This piece was inspired by a colorful little desk lamp that I have. For three months last fall I was staying in a friend’s spare bedroom while I waited to get into a place of my own. It was wonderful to have a place to stay, but the feeling that it wasn’t really my homeContinue reading “shining a little light”
Category Archives: Visual Arts
copy of Woman in Black
This is my copy of Gabriele Munter’s painting, Woman in Black. Something that drew me to this piece was how there seemed to be a softness in the eyes, even though they’re kind of just blobs of black paint. I wanted to learn how Munter could capture something as refined as a soft look inContinue reading “copy of Woman in Black”
small potted plant
This piece was inspired by a small potted plant I keep in my art room. I love the pronounced lean to the left. Many of the livelier elements here weren’t part of my original plan, but developed as I painted. I love it when paintings grow that way. Oil on panel, 5×7 inches.
no room to work
My latest piece was inspired by my own desk at home, which didn’t take long to evolve from a work surface to a storage surface. There’s never enough room.
ceiling fan
I love the colorful funkiness of this piece. Oil on panel, 5×7 inches.
flowers in a blue vase
It was a relief to get back to painting after a brief break for garden work and puppy raising. This piece was inspired by a floral arrangement I put together last fall. (I love the flower section at the craft store.) The colors of the flowers here closely resemble the colors in my original arrangement,Continue reading “flowers in a blue vase”
neutrals color study
For this color study I used only ivory black, raw umber, and white. I love how the colors and tones work together. I also think I’m getting better at creating intentional design within these assignments. So far I’ve liked almost every color study better than the one I did before, which is a trajectory I’mContinue reading “neutrals color study”
studying Slobodkin’s illustrations
I love this illustration from the book The Hundred Dresses (page 14). The original artist, Louis Slobodkin, actually studied as a sculptor before finding his way into illustration. I had to warm up with a colored pencil sketch and then a still-not-very-precise study before I was ready to try copying the whole illustration. My finalContinue reading “studying Slobodkin’s illustrations”
cicero the cat
Meet Cicero, my cat. The day I started this I was full of disappointment about a different piece, so I decided to start pouring all that energy into something new. It started with a sketch in pastel pencils and grew into a cozy-feeling oil painting. This is my second no-gesso painting. Oil on hardboard, 11×14Continue reading “cicero the cat”
davinci face copy
This is my work so far on an assignment to hand draw a copy of a DaVinci drawing. It is painstaking work. And for the next step I’m supposed to make second copy, this time without looking at the reference while I draw! I can look at the reference before I draw, and I canContinue reading “davinci face copy”
mind and heart 