Little Bottle and Garlic

Oil on panel, 9x12

Garlic is an interesting object for studying color - value, temperature, and, for its light, shadow, shade, reflective light, hard and soft edges, etc. It's so perfectly white all around until the spot light gives it its character.

At one point, I had to change the garlics and reposition them because when they didn't have the pointed bottom they were harder to make looking like garlics. When I started painting them they looked like purple little tomatoes. It was hilarious!

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Or visit my web site to see more of my work.

Thanks for viewing!

"Rebecca"

Oil on Linen, 12"x12"

Portrait has never been my favorite subject matter. In open studio it has been a hit or miss for me, mainly because I didn't know certain process that could make it less of a struggle. A few days ago, I learned that, like painting a still life or a landscape, value defines. Shades and shadows sculpt light to make things look 3D on a flat surface. They define the contour of a face as well as a landscape. 

I look forward to doing more portraits in the future, even if it doesn't come by easy. It's hard to find some one who will sit still for you for a few hours (for free)! 

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Thank you for viewing!

For comments or to purchase my art, please email me or go to my web site,

"Little Brown Vase"

Oil on Gessobord, 11"x14"

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Sometimes, setting up subject matter to paint is more difficult than painting. In the studio, we juggle with the objects and try to come up with a worthy setting to paint. Often times it's a hit and miss. But the spotlight is always a lifesaver. It can suddenly bring the setting to life and create a dramatic effect. The kind of the light gives a particular temperature to the setting, ranging from cool to warm. The table cloth and the material in the background make a big difference, too.

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Six of my small paintings, mostly abstract, have be chosen to the 

West Valley Arts Council Mini Miniatures Show 

located at The Citadelle plaza at 19420 N. 59th Ave. Suite #A104, Glendale, AZ 85308

The exhibition will go from July 8th till August 10th.

 The opening artists reception is on July 8th from 6 to 8 PM.

Please stop by to see my work and many other wonderful artists work.

The artwork will be for sale, too.

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To see more of my paintings, please visit my web site.

If you're interested to write,  my email is here.

"Mr. Eucalyptus"

Oil on Linen Canvas, 14x11

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Mr. Eucalyptus is a big tree in my neighbor's back yard. A couple of hawks like to rest high on it's branches in the spring. I wanted to study painting trees and this is the closest I could find. So I did a plein air in my A/Ced studio looking out the arcadia doors of this grand tree. It was very warm at 104 degree  in Scottsdale today!

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Please also visit my web site.

My email is here if you have any comments or suggestions.

Yellow Roses In Vase

Oil on Telati Board, 11x14

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There are times when we are stuck in a not-so-good spot to paint a live model, we have to be more inventive and selective to move object(s) around in our mind for better composition. In this painting, I was looking at three objects evenly spaced with no overlapping whatsoever. I elected to paint the vase with roses and a little brown bottle next to it. Bad choice! I forgot about the magic of threesomes (or odd numbers). 

So, I took out the little bottles and in its place I put a rose petal, instead. I think it worked better.

"Red IV"

Oil on Canvas, 20"X20"  Sold

This painting grew from an idea of doing a painting in red.

I started by putting down alizarine straight from the tube as the darkest dark to anchor the painting. Next was to do the red by adding white, cadmium red light, or yellow to the alizarine and brushed over most of the canvas while leaving some parts untouched. At this stage, knowing when to stop and to evaluate is  the most important part of the work. From here, one can let the imagination go to work.

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To see my other work, please visit my web site

Thank you for viewing !

A Land to Love

Oil on Ampersand Gessoed Panel, 18x24  Sold

It's been a while since I posted here. So far this year, I've taken three workshops, one from Kim English, another from Camille Przewodek and, lastly, from Marc Hanson two weeks ago. The quick pace of the workshops was the best way to learn what I didn't know. The part that I've learned is now being digested at home by painting, and painting. But along the way, husband Mark sent an excerpt of an article by George Inness about art. In it it says:

"...Art aims is not to instruct, not to edify, but to awaken an emotion of love, pity, veneration, of hate, of pleasure, of pain, but it must be a single emotion if the work has unity, as every such work should have...."

All of a sudden I realized that years of taking up workshops and classes to brush up my skill have made me forget the joy that I used to have when i picked up the brush to paint, when everything then was purely acts of love and passion. Now I'm going to combine the two, the skill and love. I'm in a fog right now, and I know that only by painting a lot will it reveal where it's going to take me.

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Please come visit my new web site here.
Thank you for visiting!