The flooding in Boulder jerked my painting to a halt. My home, a continuing care retirement community,

sustained horrible damage.  My apartment stayed dry, but the ensuing shifting of procedures and rooms has been daunting.  My studio in the art room had to be locked as computers salvaged from flooded areas of the building are being stored there until their hard-drives can be copied.  I did manage to finish this painting started before the flood.  The real painting is not so nearly purple as it shows on line.  I used several coats of glazes and I think that threw off the camera recording.  "Sea" is 20" x 30" in acrylic on wrapped canvas.

Here is another start to finish series.  To better understand fog and distance, I looked to Randall David Tipton's work.  He graciously gave me permission to interpret one of his paintings. I did it on a 36"x 48" museum wrapped canvas.

And now for something completely different...

"Pink Nude" 16"x20"

The First Version of Loch

Some of my friends asked to be able to see the process a painting of mine goes through until it is done.  After it is finished, I wait a few days while it is drying to evaluate it upside down and in a mirror.  I often see ways to improve the color or composition.  Then it has to dry again!  Finally I sign it front and back and name it.

The Second Version of Loch

The Third Version of Loch

The Fourth Version of Loch

The fifth version of "Loch"

The Process

Here is the final version of the 30"x30" "Loch Simplified". This was started at a workshop taught by Ken Elliott and Casey Klahn.  My goal was to use brighter colors than I usually choose.

My cousin, Sue, found this 36"x48"canvas in a dumpster.  It was covered in oil cloth (?) that had a painting on it.  We stripped the oil cloth off and I gave the canvas a few coats of gesso.  The rescued support is now "Rainbow Fog".  Thank you, Sue!  Nothing like a free canvas to get the paint flowing.  The best times to get inexpensive large canvases is when the CU art students leave.  They ditch the paintings they can't ship or carry at the thrift stores.

Totally abstract...again.

I am not totally satisfied with this "Core Portal" (16"x20") except I just wanted to use these colors today. It felt good.  I can gesso it at some point and do something else.

Working up to DARING COLOR...

My dreamy state going to sleep gave me an idea for a painting.  I finished it and decided it was boring.

After the color workshop I have been trying to be more daring in my use of color.  I worked on the boring painting some more and this is the result.  Still not as daring as I hoped, but it is a start.

What to do with a failed painting?

I had this painting that took more hours than it should so I was loathe to just gesso it. After adding a few bars of tape and a sewing curve guide, I painted over it

and I was happy.  It is now hanging in the Activities Office here at the Wrinkle Ranch.

I attended an excellent and rewarding workshop on color taught by Ken Elliott and Casey Klahn.  Here is one of the exercises we were assigned.  We watched a 45 second video of canola fields in bloom.  We were to choose a scene from the video and paint it.  Ken likes to use the square format and some of us were working on the suggested 30"x30" size.

Another exercise and another new painting.

The lecture I attended today explained why Willem De Kooning's paintings of women are so grotesque.  A hard childhood expresses itself in many ways.  His work is difficult to copy, for sure.  I did think I could learn something about brush strokes from looking at his paintings.  I tried his

"Doorway to the River" and did learn more about how I brush paint onto the canvas.

Where does the time go?

I guess I'll have to give up one of my book clubs as I can barely keep up with the reading.  That leaves little time to paint and no time to read what is on my personal list.  I have managed to finish some paintings that were in process. The "Hangin' Out" proceeded very well even though it was tedious work. The look on the dog's face surprised me and I like it.

The "Africa" painting is totally different than it started out.  Originally it had palm trees and thatched huts. Turns out I am a very bad hut painter.  Out came my eraser (titanium white) and they were covered over.  When I declared it finished a viewer said "that looks like what I saw in Africa".  Good enough! Africa it is.

"Africa" acrylic on museum canvas, 16"x 40" $300

"Hangin' Out", acrylic on board, framed, 14"x 18" $100

Abstract again

Eclectic is what I am, but I keep coming back to doing an abstract painting. Still looking for my groove.

"Out of the Cave, Into the Light"
acrylic on board, 8"x10"

"Homage to Andrew Wyeth"
acrylic on board, 12"x12"

"Blue Star Rising"
acrylic 24"x30" on wrapped canvas

The Blue Star Rising was just for fun while studying Andrew Wyeth.  Although I admire his paintings, I feel bleak looking at them. So when I had to choose one to interpret, I chose the boots and used brighter paints.  Have I been looking at too many Van Goghs?

When it snows...and snows...and snows, I tend to be more productive.  I was inspired by a photo of my daughter's cat snuggled amongst her freshly folded laundry.  That produced a painting completely different than any other I have done. I also finished another large canvas. Gotta stop  those!

"Pistil and Stamen"
acrylic on wrapped canvas,
36"x36"

"Laundry Cat"
12"x12", acrylic on wrapped canvas

A few artists here at the "wrinkle ranch" are doing a monthly exercise.  We select a famous artist and try to interpret/duplicate one of his/her works.  This is my effort in catching Arthur Dove's style in his "Swing Music" a tribute to Louis Armstrong. The top is the original, the lower, my pitiful attempt.  Maybe it is because I am not a big fan of Dove?

Today I took the road less traveled-an unplanned painting.   Usually I plan a new painting in my head just as I drift off to sleep.  I also try to visualize the next step in that fuzzy mental state.  But occasionally I take a blank canvas and just start messing with it.  This one started with a red undercoat.  I saw an art video recently where the artist put a second coat over the first

and scraped some of it off with a squeegee.  So the aqua coat was partly scraped off. Then I really got to messing with dots and dribbles.  After three days I felt it was time to declare it finished.  It is 8"x10" on stretched canvas. I named it "Scraping By".

March 16, 2013, Never Say Never

I swore I wouldn't do another large canvas as I have no more storage. Never say never.  As I was drifting off to sleep one night I envisioned a painting and it required a large canvas.  I finally finished it yesterday.  My first two large canvases have been sold, so wish me luck on this one or it will be leaning against my couch for a long time.  This one is "Blazing Through".

Art on drugs?

I fell off a ladder and broke a rib and a vertebrae.  After I could move, thanks to pain medicine and muscle relaxants, I started painting again.  I wonder if I will look at them differently when I am healed and taking no medicine.

Here is one painting with a very simple title: "Fish Pond".  Brain doesn't want to work hard on words.  It is 12"x24" on wrapped canvas, acrylic.

The other painting done this week is "Bird Beach". Naturally, a beach seen by a bird. Bombs away! 11"x14" on canvas panel, acrylic.

I am going to try Yupo again this week.  My first try was disappointing as the paint slid every which way.  Maybe I should just let it do its thing?

I had lots of fun doing Swamp Magic with the gold leaf.  I am going to try another painting with gold leaf as an under coat and paint over parts of it.  Stay tuned.