Friday, February 27, 2009

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.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

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!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

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.