Eat at Joe's

I started this one about 2 years ago and put it aside. It started out with alot of energy as they always do when painting plein air. Something happened to it in the studio and I just couldn't make it come alive. I almost scrapped it but decided to work on it again recently. I think I would love to paint this building again plein air with the knowledge of what happened when I decided to finish this one later. I think it is possible to tweak paintings later after the initial session, but like anything else, it is a learned skill to know how to do that without taking away that original spirit. I do like this painting, but I liked it better in the beginning. We'll see what happens next time.

Mexican Mementos Work in Progress

A couple of weeks ago I visited Kelley MacDonald at her cool studio and she set up a still life of pottery from a painting trip to Mexico for us to paint from a couple of years ago. I am still working on this...but I just didn't want to wait another day to post an image, so here it is!

Who Moved My Cheese?

Managing change. That's what I've been up to lately. A couple of weeks ago I was hit with a vile stomach flu, albeit self-diagnosed, and it came with all the pretty things associated with that particular illness. After a few days of complete lethargy following the bug, I learned I was laid off from my part-time job along with 369 other people from my company. Oh well. Since then, I have painted a few times with a local group of painters, creating portraits of local familiar faces for a show in April at our town library. Portraits have been a change for me too, and although I am pleased with most of the results, I don't want to post them until the show happens. Maybe it's superstitious, but it just doesn't feel right. In between these sessions, I am sharpening up my resume and determining my next professional course of action. Looks like I may be facing less time in the studio again with the full-time work that at this time I'm seeking, although, at least I'll be able to afford it. Is this a little like O.Henry's "Gift of the Magi?" Like anything else, it will simply be change, and I will adjust.