is it really october?

yes! 

this week is my birthday and

i am doing a lot of celebrating.

but still have time to create.

here are a few teabags i painted.

i never felt this was finished so in my weekly workshop

i decided to work on it and do something different.  

i learned a new paint application.  where you roll a round brush

in several colors and then roll it on the canvas.  the instructor

said this is in the style of monet.  

still a work in progress with lots more layer yet to go.

i reserve judgement of the result so far but am enjoying

the process.  

today i link with paint party friday, a weekly community

of creatives hosted by kristen and eva.  i hope you get a moment

to visit.

have a lovely weekend!

day 5

30 paintings in 30 days

acrylic on canvas

day 2

30 paintings in 30 days

29 faces

daily sketch

acrylic, pencil on canvas board

black gesso, white chalk on teabag

happy friday everyone!

today i am linking with folks paint party friday. ppt is a 

weekly link up hosted by kristen and eva where

other creatives post their work.  on this long weekend 

won't you stop by clicking the link and see some beautiful work?

also, consider joining in the daily paint challenges this month!

i like how it not only pushes my daily art practice but also connects

me to other new and familiar artists.  

midnight reverie

day 5, 30 paintings in 30 days

thank you for stopping by!

no black friday shopping for me ....

instead, i repainted this piece

the colors were all of similar value

and she did not stand out as a focal image.

a little collaged village, new hair,

paint layers and  some whimsical flowers 

were added.  

remembering, acrylic, mixed media

i joined a friend at the getty museum

to celebrate her birthday.

los angeles scape, getty succulent garden

i was thrilled that she choose the getty  as it is one of my 

absolute favorite spots in los angeles.  with each visit

i feel as if i had been to a wondrous destination.

there is a feast for the eyes from any angle.

i apologize... i thought i  took more architectural 

photos to post but when i came home i realized that

i only had a few.  hopefully you get a chance to treat yourself

when you are in los angeles.

manet's painting, spring, was a recent

acquisition on display in all of its 

splendor

in the same room was van gogh's 

iris, which i never tire of seeing.

degas' russian dancers and the art of pastel was 

yet another exhibit to view.  this painting in particular 

took my breath away as i entered the room.  the light 

degas caught in her skirt was indescribably beautiful.

it almost shimmered.

andrea del sarto: the renaissance workshop inaction displayed the artist 

renderings and  studies along with the finished paintings.

i was particularly taken with his use of  red chalk which i had never heard of.

and finally animal,  photos by various artists.

i love this sweet owl by the american photographer

hiro

i hope you enjoyed this mini tour of the getty museum.

thank you kristin and eva for continuing 

to host paint party friday.

street heart nestled in dried leaves

i appreciate your visit here.  thank you for taking your

time to comment.  i love hearing from each of you.

have  a lovely week.

hello,

i have missed you!

i haven't disappeared, i have been posting on instagram  

instead of my blog and Facebook. 

all in the family, acrylic on canvas

 it takes me a while to

become accustomed to a new venue.  

5 x 7 acrylic and ink on cardboard

i have continued to 

paint daily.  lately, i have had a bunny obsession 

caught, red-handed making bunnies!

mono print on paper

so i present 

them to you today.

mono print on paper

i hope you like them!

acrylic and ink on cardboard

i visited chicago this past week...

trump tower, chicago by day

trump tower, by night...a bit ominous, don't you think?

thank you for visiting.

this post is linked with paint party friday.

i have a lot of catching up to do!

30 paintings in 30 days challenge

day 26

day 27, jerry

day 28

hello.  today i am posting three paintings to catch up.

 now i am up to snuff.

some days are like that....



posting along with the creatives 
at paint party friday.  thank you
ava and kristin for hosting.

day 25, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

here's looking at you, kid, acrylic and ink

for some odd reason which i have yet to discover,

i love roosters.   maybe it's the pride with which 

they seem to hold their head up high, 

as if they pay no heed to how funny looking 

they are.  or perhaps, it is the silly wattle.  

well, you may or may not be interested to know

that the smithsonian did a study on why roosters 

have wattles by studying  the behavior of hens around

roosters with regular wattles, without a wattle and

with a wattle that flops around quite a bit.  the winner,

that is the most attractive  at least in the estimation of hens 

is the one with the regular wattle.  

i love roosters even more now that i know this.

day 24, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

untitled. acrylic and ink

my life

Sometimes I see it as a straight line
drawn with a pencil and a ruler
transecting the circle of the world

or as a finger piercing
a smoke ring, casual, inquisitive

but then the sun will come out
or the phone will ring
and I will cease to wonder

if it is one thing,
a large ball of air and memory,
or many things,
a string of small farming towns,
a dark road winding through them.

Let us say it is a field
I have been hoeing every day,
hoeing and singing,
then going to sleep in one of its furrows,

or now that it is more than half over,
a partially open door,
rain dripping from eaves.

Like yours, it could be anything,
a nest with one egg,
a hallway that leads to a thousand rooms ---
whatever happens to float into view
when I close my eyes 

or look out a window
for more than a few minutes,
so that some days I think
it must be everything and nothing at once.

But this morning, sitting up in bed,
wearing my black sweater and my glasses,
the curtains drawn and the windows up,

I am a lake, my poem is an empty boat,
and my life is the breeze that blows
through the whole scene

stirring everything it touches ---
the surface of the water, the limp sail,
even the heavy, leafy trees along the shore.

by Billy Collins

day 22m 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

love that wind in my hair, mixed media

i remember 

my first bike

the feeling of 

freedom

alone

balanced

wind in my hair.

posting happily today with paint party friday.

i am a bit behind on replying to comments. as 

is said, sometimes life gets in the way of 

good intentions.  

day 14, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

a girl and her dog, acrylic and ink




i love the camera on my new iphone 6 and

never tire of taking photos of the pacific,

the sky, trees and sunsets.  i had to pull over

and stop the car on my way home

yesterday to take this.  it always seems

like a little miracle.

days 13, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

into the deep, acrylic on a large board book

i have been asked if i run out of things  to paint.  

nope, not yet.  another question,where you i find my subjects?

they just seem to come.  i do know that i try really hard to find a subject,  

it becomes a chore.  i might be pollyanish but 

i would rather painting just be fun.   i thought about the 

vastness of the ocean, the depth, the stillness 

and the undercurrent that leads the way when i painted this.

day 11, 30 paintings in 30 days

the way

i continue to explore abstract painting, trying to stay loose and open....

and, of course, having fun.   this i painted in my journal.

sometimes that feels less intimidating.

day 9, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

undecided

i thought i might paint this one over but did not know 

in which direction.  so i left it alone on my counter.

i actually liked her better when i came back later.

i didn't see when i set her down but i like the business

coming out of her head.

so for now, i will leave her be.

thank you for visiting today.

have a lovely weekend.

day 7, 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

this challenge is pushing me to explore different styles.

it's quite fun.

who's in charge of the weather

january 7, 2014

expected temperature 82 degrees

southern california

crazy!!

8am, unedited photo taken at redondo beach

not a cloud in sight

...and a peek at my desk this morning and linking with woyww