Sunflowers

Two things I love here. Sunflowers and farms. Sunflowers are beautiful, I enjoy munching on the seeds and also to have them sprinkled on a salad. Farms, well I can say they have always been a fascination with all the equipment and animals. You may as well throw in the open, expansive landscape which captures my heart and paintbrush.

Many who look at this description, dismiss it and think only the number of houses or condos that will fit in this space. It makes me very sad to see these wonderful properties disappearing. This could be one of the reasons I love to paint landscapes, my way of preserving. So, pay attention to the landscape and enjoy it, next time you pass, you might see a pile of bricks! Sunflowers don't grow on bricks very well.

Colors of Green

Tomorrow is the opening of an art show I'm sharing with Robin Miller at Kaewyn Gallery in Bothell, WA. It's a wonderful gallery and I hope you can stop by for a visit between 5pm and 8pm. We would love to see you there. This art show reminds me that sometimes we get out of our comfort zone and feel unsure of ourselves. As artists and just in daily life we don't play enough, experiment or explore. We are way too serious, afraid of making a mistake or not sure if anyone will like what we're doing. Well. if you don't make mistakes, you will  never grow. If you don't grow you become bored and boring. We can't let that happen folks so, draw, paint, knit, cartwheel, anything. Just get out of the box and enjoy life in whatever venue you take. What are you waiting for? Go!  Oh yes, come back and let me know you you feel ok?

Alone together is ok.

A few years ago, I spent time with friends painting in El Dorado National Forest. Actually, I was painting, they cooked, hiked and panned for gold. The tourists were gone and just a few families shared the area. It was quiet and peaceful and we each had that special time alone with our thoughts and just relaxed. When we were together for meals, we shared our day. The group decided being alone while also being together was a very  special. Neat way to spend a week eh? Would you enjoy this kind of vacation? Let me know...I'll be here waiting to hear from you.

Trying to follow Julie!

First, let me gush about Julie Ford Oliver's blog. I've followed it for a very long time so when she made her video on "Fracturing" for ArtByte I was there to purchase it on day 1. Since I have a show coming up the end of April at Kaewyn Gallery, Bothell, WA, my time should be spent finishing up a few more paintings. Instead, I spent a wonderful day playing with Julie's method painting. It was fun and refreshing and I'm ready to go back and work on my paintings. I'm sure a little of this will creep into my own way of painting since I use a palette knife quite a bit and that's ok.

So, step out of your comfort zone, try something new, take what makes you happy and discard the rest. Don't worry about copying, it is going to come out "you". Those are my words for today! What are your thoughts on the subject? I know you have some, come on and share them.

About Four Years Ago

After viewing Julie Ford Oliver's new video (three times so far) at Daily Paintworks, I remembered this painting. About four years ago I stumbled all alone on this technique. Using my palette knife, stronger color and confidence I arrived at this style of painting. I now do variations of it but this was my start. I've tried different artists methods but come back to mine. Julie has taken her work way to another level. You should go view her blog. I also want to keep going and see where this takes me. Julie has been my inspiration. Stay tuned.

Painting a Pear

I love to paint pears. The shape is different and you can always play with color, knives and brushes and have the final product still look somewhat like a pear. For me, it's a never ending experiment. Wouldn't it be great if life were like that? Try out things until you have it perfect. Hummm, on second thought, that could be quite boring. So, live life to the fullest and enjoy your failures as well as the success. That's my thought for the day, whats yours?

Visit To Jackson Hole

I like this painting for many reason's. First, it brought back memories of a wonderful workshop with Jim Wilcox. Second, a conscience effort of less is more started to make sense. I worked with a palette knife to stop myself from all those unnecessary extras which added nothing to the painting. Painting en plain air started to be more fun and the brushes moved faster. It was just a good day for me. So, tell me about your painting experience on a fun day. I'm waiting to hear all about it.