A Day Of Inspiration

I'm sure that all artists can relate to losing their motivation and inspiration occasionally. I've been in my own slump for a while and a fellow artist, and good friend, John Ursillo ( bearcubstudio.com ) has been a constant source of encouragement to me. He was recently visiting from out of town and we decided to visit the Norton Simon museum in Pasadena. Vermeer's "A Lady Writing" is on loan from the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and will be there until February 2. It is truly fascinating to see these works of art up close and in person. Photos do not do justice to the intricacy and application of color. They have quite an impressive Renaissance period collection, and I was overwhelmed by the size of the paintings and the techniques of these Masters.

They have quite an impressive collection of Peter Paul Ruben's paintings (one of my very favorites) This is "Saint Ignatius of Loyola" by Rubens, c.1620 - Oil on canvas, over 7 feet tall!!
There is so much exquisite detail in the brocade on the robe - just beautiful! I've decided my New Year's resolution is to visit a museum once a month from now on.

No Broken Eggs

Did something different today. Decided to combine my daily bike ride with a trip to the grocery store. Hooked on my grocery bag size panniers and headed out around 7 a.m. knowing that the grocery store didn't open until 9. I thought I'd get a nice long ride in before going shopping. I should have saved my energy for the ride home though. I forgot that the groceries were going to add a considerable amount of weight to the bike. It took me over an hour to ride the 7 miles home! I never got out of 2nd gear and when I got home I was surprised to learn that what I was carrying weighed over 25 pounds! Happy though - didn't break one single egg and it was a great workout!

Tesoro Del Valle Art Show

The local art association here (SCAA- Santa Clarita Artists' Association) has many venues in the city where members can display their artwork. This past weekend we put up a show in a historic adobe ranch house, the area is called Tesoro Del Valle. Location: 29350 Avenida Rancho Tesoro, Valencia. The show will be up until January 10th and then another show will be displayed. Museum is open every day 10 - 5. It's a beautiful place to visit - learn some history of the Santa Clarita Area and see some beautiful art. Each artist (17) is displaying on 2 panels (pictured are my 2 panels) and all the artwork on display is for sale. To learn more about the SCAA - visit their website www.santaclaritaartists.org

My First Bike Accident!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! and boy do I have a lot to be thankful for!I think I got my dates mixed up because my last post, November 2nd, was the day my new bike tried to kill me. It happened so quickly I really can't even say what exactly happened. I was making a very slow u-turn and the bike just shot out to the right and left me in mid air. Then I was on the ground looking at the sky for a second or two, jumped up as I kept saying to myself "you're okay, you're okay, you're okay" - picked the bike up and shot this photo. Then, I realized I really wasn't "okay" and called my husband to take me to the ER. Luckily, nothing was broken, but here it is 24 days later and I still can't cough or laugh or sneeze without some pain on my left side. I don't remember my ribs hitting the cement, but I do remember the sound of the SMACK!! when my helmet hit the pavement. Thank goodness I had a helmet on. I'm sure I wouldn't be here if I had not been wearing one. ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET!! and NEVER CONTINUE TO WEAR A HELMET YOU'VE HAD AN ACCIDENT IN - EVEN IF IT'S NOT CRACKED. [Note! Mine was a TREK helmet, and because I've had it less than a year I can send it to them and they'll send me a new one for free!]

I've since come to the conclusion that you can't make sharp u-turns on those skinny tires, especially if the ground is wet (duh) and whatever you do, don't brake suddenly. I started riding again last week - my commuter bike though, not the new one. My commuter bike "Bob" has a very soft, comfy ride and I feel safe on the fatter tires. I'm sure I'll get back on "Wraith" (so named for obvious reasons) soon.

First Rain Of The Season

I awoke yesterday morning to thunder and lightning! I was happy and sad all at the same time. Is it really going to rain? Will I NOT be able to go on my daily bike ride? On the other hand, I love the rain and all the clouds. Both are a rare sight in Santa Clarita, CA. This is considered the High Desert and most of the time all you see is glaringly blue sky. Pretty boring to an artist. Seeing a cloud is quite a treat - well, for me anyway. I checked radar online and there seemed to be a very large break between downpours. So, I headed out for a ride around 6:30 a.m. and managed to get about 7 miles out before another downpour came. Luckily it was right at the point where a coffee shop was located. All this stress would have been eliminated if I had some rain gear....which I promptly went out and bought after I got home. My ride today was GREAT! and I managed to avoid all the downpours going home. My new bike [27 speed Trek 7.5 WSD Hybrid] is amazing and it seems I will be able to traverse the steep hills here with ease - and a lot of practice. My old bike, a Raleigh Venture, is a joy to ride but with only 7 speeds and weighing in at 29 pounds (without any gear) I really couldn't do the hills here in California. I spent the summer in Ohio and Florida and the Raleigh was great to ride there, especially after I changed the knobby tires to slicks. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings! :-)

A Comeback!

I feel my "passion to create" knocking at the door again. I think it took a vacation for while, got side-tracked, even lost - but, found its way home again. I know that sounds kind of corny but it's how I've been feeling for quite some time. Creating art, being this

thing called "an artist" is defined differently by everyone that uses the title. For me, it has been difficult to cast aside the politics of art (monumental) and just create art for the sake of creating art - and feel okay with that. After some 20+ years I think I'm finally to that point. I have a wealth of knowledge now, a better understanding of myself (that wasn't easy!) and enough reference material to last a lifetime.

My focus is still wildlife, but with a twist. I've recently become very involved in bike riding, and somehow would like to incorporate bicycles into my art. Stay tuned! I've also been experimenting with my reference photos using Photoshop - amazing the drama you can obtain.

"Wishful Thinking"

WOW! has it really been since March that I last posted!! Where does the time go? I decided to revisit several pieces I started but never went back to for some reason. This one is a large oil, 16" x 20", of an egret I saw walking through the canals at Venice Beach. The canals were very dark that day, and it almost looked like there was an oil slick floating on top. You know how you see all those different kaleidoscope colors on the top of water when oil is there - yeah, sorta like that. So there was this beautiful white bird.....fishing? I have no idea what he thought he was going to find in that muck, thus the appropriate title. I consulted with a wonderful wildlife artist I know, Rod Lawrence, about what to do with this piece as I was finding myself stumped. Something wasn't right. He made some wonderful suggestions and that's what I've been working on. The first image showing is where I started, the second image is where I'm headed. Far from done, so stay tuned!

"Not Quite Ripe"

I love Ravens, not sure why. I call them the "Bad Boys" - I remember they used to walk down the middle of the street where I lived in Ohio. 6 or 7 abreast, looking right and left - acting like they owned the place. Here in California they hangout at the WalMart dumpster (nice huh) and I was lucky enough to have my camera with me one day when I saw them. They were picking these berries off of a nearby bush - some were red (those they ate) and some were greenish red - those they kind of threw at each other. I spent nearly an hour just sitting there watching them- such a beautiful bird.

This piece is 2" x 4", pencil on Bristol.

"Nature's Abstracts"

Sometimes something as simple as the design on an animal moves me enough to want to try and capture that design. It's amazing how many works of art are portrayed within the coats, wings, feathers and faces of the wildlife on this planet. No wonder so many artists spend their entire lives trying to capture and portray all that beauty. Big sigh.

charcoal and graphite

I've been doing a lot of drawing lately. I started my art career some 20 years ago with graphite and always find myself still picking up a pencil. So, here I am again wanting to do more works in pencil. Experimenting with colored pencil too. One thing I've noticed is that if you include charcoal in your graphite piece that those areas in charcoal are more "in the background" than the graphite areas. Must have something to do with the difference in the reflective qualities of each medium. The dark areas in the duck piece are charcoal - I like the contrast too.

"The Scary Palm" 3" x 4.5" mini

Well, this started out as a good idea I think but really hasn't developed into anything I like. I think it's the surface. Even though it's called "Bristol Plate" - which is supposed to be a very smooth surface, there is still too much tooth there - and little white specks are showing up between the lead strokes. It's like I can't fill the paper's surface no matter how hard I press. I don't have this problem on duralar or polymin so I might try this again on a different surface.

"Lion in the Grass"

It's always amazed me how hidden lions really are when stalking prey from within the tall grasses of Africa. If it weren't for the brown tips on the ears you really wouldn't see them at all.

This is a pencil drawing on polymin. A new surface I've been experimenting with. I love the way the pencil feels on this material, very smooth. There is no tooth at all, and you cannot layer - so you are forced to build your shadows by choosing different pencil grades. Quite a challenge, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. :-)

"Great Hide"

2" x 3" acrylic on polymin. Polymin is similar to drafting film. Very smooth, no tooth unless you sand it ever so lightly.

"Out for a Stroll"

Compared to the initial post last week you can see where I worked on pushing the rump back, losing the hard edges and defining the source of light.

It's very easy to tell if an animal is hunting or just taking a stroll - it's all in their posture. They really do stroll sometimes, just walking around to see what they can see. True, most of the time they are hunting, but there are times when their bellies are full and they truly are just walking around. Ears and tails relaxed - comfortable. Except for my cat that is....she gives true meaning to the phrase "scaredy cat".....:-)

4" x 6" oil on board
photo references
courtesy of
Jim Lawther

Works in progress, oils on duralar.

"Caught In The Act"

It seems no matter what a raccoon is doing it looks like it's been caught in the act of doing something it shouldn't be doing. Must be the mask. :-)

This is a miniature oil painting, 3" x 4.5". I've just lately begun painting and drawing miniatures and truly enjoy the process. I think "detail" has always been one of my favorite words. Miniatures have been around for centuries and I have learned that there is a big difference between a true miniature versus a small painting....it's all in the technique. So much to learn!

"The Safe Place"

Elephants have always been dear to me. I love watching the elephant nature videos and spotting a calf hiding, and being protected, among all the legs and trunks of the herd. It's amazing how so many wildlife species go to such great lengths to protect their young - just like humans do!


This drawing was done on translucent vellum with charcoal, pencil and pastels.

"Brave Hearts"

An AMAZING clip on youtube.com prompted this drawing. A herd of Cape Buffalo, walking beside a river, are attacked by a pride of lions. They scatter and run but one of the calves is taken. As the lions are trying to drag the calf out of the river they are all attacked by 2 or 3 alligators! The lions manage to drag the calf to the river bank only to face the entire herd of Cape Buffalo that has returned for the calf. Lions are thrown and tossed all over the place and miraculously the calf gets up and walks back to the herd. I almost stood up and clapped! Take a look
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kMorhttp://www.youtube.comsearch forBattle at Kruger

"Elephant Blues"

I think the only time elephants look happy is when they're rolling around in a mud hole. Just standing there - they seem to look very sad.....like this one.

This is pencil and charcoal on translucent vellum. The background was done on the back side of the vellum. I like the tooth of this paper, and it's very good for pencil work. Layering of colors using pastels doesn't work.

"Deceptive Innocence"

Have you been watching the new season of "Meerkat Manor"? I got hooked last year and couldn't wait to see if Flower was going to find her pups! This show is kind of like "Suvivor" - but with Meerkats, and no talking. I like that a lot!
This is pencil on drafting film. I love the way the pencil feels on this smooth as glass surface. You can't layer though, so really have to plan where your darks & lights will go beforehand.

I called this "Deceptive Innocence" because even though these critters are as cute as can be you don't want to be in their path when the group is in attack mode.
You can learn more about Flower and the gang at http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/meerkat/about/about.html