“Demonstration”

"Portrait Demonstration"

Today’s Daily was a demonstration for my student.  When students can see a step by step demonstrations it helps them with their own vision.

“Cat in the Window”

Daily today was a pastel still life from my kitchen table.  I had set up the still life and my cat jumped up on the window and I painted him in as well.  Daily painting has brought about many special moments like this.

Daily Painting to me is  about what’s going on in my world of art: daily paintings,  art, my process, and my thoughts about art in general.  I have a commitment with two other painters to email a daily painting by 9:00pm every day.  There are no rules and this creative penatration of daily painting has greatly inflenced  my daily life and art has started to grow in tremendous and unexpected ways.

Forensics Sketch

My daily painting is a sketch from a resource that talks about how forensics artists make a likeness from a skeleton. It is an interesting science and very helpful to the artist learning about proportions of the facial features. I think I finally understand cheekbones.

“U.S. Capitol, Washington DC” Daily Painting

We live in such interesting times. I took the subject of the week from
“Different Strokes from Different Folks” This is a internet site where the site host posts a photograph and artists use their Artist interpretation to create wonderful works of art. There is 45 to 65 artist that post. It is very interesting to see all the different takes on the same subject. The subject for this week was “The U.S. Capitol, Washington DC”

The U.S. Capitol, Washington DC…The painting practically painted itself…The sun in the bottom of the painting has a small right hand of one of my young students. She was happy to have her hand used. The painting is about hope for the future, hope for the young generation, and hope for the next seven generations. The hand wanted to be painted green. But it does look a little like E.T. ‘s hand. When a painting talks to me like this one I let it have its way and don’t try to second guess. As one of my daily painting friends said “when you are creating everyday you don’t have time to get precious”. Do it and get it out there. Make way for another day tomorrow.

“Impressionist Cloudy Day Landscape”

Daily Painting today was a 3″x5″ Pastel on Wallis Paper.  I used pastel pencils and with the memory of Sauvie’s Island set down this painting.  I took inspiration from Lois Griffel’s “Painting the Impressionist Landscape” using the color scheme from the cloudy day block studies in her book.  I felt pleased with the results and when I took my nightly review of my day where I ask myself “what did you enjoy most today”.  This landscape came in at the top of my list.  As Lois says on her site “once you enter the impressionist landscape you never go  back“.

“Ancient Teachers” In progress Painting

Daily Painting today the “Ancient Teachers”. The painting is becoming more refined as I worked on the basic forms and changed the color notes with temperature adjustment. The painting is becoming more mysterious…One more session should do it but the painting will dictate what is to be accomplished. Like all creative actions the painting has a voice of its own.

My next home studio day is Saturday so probably won’t work on the finish until then. Tomorrow will bring a new creative flow from the daily painting creative development.

“Portrait of Doe”

"Doe"

This Portrait was done with pencil and watercolor pencils. 5″x7″.  I named her “Doe”.  She looked like she came from the forest and reminded me of the deer I see almost every day on my way home.  I often like just drawing and see who or what appears for my daily painting.

“Sauvie Island on a Great Monet Day”

"Sauvie Island"

My daily today was studio work on a painting done in Jef Gunn’s Plein Air Class at Sauvie Island  The Reeder Road Dyke.

We had farm views, broken water, distant blue hills and lots of atmosphere to choose for  our composition.  We started with lunch and discussion of the site.  Gems of wisdom for the painter from Jef and class members were abundant.  Here is a recap of the days discussion.

• Orient yourself to the land.  Let it speak to you.  Cezanne’s book on Composition is a good book.
• In the afternoon the west changes fast and in the morning the east changes fast.  So we picked north or south
• What is your point of view?  High (cliffs) Low (looking down) or level eye level.
• Stop seeing things and see forms, look for the relationship in things, identify 3 or 4 shapes.
• Dark over light will warm and light over dark will cool.
• let you edges find themselves, edges become beautiful by working and reworking
• Standard glazing medium: 1pt. Turpentine, 1pt. Stand oil, and 1pt. Danmar.

“Today was a great Monet Day”

Sketch of Halle Berry for Daily Painting

Satisfied to sit and wait I sketched Halle Berry on my Moleskine Sketch Pad.This sketchbook is the legendary notebook of Hemingway and Chatwin. The outside purple cover was a find at my local Starbucks. It was my lucky day when over a warm cup of coffee I found this journal with a beautiful purple Cover. I was so happy I sketched this picture of a starbuck cup.

“Tip Toes” CD Cover

June 1, 2008
This is the painting for the “Shooting Stars” CD cover for the younger dancers. The front cover is Karen’s Daughter,

She was very happy with the results.