Sunday, February 24, 2013

Tulip, Pear and Bunched Cloth


oil on board 6"x6"
For a very long time now I've felt uninspired to paint anything but landscapes and figures, but for some mysterious reason lately I've been happy to get back to the little artificial world of the still life. 

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Flower with Blue Bottles Lined Up Just So

oil on board 6"x6"

The colors blue and yellow are meant for each other. Sorry for the bit of glare on the left.

I've had the pleasure of being interviewed by Deborah Blakeley about my series of painting based on visitors to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. You can read it here. 

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Daffodils and Blue Construction Paper

oil on board 7"x5"

It's only Valentine's Day, but Trader Joe's has a great deal on Daffodils. Turns out they are imported from England, and my eco-warrior son chastised me for buying them, saying that imported flowers are bad for the environment. I looked into the issue, and he is right. Sigh.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Negative Space Study

pencil 8"x10"

I'm teaching six separate classes this winter/spring. Six! Each one is at least 8 sessions (this doesn't include the all day workshop that I held in January). 

I enjoy teaching, and over time I've learned some methods for making it less stressful and more successful. There is nothing worse than feeling underprepared- I'm sure everyone has had that terrible dream where you find yourself in school or at an important interview and realize you forgot to wear clothes :)

So, to feel truly prepared, I always complete any exercise that I ask a student to do. In my Intermediate Drawing Class tonight, I'm asking everyone (well, telling them) to draw a still life using only the negative spaces, and above is my example. It was both relaxing and inspiring to draw this way, with no plan to try and sell it, and certainly no plan to take it very seriously.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

The Kiss

6.9"x6" oil on board
I lingered near Rodin's The Kiss for a long time, trying to surreptitiously take picture after picture, with more than a few curious looks in my direction. I like the contrast here between the woman bundled for winter, and the spendidly naked couple she's observing. I'm happy with this painting.