Red Hat Ladies in Miniatures for Villa Montalvo!

Introducing the Red Hat Ladies in Miniature Paintings with Collage. I'm painting this series to sell at the Yuletide Event at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga this coming weekend. I took photos of the ladies dressed in their finest when they came to the Yuletide last year (and at the summer luncheons). Now I'll frame each of these in 5x7 frames and make greeting cards from them. What fun.

Cabin in the Snow - Day 2

So, not so hard after all. I didn't wreck it, and I found that I actually really like it and that's why I keep painting! (amazing for someone who has to relearn this fact every new painting!)
Now I'll work on it some more and take a picture of it in the morning light. Let's see how far I get! Oh, did I mention this is our family cabin and it holds a special place in my heart?
Day 2 of making the Christmas Card. Last night I went over all the pencil lines with different colored artist ink pens. The next step was to paint it, but this is usually the hardest time for me. I look at the drawing and think that I may just mess it up and waste all the work I've done so far.
Then I think, "How in the world am I going to do this? What colors should I actually use, how should I put in the light, how much white should I save..." After taking way too long to set up my painting area (procrastinating) I then stare at it for a long time, getting up the nerve to put paint to paper. Then I try out paint on a scrap watercolor paper. Then I take the plunge! (ask my friends and family, it's the same drill every time.)

Cabin in the Snow

Today I started a new addition to the Cabin Collection. I'm calling it, Cabin in the Snow, and eventually it'll become a Christmas Card. I'll take you step by step and then show you the finished card after it comes back from the printer. Hang on tight since it's going to be a whirlwind creation!

Beth's Window Seat

Every time I go to my friend's house I'm inspired to paint it. She's so good at arranging each room that her house is like a still life ready to be painted.

Villa Montalvo Stables

Today, 9/18/2010... Finished!!! Thankyou Deborah for your suggestion on finishing touches. And now (drum roll please Rich, on to the calendar!)

And now I'm almost finished, but what else does it need ?(beside my signature).

and then...Stables with more color and tree. Halfway there?...

The next day 9-17-2010...Stables with some color...

9-16-2010: Here is my preliminary pen and ink drawing for the Villa Montalvo Stables. I didn't even know it was at Montalvo until someone at the summer luncheons suggested I'd like to paint it. I found it off the last parking lot nestled in the woods. Now it is used as a ceramics studio and for other things, but I can imagine it as it use to be, with the horses nearby ready to retire for the day. Tomorrow I hope to watercolor it and then... I will have all the paintings I need to finish my calendar!! I love the challenge of completing a project. So rewarding.

A Window and Camellias at Villa Montalvo

I saw this while walking around the Villa and thought it was so pretty I just had to paint it.

Villa Montalvo Domed Resting Spot

I'm getting closer and closer to finishing the paintings for my calendar! Here is a pretty little resting spot at Villa Montalvo. One day last winter I parked in the lot and then was so surprised to see this dome when I looked up. This one probably will be December in the calendar. Two more to go!

Villa Montalvo Wedding Spot

Villa Montalvo looks good from every angle and that's why I think it's a great place to paint. Here is the back of the Villa where they have weddings. I thought I'd be finished with this and sell it during the summer luncheons, but I just finished it today (a day after the last luncheon day), so now I'll sell it at the Montalvo Yuletide in November.

I have 7 paintings completed and 5 other paintings from Montalvo drawn out and ready to be painted. Altogether I'll have 12 paintings of the Villa and grounds so hopefully I'll be able to make a calendar! (I love calenders and collect them so it will be fun to make one of my own.)

Nola's Iris Garden Show on Mother's Day Weekend

On May 8, I participated in a show with the East Valley Artists (www.eastvalleyartists.org) at Nola's Iris Garden in San Jose, CA. To get to the garden you have to drive up the mountain for a few miles. Once you get there the beauty of it all takes your breath away. This is the show I painted five iris paintings for at Easter time. By the way, Nola sells online if you want a place to buy bulbs. Also, did you notice the rose bush I took a photo of? Someone near by told me it's called, "Joseph's Coat of Many Colors." I've never seen anything like it before.

Easter Iris

Here's the 5th painting in Iris Collection. I call it Easter Iris because I finished on Easter Sunday, a day before I had to hang the paintings in the Gallery. As I was framing them I started to go slower and slower and realized soon afterward that I was getting sick with the flu. However, before I quit to lie down, I looked at the painting again and thought how much of a coincidence that it was in the shape of a cross and on Easter. Other things began to stand out to me too. The flower is purple like royalty, the leaves are like the thorns on Jesus's "crown", the top petal looks like linen and like an empty tomb, and the red, yellow and orange color around the flower is like a choir of thousands singing with triumphant voices that "He is Risen!" Yes, He is risen indeed!

Iris, Blue

Want to know what happened with this one? Again, I thought I was finished and signed it but the background was so bright that it looked more like a cut and paste or a poster to me. So I thought I'd paint more leaves here and there to set in the flower. It became more wild than ever!...but I like it and think I might have started something.....

Irises, Purple and Yellow

The inspiration for these Irises was taken from flowers in my front yard, but with the yellow coloring of some from my friend Beth's yard. My husband came through the door yesterday and said, "I think you dropped a painting in the front yard." Of course I had to see which one... and it was the flowers.

Irises in the Field of Flowers (or, Take Cover! Twister Blowin' Through!)

Hello friends! Here are before and after photos of this painting. After I finished and signed it I thought it still needed a few more flowers in the field. The funny thing is though, by the time I got around to adding them I had an unexpected argument with someone. It was like a spring storm blew into my dining room (where I was painting) and it gave me super boldness to add those extra flowers (every single little dab of boldness!) I like both versions, but you sure can tell there was a change in weather!

Yellow Irises

Time to paint for Gallery Saratoga again (new paintings go up on Monday for April) , and I've decided to paint a series of irises. Why did I choose irises? Well, first of all because I love them so much. I mean I really delight in them. We had blue, purple and yellow irises in our yard in Massachusetts when I was growing up, and in my Grandfather's yard across the street. Irises are at the top of my list of favorite flowers along with yellow roses and hollyhocks (also in my childhood gardens.)
I think God made such an elegantly beautiful flower in the iris. In fact, I started painting this particular flower in acrylics on an 18x24 canvas, but I didn't feel confident that I could bring out the delicate flowing lines in acrylics, so I switched to drawing and watercolor.
The other reason I chose irises is that there's going to be a show at Nola's Iris Garden on Sierra Road in San Jose on May 8 and 9th (come by if you can), so if they don't sell at the Gallery in April, I can just take them over to Nola's in May. I have another show in April and many more I've signed up for throughout the year, so it's much better I plan ahead to avoid getting nervous or have to stay up all night painting. (I've done this many times before, but if you can't think straight or talk coherently to people at the show because of sleep deprivation, what's the point?) Keep tuned, at least 4 more irises to come...

Chickens and Checks

Now this was fun to do. I thought I'd take a break from painting larger paintings and create these little 5x7's. My friends and I brainstormed about what to make from these and I can't wait to do it!

Fairy Land

I just finished the Fairy Land painting this morning while listening to some beautiful Celtic music sung by Heather Dale. (I highly recommend her music www.heatherdale.com) Why do I always want to stop at only drawing the pen and ink picture (see October 26th's entry). Color is the life and soul of the painting! I think I may be heading toward children's book illustrating one small step at at time.

Fairy Land Drawing

This weekend while I was watching my daughter's soccer tournament in Fresno, I drew out a "Fairy Land". I'm at the point where I think the drawing is finished and don't want to wreck it by messing up on the painting, but I must press on. I got the idea for doing this when a patron at the Coffee Society asked if I could do a fairy painting and put it on a cup since his wife loves fairies. I've loved the idea of fairies since I clapped my hands for Tinkerbell to live, and she did! I'll post the painting when it's finished.