Daily Paintworks friends!

Below is one example of my ceramics. I will post some more of these in the next few days. I haven't yet figured out how to properly photograph them; they're trickier than paintings! This one is entitled "Just say Om"

I'll Tell You No Lies

30x48

So here's the big one I sent off today. I started it months ago, and then sat on it for a while. It just wasn't working for me, yet there were things I liked about it. You artists out there know how that works! I like it now. It has that blend of realism and painterly abstraction that is my current direction. I'm finding restaurants, cafes, and musical venues to have that ambiguous lighting that allows you to experiment freely with shapes and color, yet maintain some level of believability. 

And So Begins the Day

                                        24x20

I haven't posted in the longest time! We have been busy with a remodel on an apartment building we bought- and other stuff. When I've had a chance to paint, I've been working on bigger paintings. The daily painting regimen seems to have gone by the wayside. I will have to change the name of my blog. My paintings have all of a sudden started "flying off the shelves" at Edward Montgomery Fine Arts in Carmel. Fluke or trend? I don't know, but he needs replacements. This is one I painted last week. I also finished a 30x48 one that I started months ago but couldn't seem to complete to my satisfaction. I think I like it now. I'll post it soon.

Sunset

6x6

I have always said that I wouldn't paint sunsets because photographs can capture their beauty and  paintings can look so trite. However, I began to look at sunsets differently- especially the more raucous ones with clouds and lots of movement. I saw where lively brushwork could create an interpretation that would not be trite and perhaps would capture the sensation of nature's fireworks in the sky. This is the first of what may become a series.

I will be out of town for the coming week, so will not be posting. I hope to have lots of ideas and time to paint when I return!

What a Marvelous Night for a Moondance

6x6

A couple nights ago the moon was marvelously orange and reflected in the water. I did not see a crow there at the time, but thought that he would complete the scene. I also liked the "tie-in" of the little yellow orb of his eye with the big orb of the moon.
         

Coming In for the Day

6x6

This week;s DPW Challenge was to paint water. This took longer than I expected,as I strove to make the water interesting and varied, so there wed a lot of brush strokes and many colors.