Blue Fog

"Blue Fog", 16" x 20" acrylic painting on canvas

No matter what I’m making, I somehow seem to end up immersed in the primaries again. Red, blue and yellow- my dear, dear friends.  Add a little white and some soft black charcoal and I’m a happy gal. Today I finished “Blue Fog”, above, the companion piece I mentioned for “Going Home”, which is coincidentally on the way to its new home in the Pacific Northwest. Someone snapped it up Easter morning (I know the call of Etsy is strong and difficult to resist even on holidays), which was bittersweet. I hardly had any time to tuck it in to my tiny studio and admire it. But I’m thrilled to know it will bring joy to someone else in their space. I’m not a hoarder when it comes to my art, but I do have to pry canvases from my husband’s hands on occasion. Here are a couple of detail shots:

My favorite red of all with that twinge of orange.

It makes me giggle that the sign reads "turn head next" because of all the billboards they slap up out there.

Oh, and did I mention this painting is also for sale? Want it? Get “Blue Fog” here before it’s gone.

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Going Home

"Going Home", acrylic & charcoal on 16" x 20" canvas

Happy Earth Day, people! I celebrated by doing what I usually do regardless of the holiday- making art. 😉 And I have 3, count them, THREE new pieces to share with you today! How’s that for a Friday treat? “Going Home” is a 16″ x 20″ acrylic and charcoal on canvas painting I finished just minutes ago, and which is available to purchase HERE.

Detail shot of "Going Home"

I took a reference photo for this the last time I was leaving San Francisco in the evening, when the sky was that fantastic saturated blue, and I knew it would be a painting one day. That day came pretty quick (I let it cut in line in front of some other photos) because I realized I needed to loosen up my brushstrokes [thanks for that pep talk, Todd!]. I’m really pleased with the freedom I was able to revisit in the process and I love the end result so much, I almost didn’t put it up for sale…. almost. This painting has a sister I’ve just started that will be making an appearance soon, so stay tuned!

"Trouble", a poem block

I also finished a couple of Nancy Drew poem blocks with watercolor/acrylic/oil pastel flourishes on slices of reclaimed fencepost. “Trouble” (above) reads: “The lad proved to be trouble” and is rendered in orange-pink-red-purple. “Voices” (below) reads: “meeting with the vacant/stolen voices” over white, blue and purple. Both are for sale in my etsy shop along with a crop of other poem blocks and affordable art. Have a great weekend, people!

"Voices", a poem block

Mixing it up

"Repetition", mixed media painting on 8" x 10" canvas

Hello friends! I’m mixing up the long line of cityscapes with a mixed media abstract today. I started this piece almost two months ago and it waited patiently, half-finished, until I figured out what to do with it. Two things led me back to mixed media: 1. I’ll have some of my other mixed media abstracts on display at the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center from mid-May to mid-June, and 2. I attended an opening reception for a showing of mixed media digital art by local artist Ann Tracy recently. Speaking to her and looking through my own old work got me longing for the process of constructing a piece intuitively and without a plan.

Detail shot

Believe me, I have a long line of cityscapes waiting to be painted. But I do need to loosen up my style again, and stepping away from highly detailed work for a break- even if it’s a small one- gets the creative juices flowing again….sometimes. I have to admit I’ve been feeling kind of “meh” about my art direction lately.

Most artists will agree that when all else fails, getting your ass out of the studio and looking at other people’s art is always inspirational. So I recently signed up to be a “Sacramento Art Examiner” on Examiner.com. I contribute articles about the art community in Sacramento and reviews of local art shows. This is great since I admittedly don’t get out to as many shows as I’d like to. Knowing that my visits and subsequent write-ups with photos might prompt some people to get out and support local artists gives me the warm-fuzzies. Plus it gives me an excuse to check out new venues and I get to meet cool art people. Yay! Win-win. If you want to check out my reviews and recommendations for art shows in Sacramento, visit my profile on Examiner.com here.

Drum roll please….

One of my many photos from the "might be a painting someday" pile

Hello lasses and lads! I hope you’re having a fantastic friday. I’m about to head to the bay area for the First Friday Opening Reception for April’s Urban/Rural group show at City Art Gallery, but before I go I wanted to post the winner of the Embassy of Cake contest! I know you’re all squirming with impatience for this announcement ;), so here it is.

Drum roll please! ….and the winner is….. Emily! Emily was the closest guesser with 56 hours (sorry Stacey, you were a close second). The actual amount of time it took for me to complete this piece from blank canvas to completion was 51 hours. Congrats! As soon as it dries enough to take a good photo without glare/sheen, I’ll be sending you an 8×10″ limited edition giclee print.For those of you who didn’t win, no worries- you can always purchase a print once they’re up for sale in my Etsy shop. 😉

Thank you so much to the rest of you for your great guesses! This contest thing turned out to be pretty fun, so I’ve decided to make it a more regular feature on the blog. I do have A LOT of art left from last year’s project, so keep your eyes peeled for the next giveaway! Have a great weekend!