Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas

8x6in oil on canvas panel $140. SOLD

Artist Note

It is hard to believe

 another year has passed.

I am not making any 

New Years Resolutions 

as I am grateful for so many

aspects of my life.

I am learning to be a 

little more forgiving of 

my shortcomings. 

What a shame it 

has taken me so long

to get to understand that

just like my paintings,

some parts of me 

are better than others! 

 Also, I can correct, erase, 

and improve

when I can "see it."

I am truly grateful for all 

my blogging friends,

and to all the artists

who honor me 

by allowing me to be their mentor.

I love painting and teaching.

They both satisfy me on a deep

emotional level.

 I THANK YOU.

Wishing you all the 

very best for 2017.

...catch

these 

blessings 

and hug!

Tis The Season...

Wishing
for
PEACE

and JOY 
in your heart

during this very special season.

Blessings and thanks
for your 
wonderful support..

Julie

Moonrise - Ink On Copper.

Moonrise

6x20 in alcohol ink on copper SOLD

Artist Note.

These images are from 

my Avian November show

This one got lots of attention.

The copper gleams through 

and creates an inner light.

I really liked working on it.

As I mentioned 

in a previous post,

I pushed myself to try 

doing some creative work

for my avian series.

I KNOW

I was totally creative with 

the one below.

The nest is actually
made of rust...

the bottom of a rusty bucket.
I wanted to use the walls
of the bucket
for a different project so

gently tapped out the bottom 

and when it fell to the ground

I saw it shaped like a nest.

I treated the rust and mounted it after 

I had painted the background shapes.

  It looked like a nest to me, but I

felt I wanted to pop an egg in.

Painting the egg was the

hardest part. 

If it was wrong 

then there would be 

no way to correct it.

(click to enlarge)

Rusty Home

18x21' treated rust mounted on

black acid-free foam board
painted with acrylic.
below - close-up of rust piece.

I was pleased I could break 

out of my usual imagery.

Waiting - watercolor on Yupo

Hoping
(Window from Chimayo, New Mexico)

8x10in watercolor on Yupo  SOLD

Chimayo is famous for
El Santuario de Chimayo
and the documented healings
from the "sacred earth"
The link is worth the visit.

Artist Note.

Watercolor on Yupo
is pretty remarkable,
 allowing for stress-free
painting due to the
clean lifting ability

Different techniques
are fun to try...
like in the one below

Threesome

9x7  watercolor on Yupo  SOLD

Life Cycle

l

Life Cycle
13x10in mixed media on paper SOLD

Artist Note

Yes - a little different for me but
I did enjoy using acrylics
in this piece.
I love the colors of turquoise
and earth tones together.

My process...
after layering acrylic
colors and disturbing the surface
all over with the fracturing
technique,
I restored certain outlines
with
water-soluble artist's crayon.


I have been really busy.
I enjoyed a trip to
Art Basil
in Miami where I saw lots
of work, I wouldn't call art.

I also saw many brilliant 
paintings
which fed my soul.

I came back refreshed
and went right into
my fracturing workshop.
Lots of talented painters
with great attitudes.
They were all established
artists so a lot of good paintings
 came out of it.

It is always great for my moral
when I can help an artist
find a new direction to their
painting style. A great thing
about the fracturing technique
is you can use it a little or a lot.
It is really neat to see how
they adapt to their own
personal preferences.

Thank you for trusting
me to inspire you,
 Brenda, Kay, Carol,
Ana, Marilyn, Lindy and Candi.

Life is good.

Family Time

Family Time

11x15" Acrylic on paper SOLD

Wishing everyone a

Happy and Peaceful Thanksgiving.

Bouquet of Yellow

Bouquet of Yellow

6x8in oil on canvas panel $140.

Purchase HERE

Artist Note.

It was fun to get back to the 

fracturing technique in oils.

I find that although I use the 

same technique in other mediums,

only the acrylic comes 

close to the same effect as oils.

Another from my avian show.

Waiting  13 x10"

acrylic SOLD

Quite a fun one to paint

pushing into the abstract.

I used the fracturing 

technique a lot

It doesn't really show,  

but first I wrote 

all over the white surface 

with my thoughts 

about the avian world 

and then painted over them.

Small areas of it

appear here and there.

Sunny Lunchtime

Sunny Lunchtime

12x9in alcohol ink on yupo

Available HERE

Artist Note.

This one looks a bit like a batik

to me. I loved the way it 

turned out. 

The photo was taken in 

my daughter's garden where she 

had the tallest sunflowers

I have ever seen.

I did another watercolor 

on yupo with the same theme 

only it was a goldfinch

playing a camouflage game

with the sunflowers.

Edgar & Poe plus Nevermore!

 Edgar & Poe

10x8in acrylic on paper sold

Nevermore 

10x8in acrylic on paper sold

Lovebirds

11x14 acrylic/watercolor on paper sold

Artist Note

I really enjoyed doing these 

three pieces and am disappointed 

that the images do not show the 

mellow feeling of cohesiveness

I see/feel in them.

 These paintings were 

started as random 

mono-gesso prints

see HERE

for a link to the process

if interested. 

The only difference

 is, I used paper 

instead of board

The emerging images I saw

in my magination

 came out of the three values,

(black to white)

and were already 

very much 

 like birds.

I used lighter colors to develop

the negative background 

with the ravens 

and darker tones

to bring out the white of

the doves.

  Creating the 

birds out of a messy

blob

was fun.

I made a stamp from 

corrugated board for the 

bottom areas of the 

two different raven pieces. 

I took some picture of ravens 

through

a picket fence once and 

that has stayed with me.

I developed the Lovebird nest

in  my usual way. Love the leaf

near the front!

The acrylic paint dries 

slower than the inks so some 

interesting mark making 

 and layering can go on.

Working on pieces 

which are not planned, but 

learning to respond to 

what I saw in my imagination,

added to the feelings of 

discovery and excitement

which are important to me...

especially when working 

on a large series. 

Prevents the sameness

- the security!

Berry Picking - and other stuff

Berry Picking

13inx10in  Alcohol Ink on Yupo  SOLD

Artist Note

Painting a series allows an artist

to experiment freely with 

different media. The Alcohol Inks 

were a real adventure into

the unpredictable.
I enjoyed it.
I had 9 out of thirty paintings
done with the inks.

Below I am looking happy
that all the work was over
on the night of the opening.

My house became a real mess due 

to a knee injury which 

prevented easy access to the 

steps to my studio.

Guest room

and dining room below.

The kitchen table was worse

so no pic of that!

Invaluable lack of complaining 

and total support from hubby

earned him a few gold stars!

Life is getting back to normal.

Everything picked up and clean.

Daily painting has resumed.

Hummer

Hummer

Alcohol Ink on Copper

6x6in mounted on 8x8in and framed.

available HERE

It was great - the opening of my

solo show was the most fun one yet.

Lots of warm and friendly faces.

I had a great time.

Having a solo show takes a huge 

amount of work and I was 

pretty well shot by the time

it rolled around but two great

friends flew in and another

one drove in with food

and they made it a real party.

Hubby was delighted

and I am still Beaming!

Poms From A Friend.

Pomegranates

6"x 6" oil on canvas panel  $110. SOLD

Artist Note

I really do enjoy the 

pomegranate time of year.

These are in a glass bowl

in case you cannot figure

it out.

A fellow artist passed these 

on to me - thanks, Chris.

I apologize for not getting 

round to answering the 

comments on my previous post.

I truly appreciate them all,

but I am at the hair pulling stage

and berating myself for 

agreeing to do a solo show.

I know it is normal - 

well, for me anyway,

and, yes,  this too will pass,

but until it is all at the framers

and invitation done I 

am out of my 

comfort/ routine zone.

Wishing you all a wonderful

painting week.

White Oleanders

Oleanders

6"x 8" 

oil on linen mounted on panel $140.
Purchase HERE

Artist Note.
We have a beautiful
large bush of these
blooming by the deck.

In this painting, I am trying
for a cooler palette.
I am usually drawn to
the warmer colors but
here I used
lavender and green
-a warm and cool
of each of them.

Lucky Me!

Lucky, lucky me!

 These are the
 four paintings
I have in

Nita Leland's New Book

Exploring Color.

Click on link above to see a

short flip through.

I highly recommend this book.

Not because I am in it, 

but the information she

shares is invaluable 

for any artist working 

in any media.

Misty Morning

Misty Morning

6 x 6 inches oil on canvas panel 

Artist Note

I saw a photo of

this stunningly beautiful sunrise

shared on a friend's blog,

and asked for permission to use it

and LOVED painting it. 

Simple shapes and lovely harmony.

Thank you, dear Debbie.

I am busy painting for my 

solo show in early November.

Pressure is on because I

have to finish all the ones 

that need framing by October.

Between teaching and painting 

I have not had any time to visit,

but will get round to it tonight. 

Not complaining...just explaining!

I miss my routine of 

seeing what everyone is doing.

Yellow Roses and Split Complementary

Yellow Roses and Vase
8x6 inches oil on canvas panel $140.SOLD

Artist Note
Continuing the color harmony
focus at the Guild this month.

This Split Complementary
 color harmony is an unusual
one for me to try.
For a start it is a red/violet
and not a blue violet.
The wheel below is by
The Color Wheel Company.

I made a reminder of my 

warm violet mixture.

and decided to use a tube color.

See the top one below.

Below is the palette

for the painting

The larger amount of the red/violet

reminds me to have more of it than

any other color. I cooled it 

with the black.

I used both the 

complement - yellow

and the grey to neutralize it.

 -

Colors used are

Mauve  (Holbein)

Perm Yellow Light

Ivory Black 

Titanium White

One dominate color - meaning "more of"

is the key to all these harmony lessons.

I remember the wonderful artist/teacher,

Ovanes Berbarian, saying over 

and over again...

"ask yourself is it a 

A pink-y painting

a blue-y painting - a green-y painting!"

Then make sure that color dominates.

I used to think the accent color 

was the dominate color

because I would notice it first

Like the yellow rose here. 

It took Ovanes to 

put it in easy words 

for me to understand.

So this is a "mauve-y painting!"

Sunset On The Bay - Blue and Orange

Sunset On The Bay

6"x 6" oil on canvas panel $110.

Purchase HERE

Artist Note.

I am still following 

the Guild's class assignment

of different color harmonies

This one is the 

Complementary one

I chose blue and orange

for mine.

Titanium White was invaluable

with the orange mixture. 

I mixed a pile with just a wee

spot of orange and that became my white.

 Transp Brown Oxide 

( a deep burnt orange)

took down the orange into 

the rich tones before.adding blue

to darken 

I used a coral

orange which can bend 

to the pink tones with a blue gray.

I used both a warm and cool blue 

Nita Leland's book,

Confident Color

has been fabulous for helping 

me understand all the different

color harmonies. The good news is that

Nita has a brand new book out,

EXPLORING COLOR

I am excited to see it because her 

other books have been invaluable 

with helping me in so many ways.

Nita Leland's website

 Hover over the North Light

block under the book and 

you will find a discount code.

She also has lots of free info 

and color charts to download.

A fabulous site!

A Floral and An Analogous Demo

Three Flowers

6"x 6" oil on canvas panel  $110  SOLD

Artist Note.

At the Artists Guild this month we are 

working on doing the basics 

for getting back in touch 

with the different

sets of color harmonies. 

After a two month break

 the basics 

are a fun way to start the flow.

  We started off with 

Monochromatic of course. Easy - one color

in all the right values and chroma.

Next

 the one below was a demo

for the Analogous harmony

choosing 

the run of the wheel from

from orange,

 to yellow to yellow green.

SOLD

Shown on my palette below are 

T White - Perm Yellow Lt - Orange - I Black

Pre-mixed before starting to colors 

shown below 

Important

Mix black with white to 

the correct VALUE before

adding it to the other lighter colors. 

The yellow and black
make the greens
The orange and black make browns.
Gray mixed from black and white
added in small proportions to the
colors makes many subtle
 mauve,
green,
pink,
 and bluish neutrals.

The top painting is done with
Yellow Light, Permanent Rose
(instead of the tube Orange)
It gave me a cool pink
as well as orange.
I also went into a touch of
Ultramarine Blue added to the Black
 to cool down the gray into a true
blue/gray
for warm/cool bounce.
The effect is brighter in
all the colors, but
 especially in the greens.

I know all of you reading this already
know all this stuff about color,
but when I was
painting for my show last month
I found lack of good color harmony
was the single main reason I
tossed and started again.
Have to remember
ONE
DOMINATE (more of)
COLOR.

Next - the Complements - a fav!

Watermelon and Cherries

Watermelon and Cherries

10"x10" oil on panel Gifted!

Artist Note.

This was started as a demo during the 

June workshop. 

I finished it a few weeks ago.

It is bright and cheerful and 

given as a wedding gift 

to a very dear friend's

granddaughter.

AND...

I did it!

I hibernated from all distractions
for over a month.

No visiting blogs or writing them.

I found I went thru 

major blogging withdrawals.

I went off social media, too,

and immersed myself into
painting for my November show.

I emerged with seven 

completed paintings from
48"x39" to 9"x12"
and 

several good starts.


I am now back in the classroom
and my busy, but stimulating
 life starts up again.
Can't wait to get around to
catch up on everyone's blogs.

Thanks for all the
encouraging comments on my last post.
You are great!

Lilac Bouquet

Lilac Bouquet

8 x 6 in oil on canvas panel $150.

Purchase HERE

Artist Note.

When I was cleaning my studio 

I found this painting I had started, 

and never finished due to the

 lilacs wilting pretty fast.

I enjoyed finishing it using 

mostly the palette knife

and fracturing tool

.

I really like the colors.

Thanks for all the supportive 

and understanding replies

to my previous post.

Lots of great insights and sharing.

It is reassuring to find

that a messy studio

appears to be part of the 

job description for a lot 

of creative types.

Finally it is all clean 

and organized and

I am ready to start a marathon

painting binge 

to get paintings done for my

solo show in November. 

Classes resume in August 

so I have to really immerse

 into my own world

 for this month.

I am going to stay off all

blogging and social media 

after this post. 

I will be back 

visiting you all at the 

end of the month.

 I know 

I will go through withdrawals...

and miss visiting all your blogs.

Maybe I will not be able to 

stick to it,

but have to try.

.

Enjoy your July - be safe!

Tea Time

Tea Time
7x5 oil on canvas SOLD


Artist Note

This one is one I painted
way back in 2011.
I liked it then and I like it now.

Still cleaning up my
home studio
I have had such a lot
to do and so
have not painted.

I miss it.
And so yesterday
I started a new one,
but it is slow going
between making
decisions
like...if I should
save an item or let it go.

Brushes for example...

Now why 

did I hang on to them?

Anyone else a

 mega

studio clutter-er ?

Make me feel better 

if you would share.

Have a great weekend.

Peony Arrangement

Peony Arrangement
6x8in oil on canvas panel $140 SOLD


Artist Note.
The last of the peonies
until next year.
I watched a gardening program
about the peony losing favor in
British gardens and how
one woman is determined to
restore it popularity.
I hope she is successful.
They are so beautiful.

It is summer break and

yesterday I started to clean 

my home studio.

No easy task. I am messy.

My first job was rounding

up all the failures

to destroy with

black roof tar.

Nope - I am not allowed 

to burn trash in the city.

My dear hubby patiently wiped

tar on nearly 150 paintings today!
Three plus years worth of rejects.
I keep them thinking I can tweak
them to make them right,
but nothing is successful that way.

Why tar?
Non-removable that's why.
I actually have had people take
my paintings from the trash.

Now I disguise the trash bags 

with garden clippings

because if you look carefully

you can see the shapes 

of the canvases. 

We have professional 

trash hunters come round on

big trash day when the grappler

is due. 

Once bitten -  twice shy!

Happy Fathers Day 

to all the wonderful

men who take on that 

responsibility with 

love and pride.

Birth, adoption, 

and step fathers alike.

Our daughter is coming in

to be with her "Daddy" 

Watermelon Time.

Watermelon Time

8x6" oil on canvas panel SOLD

Artist Note.

This is a painting from my 

Farmers Market series I 

did back in

2013.

I still like it and as we 

are eating lots

of watermelons at 

the moment

I thought 

it was appropriate.

I finished the workshop 

last week. It was great

because all the artists

already had plenty of miles 

on their brushes 

and were eager to 

dive into a new technique.

Some stunning paintings 

were accomplished

- they took risks

and stepped out of 

their talented
comfort zones.

I thank them all for 

the trust and FUN!
I really enjoyed myself.

Peonies

Peonies

6x8 in oil on canvas panel SOLD

Artist Note.

It has been a while since I posted.

End of semester - took a quick trip,

and lots of cleaning up to do. 

Also preparing for my workshop

which starts Tuesday. Again, lots to do.

I find it fun to prepare for 

 the workshops 

I provide all the different supports 

(six of them)

for the first day 

and we work like crazy

exploring each surface with the 

fracturing technique.

It is a good group of 

talented artists...

 all from different places.

The peonies are from a trip

to see my daughter over 

Memorial Day - she gets a gold star 

because back when she moved 

into this house

 she planted peonies just for me.

This was started plein air and 

completed in the studio. I

 painted early morning, 

and the cool sky really

was noticeable.

I find the

peonies are difficult to paint 

because it is too easy

to make them look like

 a cabbage rose. 

The peonies also droop with 

the weight  of the flower

and when standing like 

I do to paint, you tend to 

look down on them.

Not too bad if you squat down 

like I had to, to take this pic

just before we left.

(thanks heavens for yoga!)

I will look forward to getting 

back on track and catching up 

after the workshop.

Happy painting days!