178, "Morning Cup", oil, 17" x 14"

Useless Bay Coffee Company in Langley is the local and visitor hang out. Each morning around 9:00 a.m. the "regulars" start to gather. During sunny weather they gather outside, during cold times they go in. As in coffee klatches all around the world they discuss personal issues and solve the world's problems. This painting was a pleasure to paint. I could feel the sunshine and the contentment as I applied the paint. For some reason this painting was on my easel for a long time. During the Summer I was painting outdoors a lot. So when I was in the studio I would study this composition, make small corrections, put on a few strokes of paint. I think I prolonged it because I enjoyed it so much. The Ray for the Day is "Morning Cup."

#143, "Barb's Eye View", oil, 18" x 24"

This view of Langley Village is from the window of my friend's apartment. I really enjoy this different perspective, the bright sunlight, and the shadows. I changed the colors on the buildings to make a more interesting painting. One of the fun things about being an artist is that you can make a more pleasing reality to suit your own sensibilities! The Ray for the Day is "Barb's Eye View".

#137 "Where's Larry?", oil, 6" x 6"

The past 5 days I have been in an intense oil painting workshop with Carol Marine www.carolmarine.blogspot.com . She is generous, lovely, talented, hard working, entrepreneurial, a gifted artist and a gifted teacher. Her lessons were clear. Her demos were breathtaking. There were 18 good painters in the class. We worked hard and I, for one, feel I got a great deal from the demos, the handouts, the lectures and the practice. This posting is the painting I did the first afternoon, after a morning of demo and lecture. We painted on 6" x 6" gessoed Ampersand hardboards. I have never liked painting small, but I truly enjoyed these. The Ray for the Day is "Where's Larry?".

#131 "Lovely Ladies", oil, 24" x 6"

As a child hollyhocks were one of my favorite flowers. They grew in our yard in Portland and I played with the petals and the seed pods. I made lots of things from them but mostly I remember making lovely ladies with gracious skirts out of the petals and necklaces with the seeds. As it happens there is a magnificent stand of hollyhocks just outside Studio 106. This Summer I have gazed at them, photographed them dozens of times, made a few lovely ladies, and now I have painted them. This painting is on a 2" deep cradled board, so the sides are also painted. They just called for a tall skinny painting. I have another started on my easel. The Ray for the Day is "Lovely Ladies".

#128 "Brookhaven Morning", oil, 18" x 24"

Dear Sweet Patient Blogsters, Even while being in the middle of moving I have eked out some small bits of time to paint. I guess it helps to preserve my sanity. I have 3 pieces to share with you over the next few days. This one is number 11 of the Langley Series. There is also a number 12, which means I will produce a calendar of Langley scenes that I have painted over the past year. This one is another scene from my walk from our condo to Studio 106. These homes are called Brookhaven and are very sweet low income housing. I'm so proud of Langley that these homes are right next door to downtown! I seem to be channeling Wayne Thibaud with these paintings. It is very fun at the end of the painting to add a bit of color here and there. The Ray for the Day is "Brookhaven Morning".

#111 "Cookie Jars", oil on cradled board, 8"x8"

Well, I've been painting but I haven't been blogging. Holidays, family stuff, putting up Christmas decorations, taking down Christmas decorations, trips to Langley. Life. So I'll catch you up with my latest paintings. "Double, tall, decaf....." got me started on a small cafe series. All the paintings are 8"x8" on cradled board and reflect something about our coffee culture which is huge, especially here in the Northwest. Incidentally, I got kicked out of a couple of stores for taking photos of food. The coffee shops were pretty cool, especially when I introduced myself and told them what I was doing with the photos. Big grocery stores really don't like you taking photos of their food, though. I loved painting this little painting because I knew I couldn't paint glass so all I could do was paint the shapes and values as I saw them. Miraculously.....I ended up with glass cookie jars. The Ray for the Day is "Cookie Jars". SOLD

#105 "Sun Garden" , oil, 20" x 16"

Oil painting is so much fun! It has been another fabulous day of painting. Jacqui and Joanne joined me in my studio today. We each went into our own worlds, broke occasionally for critiques and certainly for lunch and art talk and chocolate. I'm continuing my love affair with Langley. The streets of Langley are graced with extraordinary gardens. This one is just outside The Braeburn Cafe. The morning sun on that turquoise wall nearly makes we want to lick it. It makes a great background for this delicious, sunny garden. I guess I am starting a series. A Sweet Langley Suite of paintings. The Ray for the Day is "Sun Garden".

#101 "Blaaack Cawfee..." oil, 12" x 16"

Guess what? No painting is easy. I thought I would just do an easy little painting after struggling with the complexities of portraits. This simple seeming composition went through some very interesting stages along the way. The background color has been difficult to photograph. In reality it is a very lime green. I like the lime against the purple and the purple against the peach. I find the various circles and their placement quite interesting. This little coffee cup turned out to be quite an abstract painting. The Ray for the Day is "Blaaack Cawfee....".

#91 "Proud to be Irish", oil, 14" x 11"

The two day portrait painting workshop with Michelle Usibelli was fun and productive. The first day we had a model and the second day we worked from photos. I promised I would publish the good, the bad and the ugly (not being a portrait painter), but the painting from the first day was both bad and ugly. I may work on it and publish it later. However, I am pleased with this portrait I did of my Dad who is 92 and proud of his Irish blood. (I think I may give it to him for Father's Day). The two days simply flew by. Painting is definitely my flow time. We had lunches in the sun in Michelle's fabulous garden, feeding our senses and our soul. A delightful two days. The Ray for the Day is "Proud to be Irish".

#89 "Study of Truck", 12" x9", oil

After a very busy and fun weekend out of town, arriving home late last night, I arrived in painting class this morning tired and without a clue about what I wanted to paint. As I left my studio I grabbed a couple of interesting photos I took last Summer of this wonderful old truck. I have done a couple of watercolors of it and knew I would oil paint it sometime. Liana saw the photo and said "make a small study of that, and prepare to make a major painting from it". What a great idea! I thoroughly enjoyed designing and painting this little study. It will be interesting to use this study to help me paint a larger (20" x 16"0 painting. The Ray for the Day is "Study of Truck".

#88 "Boss Bucket", 12" x 9"

Today I am beginning to seriously clean out my studio to prepare it for the Kirkland Artist Studio Tour in which takes place in just over a week, May 8 and 9. While cleaning I noticed this little painting up on my easel which I have forgotten to post. I enjoy painting everyday objects. I found this little boss bucket in the back room of Liana's teaching space. As soon as I saw it I knew I would paint it. I'm finished with the food subject for now, and am thinking of every day items like tools and tape dispensers, all those little things we really need and take for granted. We'll see what else I find lying about the studio that will become paintings. I don't imagine I'll be posting many painting for awhile as the KAST is rather all consuming. The Ray for the Day is "Boss Bucket".

#87 "Study of Momo", 20" x 15", oil

On day 3 of the workshop we had just 3 hours to paint this pose, so I consider this a study rather than a finished painting. Since the workshop leader would not allow us to take photos I have nothing to work from other than my imagination. I have worked on it some pumping up the colors. I love the face, the skin color, and the glasses in this painting. I also really like my color mixes and choices. One of the most important things I left the workshop with was the importance of paint mixing. I am now mixing many of the colors I anticipate using before I start to paint. I mix warm and cool versions of the hues I choose. Painting is decision making every moment. The tricky part is engaging the decision making brain as well as the intuitive brain at the same time. Or at least in rapid succession. Painting is definitely good brain exercise. The Ray for the Day is "Study of Momo".

#86 "Rachel's Back", 20" x 16", oil

For her afternoon poses Rachel took off her top, donned a long skirt, and gave us her lovely back to paint. Again, this was two sittings of 3 hours each over two days. Trying to paint what I see. See clearly. And still keep looking at the painting so that I give the painting what it needs. These are my tasks. Among others. I tried to keep telling myself painting Rachel's back was no different than painting a tea pot or an old rusty truck. It's a matter of painting the shapes. Just the shapes. Not a back. Not a skirt. Just shapes. No wonder making art can keep a person occupied and obsessed for an entire lifetime. The Ray for the Day is "Rachel's Back".

#84 "Cat Nap", 11" x 14"

Barb's home is old and full of character, beautiful things, and interesting crannies. Yesterday Joanne and I painted interiors at Barb's house. Happily it was sunny all day so we got these wonderful splashes of sunlight spilling on the walls and surfaces. We painted all day, Joanne in the living room and Barb in the bathroom painting a claw footed tub. I chose this nook in the master bedroom, and so did Pablo the cat. Miraculously he stayed all day as well. He did change his position every hour or so, but I captured the pose I liked the most. My favorite part of this painting is the sunlight coming through Pablo's ears. The Ray for the Day is "Cat Nap".
SOLD

#83 "Hats Off to the Ladies", 12" x 9"

Wayne Thiebaud, along with Richard Diebenkorn, have always been favorite painters of mine. They were friends, and their work informed one another. Today in class, while I was painting these doughnuts, Liana came around and said "Theibaud it!". I looked at a book she had and discovered some of the ways he treats edges that give life and sparkle to a painting. I feel I have found the beginning of a way to borrow from Thiebaud that will also become part of my own voice in oils. I'm thrilled!! The Ray for the Day is "Hats Off to the Ladies".

#82 "Spring!", 24" x 12", oil

Today was a typical Seattle Spring day.....sun, cold, warm, hail and sun again. But the tulips are up! A sure sign of Spring. They are always fun to paint. We were in Joanne's studio. We painted, we listened to music, we had a lovely lunch and then a break for awesome lemon cake. All the while painting these harbingers of Spring. For me the glass vase is the diva. I enjoyed painting the colors and shapes I saw without thinking "vase"........and voila! a glass vase appeared. Such fun. The Ray for the Day is "Spring!"
SOLD

#79 "Sunflower and Cinnamon Roll 2" oil, 14" x 11"

Even though I have a terrible cold and feel quite awful today, I could not resist going to my oil painting class to finish this painting. I was so curious to see what I would do, and to hear what Liana thought I should do. We were both on the same beam. I thought the cup, roll, and flower all looked somehow unrelated. (Refer to # 77 to compare) The solution was to punch up some of the color, make sure that some color from each item is reflected somehow in each of the other items as well as the background and warm things up in general. Also, I need to practice leaving color notes alone after I have put them down. There is such a desire to smooth everything out. I paid special attention to warms and cools, attempting to have warms and cools throughout the painting. Also, my original intention was to include the crossword puzzle, but chickened out the first time around. This time I decided I would like to try to include it. I like it. I do a crossword puzzle every morning. The Ray for the Day is "Sunflower and Cinnamon Roll 2".
SOLD

#77 "Sunflowers and Cinnamon Roll" oil, 14" x 11"

This morning I went to my first oil painting class taught by Liana Bennett. I am thrilled. I think I have found my oil painting community. I know a number of people in the group, and there are many very good painters. Liana is a knowledgeable, tough, and kind teacher. I look forward to working with her. I am continuing my food paintings, so bought a cinnamon roll from the shop next door and made this set up. The class is just 3 hours long, so making the set up, getting my stuff out, and painting this little painting felt like a big rush. Today Liana and I were getting to know one another she needed to see how I go about making a painting. I needed to know how she teaches. She made some great suggestions. This painting is not really finished. I will take it back next monday and learn how she goes about finishing a painting that has gotten to this point. To me it looks like 3 separate objects. I look forward to making them work together better, and to seeing how Liana would go about teaching me how to do that. Stay tuned for the finished product. The Ray for the Day is "Sunflowers and Cinnamon Rolls".

#75 "Cupcake", oil, 16" x 12"

Barb gave me these amazing amaryllis bulbs for Christmas. It has been total joy watching the green stalks grow and grow, then the buds begin to bulge, finally these amazing sensual velvety blossoms bursting forth. They sit on our dining room table, and I have watched them day by day since Christmas! When I went to Mexico for 3 weeks I hated to leave the amaryllis. Amazingly it was in full glorious blossom when I returned. Barb came to paint with me. When I told her we were going to paint the amaryllis she stopped at Starbuck's and got us coffee and also this lovely little red velvet cupcake, a perfect complement to the still life. We spent a delightful day together in my studio painting. The Ray for the Day is "Cupcake".

#74 "Can She Bake a Cherry Pie....", oil, 14"x11"

We painted at Joanne's studio yesterday. She had made this luscious cherry-licious set up. We had a very short time to paint (about 3 1/2 hours including setting up, cleaning up and a lunch break) and since it is in my nature to paint all prima (all in one go, wet into wet), I put this cherry pie on the canvas board very quickly. It tells me that I am gaining some confidence with oil paints. In a couple of days I will leave for Mexico for 3 weeks. Since I am in a bit of a flow with these oil paintings I sort of hate to break my stride. But. Hey. Sunshine, sea breezes, swimming pool. I think it will be okay. I won't be taking oil paints with me, but will take watercolors. If I do any painting I will stay with my food theme and.....I'll post it. The Ray for the Day is "Can She Bake a Cherry Pie.....".
SOLD