Rosarium Sunset
“Rosarium Sunset” 8 x 10 oil on canvasboard
On the heels of yesterday’s plein air outing at the arroyo, we went to Descanso Gardens at sunset today for some more painting and photographing. Descanso is open Thursday nights for the months of July and August. I wait all year for this opportunity to see the beautiful gardens at “golden hour” – the loveliest time (other than dawn.)
This represents one of the paths lined with rose bushes. Roughing in the painting took about an hour, from 615 t0 715, and I added finishing touches (such as the sky) after I got home. At that time of day the light was changing so rapidly there was not much point in painting after an hour had elapsed. I finished it off at home, refinining edges, adjusting things. The above painting represents the colors as they really are under room light conditions. The photographs below are more bluish, representing shady daylight conditions.
I promised some people that the very next time I went out painting with my lightweight easel that I would take pictures of the shelf in closeup, so here they are. I made a cardboard mock-up to work out the dimensions, then gave it to my husband who cut it out of 1/4″ masonite. There are no supports underneath the shelf other than two little L brackets to reinforce the holes. It sits on the easel by a friction-fit.
White Oleander Trail
“White Oleander Trail” – 8 x 10 oil on canvasboard
This is the second in my ongoing series of “Trails of La Canada-Flintridge.” Eventually I’d like to paint all of the interesting byways that criss-cross our little town, winding along back yards and horse corrals in this distinctly suburban-semi-rural area. This part of the trail, in Flint Canyon, passes by fences that are crowned with huge oleander plants – in rose and white. I suppose one of these days I’ll include a hiker, biker or horseback rider on the trail, as they are used by all three. But for now I’ll leave it open and you can use your imagination to suggest who’ll be coming round the bend.
Arroyo Shelter – Daily Painting
Arroyo Shelter” – 8 x 10 – oil on canvasboard
When I take a walk through the Hahamongna wetlands area in the nearby arroyo, I love to look at the various forms of short shrubbery and small trees that are home to so many kinds of wildlife. Late in the day, rabbits emerge from the brush and red-winged blackbirds roost in the many small willow trees that fill the area.
I’m not sure of the name of these small trees – next time I’ll have to take a field guide along and see if I can identify them.
This week I’ve been taking a break from watercolor to work in oil and to put into practice some of what I’ve been learning. This week I was fortunate to come into contact with a woman who was giving up oils for acrylic painting and selling her supplies. So my paint box is restocked (for the moment) and I have a few new colors to experiment with, too.
Mulholland Twilight – Nibblefest
“Mulholland Twilight” 8 x 10 – oil on canvasboard
SOLD
The purpose of Ebay’s monthly Nibblefest is to generate interest and publicity for our works and the person with the most unique bids from different bidders is the winner. For this reason, it’s good to keep the price in a low range as long as possible because it encourages more nibbles. Of course, I’d love to see it sell for a good price at the close of auction, but in the beginning, small bids from a lot of different people is ideal. In fact, I’d love to see 15 + people bid on it in 50 cent increments.
I only take part in this activity once a month, so if you’ve been interested in owning one of my paintings, this is a great time to do it.
This painting – a view of the San Fernando Valley from Mulholland Drive – is even more vibrant in person. The sky is a blend of ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson, with accents of cerulean blue and cadmium red. It’s the sort of sunset that is all too rare because of our lack of clouds. But when they happen it can be magical. In the distance the lights were just beginning to come on, creating the kind of wild/urban scene that can only happen in LA.
Flint Canyon Trail – Daily Painting
“Flint Canyon Trail” – 9 x 12 oil on canvasboard
Graduations and reunions are completed (joyfully) and we are catching up after all the partying and celebrating. Here are our son and daughter, who will be having her own MBA graduation next year.
So, it was time for me to get back to painting, and new watercolors, oils and pastels will follow soon. This painting represents a portion of the Flint Canyon Trail which is part of a large loop of trails that goes through La Canada, Flintridge, where we live. The trail is most beautiful in early morning and late afternoon light (this was about 6 pm.) The canvas was toned with burnt sienna underneath which adds an overall glow as bits of it peek through here and there.
Descanso Camellia
“Descanso Camellia” – Approx 15 x 11″ – watercolor on paper
SOLD
This is probably the largest floral piece I’ve done so far – and I enjoyed the process very much. Essentially it’s no different from working small except I have to stand back more frequently and use larger brushes to avoid getting too many picky details.
Busy, busy. I don’t have time to write much right now – I’m up to my ears in framing and gathering materials for a new class I’ll be attending tomorrow. Plus, our son is graduating from UCLA on Saturday and we’re co-hosting a grad party for him and some of his roommates.
OK, back to work for me …
Gloriosas and Delphiniums
9 x 12 – watercolor on Canson cold pressed paper – Gloriosas and delphiniums
Well, here it is 1:50 am again. I was drifting off to sleep when Ripley (who sleeps at the foot of our bed) suddenly barked once and woke me up. If I am awakened as I am making that first descent into sleep, it seems to take the edge off my sleepiness and I might as well get up and do something. Which I did (exhibit A, above.) I think these yellow gloriosa daisies are called “Irish Eyes” because the centers are as green as the emerald isle.
I got a pretty cool new brush the other day and I was eager to try it out. So I clipped a piece of paper to my easel, vertically, did a quick sketch and painted this as only a half-awake, half-asleep person can do. This Davinci Cosmotop is just dreamy – it holds a lot of paint and releases it smoothly.
Now that this is done I feel a little sleepier – I hope.
Peonies Plein Air
Plein Air Peonies – 11″ x 15″ (quarter sheet) Arches 140# watercolor paper
SOLD
Well, the show was a success in every way and I have lived to tell the tale. Kudos to Lori and her family for not only organizing the event but offering their home as our gallery and creating an atmosphere of conviviality and creativity. We all arrived an hour before the studio tour began to set up our easels and help with last minute details … but everything was in perfect order so there was little we needed to do. Tour guests began arriving promptly at 1 and continued throughout the afternoon with only a few lulls and many surges. The organizing committee asked if artists might have some sort of demo set up at their studios, and several of were happy to oblige, setting up our easels around a beautiful still life arrangement artfully presented by painter Carolyn Jean. I haven’t done very many floral still lives but I loved the challenge of these peonies – which we cannot grow in Southern California. These buxom blooms came from Whole Foods market, and I understand from my artpal Nan that Trader Joes is carrying them as well.
The light changed quite radically during the hour or so that I was painting these, but I tried to keep the memory of the glow even while they slipped into the shade of the umbrella and grapefruit tree. I invoked the muse that speaks to Charles Reid to please give me a hand with the looseness – that is to say, to please stay my hand if I should try to get too fussy. Because I paint landscapes more than arranged flowers, this experience has given me the incentive to do more painting out on my back patio this summer.
All in all, we had a good day. I sold this painting of the garden at Casita Del Arroyo
to a lovely collector, and Robin, Ginny, Carolyn, Louisa and others in our group had sales as well. It was an auspicious beginning. But the best part was being in the company of good painting friends, family and art lovers on a perfect late spring day. Assuming the stars all align correctly, I can hardly wait until we do it next year.
Newport Vignette
This is just a quick and loose sketch based upon scenes from our Newport paintout day. I don’t know why, sometimes I like the fast and loose ones better than the ones I toil over for hours. But I just can’t bring myself to ‘dash off’ something I intend for a show. Which is the kiss of death, of course, and invites overworking , overthinking, just over-overing. Sigh.
There’s an Irish proverb, attributed to various people, that says
“Work like you don’t need money,
Love like you’ve never been hurt,
And dance like no one’s watching.”
And to that I might add … “Paint like it doesn’t matter.”
Now I’ve got to finish framing up a few things to take to a friend’s open studio tomorrow, for a group exhibition on Sunday.
And gather some things together for another library show on Saturday. Then back to the painting board!
California Farmhouse
California Farmhouse – Aprox 9″ x 12″ – watercolor
While I continue to work on my big painting (yes, I finally put brush to paper yesterday on that snowy white sheet) here is a painting I did a few weeks ago as a practice using warm and cool colors alternatively. The actual scene was rather lackluster with uninteresting lighting so I decided to spice it up a bit using a range of colors typical of the California scene painters of the 30s and 40s.
I might paint this one larger, too, some day.
OK, back to work for me …
