"Lavender Girl" (oil on stretched canvas; 10" x 8") sold

sold

A little girl in a white shift dress and hat is walking in the lavender field, with a straw basket in hand. The golden late afternoon rakes across the purple clouds of lavender. The online workshop I took with Dreama Perry last fall got me into lavender fields, so I have painted several paintings of the theme. As they get sold, I am posting my work. Negligent, am I not?

"Young Mexican Dancer" (oil on linen; 14" x 11") sold

sold

During the annual Halloween parades of my daughter's high school marching band, I've noticed a group of kids dressed up in colorful traditional costumes.  I thought they were enthusiastic audience, as quite a few local residents showed up in costumes.  No, they were a troupe who were to perform Mexican dances as part of the parade entertainments.  Awesome!

I sat in front of the crowd to enjoy the boys' and girls' dance routines, when one girl caught my eye.  Her poised beauty at her young age (she was probably around 10) was mesmerizing.  I had to paint her.  What do you think of my effort?

By the way, I've decided to offer custom portraits of children.  I am excited!  If you are interested in getting your children's or grandchildren's portraits done for the holiday, please check out my Etsy listing.  Thanks!

"Sunflowers on Hot Summer Day" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

sold

No other flowers say "summer" as loudly as sunflowers.  In the depth of winter, or on a cool summer day like today, if I want to feel the hot summer sun in my heart, I just have to think of these big, bold, in-your-face, flowers.

By the way, I am back to painting oils.  You wouldn't believe how exciting it is to switch back and forth between mediums.  Watercolors do something oils cannot do; there are things one can do only with oils.  As I told a friend of mine, by renewing my watercolor ways, which were my first love, I doubled the fun!  I am sharing the collage of the paintings I created during my explorations on Yupo painting last month.  Enjoy!

Collage of my Yupo Paintings created in July 2013!

"Dark Kisses Confetti" (oil on linen; 5" x 4") sold

sold

Okay, you've seen my Kisses paintings and want to move on.  But I had to explore the theme further, at least one more time.  The little dots in the Kisses in "Love is in the Air" reminded me of the confetti thrown at weddings.  So I put the Kisses closer and formed a diamond shape between them.  I exaggerated the little shapes in the Kisses like confetti; the reddish pink ground has confetti-like brushstrokes all over too.  The Kisses are getting married!

"Love is in the Air" (oil, 4" x 5"; sold)

"Glorious Irises" (oil on canvas; 24" x 18") sold

"Glorious Irises"
sold

"Purple Irises" (oil, 12" x 9")
sold

"Purple Glory" (watercolor, 20" x 14")
sold

Yup, you are right.  All three paintings above are based on the same photo reference.  I am guilty of copying myself.  "Purple Glory" came first, painted many years ago when I was a watercolorist.  It got an award, then got sold in another show.  Last year, I did a smaller version in oil--"Purple Irises"--and sold it on eBay.  A client of mine who saw it on my website wanted it blown up.  So I painted "Glorious Irises" for him.  What can I say?  Some compositions are so darn great that they deserve to be revisited several times.

Whenever I look at the image of "Purple Glory," I feel a pang and regret that I don't paint watercolors any more.  But the regret doesn't last long.  These days I find watercolors tedious.  One has to draw the composition very carefully with a pencil in fear of marring the paper. When glazing, one has to wait each time for the previous layer to dry completely.  Most importantly, one has to preserve the lights with absolute determination. 

When a watercolor painting works, it glows.  When it goes awry, there is not much one can do.  The medium tends to collect fanatical devotees who look at other mediums with a thinly-disguised contempt, because only the most disciplined artists can stick to it.  I have such friends.  (I hope they are not reading this blog entry; I still like them despite their stubbornness.)  I also have friends who had hit the wall and wandered to find other, I dare say, more fun, mediums. 

Despite what many people believe, oil paints can be transparent as well as opaque.  (Watercolors can be opaque too, but only up to a point.)  To me, the fun of painting in oil lies in playing with this dual characteristics of the oil medium, plus its tactile quality.  In "Glorious Irises," I didn't leave the dark background transparent, because I thought it might not stand up to the strong, sculptural presence of the back-lit irises.  Ordinarily, I play transparent areas against opaque ones, lathering thick globs of paints on highlights, highly-textured petals, and so on.  Oh, the glory of oil painting!