Remembering: Patterns and Meaning

This is Marion and Pearl the cat. Marion is on her way to grad school to be a Vet. Sadly Pearl is gone, she used to love to roll in the catnip in our front yard. I painted this picture for Marion as a graduation gift, we've known her since she was about 7, and have loved seeing her blossom into a wonderful young woman. I painted a picture of her and her brother right after they moved in. I really enjoy painting children, and find that that is a pattern in my life, so I have decided to continue on painting children.

Albert Camus said" A person's work is nothing but a long journey to recover, through the detours of art, the two or three simple and great images which first gained access to their hearts." I feel the colors could be a little brighter, I was trying to loosen up, my husband thinks it is great. He's great! Any comments greatly appreciated.

Chickens and Art and Thomas Keller

How does all of that go together? I ran across a quote from Thomas Keller, it is about cooking but could easily apply to art, from His French Laundry cook book. "When you acknowledge, as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, then the real purpose of striving toward perfection becomes clear: to make people happy. That's what cooking  is all about." I got to thinking about this passage as I was trying to  paint the other day and becoming discouraged, and realized if you substituted art for food it makes perfect sense! So, I am posting my Chicken, not perfect but the attempt to paint it was fun and I did learn a thing or two. So here is my humble attempt at a chicken for the DPW chicken challenge. I tried painting it on a piece of canvas from a canvas pad, thought it would be easier to scan, and it was. Our daughter has just added some chickens to the family, so I hope to paint more.
Thanks for stopping by, look forward to hearing from you.

When the Sun Shines in Seattle

This past weekend we finally had warm days and sunshine. I was inside working at the Washington State PEO convention. Some of you will know about PEO, a wonderful woman's organization that is dedicated to helping women through education. I love hearing about and seeing the women who have benefitted from our scholarships. The fellowship that this organization brings is wonderful. So, even though it was sunny outside I was happy to be inside helping and sharing with a group of wonderful women!

This little girl shows her enthusiasm for a sunny day by the lake. I want to take off my shoes and run down to the lake too, and enjoy the sailboats out for the races, see Mt. Rainier at one end of the lake and Mt. Baker at the other end. 

I am back to painting and hope I will be able to post more. Thanks again for stopping by and visiting, let me know what you think. Happy painting and happy summer.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I have been busy with welcoming the new members to Women Painters of Washington, and cleaning out my studio. It was a joy to welcome 10 very talented painters to our organization last Wednesday. There are so many wonderful artists out there, it is a constant joy to meet so many talented artists. Since I had gotten off track with my own painting I decide the best thing to do would be to clean my studio and make room for new ideas. Buried under papers, I found this illustration that I had done many years ago. It also reminded me that I had a hard time drawing people and I solved my problem by emphasizing design. So, I share this with you all. It would be fun to hear your comments. Thanks again to all of you who comment and encourage it is a delight to get to you. Sorry it seems a bit small here, it was a black and white ad in our local newspaper......back when they used fashion illustrations!

Big Brother is Watching

These Clementines seemed to think that the big Orange was watching them, hence the title. I think that this painting is a little closer to what I am striving for this year. Looser and less fussiness. I was pleased that I didn't labor over it. Spring is finally arriving to the Northwest we have seen the sun for a few days, and that brings everyone out side, walking, jogging and riding bikes.

A New Day and New Way

Today I have tried something new. I scanned a painting rather than take a picture.  The picture I took didn't turn out well. I had ordered a portable photo booth, and tried that, but wasn't pleased with the results. Think I just need to practice. I know some artists use the scanner and their work looks great......so I will leave it up to you all, any comments are always welcome. I was trying to loosen up with my painting, and that didn't happen! I will just keep trying. I saw a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that I think applies to all of us artists. "Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be" Don't you love that?

Back to the Kitchen

These three chefs were in Paris. My husband I went to a lovely restaurant on a side street not far from our hotel. We were tired and had been walking for hours, the food smelled wonderful and the interior was so warm and inviting. When I saw the chefs in the kitchen I just had to take a picture, so I would have something to remember. But did I write down the name of the restaurant? No!  Well here they are my three chefs, in oil bar. I have been having trouble with oils, but, am always happier with the oil bars.