Jazz Cat

"Jazz Cat" Acrylic  9x12" 

This was fun, hopefully it shows :-)

Cafe Roma's Pastries

Cafe Roma's Pastries  Acrylic on Gessoboard  8x8"  Click to Bid

Today I taught my last class of the semester at a school in New Jersey. As is often the case during the holidays, we bring in some festive treats to eat - and paint, of course.  One of my students owns pastry shop in Little Italy and brought in a big box of Italian Pastries from the famous "Cafe Roma".  We oooh'd and ahhh'd the beautiful pastries for a while, discussed last week's killer homework, then got a late start painting. We began at 2:15 and had to be done by 3:30. Yikes! Here is the demo I did for for the class, and then promptly proceeded to eat the models, yum!

Plant Spritzer

I've been eyeing this little plant spritzer every time my husband sprays the Hibiscus. I fear I'm falling into a dimension where everything in life is cleverly disguised as a painting prop. I've never heard anyone describe that but for the severely obsessed painter, it surely must be a well traveled route? I can only hope I'm not alone in this...

Plant Spritzer

6x6" Acrylic on Gessoboard

Click to Bid

Lighter Darker

Lighter/Darker  Acrylic 8x10"  Click to Buy

This painting was part of a weekly painting "challenge" I do just for fun, that I mentioned in an earlier post (Blue Imperial). The requirement this week was to paint a Zippo lighter in two colors only - Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna (a reddish-brown color) plus white. It was not something that I would normally do - I love color, so this 2 color limitation felt a bit dry from the get go. But what the heck - try something new, right? Here is a link to the painting challenge site, where you can see the photo we all worked from, and the other artists' entries. I don't normally use Burnt Sienna on my palette, so I tried to create it by mixing Cadmium Red Medium (didn't have Cad red light, either) plus black. Not exactly the real Burnt Sienna, but whatever... sometimes you have to make do.

Lighter, Darker

8x10 Acrylic on Canvas

Click to Bid

Bold Brush Painting Contest Finalist

(again:-) I'm really starting to like this "Bold Brush Painting Contest". Notification just arrived that I won the "Outstanding Acrylic" award for the second month in a row. What makes it particularly special is the high quality of work that was entered by other painters - all 696 of them. Ditto comments from last month : love being in the same circle of winners as some of my favorite West Coast painters, I'm impressed with the high quality of work overall in this contest, and the prize money is ...always sweet.

This is one of my favorite pieces, sold recently by my gallery in Provincetown, Simie Maryles Gallery, called "Into the Light". Right about now I'm feeling very motivated to dive "Into the Acrylics".

Into the Light (SOLD)

12x12 Acrylic on Canvas

Pink Rose

For Valentines day, a Pink Rose, (my favorite) from my sweetie.

Pink Rose

8x10 Acrylic on Canvas

Click to Bid

Christmas in February

Uh oh. Now everyone will know how lame I am. The christmas gifts I bought for my siblings and parents have been collecting dust since, well, December. They somehow consistently drop to the bottom of my to-do list, since the family is more forgiving than the clients when it comes to meeting deadlines. Finally I seem to be catching up and realize its time to wrap those gifts and ship 'em out once and for all... NOT SO FAST... ooohh - the colors, the shiny ribbon, the loopy bow, the reflections! Needless to say that box of wrapped gifts was far too alluring for this painter to pass up. What's one more day, its already so late, they'll understand, right? The answer to that is yes, they will. Unless of course, Dad breaks a tooth on that fossilized carmelcorn.

Christmas in February

Acrylic on Canvas 7.25"x 7.25" $100

Click here to buy

New York Pretty

I like to do paintings in one session (called "Alla Prima") but when they have a lot of detail, as in urban landscapes, that one session can feel like a marathon. This was one of those. I started at about 1pm and finished at 11:30 pm, taking a break only to go out for a slice of pizza, and to throw the ball for my bored-silly pooch.

Once you get warmed up and into the flow, the brushwork takes on a natural, loose quality. "New starts" can show up in a multi-session painting as passages that look stiff and forced. I want the whole painting to have the same loose quality, thus the painting marathon. Plus, I'm impatient and this was a commission with a tight deadline. That always helps.

New York Pretty

Acrylic on canvas, 18x24"

Parfum Tocca

This is still wet (even tho its acrylic) and I'm still in my pajamas. A clear case of TMI (too much information) for sure, but I reveal this only to point out that until I get my daily painting done, it "hangs over my shoulders" ALL DAY. What am I going to paint? When can I squeeze it in? Is it my turn to cook dinner or can I paint at night? etc etc. Since I'm going to Les Miserables tonight -my husband, a bassist, (http://www.markhaganmusic.com) is playing the show and I get a free ticket - that set the stage (no pun intended) for my ramped up schedule, as in 'do it NOW'. So I did.

This is another wonderful little gift from hubby that gets more use as a painting prop than its intended purpose. I will make sure to put a touch of it behind my ears tonight!

Parfum Tocca

Acrylic on Canvas, 6x6"

PS ... he's also an excellent artist http://www.markhaganstudios.com/haganMain.html )

Blue Imperial

Sadly, I missed out on the days of these stylish, elegant, fin-adorned cars. Not that I wasn't around, I just don't remember much of anything. Way back in the crevices of my brain I do have a vague memory of seeing a pistachio green and ivory Thunderbird, (or was it an Edsel?) viewed from the back seat of my mother's station wagon. I distinctly remember thinking that it was really cool and maybe someday I could have one...

This painting was done as an entry in a painting challenge, of sorts, organized by my one of my favorite daily painters, Carol Marine. This challenge is just for kicks - no awards, prizes or winners, just a way of everyone painting together as group and seeing what each other is up to. Kinda like we are all in the same class painting from the same model. Its always fun to see other painters' interpretation and the variety of styles. To see the other entries, click here.

Blue Imperial

Acrylic on Canvas, 6x6" $100

5 Minute Tea Cup Demo

Sunday I taught a 5 hour workshop at Rockland Center for the Arts, my standard "How to Paint Fast, Loose and Bold". I've taught enough of these workshops that I can expect certain reactions from the participants. I hand out evaluation sheets at the end of the class, one question I pose is, "What would have made the workshop better?". Inevitably someone always responds "more time to paint". I find that a bit ironic, since this class is specifically about LESS time, not more. My goal is to show everyone how to paint quickly and confidently - working FAST. If I say so myself, thats a fairly tall order to teach diverse group of people, from total beginners to very advanced painters how it works. And it requires a certain amount of talking, explaining and demonstrating on my part. After I'm done with my part, its time for each student to do 3 paintings - the first is 45 miniutes, the second is 30 minutes and the last is 15 minutes. This is not exactly comfortable for those who are used to weekly, monthly or even bi-yearly paintings. By the time they have finished their second painting, however, the lightbulb goes off. And everyone starts to get it, as in better put down those small brushes because you got a lot of canvas to cover in a small amount of time. For those who think that its just impossible to do a 15 minute painting, I demo a 5 minute painting. In contrast, I explain, 45 minutes is a lifetime!

Daily painting is cool - you exercise your creativity/painting muscle, it stays limber and flexible. Nothing gets too precious because you don't have much time invested in it. If it works, great. If it doesn't, so what - try again tomorrow. I tell my students, anyone who is motivated enough has 15 minutes a day to paint, no matter how busy their life is. Keep your paints and brushes handy and ready go at a moments notice - paint ANYTHING. A spoon, a hammer, an orange... And if you need more time to paint, see what you can create in 5 minutes and gradually build up to 45. It will feel like a lifetime.

5 Minute Tea Cup

Acrylic on Canvas 4.5 x 4.5"

White Tulip

Anything "White" is usually anything BUT. I love painting white objects, they reveal so much color! This painting was created to be a "mate" for another tulip painting I recently did. It's a publishing commission and therefore I am trying to match the style and the overall color sense of the original tulip. It will be cropped to a square shape but I decided to paint the entire 8x10 canvas. Working within these pre-determined set of parameters is interesting because I need to keep checking my painting against the original to make sure I don't veer off into some new flight of fancy. I think they play nice together but if my client doesn't, stay tuned for "White Tulip 2".

White Tulip

Acrylic on Canvas, 8x10"

Pink Mules

My poor husband. He buys me such hip shoes. Only to see them on canvas, as opposed to seeing them on my feet. He bought these at a punk/goth boutique called "Roadkill" in New Orleans. The owner is a friend of ours and gave us a good deal on them, as well as some black fishnets. Naturally, I was urged to wear them immediately. Trapesing around New Orleans in mules and fishnets is an interesting experience, one that I'm not compelled to repeat. Do men have any clue about the dichotomy between how these look and how they actually feel? (Does it matter?)

Pink Mules

Acrylic on Canvas 12x12"

Bold Brush Painting Contest Finalist

I just returned from a weekend in Boston, where I co-taught a workshop on Acrylic techniques using the full line of Golden products. It was a long weekend - but tons of fun. When I finally got home (a 7 hour ordeal) and was checking my emails, I saw that I was chosen as a finalist in the "Bold Brush Painting Competition". The category I won was "Outstanding Acrylic". I entered on a last minute whim... and must admit I felt really daunted when I saw the 600+ other images I was "competing" against - for the most part, very high quality work. I won a $350 prize - awesome!

Posted here is the painting I entered. I worked from a really blurry photo I took with my cell phone while on the subway. I just had to capture this New York moment - clearly the guy in the foreground had one LONG day. I know the feeling, buddy... this is exactly what I looked like today in the course of my car, bus, train, bus then taxi ride home. (hmmm, I hope there wasn't an artist with a cell phone sitting across from me!) For anyone who wants to see the winners in the show, here is the link: http://canvoo.com/boldbrush/winners/42.

Bronx Bound (SOLD)

Acrylic on Canvas, 24x24" (Sold)

Pink Buckled Handbag

Snow and sleet - just when I don't want it. Sometimes I actually do like it (the snow, never the sleet), but not tomorrow. I have to leave for Boston to teach a weekend workshop. And the weather reports are... stay home! Not an option... Boston, here I come.

Pink Buckle'd Handbag

Acrylic on Canvas 12x12"

Fuschia Birken Bag

I'm not the dedicated follower of fashion I once was but apparently these Birken bags are all the rage. I myself go for the fakes on Canal Street -within weeks they will be covered with paint splatters, like the rest of my clothes, a festive multi-colored effect!

Fuschia Birken Bag

Acrylic on Canvas, 12x12"

Eau De Provence (SOLD)

Last night, in my late night scramble to find a subject to paint, I realized I've been neglecting glass. All those reflections! I never feel like I have enough time to get into that complexity, it seems so time consuming. Excuses, excuses. So I reached for a pretty little bottle of perfume sitting on my dresser and forged ahead bravely. Truth be known, glass is like anything else... one color spot next to another color spot, keep the values correct, don't get too fussy. When I find that my paint starts to get sticky and tacky (1- 1.5 hours) I know its time to quit. The properties of acrylic paint make it a perfect automatic alarm clock. Glass - its fun!

Eau De Provence - SOLD

Acrylic on Canvas 6x6"

More Macs

Whenever I have a new student I do a quickie demo for them, just to show the technique with the big brushes, applying color, being aware of the values, etc. I do try to keep the whole thing within about 1/2 hr -45 min., so they can see how fast it can be, after all thats the name of the class... Here's one I did today for my students. Apples are always a great demo - simple shapes, pretty colors, what could go wrong? (Answer: plenty!) I have to do 4 demos this coming weekend for a large group of seasoned painters... yikes - wish me luck!

More Macs
Acrylic on Canvas 8x10 $150

Cup'l

I've heard it's good to paint in a series - like 2, 4 or 6 paintings of the same/similar subject, same size, same style, etc. so they all go together, and potentially could be bought together as a series. Another reason is that there is something nice about having a series; it looks cohesive, they each complement the whole, and it feels like you had an idea and explored it beyond the initial attempt. I felt that "Two Cups" needed a complimentary piece to go with it, so heres what I did today.

Cup'l

Acrylic on Canvas, 6x6" $100.

Two Grannies

Red Delicious (previous blog post) needed a mate - two voluptuous grannies were available and interested... maybe I should have named this Ménage a Trois?

Two Grannies

Acrylic on Canvas, 6x6" $100.