Nymph

A little nymph I painted recently . . .
Linda

Red Tractor

I was planning on painting a portrait today in painting class - it wasn't working so ended up wiping it off!  Then went in a whole different direction - a tractor!
Linda

I Love Pink

So, I decided to try something a little different and do a mixed media face.  I will definitely do more of these!
Linda

Child Study

One of the gals in painting class had a photograph of this young girl that she was willing to share.  So, I decided to try painting her.  I haven't painted for a couple weeks - have been working on a Christmas card design and art journaling.  It felt good to paint today!
Linda

Sun Bathing

This painting is from a photo I took recently . . .
Linda

On the Ferry

There was this darling little girl on the ferry into San Francisco a couple of days ago.  Couldn't resist taking a photo and then doing a painting!
Linda

Another commission . . .

One of my co-workers asked me to do a painting of a lighthouse (a gift for his wife).  He also asked me to put a child with dark hair in the painting (his wife as a child). Hopefully, he (and she) will like it!
Linda

Koa, the pug

This is a commission painting I am working on.  Her name is Koa.
Linda

Live Colorfully

This is a self-portrait I painted yesterday trying not to use any flesh tones.  Really freed me up to just play!
Linda

Self-Portrait - Deux

The good thing about doing self-portraits - the model is always available! ha!
Linda

Moi

I wore this pair of red glasses for the last 2 years that I absolutely loved - last week they broke and when I went to the eye doctor's office to drop off for repair, they told me they could not be repaired and were not available for replacement!  Bummer!  So, I had to do a painting to memorialize the red glasses.  Even if I didn't get my essence exactly right, I think I captured the red glasses.
Linda

Return to Faces

It felt good to paint a face again . . .
Linda

Journal Pages

Went to a wonderful mixed media class taught by Dina Wakley today.  We worked on layers in our journal pages and for mixed media pieces.  We layered with gesso, paint, stencils, painted tissue paper, pictures, watercolor crayons (and anything else one could think of).  Here are 2 of my journal pages.  Very fun and creative day!
Linda

Cactus

I have not painted recently . . . but have done a few other creative things . . . painted some Converse shoes . . .

and have been doing some ink/watercolor drawings of people . . .

and today I painted a cactus . . .

Red and White

Had a good day in painting class today - everyone else painted a cowboy . . . I did my own thing.
Linda

Yellow Boots

The model we had for the workshop showed up in these fabulous bright yellow boots.  We all liked them so much, we made her pose with them in several of our paintings.  We were on the beach today and I painted this one in the Japanese block style called "pattern painting".
Linda

Painting the Figure Plein Air

I am taking a 3-day plein air "paint the figure" workshop on the beach in Dana Point from Peggi Kroll Roberts.  Yesterday morning we had some sunshine, but by noon, it was raining.  So, yesterday afternoon and all day today, we have been inside.  We were not able to paint in oil so we painted in either watercolor or gouache.  We still had our live model and it was still great fun!

Here are a couple ink/watercolor studies I did.  I found that when I drew in pencil, I spent so much time erasing and trying to make it "perfect".  So, I decided to go for it in ink.  You will notice many lines that have correcting lines (like the angle of the foot, etc.) - but I just kept going.  Fingers crossed for sunshine tomorrow.
Linda

Warming Up

Had a good day of painting today . . . always love painting a figure.
Linda

Portfolio

Spent the day with my dear friend Beverly today in her studio - we do this frequently and call them "studio days".  We always do something creative/artsy.  Today, we worked on a "portfolio" (by Tim Holtz). When you purchase the portfolio, it is made out of brown heavy stock paper.  The fun part is to make it something of your own.

So . . .here is my front cover, back cover and inside:

Flamenco Girl

Nothing like a fun painting day to eliminate stress from work last week!
Linda

Neon Man

A little study I did of a man I saw at the beach recently . . .

In the Dark

I was feeling rusty . . . so, started out with a quick study.  Felt good.
Linda

Red Hat Girl

Spent the last week up in the Bay Area visiting a dear friend.  We were on the go most of time but we did find time to paint one day.
Linda

Altered Playing Cards

Another mixed media project I am working on is "altered playing cards".  I took a deck of cards (I chose flash cards as they are a bit larger than regular playing cards) - so, 52 cards, 52 weeks of the year.  Each week I am embellishing a card - with stencil, drawing, writing, painting - whatever I am inspired to do at that particular moment.  Mine seems to be turning out to be a mini-diary. Hopefully, looking back at the deck, I will remember some special moments of 2015.
Linda

Mixed Media Book

I did an online class of Donna Downey's (mixed media artist from North Carolina) - you make a book out of muslin fabric.  Believe it or not, you cover the muslin with joint compound (normally used with drywall).  Then you add whatever stencils, inks, image transfers or writing that you wish.  I transferred my own images.  Super fun book to make.  Here are a couple of my pages:

Beach Girl

Another figure at the beach with a fabulous red hat!
Linda

Beach Girls

I have a friend who is moving away from the beach to an area near Sacramento.  Since she has lived most of her adult life at the beach, I wanted to give her a painting for her new house - but wanted it to be a beach scene.  So, this was first attempt . . . (similar to one I have done before).

and then I did a second one . . .

Mixed Media Workshop

Last weekend I took a mixed media workshop from Donna Downey - a well known mixed media artist who lives in North Carolina.  She has a great sense of humor and the class was relaxed and great fun.  We took a 16x20 canvas and stenciled all over it.  Then we painted with our FINGERS and let whatever layers peak through.  My end result is a little "funky" and very different from my usual paintings, but I had a grand time creating it.
Linda