A Bell is Ringing

This was one of those days when things just went down hill. Thought about scraping everything off and starting again, but somehow I thought the painting would get better.It did not.
I liked this part from the start. It is all that survived.

#stradaeasle Day 2

On New Year's Day 2018: Celebration

10 x 7  |  oil on panel

This is the first day of the STRADA January 31-Day Challenge!
I have joined the challenge and I will be creating and posting a painting, sketch or drawing from life each day this month. Celebration was painted late afternoon, decorations hanging from garlands up for the Christmas Season.

Wishing you Peace and Blessings
for the New Year and always.

#stradaeasle Day 1

STRONG and POWERFUL — ends Friday

 

 Espresso Bar

The Queen and Her Court

China, Cherries and Tea

SOLD

The exhibition is in Women Painters of Washington Gallery
until January 5, 2018  

Columbia Center Building   

701 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor Atrium
Seattle, WA 98104  |  206-624-0543

 

Gallery Hours:  11am - 4pm  

Stop by if you are in town.

Strong and Powerful — three more:

 

Garden Lantern

6 x 8  |  oil on panel 

 

 Beaver Pond

8.5 x 10  |  oil on panel

 

 Bus Stop

6 x 8  |  oil on panel

  Three more of my paintings in the downtown Seattle exhibition 
Small and Powerful 
 

 Women Painters of Washington Gallery until January 4, 2018  
Columbia Center Building   

701 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor Atrium
Seattle, WA 98104  |  206-624-0543

 

Gallery Hours: Monday through Friday  |  11am - 4pm  

Small and Powerful

I have eleven paintings in this exhibition and delivered them today. Three are below. I will post the rest in the coming weeks.The exhibition showcases 24 juried members of Women Painters of Washington. I am happy to be one of them. The show opens next week. Details below.

 Walk-n Talk in the Late Afternoon

8 x 6  |  oil on panel

On this lovely afternoon, it seemed like if you had a dog, you took it downtown for a walk. And if you saw someone you knew, the dog sat down and you stood and visited for however long it took. The dogs were amazingly well behaved. 

Coffee Shop Stop: Pike Place Market

8 x 6  |  oil on panel

 Before the market opens, there is lots of activity fun to sketch and paint, like the man above and the dog below.

Coffee Shop Stop: Pike Place Market  

8 x 6  |  oil on panel

This was so funny, I had to look twice. The dog sat quietly, mostly looking as you see in the painting. Occasionally he did turn his head to see what was going on to his left.

Small and Powerful

October 3 — January 4, 2018 

Gallery Hours: Monday through Friday  |  11am - 4pm  

Women Painters of Washington Gallery

Columbia Center Building

::
701 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor Atrium 
Seattle, WA 98104  |  206-624-0543

48th National River Road Show — Baton Rouge

I have just learned Two New Ballerinas is one of 75 paintings selected by the juror, Lian Quan Zhen, for the 48th National River Road Show in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The exhibition is open from Tuesday, September 5 through Tuesday, September 26, 2017, Louisiana State Archives Building.

Two New Ballerinas
14 x 14  |  oil on panel

SOLD

Threads: An Historical Perspective

This exhibition features early as well as current works by 21 women artists. Some works are on loan from private collections, however, most are available for purchase. Five of my paintings are in this exhibition, which opens July 5th in downtown Seattle.

The first two pieces are from a senior composition oil painting class at the University of Washington in 1960.

45 Minute Oil Sketch

oil on canvas  |  14 x 13.5

The assignment for the painting above was to create a balanced composition out of many objects the instructor had placed on a platform at the front of the room. We could walk around the platform to have a closer look at all the objects, but we were not touch any of them. 

After 45 minutes, I stepped back to look a my painting. It expressed a fresh, spontaneous feeling a found joyful, qualities that would be destroyed if I did any more. I decided to call it finished, and went downstairs to the coffee shop for the rest of the three hour class.

There were no restrictions in subject matter for Over Land, so I chose to do an abstract for this assignment. It remains my only abstract painting.

 

Over Land

 oil on canvas  |  20 x 33  

I put my oil paints away while my children were growing up and ink and watercolor became my mediums of choice, since they needed less space and dried quickly.

Gradually got into calligraphy. Hair was created during this time. The photo of either the composer of the music, or the author of the words, was in the musical score we had. This man had by far the wildest hairdo I had ever seen. As I gazed at his photo in total amazement, a thought suddenly arose — “Why not make his hair the words to the title song?”

This is what happened. Hair, became my exhibition piece for the 7th International Calligraphy Conference held in California in 1985.

 Hair

transparent watercolor on Arche 140# HP  |  17 x 20

  

My current works in this exhibition are Book Club and
Spring Blossoms in Early Morning Light.

Book Club was so much fun to paint! I loved stripped upholstery on the chair, the way Judith was sitting, and also the pose of her dog. I puled out my phone and took a photo. The next month I took the painting to our critique group. Watching Judith’s face was every bit as much fun as creating the painting. She had a thoughtful expressing for several moments, then exclaimed. “That’s my Chair!” soon followed by “That’s ME!”

Book Club

oil on canvas  |  12 x 9

Spring Blossoms in Early Morning Light was painted from sketches and reference photos from a magical place I once visited. 

Spring Blossoms in Early Morning Light

oil on panel  |  16 x 12 

Threads: An Historical Perspective

July 5 — September 30, 2017  

Gallery Hours: Monday through Friday  |  11am - 4pm  
Public Reception: Thursday, July 6th  |  4 to 6pm

Women Painters of Washington Gallery
Columbia Center Building
701 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor Atrium 
Seattle, WA 98104206-624-0543

A Visit to the Skagit Valley . . .

8 x 6  |  oil on panel

Every spring the Pacific Northwest's Skagit Valley bursts into bloom. As the brilliant yellow fields of daffodils begin to fade, the tulips open. Bands of purple, rose, pink, red, orange, yellow, and white blanket the valley.

Thousands of people come to the "tulip festival" during the weeks the flowers are in bloom. This little girl was totally transfixed with these orange-rose tulips. She gently touched several flowers and just kept looking into the brilliant color, creating a paintable moment. I will soon be posting several more paintable moments from my visit to the valley this spring.

Back form Tel Aviv, Israel . . .

 

In the fall of 2011, four of my paintings where chosen by the curators of the US State Department's Art in Embassies Program. They were selected for the Ambassador's residence in Tel Aviv, Israel, and were to remain on loan for two and a half years.

The paintings were installed in a room where the ambassador and his wife entertained dignitaries and other guests. When it came time for rotation of the art work, the ambassador's wife asked if these paintings might be able to stay through the ambassador's term of duty. I gladly agreed.

The AIEP celebrated its 50th anniversary year while my paintings were in Tel Aviv. You can see them on the celebration page here.

They were also posted on this blog September 20, 2011.

AIS comes to Kirkland . . .

American Impressionist Society's 2016 National Exhibition opened in Kirkland's Howard/Mandville Gallery last weekend. It is a beautiful show and will be up until October 30th. The entire exhibition has been posted on the ais website.

 Opening reception with Michele Usibelli

and Jack and Obadinah Heavner

 

Calvin Liang's Friday evening demo . . .

Three days of membership events ended Saturday with paint out at Kirkland's Marina Park . . . complete with early morning coffee, box lunch, clouds, sun, clouds, wind and rain! Several hours later an evening reception in Howard/Mandville Gallery closed the opening week events.

I enjoyed the time with old friends and meeting artists from across the country, who came for the exhibition's opening week. 

 

Lyla Jacobsen, Kirkland artist 

and Texas artist Jean Zack

  

Pooh-Bah Himself

The Amazing William, Bill Darkow, visited the exhibition mentioned in my April posts. The gallery receptionist offered to take his photo beside "Pooh-Bah," himself, as seen in the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan production of The Mikado.

47th National River Road Show — Baton Rouge

47th National River Road Show — Baton Rouge 

 

Book Club, posted on July 5th, has been selected by the juror, Bill Farnsworth, to be one of 75 paintings accepted into the 47th National River Road Show. The exhibition opens Tuesday, September 6 and runs through Wednesday, September 28.

 

Louisiana State Archives Building,

home of the River Road Show.

Book Club

12 x 9  |  oil on panel

This was so much fun to paint! The models are Judith and Boris. I thought the way they were sitting, plus the striped upholstery on the chair, would be so fun to paint, I took out my phone and shot an image.

I took the painting to our next critique. Watching Judith's face was as much fun as mixing the colors and making the brush strokes. She had a thoughtful expression for several moments. Then with great excitement exclaimed, "That's my chair!" soon followed by, "That's ME!" 

Perfect Pitch

 

20 x 8"  | oil on panel

I went to a rehearsal several years ago to sketch ideas for paintings and found many paintable moments. Recently, while going through those notes, I rediscovered one of my favorites. Watching Erica was a joy. I loved the way she moved. Capturing her movement in paint was a total joy.

Washin' the Blues Away

12 x 16  |  oil on panel

My intention for this painting: to create the feeling of joyful music-making—a delightful evening in May with family. When many of us get together, music often follows a great dinner and conversations with lots of laughter.