Demo at Artisan Santa Fe

I feel like I've been off the planet, instead of on vacation--with Christmas coming on the heels of our two-week Caribbean cruise!

I am busy creating pieces in preparation for my free oil stick demonstration, "Oil Sticks: The Secret to Brushless Oil Paintings,"at Artisan Santa Fe on Feb. 4th (1:30 p.m.).  I do hope lots of artists will check out this lesser-known approach to oil.

I will also be offering a three-day class on using oil sticks at my SpiritBird Studio in High Rolls, April 18-20.  Cost is only $200 for the three days, and includes some supplies.  Space is limited, so register early!

This is my latest piece, "Canyon Maple," 12x12.  I love how the oil stick and palette knife application work together to bring different textures to the piece!

Class Schedule 2012:

March 24, 2012  Painting Floral Landscapes   SpiritBird Studio, High Rolls, NM

April 14, 2012    Small Jewels (3”x4” to 6”x6” paintings) SpiritBird Studio, High Rolls, NM

April 18-20         Brush-free Oil Painting     SpiritBird Studio, High Rolls, NM

May 11, 2012     Paintings Irises (on location)   Hondo Iris Farm, Hondo, NM

June 18-22, 2012 Creative Composition    SpiritBird Studio, High Rolls, NM

Correcting Nature

Voltaire once said, "The secret of the arts is to correct nature."  At the very least, this applies most especially to painting landscape.  This painting of irises may not correct nature, but it certainly interprets freely! ("Crazy" 16x20 oil)

Signs of Spring!

Daffodils offer a glowing spark in the gloom of even the cloudiest day.  My heart sings when I see them.  "Hooray!  Signs of spring are at hand!"


These little daffys are my tribute to the hope of spring arriving.  "Signs of Spring," 7x5 oil on board.  These were purchased and didn't last long.  My own garden will soon be a celebration of yellow.

Experimentation

I have been playing with a different approach to painting, using a brush and more medium than I usually do, with a smoother application and a few more lost edges.

Here are some pics of the stages, plus a couple of details, to give an idea of what it looks like.  The one on the left is an early stage, with some of the "drawing" still showing.  I'd intended to add palette knife paint, but was too charmed by what was happening.

 Here are some details:

The final product, "Allegro," (14x11 oil on canvas) pleases me very much. Let me know what you think.

Attitude

Quote for today: "The first thing I do in the morning is to make my bed and while I am making up my bed I am making up my mind as to what kind of a day I am going to have." Robert Frost

Today, I really have to choose my attitude. It's tax time and I am reminded that a right-brained artist needs MORE THAN a great deal of help to keep accurate records. Driving my sweet, left-brained husband crazy is not my intent, but it seems to be what I've done. I now have ANOTHER New Year's resolution: to keep more easily found records of my mileage, expenses, etc., for my art business. Every year, I think I'm doing this and every year . . . . Sigh.

The latest of my mini paintings, which I painted as a painting-a-day, has attitude! "Cactus Flower," (5x5 gallery wrapped oil) was underpainted first in brush, but then I thought better of it and used palette knife to restate the strokes. As is common, I loved the black gesso background, so I painted it with black mixed with red to temper it. The result is pretty fun and colorful. Any comments would be appreciated.

This would make a great piece of art for a bathroom or any other small space that needs brightening up! (PS--You can own this little gem for $100, plus shipping. Just let me know.)