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Art in the Morning
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Art in the Morning |
Alchemy
December 4, 2013 Alchemy in the studio usually conjures the image of the artist with wild hair working late into the night, mixing turps and paints and various oily mediums to coerce a vision into actuality on the canvas. Whatever the art form, we seek to create the suspension of disbelief. Sometimes I look up the meaning of words I already know. It's a refresher course in clarification. One of the dictionary definitions for Alchemy is: "Any seemingly magical power." I like the idea of alchemy as the magic that happens between the viewer and the painting. I love that moment of visceral connection and transport to another place or feeling. It's art's ability to take you out of your life for a bit. Painting is a lovely form of alchemy. 8" x 10" oil on panel
Persimmon Fire
November 27, 2013 Freezing temps and light snow rolled down from the Sierra Crest last week. What better way to fight the chill than to paint the sunlight captured in these Fuyus from a tree in someone's yard in the Central Valley. I love that about California, micro and macro climate changes all happening within a pretty short drive. I also love the hot pinky-orange and golden amber of these persimmon, glimmering under a frosty purple-blue blush. Kind of like the firelight in the studio stove. Keep toasty. 6" x 8" oil on panel sold
Mountain, Valley, Willow
November 20, 2013 It's a big country out there. It will make it worth your time. 9" x 12" oil on panel $415 Art in the Morning special.
The River's Bend
November 13, 2013 I have Fall Fever. It's all about being outside to smell fall in the golden grass and the rustling fallen leaves. I can hear fall in the quiet burble of the slowly-moving river as it slides toward winter. Late fall brings the winding down of show season for me and the urge to play studio hooky. I follow the temptation to take my easel to the woods and the valley meadow and the bend in the river, to record all of fall's colors in paint. And to be there when the trout jumps from the deep pool. 9" x 12" oil on panel sold
Fall Meadow
November 6, 2013 Aspens paint the distance with their own strokes of gold, making this big bowl of a valley glimmer. 9" x 12" oil on panel $415 Art in the Morning special.
Autumn River
October 30, 2013 Nature stages its play for anyone who will come, listen, look, feel. A brisk fall breeze blows across the meadow, sunlight warms my skin as it warms the aspen leaves to gold and the willows to pinky auburn. Birds dart into the river to splash before flight, and I get the chance to do some bathing myself, submerged in the beauty of the high Sierra. Great theatre. For free! 8" x 10" oil on panel sold
Driver
October 23, 2013 Bizz, bang, boom. This driver couldn't look snappier, or more prepared, if it donned tap shoes and auditioned for a part in "A Chorus Line." 10" x 10" x 1" oil on panel sold
Sierra Autumn Meadow
October 16, 2013 A brisk morning in the mountains finds me planted in the reeds on spongy peat at the edge of a pond to capture a hint of meadow and the quaking of Aspens' fall color. As the sun travels over the mountain to chase the shadows, its high-altitude warmth follows close behind. The blood returns to my fingertips, and off comes my down vest, my stocking cap, my sweatshirt. Late afternoon finds me loading my gear to head back to civilization. The mix of oil paint and that warm, nutty smell of sunlight on skin fills the car. I am happy, satisfied with my work and the chance to witness the earth turning. 8" x 10" oil on panel $330 Art in the Morning special.
Lucille
October 9, 2013 What is it about old stuff that beckons me to paint it? Maybe it's the charisma of character borne from age, or a fascination with things that work with actual moving parts rather than computer chips. Perhaps it's the warm patina of rust that cloaks a certain era of aesthetic design. Whatever it is, like a dog who scents a bone, my path veers its way, and out come my paints. Discovered at my easel, the pleased owner comes out to fill me in on my subject's history. At rest in the river delta, "Lucille" was born in 1946, because Chevy didn't make trucks in the war year of '45. One of the things her caretaker likes best is her hauling bed. She's a worker. He was about to take her for a load of compost. But he delayed his plans to let her pose for her portrait in support of the arts. I like everything about her, including the way she holds still. 8" x 10" oil on panel sold
Turbulent Emerald
October 2, 2013 Earth, Wind and Wahooo! Batten down the hatches, anchor your easel and get out the paint! I just finished teaching a 5-day plein air painting workshop in stunning Lake Tahoe. Ten smart, funny and focused painters joined me under crisp autumn skies. Each charted new territory, developing their personal voice, while capturing the Sierra. I had the thrill of being their guide. Camaraderie and good critique accompanied day's end. In case you don't know, plein air painting is capturing the landscape in paint with the gear you carry on your back. We had a wild ride for two of those days - bookends to the week. Brisk winds out of the southwest, with gusts to 35, directed us to test our metal against the mountain that shoulders Emerald Bay. With tripod legs stretched like tentacles, a few rigs were launched despite our best efforts. But not a single complaint. I swear these guys eat nails for breakfast. The last day we had forecasts for SW gusts up to 45. I hoped a particular angle of rock formation would give us shelter in a certain corner of Sand Harbor. The park ranger was like, yeah, right. Everybody was good to go. We had a great day! Golden sun, turquoise waters, and brushes in our paint, while just beyond the rocks, the waves raged against the wind creating the ultimate in Ultramarine Blue. Persistence pays. 8" x 10" oil on panel sold
Hammer
September 25, 2013 Some things can't be improved upon. Except maybe by capturing them in paint. 10" x 10" x 2" oil on panel sold
Curb Appeal
September 18, 2013 Painting with plants - the palette of color is as individual as the painter, I mean gardener. I like to mix cool crimsony reds with hot warm red for just the right amount of clash. Clash to me is like slightly discordant sound, or bending notes. We see things fresh. Then a dash of cornflower blue or periwinkle to pop the red-orange and the yellows. Spiky this and smooth that, a spill of frosty blue-green foliage to calmly lead you into the splash of color. The smallest hint of symmetry is just enough. For me, disarray feels more like improvisation. And you know how much I like jazz. This might sound fancy, and of course I would like endless yards of gardens. But I keep it small so I can paint. Mine are four humble barrels along the street at my studio. Just a spill of color crayons to brighten someone's day as they walk their dog or dash off to work. Ciao! 8" x 8" oil on linen panel $245 Art in the Morning special
Night Traveler
September 11, 2013 Some people have comfort food. I think I have comfort tools. It's kind of like putting on your first turtleneck of the fall season. Some days, it just feels good to paint one of my favorite tools. Maybe it's nostalgia. Or the sense of "can do" possibilities. This little spout always makes me feel good. Its solid primary shape in a primary color is like sensible meets toy land. To add juice to the play I put on The Essential Dave Brubeck. Talk about primary fun. The selection was chosen by Dave, and they know how to swing. As you may guess if you know my paintings, I'm fond of the tune "Tangerine." 10" x 10" x 2" oil on panel $265 Art in the Morning special
Rainy-Day Florist
September 4, 2013 I love the way the woods reveal themselves. Old growth forest can feel spare and clean, nature at its sculptural and healthy best. Gnarly mountainsides, looking velvety green and come-hither from a distance, might become impenetrable manzanita upon closer approach. Cool air and warm sunlight on pine needles release a smell of spicy warmth that is nature's version of maple syrup on thick pancakes, sure to unlock great memories of hikes and adventure. Walking in the rain brings its own world of scent and mystery, flowers glowing brightly under woody umbrellas of overhead trees, bobbing their heads to the rain's high-hat and bass. I guess the link to all is to go out and discover what is nature's face today. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Channeling Turquoise
August 28, 2013 While the days are still warm in the sun and cool in the shade, and colleges are announcing move-in day, it just seemed right to take my paints to water's edge to celebrate summer. Besides, who can resist scintillating light dancing through watery turquoise, shadows that beckon in ultramarine and violet, and the sight of young water birds, having left mom's back, showing off a summer's worth of swimming class. 6" x 8" oil on panel sold
Cool Facets
August 21, 2013 It's a blast painting glass. All that sparkle, all that spatial back and forth, there is so much to play with. My latest playground was doing a ten-day artist-in-residence at the Tallac Historic Site on cool blue Lake Tahoe. In the warm sunlight and crisp mountain air, under a canopy of old-growth Ponderosa pine, the only thing sizzling was my paint brush. And all those BBQs at Camp Rich next door. I set up my show in their beautiful gallery space at the Valhalla Grand Hall, and created a makeshift studio of about nine square feet in one corner - shades of my first studio. That one was under our raised-up bed in our nano-apartment. It got the job done. While I painted, I had visitors of all ages from all over the US, Europe, Russia, and China. They arrived on bike, scooter, and foot, in hiking boots and flip flops still wet from the beach. People are fascinated by watching people who still make stuff. I gave impromptu lessons on color mixing and achieving value (lights and darks) to painters and to a guy who carves wooden ducks and paints them. I gave pep talks to aspiring painters who had been damaged by insensitive art teachers. What's up with that?! I gave hiking recommendations to everyone. It was a great working getaway, housed in a slice of history, bathed in old-world charm, people trying to keep history and theater, music and poetry, forestry and the arts alive. I can get behind that. 6" x 8" oil on panel $190 Art in the Morning special
Canned Goods
August 14, 2013 It's tricky business navigating a painter's studio. The fridge seems a pretty safe place to start. But its door holds caution signs. Inside appears an archeological dig of painting interests - various pieces of glass or board upon which still lifes are carefully arranged. In one corner is a pile of fruit leaves to be added to future stems. Tucked here are bits of colored candies saved to jazz up a painting. The freezer isn't much safer - with "Don't Eat" signs on cupcakes or pieces of pie preserved for use in upcoming workshops. In the bathroom one finds the shelves stocked with drop cloths, painting gloves, and halogen lights in place of towels and tissues. The coat closet houses stacks of picture frames. The intrepid head back to the kitchen in search of normalcy. Opening a cupboard in expectation of cups and saucers, one finds an array of varnishes and sprays. In search of soup or canned vegetables, it is tins of oil paint that are revealed. In a way, it makes perfect sense. The kitchen holds things that sustain. It's the definition of "food" that changes. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Good Fortune, Cookie!
August 7, 2013 This cookie tells of good fortune, for the artist trying to live by brush and brain, imagination and challenge, persistence and, finally, friendship. This is my thanks to all of you who take the time to let art into your lives, to slow down and look, to allow yourselves a quiet moment with color and a way of seeing through someone else's eyes. You have given me the good fortune of living a life of meaning and purpose in the way I find most fulfilling, slinging my brush through the paint and living beyond my comfort zone. You are my good fortune. 6" x 6" oil on panel pc
Sun Flowers in July
July 31, 2013 It's the small things. Taking the time to send a hand-written birthday card with a colorful stamp and everything! A good friend bringing flowers and a wish for good luck on the studio tour. Smiling at a stranger you pass on the street. Giving ample room at slower speed as you drive past a dog, someone walking, a bicyclist. Holding a door open for any ol' body. Making a phone call when an email would get you by. Offering a drink of cool water on a hot day. It's the small things that can soften the blows of life. They separate us from the beasts and the beasts of burden. And those flowers? I received four gifts in one: beauty, friendship, the chance to dive into the solitude of paint after a fun and busy studio-tour weekend, and... this painting! 8" x 8" oil on panel sold
Once in a Blue Moon
July 24, 2013 I learned about this brew from one of my studio tour customers last year. It features a fun label and a fresh taste, perfect for toasting the rare and the wonderful this summer month. First, a belated toast to the Super Moon, (the perigee) which, thank goodness, caused much of humanity to stop and look up! A wonderful thing, that. The great dark and sparkling beyond reminds us how small we are in the face of nature. Something doesn't always need to be understood before we can appreciate its beauty. Second, a toast to my in-laws, whose anniversary is this coming week. Theirs, a once-in-a-blue-moon romance, exploring the world with their backpacks, seeing common ground, and making lasting friends along the way. Another kind of beauty. 8" x 10" oil on panel $240 Art in the Morning special.
Cool Pool
July 17, 2013 Take the plunge. 8" x 10" oil on linen panel sold
Summertime
July 10, 2013 I love painting glass. It's the chance to really see and to play with color and space. Pushing flat abstraction up against realistic deep, and still making all of the parts co-operate, is exciting. My family was sending festive photos of fun and flowers and nature under the heading, "How I spent my 4th of July." This was my contribution. Cheers! Happy summer! 20" x 20" x 2" oil on stretched linen sold
Fallen Leaf
July 3, 2013 One of the best ways to celebrate independence is to spend a day in nature. Connected only to the sounds of the fish-diving Osprey bringing junior his dinner in the nest down shore, or to the meaty splash of a different fish jumping to celebrate his independence, I let myself swim in the colors of nature and paint. With the smell of sunlight baking the pine needles as rhythmic waves kissed the rocks below my easel, I couldn't help but feel connected to the people before me who found excitement and peace looking at these same waters and peaks. Each time I go, I bring a piece of it home in my metaphorical pocket. It's my independence from all of the other sounds. 8" x 8" oil on panel $330 Art in the Morning special.
Emerald and Blue
June 26, 2013 I've always loved the way water surface provides another light source. Not just in painting, but also in looking. River, lake, or ocean waters act like bits of mirror on the ground. They are sometimes abstract in their design effects and always add lumens to a scene. I was out painting with a friend recently, and he was less than thrilled with the brackish color of the river. I suggested letting the sky land on it. More sky in more places can only be a good thing, right? 8" x 10" oil on panel sold
Ready for Action
June 19, 2013 Painting the unexpected. It helps us see beauty in the overlooked. Plus, it's just plain fun. 5" x 7" oil on panel $145 Art in the Morning special
Blue and Green
June 12, 2013 Color play and light therapy, the dance of lavender and turquoise, ultramarine and emerald, with winks of orange and ochre as you lose yourself in the study of water and paint. It looks like music. The dance partners change with the light as the big orb moves through the sky. Nature's sounds do their version of call and response. I am so glad for the day I can't remember, when I first picked up a brush. 8" x 10" oil on linen panel sold
Big Red
June 5, 2013 The "best generation" comes in many forms. This one is of the tried and true, beefy type - a character actor in the great American play. At rest on a working ranch and vineyard in the Central Valley, it still provides a lot of class. Let's face it, we have a lot in common. We both pursue a throwback aesthetic in a throw-away culture. Rich with history, ours is a process-oriented pursuit of making things. It doesn't happen fast, but neither do a lot of things of integrity - food for the table, food for the soul, relationships, music. This guy is looking for air in his tires, I am always looking for oxygen in my paintings. 8" x 10" oil on linen panel sold
River Light Sonata
May 29, 2013 I love the way that plein air forces me to be the morning person I am not. Even if I've been up working in the night, it gets me out before all of the noise starts up.I enjoy the gift of low-flying clouds, the mystery of ground-hugging fog, steam rising from the land or the water. It's like a quiet symphony when the play of low light peeks through the blanket and skims across the water's surface, hop-scotching across its diamonds. Those are the jewels I value most. 8" x 10" oil on linen panel sold
Spring Dawns
May 22, 2013 I returned to the mountain valley meadow I painted a few weeks ago, just to see what had popped since my last visit. This time I painted the view that had been at my back.Spring was in celebration. The birds whizzed by, busy bringing mud and bits of grass from the patches of streams and spring run-off, building their version of adobe. But never too busy not to whistle while they work. I love painting to an a cappella chorus... the reward of being unplugged. 8" x 10" oil on linen panel $330 Art in the Morning special.
Mood Indigo
May 15, 2013 Clear water of an amazing blue, a spring morning, painting on a beach in solitude and total quiet - save for the gentle rolling-in of the waves. Does it get any better?Something about the light, the hour, the time of year... the water had a certain mood. Even the blue Stellar's jay on the branch next to me had a quiet patter that he kept to himself. 8" x 10" oil on linen panel Sold
Spring Mums
May 8, 2013 For all of those moms out there - with eighteen balls in the air and two feet on the ground. You're role models and care givers, bringing home the bacon and cooking it, quizzing vocabulary and teaching people to say, "I'm sorry."This week the rest of us say a special, "Thank you!" 5" x 7" oil on panel Sold
Reflecting on Lemons
May 1, 2013 I recently gave a talk and demonstration for Placer County Arts in Auburn. It was a fun time for me and a treat to see so many people pursuing creative lives. 40 - 50 people showed up - I think - it was hard to tell as the group gathered out in the doorway as well. All I can say is, what a great group! Engaged, interested and interesting. We covered Coltrane and Miles, art in the schools and its ability to teach motor skills, spatial relations, creative problem-solving and sharing, in addition to opening the door to fun. We touched on practicing the radical act of empathy and my perception that inspiration, like hair on men, is highly over-rated. It really boils down to just getting started. Like Jasper Johns said, "Take something, do something to it. Do something else to it." Riffing on a subject I had done recently, this is my demo from that day. I like the way that the speed required made for something fresh, watery, and somewhat evanescent. What was truly great was getting an email from someone a few days later. She said how she had a painting she had to do but didn't feel inspired. Then she remembered what I said about just start and then you'll have something to respond to. Presto! By the end of the day, she had a painting she was happy with. And proud of it! Now that's inspiring! 8" x 10" oil on linen panel $215 Art in the Morning special.
Season's Turn
April 24, 2013 Like the rest of us, Winter had somewhere to go in a big fat hurry. Not to worry, there is still beautiful white stuff in the mountains. I know I've said it before, but nature is my way to hit the reset button - the break that heals and renews. I spent a glorious day listening to the rush of water that, just minutes before, was something to slide and glide on. Recently disrobed of their familiar blanket, things were a bit timid in the color department. Low amp. But green was to be found, stretching and giving a yawn. Small pockets of yellow flowers and patches of flox dotted the ground between springs and streams. Next week this meadow will be an entirely different color palette. And even more birds will sing to me when I visit. Tweet. Tweet. 8" x 10" oil on linen panel $290 Art in the Morning special. This painting was sopping wet when photographed. As a result, we seem to lose the blue-purple in the mountain. Ciao Bella!
April 17, 2013 When I passed the produce bin, I just had to get these pears to paint. They have star power. Their billboard brightness, and deep ruby glow, bordered on the incredible. They are the Frenchy kind of pear. But I think they look Italian, full of operatic greatness and a spirit that won't be denied. Of course, I just started Italian class, so that may be having some influence. What an ebullient and infectious language! Not unlike the glow of these pears. I haven't a clue what we're saying, but it sure is fun to mouth the sounds and make lingua-musica! Our teacher calls it Jazzercise for the mouth. It certainly is a good overture to painting in Tuscany! Want to join me? 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Orchid
April 10, 2013 Being a fan of that fictional detective and orchid grower Nero Wolfe and his good-hearted smart aleck sidekick Archie Goodwin, I have always thought orchids to be difficult to grow - mysterious and temperamental, kind of like a winter storm. Or a spring rain. But that must just be more fiction, because I have had this orchid for a year and I haven't managed to kill it yet! Not only is it alive in a cold and drafty Sierra cabin, but these are its new blooms! I painted this today with both snow and spring rain at my studio window. Life is full of mysteries. 6" x 8" oil on panel $195 Art in the Morning special
Three's Company
April 3, 2013 When I go outside I can smell if it is going to snow. Today I smelled spring. Humid, verdant. The smell of moist earth and melting snow. The change of seasons, in so many ways. It calls to mind some of my best role models - perhaps you have them, too. People who plant a seed, and watch it grow, hoping for the best while expecting the worst. They celebrate the rain and give an encouraging nudge to a new green leaf. They expect others to do their best and offer the same in return. Grace under fire. They practice the common decencies, no matter who is or isn't looking. When the moonrise comes to the top of the hill, they raise a toast to the day, a life well lived. When the season turns to fall and the sun warms their backs, they will be ready for the harvest. 8" x 10" oil on panel sold
Good To Go
March 27, 2013 The current trademark of the American lifestyle...on-the-go to high productivity. Doing a show in Tucson, the weather was in the forties, with high winds and rain. With my easel on my back, I ditched my plein air painting plans and made for the hotel room, my alternate studio in a pinch. Cloaking all of that nice carpeting and upholstery with a drop-cloth, I set up shop. I love the way the clouds outside are reflected in the glass tabletop. I guess this little icon and title works as a metaphor, too. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold Art in the Morning special
Cracked
March 20, 2013 A. First day of spring! B. Protein supplement. C. Sculptural forms. D. All of the above. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Balancing Act
March 13, 2013 In out up down start stop top bottom charmed and strange... life is the art of balance. Which I have to say, for me it's more of a teeter totter. In pursuit of my cup of wisdom. 6" x 6" oil on panel $145 Art in the Morning special
Owen McKenna's Favorite Soup
March 6, 2013 After a tough day of catching bad guys or x-c skiing with his largeness, Tahoe's favorite detective likes to park in front of the fire for his version of an American classic. A sharp cheddar grilled cheese and a bowl of hot Campbell's Tomato soup. With a tall glass of ice cold milk on the side, and Owen's latest, favorite art book propped on the table next to him... mmm-mmm good. Of course, he always grills an extra for that big guy with the wet nose. Time for a lunch break? 5" x 7" oil on panel sold Art in the Morning special
Kiss the Sky
February 27, 2013 I took some time out for cloud therapy. It's a peaceful place.
6" x 6" oil on panel $275 Art in the Morning special
A Gift
February 20, 2013 Sometimes a gift is in a shiny dark box wrapped in golden ribbon. Sometimes it is a relationship wrapped in four decades. It can be found in someone believing in you, taking a chance on you. It can be a package under a tree or an experience of a lifetime. To bring laughter from a loved one is always a gift, and never heard through email. A gift can be found in the quality of one's memories or in how one's life is shaped by a meeting. Time given is always a gift, and sometimes all it takes. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold Art in the Morning special
h + h
February 13, 2013 = Everlasting Love
5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Sun-kissed Pears
February 6, 2013 I just couldn't let these pears go quietly into the night. Their red was so red, their yellow so yellow, their green so green. And all was shiny and beckoning. The thing that made them remarkable also made them hard to paint. No color was willing to play second chair. It became something of a discordant symphony. I could have called this one "Boxing Tonight!" Tweak here, brush there, scrape it all off. We went several rounds like this. Having lost this bout, I turned out the lights and, with gloves hanging from my neck, went home. No one said it was easy. While I didn't have a raw egg for breakfast, I did return to the studio the next morning. Dancing on the balls of my feet, I was determined to grab this painting (remember those pretty pears?) by the throat and show it who is boss. All while keeping it fresh. I was bounced off the ropes a few times and thrown to the mat. But in the end, I was standing and she was shining, looking pretty as a picture. I swear I heard a bell ring. 8" x 8" oil on panel sold Call Me in the Morning
January 23, 2013 My "Get Well Soon" card to everyone who is feeling under the weather this season. And a shout-out to doctors with their black bags, dispensing the miracle drug Aspirin. 6" x 6" oil on panel $145 Art in the Morning special
Juicy Fruit
January 23, 2013 Bursting with rosy blush and rippling promise, these pears look ready to model for a painting by Rubens. If so, it would have to be when he was in Italy. Their ebullient color in warm light, and cool shadow, makes me think they are part of a lively late afternoon on an Italian terrace - surrounded by animated conversation and fresh pasta tossed with olive oil and roasted veggies. Below, is the lake. Across, are the snow-capped mountains. Yet to come is the crisp dessert wine to make the fruit complete. Molto bene! 6" x 6" oil on panel $135 Art in the Morning special
Pillow Talk
January 16, 2013 The low contrast suggested twilight to me. Two birds, lifelong mates, captured in conversation with a high thread count. 6" x 6" oil on panel $145 Art in the Morning special
Viva la Colour
January 9, 2013 A party in paint. Lemon, lime, fizz and sizzle, hot color on a cool day. 8" x 8" oil on panel $215 Art in the Morning special
Fresh Snow in the Sierra
January 2, 2013 Channeling chestnuts and Jack Frost, Bing and that light-footed guy with a red bulb on his nose, we made a thermos of hot chocolate and headed out the door. It was time to set aside type-A tendencies and play in the snow. Doing that kick-glide thing across fresh white stuff, under the shoulder of nature's silent grandeur, is just about the best therapy on earth. Seeing the white glimmer on glade and mountain and stream, hearing the river babble, and planting my bamboo poles into the deep stuff to leave behind pockets of turquoise glow, gives me flashbacks to some of the best times I've ever had. Today was no exception. Now it's time to think about roasting hotdogs for dinner in the little red wood stove. Organic. No nitrates. Makes it a health food, right?! 8" x 10" oil on panel $310 Art in the Morning special
Silent Night
December 26, 2012 The world is a quieter place with several feet of fresh snow. Edges are softened. The activity of animal life momentarily animates the surface. A gibbous moon lights up the Sierra, making the landscape a luminous and silent blue. I wish you, and all of us, peace on earth. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Midnight Rendezvous
December 19, 2012 For the guy in the red suit. We'll leave the light on for you. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
On the Rock
December 12, 2012 A scintillating glass of whiskey over a block of ice, a new take on a traditional theme. This is a commission I just finished for a very patient collector - summer show schedules being what they are. It was a chance to paint this collector's aesthetic vision, which never stops just there. I am also trying to capture something of the memory and the experience of frosty ice and dew on the glass. It also presents a chance to refer to a memory of my own, and raise a toast of thanks and appreciation to jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck, who left us last week on the eve of his 92 birthday. When I was a kid and we had moved to a different house, my dad did a very cool thing. He built a fire in the new-to-us fireplace and put a blanket on the living room floor, like we were on a picnic. Then, in the sparkling glow, edged in darkness, he put Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond's "Time Out" album on the record player. This was my introduction to a lifelong love of jazz. What an introduction. Smooth notes accented with lively surprise, full of innovation and joy, collaboration and improvisation. In that sense, Dave's music never changed, it was a metaphor for how to live life. I was thrilled to see Brubeck and his Quartet perform just a couple of years ago. He leaned against the back of his chair and played that piano like he was driving a boat. When a train went by, he included it in his music. He gave of himself fully and included everyone. His warm generosity lives on as a role model. Cheers Dave! And, thank you. 8" x 8" oil on panel sold
The Stockings Are Hung
December 5, 2012 I could call this Monk's Melody for Christmas. I was having a blast painting these juicy clear colors and watching my paint turn into "glass." As I painted, I couldn't get the mostly "done" parts to not be glass and return to paint. What a kick! Meanwhile, with the slush storm and bursts of sunlight raging outside in winter's madness, I had things nice and warm in the studio cabin. With firelight and Thelonious Monk's playful notes of clear, musical colors popping around the room, I felt like I was painting the music. Or the music was painting the painting. Or wait!... let's play that tune again. Cheers! 6" x 6" oil on panel sold Out with a Bang
November 28, 2012 Who would have thought that clear blue and brilliant sun could bring so much color to a landscape that has already seen snow and cold? What a thrill to have the day gleaming and the sun warming my back as colors blazed, rich red-orange of dogwood, rusty green of fir, and dazzling cerulean blue splashing itself across the river's surface. The river still had fish cruising up to kiss its surface in celebration of the day. Look out, fish! Here is a bald eagle, landing on a rock in the river. He's come to find his own bit of Thanksgiving dinner. 6" x 8" oil on panel sold
Fall Harvest
November 21, 2012 Before they can become pie for the Thanksgiving table, they must first be glowing, juicy fruit plucked from the orchard amongst fall color. After a relaxing day and a stroll through their garden on a hillside, our friends sent me home with fresh-picked apples. The perfect indicator that the season of Thanks has arrived. And thankful I am, for all of the art lovers and art makers I have met this last year, for their friendship and support. And for everyone who has taken the time to enjoy Art in the Morning. You have made my world a kinder and better place. Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! 5" x 7" oil on panel $125 Art in the Morning special
Tart Art
November 14, 2012 Looking at something in multiples can change how we see it. These are quick studies that create a kind of evocative narrative through light and shadow, while keeping things fresh. I like how the changing position animates the painting. 8" x 8" oil on panel $210 Art in the Morning special
Good Vibrations
November 7, 2012 The "cure" for tonsil removal, when I was a kid, was Popsicles! So, when I heard our friend had to have his removed, (not quite the same for adults) I thought, Popsicles! Juicy, juicy cool to trickle down one's throat in candy-colored fruit flavors. Joined at the hip, there is the additional promise of two! Our friend has bigger battles to fight, tonsils being the tip of the iceberg. But Popsicles still might be a good metaphor for visualizing the positive. So, when each person reads this little art curative, for one moment, they will be thinking of G, and wishing him strength and health. Dude! That is a lot of good vibes! 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
First Snow
October 31, 2012 I am so glad I took up plein air! I've been painting in the studio for two upcoming shows and, like a kid, I just get itchy to be out in the woods and the sunlight. This was a dash to catch fall color in the first snow of the season... before it melted! The Kokanee were spawning in Taylor Creek. Focused on finding a good composition, I was thrilled to spot a gorgeous young cinnamon bear dining on salmon in the woods. Intent on watching, I practically tipped over when another bear came from stage left! Suffice to say, they are a lot more agile than I am! I feel very lucky to have this to enjoy while a whole bunch of family and friends and AM readers on the East Coast are making it through the mega-weather event. Here is a moment of peace. We're thinking about you. And donating to the Red Cross. 6" x 8" oil on panel sold
Slippery When Wet
October 24, 2012 With fall color still clinging to the trees, and twenty inches of fresh snow on the steps, it seemed like a good time to play with juxtaposition. I like the surprise of confetti-colored licorice painted like a rainy night in the city, neon and brake lights playing off of dark sheen. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Act One
October 17, 2012 Like actors on a stage, this scene seems to be all about potential. Here is your chance! Are you the playwright, director, lead or character actor? 8" x 8" oil on panel $235 Art in the Morning special
Peppermint Patty
October 10, 2012 Ice cream is like the Mae West of desserts... all that whipped-up glow, all those curves. Vava voom! It always brings a smile. Cheers! 9" x 12" oil on panel sold Art in the Morning special
The Sound of Silence
October 3, 2012 Late afternoon on a warm fall day finds me closing up shop, grabbing my paints, and making a dash to the woods in the pursuit of silence. Like everyone, sometimes I find life is too many inputs. Too much sound, metaphorically and literally. Nature's silence is the great salve. Making time to watch the light move over water, hear a woodpecker sculpt a tree, and catch the autumnal shadows moving over the land is never easy to achieve. But it's always worth it. I vote we all take one day a week to turn off the noise makers. In the peace and quiet of rediscovering nature's pleasures, we will hear a different music. 5" x 7" oil on panel $240 Art in the Morning special
Cumulo-fabulous
September 26, 2012The power of music. I loved my small plein air cloud paintings and was excited to do some larger pieces on the subject. I turned to my friend John Coltrane for a little help. I put on a recording of Branford Marsalis playing Coltrane's, A Love Supreme. It's a big piece - a painting in music - filled with colors and silence and sound, love and beauty, pain and revelation. It fills your chest and your heart and your brain. And this canvas. 16" x 16" oil on canvas $430 Art in the Morning special
A Painter's Tomato
September 1 9, 2012Up early, set up the still lifes, get the angle of light and shadow just so for diagonals and leading the eye through the picture, roll back the curtain to the art center entry and... it's show time! Eleven people set aside three days to paint with me, feeling like adventurers in the focused search for creating space, understanding what makes objects sit down and behave, and how to make color sizzle and glow. As one person noted - with everyone agreeing - he now sees so much more in the world around him. There is a special camaraderie that comes from sharing the exploration, the persistence, the inside humor about the experience, and finally, the sense of pleasure and pride of accomplishment. They sure aren't doing it because it's easy! What a thrill - to see each person's individual voice in color! 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Scintillating Sunny Morning
September 12, 2012 Whoa! It is very exciting to watch the landscape come awake. Everything starts out quiet and cool and blue-purple. Pretty soon it's snap, crackle, pop! The edges of things start to sizzle, the morning begins to glow with ambers and orange. The cool viridian greens move toward yellow-green. And the river starts to see the sky in its sparkling reflections. I love the gift that the turning earth brings us. And I feel very lucky to chase the light in paint. 6" x 8" oil on panel sold
Afternoon Sunlight
September 5, 2012 I could have called this, Things That Appear Blue. Sky. Water. Trees as they appear further in the distance. Mountains viewed through the atmosphere of distance. It was a great afternoon. Fish nibbling the surface of this pond. Gulls and a hawk overhead. Hold-on-to-your-easel wind. My friend attacking his canvas with intrepid dog Sadie at his side. Plein air painting is a great way to socialize. You get to share the big outdoors with others, giving and getting feedback. Then you pack up your gear and go home satisfied that you saw beauty and shared it, and challenged yourself to do something better than you did it yesterday. 6" x 8" oil on panel $270 Art in the Morning special
After School
August 29, 2012 Got milk? Check. Got monster cookie? Check. Got Cookie Monster? 5" x 7" oil on panel $125 Art in the Morning special
Centered
August 22, 2012 You’ve got your cup. Exhale. Take four slow breaths. In. Out. Think of your favorite scene in the last week. Garden. Ocean. Trail. Mountain. Beach. Hammock. Sky. Better? 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Zen and the Art of Lollipop Maintenance
August 15, 2012 I am currently the Artist-in-Residence at Valhalla on Lake Tahoe. It's a nice opportunity to have a gallery show in a beautiful room in an historic building. And it's a chance talk art with vacationing families enjoying the bike paths and beaches among the tall Ponderosa and Jeffrey Pines. I have my easel and pedestal of five-gallon buckets for doing still life paintings. People are curious to see a painting being made. And it's great to hear the wide-open thoughts of kids. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting young Oliver, an inquisitive boy of intelligent dark eyes and few words. He has an encouragingly-long attention span. Oliver asked his mom why someone would paint a lollipop. He wasn't being flip, he really wanted to know. My answer was pretty simple. You can paint anything you want. Plus, if you let yourself have some fun, you learn faster. Art is pretty serious stuff. 5" x 7" oil on panel $145 Art in the Morning special
Mountain Meadow, Morning Light
August 8, 2012 Ahhh... the pause that refreshes. Have paint pack, will find bliss. I wedged a paint break into a few intense weeks of shows - always a good time. Revisiting last week's plein air location for another dose of early morning silence was a welcome chance to hang out with the birds and the blue in the sunlight and sparkle. In the quiet, I could hear the air currents shift direction with the sound of the lake water rolling onto the beach, delivering the aromas of soil and moisture. I love the way shadow and light move with the earth to reveal and camouflage the folds of terrain - now highlighting the mountain face, now hiding a bush in shadow, or catching the glints of water on blades of grass. Another turn and... poof! Out pop the bobbing heads of unseen flowers in light, cool, blue-white. Giving up sleep for a moment in nature was a good trade. 6" x 8" oil on panel sold
Mexican Hat
August 1, 2012 Mexican Hat. Just love the name of these flowers! It makes me see them differently. They shoot straight upward in a celebratory kind of fireworks. Like they are flowers fueled by jalapenos. Last weekend was a whirl of energy, old friends and new at my studio on the studio tour... lots of hugs and stories and catching up... a real sense of coming together with people from pretty far places! From Virginia to Carmel to Huntington Beach, hearing tales of the past year and meeting friends of friends. Looking forward to next weekend's open studio tour, I took a quiet moment to bring my plein air easel out into the yard to paint one of the new members of my studio garden. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold Art in the Morning special
Cherry Coke
July 25, 2012 Some objects are icons with an instant flashback button. There is olfactory memory, where a smell puts you back on a corner in Europe or at the end of a mountain lake in Glacier Park. There is audio memory, where a song or a jazz riff has you alone in a room channeling teenage angst or on 54th at Eddie Condon's Jazz Club, having the time of your life. This chubby little bottle? Ah, the sweet summer days of youth. When it wasn't about bicycling to work or a wonderful and challenging summer stint volunteering in Teen Corps, it was about serious stuff - going to the beach with friends and listening to the latest music, seeing how tall I could make my water-ski spray, and, in this case, spending time with my dear friend. On a super hot day her dad Jack would bring a mini six-pack home for a special treat, a little, "I was thinkin' about you." 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Rushing Toward Summer
July 18, 2012 My trusty telescoping tripod easel was rock solid, and looking like an octopus, on the edge of this rushing river. More than could be said for the painter balancing on cobbles along the sloped path. Where canyon turns to valley this western view seemed a good perch. Backlit by the sun, the setting was all the better for catching the shimmer of light where water meets rock, the skimming path of a low-flying robin, and that moment of sunlight catching a leafy branch over cool shadow. There is always nature's sweet reward for taking the time to pause. 8" x 10" oil on panel sold
Pretty Girls of Summer
July 11, 2012 Ahhh, a chance to dig in the dirt and give my little studio cabin a facelift for the upcoming studio tour. It's a nice change to be outside playing with nature's "paint." I love the bold candy-colors of Gerbera daisies in the barrels along the road, sending out cheer to those dashing to work or errand. I mix them in with discordant colors, to wake up the eyes with a fresh take - kind of like jazz. It's a little more wild along the little drive, with low-water textures of yellow yarrow, spiky purple, California Poppy-orange and magenta bits bobbing among the cobbles to dress-up my totally retro silver metal roof. I'm pretty sure I heard the birds and bees and butterflies applaud. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Wind-riders
July 4, 2012 A very windy morning found me on the rise of a hill. The sun was gleaming across the land, which was dotted with dramatic cloud shadow. The clouds were fantastic in the light. I decided to chase them across the sky with my paint. What a great morning, meditating on clouds while little song birds filled the air and sent me for my binoculars to capture their palette of colors through the glass. Happy Independence Day! 6" x 6" oil on panel Sold
A Turn in the West Fork
June 27, 2012 Out of the studio and into the woods! Hooray! An intense week of plein air painting for the Markleeville Plein Air paint-out event offered me the glorious chance to sling my paint pack, easel, and binocs over my shoulders and strike out to be close to the earth, part of the wind, and surrounded by early morning birdsong. Up at 5, painting by 7, filled with excitement and anticipation. How could I not be, in the presence of such beauty! It's great to slow down internally even as you're racing to catch the light with paint - the glimmer on the turn of rapid river water, the squall of wind dancing across tall grass, the play of shadow as it moves over a mountain. While fully absorbed in the task at hand, some amazing bird sings an aria to the morning. A deer meanders across the scene. A shadow cruises across my painting, and I know some winged friend is high above me, riding a thermal. The highlight, besides a painting breakthrough, was watching a pair of Bald Eagles in aero-dynamic choreography before circling back to attend to their chick. And my, what a big chick it was! When in doubt, go out. It doesn't get any better. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Spring Columbine
June 20, 2012 Columbine are like some kind of happy creatures in a children's ballet. Their big open faces, with oversized heads surrounded by a sunburst of contrasting color, bob and dance in the breeze on spindly "legs." I am especially fond of them because they pop up in the woods, in addition to one's garden... trumpeting spring. Speaking of woods, I am painting in the Markleeville, CA Plein Air event this week. There are a bunch of us painters in and around Hope Valley, Woodfords and Markleeville. If you're in the area, keep your eyes peeled for big hats, easels and earnest postures. The reception is Saturday afternoon at the Markleeville Art Gallery. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Plane Classic
June 13, 2012 Solid, un-yielding, and sharp - just what you need in a planer. After performing a lifetime of projects, and an addition for my dad, he gave it to us when we built a passive solar addition many years ago. Looking like a piece of functional sculpture, it's ready when we are. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Clean
June 6, 2012 Clean lines. Clean design. Clean up. I appreciate the way the shape is like a water drop that is also like a chemistry beaker. They took something unattractive, a soap bottle, and re-imagined it into something aesthetic. In a way, that is what painting does. It helps us see things fresh. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Making Soup
May 30, 2012 Another Friday of Memorial Weekend, another chance to celebrate snow in the Sierra. Flurries of snow and hail brought out the big soup pot, beans, chilies, and a ton of vegetables for some chop-chop action. Mid-stride, my eyes got excited by the cool turquoise, blue-green rubber band, in contrast to the yellow-green of the celery. Each color made the other more lively and vibrant. I showed it to my husband doing dishes beside me. He paused to look and said, "Yes, that does look nice!" How lucky is that! I saved the rubber band. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Red Light, Green Light
May 23, 2012 Not only are peppers one of my favorite foods in everything from omelettes to stir fry, tacos to kebabs, soups to spaghetti, or just roasted, they're a great way to light up a dish with color. And - big surprise! - for me it's all about color. I like the hot red torpedo shapes in contrast to the chubby, bulbous green bell pepper. I enjoy the way their smooth surface provides opportunity for the play of reflected light. They know how to sparkle. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Kimono Dance
May 16, 2012 As is so often the case, I can start out with an idea of what something might look like - the objects, the scene, the colors - and then, something else takes over. The painting goes where it needs to and I am just along for the ride, the chaperone who tries to make sure we don't crash and burn. The surprise comes from the topsy-turvy tilt of the orange wedges and the evocative nature of the dance. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Beachcombers
May 9, 2012 A walk on the beach is a great way to hit the reset button. Within the surround-sound of rolling waves is a big scene of industry. Leggy birds of all kinds walk and bob along the shore, all finding opportunities to strut their stuff and dine at the beach banquet. You’ve got the slender, longer-legged, speckled brown number who moves quickly, like a little woman with a purse over her arm, intent on an errand. Ungainly Brown Pelicans glide above jumping dolphins, making impressive drop-out-of-the-sky dives for fish. Then there are the ever-present seagulls. These are the casual dudes who are the surfer version of guys hanging out on the street corner - always an eye for what’s the next big thing as they catch a few rays or take a dip. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Night Light
May 2, 2012 Some of my best experiences happen in the light of a flame. In candlelight or firelight, in solitude, with my sweetie, or with a group of friends, everything is warmer and more inviting when the light dances around the room or off the trees and bushes. I find myself making different links between ideas, more creative leaps, than I do under a light bulb. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Lemon Zazzle
April 25, 2012 Zizzle, zazzle, snippety pip! Next time you have a fresh lemon, take just a moment to set it on a surface, find a wash of light. Now, sit back and look at the edges. See where the yellow turns a wee bit orange? Or, green? Then, look at the highlights. The one on top is usually warmer (yellower.) The one underneath, that's the "reflected highlight" from the table's surface. That is usually cooler, (bluer, greener,) but not always! You can't assume anything. Then you get to investigate the shadows. The ones on the lemon and the ones on the table. Wondrous shadows are opportunities for radiant color. Look at all of those arcs, curves and pops of highlight that tell you the lemon is round. Wasn't that fun?! Isn't your lemon extra tasty? 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Multi-tasking
April 18, 2012 Blind-sided but still standing… well, mostly. Here is my heartfelt thanks to the nurses, nurses aids and staff who kept my sweetheart safe to see another day. Each brought knowledge, skill, comfort, and patience with every visit. These are people who have 18 balls in the air and lives on the line, who still take time to answer your questions, give a kind touch, accommodate a spouse who camps-out, and amazingly, always with a smile. My special thanks to the doctors who made the right call, and acted quickly. Their decisive action made all the difference. Their attention, care, clarity of judgment, and their kindness, was exactly what we needed. Thank you. You Rock! 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Landscape Painting
April 11, 2012 Art supplies are like the stuff in hardware stores. They're all about possibility. Depending on the user, the implementation can yield wildly different results. But usually optimism, a bit of romance, and a whole lot of persistence are involved. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Sliced
April 4, 2012 A story can begin so simply. As a painter, I create a pool of reflective darkness to set off this lovely red tomato. I then take a sharp knife from the drawer, the one with a white handle for contrast. I slice into the tomato to release the scent and the juice and expose the bits of yellow seeds. The fruit falls to rest in angled balance. I put the knife at a diagonal to lead us into the painting. Someone has been to market. In this room they prepare food for enjoyment, anticipating a welcome guest. The phone rings. Echoing upwards from the street below comes the clip-clop of horse hooves on cobblestones. A door opens. You complete it. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Squeeze It. Drink It.
March 28, 2012 It can be a change of context, or seeing a single thing in multiples, that helps us see it fresh. Even the quotidian becomes interesting. Painters often turn their canvas upside down to see what is actually there instead of what they think is there. It helps them see it "new." That's what happened for me when I chopped these orange triangles and put them in a glass. They became sculptural, translucent jewels. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Beachfront Property
March 21, 2012 Sometimes, a tropical vacation is just the ticket. Sometimes, pineapple and parasols will have to do. Don't forget the sunscreen. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Jester
March 14, 2012 Falcon hoods are evocative, highly-crafted objects of beauty and function, rich with metaphorical possibility. This hand-stitched hood was custom made for a specific bird. Like blinders on a horse, they are used for calming birds during handling. Some years ago, I frequented a raptor center to do drawings of falcons, amazing birds of prey. They were catered to by a devoted staff of doctors, researchers and volunteers nursing injured birds back to health. Those birds who could not return to the wild were given new lives as "educators." It was a wonderful experience for me. With its happy/sad components of farce and drama, not unlike a clown or an operatic character, it made for a mysterious subject. 6" x 6" oil on panel $125 Art in the Morning special
Singin' in the Rain
March 7, 2012 To heck with matters of composition. I just wanted to do a painting where the fruit were lined up like a dance line. These three tangerines are tapping out a rhythm of highlights and shadows, lights and darks... a form of call and response with the reflective surface they are on and the shadow they are in. Not to mention, "Singin' in the Rain" is one of my all time faves for music, choreography, serendipity and daring. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Tomatoes on the Vine
February 29, 2012 Juicy red tomatoes sizzle on a cold winter night. The pattern introduces melody to the composition. A nice counterpoint to the cool colors outside as a winter storm moves in. Time to roll up the rug for salsa and salsa! 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Fashion Week
February 22, 2012 Not having television, I'm grateful to NPR for keeping me informed of all of the important news events happening around the world. How else would I know about "Fashion Week"?! Being a painter, my sense of fashion leans toward what's on my paint palette. I'm more concerned with "colour" than couture. Of course, part of that is due to the nature of oil paint. It somehow ends up on every article of clothing I own. Like today. I stop by the studio on the way to somewhere, see a one-dab correction I need to make and, voila! Ultramarine Blue is all over my front. That said, considering I love Carhartts - they keep me organized - maybe I could use a fashion tip, or two. About the painting. I like the way the secondary shadows lead you into the painting, and the primary shadows lead you back. I also like the crackle that the reflective highlights provide. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Winter Tulip
February 15, 2012 A touch of spring from a friend who brought tulips to my show opening at Bona Fide Books publishing last weekend. A really fun event full of community, cheer and fantastic live Jazz. Capturing the dance of color and rhythm in nature, these tulips are a nice counterpoint to winter, hot, fiery light and cool temps, brilliant sunlight against the fall of darkness, celebration and silence. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold Art in the Morning special
Love Always
February 8, 2012 Sweetheart candies and Valentines bring flashbacks of childhood excitement and anticipation. Valentine's Day was an opportunity to make something full of color, glitter, and cheer. At school, it brought the rare chance to get out of your desk chair and move about the room exchanging sweet somethings of friendship and affection, a chance to make others feel special. 4" x 4" x 2" oil on panel $70 Art in the Morning special
Sweet Talk
February 1, 2012 One might ask, what do barn swallows, duets by Louie and Ella, and Valentine's Day have in common? It kind of boils down to life in the studio, and... life. In my previous studio, I had the wonderful annual visit of nesting barn swallows, just to the side, above the door. One year, they were real love birds and jazz singers extraordinaire. He, doing all kinds of pyrotechnic scat singing. She, doing a quick-to-respond melody. Back and forth all day long. These were a standout couple. I named them Louie and Ella. And, Valentines they were. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Hot Cha Cha
January 25, 2012 A red nose and cold toes on either side of a cup of hot chocolate, with pillows of marshmallow, says, "childhood in winter" to me. This week I had a flashback to my best memories of childhood when I saw kids skating everyday on the local frozen pond. Skates and a stick, saw horses as goal posts, a basic wooden bench on the side of the ice, and crowds of dancing, swooping, wobbly people of all ages taking advantage of clear weather and cold temps… It doesn’t get much better. Growing up on the prairie, this is what I did every day after school in winter. Thank goodness for a whole lot of free thrills, fun and exercise. If homework and sax practice was done early, sometimes I got lucky and could go back and skate again after dinner. Walking to the rink at night was the best. Skate laces tied together and looped over my shoulder, it was exciting, a bit scary, and definitely an adventure. It was great fun cutting through dark yards, the occasional sweet smell of a dryer running or the ominous shadow of a creature that turned out to be lawn furniture looming in the dark. It was silly fun to approach a streetlight walking backward to see your shadow shrink and then face front, watching your shadow stretch tall into the future, full of possibility. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Cleanup Time
January 18, 2012 A writer, his dictionary. A search-and-rescue handler, her dog. A painter, her brushes and turp pot. Every "trade" has its tools. The users often wax poetic about the specificity and freedom they provide. The other tool for creativity, of course, is time. Hard to paint, but you can find it here, in the shadows. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Winter Geranium
January 11, 2012 Hot color for a cold season. The sizzling colors of geraniums in my studio are always a treat in winter. They make any day a sunny day. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Fuyus fo' You
January 4, 2012 What is it about persimmons, anyway? Besides being the fruit of choice to celebrate the New Year in Japan. One of my readers wrote a while back to ask if I’d ever painted them. She then sung the praises of her persimmon of choice, Fuyus… their crispy sweetness, their satisfying crunch. It called to mind another persimmon lesson some twenty years ago. This one from "old Sam," a bit of a legend, and one of the original makers of high-perf ski runs at a local resort. He was just the type one wants for a co-worker when moving to the mountains. Tall and lean as a fir, a face like a woods gnome, with patience and knowledge to match. One day, quiet 80 year-old Sam came up to me on the mountain. Tucking his skis under his arm, he almost whispered, "Do you know about persimmons?" As a relocated flatlander, I hadn’t a clue. But I felt honored to be asked. From his pocket, Sam produced two fruit of fabulous nuanced color, which he had grown at his other home in the Central Valley. His were the Hachiya variety. In intimate tones I learned how best to determine the ripening and sweetness. And how best to eat it. A spoon. I suspected I would never have the nerve to eat them. They were too beautiful. They needed to be remembered in paint. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Winter's Mountain Chickadee
December 28, 2011 Nature's winter mascot in our neck of the woods is the Mountain Chickadee. Their chirps and tree trunk acrobatics animate our forests all year long. But their little round warm-gray bodies and dashing eye slash bring a particular warmth and charm to a peaceful winter scene. They're content in their quiet industry and good ambassadors of the season. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Solstice Sparkle
December 21, 2011 Enjoy the colors and spirit of the Season. Happy Winter Solstice! The days start getting longer! Ahhh. Peace to you and yours. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Checking It Twice
December 14, 2011 Sparkles and ribbons and lists that plot the joy of giving... 'Tis the Season! Trees decked with lights in the town square add to the festive air. I've had such fun being one of Santa's elves this year, painting special commissions for collectors' loved ones. It's a treat and an honor. This painting was also a bit of fun, my first painted ribbon and first painted glass ball. What a blast. Adding to the cheer was a new CD in my tray. (Pretty retro, I know.) If you need help finding energy to fit everything in, or you just want to share the cheer, I'm not sure you could do better than Duke Ellington's, "Blues in Orbit." I know it's called "blues" but it's the swingin'est, cheeriest blues one could hope to find! And Ray Nance may be my new favorite trumpeter. That's saying something after Miles, Freddie and Clifford! And, yes, I know, Wynton. Check it out. But watch out! You may find yourself cuttin' the rug instead of tying bows! 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Blue
December 7, 2011 I like the way facets give me an opportunity to play around with planar shifts, bouncing light, bits of color and refraction that keep things fresh and alive. The blues and greens and light sienna make me think of water. Maybe it’s sitting on my marble-topped nightstand on the French Riviera? Yeah, sure! 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Mountain Mirror 2
November 30, 2011 Nature fix. The sun is warm, the air cool, and the woods silent except for the snort of a deer before you hear her hooves make staccato contact down the slope. The sky is a window into bird life, the humorous cartoon squawk of crows perturbed about airspace, the soft chandelier-tinkling sound of small birds in a flock, a Pileated woodpecker hammering home a point, and the crazy-woman-of-the-woods call of the loon. Just before I set up my gear to paint, we walked down to the lake's edge. Savoring the placid blue, the endless inlets along the shore provide places for the mind to roam. Whoosh. An Osprey makes a torpedo dive and comes out with a salmon or trout bigger than him! Amazing. Off it goes, into the cerulean, looking for a treetop. Bird and fish, both heads facing southwest, the stacked combo looks like a surreal weather vane off on a road trip. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Let Them Eat Pie
November 23, 2011 I have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. You, my Art in the Morning reader, are chief among them. In appreciation, have a Happy Thanksgiving! 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Rough 'n Ready
November 16, 2011 I went back to my toolbox. This little Shorty is great for getting out of tight spots. I like the way it practically vibrates with energy, eager to tackle the next job. One of the challenges I like about painting a single object is how to lead the eye through the painting. How to keep the negative space alive and full of energy, something I learned from listening to Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Plus, I just like tools. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
An Apple a Day...
November 9, 2011 Purely for medicinal reasons, of course. 5" x 7" oil on panel $120 Art in the Morning special
Trick or Treat!
November 2, 2011 Don't you just love fall color?! 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
A Room with a View
October 26, 2011 One of my mottos, "When in doubt, go out." We made the great escape to the middle of nowhere for four days of camping. Not really long enough to qualify for the "annual vacation," but there it is. No cell reception. And, as Joni Mitchell says, "No deadlines. No commitments." They were replaced by: Stars. Shooting stars. Six satellites in one night. Stars. And, what must have been the space station going by! (It jives with their flight path via Google.) Very cool. A Bald Eagle. Deer. Flocks of twittering, migrating songbirds each morning just as the envelope of fog began to lift. Training my binocs on them revealed gems of color on their heads. While painting, there would come an occasional racket. It would turn out to be an oak leaf falling. Serious! What a gift, to have the silence of your thoughts in the surround of nature’s music. The time to notice the squall across the water’s surface, the coming of pink at sunset, the whir of cricket "chirp." Dusk brought the opportunity for a different peace, which comes with watching a fire. Fire must have been an essential ingredient in the evolution of consciousness. Did I mention? There were a gazillion stars. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Asian Pears
October 19, 2011 This past weekend I was invited to the Placerville Arts Association to critique new work for their upcoming juried members’ show. What a good time! It wasn’t lost on me that these folks – people who still make things with their hands – chose to spend a beautiful fall day indoors pushing their work to the next level. What a smart, engaged and lively group, most welcoming to someone they’d never met. One of the guys brought baskets of homegrown Asian Pears to share. Asian art is one of my first loves. So, here are some of David’s Pears, in honor of folks who make things. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Gladiola Muse
October 12, 2011 This weekend I left seven inches of fresh snow on our front step to show in San Carlos' juried art festival. We're talking mid-70s and sunny. Happy dogs, happy kids, happy me. My booth neighbor filled his sculpted glass vases with happy flowers. Splendid! No wonder I can never remember what season it is in California! I didn't want the feeling of summer to end. So I brought home its colors: sunflower yellows, tangy Gerbera daisy peach and cool Gladiola magenta-rose. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil
October 5, 2011 Need I say more? The cookie monster in my life never complains when I buy sweet stuff for still life painting. Funny how that works. 6" x 6" oil on panel $145
Tootsie
September 28, 2011 I thought it would be fun to paint the glossy, glassy multitude of shapes and candy colors of nail polish. Lucky for me, my no-longer-so-little nieces like to paint their toes with happy colors, and they donated their partially full bottles of nail polish. A wacky and nice package to get in the mail. Emma and Sarah, thank you for supporting the arts! And your mom, too. As usual, she did most of the work. 6" x 6" oil on panel $145
Back to School
September 21, 2011 I had this fresh, crispy, Gala apple, full of a ton of wonderful colors and the surprise of a leaf still attached to its stem. I thought of what time of year it is and decided to do a painting in honor of all of the teachers out there. All of us have had an inspired, stand-out teacher, or three. They can change the course of a life. Here's to teachers, who do one of the toughest and most important jobs there is. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Swing Shift
September 14, 2011 This was very fun to paint... the play of dark and light, cool and warm, weight and atmosphere. I like the lack of presumption and the functional mass of these classic forms. They continue to call to me to record their everyday beauty. I enjoy how the dark ellipses are pools of mystery. It makes me think of so many times in all of our lives where we are rising before dawn, or working in the middle of the night, just getting the task at hand done. And savoring the silence. 8" x 16" oil on canvas sold
Day Dreams 2
September 7, 2011 Sometimes it's good to have your head in the clouds. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Morning Light at River's Edge
August 31, 2011 I brought my easel to the bank of this river to catch the morning sun as it came over the mountain in this corner of the valley. In stocking cap and sweater, I savor this peaceful time. Birds dart from cool shadow into splashes of sunlight. I always thrill at the sound of hummingbird wings. I try to work fast in the quick-moving light. The colors shift from cool blues, grays and lavenders to greens, reds, yellows and orange. Brooding reflections on the river become silver bits of glimmering light. The only thing that could be better would be to have slept on the bank under the moon and awake to this view over the edge of my sleeping bag. 6" x 8" oil on panel sold
Exuberant Bloom 1
August 24, 2011 This was fun. I spied a lovely hedge of blooms at a friend's house and was lucky enough to take a bud on a stem back to the studio. Paint during the day, into the fridge at night. (The studio fridge is like an archeological dig of still life specimens.) Days go by. As this bloom opened up, wow! What fragrance! I did three paintings of the flower as it opened. The studio smelled like a garden paradise ~ my own little re-enactment of spring. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Taking Measure
August 17, 2011 My trusty Stanley tape measure has been going up walls and across boards, over artwork and along frame mouldings, and banging around in my car for more decades than I might want to 'fess up to. It helps me divide maple-veneer plywood into aesthetic sizes before I cut and prime them for paintings. Always a steady measure. Always that satisfying slide of efficiency back into its housing, despite the occasional drop-and-skid across a parking lot. Its reliability makes it iconic in my world. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Solitaire
August 10, 2011 The heavy lifter of every day, the overlooked, unadorned glass. Nighttime water, morning juice, a quick gulp between to and fro, something to crush the crackers when your lasagna has too much liquid, and of course, the holder of a good belt of scotch in some seedy motel room before Philip Marlowe saves a damsel in distress. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Frog Pond Meadow
August 3, 2011 It was a beautiful summer day to be out painting. Blue sky, wild flowers blooming, sandy beach on alpine lake at my back, mountains and a pond straight ahead. Red-winged blackbirds played melody with their reedy burble that says, "summer." While the frogs played the left-hand base notes. Along comes a scene right out of a Norman Rockwell. Fish nets and heads bobbing above the tall reeds and bushes. Sounds of exclamation followed by a solemn, "Sh-h-h-h!!" The frogs pull an audio blackout. A band of young boys dart and dive along the edge of the pond. They have a plan to bag some frogs. Stealth is their weapon. They're focus is heartwarming, even if I am rooting for the frogs. There's not a video screen, or parent, in sight. Just some old-fashioned kids-being-kids fun and adventure playing outside. The occasional splash, even the view of some long dark frog legs launching through the air, assures me the frogs made their escape. Late afternoon finds the boys rejoining their families to pack up from the beach. I am wrapping up my painting as well. Twenty minutes later I hear the bass end of the orchestra strike up a new tune of croaks and rrrribbits. Another end to a summer day. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Owen's Favorite Brew
July 27, 2011 My in-laws are celebrating their 65th anniversary. So here is a toast with Owen McKenna's favorite brew ~ to beer tastings in the back yard, which no doubt inspired a certain author you know, roasting a goat under the stars with Kent's ingenious bicycle-driven rotisserie, and your lifetime of backpacking the world together. Cheers! 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
Tea Time
July 20, 2011 I like the solidity of "old time" coffee cups, their matter-of-factness, their hefty unfussiness. They know what they're about and they get the job done. No apologies. No hedging. We would all do well to emulate the simple diner coffee cup. Keeping it hot. Working to ability. I appreciate that it knows how to cross the aisle, providing equal opportunity for tea. And I like the visual tension of the string around the spoon. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Considering the Cosmos
July 13, 2011 When I was planting my humble garden for the upcoming studio tour, a friend mentioned that I wouldn't get much painting done that day. I thought, "Well, I am kind of painting." With the flowers. I like them to look like a box of spilled crayons beside the drive. Not having been a painter of flowers, I've now done a few. It's a nice way to focus on the blooms. While I was obviously playing when I named this painting, appreciating flowers offers some of the same benefits as looking at the stars, skiing by moonlight, listening to a robin sing... it calms and slows and changes our perspective. That can only be good. 5" x 7" oil on panel sold
My Cup Runneth Over
July 6, 2011 Another round! The farmer's market is a carnival of color. It's visually exciting to walk along the tables of nature's colors. Cadmium Red, Permanent Green Light, Juane' Brilliant. Exciting too, to see the various faces that looked down the road, bent their back, put a shovel to soil, and out comes this bounty. The taut, reflective skin of these garnet red cherries called out to be painted again. Their warm rich darkness against the reflected cool of the porcelain... I like juxtapositions. There is an edible rainbow at your local farmer's market. It's fun! It's community. It's a gift. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
A Great Day
June 29, 2011 I just finished a 5-day plein-air paint-out sponsored by Markleeville Art Gallery in Markleeville, CA. It was a terrific experience, continuing my recent lifestyle change of living beyond my comfort zone. Painting out in the glare of daylight is a real challenge. Yes, we had wind, but it was nothing compared to when I had to make a neck gator out of a plastic grocery bag on the beach in Carmel's wind-tunnel. And yeah, I heard talk of mosquitoes, which really don't exist in Lake Tahoe. I'm from Minnesota, where their size has people referring to them as the state bird. The Sierra doesn't have the simple clarity of shapes of, say, the golden hills of Petaluma. We have a snarl of branches, hairy trees and an abundance of... practically everything! So learning to edit is where it's at. I try to think of those jazz musicians I love. Miles, Coltrane... When they're young, it's all about how many notes can you play. When they're older, it's about saying more with less. Okay, so Coltrane always said more with more. But it was beautiful. I'm out there in Hope Valley challenging myself to do more while painting less, and design like Miles, with the negative space between the notes / shapes, and I'm basically just grateful that I have this opportunity to be in such incredible beauty. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Lily Shade
June 22, 2011 Showing in the Danville Art Festival this past weekend, I found a spot of cool shade under a tree and pulled out my paints to capture this lily in a cup. Turns out, painting is a magnet for small faces of every color. Kids are fascinated by the possibilities in creating something, and it's fun for them to see adults doing it too. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Hello, My Little Cupcake
June 15, 2011 Studies show that you get endorphins from chocolate. I do get endorphins from chocolate! I just access mine through paint. I paint sweet stuff because they make me smile. Low in calories, high in brain-chemistry buzz. This happy little number is over the top: chocolate-dipped vanilla frosting. Say, what?! With a cherry on top. For spring, of course. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Spouting Off
June 8, 2011 I like the way that art gives us a chance to take the everyday, overlooked object and see it fresh. This snappy little can is all about function. It's well-crafted and timeless. Kind of nostalgic. But its clean geometric hot red shape and gnarled brass fitting is aesthetic, too. And, it's not made of plastic! 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Cherry Season
June 1, 2011 Memorial Day weekend found me with seven inches of fresh snow on our deck and a pot of lentil soup on the stove. But cherry season means it's spring, right?! Down in the Central Valley, it was fun to see the orchards next to the cherry stand bubbling with red baubles. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
If I Had a Hammer
May 25, 2011 I've always used tools in my work. I have an affinity for them. I love their provision of leverage, weight and force in a spare and clean design. I also love that they remind me of some great times with my husband, my grandpa and my dad. This solid hammer, with the aid of a couple of nails, has put in some serious time. 6" x 6" oil on panel sold
Spoon in Cup
May 18, 2011 Seems appropriate to kick off my "Art in the Morning" gig with a cup 'a joe. We were in Carmel for Todd to do a book show nearby. I was excited to haul my gear to the beach and do some plein air painting. We enjoyed our morning coffee by the window. I love the reflections on the glass table top. The terrace out the other side was full of flowers. On the chimney of the clay rooftop across the street, a seagull couple faced into the sun, eyes closed, doing their Zen thing. After three hours of painting in a wind tunnel at the beach, I came back and painted this still life in our room to recapture the morning scene. (What hotel owners don't know... mum's the word.) 8" x 8" oil on panel sold |
New!! The Book!
"Art in the Morning" is my way to greet the day. What began as an attempt to make the world a kinder place through art, has turned in to two-and-a-half years of weekly paintings accompanied by my musings on nature, painting, life, and jazz. Once a week I send out an email with a painting, hot off my easel, for you to enjoy with your morning cup of coffee/ tea/ chocolate before you dive in to your work day. It's just a moment to relax. It's my attempt to make art a part of our every day lives. All of the arts should get out of the cloisters and into the moment. Any moment. Share it with a friend. If they want to receive it regularly, they can just send me an email with "Please Add" in the subject line. I never share your address. Email me: Kit@KitNight.com (this is not a link) Night has no "K". Thanks and enjoy! - Kit For book details, please visit my Home Page.
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