Blooming Lovely

My painting of yellow Gerbera daisies sold the day after Christmas at the San Clemente Art Gallery.

Season's Greetings

Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas and New Year.

Read All About It

It is frustrating not to be able to work on my art while I recoupurate from a car accident, but I have to think long term. 
Once thing I can do is read so I am catching up with some of the art books I have. 
One such book is a fun little book I received from a friend called 'Steal like an Artist'. I think it is meant for a younger audience but it was still interesting and had some good advice for artists of all ages.

I am currently reading 'Art as Therapy' which takes a thoughtful look at the various functions of art and the way in which it can make our lives better. One of my favourite portions so far is where the author says that paintings of people doing ordinary things (in the example given, drinking a cup of tea) can cause us to elevate our view of ordinary daily activities and therefore find greater happiness and satisfaction through them.

Remembering

Every so often I like to produce art that is quite different from what I usually do. To that end I entered and was accepted into the International Mail Art show at the Richmond Art Gallery in Richmond, British Columbia.
My work was done on a postcard and recalled various memories all sparked by a choice between two pieces of fruit.

The on-line portion of the show is not yet available but I will post the link as soon as I have it.

Although I am a little sad that I will not have my work returned, I am excited to see which artwork I will receive in the swap.

Treasured Scene

'Treasure Island' 5" x 7" Oil on Canvas.

This is the southern most beach in Laguna Beach and is named for the 1934 film 'Treasure Island' which was filmed here. 

Egret Success

A photograph I took of a Great Egret in Dana Point, has been chosen to be included in the 2014 City of Dana Point calendar.
I'm very excited because many of the other people chosen are professional photographers with fancy cameras. This means that you can do good things even if you don't have expensive equipment or extensive training or experience.

Golden Blooms

This is one of my new favourite paintings. The colours of the sunflowers remind me of summer and point to the impending Autumn. There is definitely an Autumnal nip in the air this week.
'Sunny Bouquet' 5" x 7" Oil in Canvas.

Covert Action

'Sunny Cove' 6" x 8" Oil on Canvas. This is taken from a photograph by one of my cousins of a beach in Cornwall, England. Cornwall has beautiful, rugged coastline as well as some quaint harbours and towns. I always visit Cornwall when I visit England as I have friends and family there.

I wanted to keep the painting's complexity to a minimum to stress the simple forms of the cliffs and a sense of depth.

Feeling Blue

This was painted from a photograph of a sunset at Doheny Beach in Dana Point.

'Blue Heaven' 5"x7" Oil on canvas.

On a Knife Edge

I haven't painted with a palette knife for a while so it seemed a good time to take a workshop to brush up my skills and pick up some new ideas.

The painting above was done in the workshop from a photograph supplied by the teacher. It is from Point Lobos in northern California taken when she was there on a trip in May.

I had visited the same area in June, so, back home in my studio, I looked through my own photographs of the area and choose this scene to paint. 

'Rocky Cove' 8"x10" Oil on Canvas.

New Painting

My latest painting 'Sweet Spot at Main Beach' 5"x7" Oil on Canvas.

I've spent many occasions doing exactly what the subjects of my painting are doing, sitting in the sun on a bench watching the ocean and what is going on at Main Beach in Laguna Beach.