Sunset Reflection

Sunset Reflection - 30 x 40 oil
Available at Hildt Galleries, Chicago
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I've had the opportunity to work on some larger paintings these last few weeks. Its been a treat. Unfortunately, this image doesn't do the painting justice- the subtlety of the glazes in the foreground and changes in color temperature just don't register. Anyway, working large has been a goal of mine for several years but this is the first real opportunity I have had to paint this large in quite a while. It presents a whole new set of challenges , but I'm hooked! Now I'm dreaming of 48 x 60 or 60 x 90!

A New Art Blog

My friend Jane Fulton has recently started a blog. Jane lives and paints in Laguna Beach (tough duty,eh?). She is a dedicated plein air painter and I think you'll agree that her little beach paintings are wonderful. Click on over and take a look.

When Worlds Collide

As some of you might know, I practiced law for many years before becoming a full time artist. A couple of months ago I got an email asking if I would do an interview for the alumni magazine of my law school alma mater. I was a bit baffled about why they wanted to profile someone who wasn't practicing law anymore but the Communications Director assured me he thought it would make an interesting profile. Hmmmm. So, I agreed, and then sort of forgot about it until an old law school friend emailed me today to say the article was out. I think its well done, really and does a pretty good job of explaining how I got from Point A (law school) to Point B (full time artist), although that transition was a lot bumpier than described.

The article isn't on the web, although it will be eventually. Here it is, if anyone's interested in reading it. If you click on it, it should be big enough to read.

Art & Critique Feature

I am happy to say that a feature on my work appears today on Elijah Shifrin's Art & Critique here. Thank you Elijah!

Afterglow

Afterglow - oil on canvas 24 x 30
Available at Hildt Galleries, Chicago

Here is the second painting of the "pair". I had planned to post them side by side but Blogger doesn't seem to want to let me do that. But, hopefully, they do read as complements to one another, as intended.

Twilight Field

Twilight Field - Oil on canvas 24 x 30
Available at Hildt Galleries, Chicago

Here 's one of several larger pieces I have been working on over the last few weeks. The gallery asked me to do a "pair" of paintings- which I have never really tried to do before. The idea is that these two pieces would be somewhat similar, complement one another and be framed the same- they could be sold as a pair or individually. Sounds simple, right? Well, it turned out to be much more difficult than I anticipated. Unlike a diptych where the same composition flows from one canvas to the other, these images needed to be separate and distinct, yet enough alike to "hang together". I decided to use generally the same point of view and thus horizon line to help hold the two images together, as well as similar color harmonies. The second piece is not quite finished but I'll post it in a few days.

Evening Sky

Evening Sky
10 x 10 Oil on panel
Please contact me if interested in this piece

The last few weeks I have been hit or miss, mostly miss, in my posting schedule. There are lots of good reasons- trying to get a group of larger pieces completed for my Chicago gallery and some personal stuff- but do feel guilty when I let it slide.

I've been having a problem lately with varnish. It seems like every time I varnish a painting I end up with lots of little bumps and debris on the surface that I didn't see before I varnished. I haven't changed varnish- I use Gamvar made by Gamblin- but I have changed my painting methods quite a bit and I've started using gessoed panels in addition to canvas. So I figured there was some technical voodoo at work. I went to the Studio Notes on the Gamblin web site for help. This is a great resource for painters- lots of technical information. I read their article on varnishing and then sent an email off with questions. Within 24 hours, as promised, I received a helpful email from Scott, who helped me pinpoint the problem (dust!) and gave some suggestions as to how to prevent or fix the problem. So today my husband constructed a little canopy under which my paintings reside while the glaze or varnish layers are drying- it was either that or build a new studio which is not in the same building as his shop. The canopy seemed like an easier solution. In addition to strictly technical advice, Studio Notes also has an interesting article comparing direct and indirect painting methods and the art historical context for those methods.