If you have been wanting to add any of my little (or big!) paintings to your collection and wondering how — I now have a convenient spot to find and purchase them on Daily Paintworks. They accept PayPal, and I can ship anywhere in the U.S., and maybe even further away once I research that. If you are outside of the U.S., please contact me and we’ll see how that could work.
This distant view of Pontessieve Village was one I started while on my last trip to Italy. There were a lot of foggy, overcast days, but they sometimes make surprisingly interesting moods. This day had started out with a complete whiteout, but then lightened a bit as the day went on.
You can buy this little painting on Daily Paintworks, it is featured today https://bit.ly/3uhZLEM
While I often paint using a limited palette this young lady required more colors. She is so fair and blonde, her features become just mildly prominent. I like to try to get a feeling for the person while painting, and, to me, her face seems to shine kindness, fairness, even-temperedness, and I’m sure she is all of those things!
alla prima – over another painting. why does this work more frequently than when painting on a blank canvas?? Maybe it’s more freeing, since you feel like the original, no matter how hard you worked on it, wasn’t working and so whatever you do will be better than ditching the canvas? It still needs a little work, but I like the rough and fresh quality of it, so hope not to ruin that. Wish me luck!
a carpenter from Elk, California who has worked on boat projects as well. The right paper helps! This portrait was easier to work on than the last one. I was wanting to try lots of detail in the hair, but set the drawing up too small for that.
Weekend Warriors – 2-day portrait workshop. Randy is a great teacher – relaxed but informative and supportive. I find his work inspiring, wonderful images capturing a feeling of a place without being slavishly detailed, and lots of luscious brushwork.
These are two sketches and a full-day portrait which I did over this intensive weekend. I scrubbed one. It’s good to throw paintings over sometimes, it makes it easier to abandon those which aren’t going in the intended direction. Don’t hang on – move forward!!
a half day portrait
30-minute morning sketch
Great model all suited up with a pristine suit of the 1920’s!
While painting along the Russian River recently, I headed out to the coast with a couple of friends, specifically to go to Goat Rock. It had been predicted to be gloriously sunny, but in reality it was socked-in, dense coastal fog. We continued towards the rock, but couldn’t see it until getting right up close to it! (This is a large rock!!) My friends headed back inland to Bodega, but I waited for the fog to clear. The visibility actually went down as denser fog rolled in, so I decided to try painting something small and nearby. I found a nice jumble of lichen-covered rocks near the road. On one, a bush’s dry twigs curling around like an enveloping hand, with tiny, red-leafed brambles amongst caught my eye (hey, writers can take liberties too!). Loosely following the form of the objects, I followed my whims and tried to enjoy the process. It wasn’t cold, there were few people around, it was pleasant. The painting is almost evenly divided between fog and land, and appears black and white, but there are actually colors! I like the idea of going a bit abstract, though it may be sort of dark…?
I could have posted about this sooner, but I’ve been super-busy with family in town, and, getting ready for these events!
Scene on the Straight —after a year hiatus, has returned. It is in an all-day (10 am to 5 pm) event which raises funds to hire underserved youth to restore regional wildlife habitat areas. A good cause. I am participating with the Joules, a local group of plein-air painters. Scene on the Straight website. I will have oil paintings and 6 miniatures (watercolors). Located at Martinez Regional Shoreline, Martinez. ONE DAY ONLY!
Silver City Mine
a mini-watercolor
Valona Paintout 2014 —an invitational paint-out event. What is a paint-out, you ask? A paint-out is a challenge to produce a painting (or 3!) in a specified period of time, in this case, a week. The canvasses or paper are stamped by the gallery at check-in, and you are set on the loose in a certain area to capture something about that locale. There is an upcoming history article about Strendzel Hall coming up, so I tried my hand at making an old, fairly plain-looking building which has been through numerous remodels, look interesting. The C&H Sugar factory is located in Crockett, which sort of encompasses the old town of Valona, and it has many industrial but some beautiful structures. I heard from a local that these giant tanks topped by a continuous tin warehouse was a steam generator for the sugar plant. I thought they were kind of awesome. (Ok, I know my taste is sometimes odd!). This was a funny view, too, because of the proximity of this quaint little Victorian house which has a tiny, octagonal room hanging out over the street. (other people are odd too! Would you build right next to a steam generator of this size??)
Reception Saturday evening 6 to 8 pm, at the Epperson Gallery 1400 Pomona Street, Valona, CA 94525
I am getting excited about open studios — coming up June 7 & 8, and 14 & 15, with special preview evening Friday June 6th from 6 to 10 pm. Here are two recent, small paintings from the Mendocino area at Jughandle Beach.
Micaela Marsden 