Camino Real by Te-Amo

It's a funny coincidence. Camino Real by Te-Amo is a Mexican handmade cigar company and has a shop located in Valley Stream, NY next to the town I grew up in. I bet my dad would have shopped there for his cigars. I bought this old box at a flea market this summer with the idea of painting the lid. Painting on objects is like tole painting. It makes a fun, useful box. 

Most Viewed 2021

 These are some of my most viewed images from 2021.

Thank you for a wonderful year and best wishes for a Happy New Year.

Juried Small Work Show

               r gallery at Arlene's

                                              

Juried Small Work Show

December 10, 2021 to January 8, 2022

Opening Reception: December 10^th, from 4:40 to 5:30pm

I have three of my favorite small still lifes in this show. The reception is Dec. 10th from 4:30 - 5:30. They'll be on display until Jan. 8th. Come look at the show and while you're there, support Arlene's.

Still life with Lemons, Teapot, Green Glass Bowl and Rubber Plant

There is a quote by Henry Miller that a writer takes a path in order to become the path. It is the same with painters. To paint often and freely is to open oneself to all that we are and hope to become and in so doing fearlessly share ourselves with others.

Blue Petal Plate, Lemons and Beer

 

Blue Petal Plate, Lemons and Beer 12 x 12 in. oil on gessobord. 

My submission to the Saratoga Arts Annual Members Show.

                                Nov. 18th through Jan. 8th, 2021

Reception + Membership Special Nov. 20th 12pm-4pm

saratoga-arts.org

Glass Paintings

I recently attended the Woodstock School Online Live Classes. These paintings are my copies of  demonstrations of glass by Karen O'Neil.  Glass is abstract and challenging because there isn't much to see. It helps to have something that adds contrast to the glass or a couple of highlights that make it shine. It's not about painting the glass, but what's around and behind it that makes it interesting.

John Bokor is a painter who I just discovered and whose works makes me happy. He is an inspiration to me to paint more complex still lifes.

John Bokor

Golden Retriever at the Stockade At Show.

 Golden Retriever at the Stockade At Show. I haven’t painted a dog in a while. It reminded me of how much I love them.

Stockade Villagers' Outdoor Art Show 2021

This past weekend was the 70th Annual Stockade Villagers' Outdoor Art Show. I received 2nd place for my body of work on display, see below. Thank you judges and all the people who stopped by for making this such a fun and successful day.  

Stockade Villagers' Outdoor Art Show In the Stockade Historic District Schenectady, NY

 

A great outdoor art show and sale in Schenectady’s Historic Stockade neighborhood September 11th, 2021 10am-4pm  (rain date Sept 12th)

I'm excited to announce that I'll be showing my paintings as well as judging along with another Oakroom Artist in awarding the James Gilliland/George Weinheimer Memorial Award.

Pink Bowl and Lemons

 Pink Bowl and Lemons 8 x 8” oil on panel #oil #painting #brushstrokes #oilpainting #allaprima #stilllife #colorful #fruitart #citrus #paintingfromlife #pink #yellow #lemons #contemporaryart #robinrosenthalart

Oakroom Artists 2021 Annual Show at The National Bottle Museum’s JRM Artists’ Space

 

Oakroom Artists 2021 Annual Show at The National Bottle Museum’s JRM Artists’ Space through September 18th. I have 3 paintings among many beautiful works. Worth the visit. 

Working with Color in Oils Workshop

The focus of this workshop will be color theory and color mixing. We'll begin by discussing the color wheel and how to use it, what it means to use analogous, near complementary and complementary colors; you'll learn about color intensity and how to create saturated and dull colors, and you'll learn what color temperature is and whether your color is warm or cool. This workshop will include demos, hand-outs, painting exercises and one-on-one time with the instructor. Students will also learn how to put it all together with a few good compositional rules to create a colorful alla-prima still life painting. A supply list will be provided upon registration and supplies are not included in the cost of the workshop. For more information click here Sat, August 14, 2021 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM EDT Arlene's Artist Materials 57 Fuller Road  Albany, NY 12205

Plum on Pale Pink Plate

 One reason for a simple composition.

This painting was set up in front of an east window on a sunny morning. The edges of the glass shown brightly as orange and those in shadow a deep magenta. The highlight behind the plum was the lightest light and I kept everything else darker. I didn't have a lot of time before the light moved so I had to stick with my first decisions. I knew from the start what interested me and tried keeping with that. 

This was really a value study in color. If interested, check out my upcoming workshop on values July 17th.

      Introduction to Oil Painting, Why Value Matters Workshop

White Teapot on Blue Paper

 I completed this painting in four hours. It was one of those paintings that almost painted themselves, although it was the result of much study.  Like all good things, it took a lot of time and thought.

Summer Workshops

 I'm excited for my two summer workshops at Arlene's Artist Materials in Albany NY this July 17th and August 14th. 

Hope you can join me.

                       Click the links below for more information.

Introduction to Oil Painting, Why Value Matters Workshop

Working with Color in Oils Workshop

Pears and Wine

 

A classic still life composition with just the cheese omitted. 

 There is a passage from Proust about the author Bergotte, where he stands moments before his death in front of Vermeer's The View of Delft, whereby he becomes transfixed by a patch of yellow on a wall in the painting, causing him to reflect on how he never became the writer he should have been.

In my paintings I try and find that little patch of yellow.

White Teapot on Teal Plate with Citrus

 I've worked on this painting longer than I usually do because of the challenge of the teapot in shadow. I wanted it to have color reflected from the plate, but also be in shadow. A pop of Phthalo green, Cerulean Blue and White is fun and that's on the inside rim of the plate.

Maverick the Llama

 Commission

Broccoli on Blue Background

I've always wanted to paint a stalk of broccoli but I wasn't ready, silly as it seems.  I also found it a simple subject, but hard to paint. There are lots of fading in and out of the stalks and textures I wasn't as interested in; it was the colors and angles that mattered. I settled on these background colors that I felt went well with the broccoli.

Self-Portrait

Now that it's spring I see a lot of Robins hopping around. Never having painted a Robin before, I thought I'd give it a try. Pretty bird and fun to paint.

Btw, you can thank my husband for the corny title.

March to March Art Show 2021

The show at the National Bottle Museum in Ballston Spa, NY has a wide variety of compelling art. There are over 30 regional artists and close to 100 pieces of art. One of their largest to date.

The theme of this show is very specific. All art must have been created between March 2020 and March 2021.

I have three pieces on display. I hope you have the chance to come and see it. My three paintings are just above the sign.

The German Landscape Challenge

My painting The German Landscape Challenge, a 6 x 6 in. oil on gessobord from 2015, is on its way to Australia to join two older daily paintings purchased in 2012, In the Spotlight and Grapefruit on Pink Plate. It's funny to think a German landscape scene painted by me is now purchased by an Australian, we're so global!

In the Spotlight

Grapefruit on Pink Plate

Tiffany Cigar Box Painting

I enjoy painting and drawing my son's and daughter-in-law's cat Tiffany. She's a sweet furry cat that lounges around their NYC apartment. Here she is on the lid of a cigar box. A purrr-fect place to store small items.

Purple Cabbage, Scallions and Radishes

When I was at the supermarket looking for still life objects to paint I chose these three vegetables, a purple cabbage, scallions and radishes. It wasn't random. I had an image of a monoprint by Mary Beth McKenzie. It was the cabbage that drew me in. The challenge was to fit the other objects in the composition. I struggled to keep it simple, and at times felt like I lost the battle. I can still work on it, but I won't. It's time to move on.

Seven Lemons

   

10 x 8 in. oil on Ampersand panel

I set up my light box for this still life. I haven't used it in a long time, but there was so much ambient light in the room I had to limit its source. It helped a lot. Btw, I propped my still life on a Priority Mail Box. It's what I use to ship my paintings.

Five Lemons on Blue Plate

 

Sold

I know I can't attempt to paint anything unless I've already painted it in my head. I don't hope to figure it out along the way. To get inspired I look at art online and in books. I choose my subjects and imagine their layout, go shopping (for the lemons), set up the still life, do an actual sketch to get the dimensions right and then draw it onto my surface. The colors have already been picked and I know how I want to paint it and how it will look.

The interesting and fun challenge, is it same or different from what I imagined? 

Pink Glass Mug, Green Glass Saucer and Orange

 

I find drawing helps me decide what to paint next. If I can imagine the drawing as a painting, then I'll move ahead with it. If I can see it in color, then I'm excited to get started.

Most Viewed 2020

 

These are some of my most viewed images from 2020.

Thank you for a wonderful year and best wishes for a Happy New Year.

Green Vaseline Glass on Teal Plate with Lemon

 

Here I am again painting this interesting green vaseline glass. When the light is just right the glass fluoresces. 

The National Bottle Museum in Ballston Spa, NY has a huge collection of bottles including green vaseline glass. I purchased mine at a flea market. I'm told the glass is considered to be harmless and only negligibly radioactive!

A  previous post Green Vaseline Glass on Blue Plate has some information on this glass.

Clear Glass Bowl on Blue and Yellow Papers

 I'm pleased with this painting even though it looks simple and it took me a while to figure it out. I had to get the shape of this fluted bowl right and its shadow to work. I wanted the viewers' eye to go to the bowl, then to its shadow and then finally the bowl's distortion of the background. I'm excited about painting glass and it's definitely going to be one of my next year's challenges.