27 December, 2011

What's the Point?


Amid all the cooking and eating I have been doing this Holiday season, there has also been time for painting. This is a small piece (5" x 7") I did to experiment with different palette knives from the ones I usually use.
It is of the beach at The Point in Dana Point. This is a favourite place I like to visit. I find the rolling in of the waves very therapeutic and allows me to focus my thoughts about what I need to do that day or in discovering a better way of doing some things than I have been doing.

15 December, 2011

Setting the Scene for 2012


It's been quite some time since I last updated my blog. Life and a trip to Hawaii for fun and for painting ideas has nudged painting out of much of my daily schedule just lately. Even though the hours in front of my easel have been lower than usual, art has very much been on my mind. I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do and how I want to proceed in 2012. I have also been putting some of those ideas and plans into action. I will be talking more about my plans as they come up during the coming year.
Meanwhile my most recent painting, above, is 'Doheny Sunset' 8" x 10" Acrylic on Board.


Wishing everyone a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

14 November, 2011

Room and Board


Many artists keep a mood or inspiration board in their studios. Mine is currently a little bare after I revamped it after setting up my new studio in southern California. So it is a work in progress.
Every artists' board is personal to them. Mine consists of colours and images I like (either my own or those of others) which may provide inspiration or may remind me of people and places (or both). My board is also home to small gifts and souvenirs: badges I bought from the Tate in London, a extravagant ribbon that wrapped around a notebook given to me by a friend (top left), a Japanese jingle bell bought during a long ago trip to a Shinto shrine (bottom right), and an English postage stamp turned into a jigsaw puzzle from a friend (bottom left). 
Some of these items and images have lived on this board have lived on this space for several years and will continue to do so - others are here short-term and are just passing through.

10 November, 2011

Sun Worshipper


I never get tired of watching a sunset. It is a magical event.




I saw some beautiful sunsets when we lived in Arizona with colours that were more vivid and varied than I could have imagined. But I have a soft spot for a sunset at the beach.



03 November, 2011

In The Pink

When not at my easel, I can sometimes be found hunched over a sketchbook.




I was supposed to have pink coneflowers blooming in my garden but they have decided to be fashionably late instead (still waiting). So I used photographs I took at a botanical gardens we visited this summer.



27 October, 2011

Mellow Fruitfulness

There are a few signs of Autumn here in Southern California. There's a nip in the air and a few trees that are changing colour. Autumn has always been one of my favourite times of the year.



Pear- 5" x 7" Acrylic on Paper.

A small painting I did recently as my mind was on falling leaves, rich russets and browns, and having an excuse to make warming soups and stewed fruit.

21 October, 2011

Garden Update


The beautiful summer and mostly warm October we had has resulted in a mostly flourishing garden. In addition Hubby improved our bird bath, making the bottom of the water bowl much more attractive with the help of left-over tiles from our shower remodel.




Our yellow ginger bloomed bringing the scent of Hawaii to southern California.




Another star of the garden is our Black Taro. Was it the extra water that helped or me telling it how lovely it is all the time?



As well as its gorgeous purple/black front colour and the beautiful green a leaf starts off as (which is also on its back side), the leaves produce a semi-opaque maroon colour when the sun shines through the leaves.


Sadly we seem to have lost our plumeria which appears to be rotting from the inside. I've decided not to show a picture for those among you who find the sight of injured and dying plants too distressing.

18 October, 2011

Mum's the Word!

I took a short break from seascape scenes to paint this vase of Chrysanthemums.




Mum's The Word 8" x 8" Acrylic on Board.


Chrysanthemums remind me a lot of my childhood. My Mum grew several kinds in her garden. They were also the flowers we would choose to bring to school.

13 October, 2011

New Edition

It didn't take long for me to realise how necessary photo-editing software is to my life until I was without it for a month (the reason for the long gap in posts). Now that I have a new programme installed I can begin to catch up with some of the things that have been keeping me busy during the last four weeks.


The first is one of my new paintings.



'Doheny Jetty' is 6" x 6" Acrylic on Board.

15 September, 2011

Nature's Props


I am really enjoying my flower garden which finally decided to bloom after no small encouragement.
Not only does it provide a cheery view from inside the house but it also provides some ready models for my art.



06 September, 2011

New Painting


It's no secret by now that I love Polynesia and that it is a huge source of inspiration to me. Here is the latest manifestation of my love for the islands.
It's called 'Solitude Cove' and is 4" x 4" acrylic on board.

25 August, 2011

Life Journeys


This was a one of the many long roads we drove this summer in a loop which took us from California, to Utah, to Arizona, and back to California. Along the way we saw some beautiful scenery, did some interesting things, and spent time with some wonderful people.
Likewise we travelled another journey which has also just come to an end. After over a year, we finally sold our Arizona home and have moved the last of our things to our home in California. In the nine years we lived in Arizona we also saw some beautiful scenery, did some interesting things, and spent time with some wonderful people.
While we miss our AZ friends and hope to see them all again soon, we are so happy to be back full-time in California. We are ocean people.
Here's to all the wonderful and exciting things in our future here.

03 August, 2011

New Painting

I've been mostly experimenting in my painting recently (as well as getting outside to enjoy the summer) so I've not had much to post in the form of new paintings. Here is one I completed not long ago.



8" x 10" Acrylic on Paper.  I don't have a title for it as yet.

28 July, 2011

Garden Update ~ July 2011

I've mentioned in a previous post that our newly-planted garden was a bit slow to get going due to the inconsistent weather we had in So Cal this spring. But the brilliant summer weather we're having has spurred the plants on to show us they can actually grow, though some have their hearts in it more than others!


The biggest change is in the vegetable plot (top) and the flower garden.


The peas have come and gone but the tomatoes are finally fruiting at the rate of more than one tomato a month, while the carrots and lettuce have finally decided to grow beyond half an inch high. Thanks you chaps.


After sowing two lots of seeds we went down to the nursery and bought some Black-eyed Susan plants and some daisy-like flowers. Well the seeds got the message and started growing. This is my English-style garden area.


Here is the tropical area of the garden after it was planted in March this year.


This is the same area today. Sorry I didn't take it at the exact angle but you can see some changes. The Plumeria (foreground) has several leaves and a flower stalk on it (though the flowers are not, at present, surviving long enough to bloom). Ironically the Hibiscus isn't blooming at the moment but has otherwise done so consistently from the first week. Comparing the two photos I can see the Bird of Paradise (behind the Hibiscus) has actually done better than we thought but not much.




The best area for growth has been this section.





The Black Taro and the inedible Banana plant with their beautiful leaves are my particular favourites. It's exciting to look back and see the changes and the progress in the last four months.

17 July, 2011

Garden Delights

On Friday, hubby and I attended a wedding reception at the LA Arboretum in Acadia. Neither of us had been there before so, in a bid to beat rush-hour traffic, and to take advantage of the location, we drove up early to have time to look around the gardens before the reception.



We both love looking around gardens particularly on a beautiful sunny afternoon as it was that day.
We saw a lot of tropical and other types of plants that we have seen before but there were also some new and unusual things to see too.


I can't remember what this is but I thought it intriguing and strange.


This is one of the more strange orchids in the tropical house.


I'm not crazy about orchids but there were some beautiful examples on display such as these delicate specimens. I also love all the different textures among the ferns and leaves.


This looks like someone took a coloured pencil and rubbed it up and down the green leaves.



The gardens were not very busy when we arrived which may explain why we also got an opportunity to see so much wildlife. We were looking at some turtles when we spotted this fella nearby. It looks like some of the small herons we see at the coast.


This duck spotted us and came over in the hope we had something to eat.




While we were talking to the duck and checking out the turtles, the heron decided he wanted to get a better look at us and walked closer to where we were standing. (You can also see one of the turtles to the right of his beak.)




Another bird we saw at one of the other ponds.




We climbed up a long flight of stairs to see this waterfall and lily pond. Everywhere we looked there were beautiful vistas and lizards. I've never seen so many lizards in one place at one time. True the gardens are spread over 127 acres but I felt was continuously almost tripping over lizards on the pathways.




One of my favourite spots was the herb garden which was laid out in a very English manner.




There were also several cottage garden flowers too such as these hollyhocks.




Another garden inhabitant enjoying the shade in the herb garden.


Throughout the garden we could hear the sound of the several peacocks and peahens strolling the grounds near the entrance.




After three hours of walking around these beautiful gardens, we still had a lovely evening celebrating the newly married life of friends ahead of us.

14 July, 2011

Art Fest

It's that time of the year - the art festivals in Laguna Beach: Festival of Arts, Art-A-Fair, and the Sawdust Festival.
This week hubby and I went to all three festivals and saw some really good art. It's always interesting to see what other artists are doing. I enjoy seeing how multiple artists interpret the same subject (such as seascapes).



For copyright reasons, I can't show you any of the art I saw but here is the sculpture at the entrance to one of the shows while below is a waterfall in the grounds inside.


But I can show you two pieces of work from a drawing class I have recently begun attending.







11 July, 2011

Place Setting

I have a wonderful little art studio in my home where I can lock myself away to paint and draw. It isn't big but it's big enough. What I don't have is a large space for setting up still life arrangements up against a plain background. So I have to improvise.




What I have is a square unit that hubby made that used to hold stereo equipment and which is now my still life table.
To block out the busyness of the studio behind, which I was finding distracting, I put a piece of white board behind the flower propped up by some aids from my pantry.


Here is the painting that resulted.



06 July, 2011

Competiton

I am happy to announce that I came second in the recent Artists and Illustrators magazine online competition with my painting 'Paradise Found'. I had a lot of friends vote for me which was wonderful but just under a third of my votes came from others.
I am also happy with the artwork I did and the pleasure people say it has given them to see it. This is one of the reason I make art. Partly because I love it and have a need to express myself this way but also to bring joy and colour into the world.
http://www.facebook.com/l/EAQC7HS5UAQDDsaiVkYOUtMwVvglwqy7tt8Pj2xBF7ukJBw/www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/features/view/facebook-winners




I've also been working on some other paintings which I will unveil soon in between visits to the beach for sun and further inspiration.

27 June, 2011

Competition

I have entered my painting 'Paradise Found' into a Facebook competition run by an art magazine I subscribe to in the UK.




You can vote for me even if we are not Facebook friends. To vote please follow all four steps:
1) go to the Artists and Illustrators Magazine FB page at
2) click ‘like’ to like the magazine page.
3) use the following link
4) click ‘like’ underneath my painting to vote.
Thank you.