Now this is Exciting: 6" Squared

I am soooo excited and honored! These two pieces have been chosen out of 1200 to participate in the second 6" Squared show, sale and competition at the Randy Higbee (aka King of Frames) Gallery in Costa Mesa CA. Birthed on Facebook the first of these events (held in Dec 2010) brought an absolutely amazing body of work together from around the globe and savey collectors flocked to the show. All the works are 6"x6"...no exceptions. I have learned to love working in this format as it offers some exciting compositional challenges...Wish me luck!


The Event:

The Randy Higbee Gallery is hosting the second 6" Squared Exhibition and Sale. Once again, we will bring Nationally acclaimed traditional representational artists to a spectacular venue in Orange County, California. A Gala Artists' Reception will be held Saturday, April 16. The show will run through May 6th.

Click here for more info!!: 6" Squared Exhibition and Sale: Spring 2011

So Totally Pumped! These two pieces accepted in Randy Higbee's 6 Squared Show!!!

Soooo...off to Costa Mesa CA for these two little 6x6 inch oil pieces. They will be shown in some amazing company for sure! (http://www.randyhigbeegallery.com/Home.html) Opening night December 4th...show hangs till December 23rd...be there and get squared!!!

Productive Day in Plymouth!

After an beautiful early morning drive to the Plymouth Plein Air Competition I arrived about an hour after planned.. I evidently took the long way but I didn't mind it was an incredible autumn morning! Here's my days work!! Quick paint on Saturday!!

 Watertower 12x16 oil

 The Witches House 12x12 oil

Legion's Roses 7x5 oil

Pewaukee Classic Boat Show and Plein Air Competition Day 1

I had a good painting day today... got these two done. It was hot, sticky and windy with some scary storms coming through about 5pm...I got out of there first! Tomorrow the Cris Craft Boats come about 40 of them...I can't wait!

                                   The Other Side of the Tracks 16x12 oil

Pewaukee Island 20x10 oil

Mid Summers Brush, Oconomowoc's Plein Air Competition 2010

"The Old Launch" 20x16 oil

Zion II 20x10 oil

Before the Rain 12x16 oil

Elm Grove, plein air and Business cards!

"Elm Grove Rush" 10x20 oil

Flooded Path 12x12 oil

I went twice this week to the beautiful community park in Elm Grove WI to paint. Saturday Morning I painted with Anthony Sell after it had flooded in the area for three days and the forecast was a morning full of the same. However, although the sky looked very threatening, not one drop fell and we painted till noon. The community has planted prairie flowers all around the area which were proliferating... black eyed susan, purple cone, queen Anne's lace and more. Aginst the dark sky it was incredible.

Then in sunny skies I went back again Monday Evening to paint with Judith Reidy....very different light and just as stunning...I can't seem to get enough.

It seems that I will never learn...I forgot my business cards and postcards again...I wonder how many patron opportunity's I have missed as a result of this when painting outdoors! People love to watch you paint and I have learned that they like to purchase from artist's they know...I must get better at this!!!!

Starting August 7th and ending on Aug 14th I will be participating in Mid Summers Brush, Oconomowoc's Plein Air Competition. Come out and watch as Artists paint and then bid on the work generated from Friday evening through Sat. afternoon. Followed by a street dance...it should be a world of fun!!

Wauwatosa: 2010

Monarch Trail 12x16 oil

Trailers and Tracks 20x10 oil

Little Red Store 16x12 oil

So I started painting about 9 am today. Beautiful day...not too hot, sunny and breezy. I painted till about 3pm and then had a great lunch with a good artist friend. I was tired but still wanted to paint so I drove out to an area I had spotted a few days before and set up. It was 7:30 before I looked at my watch again....I'm a little tired! (it was worth it!)

Lunch on the Rocks: Some thoughts on Plein Air Competitions

"Lunch on the Rocks"

12x12 oil Available $250

Cedarburg 2010 is officially over. Saturday at 8am (after 10 painting and traveling back and forth days) I knew I had spent the last of my energy when I could not even think about standing in the middle of 100,000+ people attending Strawberry Festival on a steamy hot morning and "painting the festival". So I did the next best thing...I purchased a carton of strawberries and found a somewhat quieter shaded spot and proceeded to paint what ended up being my lunch. Our paintings needed to be turned in at 2pm and the awards ceremony was a 5pm. There was no place to really rest in between. I attempted to go out to dinner with some wonderful friends but this "fibro" girl ran smack into a wall of exhaustion. Home I went...in bed by 10pm...up at 10am...checked e-mail, ate breakfast and back to bed for 2 hours after which (beginning to feel human again) I had to drive back to Cedarburg (about a 35 minute drive) to pick up my unsold work.

I have been struggling to get reacquainted with my oil paints after a winter of pastels and I finally felt some things coming together this week...much to my relief. I was somewhat pleased with my over all results in painting. Some painters I trust had good stuff to say about my work and I truly hope they were not just being nice. Ken Auster who's workshop I have taken says "You are good when your peers say your good". I like that...as a gauge. And although I did not sell a thing or take home any awards and I will probably pay physically for this week...It was all still very worth it! For me nothing beats painting in the open air with a bunch of truly great artists whom I respect and the challenge of capturing what I see before me on a blank canvas!

Have palette knife will travel!!

Cedarburg: 7 paintings, 4 Frame-able, only two for the competition!

What a wonderful week we have had in Cedarburg and it's not over yet. I have painted a lot and now I have to decide which two to submit....so here they are...what do you think??

"Refuge" Cedarburg "Quick Paint" 2010

"Refuge"

8x10 oil

Cedarburg Plein Air Competition: Quick Paint

2 1/2 hours from the time your canvas is stamped to turn it in framed and wired...no pressure or anything!

Today's Plein air Painting: Beloit WI

Today's Plein air painting: Rooted at the Rock 16x12 oil

It's hard to show the scale of this tree. It's roots were holding on to the edge of the Rock River like nothing I'd ever seen. I was told that people take a lot of wedding photos there. What a fun task to paint this old snarled tree!

The space between two mediums: How big is it really???

As predominantly an oil painter, I switched to a new medium for the entire winter...pastel. I greatly enjoyed this and have learned a great deal (mostly about optical color) from doing it. However, I have not been able to get comfortable with doing pastels plein air which is my big passion....soooooo I have gone back to my oils and just feel like I need to say ahhhhhhhhhhhhgh!

Ok...so I'm a little frustrated! Here is a work in progress which I wiped off my canvas 3 times yesterday. That is not normally a good sign. After the 3rd time I finally got to where I felt things were going in a direction I liked but oh man....Anyone else experienced this? Any suggestions?

Notes "en plein air" on plein air!

Quick Sketch as the sun goes down of this wonderful old gnarled tree. I felt like I was in another world...peaceful, quiet, still. (The Spirit Tree, 14x11 pastel)



So I have had a little time to reflect on my plein air trip to New Harmony, Indiana. Yes I struggled with my new set up and new medium but I was still able to peek into the soul of an old tree...still my heart long enough to admire the simplicity of a single dogwood blossom, wonder at the history of a broken fence line and drink in the spring green in huge gulps. Oh, the joy in it all!!

She shoots...She Scores!!!

She wins second place in the Raven Juried show called "Renewal"!

So... yesterday I got in my car and drove the hour and a half to Beloit to paint in and support the Beloit Plein Competition. The weather was wonderful! This is one of the pieces I produced. The second needs more work and I may go back and make some changes to this one as well. I never painted a fountain before and I really struggled with it. What do you think?