"Red Boat" (watercolor on Yupo; 8" x 8") sold

sold

The scene depicts a small charming marina at Luce Creek in Annapolis, MD.  The red boat sings in this green, blue, and purple landscape, doesn't it?  Its actual color was dark blue!  I had a lot of trouble with this painting.  I wiped out and repainted the sky and water.  Still something bothered me.  But I liked the middle section with the boats so much that I couldn't give up.  So I redid the water one more time.  More disappointment.

I was about to toss it into the waste basket, because one cannot mess with a painting forever.  Suddenly a light bulb went off.  Why not crop it and get rid of the offending bottom portion?  I am raising the attitude of "Never give up, never surrender" to an art form!

Reference photo

"Golden Gate Bridge on a Stormy Day" (oil on stretched canvas; 12" x 16") sold

sold

From the Marin Headlands, one can see a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline.  It is even more spectacular on a windy, stormy day when there is a break in the sky.  I did another Golden Gate Bridge painting recently, as you can see below.  The earlier painting shows the famous red suspension bridge from Baker Beach, which stretches a mile below the rugged cliffs on the Presidio's western shoreline.  You can see the Marin Headlands in the distance.

I casually mentioned to my husband how I wished I had had more references of the bridge.  He said, "Really?  I have some."  He went to his computer right away and showed me the pictures he took while visiting San Francisco on a business trip last year. That's how the second painting above came about.  I don't know what I would do without him!

"Golden Gate Bridge" (oil on linen; 9" x 12")
sold

So which painting of the Golden Gate Bridge do you like better?  By the way, I am counting today's painting as one of my June Challenge series because it has a ship in it!

"Victoria Embankment, London" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

sold

If you ask me what I remember most about London during my recent trip to England, I would say "the crowds"!  True, you don't visit big cities like London for peace and quiet, but the city was completely mobbed with the tourists from the UK, Europe, and elsewhere. If we had been astute travelers, we would have checked the calendar ahead and noticed that it was the Easter weekend and the beginning of the Easter holiday.

There were lines everywhere.  London had become Epcot at Disney world on a bad day.  Look at the inside of the beautiful, but packed Natural History Museum on Friday afternoon.  Or Parliament Square on Saturday morning.  Or Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square on Saturday afternoon.

The mob scene at the Natural History Museum

Parliament Square; do you see the statue of Winston Churchill?

Piccadilly Circus is ALWAYS crowded!

But who knew that Leicester Square, one of the theater districts, was this  popular among tourists?

Don't get me wrong.  I love London.  Back in my youth, I lived there for six, happy months.  The stop at the  National Gallery, which was, needless to say, mobbed, was one of the highlights of the entire trip.  I got to see in person the 17th-century Spanish artist Velasquez's "Rokeby Venus"!

This was the only picture I took at the museum until I learned that photography was not allowed.  Oops!

We finally found peace on the Victoria Embankment, a river walk along the north bank of the Thames River. Boy, we walked gazillion miles that day, which wasn't over yet. We would continue the walk for a few more hours until our legs gave out.  By the way, if you think that I painted the river with the famous, ancient Egyptian, Cleopatra's Needle too romantically, you are wrong.  Paris is not the only romantic city in the world!

I have a suspicion that the British kept these iconic telephone booths for the amusement of the foreign tourists.  The girl in a serious winter gear is my daughter.  It was cold!

"US Capitol Rose Garden" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

sold

Last September I went downtown to take pictures of the Capitol.  It was too early for the trees to change colors, but crepe myrtles still in bloom more than compensated for my mild disappointment.  I squatted down to have the pink roses in the foreground.

The new painting looks similar to the one I did last summer--"Capitol Hill in Summertime"--I guess, because of the floral foreground.  It's just that the white architecture of the Capitol alone can be a bit severe without something to soften it and add color interests.  Which painting do you like better?  For me, "US Capitol Rose Garden" seems to have a more feeling of space.

"Capitol Hill in Summertime"
oil, 15" x 8"
sold

"Smithsonian Castle" (oil on linen; 8" x 10")

click here to buy

I have painted the Smithsonian Castle before, as you can see below.  The old painting from the last fall was also titled unimaginatively "Smithsonian Castle," I apologize. From the moment I finished it, I didn't like it, but didn't know what to do.  So I did another painting based on a different photo taken on the same beautiful autumn day. Of course, you cannot tell from the paintings whether it is spring, summer, or fall.  Hey, I was going for a timeless beauty!

Please tell me which painting is better.  I am voting for the new one.  I have a tendency of preferring new paintings to old ones, perhaps based on the delusion that I am improving by the day.  But this time I am hoping that everybody will agree with me.

The new painting is more painterly, reads better, and compositionally superior. The mock Gothic castle is in shadow, so it is dark.  Don't the sun-struck slivers in the clock tower sing?  I didn't really need all the foreground either.  Even without it, the castle in the new painting sits back, doesn't it?  I guess the morale of the story is: if a painting of your favorite subject doesn't turn out well the first time, do another and another until you nail it!

The old "Smithsonian Castle" (oil, 14" x 11")

DPW Spotlight Interview with Kim Stenberg and a Painting Giveaway

The following is my interview with the Daily Paintworks Spotlight Interview.  I am very excited about it!  By the way, I am giving away "Morning after Snowfall."  If you have bought a painting on DPW in last 30 days, you are eligible for the giveaway.

DPW Spotlight Interview: Kim Stenberg

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. 

To enter to win Kim Stenberg's painting, "Morning After Snowfall," go to Daily Paintworksand click on the link at the top of the page announcing her interview.

From Kim's DPW Gallery page:

I received a PhD degree in British history at the University of Minnesota in 1993. Taking art classes turned out to be a life-changing decision and I have been using both sides of my brain ever since. I retired from teaching recently and now paint full time.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I had always admired people who could draw and paint. When I finally had leisure time after receiving my PhD, I checked out Betty Edwards's "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain," tried all the exercises, and realized I could draw! I got hooked. I started taking art classes at The Art League School in Alexandria, VA in 1994. The rest is history.

Morning After Snowfall
(click here to see original image)

Enter to win by clicking on the link at the top of the home page announcing Kim's interview.

Did you have any stops and starts in your painting career?

The only time when I didn't paint was when I had my daughter. For a year in 1999, I didn't paint. Obviously, it was tough for me to live without art! After years of hesitation and self doubt, I finally found courage to quit my job as a college professor in 2011. I now paint full time, living my dream.

Glory of Iris
(click here to see original image)

What mediums and genres have you experimented with? Which ones have "stuck" and which ones have fallen away? Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I first started out with colored pencil, as it seemed the easiest. It was, however, too time-consuming.  So I switched to watercolor, which many beginners choose somehow, thinking that it is easier than oil but isn't in reality. Anyhow I was successful as a watercolorist, received many awards, and was published in a book and magazines. Eventually, I fell like I hit the wall and decided to try acrylic, first on paper, then on canvas. My then art teacher told me that oil was easier than acrylic for the reason that the latter dries so fast that it makes blending difficult. So at a whim, I tried water-mixable oils about four years ago. That is when I found my true path! I am done exploring, although you never say never again. I have a brand new box of Holbein oil pastels lying around in my studio!  One of these days....

Many of your paintings have this wonderful, sun-washed glow to them. How are you capturing such a beautiful, but elusive quality?

Oh, thanks. As so many artists say, we are in the business of painting light. I can't say honestly how I do it. I guess I go for a subject with a strong sense of light and try to capture it as best as I can. I learned that, in order to paint light, I have to paint rich, luminous darks and mid-tones. Does that make sense?

Bishop's Garden at National Cathedral(click here to see original image)

What does procrastination look like for you? What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art?:

How do I dawdle? Suddenly I feel like cleaning my studio! If I paint everyday, or almost everyday, painting becomes a routine. Then I don't dawdle. Besides, it's now my job. I have to show up.

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?:

I usually work from photographs, although I go outside to paint when the weather is too good to stay inside. I have a stack of pictures--mostly landscapes and florals. I go though them from time to time and set aside a pile of let say 10 pictures. When I come to my studio, which is at home, I pick one from the pile.  My decision depends partly on what kind of mood I am in and partly on how much time I have that day because some subjects require more time for drawing.  I don't spend hours trying to figure out what to paint. This also answers the above question of how to avoid procrastination. When you know what to paint and are excited about it, you are less likely to procrastinate.

Happiness of Donuts(click here to see original image)

How do you keep art "fresh?" What techniques have helped you avoid burnout and keep your work vibrant and engaging?:

They say that you have to find your brand, your niche. That is a good advice, but I would also argue that one has to have several interests so that you don't get bored or burned out. I paint landscapes, architecture, florals, still lifes, animals, and occasionally figures. I paint en plein air, I paint from life, I paint from photographic references. I paint snow, I paint water; I paint tulips in the garden, I paint peonies in a vase; I paint birds, I paint dogs. I go back and forth. This way, I avoid boredom. Boredom would be the death of a daily painter!

What do you feel you are learning about right now as an artist?:

Last year I took a still life class for a year, which taught me a lot about composition and color mixing. Through my own experimentation last year, I learned to use more paint in my work. I continue to learn to mix better grays, mid-tones, and clean bright colors. As long as I live, I will be aspiring to become a better painter.

Sunset Over Marshland
(click here to see original image)

What makes you happiest about your art?:

Selling my paintings give me a momentary pleasure. But ultimately, the act of painting makes me happy. I recently came down with shingles over the holidays, which put me out of commission for a couple of weeks. When I started painting again, I still had lingering pain. But while I was painting, I didn't feel any pain. How about that!

Thanks, Kim!

"Tidal Basin in Cherry Blossom Season" (oil on linen; 8" x 10") sold

sold

The Tidal Basin during the National Cherry Blossom Festival in early spring is the mecca for tourists.  In this painting, I nestled the famous Jefferson Memorial in a circle of cherry branches.

"Festival of Lights" (oil on canvas; 12" x 16") nfs

nfs

If you live in the Washington metropolitan area, you are probably familiar with this structure.  It is the Mormon Temple in Kensington, MD.  I was there last Saturday to attend the Greater Washington Suzuki Flute Ensemble's Christmas concert.  Every year during the Festival of Lights, the trees in the church grounds are decorated with millions of lights.  The work that goes into it must take thousands of hours.  Lights of all the colors in the rainbow wrap around the branches of tall trees, short bushes, and every tree in between.  You have to see the Festival of Lights!

I took several pictures before going into the Visitor Center for the concert, because that's what I do--taking pictures.  While looking at them on my laptop on the following day, it occurred to me that a painting of the subject would make a terrific Christmas present for my daughter's flute teacher who happens to be a Mormon.  For someone as special as she, a store-bought gift just doesn't cut it.

I have never painted Christmas lights before, but there is always the first time for every thing.  I am pleased with the way "Festival of Lights" turned out.  I told her that she would have to wait for her present until early January.  I hope she likes the painting!

"Key Bridge at Sunset" (oil on linen; 11" x 14") sold

sold

I don't believe in multi-tasking.  One thing at a time is my motto.  Having a dinner while conversing, or painting and listening to music at the same time, are some of the few things I would do with profit and pleasure.  Try doing something that requires concentration and simultaneously listening to your teenage daughter's angst.  You may be able to, but I can't.  These days many drivers put their and other people's lives in danger by texting while driving.  One thing at a time, man.

Sometimes, however, I end up multi-tasking.  Here is the story.  Thursday was a very busy day.  It started with a photography session with a client for a commission painting, followed by ice-skating practice, grocery shopping, a visit to my daughter's doctor's office for her flu shot, cooking dinner, and a fundraiser holiday concert at a bookstore where I also got half of Christmas shopping done!

I had started "Key Bridge at Sunset" the day before, but didn't get to finish it.  It was going well.  This was the second time that I tried the same subject; I wanted it to be better than the first painting ("Georgetown at Sunset"), which I felt looked belabored.

Paints were becoming sticky, and I had little time to do finishing touches during the day.  Painting in the kayakers was particularly nerve-wracking.  I didn't want the painting to be about the health benefits of kayaking.  Kayakers, especially the big one at the bottom left, were supposed to balance the painting and add a visual interest to the large expanse of the river.

"Georgetown at Sunset" (oil, 9" x 12")
sold

I finished the painting while grilling rosemary lamb chops and boiling new potato.  My studio, formerly known as the dining room, is right next to the kitchen, so I could pull it off.  Nevertheless, I felt like Daniel Craig playing James Bond, or Jason Statham as the Transporter!

"Spring Robin" (oil on linen; 7" x 7") sold

sold

We have a couple of robins who live in our property.  They behave as if they own it during the nesting season.  One year they nested in a holly bush in front of our front door.  Oy! Whenever we approached it, there was a rush of flight, a loud squawk warning us to back off, etc.  We were glad when the baby birds flew off and we got our house back.  The bird in "Spring Robin" is not our male robin.  Its posture happens to remind me of the Intimidator.

"Autumn Glory" (oil on linen; 12" x 8") sold

sold

These days I feel like I am on fire.  It has to do partly with my hot flashes (!), but mostly it is because of my ardent desire to paint better.  Compare "Autumn Glory" with my one-month-old painting, "Autumn Park."  Which one would you rather have on your wall?  Do they even look like painted by the same person?

"Autumn Park" (oil, 10" x 8")
sold

By the way, doesn't the gnarled tree in "Autumn Glory" look like a tree ent?  I found it in the woodlands at Green Spring Gardens Park in Alexandria, VA last fall. I wonder if it is still there, or wandered away with some hobbits.

"Connecticut Ave Bridge in Autumn Afternoon " (oil on linen; 8" x 16")

click here to buy

Reference photo

On a beautiful autumn day ten days ago, my family had to drive to the Levine School of Music in Northwest in Washington, DC for my daughter's Suzuki flute Christmas concert rehearsal.  Instead of griping about missing the opportunity for plein air painting with friends, I took my camera with me to take pictures of Rock Creek Park in the car.

Yes, you've been there, clicking away your camera without even getting out of the car.  In my defense (I always have excuses!), it is impossible to pull over along the drive in Rock Creek Park.  Besides, the traffic was heavy, as seemingly everybody was out enjoying the spectacular weather.

I was mesmerized by the tall trees in brilliant autumn colors along the drive.  Since we were in the valley, only the crowns of these trees were lit by the late afternoon sun.  Fascinating!  We passed under several bridges until we hit Connecticut Avenue Bridge over Klingle Valley, more commonly known as the Klingle Valley Bridge.  It is a handsome Art Deco bridge near the National Zoo on Connecticut Avenue.  Marvelous!

I cropped the photo to make the composition more dramatic and proceeded to paint "Connecticut Avenue Bridge over Rock Creek Park."  The painting has the clear separation of the light and shadow families that Kevin Macpherson talks about in his book.  To exaggerate the sensation of a bright sunny day, I painted the area in the sun even lighter than in the photo.  Do you feel like you were there with me in the car wowing at the scenery?

"Capitol Nocturne" (oil on linen; 12" x 12") sold

sold

I thought I would create a series of evening scenes of famous Washington landmarks.  "Capitol Nocturne" was actually the third in the series, but it was the first one that turned out right at the get-go.  Painting from the reference photos of nocturnal images that did not give much information about details and colors was not easy. I also wanted these nocturnes to be as evokative and stirring as Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."

Capturing the drama of the brilliantly-lit US Capitol dome  and lights and their reflections in the pond was my goal in "Capitol Nocturne."  About half of the painting session was spent painting upside down in an effort to get the image and reflections to match up more or less.  I would bring the painting to a mirror to look at it reversed, only to put it back on the easel in the wrong way!  Wait a minute, which way was I painting?

"Golden Gate Bridge on Sunny Day" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

sold

The famous Golden Gate Bridge on a sunny day.  Fluffy clouds float by in the sky.  A red ship in the distance is about to glide under the bridge.  The red bridge casts colorful reflections in the choppy water.  I thought of Claude Monet's "The Bridge at Argenteuil" when I was working on the above painting.  I wrote about how much I admire Monet's painting three months ago.  Something about a bridge, boat, clouds in a blue sky, and reflections in the water makes a happy painting.  Don't you agree?

"Big Sur Moment" (oil on linen; 11" x 14") sold

sold

Reference photo

As I wrote yesterday, I started a new series called "California Colors."  All the paintings of the series will be based on the pictures I took five years ago during a family vacation to northern and central California.  The occasion for this two-week vacation was a family wedding.  A nephew of my husband got married at a Napa vineyard!  It was the kind of a beautiful wedding you see in movies.  A lucky boy!  He and his wife now have two adorable kids and live in San Francisco.  A lucky couple! 

I had been to the city, but not to the rest of my favorite state.  So we made a vacation out of a wedding.  Why not?  Do you know what happened later in that summer?  A younger brother of the groom decided to get married six weeks after the said wedding, instead of waiting for a couple of years as he and his fiance had promised to the family.  The year of 2007 thus became the year of family weddings.  We made the two remaining boys swear that they would never ever get married in the same summer! 

The second wedding took place in Minnesota, my husband's home state.  We love Minnesota, but Minnesota is not California.  Besides, we were burned out of vacations.  We took just a few more days off in addition to the necessary time, in order to visit with relatives.  The trip didn't result in as many glorious pictures as the California one either.

We had only a day for Big Sur toward the end of our trip, which was a shame.  How can you explore this spectacular spot on earth in one day?  We made a lot of stops to take pictures, that's all.  But I still  dream of the incredible blues of Big Sur.

"Lilac Season" (oil on linen; 11" x 14") sold

sold

Reference photo

Lilac is one of my favorite flowers.  Its subtle scent brings back sweet memories of my college days.  I went to Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea during the late 70's.  I chose my alma mater partly because of the beauty of its campus.  My liberal-arts college was housed in a stone building covered with Boston ivy.  Throughout the spacious campus, with an amphitheatre and several hills, bloomed lilac bushes every May.

Seoul, then and now, is a over-crowded metropolis where trees struggle to survive due to the bad air quality.  My family lived on a dusty, commercial street.  Throughout my childhood, I craved for greenery.  Imagine my joy when I first saw my college campus turning pastel, then green, in my freshman year.  (The Korean school calendar starts in March, a legacy of the Japanese colonization of the Korean peninsula.) 

But it is somehow the lilac flowers that remain most vivid in my memory.  It must be its fragrance.  The visceral sensations of color, taste, texture, or smell reside in our deepest, dearest memories, haunting us with their sweet and sad associations.  Why sad?  Because we can never go back to our childhood or youth.

"Silent Night" (oil on linen; 10" x 12") sold

"Silent Night"
sold

"Snow Valley" (oil; 10" x 15")
sold

Snowscape is another favorite subject of mine.  So much so that, I am in danger of running out of my reference material for snow paintings, as I live in an area that doesn't get much snow.  Of the two latest snowscapes, I like "Silent Night" better.  Snow is inherently a cold matter.  Unless much care is taken, a snow painting will be too cold to look at.  I thought that the warm-toned clouds in "Snow Valley" will balance out the cool colors in the rest of the painting.  But, over all, it feels too icy for comfort.

So I am going back to painting snow scenes in early morning or late afternoon light.  Sunset is even better.  Snow reflects everything around it and, of course, the ambient light. The brilliant colors in the sunset sky seem to bring out the best in snow.  If only it would snow!

"Sea Caves of California" (oil on linen; 9" x 12") sold

sold

Reference photo

Some vacations are more memorable than others.  The trip to California three years ago was one such happy memory maker.  There was a family wedding, which was held at a beautiful vineyard in Napa!  Visits with family were special enough, since we don't get to see them often as we live so away.  But one additional week spent just with my own family in the glorious light of California keeps generating a painting after another.  I must go back to California!

As I am focusing on water in Bobbi Pratte's landscape class this summer, I decided to paint from the above photo taken somewhere in northern California.  (You know how it is--after a while, you don't remember exactly where you took the pictures.)  The picture doesn't show much color in the sea caves because they are in the shadow; but I can see many different color changes in the water itself.  In the distance, it is cobalt blue.  As the waves approach the sandy beach, it changes from cerulean blue to a blue tinged with ocher.  The wet sand looks lavender.

I like the design too.  Three concentric waves all point to the sea caves, which I painted with warm, dark paints.  Sometimes I don't have to do anything other than just paint as Nature took care of the design for me!

"Summer Wildflower Meadow" (oil on linen; 12" x 16") sold

sold

Yesterday several friends and I went to River Farm in Alexandria, VA.  We met each other in Sara Linda Poly and Bobbi Pratte's classes at the Art League School, and as we are passionate about plein air painting, we formed a group.  We paint outside once a week; some of us, more often than that.  Summer in northern Virginia is not an ideal place for plein air painting with the temperature hovering around 90 degrees and about as high a humidity level as that.  We were lucky when we went to the National Cathedral two weeks ago; we got lucky again yesterday.  Painting gods--we appealed to all gods for a good weather (ha ha!)--have been kind to us!

I went down to the meadow, attracted by the sight of Queen's Anne's lace--my favorite wildflowers.  I had about two hours available, so I got to work right away.  After blocking in, I painted back to forward: the sky, Maryland, the Potomac River, a band of trees, the middle-ground wildflowers, then finally Queen Anne's lace.   I took care with the trees to get their shapes right.  Wildflowers, in contrast, were treated loosely as shapes.  If you look at the photo carefully, there are a couple of kids runnning toward where I was sitting.  As I was taking the picture, they suddenly appeared up the path and got captured forever!

"Washington National Cathedral" (oil on linen; 16" x 12") sold

sold

Yesterday, seven friends and I--the biggest group so far--went to the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.  We could not have chosen a better weather.  It was about 80 degrees, but with low humidity and nice breeze, it felt heavenly.  The place was not crowded at all; except occasional picnickers, we had the place pretty much to ourselves.  We felt truly blessed--well, until we started painting.

The National Cathedral is a 20th-century structure built in the Gothic style.  In spirit and manner of construction, you can say that it is medieval.  It's situated on a 50-acre ground, which also boasts a beautiful garden, called Bishop's Garden.  Last year when I painted there, I was absolutely overwhelmed by the sight of the cathedral.  So, instead, I painted a stone gazebo in the Bishop's Garden.

"Bishop's Garden, National Cathedral" (oil, 8" x 10")
sold

The gazebo with eight sides was hard enough to draw.  When I was finished, I was so pleased with the painting that I emailed it to my plein-air-painting teacher, Sara Poly, to show off.  Yesterday, I bravely tackled the cathedral itself.  Oh, my goodness.  I kept saying this to myself.  As it turned out, I had more trouble painting the magnificent cedar of Lebanon on the left.  I chose this view on purpose, calculating that with so much of the cathedral hidden behind the cedar, it shouldn't be too bad to paint the main subject itself.  I don't think I will be painting the cedar of Lebanon any time soon.

The cathedral was treated suggestively; otherwise, I would be still drawing it out there.  By the time, the bones of drawing and colors were put down (as you can see in the second picture from the top), I had to quit painting.  The sun had moved and there was no point in continuing.  I finished the painting in the studio today.  

HAVE A GREAT INDEPENDENCE DAY WEEKEND!