Silver Sea

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This week has been a lot of fun as I've been doing some 'fun time' painting with 2 friends. We spent each day in a large open studio with lots of elbow room but one evening when the light was beyond belief, we had to step out and do some plein air work. Yes, you've most likely seen me paint this house before but not often is the ocean brighter than the sky. It was almost blinding to look at as the sun was peaking down through the oncoming rain clouds. Great light. Great friends. Great pastime.

Sunflower Triptych

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I was inspired by one of my traveling buddies on the France trip to create some tall skinny sunflower paintings. She did one in watercolor while we were there, so I expanded and designed a 3-part image that are each 12x3, making it 12x9 overall. Those have to be the happiest flower faces on the planet and this project took me right back to the massive field we enjoyed together in July.

More Plein Air Work

Faybell in the Sun 10x5

Noyo Relic 12x9

Patterns of Light 10x5

I did the sunset piece last night and the other 2 this morning. You can sure tell the difference between the top two where I used a palette knife and the lower one a brush. I keep myself from getting bored this way. These pieces are hanging at the Art Center and the Noyo Relic might already be sold to a couple that watched me paint it today at Sea Pal Cove where I had lunch. I was all alone and thought business was slow, but one by one, each outdoor table filled up and by this time I had my painting going and ended up putting on a show for all the diners. Crazy huh? The foggy painting of Faybell sold to a Canadian couple that visited the Art Center, so things are humming right along this week. I've also got a show opening this weekend at the Highlight Gallery here in Mendocino.  I feel like a painting machine but it's a good feeling after the lull I experienced after coming home from France...

Faybell in the Fog

M.O.P.O. (Mendocino Open Paint Out) started today and since it was gray I headed down to the harbor. The wet paintings hang for sale at the Mendocino Art Center all week and the event culminates with a "Quick Draw" competition on Saturday when each participant has 2 hours to start and finish a painting. I hope to post my pieces each day to keep you abreast of my goings-on, just in case you think I'm sitting on the couch watching Soaps and eating bon-bons. 

Still Alive and Well

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It is sad to see that it's almost been a month since my last post. While I've been dealing with a bit of sickness, I've also been QUITE busy with a few projects. First off, I'll tell you about the little watercolor I'm posting and then the rest of the news. I took my group to Monet's Garden and the Impressionist Museum in Giverny on July 11th and we had a most delightful time. It wasn't a day for painters, so after we feasted on the garden visuals we were able to spend a bit of time exploring the village. I plunked myself down in a shady spot and found that this sweet little lane caught my attention. No time to shop in the antique store behind the open door, but we can all imagine that it was chock full of wonderful and dusty French stuff right? 

Now, onto the big news of the decade. I say that because I have been wanting to create both a teaching video and a set of small coffee table books for at least that long. My son Levi shot footage of me doing 3 different paintings here in Mendocino County and we are almost finished editing the first one. Hurray! After editing, I will add voice-over narration to explain all my techniques and artistic decisions. I'll shout out again when it is complete and let you know how to obtain one for yourself or a painter friend.

Finally, here is the cover of the upcoming book. The first one will showcase my blog posts of Mendocino paintings and the fun things I had to say about each image. Hope you want to snag a copy or two and I'll be letting you know when those are available. Thanks for your patience and I hope you hear from me more often. Next week is the Mendocino Open Paint Out, so I'll be painting a blue streak and not sure how often I can post but don't give up on me!!!!