back to Italy!

I have been aiming to return to Italy and was finally able to do that this fall, with my friend and co-painter- and traveler Maeve. We signed up for a week workshop in the countryside near Florence, which we determined is really just the right amount of time to get warmed up! The very first morning we got up early to paint, and what met our gaze was almost a complete white out! It turned out to be a very nice environment for painting, and, yes, we used more than just white!

See a short video of our stay https://youtu.be/CTG8DHxEO0g

These paintings are all “alla prima”, meaning they were painted all at once on location and have not been touched since. I am planning to work on them more, but here they are in their raw state. The very long one was an experiment of painting on a rolled-up linen ground, I may not be able to get the kinks out of it, and it’s very rough. You may see the occasional bug on the surface.

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sky abstract

Lately, I’ve been wanting more air, water, more fluid merges between colors and shapes. I sometimes just want the edges to disappear. Though this is not there, and it’s just a starting painting, it is going in the right direction at least, and I am hoping to be able to complete it with soft edges.

face 54 – iPad drawing

This one was done in Autodesk’s Sketchbook Pro, which I hear is no longer available in the app store. My stylus accidentally went through the laundry, but it seems to be no worse for wear. One feature I wish I had was pressure-sensitivity.

Jerry – portrait

face 53

this could be one of my portrait series (eventually I will get to 500 with luck) — co-painter Jerry Turner donned a wacky expression while wearing a painted-on moustache. I wanted to make the painting match in wackiness. It ended up more realistic than I thought it would, but I can always try again!

Maybe this should be called “Jerry Turner Overdrive”!

Hot off the easel—sold!

Painting in my back yard with cascades of flowers can be fun too! The nasturtiums were growing with leaves the size of dinner plates, and the ever-present morning glory was being, well, glorious, so I had to try a flower painting. As it’s not my usual subject, I had no idea if it would become something I liked, but I kept some of it graphic, and for a very fast painting, I think it turned out well.

Nasturtiums and Morning Glories grow wild

mosaic of my kitty cat

While out in my garden, I unearthed a small mosaic memorial I made for my cat about 10 years ago.

Open Studios – new paintings

June 6, 7, 13, 14, 11 am – 6 pm.   55 Harrison street, Oakland.    www.markethallartists.com

I knew the two ships I painted a few years ago were going to be moved out to other ports, so I went down to Alameda Island with my camera to see if I could capture them again. I happened to get there on the very day they were being moved! I counted myself super lucky, and stuck around to watch & photograph what I thought would be a relatively quick process. 4 hours later, they were gone! I got to hang around with some of the sailers, both women and men, from nearby ships who were happy to see them leave and in high humor. One of the ships is named the Algol. I didn’t stick to “reality” with the colors, as that grey-painted steel can be pretty dreary.

more about the Algol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Algol_%28T-AKR-287%29

 

portrait in pencil

A portrait of a friend’s grandbaby, anonymized to protect the innocent! I still love graphite as a main medium. It’s so malleable that shading is pure fun. Of course, it comes along with it’s smudging capabilities which end up in unwanted places — nothing a coat of paint can’t fix! This will go into the upcoming Pro Arts East Bay Open Studio, June 6&7, and 13&14. http://www.proartsgallery.org/ebos/

The T has a blank in the middle — what should it say?

Baby Armadillo