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!
Little Still Life Paintings.
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.
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.
Another one
This is the second of the monochromatic portrait sketches. It's not exactly right yet (the whisps of hair in front still bother me) but I like it.
Monochrome oil portrait.
This was an experiment to see if I could do a monochromatic oil sketch in under an hour. It really did look fine at 30 minutes. I fiddled with it another half hour, though and have fiddled further since I took the photo. (Love the alliteration.) I'm thinking I want to do many, many of these. Pretty fun stuff.
Delivered 6 paintings Friday- Coppini and RAC
Thank you all for your title suggestions! I went with "Look, Daddy" but loved the idea of "Treasure Hunters," too.
I took three paintings, two pastels and an oil, (Morning Flight, Caldo and Railroad Man) to Coppini for the Fall Exhibition. I'll get a postcard to say which one/s got in and which ones to pick up again. The reception/awards presentation will be Wednesday, October 4th.
I took another three, two oils and a pastel, (Look Daddy, Apple Reflected, and Flexibility) to Regional Artist Consortium for the airport show, themed "Reflections." I'll get an email saying which got in. I hated to leave my paintings there... folks were just leaning them against the walls, no cardboard or padding between. I get so cranky when my frames are nicked and scratched.
Tomorrow is my day at River Art Gallery so I might try to get a pastel (or two?) done today to take there.
I have a patient in a half hour and I still need to dress. At least there's no commute!
Finish of large pastel... title?
Ok, it's framed, so I guess it's done. I added a little starfish behind the boy purely for composition... trying to make sense of all that space there. My camera punches up blues, I think. I mean, it's blue, but not quite this intense. This is a pastel, 22"x28" framed in an ornate gold frame under non-glare glass.
Now if only I knew what to call this. "Shell"? "Treasure"?
Any ideas? I'd need to know by noon tomorrow, if anyone thinks of something better.
Father and Son on the Beach
This isn't quite done, but has come a long way since Tuesday's start. It was my day to paint with Mary Shepard and it took three drawings until I got the figures where they made some sense. I didn't paint Wednesday, but did more Thursday and again today. I hope to finish it tonight and frame it tonight, but whether for the airport show or the Coppini show, I'm still not sure. I'll post a finished image as soon as I'm able.
I love that the baby's holding a shell he's found.
Second of two little paintings.
Actually, I painted this first- Saturday morning - and the little girls on the beach in the afternoon. Then we had game night that evening! Very nice day, no? Wet brushes all day and dominos with friends at night. This painting is 9" x 12" on canvas panel.
Two new small oils
This one of the little girls on the beach is 8"x10" in oil on canvas panel. I took the reference pictures in June on Mustang Island.
Blogger seems to be having trouble right now so I'll try uploading the other image later.
Yesterday I attended a demo by Steve DaLuz at Coppini Academy and urged my sister Patty to become a member. She did... and also was voted Artist of the Month right off the bat! She put up her pastel painting of her middle child, Jake, and it got the most votes. I was so proud.
Tomorrow is Paint Day with Mary Shepard. Donna is off fly fishing in Montana this month.
New still life and finished up Harry
Finally. I just took a whole evening to paint. Felt great. Took the photos for this still life last year. I did several paintings from that day last year, but this was one I hadn't thought I'd do. Loved it after all. 11"x14" oil on stretched canvas.
The one of Harry was a quick study I did last year from a photo session we did, just to see if the painting would work. I cleaned up the computer room/oft-time studio today and decided this painting deserved some attention. I still want to do a "real" painting of him in this pose as well as in some of the others with the "cat's cradle" string. 
16" x 20" oil on stretched canvas.
Finishes
This is a little 11x14 still life oil on stretched canvas which I started last week with my painting buddies Mary and Donna. The portrait is one I started as a demo in Marble Falls during the portrait workshop.
Unrelated but fun- I've found myself in the throes of teaching old dogs new tricks. Literally. I'm involved with someone who has not one, not two, but three dogs, two of them large- none of whom have been asked to behave until now. They're old. I'm old. Therefore I'm the newest fan of The Dog Whisperer. I'm trying to watch all the reruns as fast as I can. I've ordered the DVDs through NetFlix, we've ordered his book. We're doing dog school at Rob Cary every Sunday. We're taking brisk, purposeful walks through their neighborhood without great straining at the leash. We can now enter and leave the house without them trying to muscle past us at the door in effort to escape. The barking has subsided. We reward the right behavior and correct the wrong. Wow. Just call me Pack Leader. Ok, Co-Pack Leader. Either way, it's good.
Workshop was great... posting progress on demo painting.
The workshop in Marble Falls was terrific. Eleven participants and all worked their hearts out. I was immensely proud.
This is an in-progress painting I started at the workshop as a demo. I've worked a bit more on it since, but it's not done. I like where it's going, though. I'll post the finished version soon.
Progress on the pastel of the little boy
Worked on this portrait of this sweet fellow a couple of days ago. I'm liking how it's coming.
Featured artist of the month in Del Rio Gallery
Hi all,
Just wanted to let you know I have 18 paintings at the Lee-Bunch Studio Gallery in Del Rio, TX for the month of July and will be there for the First Friday Art Walk July 7th. If you're anywhere around there then, come visit me!
Workshop info and Austin Pastel Society end-of-year party/meeting
Spent last evening up in Austin with the wonderful artists who've been the most supportive in my efforts to relaunch myself artistically these last three years. I took on the duties of Membership chair this year. It was good to see everyone. Passed out information about the portrait workshop I'm giving in Marble Falls next month. Here's a recap:
I'm offering a two-day portrait workshop in Marble Falls, Texas, on July 13-14. That's a Thursday and Friday from 9:30-4:00 each day with a lunch break. Marble Falls is less than an hour west of Austin and an hour and a half north of San Antonio. The location is a great Guild-owned gallery on Main Street, with a large workshop space. I was asked to do a pastel portrait demo for the Guild in mid-May and was impressed by the enthusiasm in the membership. Should be a fun group!
The cost of the workshop is $100.
The workshop is for artists who work in either pastel or oil who'd like to expand their ability to paint portraits. Some basic drawing skills are expected and a familiarity with the medium you'll use in the workshop.
Supplies:
Participants should bring the medium with which you'd like to work, an easel and TV trays or other surface for your supplies.
If pastel, bring as many sticks as you can. I'll bring extra palettes to fill in the gaps of participants' sets for the duration of the workshop. You can work on any medium-toned pastel surface, sanded surfaces would be best.
If oils, just bring all their usual colors. I'm not particular about brushes. A variety is good, of course. Filberts are great. The surface should be as smooth as possible. A fine-weave linen stretched canvas, or Gessobord or Claybord by Ampersand would be good. Even a gessoed masonite panel sanded between coats.
An old rug or dropcloth should be brought to put under each easel. At least 3 painting surfaces should be brought to the workshop. No smaller than 11" x 14", and no bigger than 16" x 20". Pastel surfaces do not need to be cut down to 16 x 20, but simply marked out with those dimensions.
I'll provide the photos to work from, and a model for the last part of the second day. I'm going to emphasize value MUCH more than particular colors used.
Feel free to contact me with any questions.
I hope you can make it!
Susan
210-655-3590
www.susancarlin.com
A new pastel portrait start
This is such a fun story. Last year I'd been saying to someone that I'd love to see one of the portraits I did back in the 70's. And a couple of days later I got an email from a woman in Arkansas I'd done a portrait for in 1979! It was of her daughter, then four. Now the daughter has a four year old son and she was wanting a portrait of him to hang with the daughter's portrait. Cool, no? Well, I got the photos of the original and the little boy a few days ago and got to spend some hours working on the start yesterday. Still much to go, but thought I'd post the "so far" here.
Yesterday I had my one-day-a-month painting with my friends Mary and Donna, this time out at Mary's Hill Country home. It's so great to get that time together. Mary and Donna worked on watercolor paintings and I did this pastel. The conversations are always expansive and thought-deepening.
I'm a lucky duck. I got to join in on a five-day workshop with Kimberly Dow in Corpus Christi last week for the last two days. She has a way with paint that intrigues me. She works on a smooth surface with thin layers of paint in a way which feels familiar to this old pastel painter. This is what I managed to do in those two days.... so it's not done by any means, but I learned a LOT. Thought I'd post it anyway.
I'm going to give a two-day portrait workshop in Marble Falls, TX (in oil or pastel) on July 13-14th, Thursday and Friday. $100. Contact me for more details if you're interested.
susan@susancarlin.com
Marble Falls Demonstration
These images are from last Thursday when I did a demonstration of a pastel portrait from a live model for the Highland Arts Guild in Marble Falls. What a gracious group! We've decided on a two-day workshop in July- the 13th and 14th- for portraiture either in oil or pastel. $100. If you can join us, let me know!
Completed painting
These children's mother and I have declared this painting finished. I really like how it turned out. In the original photo the children are far apart, the grassy area goes way on back before the road and the trees and hills beyond are a minor area behind. We've reordered reality to put the children in relationship to each other and to celebrate the West Texas landcape.
Now it's allowed to dry before varnishing, and that will dry before packaging and shipping North.
Progress on the dandelion painting/ Opening
I spent the day with my friends Mary and Donna painting today and got further along on this commissioned painting. At least all the canvas is covered now. Now I can begin painting details.
Donna painted a large watercolor of flowers along a fence and Mary worked on an oil landscape with water and a bridge. What a pleasure to have that time with them!
Tomorrow is the opening at the new RAC gallery. I have two paintings in the show. Everyone's welcome to come: 606 Embassy Oaks, Suite 400, San Antonio. 6-9 pm.
Big Mom News
We knew she was better than we'd been given to expect Mom could be. But today at her appt. with the cardiologist the miracle was confirmed. She's back to normal. They can't explain it. He said that when she was in the hospital and they measured her heart's ability to expel the blood, her "ejection fraction" was less than 10%. Normal is between 50 and 75%. We were getting the results of the echocardiogram taken over two weeks ago and already it was 50% then, so he thinks it's likely even better now. No more oxygen. No meds. No doctors. She's good to go.
We're celebrating, as you can imagine. Thank you to all who added their thoughts to those which changed her fate.
Susan
A start.
This is the barest beginning of a commissioned oil of two sweet children picking dandelions in a field in West Texas. Not sure yet about the proportion of the boy in the foreground in relation to the girl farther back. I may need to repaint him smaller. We'll see.
Done?
I think I'm done. This is a photo under bad fluorescent lighting, so it's not so true to color. The blues are too punched up and the faces too pale, but you get the idea. I'll try to get a photo of it outdoors tomorrow.
Tomorrow is the Fiesta Art Fair. I try very hard not to miss it each year. I go early to see the art before it's been picked over.
I bought a painting tonight from an artist whose work I love. She sells through galleries and on eBay. Check out Karin Jurick at: http://www.karinjurick.com
'Night All
More progress on painting of Kids
Spent a few hours this evening working on refining these faces, painting in her jewelry, softening edges of hair. Still have much more to do on arms and hands and grass and clothing. I hope to have it done in a couple more days. 'Night all.
Sketch of Adam and a BIO for my website
http://www.susancarlin.com/Bio.htm
Could use an illustration or photo tucked in here and there, but I'm so pleased to have gotten something written!
Also did a portrait sketch of a friend's grandson for her birthday today. Cheers!
Progress on the painting of the children
I spent today painting with Donna and Mary and made lots of good progress on this one. Still much more to go, but I'm pleased with what got done. LOVE being with those two!
Got a nice walk in with a friend afterwards at Eisenhower Park. Mo taped American Idol for me to see when I got back. Topped it all off with a phone call to my mom. Very nice day indeed.
Spent the evening painting
Finally broke the spell. I hadn't painted since the day before Mom's heart attack. Not sure if they got connected in my brain or how, but it was good to get back to the brushes and paint.
Much, much more to go on this painting, but felt like I got pretty far along tonight.
Mom's doing well, by the way.
Posing with the paintings
Morgan and I went downtown today to pick up my award from the San Antonio Art League's Museum. Loved seeing all the other paintings and sculptures in the show. A few by friends- so great! We also traded out the paintings I have at River Art Gallery.
Three awards, one day. Wow!
Yesterday I had to decide between two receptions, both of which were at shows where I had paintings: Austin Pastel Society and the San Antonio Art League and Museum. I decided to go to the Austin Pastel Society one because I love these people. It's the first art group I ever joined. They've been so encouraging and fun and have helped birth my more public artist self. I arrived to find that my highest aspiration, art-wise, had been achieved: Best of Show. Omigosh. Trust me when I say what a thrill that is. It was for my painting, "Morning Flight," the 24"x18" pastel of 18 people waiting at a Southwest Airlines gate for their plane to arrive. I also got First Place for Still Life for my 20"x16" pastel of Libby Peters' living room called, "Her Grandmother's Chair." The award would've been great in name only, but came with lots of prizes. A 150 stick set of Rembrandt pastels in a two tray wooden box. A pricey little item. Plus lots of neat papers and another 30 stick set in a wooden box. Scrumptious. I'm considering listing the sets on eBay, since I'm pretty well set on pastels until the next millenium. We'll see.
On the way home I called the San Antonio Art League and found I'd won a Sponsor's Award for $500. That had me doing a little behind-the-wheel happy dance, let me tell you. That painting is called "Caldo," and is a 24"x18" pastel.
I also called Mom and Dad on the way home and told them of my news. I'm so grateful to be able to do that.
Now it's back to work on these commissions. I've stewed long enough. Life is wonderful, as Jason Mraz's new song so beautifully asserts.
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