Painting Day with Mary and Donna


I know I say it every month, but I love my paint day with these women.
I started a very large 24"x36" oil on canvas. Mainly I got the sketch done. Seven people, part of a wedding party at the entrance to La Villita. October 2005 I was leaving the River Art Show and saw this flower girl. I stopped and took several pictures of her and the folks behind her. I've pieced together my favorite images of each of those people as a grouping. There's a stone wall behind them and a brick path they're standing on. Very ambitious for me. If feel like I've walked off into thin air, actually.
Didn't go to Austin for the Austin Pastel Society meeting last night after all. I've taken on so much lately and my house had piled up. Flylady.com has helped so much in the keeping of my home, but I'd really slacked off this last week or so, with the new pastel class and all. It's better now. Not back to snuff, but better. Laundry and dishes are caught up and the table almost clear.
Now off to Mo's dr's appt and then patients in the early afternoon.

Outdoor Still Life



This is a 5" x 7" oil on panel. I did sand it lightly before painting this time. May have helped. These planters were in Castroville at the state park bed and breakfast last year. Not sure what the cement slabs were that they were on. There was no door, so they weren't steps. I just loved the way the light was hitting them as it came around the corner of the building. Morgan says she took the photo. I think I did. Never mind. It made for a nice reference for this little painting, whoever took it.

I've started another cat painting, but it'll have to wait until after the first pastel class which is today!

Sunday Morgan and Karen and I were in Karen's car when we were hit by a car driven by a young woman who ran the red light. We're ok. Karen's back and neck are ouchy. I'm a little stiff, but but feeling very lucky. The car didn't fare so well. It's likely totalled. Patty came and picked us up and got us home. Don't you know that she was a welcome sight!

Little Still Life Paintings.



These are 5"x7" oil paintings on panel. I love the smooth surface, but might be a trifle too smooth. Will sand them down a bit for the next ones. I sure enjoyed painting these.
This morning I scooped up some bargains at Herweck's annual art supply sale. Still big bucks, but more for them.
Tomorrow is my day at River Art Gallery and will take several paintings to display while I'm there.
Next week the first pastel class is on Tuesday at the Coppini. Wednesday I paint with Donna Good and Mary Shepard. Thursday is the Austin Pastel Society meeting. Feels good to be filling my days with all things art again. Please leave comments if you visit here. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm talking to myself again!

Double monochromatic oil portrait


I had fun with this one. This photo of it isn't so great, but I really like the portrait. 16"x20" commission.

The woman commissioning it is doing it for her parents.

Today I'm shipping off another to Minnesota. Great folks I met at the River Art Show.

Now! What am I going to paint for ME??? Good question. The woman from Minnesota sent me a great photo of a little flower girl from a wedding in La Villita she took while here. Love the little face. Maybe that one?

Will begin teaching pastel classes at Coppini

October 24th I'll begin teaching pastel classes at Coppini Academy each Tuesday from 12:30-3:30 p.m. I think I'll really enjoy this group of people. The ones who've signed up so far draw very well already and will be exploring a new medium. There's room for as many as five more students, so if you're interested, give me a shout.

Today I did a work shift of watching the Coppini Gallery for two hours, then got to watch a painter, Kaye Franklin, do a demo of a still life. Very nice.

Tonight my book group met and we talked about Virginia Woolf's "Orlando." Fun discussion.

Whew! What a Week!

Well, this has been a wild week. I won First Place Pastels at the Coppini Academy at the awards ceremony on Wednesday, with "Morning Flight." Nice check came with that. Then this weekend was the River Art Show and I had a booth doing monochromatic (brown/sepia tones) oil portraits. I was busy the whole weekend and met some great folks while I painted them or someone in their family. I also won First Place Pastels (or rather "Other, Works on Paper") there, too, with "Christina's Joy." Nice check came with that, too. I'm grateful.

Karen was incredible for helping me load and set up, take payments, write receipts, pack up and load it all back into her soccer mom van again and then unload it at my house. I swear I saw wings popping out the top of her shirt by the time we were done.
Kim Roberti (http://kimroberti.com/) and her beloved, Bob Posey, were my houseguests this weekend as she had a booth at the River Art Fair, too. She did super well, too, selling several paintings. Bob and Karen shared the camaraderie of being the appreciated "roadies." Angels both. Kim has two still life paintings on eBay right now. Aren't they beautiful?: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZjaycee490

This week is about getting my taxes done by the extension date of next weekend. Sigh.
NaNoWriMo starts again November 1st and I'd like to participate.
http://www.nanowrimo.org/
Check into it and join me in writing 50,000 words in the month of November. I had a blast last year and am looking forward to going that special sort of crazy again this year.

Ring Around The Rosie



This is how I spent my evening: an 11"x14" oil done with a palette knife on canvas panel. I did a larger, pink and blue version of it last year about this time. I like this one in its quieter colors.

Forgot this one...

5" x 7" on unstretched canvas I did last night. Kind of sweet, right?

Four small paintings






Ok, I stayed up late last night. These cats are 6"x6"on Gessobord (love that smooth surface) and the little vase was started in a workshop two years ago and found again today... so I finished it up. It's about 6" x 8" on unstretched canvas.

I've got a cat, Joel, living with me right now, sort of on a trial basis. He's lived under Karen's house for his short life of a year and a half. She has a dog unfriendly to cats and has worried about Joel, so I brought him home last week. He turns out to be a lap kitty. A house cat who's waited for fulfillment. I have to shut him in the studio at night or he walks on my head in the middle of the night, but otherwise he's been easy. Sigh. So much for "never."

Three more portraits



This is another monochromatic oil done yesterday with very warm brown reds. May be too warm for future paintings.

This is the second one I did yesterday. I worked with water soluble oils and they dried too fast, I think. Kind of like working with watercolor, actually.

This was done from a sitting today. Each of these took an hour or less. I want to feel confident this weekend at the River Art Show when I do them for the public. Please come down and keep me company at the Assembly Hall in La Villita on Saturday and Sunday. I'll be just left of the stage area.