By the Window

A painting I did today -- I think this is the 3rd painting recently with red or pink hair - not sure what that's about!
linda

Girl With Glasses

This portrait did not turn out anything like I expected it to . . . sometimes they just go in a different direction once I start painting.  I think the important thing is go with it . . . and see what develops.
Linda

Working Girl

When your boss calls you on Sunday afternoon to tell you that Monday is going to be a horrendous day . . . you need to do something to relax . . . so I painted a face.  But, she did come out looking a little worried! Ha!
Linda

Beach Girl

I think this painting was prompted by the warm weather we have been having . . .
Linda

Green Glasses

Here is a painting I did today - the latest installment of faces!
Linda

Commission

This is a commission painting for a co-worker - this is Harley.
Linda

Peace Girl

I painted this last night . . .
Linda

Pink Hair

Just for fun . . .
Linda

Another Face

I don't think I will ever get tired of painting faces.  Just so much fun!  Here is one I did last evening.
Linda

Making a little book

I took a class yesterday from Kelly Kilmer in Los Angeles - Making a Little Book of Type.  It was a very fun and creative day!

We painted large pieces of paper with all different colors - and layered a lot of colors on top of each other - we stenciled and stamped the pages, we wrote on the pages - ripped the pages to make little pages - then sewed the little book together - and voila!  A little book.  

Here you can see some of the steps:

A Winner!

My "Boots" painting won first place at the local art show!  I'm thrilled!
Linda

Beach Boy

A little beach scene I painted today . . .
Linda

Mom's Roses

My mom was trimming her roses - so I scooped up a bunch and made a bouquet . . . and then a painting.
Linda

Rooster Head

Here is a fun little guy I painted today!
Linda

Copying a Master (Again)

Today I did another copy of a Joaquin Sorolla painting ["Valencian Fisherwoman" (1916)].  I am going to see the Sorolla exhibit next weekend at the San Diego Museum of Art.  I have heard nothing but raves about the show.
Linda

Boots

A little change of pace . . . some boots!
Linda

More Faces

After last week's class, I can't seem to stop drawing faces!  Here are a couple from this week.
Linda

Portrait Drawing

Just finished taking a 2-day portrait drawing class in La Jolla from Irina Gronberg.  Great class!  We worked from photos in the morning and had a live model each afternoon.  Here are a couple samples of what I did . . .
Linda

Copying a Master

Joaquin Sorolla (1863-1923) is a wonderful artist from Spain.  There is a show of his work currently at the San Diego Museum of Art - I haven't seen it yet, but I understand it's fabulous.  So, in homage to Mr. Sorolla, I did a copy of a PORTION of one of his paintings entitled Strolling Along the Seashore (1909).
Linda

My Peeps

I like to do little figure drawings in ink and watercolor - just some practice doing the figure.  They are simple and fun.  Using ink makes me not worry about perfection - if I were using a pencil, I would be erasing and revising.  I had all of these drawings (1st photo) and wasn't sure what to do with them.  So, I made a little accordion book - I added color and patterns and the figure drawings.  I will also add some writing/words/stamps but haven't done that yet.  Oh!  And I named it "My Peeps" (at the suggestion of my friend Ben).
Linda

Hummingbird

Although I love birds, haven't really painted any . . . until today.
Linda

Sculpture Class #10

So tonight we put on the finishing touches . . . tried to smooth out any lumps with a tool, then more smoothing with a small wet paintbrush . . . then you add texture with a web sponge so it looks more like skin (I am told).  I put my initials on the back with a needle tool  - a simple "LY".  The teacher came over - seemed horrified at my simplicity - sits down and does a lovely LY for me (see photo).

Sort of fun to see the beginning and the end.

Sculpture Class #9

Great class tonight!  Next week is the last class and I assume we will be putting all of the finishing touches on our pieces.  Tonight we had to slice the sculpture in half (yikes!) and scoop out most of the clay from the inside.  I was told that if you didn't scoop out the clay, (a) it would take forever to dry and (b) would explode in the kiln.  After you finish slicing/scooping, you prepare a mixture called a "slip" with vinegar and clay and smoosh it all together - it is the glue that you use to put the 2 pieces back together.  Then you seal the seam.  The teacher needed someone's sculpture to use for the demo - so I offered.  Pretty smart, non?  I believe it will take approximately 2-3 months for the sculpture to dry before they fire it.  And it could still crack/fall apart.  Teacher is still telling us not to fall in love with our sculptures!

Here is a look at tonight's slicing and scooping:

Sculpture Class #8

So, it probably doesn't look like I did anything tonight but I worked on one of the eyes, put in nostrils, and added weight to the neck, which was too narrow.  I also worked on the angle of the neck - the front and back of the neck need to be parallel to one another (second photo).
Linda

A little plein air painting on Memorial Day

Although I love the outdoors and love painting, I am not that fond of plein air painting -- mainly because I get uptight when people come up and watch me paint.  But today was a good day to paint in old town Tustin as all the businesses were closed and very few people out and about!  This is the old Tustin Garage which is now a restaurant.  And yes, I even had some nice comments from people walking by.
Linda

Sculpture Class #7

The class is super fun now!  I decided it was too tedious to all those little curls for hair - so added a bun, worked on the hair a bit, tried to show the hint of a smile, made the cheeks fuller, added eyebrows (which still need plenty of work) and added some weight to the chin.
Linda

Sculpture Class #6

Last night we started putting on hair.  I didn't really know what kind of hair I wanted to put on her, but tried to do curls -- first photograph shows my start - second photograph shows what the teacher showed me as a technique to make curls.

We have 4 weeks left of class so plenty of time to finish the hair, refine the face, add wrinkles/lines or anything else that would add character to the face.
Linda

The Ledge

Here is a painting I did this weekend.  It is a birthday gift for a co-worker.
Linda

Sculpture Class #5

The ears probably wouldn't be so difficult if you only had to do one and not have a matched set! ha!  I did the first ear (with the help of the teacher).  After finishing the first one, one of the advanced students told me that she always puts the clay for the ears on both sides and works on them simultaneously - she said it is much easier to get them the same.  (now you tell me)  The teacher gave me a mirror which he told me to hold in one hand at an angle so I could see the first ear and try and work on the second one!  (are you kidding me???)  anyway, it needs refining but I am learning quite a bit in the process, which was the point of taking the class.
Linda

Sculpture Class #4

Tonight was the most fun night so far in the class - we put on lips - as you will see, I gave my sculpture very full lips!  I get the sense that we will all be making adjustments along the way, which you can do as long as the clay is wet (we have to spray the sculpture several times during class - and it is kept in a plastic bag between classes).  Because I made the lips so full (big), he said I might need to add weight to the nose and I actually did add some weight to the chin.  He said not to fall in love with these sculptures at this point as there are still lots of adjustments to be done - no worry on that note from me! Ha!
So . . . the lips:

Ballerina

Not entirely happy with this, but some days that happens . . .
Linda

Nose tonight, lips next week

I am told that the sculpture will not start to look like a person until we add the lips . . . which will be next week.  But here is tonight's addition of the nose.
Linda

Sculpture Class #2

The first feature we are starting with is the eyes and the other features will be measured in relation to them.  Boy, did I struggle tonight.   You can definitely tell which eye the teacher did and the one I did.  But, he said that next week he will show me how to make them look the same.  But learning lots and that's the whole point of the class.
Linda

Daisies

Just a simple little daisy painting . . .
Linda

Faces

Yesterday I took all of those black and white faces I did during the 30-day challenge in January and put them into a little book, adding some blank pages for some additional drawings.  Covered some chip board for the front and back cover, added a little ribbon, and voila!
Linda

Sculpture Class #1

So, apparently this is the year for me to try new things!  I decided to sign up for a 10-week "portrait sculpture" class.  I thought it would help me become more familiar with the structure/planes of the face and improve my portrait paintings.  Tonight was the first night.  I was a little intimidated when I walked in - several seasoned sculptors - one lady was sculpting Paul McCartney, another lady was sculpting her husband.  There were five of us newbies.  The teacher gave us each a 25 pound block of red clay, which we  mounted on an armature.  We were to work this into the basic shape of the head.  Once I relaxed and started working with the clay, I really enjoyed myself!  So, here are 2 photos - first is my basic shape - second is after I used a sponge and smoothed it out.
Linda

Beach Girl

Thought I would try a figure in this pattern painting style . . .
Linda

Geraniums

I love geraniums - they are so cheery.  Still playing with this pattern painting . . .
Linda

Japanese Pattern Painting

I took a 1-day workshop from Peggy Kroll Roberts last weekend.  The arts of Japan greatly influenced the impressionist painters such as Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Monet and Van Gogh.  I love the graphic look of the Japanese block prints and obviously, so did many of these impressionists.  They incorporated into their work the light with no shadows, patterned surfaces and vibrant colors on a flat plane. I enjoyed the workshop so much and hope to do some more paintings in this style.  Here are 3 of the paintings that I did in the workshop.
Linda