Orange Fiesta

Yesterday I was hired to do a 2 hour painting demo at a local art supply store, A.I Friedman. I had a little audience and we chatted thru most of the demo, which is both good, (because it takes the pressure off), and sometimes a little distracting too. Sometimes when carrying on an ongoing conversation, I forget to squint, and then have to go back and make adjustments to my values. This painting done in acrylics, which dry really fast and I try to avoid having to re-do passages because the texture builds up with ridges from the brushstrokes, and for this style of painting, I don't want "dried paint" texture getting in my way. As I look at it I see little things I might have done differently but, I'll think I'll just move on and say... done! Next!

Orange Fiesta
Acrylic, 11x14"  Price on request

Mimi's Bouquet

If there was ever a flower that personified little Mimi, it is clearly the daisy. Simple, cheerful, bright, spirited, sweet, happy. I bought a bouquet of daisies to honor her on the day we had to put her down, I placed them near her bed. We had a vet come to the house for her transition.
I needed to paint these daisies before they wilted. It has only been 12 days, and they are showing no signs of winding down. Mimi went full-tilt till the very end - lived exhuberantly, found/invented games in unremarkable situations, offered up love and laughs generously. She was simply a conduit to joy, that I could access whenever I needed a "hit".  It's spring, the flowers and emerging buds remind me that I'm still surrounded by joy, it's just a matter of remembering to let it in.

Mimi's Bouquet
11x11" Acrylic,  Not for Sale

'Ol Brown Jug

After little Mimi's passing last Saturday, we decided to get away for a couple of days to extract ourselves from all the reminders around the house. I'm thinking lets hit a nice Hudson Valley B&B, cozy fireplace, page-turner novel, hot toddies. My husband was thinking lets hit Vermont, snowboard down a 4,000 ft. mountain, adrenalin rush, peppermint schnapps. He won out, as usual. As distractions go, it worked. Now that we are back, I will gladly exchange snowboarding for painting to keep my mind occupied.  Its safer and I'm better at it. Not feeling particularly colorful, I've been working on my greys lately, here is a piece that has a little bit of grey mixed in with almost every color, painted on a very grey day.

'Ol Brown Jug

11x11" Acrylic on Paper, Price on request

Pink Rose in a Coffee Mug

I guess its time to start doing what I normally do in life, in lieu of recent happenings. I've told myself that it's time start painting again, blogging, exercising, dealing with planet earth responsibilities, etc etc... I honestly feel like i'm carrying around a bowling ball in my heart area.  Doing what I normally do does seem to create a simulation that a certain normal-ness prevails, even if it doesn't.

I started teaching an 8 week class at my studio last Saturday. I always start off with a demo to show my process - how I begin, the brushes I use, the paint/ paint consistency, what I block in first, etc etc.  I always choose a simple subject- usually apples or pears for the first demo. For the second demo (next Saturday) I will paint something more structurally complicated, like a rose or shoes or something. I decided to do a "practice" rose in a cup, just to get the paint flowing again, and get prepared.  I took photos of each step along the way, that I will hand out to the students, so they can have something they can review that shows the order and the progression. This was done on a heavy paper, which absorbs the acrylic paint so fast, I have to work even faster than I normally do. Thats OK - it forces me to really practice what I preach - "fast, loose and bold."

I thank everyone for their heartfelt responses to my last blog post. Truly, your reaching out with love helps me deal, more than I can say.