Portrait of a Persian (oil) 6"x6"

Oil painting of Charlie at 16 mos old. Six inches square.

Retouching old oil painting

kept me busy today...but still not finished yet.

This is my sister on her pony long long ago.

Sumi show at Seattle Center

click on image to enlarge.

Not much time to paint lately...

Hoping to get back to painting eventually. I taught a sumi class to seniors today which was fun and rewarding. Their work was bold and imaginative. Teaching seniors is the best for me because I enjoy the honesty of their work as well as their humor which is often lacking in the younger set who seem to be a bit ego-ridden...fragile egos worry too much. The seniors are seasoned and thoroughly in the present moment, focused and interested in the process of making art. I will take their small paintings and mount them onto cards for them to send, or keep, as they choose. I hope to continue teaching at the facility where I was today. Nice people and excellent classroom with optimum lighting. Soon I will post their work after I get the photo software installed on this new computer (or hubby does it for me). Glad summer is over...

mats

Whether it's for framing a painting or grooming at cat, mats are a real pain in the neck. I quit. The cat is going to the groomer for a major belly shave on Friday.
No artwork lately, although there is some teaching prep going on; I start teaching again this fall.

cats with whiskers (added later)

Abstract cats in sumi & color

What, no whiskers? Interesting oversight...

Sumi & watercolor collage (image 8x10)

sold

Card houses

The acrylic sealer is still tacky and these card houses will circulate the air on both sides of all the cards until they are dry enough for trading or at least for storing as a pack. We used to make card houses of many stories when we were kids. We got really good at it and it was difficult with the popular kem cards which were plastized for ease of shuffling. These painted cards here were easy to balance with their sticky edges.

Last and final Artist Trading Card (both sides).

2 1/2 X 3 1/2 inches, watercolor and sumi ink on 4-ply mat board with acrylic sealer.

Completed Artist Trading Cards

Each trading card is double-sided with a different painting on each side.

Time to move onto something else now, like painting for the Gallery.

Today's effort

Enso painted on silk (Artist Trading Cards series)

Poppy gift from a neighbor friend - best year ever. A possible motif for an ATC series.

Sumi trading cards

The Enso. The circle of life. Neverending. Hope springs eternal.

The club suit shows through - Shamrock & bamboo - Irish meets Japanese...think about it...

Feathers. Flight. Freedom.

Forget-me-nots.

ATC flower series

I decided to leave the playing card faces showing through on two of these series as an experiment to add more interest, though I will not allow the cards to show through again on the next series - it appears to be more of a distraction than an interest. Good to experiment...

Trading card diptychs

Artist trading cards

This is a popular new trend which I have been resisting, but now find myself interested in playing around with. Different artist groups have different rules about trading. Some have particular size requirements, some say you must only trade in person (for the experience). Some people mail them to each other. Here is my first attempt at making my own trading cards. They are small sumi paintings on layers of rice papers glued on with acrylic medium. The cards are bridge-sized cards 2 3/8 inches by 3 1/2 inches. I wonder what my friends' cards will look like, and where this hobby will lead to. It reminds me of the altered-books projects I have participated in in the past (one of the groups work was good enough to be displayed in a local library and the newspaper did an article about the exhibit). A local art store has swap meets where you can actually make the cards and trade them all in one day. I might try that sometime for the company while creating the cards. Could be fun...

Two attempts at capturing morning light

Poor photography, but you get the idea...This painting is sold.

A wedding gift

This was painted for my cousin's daughter, Mandy, who will be married on June 6th. She studies oenology and has a degree in viticulture. I hope she likes it...

Market crabs

Here are two mini watercolors to sell at the Art Stall Gallery downtown...

Garden paintings

These four little watercolors are for printing thank you cards to send out to the people who wrote me condolence letters and sympathy cards following the death of my father on April 18th.

(Click to enlarge photo).

changing....

I have been wanting to paint, but there is no time lately ~ personal commitments keep me out of the studio. I got to the beach for a quick walk yesterday and to the Frye museum today to look at some strange art in a desperate moment of escape, but mostly I am overwhelmed right now with family responsibilities that take me beyond the studio. I will get back to painting eventually. For now, I keep an on-going journal, (in French), in my mind - this kind of "writing " keeps me sane. A story is developing - an interest to reach for apart from my regular life. I am creating still, just not on paper, or canvas, these days...nothing to share in image or print.
Talk to you later...

April Fools Day

and it is snowing...

on the climatis vine in full bloom...no joke.

April Fools Day

Sumi x 2. Double-sided paintings

these paintings will help pay parking fees and gallery rent - they are small at about 4x6 inches. most people buy them for an easy gift. One side panda, other side bamboo. On mat board.

March 15th

Rarely does it snow like this in March around here....in the City....

Six little sumis

"Chickadee dee dee" (sold)

Pussywillow painting is sold.

sold

Some of these will be framed, others just matted for the flip bin. A friend gave me the seal which is easier to stamp than the others because it is round. If the top is not in the perfect place exactly, then it is not so apparent or annoying to the eye. Anyway, it is getting a lot of use on these small paintings, most of which are about 5 by 6 inches. Too bad I am such a lousy photographer ~ these look much too dark ~ the backgrounds are actually snow white.