Day 12 of the 30 in 30 - "Stripes in Kuala Lumpur"

Well, I have fallen a day behind in the 30 in 30!  Oh no!  The good thing is that there are no laws dictating that I MUST post a pic every day, so I won't be going to jail any time soon.... :)

Anyway, today's painting is in the Worlds 8th most visited city in the world - Kuala Lumpur.  The capital of Malaysia, it is also the largest city.  I, for some reason was attracted to all of the colorful buildings in Kuala Lumpur.  Something that is sorely lacking in cities like New York.  It is funny how when you look around cities you start to notice things like this.  You can go up and down the street in Kuala Lumpur and find bright, colorful sometimes outrageously designed buildings. This, once again made it hard to choose what to paint.  I opted for this building as I liked the people sitting in the cafe setting and the very rigid striped pattern of yellow and red.  Lots of patterns in this one and also a very different composition from the other "Glimpsed" paintings I am doing.

Stripes in Kuala Lumpur, oil on panel, 4"x18"
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Day 10 of the 30 in 30 painting Challenge - "Istanbul, Sultanahmet Square"

The challenge of designing painting after painting on 4"x18" panels is more difficult than I thought it would be.  The severe vertical-ity of the composition is limiting - there are many times I see a composition I would love to explore, but it is square or a long horizontal...  But I am pretty determined that I will stick with the 4"x8" to the end of the 20 Glimpsed paintings...  Why? because I have found that even if I think I am bored with a subject or idea etc... I find that there is always something new to discover if I keep plugging away at it... Today's painting is the 6th most visited city in the world - Istanbul.. (bear in mind, I have come across several other sites that list the cities in a different order, or sometimes other cities completely) 

Another challenge of this Glimpsed series is trying to decide which scene I will use.. I mean, there are infinite views available on Street View, and often cities have posh shopping districts, slums and everything inbetween.  What to choose?  For Istanbul, I chose a Mosque as there are so many mosques in the city and it seemed an important feature.  It was what I was most attracted to. Other cities haven't been as clear.  Like New York for instance!

Istanbul, Sultanahmet Square, oil, 4"x18"
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Day 5 of the 30 in 30 - "The Tower from the Seine"

Paris, France is the 3rd most visited city in the world according to some of the lists I came across.  I've visited it vicariously through paintings several times and I still enjoy painting the Tower.  It is an interesting structure and there are so many good views of it. I found this one accidentally when I plopped the little street view guy down in the middle of the Seine.  I was pretty excited to find that I could include the river and a bit of the tour boat in the composition.  Just love this one!

The Tower from the Seine, oil, 4"x18"

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Day 3 of the 30 in 30 - Passing the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

I am currently fascinated with what I call "Glimpse" paintings. The severe composition (4"x18") is intriguing, challenging and surprising... So, during this 30 in 30, I will be doing a series of glimpse paintings that will show 'Just a Glimpse' of the 20 most visited places in the world.  Today is the first in the series - the #1 place people visited in the world last year was Bangkok, Thailand.  This view is of a side entrance of the Grand Palace, a not to be missed landmark in Bangkok.  I am excited to bring you glimpses of hot spots around the world!

Passing the Palace, Bangkok, Thailand,  oil, 4"x18"
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Day 1 of January 2017 30 in 30

 Well, I am doing it again.  It seems like just last month that I did a 30 in 30... wait, it was. (!) Anyway, Leslie Saeta, one of my mentors from afar is hosting her bi annual 30 in 30 again, and I can't help myself.  I must do it.  But, I will be honest here. I did not actually start painting for it yet! With New Years, being sick, just finishing up my holiday campaign, delivering paintings to my collectors and spending much needed time with my family.... well, I ran out of time and haven't been able to get to my studio.  But I will tomorrow!  

In the mean time, I am posting a commission that I just finished and delivered just over a week ago to a good friend of mine, Blair Seitz.  In the 1970's, he lived in Kenya, and was a photographer for National Geographic.  It was a special time in his life and he asked me if I could paint this painting as a way of remembering it.  One of my specialties is compositing many photos and ideas to make one unified picture.  This is what I did here.  Below is the finished painting, and under that are the photos I used to create it.  I love helping people to realize the images in their mind, and this painting was particularly fun to paint.  And Blair's reaction when he saw it for the first time was priceless!

That Time in Kenya, oil, 18"x24", sold

Day 23 - Still Standing Strong

Things are happening in this country that many people are not happy about. I read every day on facebook and in emails how worried everyone is because of the two candidates running for president. The news reports horrific things that are happening throughout the country. And so on and so on... If you were to listen to what people are 'saying' you would think we live in a country that is falling apart and the people hate each other and life sucks. But you know what? I am thinking about my family. My neighbors. All of the hardworking, honest people I know who keep on keeping on, doing what they do and proud to live the lives they are living. I am thinking of all the people I know who show love and friendship even with different political and religious views from me. No matter what the media says, and no matter how crazy this election gets, I still believe in the power and strength of the citizens of this country. They are what makes this country great and I believe that we are all still standing strong... and will keep standing strong. Don't believe everything you read.Look around you to find the good and keep fighting to live a true and honest life. Peace... :)

Still Standing Strong, oil, 6"x6"
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Day 22 - "Passing the Tower"

I mentioned the other day that I sometimes get inspiration from the Morguefile, an online free file sharing website.  Well, I also love to use Google street view to wander the globe and see places that I otherwise may never get to see.  This inspires me so often and I have painted many pictures from scenes I have found in street view... Prague, Ireland, Idaho and Paris are just a few of the most beautiful areas of the world, at least on street view anyway.  So, this scene  which I found while 'wandering' around Paris, inspired me because, one, this view of the tower is just impeccably perfect, and two, the young man on the bike in the foreground presented a nice mystery.... What exactly is his story?  It made me wonder "where is he was going?"  Maybe university?  A quiet cafe to meet a secret rendezvous? Maybe he's a delivery guy delivering important documents.  Maybe he's on his way to visit grandma.  Who knows?   Anyway, I liked the mystery this scene presented and I also loved the composition when I cropped it to fit one of my narrow panel left-overs.

Passing the Tower, oil, 4"x18"
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Day 20 - And She Was

I sometimes get reference photos from an online, royalty free photo sharing sight called Morguefile.  I try to use mostly images I take but there are those times when I need some inspiration.  When this happens I will sometimes peruse the Morguefile to see what strikes my fancy.  This image has been saved in a file I call 'Possibilities' for a few years, actually and when I came across it I knew it was time to paint it!  I love everything about it.. the perspective, the crop, the upside down text, the colors, the shadow... and of course the toes!  

The title comes from my hubby (who has been a great help during this 30 in 30, as always) who said it reminds him of the music video from the Talking Heads of the same name.  I know the song, don't know the video.. I will be checking it out though!

And She Was, oil on canvas, 20"x20"
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Day 19 - Off the Clock

I am not a proponent of smoking... even though I had the nasty habit years ago... But this young lady seemed the perfect subject for me to experiment with some abstraction.  I tried the faceless approach a few paintings back (see here) and kind of liked the results.  I thought I'd try it again here.  Again, I 'kind of'' like the results.  This painting turned out to be more of what I don't want to do again as opposed to what I would like to try again (make sense?)  In other words, I'm not totally satisfied with the results of this one.  Although, the more I look at it, the more about it I see that I like.  The most exciting part of this painting is the background to me.  I brushed and smeared (with a palette knife) and scraped (with a paint scraper) and the slapped some more paint on and I am digging the layered effect going on.  I also like the muted neutrals I used in this one.  I need to learn how to use my grays more effectively.  The figure herself, I feel is a bit too formal and, well, just not lively enough.  Anyway, here she is, taking a break...  I will wager, however, that this painting will turn out to be someone else's favorite, as it always seems to be the paintings I don't care for as much are someone else's favorite!

Off the Clock, oil, 11"x14"
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12 - Daily Constitutional

I think we need to institute the 'daily constitutional' again.. too much sitting around staring at screens these days...
Anyways, this little (6"x6") painting is so different than yesterday's painting; it's much smaller and much sketchy-er. But these little paintings I do are important in helping solve the 'problems' that are inherent in creating a piece of art....  composition, color, value, and for me, the figure in motion. I love this piece for it's spontaneity and it's juicy brushstrokes!

Daily Constitutional, oil, 6"x6",
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Day 8 - Yayoi Kusama

So, this is a bit of a diversion from what I have been painting.. but it is still technically figurative.  More portraiture, but... that's ok.  I discovered this artist last week sometime while searching unrelated things on the net.  I was so struck by her story, her age, that she is still alive and creating artwork... that I was completely moved to make a painting of her!  Please look her up, if for no other reason than to read about a contemporary female artist who has lived a unique and amazing life.  I hope my portrait does her justice!
Click here to go to the wiki info page about Yayoi...

Yayoi, oil on panel, 6"x6",

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Day 8 - Yayoi Kusama

So, this is a bit of a diversion from what I have been painting.. but it is still technically figurative.  More portraiture, but... that's ok.  I discovered this artist last week sometime while searching unrelated things on the net.  I was so struck by her story, her age, that she is still alive and creating artwork... that I was completely moved to make a painting of her!  Please look her up, if for no other reason than to read about a contemporary female artist who has lived a unique and amazing life.  I hope my portrait does her justice!
Click here to go to the wiki info page about Yayoi...

Yayoi, oil on panel, 6"x6",
to purchase, please click here

It's been awhile...

Well, I haven't posted for about a month, something I need to improve upon! Its been a busy past few weeks - summer vacationing, family get-togethers, getting my daughter ready for college (!), and a few minor family illnesses have all made it a challenge to get to my studio.  But I have painted a bit, and I even hung a solo exhibition at Judy's on Cherry, a great restaurant in Reading, just last week!  While helping my kids get ready for school and the big schedule change about to hit, I am also busily preparing for the upcoming 30 paintings in 30 days that I will be participating in for the 5th time! If you just found out about me and my work, the 30 in 30 is an online painting challenge hosted by Leslie Saeta, a palette knife painter from California.  You can read more about it here  
I am really excited about this one as I have a theme for this one (it evolved very naturally from the work I have been doing for the past year or so) and have most of my reference photos ready to go.  I have to prepare my canvases and panels, but.... I was incredibly fortunate to get some big canvases at exceptional prices the other week.  So I feel like I will be set for this one.  Stay tuned, as I will blog more about it and what I plan on doing.  And once September starts, I will be blogging everyday, and have many new paintings to show!

Below are the collages of my paintings from the past 30 in 30 challenges I have taken part in.  Click on each one to go to the posts about those challenges. 

September 2014 challenge

January 2015 challenge

September 2015 challenge

January 2016 Challenge

Collage of my paintings for the 30 in 30 challenge

As the last part of Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 challenge, she asks that participating artists create a collage of all of the paintings they created.  Here is my collage!  I had a great time during this challenge and learned so much!  Plus, I am very happy that I challenged myself to paint bigger for many of the paintings. That was definitely one of my goals.  Painting 6" x 6" paintings is fun and people like them, but painting big is definitely fun and a different kind of challenge.  Seeing all of my paintings together like this is always so satisfying.... It is nice to see different themes emerge as well as the colors and palettes I used.  I hope you had fun following me!  I had one artist friend of mine tell me that she would miss seeing my work, so she challenges me to another 30 in 30!  Ha!  Well, I will be doing it again in January.  And between now and then, I know I will be painting a lot.. probably not every day though.... :) Happy October, and have a wonderful day!

Painting Collage of September's 30 in 30

Day 31 - 30 in 30 Collage of paintings

The final task for the painting challenge I took part in is to put together a collage of all of the paintings I created this month.  I love doing this as it has a lot of impact for me personally.. it is awesome to see all of them together!  I made the last collage for the September 30 in 30 into a poster and that was equally awesome to see!  I don't know if I will 'posterize' this one or not, but if I do, I'll let you know.

January 2015, 30 Paintings in 30 Days, Collage