The Big Glossy Munsell books arrived yesterday so today I am busy mixing paint and sampling colors. (Thank you Rob!) BabelColor is a tool that was recommended to me once by someone who understands this color system. Used with the eyedropper in Photoshop. it is a very cool tool- giving the exact munsell notation for any part of an image. The combination of the book and the computer tools are really going a long way toward training my eye for color. I have lots of work to do- cubes and spheres to paint and then paint pictures of. My plan right now is to take one day a week to learn color- mix colors and explore munsell. The rest of the week will be devoted to applying what I have learned in new works.

This is a detail of a painting of Norma that I left facing the wall some time ago. It is still probably destined for the burn pile, but for now, I am using what little I understand about the color system to try to fix it. Not fixed yet- but so much better than it was.

Tomorrow is a new cityscape- see you soon:-)

Grounded- Not about paint

I am grounded this week- have hardly been to the studio at all. We are in the middle of a bathroom makeover- and it has taken over our lives.

Rick thinks that we bit off more than we could chew - and decided to hire a guy to do the tile work. Bummer, I was looking forward to the tile work. But after going a few weeks with out a main floor bathroom, I am thrilled that the man will be fixing us right up and should be out of here by Saturday.

Don't worry though, I am using my time wisely - preparing my next few paintings- and will hit the studio floor running on Monday. :-)

This is a picture of Fred Last month doing the demo.

Tower stairway WIP

This is what is on my easel this week (work in progress). A simple little painting, but sometimes simple is harder. I am still working on the ceiling, and fighting with color.

In other news, I finally got my hands on all four volumes of the
"Famous Artist's Course". They came in today's mail, an exciting addition to my library! And even better, my big glossy edition Munsell book is due any day now too. Which will make me the luckiest girl in studio book land. :-)

a sale and a show

It surprised me that this painting did not sell before today. Everyone in this town recognizes where it is painted from- and everyone tells me that they love it and want it. In fact, I just sold it today and have already heard from 2 people who are sad because they hoped to buy it, (not sure what they were waiting for?). I am thrilled with the sale, and thrilled that it went to someone who not only loves the lake, but more importantly, loves art.

The sale came with an offer to run off to Boston and sell even more work. I am going to take her up on it too. So, if you are sitting on your hands waiting to buy Chicago walk, Hug, Sage hall or any of the others- better stop by soon- after November my prices may go up.

Another view of Newburyport.

this painting went together pretty fast. I started it yesterday and finished it today. I love it when paintings go together as easily as this one did. Though I will still be working on it some, the lights in the foreground, and the sidewalk are too bright, so I will be fixing that.

breaking some eggs

My friend John stopped by last night with some pigments. He knew that I wanted to play with egg tempera- but did not want to invest in all that I would need just to try something that might not be right for me. Well, I have been playing with it all day and I think that I might be in love. It is too early to plan a wedding or anything like that- but I think it is safe to buy a few brushes :-)

Studio view

Here is the corner of my studio that greets you when you walk in the door.

My two newest paintings

I am really happy with the way that these new street scenes turned out. My two newest paintings are both 24x24, Oil on linen on panel. They are of Newburyport MA. On my recent week long to Rob Howards's studio for the much talked about "Free-for-All" , Leslie Sealey and I did sneak out one afternoon to go sight seeing and picture taking in a nearby port town.

We had a great time, even though we were walking around all grubby from being painters all day. (it did get the tourists to move out of our way:-) I will remember that afternoon for a long time. (and the martinis that we found too) I have several more paintings of Newburyport coming. Stay tuned.

sage hall- number 2

This is the second painting I have done of this spot- Sage Hall. It is the hallway o outside of the Sage gallery. The first one was 16x24 and was from a different viewpoint- this one is 30x30, oil on canvas. Not sure which one is my favorite- I like them both. Every day I travel this hallway, feeling the history of the building and the world.

Learning and growing

Today I am working on flesh again. I have been struggling with flesh colors ever since the munsell conversations started. Having spent a bit of time on this , I am feeling a little discouraged that it is not working for me. But I know from experience that the struggle always comes right before the light. I have been struggeling for a while now- so I hope the lights come on soon.

I have painted flesh before and liked the results. But now that I am aiming for a specific target- it is more complicated and difficult. :-)

I will get it. I have a whole bunch of books here, and aa lifetime to figure it out.

First post on this new blog. Catching up....

I started a blog last week, but unhappy with the software, I am moving the posts over to here.

Here are a few of my new paintings that are not yet added to my web gallery. These are both of Fred and Cassandra. I took them to the city and walked around during golden hour, taking reference shots for the one of them walking.

I had that one in my mind for some time, and they were perfect models. But the thing that I kept noticing was the nice way that they touched each other. That is why I painted "hug". Hug is one of my favorites and is 24x24, oil on linen on panel