Painting Branko

Branko gave us an assignment to explore and push color and we chose to make him our model for it. It was so much fun that we painted way past midnight, despite having an early flight to catch the next morning! The weekend at Laguna was perfect. We walked to the beach, hiked to the 'top of the world', lazed on the patio gazing at the ocean, happened to spot some whales swimming about but also managed to paint and talk all things et art! Inspired. 

Vignette in White

The second attempt at painting roses with a slightly different style as compared to the previous one. We had them in all colors. After trying the pinks and the oranges, I decided to work on the white ones where the temperature, I think, becomes imperative. I didn't think this looked like much until I moved a few steps away. Squinting and stepping back is almost becoming second nature now and I know why!

And I am off for a dose of vacation! I have been planning on doing a whole travelogue of paintings. I am not carrying paints this time but am sure I will be back with oodles of ideas! Well.. what they say is true, all roads lead to Rome!! :)

Daniel J. Keys

Plum peaches

And that's day one with Daniel Keys at the Sadie Valeri Atelier. Getting the still life fix! Daniel is precise in his suggestions & critique. His stark colors & crisp brushwork make his paintings exquisite! Looking forward to working on a large still life painting in the next few days. Hopefully a complex composition. That would be fun, and his forte of course!

Star Gazer

For the love of starry skies and in honor of the interstellar predictions for tonight.

The last time I lay gazing up at the sky on a cold meteor shower night, I counted more than seventy shooting across the sky, each one accompanied by excited gasps and smiles from everyone. It was quite breathtaking! Hope to catch at least a few today. Painted this one black and blue; the experiment with a black ground turned out to be perfect for my very own simple version of the starry night! Most paintings look nicer in person and the twinkling stars in this one most certainly do! And oh, I just had to paint the Leo up there :)

Morning Light

The striking contrast between the light and shadows drew me to the subject. I almost had to use pure white for the highlights! It took quite a bit of deliberate contemplation to work this one to completion. Its not often that I like what I paint, and this is one of those rare occasions :)