Red Shoes, Take Two - 9x12 on board

Macy's Event

I've been invited to paint perfume bottles at the local Macy's for a special fragrance event they are hosting 12/15 and 12/22 from Noon-4pm. Below are some samples I put together for customers to choose from. Below- The Ralph Lauren "Romance" fragrance is a clear bottle on all sides. The four different motifs are a little difficult to make out in the photos because of the see through nature of the glass. Sorry!

Front- Stockings over Mantle

Side - Mistletoe

Hope you can make it!

Natalia - 18x24 on board NFS

This lovely girl is my good friend's daughter, Natalia, at our last open studio. I had so much fun doing this project because she is such a joy.... as are all the Camilo girls. Interestingly, my favorite parts of the painting are the areas that took the least amount of time to paint..... her pants, shoes, and sweater folds. They seemed to paint themselves. What a blessing it is when that happens!

I seem to struggle with feature placement when I try to fill in local color as I'm "blocking in." For future portraits, I think I will try laying in the mid-tones first, then going back in with my lightest lights and darkest darks. Fortunately, there isn't only one way of doing this, I just have to figure out what works best for me. Also, I purposefully made her neck a little short to avoid cutting off her hair line. I regret that now (I don't think it would have hurt the composition).... because it seems to have made her head a bit rounder then it is in person. But as Matisse once responded to a critique of his anatomy depiction, "This isn't a woman, but a painting." Ha! Creative license is a beautiful thing.

Anyway, all in all, a successful experiment. Thank you, Natalia, for being such a sport!

This will probably be my last post for the week. I seem to be fighting a cold and have a busy weekend coming up I need to be ready for. Stay healthy everyone. It's cold out outside!

Stacks of Cups - 8x10 on board - NFS

I'm very pleased with this painting. I started Tuesday night and just finished. It's funny.... I don't like painting flowers unless they are on china... then I LOVE them! Can you tell the teacup in the back is by far my favorite part of the painting?

Since Chloe is home from school for parent/teacher conferences, this will probably be my last post for the week. I promised her a trip to the park Friday. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Three Blue Vases - 6x8 on board

Flowers are such an opportunity to simplify colors and shapes. I'll be posting more of them. Not because I enjoy painting flowers, mind you, but they are always a good lesson.

Ladies Dining - 16x20 on board - SOLD

Now I can say I have a painting in a "private collection in FL". I'm sending off a painting I did in August of these lovely ladies dining in Carmel, CA. One husband is buying it for his wife's birthday next week. Isn't that sweet?

Coffee Break - 8x10 on board

This is my new favorite! I was psyching myself out on the floral saucer ...wanting to make blocks of color that implied the pattern. I really like the results. It leaves a little bit to the viewer to fill in. Thanks for dropping by.

Girl on Scooter 5x7 on board

I decided to try something new on this one.... using a heavier paint application. It was fun to use color boldly without putting so much emphasis on line. Artist Peggy Kroll-Roberts does this to great effect!

Bananas 8x10 on board

Some days everything goes smoothly. This was one of them. The challenge was finishing the painting before Jack could eat his snack!

Have a good night.