Taking Advantage of Dallas Blooms

This week is spring break, which really doesn't mean anything to me EXCEPT that my twin sister is off from her music teaching all week! So, that means she and I can spend lots of time painting together. Lately she has taken up painting again (she and I had flip-flopped majors and minors in college... I was the art major, music minor, and she was the music major, art minor). This makes me very happy as she is always great to hang out with, and she's a pretty good artist, too, especially for not spending nearly the amount of time at it as I do!

Today the Dallas Arboretum was packed, due to gorgeous weather, spring break picnickers, and various wedding shoots and quinceañeras... but Emily and I found a quieter spot and sat down for two solid hours to paint some of the sunlit tulips.

Notice the matching DSW totes... are we twins, or what??

We had a wonderful time and our paintings didn't turn out too bad, either. I may tweak some of the edges and color temperatures on mine back here at the studio, but otherwise, it's a finished sketch.

Aside from my plein air excursions, I am working on a number of new pieces for a fast-approaching group show at Weiler House Fine Art Gallery in Fort Worth. The opening reception is on March 24 from 5-9 p.m. If you are in the area, please stop by! In addition to some other work, I will have 7-8 new pieces. More info at: http://www.weilerhousefineart.com/#events.

Lists of Blessings, New Paintings and More

I would love to write on here more... but lately I've been spending most of my time painting, which is what I'm supposed to be doing! However, a brief update is long overdue.

First of all, I should mention that for the past week or so, I've been greatly encouraged and inspired by a little book my mother sent me for my birthday, called One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp. The book talks about how to experience joy, and a full life, regardless of your circumstances. The key is in finding gratitude for all of God's gifts, both big and small, in your everyday life. So the author took up a dare, to record a list of one thousand "God-gifts". Her writing style is beautiful; as my mom said, she "paints with words." And, as a result of reading this book, I've begun to deliberately slow down my mad rush -- taking time to enjoy the little things, and to give thanks. I've also started a list of my own... today's additions:

- Perfume of full-bloom hyacinths by the hundreds

- Smiling pansies along the pathway

- Wearing flip flops, ridding warm body of sweatshirt and soaking in the sun... in February. :-)

After a day like today, who could be ungrateful, after all?? It was a high of 78. I spent the morning plein air painting at the Dallas Arboretum, enjoying in the way that only an artist can the full beds of hyacinths and pansies in all of their glory. Here is a picture of just a tiny fraction of what I was surrounded by... I'll show the painting soon. It still needs a couple little adjustments (I had to stop sooner than expected, thanks to some little mites that decided to form a parade up my pant leg).

Other painting projects... well, these all seem so unrelated to one another, but that has been my working method as of late.

I recently completed (er--tentatively completed) a new self portrait. I began this painting last week when Steve and I got dressed up for a Valentine's Day photo shoot, and I decided, "Hey, why shouldn't an artist dress up for her own portrait?" I managed not to get any paint on my clothes. The painting is titled, "Self Portrait with Red Lipstick." I never wear lipstick - in fact, I hate it. But I will admit that it does look good. :-)

"Self Portrait with Red Lipstick" - 20"x16" - oil on linen

I need to get a better photo of it -- AND I still might make some small changes -- but this will do for now.

One more painting I did just for fun... I've been meaning to set up this scenario for a while and finally made it happen. My dog, Bella, was curious about a new studio pal, a plaster bust that my painting student dubbed "Houdini" (after the sculptor, Houdin). Here is the painting, "Getting Acquainted." Bella sat for much of the painting, thanks to a tempting treat sitting on top of Houdini's head.

"Getting Acquainted" - 11"x14" - oil on linen panel

I will have much more new work coming out in the next few weeks, in preparation for a group exhibition at Weiler House Fine Art Gallery. The show opening is on March 24 from 5-9. More details to come!

New Painting: "A Venetian Spectator"

Today I finally finished one of my paintings from this summer's trip to Italy. I enjoyed working on this one from start to finish, and found myself continually imagining up stories about this old woman's life, and what she might have to say if I were to sit down and have a conversation with her. Her expression could read any number of ways, from sour and grumpy (i.e., "Those damned tourists!") to thoughtful and lonely or simply enjoying the fresh air. Either way, I purposefully juxtaposed the old woman with a very cheerful scene at her window: brightly blooming flower pots, topped off with a rainbow-colored pinwheel. Of course, flowers, green shutters and pinwheels are familiar sights in Venice and other Italian cities, but I felt that this image had something special about it that was worth capturing in a painting.

"A Venetian Spectator" - 30"x24" - oil on linen

Originally, the old woman was looking out from a very boring window. I decided to take her and put her in the scene that I created in the painting. Here is one of the original shots (a slightly different pose in this one but it gives you an idea of the original setting):

 I looked all over for the perfect reference photos (Steve had taken at least a thousand pictures of windows!). Here are a few of the images I considered, but none of them ended up working out.

I did at last find an image of a window that I could use. Thanks to Photoshop, I was able to piece my reference materials together, making sure that the lighting matched. I was able to place the pinwheel and flowers exactly where I wanted them. I am very happy with how this painting turned out and look forward to sharing more of my works in progress soon. :-)