Although I adore working in oils, sometimes a switch up is nice. Here's my hand at pastels. Also! Moving out of my studio of 10+ years today and into the new one! It's a melancholy feeling let me tell you, but I'm so excited to start working in the larger space (as long as i'm home in California at least!) Here's to the memories:"The...
Holding On, Letting Go: Melissa Burton Coray (Kimball) “Melissa Coray, [was] the 18-year-old bride of Sergeant William Coray. Melissa was one of four women who marched to San Diego with the [Mormon] battalion. Her odyssey continued as she and William migrated to Monterey, California, after William’s discharge, where she gave birth to a son, William Jr (1847.) William Jr. died within a few months after his...
I'm still here! Promise. This semester my easel has been seriously neglected, but I have so many ideas to tackle once the holidays come!! Ideas have been flooding. Even better, my next semester includes three studio classes where I can really work! (Two of them I will even paint in!!!) I was thrilled to find the project list on the syllabus for a...
Detail: ...
It's been over a month since I last posted, mostly due to the fact that I am back at school. This is my small setup in my apartment. Hopefully I get create some great things from it! It's been over a month since I last posted, mostly due to the fact that I am back at school. This is my small setup in...
(7/28/2011) ...
I'm the first to say that I don't sketch as well as i'd like to. I do sketch before every painting though, and when I do it's fast and simple. No shading, sometimes no contours, just shapes, shapes, shapes! These are some sketches in my trusty little sketchbook, however. They were quick too, but more "fancy." (i.e. shading, contours . . . et...
Believe it or not, that little blonde tater-tot in the picture above is me. Where did I begin? How long did it take me to create this work? I don't ever know whether to say that I started out sketching or painting. You know, that's the answer to the question, "how did you start out?" Really, I started with Crayons. Those smelly markers....
Every year the Portrait Society of America has an international portrait competition and conference. I would love to go someday! It is basically a conference where the BEST portrait artists in the world gather to unveil their latest pieces, exhibit their bests, and demo for one another. (Not to mention there is a banquet where the artists dress all fancy-schmancy and talk/listen to...
Wet, wet, wet paint! I love it! It's been way too long from start to finish with this painting. Mostly because I started another, finished another, and taught the workshop for the young women in between. I was itching to finish this piece though! Here it is! I will post a better picture soon (probably tomorrow) so the colors aren't so off, but I...
Here is my still life from the other night teaching. It's a small, quick, fun little painting. It's always nice to do a still life once in a while.With a still life I can paint without any hesitation.They're very free! "If you paint an extra flower in a still life, no worries--paint another! If you paint an extra eye on a portrait, you had better...
I put this on my Facebook wall and forgot to post it here to my blog. While it's still the week of the Fourth I thought I'd post it. ...
Workshop?Yes! Tonight I taught somewhere between 14-18 young women to paint! Let me just say, we had a blast! (see here!) At work We began with quietly browsing through some art books in the living room while we waited for everyone to arrive (can you hear the peaceful music in the background to set the mood?) I wanted it to be an evening that was...
Still working on this one, but loving it still! Here is the progress post for it. It's been a couple days since i've been at my easel. This one should be done the next day or so. Watch for the post! Sorry again for the poor quality (camera phone) image. Still working on this one, but loving it still! Here is the progress...
On the last photo shoot I did I put a tiny video camera on top of my still camera. Cool idea? . . . Can be! I'll record a photo shoot again now that I know some of the ups and downs of it, but I thought i'd share this one anyway (as silly as it is.) It's a little shaky . ....
I woke up this morning at 6am to go do a photo shoot with my friends Amanda (who just happens to be my best model!) and Tyson. To start off, it was a DREAMY location, perfect lighting, and I had perfect models: To add to the location there was a canoe: (Familiar?) And chickens: Was it all-in-all a success? Yes! It was....
If you remember the post about the location and photo shoot in the stream with the two little boys, you might recognize the idea of this painting. Isn't this little boy darling?! Saturday, for my second photo shoot of the day, I had darling little boys help me out! I did get the shot I want, but I also got MANY unplanned shots...
As much as I love creating my own works, I love to appreciate and study other's work. These are just some of my favorite artists that I look to for ideas and inspiration. They are all incredible artists!!! To look at their work really makes me see how much I have to improve (if it is possible to improve to their level!) As...
