Thursday, January 31, 2013

Getting more inspired every day.  From seeing some of my favorite Internet painters, going to classes, getting motivated by my teachers, and well, simply by painting!

I've decided I want to pursue this dream of selling art on the Internet, so I checked out the site more that I want to sell on, and I also have checked into how to ring up sales on my phone or Ipad.  Amazing the technology at my fingertips.

But first, I must produce.


Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Acrylics-Small

Amazing what happens when you forget your oil paints for class...and brought your acrylics in their place!  Thank goodness I had my small canvases in the car, ready to go with acrylics!  Yet still, I didn't have my normal disposable palette, but I got through the day, and finished TWO paintings!  Small paintings, but two done, regardless!


It's only three inches square, but I like the composition.  I call it "Ecuadorian home" because I took the photo in Ecuador!  Wish I could get the photo in more clear.    


"Flamingo" as I am calling it, is a five inch square black canvas I finished in about 15 minutes.  These two paintings got me motivated to start selling on the internet!  

Here are some more pictures of today's endeavors.


This was my source of inspiration!  I soon learned that a photo from an ipad shows much more light than can be produced on the BLACK canvas that this was.  LIGHT is emitted from the ipad which is what they call positive light.  Pigment is negative light.  (That's the explanation.)


I made do with the small palette set up I had.  I figured how much paint space do I need for a small painting anyway!?!

Here's a close up of the palette I used to paint the Ecuador house and the Flamingo paintings.  With acrylics, I always wet the paper towels, and spritz them with water so they don't dry out.  Luckily, I didn't even need to spritz them today.  Lots of left over paint, but that's okay.  

My teacher, Diane Mannion was starting her 29th painting of flowers (in a row, one a day for a month), yeah, she won't be painting flowers for awhile now!  I found it amazing how FAST she found the lights and did a good composition.  She is pictured helping a student.

Today's lesson was landscapes, so Diane brought in some landscapes she's done.  She does so much plein-air painting, I'm sure she had a ton to chose from!  Never disappoints.  

Next week is portraits.  Can't wait!  









Wednesday, January 23, 2013



The top picture is my old Tahiti...the bottom is the new.  At first glance, you'd probably like the top one better, but don't let the poor phone photo confuse you.  I know the changes, some are obvious...but most of them are barely visible due to the photo.  Diane, you will see it all on Tuesday!!!

I made it to class today!  Afternoons are so much better for me.  I'm enjoying the new class with Alberto Cruz.  I like Bob Cassell, I like how he teaches, I do good work under him, but the class is just too noisy.  Today as I sat in class, the teacher did three quick demos...which I watched him do one.  I did learn something.  (The other two demos were basics.)  What really surprised me was the noise coming from Bob's class across the hall.  One lady never shuts up!  She has avoice that is like one decibel over normal, and it carries a lot!  Alberto Cruz's class is so much quieter, because they are mostly beginners and they concentrate.  I think I will continue with Alberto, as well as Diane Mannion.

Now, I will admit the best teacher of all has to be Diane...without a doubt.  She is thoroughly gifted artist (like they all are), but she motivates.  When I leave all the classes, I want to keep painting, but right now with Dad visiting, that's impossible.

Diane just has a way of keeping me working and I like that.  I know if I can just get up early enough for Diane's class (those 9 o'clock's, come early for me), I will paint more.  My goal is to sell artwork on the web.  I just need to get in a groove.  Diane is just the person to get me set up and encouraged to keep at it.  (Where she gets her energy is beyond me....gosh, I hope she doesn't say exercise...haha!)



The picture today show the progression I did in Alberto's class.  It is a dark photograph because I forgot to take the photo while in class, so I took it when I got home in the car, and it was dark.  I didn't want to use a flash because then it has glare.

I added more color to the palms, did some shadows on the beach, it's hard to see but I worked on the sky, making it darker in the upper right hand corner, and I put some light behind the mountains on the left side.  I also made the water darker in the bottom right hand corner.  It's hard to see, but the shrub behind the palm trees, I enhanced that too.  The second mountain from the right, I made different because Alberto told me there was too much of a repetitive pattern, and once I changed it I saw it.  I also raised the water line so the mountain on the left appears to be closer.  (Love that!)  What you can't see, in this lousy photo from my phone, is there are some light clouds that are light blue in color, it really popped the sky!  the other thing is, I put some purples in the upper left hand corner.  I added more colors in the mountains too.  I thought I would finish it today, but NOPE...

Still to do?  The shoreline needs improving, I need to punch up the cloud's white area to match where the sun is coming from...which is the upper right hand corner, I mean, the shadows on the mountains are on the left, so it has to be coming from there!  And I want to put a boat or two in the water.  But I have to wait.  The oil has the dry.

See you on Tuesday morning Diane!  And yes, I'll be late.  Haha!


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

I missed art class this morning.  I slept in.  Didn't get sleep because my husband doesn't know how to be when I'm trying to sleep.  Loud TV, lights on...noisy...I tried all night to sleep but with so many disturbances, I was unable.  Finally he came to bed at 7:15, my alarm went off at 7:30.  Yes, I slept in...with good reason.  His schedule is backwards.  Now I need to get regulated again.  UGH!

Saturday, January 19, 2013


See this flower?  I took the photograph while on vacation in Cuenca, Ecuador.  I took the photo so I could later turn it into a painting.  I originally was going to paint it in oils because I paint a lot in oils, but something is telling me to work in acrylics.  So I am getting my acrylics ready for class.  Even though my Tahiti painting isn't finished, I am thinking about my next painting. Sometimes it's good to think of your next painting, but sometimes it distracts from finishing the one you're working on!  




Wednesday, January 16, 2013

I've been working on my Tahiti Painting

I've been working!
Here is how it looks so far.  Much farther yet to go, I see so many mistakes and things to add.  


The left side of the painting. I still have to do shadows as they fall on the unfinished beach area.  I do like the beginning of the palm trees, but I have a lot of color to add into them! I'm also going to change the horizon of the water a bit as a suggestion of an art instructor. He feels the closest mountain on the left should come down a bit, or raise the horizon, I think I will do both in a way...


The right side of the painting. I plan on placing a boat on his side, and I'm not happy with the clouds.  And more shadow is needed on that left mountain.  Not nearly done!


I find by taking photos of my work, I have yet another way of finding errors in my work, what needs correcting and what can be further advanced for the "WOW" factor I'm seeking.  

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Back in art class!
This is the start of a painting of Tahiti.  This is a close up of how I set up my painting area.

I put in the beginning of the mountains.  These two canvases are 8" X 10", and they are being painted so they can be viewed as one.   The canvas is wrapped around all four sides which means I have to paint all four sides as well when I am painting them!  

A closer look of my painting area.  

I spread out as class size allows.  Today I had TWO tables and I used both.  I was in the very back of the room where no one likes to be, except me of course.  And the pictures of the flowers in the foreground are future paintings I plan on doing from photographs I took on my travels.
See?  I sit way back.  The teacher (the lovely Diane Mannion) is in the light blue top, helping her students.  Her easel is in the far upper right hand corner of the classroom.  

This is the teacher's well worn paint box.  If only that box could talk, oh the stories that could be told!

The teacher set up a simple, yet lovely still life, which she started painting in class.  

Don't worry if you don't know why she has a blue background.  (I don't know why either...haha? Diane, could you elaborate?  I was bad and didn't pay attention.)


I "lifted" this photo from Diane's blog (without her permission, but I am trying to make a point).  This is what it looked like at the end of the day.  She is truly amazing!  LOOK AT THOSE APPLES!!!


I should pay closer attention though because she is SOOOO talented.  Here are some paintings she brought in today.  She is on a quest with other artists she knows to paint 30 paintings in thirty days.  YOU GO FOR IT!  

I'm back!!!   Another class tomorrow, but a different teacher.  The more I go to class the more I work.  


Wednesday, January 9, 2013

I'm back!!!

Ecuador sunset in Bahia.

 Ecuador hammocks

 Kaua'i truck

 Hibuscus on Kaua'i (Made it into a fake postage stamp.)

 Ecuador splash.

 Tahiti Luau show.  

 Dominican Republic

 Dominican Republic

 Australia near Philip Island

 Those are THOUSANDS of seals on those rocks.  Amazing clarity of the water surrounding the seal island. 


 Mexico.  

 Sculpture in Cabo San Lucas

 Main mountain in Bora Bora.

 Huts on the water, Bora Bora

 Beach Towel

 Only in Australia!

 This is a ginger plant, I saw them in Australia and in Ecuador, and it had me puzzled as to what type of flower it was.  My Australian friend told me what it was.

 Melborne street flowers. 

 Ecuador mansion.  
Hello everyone!  I haven't posted in over a year, but the year 2012 was a busy year for me!  I wonder why I haven't found much time to paint and then I recall how I was to 8 countries in 2012!  I've learned carrying paints while traveling with a non-painter is a fruitless.  I've also learned my NIKON gets really heavy and I either just use my iphone or my small Casio camera to take photos.  My photography friends get mad that I'm going to all these fabulous places and not taking the kind of photographs I could, but one must remember, there were two taking the trip!  So I endure and do what digital magic I can to the photography I take.

In the past year, I have been to Hawaii twice (the islands of Oahu, Maui and Kaua'i), Ecuador twice as well.  We traveled to the Dominican Republic (never want to go back), and Mexico (my third trip there in my lifetime, each at different locations).  Our large trip was to Australia (Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Beerwah).  You must ask what is so great about Beerwah, Australia.  It is where the Australian Zoo is, the one where Steve Irwin had his show?  That place is awesome.  If you ever get the chance, GO!  We petted a Bengal tiger, held koalas, fed a kangaroo and even an echidna.  My husband snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef (I wasn't up to it).  

We visited New Zealand but only for less than 24 hours, it was a layover for our flight.  We saw the airport and the hotel across the street from the airport.  (Sometimes you just have to go all out...haha!)  Originally we wanted to spend more time in New Zealand but when we were making the plans, the capital city of Christchurch had an earthquake so we kind of leaned toward other areas.  Instead we went to Tahiti (very disappointed, it looks prettier in the picture than in real life) and Bora Bora, which I believe in French means "BORING BORING"!!!  So many people I tell this to are like "WHAT?"  And I reply, "Yes, it's only a small island with one road going around it, over priced by a huge margin, and the huts on the water are pretty but every hotel there has them, so they're nothing unique."  The hotels are on the outer surrounding islands and you have to get a "free" water taxi to the island.  See that word "FREE"?  It's about the only thing there that is free.  Once on the island, they are more than willing to drive you anywhere for about $75.  That "anywhere" is the other side of the island where there are a FEW shops.  That's where the cruise ships come in, and lead the people right to a pearl store, they can't escape it.  We opted to not take a taxi because we learned from another guest at the hotel that you are once again charge $75 to get back to your free water taxi.  What a rip off.  To rent a car was $85.  DUH!  Guess what we did?  Yup!  But that was only the beginning of the rip offs.  At the hotel, they tell you the other island aren't allowing visitors because they want to keep you on their premises.  Meals were no less expensive than $250 a night.  So we ate once a day and pigged out.  When we went to the island of Bora Bora, we stopped in a small grocery store and got snacks, avoided one night of the largely over price meal.  A week there and whoa, it adds up.  Some other people we met there told us to take the water taxi to this one restaurant there.  So we did.  It was a pizza joint.  The prices were out of this world, but I'm so glad my husband didn't see what they do to make their pizzas moist.  They crack an egg on top of it in the center of the pie before they stick it in the oven.  They don't scramble it, just crack it over the center.  His back was to the oven so he didn't see it.  But he got so sick.  Didn't affect me.  

So that is why I haven't painted nor even gotten in the mood.  Have any idea what it's like to go through some 10,000 photos.  Yeah, the iphone takes over 10,000 photos, I put it to the test.  Haha!  

But I'm back!!!!