One Year Anniversay

A year ago this week, sweet Cello joined our family. 

Admittedly, we had forgotten how much work puppies can be,
but she has made it all worth it. 

Today, she's a mellow, sweet (slightly mischievous) teen ager
who fills us with incredible joy.   

In honor of her anniversary,

I did a few small paintings of her. 

"On Guard"

6 x 8 

"Waiting for Dad"

5 x 7  

I did those last week and then saw
Carol Marine's awesome head study of a pup today,

and had to try one. 

Head Study

6 x 6  

Well. I am no Carol Marine.

(her brush strokes and color sense are incredible)     

but I had fun with this. 

I tried to just focus on the shapes, 

but her personality kept getting in the way!

Feb 6, 2012

Note:

Labrador Retrievers were voted the most popular 

breed in America for the 20th year in a row! 

We second that!  

Love is......?

In addition to the "dessert" paintings

some of us are doing for the 

February 8 James Library event,

I had six 7th and 8th grade girls come to the studio this week 

to do small "heart" paintings to sell and donate the proceeds.

I bought eighteen 4 x 4 gallery wrapped canvas's,

and spray painted them black.

Then made a heart stencil that would fill the square 

(a la Jim Dine) and let them do whatever they wanted.

 For inspiration, we had them think about a title 

starting with "Love is.....?"

Here a just a few samples,

although every one of them is priceless. 

"Love is Bubbly"

"Love is on Fire"

"Love Grows"

"Love Fades"

"Love is in the Stars"

A fun project and for such a great cause! 

These will be sold $20 each.

Great job girls! 

The Real Lesson

Back to Basics Class #2

The planned lesson this week was about defining 

and recognizing common painting vocabulary:

main source light / ambient light / cast shadows

 form shadows / shadow core / reflected light etc. 

I chose, what I thought would be a simple up 

for a quick demo. 

 I found myself in trouble right away, 

by making the shadow sides of the bananas way too dark. 

Then I noticed the reflected light off that red cloth 

actually made the bananas glow! 

As challenging as demos can be, 

they are great teaching and learning tools. 

Watching me struggle, figure it out, and make adjustments

was the real lesson here, I think. 

For all of us! 

How Much Fussing?

I'm all "over the boards" subject wise, these days,  

just painting whatever comes my way.

While cleaning up files and organizing photos,

I found an image of my son and Cello from last summer. 

"I Got It!" 

6 x 8 

My intention was to 

 to keep it intuitive and loose,

without fussing too much. 

Big question is:

How much fussing is too much fussing? 

Staying Inside / Good Books

Four Poster

6 x 8 

I used this frigid day to stay inside

with a warmly lit interior. 

Having fun playing with paint, 

trying to get my groove back.

This is the best time of year for that!

Speaking of staying in;

I read two great books while away.

Wonder by R.J.Palacio

and

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

It's the pre-qual to The Glass Castle. 

Riveting story of her grandmother's life 

and how her mother was raised.

 

Open Spaces

The South Street Gallery in Hingham, MA 

is hosting a show called 

"OPEN SPACES 

The Last Farms, Fields, and Meadows"

A portion of the painting sales will help support programs of the

Mass Audubon. 

Page's Field 

16 x 20 

I feel truly blessed to live in a place where open spaces abound

and am thrilled to be a part of this effort.

The Opening reception will be Friday Feb. 1. 

I enjoyed painting this mid-summer landscape while it 

was 5 degrees outside. 

I think that's why I worked on it so long  

I Love Teaching

Teaching is so good for me. 

It makes me organize my thoughts.

It makes me think on my feet. 

I get to interact with like minded folks.

And I learn so much! 

I started my six week Back to Basics class today 

and got all of the above in a big wonderful dose!

Session One: 

"Drawing for Painting"

I did a demo focussing on the position of objects 

 and their relationship with each other.  

And how to use your brush as a measuring tool.

I'd set up a life using objects from 

PKR's fabulous value kit.

Note: 

Drawing simple spheres and blocks is not so simple. 

But once I got the drawing in, I was on a roll

 so it turned into a full blown discussion about value.

 That took the lesson much further than planned,  

so they only had 45 minutes to get to work. 

They dove right in with incredible results.  

Here are just two images of their work 

I managed to get with my I phone in all the excitement. 

   

This is going to be a great class.  

Tremendous enthusiasm and hidden talent.  

I'm inspired and energized again.

PHEW!