Toddlers Make Fun Subjects

"Goats Only Please"
15" x 20" Watercolor

In 2016 we were blessed with the births of two granddaughters who have continuedto delight us from both coasts. Sydney, not in this painting, lives in the DC area and Amelia, with her head in the goat rest area, lives nearby. Both sets of parents have done a great job limiting their exposure on the social media sites and sending grandparents photos along with frequent updates. We marvel at how very quickly the infants became real people.

A few months ago, Amelia's mommy sent out photos from a visit to Happy Hollow, a children's park in San Jose with animals and rides. Amelia has visited many times and her favorite animals are the goats. Here she is with her little friend Dierdre. I couldn't resist painting this from Mommy's photo. I loved the way the perspective showed their diminutive size, enhancing the effect of their curiosity.

The hardest thing to paint was Amelia's Alizerin Crimson dress with a pattern, but I liked the stripes and patterns as design elements, so I went for it. I had a blast painting this one and am hoping to do a painting of Sydney soon

Another Work of Bob

"Scottish Man"
12" x 15" Pastel

In 2013 Bob came into Monday drawing class to meet me for lunch. He was wearing his orange vest and a hat. Our instructor Bob Semans has become our friend, and the minute he saw Bob, he asked if he would come pose for us. That day, Bob chose to wear his Scottish Balmoral hat that he wears with his formal kilt. Here is is in his full kit.

Bob Semans did a demo piece on a large piece of pastel paper and gifted it to Bob in exchange for his work. We students were working on our own renditions, but I only partially finished. I only do pastels in class so I set aside. The other day I found the piece and decided to complete it in our hiatus of working without an instructor while he recovered from surgery. I was fairly pleased with my work, though you can see why Bob S. is our instructor. He gave me permission to post this piece. I was obviously sitting at a different angle. No two are alike.

Bob E. by Bob S.

"Putting on the Ritz" Inspired by Klimpt

"Puttin on the Ritz"

36" x 48" 

Torn Magazine

On Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Contact the Artist for Purchase

After returning from Vienna, where we saw some of Gustav Klimpt's work in the Belvedere Museum and at The Secession, I was inspired to do a very large collage using gold. You will recall that Klimpt's painting of Adele Block Bauer, a Jewish woman, was ironically confiscated by Hitler's art team from her husband's home some year's after Adele's death. After the war, it was returned to Austria where the Belvedere believed they had a claim to the painting. You may have seen the movie, "Woman in Gold" which tells the story of Maria Block Bauer suing for the return of the painting and others to the family. Bob and I had the good fortune to see the painting when it was displayed briefly  in the LA County Museum in 2006 before being sold to the Neue Gallery in NYC where it remains on permanent display. 

My material of choice was not gold leaf, but simple magazine papers. I saw an opulent evening coat, which my imaginary woman wears in my collage. I finished the initial image about a week ago, and then came the really fun part, modifying and integrating the painting. We have a dreary Sunday here, so it was a good afternoon to do art. I decided that the bottom of her dress needed enhancing with more black and the red background. I also added touches of red throughout the painting, including the woman's earrings, headband, and choker. She already had that incongruous red vertical line on her throat, which I decided I liked.

Since visiting Klimpt's work, I have read three books related to Klimpt and "Woman in Gold." Though an admirable artist, Klimpt's personal life was not to be emulated. The book that inspired the movie has much more information about Vienna art and high society, and the Block Bauers who suffered tremendously at the hands of the Third Reich.

A Musician Series: "Hot August Nights"

"Hot August Nights"
20" x 25"
$700

 I am participating in a online critique group with Gwen Fox, an artist from Taos, NM. She challenged us to paint a series, so I continued with the musician theme. Ala Jeannie McGuire, who recently taught a Figurative Workshop in Vermont, I focused on making this painting unique and created an abstract background. Though the sax player is more forward than the singer, I wanted the singer to be the center of interest. I gave her more detail and light, and the sax player blended into the shadows. Gwen gave me a thumbs up on this one and commented that I accomplished my goals.

Figurative Workshop in Southern Vermont

Even for me, a traveler at heart, this workshop was a bit of a stretch after being gone 5 weeks and home just 9 days. Friend Joan from CT and I always do an art related vacation together. Though she is an oil painter, but she located a watercolor workshop sponsored by the Vermont Watercolor Society, and figured she could learn a lot from Jeannie McGuire who does wonderful non-traditional watercolors. Jeannie likes to let the painting develop as she goes, she will scrub out, paint over, work in lots of pigment, and use opaque paint against more transparent passages. She won the Gold Medal from AWS and has been featured in magazines. Check outt Jeannie McGuire's Art on Facebook.

Thus we traveled to beautiful Landgrove Inn, a traditional old farmhouse expanded to Inn with it's own delicious restaurant. They built a workshop facility and their hallway is lined with works by admired watercolorists like John Salminen and Ted Nuttal who have given workshops here. We were fed three meals a day, and the 10 artists and instructor developed a sense of community for the week.

We started with portrait, moved on to single figures, and finished with multiple figures. "The Singer" is at top was the single figure. I struggled with my first pieces, but pulled this one together. "Really?!"   is from of photo of Bob.
                                           

The multi figure piece features women's soccer.

Native Sage

"Native Sage"

3 feet x 3 feet

Torn magazine on canvas collage

$2000

 

When my artist friend Joan and I were in Taos, NM, attending a workshop, we all went out to a local restaurant. The bartender was such an interesting man that we asked it we could photograph him. He said he was a Lakota Elder from Nevada, working in New Mexico where there is a large Native American population. Joan said she wanted his silver feather earrings. We apparently are not the first tourists to ask to take his photo or want his earrings. He had posed for a whole busload of people earlier in the day. He was bemused by the attention.

 

None of my photos were very clear and besides, my goal is not to create an exact image. I doubt that he would recognize himself. My hat kick continues with his cowboy hat. I wove in some interesting suggestions of a story. There are some horses, the words New Mexico, and suggestions of his rugged character. I especially like the extensions of his mustache that mimic his feather earrings.

This is a large piece and took many days to complete. I started with a graphite drawing, then moved on to drawing him free hand on tracing paper. I transferred the outer edges of the figure,  then covered the entire surface with selected black, grey, and white magazine papers. From there I began to refine the shapes and add the features. I especially struggled with getting an expression that I like.

I am hoping to get this piece juried into a show.



Happy New Year 2015!

"The City That Never Sleeps"
36" x 36" Torn Magazine Collage
$2000

Happy New Year, my blog friends. It's time to get back on the wagon after a busy December with a Hawaiian vacation and many Christmas activities.

I am currently focusing on collage, though I still paint. This piece took a while and went through a couple iterations. Here is the original piece that I thought was done until sharing with my critique group.



One of the very accomplished artists noted the white was isolated on one side and another said remember how the master makes the collage emerge from the background. So I bravely went back and collage out the white. I like the result, which is a bit more dramatic.

I will catch up with my blog friends as I get back in the swing of things.

Plein Air Painting in Pioneer Park

               

                                                                "Mommy, it's raining."

  

i am a bit behind. About three weeks ago, the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society Paintsites folks brought us together at the Mountain View Library, which is in Pioneer Park. I had to drive about 35 minutes to get there and enroute I actually had to figure out where my windshield wiper controls are located on my car. It hadn't rained more than a few drops for months. The rain had stopped by the time I arrived at the park.

I decided to paint a stately old oak tree and was painting away when a vision appeared on the wet green grass -- three small children playing with their two brightly colored umbrellas. I could just imagine them telling mommy that they needed to use their new umbrellas, even though the rain stopped. I snapped a few photos from very far away and included the little tikes in my painting. That means, of course, that they are not ideally positioned and have become the center of interest.  I so wanted them in the painting that I gave myself permission to include them.

I am not happy with the way Blogger works from my IPad. Hope you can view the entire image.

Entry for the 49th Annual SCVWS Membership Show

"Hoping We Get Some Wind"

16" x 23" Watercolordd caption

 

Framed and ready to go



It seems I am never satisfied with my first pass on paintings I want to enter in shows. So I painted this one over. You can read about my inspiration in my earlier post.

You can see that I changed the lighting and the angle of the lighting which I felt made for a stronger design. Of course, I had to imagine it, so I hope I was fairly accurate.  I decided to use 300 lb. Arches Hot Press paper which gives quite a painterly look with it's resistant surface. I used a different approach, not doing an under painting as I did before. I changed the color on the fence and Martin's shirt. I also went for more modeling on the clothing. I had to capture the photo of the framed piece at an angle due to all kinds of reflections on the glass.

The Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society's 49th Membership Show promises to be a good one with slightly over 100 entries. There are 400 people in the society and all are welcome to enter a piece of art. The show is not juried, but it is judged. This year, Robert Semans, a fine oil and pastel painter who happens to teach my Monday morning drawing class, will be the juror who selects the award winners.

Yesterday I spent a wonderful day at the beach with fellow SCVWS artists at the Santa Cruz Paintout. To be precise, we were painting that day in Capitola, a gem of a beach town. I will post once I have completed my 3 pieces, which are almost done.

Monday Morning Drawing Class: A Modern Venus

i

"A Modern Venus"
14" x 16" Pastel

 

My friend Susan and I have been wanting some life drawing experience. Of course, drawing the human body is a traditional exercise for artists through the ages. Our  class location within an art store precludes having a nude model. We paid our instructor for some private lessons with a model at his studio. We discovered, of course, that we have much to learn. We arranged for monthly sessions with Bob and a wonderful model who does a lot of work for San Jose State University's highly respected art department..

 

Meanwhile, instructor Bob Semans purchased two small clay figures, one male and one female, from an art supply company. These he can bring to our class. A few weeks ago I attempted the male figure. My drawing was fine, but not so much the shading, and I took so much time drawing that I got about half the pastel work done.

 

This week, I did the female figure with much more success, according to Bob. I am still internalizing what happens to the body when weight shifts. Bob always says draw from the inside out. So find the midline and build from there. Note the position of features in relationship to others. For example, from my point of view, the inner tops of the legs were below her right side of the neck. Her right hip fell just inside the outer edge of her right arm. The outermost point of her left hip is below the outermost point of her shoulder. Her naval is more to the right of the vertical halfway point. Bob calls this the science, not the art, of drawing. He enjoys teaching it and it is the key to success.

Painting My Muse

"Hoping for Some Wind"
15" x 24" Watercolor

Bob is ever a source of inspiration. His playful approach to life is very endearing. Yearly we attend a friend's birthday celebration at the San Jose Giants minor league ball game in the VIP booth. Bob worked with Martin in his software days. A bear was their mascot and they purchased these pinwheel topped beanie caps because the pinwheel was supported by a bear. Over the years Martin had to replace the attachment and Bob had to buy a whole new hat, thus the difference in the pinwheel. Bob is the man on the right.They faithfully show up at the game wearing their beanies, and certainly stand out among the fans who mainly sport San Jose or San Francisco Giants hats. I shot a photo late day with the sun creating a backlit rim of light on their right sides. 

Friend Penny, a fellow artist, suggested the title of the painting.  I am still trying to decide if this will be the piece I enter in the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society's Annual Members Show. I have to make a decision by Friday.

A Floating Market in Thailand

"The Flower Vendor"
Damnoan Saduak Floating Market, Thailand
13.5" x 20" Watercolor

On the Bangkok Extension of our Indochina tour in March, we visited a floating market where hundreds of vendors sell fruits, vegetables, flowers, and goods from their boats. I took a photo from the bridge that crosses over the middle of the market and this woman was just a small part of the photo. I liked the unusual perspective. I had to use a lot of imagination to do this one, especially the water. There the waterway was a very greenish brown color and no doubt quite polluted, so I cleaned it up. My water ripples on the right side were suggested by the photo. I had to make up the left side and decided to add ripples to show movement and keep it in shadow to achieve a more effective painting. Here is the entire scene,

The market was a sight to behold. Both sides of the waterway had stalls where you could purchase every manner of goods. There were also little cafes and we sat to enjoy ice cream at one. If you wanted lunch, you could choose from many floating chefs. I won't call them restaurants because they whipped out those tiny stools that we Westerners had difficulty mastering, set them up beside the boat on the edge of the water, and cooked your meal to order. After having suffered turista in Siem Reap, I was not feeling adventurous.

I had to gather my courage to enter the market when we first arrived. Looking down from the bridge, I saw that the first vendor had 12 foot live snakes that they would drape around anyone willing to pay for the privilege. One was as yellow as a banana and I think the other was mottled color.  I will tell you that I have two unexplainable phobias, snakes and heights. I would be of little use in a rice paddy or on top of Mt. Everest.  I had to pull myself together and focus straight ahead as I walked within feet of the brave tourists sporting snakes.

Exhibit entry inspired by Vietnam visit

"Fast Food, Vietnam Style"
19" x 14" Watercolor

One of the members of Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society owns a chain of restaurants in the area by the name of Hobee's. Peter introduced healthy food to us long before it became trendy. He is hosting a society exhibition in July at one of the restaurants. Hobee's motto is "Fast, Fresh, and Friendly" and it's the theme of our show, to be loosely interpreted.

 

I have a lot of wonderful market scenes from my travels in Vietnam. One photo from Hoi An captured my imagination. I like the design element of the conical hats in a diagonal row. So with lots of artistic license and editing, I focused the painting on the three women. I like a painterly approach, so I muted anything I chose to include in the background. I painted the entire piece in the compliments of blue/purple, yellow/orange, with a bit of red in the center of interest.

 

People in Vietnam believe in fresh food and go to open markets daily. They usually arrive on foot, bicycle, or scooter. Many of the sellers do the same. It's a fascinating scene.

Flying High Again

 

Champlain Island Flowers

3" x 5" watercolor sketch

 

 

I like to visit family in Vermont at least once a year, so off we went for eight days. We managed to see lots of relatives, including most importantly my two sons. I planned a little getaway for us in the Champlain Islands, so close to Canada that at times the phone company sent messages about international charges.

 

Jeff, Mom, and Jason 

 

 

I've always loved wild flowers and they are at their peak in July in Vermont, so on my early morning walk, I created a little bouquet for our room. Later I did a tiny sketch in my Moleskine watercolor journal with my Koi pan paints.



 

"Moonlight in Vermont"

3" x 5" watercolor sketch

 

 

A full moon and balmy night combined for a lovely scene. I couldn't do it justice in the few minutes I could spare to paint, but I will try it now that I am home.

 

"Bob Flying High"

IPad on American Airlines

 

To pass some time while flying, I sketched Bob using a free Sketchbook app. I'm not very good at this yet.

 

 

"Waiting"

IPad in Bradley International Airport 

 

A woman waiting for our plane to Dallas was passing the time texting, like almost everyone in the airport.

We arrived home Friday evening  and I delivered my "South County Wine on the Vine" painting to it's new owner at the end of the "California Harvest" exhibit today. Tomorrow I take two collages to the Rengstorff House in Mountain View for their Arts Festival. We have the artist reception on Thursday evening, 5 to 7. Do come if you are in the area.

The Art Roll Continues

 

"In the City by the Bay"

18" x18" magazine collage on canvas

Expect a few more refinements 

 

Seems that I get a lot of art energy from being around other artists. Between my trip to Murphy's for the Artist Getaway and my all-day plein air session with the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society (SCVWS), I can't  stop creating art. Friend Joan had been fascinated by my magazine collage work, done after taking a wonderful workshop from Derek Gores. After Joan left for home, I cropped an image of my granddaughter hanging off a parked cable car in San Francisco on a family visit to California in 2010 when Kelly was 14. Her hair was flying in the strong summer wind and I liked the angle of her head and shoulders.

 

I have been wanting to create this piece for a while. I spent several hours playing with the image and free-hand drawing it on tissue paper. Then I transferred the image to a canvas, using a broad Sharpie to go over the lines that would guide the collage work. You can see it does not require much detail. 

 

The drawing on canvas

 

 

I set myself up in the garage. This work is too messy for my upstairs studio that is just a side extension of my bedroom. Basically I tear lots of magazine pages into bits and apply pieces of them to the canvas with glossy acrylic liquid gel medium. 

 

The first day's work

 

 

I settled on a color scheme of fuschia, white and black, with some related colors for the hair. After a few hours, I had a good beginning. I knew that I wanted the hair to be ambiguous on the right, and darker to indicate some shadow there. Where does the hair end? That's part of the mystery.

 

 

The second day's work

 

I spent the afternoon in the garage tackling the face, always the biggest challenge for me. I know at this point that I will likely eliminate the watch face on her cheek and the lines of her neck are too defined and straight. The beauty of collage is it's easy to change my mind. Gerald Brommer, a famous artist who first taught me to use collage said, "Just keep adding paper until it's so heavy the painting will fall off the wall." I like the ambiguity that's developing. Is that the back of a woman forming some of her hair. Oh, I see a high heel and some flowers in her clothing. There is the San Francisco skyline.... (rescued from the newspaper a month ago as I thought about this collage).

 

 

The third day's work

 

Now that the canvas is covered, I can begin to refine the image. I eliminate the watch face, modify the neck, and put some white flowers on either side of her. Nope -- don't like those gardenias - too regular and fussy for suggesting a sophisticated city.

 

The fourth day's work

 

Gotta get rid of the white flowers. How about a cable car image? Try some black under the city. I don't like the long diagonal that the black creates. 

 

Final day's work

 

Will it help to break up the black a bit? Better, but I still don't like it. Time to revert back to white.

 

 

 

A repeated photo of the finished (?) piece

 

I kept the text, added some white with text, broke the long line at the top of her head, created some ambiguity in her hair on the lighted side, both on the outer and inner edges. Derek Gores would probably tell me that I need to vary the edges more, so this piece will likely change a bit yet as I contemplate how to make this piece more interesting.

 

Meanwhile, I was able to show one collage piece, at an SCVWS exhibit in the spring. The committee was pretty open-minded to include an all-collage piece as the society focuses on watermedia. My watermedia is the acrylic for the glue.  That event got me an invitation to show that piece and one other at the Rengstorf House in Mountain View during the month of August.









The Graduate

 

"The Graduate"

20" x 20" Torn Paper on Canvas

(c) Mary Paquet

 

 

I love using my grandchildren as my subjects. Jamie graduated from Danville High School in Vermont as valedictorian of her class this past June. We celebrated with a barbecue on a beautiful June Vermont day. Friend James Farinha took some photos and I just loved this one with the bright green glasses and her mortar board. James gave me blanket permission to use any photo of the teenagers for my art.

 

(c) James Farinha

 

I followed the same process I described in an earlier post. My darks would be purple and green would be the accent color. It's quite fascinating and sometimes very frustrating to do. I am constantly having a dialogue with the painting and my magazine papers. I wove into the painting bits and pieces of Jamie's life. You will find the following photos if you look closely:

• Jamie riding her horse Sky in January snows. She found this horse advertised on the hardware store bulletin board and trained the two-and-half year-old when she herself was barely a teen. Sky is ridden in horse shows by both sisters and achieved Grand Champion this year.
• Jamie playing soccer for her high school; she now is on the Smith College team
• Jamie teaching soccer to young boys in Senegal, Africa, while working with a volunteer group in 2011 (girls don't play soccer in Senegal)
• Jamie teaching English to small children in French-speaking Senegal (she choose this country so she could practice her French)
• A piece of Jamie's award-winning art - she paints in multiple mediums, sculpts, and does collage

There is a hint of her love of bicycles with the woman in a yellow bicycle jersey. I had to give up on a lovely chocolate bicycle on her shirt because it lacked color harmony. I also wove in the words "Love," "Danville High," "Smith," and "Senegal."

I think it's time to go back to traditional painting as I am beginning to feel rusty.I will do more collage in the future and have ordered a yearly subscription to a couple fashion magazines to use as paint.

An addendum:
I decided I needed to modify some of the straight edges for interest, so you will see changes here -- the shoulder line is broken and I added the word Ole because I wanted to enter the piece in the Cafe Ole show. That helped fit into the theme.

"Ole'"

 
 
 
 

Commission painting

"Hello, Goodbye"

15" x 15" Watercolor

A friend who commissioned me to paint a landscape also asked that I do a painting of her dog who is nearing the end of her life. The picture, taken on a smart phone, was difficult to enlarge for detail and was quickly snapped in a park, showing the surroundings, the woman's large purse, and part of another dog. My friend requested a square format focusing on the loving goodbye hug. I did a couple small sketches, cropping to about this pose and tried some different color palettes. My friend suggested she bring the dog to my house, which was so helpful. The dog is a small Dalmatian, and has a very sweet personality. I took some photos to help with the dog portion of the art. I draw my own subjects, rather than trace or project, so being able to see some detail on the dog is important. 

There is a very sweet story behind this painting.  Years ago my friend would walk her Lab past the home of a family from China. A Dalmatian puppy was always tied to the front porch, so my friend would stop and pat the dog. One day the grandfather handed her the dog on a leash and made it clear he wanted her to take the dog. Being a true animal lover, my friend accepted the dog. Many years later in a park, a young woman approached and said she once owned a dog like this one. Through conversation, they realized that this was the dog she had when she was a young girl. She and her brother had never been told the true circumstances of the dog leaving the home. Not long ago the young woman again got to see the dog and gave her a passionate hug, knowing that at the dog's advanced age, she was unlikely to see her again. My friend gave the title to this painting.

This dog is very calm and loving and has served with her owner in a program that brings dogs into nursing homes, VA hospitals, and homes of patients on hospice. She has brought love and consolation to many people in her life.

I have spent many hours on this piece. Unfortunately, my photo of the painting does not do the background justice. I wanted to suggest the outdoor setting with New Gamboge, Sap Green, Windsor Blue, and Cobalt. The background washes out in the photo. 

Three Times and You're Out (or In)

"Bertina on Her Wedding Day"

8" x 10" Watercolor

This is my third time painting Bob's paternal grandmother from her circa 1910 wedding photo. I am finally satisfied, though the photo does not replicate the richness of the color well. I have competed three small pieces for the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society juried summer show, "Think Large, Paint Small."  I entered this piece, my "Tango in La Boca," and  "Poppies on the Fault Line II," which I will show you in my next post. I decided to enter a couple experimental pieces as well as this more traditional painting. The juror is Charlotte Huntley. 

This is the first show that the society has used digital submissions, which have become the norm today. Many of our artists have been in the society for years and are not computer savvy, so Co-Chairs Jen and Nancy have done everything they can to help. They even scheduled a session with a member professional photographer and will upload the entry right there. I must say it took me some trial and error to match the requirements using Photoshop Elements at home, and I'm not quite satisfied with my Bertina photo. The advantage is not having to go to the expense of framing and delivering an entry unless it is accepted into the show. 

This exhibit awards ribbons, but no cash prizes. The member show in the Fall is not juried and offers many cash and product awards. Members enter the piece of their choice. Join the society for a $30 annual fee and show your work.

The Third Iteration of "Tango in La Boca"

"Tango in La Boca"

Buenos Aires, Argentina

8" x 10" collage and mixed media

This should do it. I decided to add some of the red into the left wall panel and haze it out using Japanese collage paper -- I really like this particular lacy paper for these purposes. I bought the paper in a packet from Gerald Brommer at his collage workshop.  I have never spent so many hours on such a small painting. It's been a journey. Experimenting is fun, though.

I will submit this piece to our Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society juried show, "Think Large Paint Small." I don't know if it will get selected for the show, of course. We have many fabulous artists in the society. We can enter up to three paintings and I plan to create two more pieces. No side of the framed art can exceed 14 inches. Charlotte Huntley is the juror. Ribbons will be given for first, second, and third place. An artist must be a member to submit paintings, and our membership fee is a most modest $30. There is a fee for submission. Read more about the show here.

If you are seeing this post and have not seen previous iterations, take the links for the first iteration and second iteration.

More Collage on "Tango in La Boca"

"Tango In La Boca"

9" x 12" Collage and Mixed Media

One of my fellow South Side Art Club artists thought the grey wall on the left was too stark against the highly patterned piece. Penny suggested adding the suggestion of some bricks. Instead, I decided to go back and rework the painting. You can see the original here. I wanted to soften some of the edges of the red of the building as well. Gerald Brommer told us to just keep adding collage paper until the thing got too thick to frame!

I'm still not sure. Might have to darken the section on the left. Thoughts?