In the Morning - Carpinteria Bluffs Plein Air Oil Painting - 9x12

 I confronted my fear the other day and set up outside to paint.  I enjoyed it SO much,  even though it was windy, and strangely cloudy (really high clouds that made the ocean brown!).  I love my plein air set up, I think I made a great choice, it was just as comfortable as painting in my studio.

I was nervous about what would happen when I brought the painting inside...would the colors be way off? would this panel carrier really work?

Well, it did look different once I got it inside, the colors were much more muted.  But the strange thing was as soon as it got even the tiniest bit of light it brightened right up again.  I've never seen one of my paintings do that before.

I also limited my palette a little more than I usually do, I thought it would help to unify the piece.

Oil on panel, 9x12 inches

SOLD

Avocado Blue II - Still life oil painting - 6x6

I promised I would do one of these for a friend months ago, it's finally here! 

Oil on panel, 6x6 inches

Not for sale 

Santa Barbara Harbor Series VIII - 8x10

This is the final painting in my harbor series. I think it's my favorite, it's just so fun and bright.

  

Oil on cradled panel, 8x10 inches

$300

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Avocado Stripes - Still life oil painting - 6x12

More avocados for today, I decided there was a lack of them in my shop :)   

Oil on panel, 6x12 inches

SOLD

Notecard Sets Now Available!

I almost forgot to mention this! I now have notecard sets available in my Etsy shop :)  I've picked five of my favorite paintings and had them professionally printed as notecards.  Each set comes with five cards and envelopes, one in each design.  Visit my shop for more details! 

Santa Barbara Harbor Series VII - 8x10

I decided to do a few more of these harbor scenes in a slightly larger size.  I love these cradled panels, I think the wood really compliments the painting. 

Oil on cradled panel, 8x10 inches
SOLD

Avocado in Red - Still life oil painting - 6x6

This painting was so fun, I don't use this much red very often.  Zach walked in and dubbed it the "Christmas Avocado".  

Oil on panel, 6x6 inches

SOLD

Cabrillo Sunday - Santa Barbara Landscape - 6x12

This is the second painting I'm planning on entering for the Faulkner Gallery holiday show.  My favorite part in this piece is the white tower on the right, but I can't remember what that building actually is...

 On a side note, I watched Psych for the first time, since they put it on Netflix.  I didn't know it was "set in" Santa Barbara, haha how fun! 

Oil on cradled panel, 6x12 inches

SOLD

detail

Cabrillo Blvd - Santa Barbara Oil Painting - 6x12

I'm planning to submit this painting for the Faulkner Gallery holiday show. Everything has to be priced $300 or less. I think that's a great idea! Perfect for holiday shopping. The show starts December 2nd.

Oil on cradled panel, 6x12 inches

SOLD

Bluff Trees - Landscape Oil Painting - 5x7

I spend a few hours this morning... ok 5 hours this morning...making changes to my blog. I'm slowing learning new things. If I had known years ago that I would be working with web stuff everyday I would have definitely taken some courses in that area!

Oil on canvas panel, 5x7 inches

To view this painting in my shop click here
SOLD

Santa Barbara Harbor Series VI - 6x6

I almost gave up on this one. About 20 minutes into it I just wanted to stop, I couldn't see anything good coming from it. I'm glad I pushed through, it turned out to be one of my favorites in the series.

Oil on panel, 6x6 inches

To view this painting in my shop click here
SOLD

Santa Barbara Harbor Series V - 6x6

Last night was one of the most intense thunderstorms I've ever experienced. Even more than thunderstorms in Denver, with their tornado warnings, and hail, and flooding. Let's just say that thunder has never knocked things off my walls before...that's a new one.

Oil on panel, 6x6 inches

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SOLD

Santa Barbara Harbor Series IV - 6x6

I'm not quite through with these boats yet :)

Oil on panel, 6x6 inches

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SOLD

Bluffs at Sunset - Landscape Oil Painting - 5x7

It seems like it's been raining forever! But I have big warm kitty in my lap, so everything is as it should be :)

Oil on canvas panel, 5x7 inches

SOLD

Weekend Sketches and Palette Photos

Here are some of the sketches I did on our San Diego getaway weekend. I forgot how much I enjoyed sketching. I'm way out of practice!

Lifeguard tower

La Jolla Coastline

View from our downtown hotel

Some of you have asked what my normal palette consists of, well here are my usual colors. I don't always use every one of these, and sometimes I add others, like Cerulean blue or Viridian. I prefer Winsor and Newton Artists' Oil Colours, they're rich and buttery, and growing up I always used their Student line, so the colors were very similar to what I was used to.

Santa Barbara Harbor Series, III - 6x6

I really liking how these are turning out. I wish I could hang them in my downstairs bathroom, it really needs some blue in there.

Oil on panel, 6x6 inches

SOLD

Here's the set so far :)

Santa Barbara Harbor Series, II - 6x6

The second in the series. I wanted to go out today and try my new plein air easel, but the fog is so thick I can't even see down the street, maybe it will be better this afternoon.

Oil on panel, 6x6 inches

To view this painting in my shop click here

SOLD

Santa Barbara Harbor Series, I - 6x6

I had so much fun painting this little scene that I've decided to do a whole series from the Santa Barbara Harbor.

Oil on panel, 6x6 inches

To view this painting in my shop click here

SOLD

Purple Pear Love - Still life oil painting - 6x6

Pears are my favorite fruit, not just to paint, but to eat. A good pear is better than candy, maybe even better than cake. I'm waiting patiently for these two to ripen...

Oil on panel, 6x6 inches

SOLD

We planted our first square foot garden this weekend. I'm so excited! It's my first garden ever....well except for the radishes I grew when I was 5. Wish us luck :)

Baby Pumpkin - Still life oil painting - 6x6

We got the monthly newsletter for our complex and it said we can expect tons of trick or treaters here :) finally! Every year I buy candy and every year there's only like 3 kids. And then I end up eating halloween candy for months.

But just in case they're wrong I bought candy that I hate, at least I won't be tempted to eat it then :)

Oil on panel, 6x6 inches

To view this painting in my shop click here

SOLD

Book Art - Wuthering Heights

When Lea at the Coastal View News asked me to participate in the Friends of the Library Centennial Fundraiser I had to say yes, after all I did work in a library for about 7 years. They're asking artists to choose a book and create a cover for it. Book illustration is not really my forte, but I considered Wuthering Heights and thought I could make something work. I still have to add the book title and author.

Back and front covers

The part I'm most proud of is the way I attached the sheet of canvas to the outside of the book....using all the tricks I learned back in the bindery. It's totally durable and even has the appropriate creases :)

The books will be auctioned off on November 6th at the Carpinteria Women's Club.

Butternut II - Still life oil painting - 6x6

Here's another shot at the squash, I think I like this one better.

Oil on gessoboard panel, 6x6 inches

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Butternut and Fennel - Still Life Oil Painting - 6x6

The original title for this painting was going to be "Butternut and Leek" because that's what I meant to buy. The thing is I had never bought a leek before, I didn't really know what one looked like...so I trusted Albertson's when they told me that this fennel was a leek.

This is how cooking dinner went that night:

"Zach can you google how to chop a leek?" "wait, my leek looks nothing like that" "why does this smell like licorice?" "Zach can you google "vegetable that smells like licorice"?" ....and that's how we discovered it was actually a fennel. Zach laughed at me, and we learned something about vegetables. I'm glad we discovered it before I accidentally made licorice stew.

Oil on panel, 6x6 inches

To view this painting in my shop click here

$40+ shipping

Something's In The Air II - California Landscape Oil Painting - 18x24

This is another large piece I was working on for one of the upcoming shows. I think I'm ready now, which is good since I only have 2 days left :)

Also it's been raining a lot lately (well, a lot by California standards), and this morning I found a giant earthworm in my kitchen, how did it even get there?!

Oil on cradled panel, 18x24 inches

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$650

Storm in Blue - Skyscape Oil Painting - 12x24

This painting reminds me of rainy days. Kind of like the one we had here yesterday. Waking up to rain is one of my favorite things, much better than the clouds we usually have that don't do anything.

Oil on stretched canvas, 12x24 inches

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SOLD

Oh and I recently added these little magnet sets to my shop :) They were just so fun, I couldn't resist:

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Gray and Gold - Landscape Oil Painting - 12x24

I really like how this painting turned out. Zach said it was like he was "on a roller coaster" ....I don't know why that is, but his responses are getting more creative :)

Oil on canvas, sides painted, 12x24 inches

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SOLD

I'm also trying to decide on kind of a large purchase. The time has come, I need an easel that can travel with me. I keep going back and forth between the two below. They're similar in price....and they each have pros and cons.

Versa easel

Pros: I already have a tripod (saved expense)

smaller and more lighweight

will carry small panels, and multiple wet panels

Cons: need to attach a tripod

less storage space?

Julian French Easel

Pros: don't have to attach a tripod

has a drawer!

might be better at holding larger canvases

Cons: much heavier

some say it's hard to set up

Does anyone happen to own one of these? Opinions are welcome! I can't decide!