"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?

"Lavender Heaven" (mixed media on paper; 9" x 12") sold

sold

A girl in a white dress and hat is picking flowers in a field of purple, scented lavender clouds. It is a lavender heaven! The painting is of the mixed media of watercolor and lightfast Caran d'Ache Luminance colored pencils. It was difficult to achieve the spiky, yet soft texture of lavenders, so I used colored pencils for them.

"Down the Rabbit Hole" (watercolor on paper; 12" x 9") sold

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Recently I reread Alice's stories and fell in love with her. Somehow there is no original illustration for this famous scene of Alice falling down the rabbit hole that sets her off on her wild adventure. Here is my attempt. She is falling down slowly; she can even look around and think about things. That's why she doesn't look panicky. Doesn't she look graceful?

"Happy Days" (oil on stretched canvas; 18" x 18") nfs

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I worked on this painting of my daughter, at the age of nine, on and off for several years; I finally feel satisfied.  The reference photo was taken during my family's vacation in northern California.  At Glass Beach, we scavenged the beach for pretty sea glasses as the sun set and the place became bathed in the golden light.

Whenever I look at this painting, my heart is filled with tenderness.  She is now a high-school senior, about to go off to college.  In my mind's eye, she is always about this big, or even younger; she is full of joy and innocence, ready to sit on my lap for a big hug.  These were the happiest days of my life.

"Love of My Life" (oil on stretched canvas; 12" x 16") gift

gift

These two people are the love of my life--my husband and daughter.  They give meaning and purpose to my life.  My daughter is a busy high-school kid who participates in many camps during the summer months.  We haven't taken summer vacations for two years because of her busy schedule!

Bemoaning the fact, I suggested a day outing one day.  But the forecast was ominous with thunderstorms and such.  We stayed put.  The weather, however, turned out to be one of the best summer days in the Washington area.  After a nice dinner at a restaurant, we went for an enjoyable walk in a neighborhood park.  I took the reference photo for the painting at the pond gazebo.

"Love of My Life" again proves my philosophy.  As long as we are with the people we love AND enjoy each other's company, we don't have to go to Europe or a tropical paradise for a "quality" family time.  My husband asked me to paint the scene to capture our happy day together.  The painting is for him.

"Budding Artist" (oil on linen; 14" x 11") nfs

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Pablo Picasso once said: "Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."  I can't agree more.  My daughter used to love art.  The painting shows when she was not quite three and a half years of age.  She was a fearless abstract expressionist!  She, as a grade schooler, went to an after-school art program for several years, winning awards and all.

Then she grew up and decided that art was not her thing.  These days she doesn't go anywhere near paints and brushes.  She is more likely to read books, play the flute, or solve tough math questions with a pencil in hand.

I painted "Budding Artist" on New Year's Day as a New Year's Resolution.  I want to live and paint fearlessly this year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"Dylan and Chipper" (oil on linen; 7" x 7") sold

sold

For several days, I was busy getting ready for an art show, which took place last Sunday.  Now it is over, and I am back to my daily painting routine.  I have nine pet portrait commissions to finish in the next couple of weeks, so you will be seeing a pet portrait a day, even during the Thanksgiving holiday!

"Dylan and Chipper" is for Susan.  Her daughter, Dylan, has been begging for a portrait of Chipper.  Among the pictures Susan sent me, I liked  the one with the 11-year-old horse enthusiast and Chipper, so it became not just of a horse painting, but a painting of the ride and rider.  Don't you love the chemistry between the two?  Dylan was wearing a black shirt and a black hat in the picture, which were turned into a red shirt and a white hat for the painting. Now the picture sings!

Chipper is a 11-year-old American Quarter Horse.  "Cashing in the Chips" is his registered name; Chipper is his barn name.  An animal psychic told the family that he knows he is a "one handsome dude."!  He is happy to be owned and have "his person".  He believes his job is to babysit Dylan and he takes it very seriously.

In his youth Chipper was a world champion in both Western Pleasure and English HUS.  Dylan competes on him in both disciplines.  He loves to show, because people are finally acknowledging his beauty and athleticism.

"Kendell and Tomp" (oil on linen; 10" x 8") sold

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"Kendell and Tomp" is for Missy.  She commissioned the painting for her father-in-law, who misses Tomp, a very large golden retriever.  Tomp, even at 165 pounds, thought he was a small lap dog, so he would sit on Missy's, or any visitor's lap!

Missy's father-in-law had health issues for the past few years.  Whenever he was hospitalized, she and her children would take care of Tomp.  They would take him for a ride.  He expected to be taken to the drive-through donut shop for a blueberry donut.

Tomp had huge feet and a huge head with more slanted eyes than usual, so he looked like smiling with his whole face at times.  Among several pictures Missy sent me, one particular photo with a rosy-cheeked girl caught my eye.  Kendell was holding his face to accentuate his happy look!  They say that a dog is a man's best friend.  That may be so, but dogs are also children's best friends.  Who doesn't have fond memories of dogs one had as a child?

By the way, it is not too late to order pet portraits for Christmas.  Please send your pet's pictures to kimstenbergart@gmail.com.  A separate page on my blog, "Pet Portrait Orders", will answer all the questions you may have about ordering a pet portrait.  Thanks!

"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!

"Music from Heart" (oil on stretched canvas; 16" x 20")

click here to buy

I don't paint figures often.  Why?  Because it is very hard to do a good figure painting! When I do, they seem to get attention, like the little girl's painting I did last year.  "Music from Heart" was featured on a site called "Black Art in America."  It is an honor.

Yesterday I shared the news on my Facebook page, which has at the moment 925 fans, and it went completely viral!  Within a day, the post reached 396; more than half of them were viral.  The curator just emailed me with the news that Facebook is doing a display of my painting.  It has already over 60 likes.  Wow!

"Young Musician" (oil, 12" x 12"; sold)

"Fresh as Spring" (watercolor on paper; 13 1/2" x 18") sold

"Fresh as Spring"
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"Pretty in Pink" (watercolor, 17" x 12")
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My daughter with spring flowers

As you may remember, I was taking pictures for the future watercolor floral projects when my daughter popped into the still life setting.  A Facebook fan of mine who saw the above picture asked me whether I would paint from it.  My answer was "probably not."  But the question reminded me of an old watercolor painting of mine--"Fresh as Spring".

The same thing happened at that time too.  I was taking pictures of hyacinths in the kitchen when my daughter, then a little girl, suddenly leaned on the table. Instead of yelling at her to get out of the picture, I laughed and took another picture.  I liked the impromptu photo so much that I painted from it.  She was about the same age (three) when she posed for "Pretty in Pink" at a rose garden in Portland, Oregon.  Isn't she cute? She is the love of my life.

I wonder if you have noticed something interesting.  Toddlers and preschoolers are not self-aware, generally speaking, so they act and smile naturally in front of the camera.  By the time they start school, the kids start making faces when they are told to smile at the camera.  If you are thinking of commissioning an artist (not me; I don't do portrait commissions) to do your young child's portrait, don't wait too long!

The Upcoming Two-Person Show

Invitation to my show

I have a two-person show that starts shortly and want to invite you if you live in the area. I have 30 new oil paintings hanging; my friend, Alice Kale, is showing mostly watercolors and some oils. It runs from October 30 to December 26. We are not having a reception for a personal reason (my friend is moving at the beginning of the show!).

The show is at the Manor House at Green Spring Gardens Park, which is located at 4603 Green Spring Road, Alexandria, VA 22312. Their website is www.greenspring.org. The Manor House is open between 12:00 and 4:30 pm on Wednesday through Sunday. Call ahead (703-941-7987) to make sure that it is open to the public on the day of your visit!

"Young Musician" (oil, 12" x 12")
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I have another exciting news to share. My painting, "Young Musician", was selected as part of the FAV15% (jury's favorite 15% of the entries) in the September 2012 BoldBrush Painting competition.

You may view the FAV15% paintings, including mine:
http://faso.com/boldbrush/fav15/91

Thanks!

"Young Musician" (oil on linen, 12" x 12") sold

sold

The Levine School Suzuki Flute Ensemble performs at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington, VA; the soloist is my daughter!; the seated girl in the front row on the far left is the model

I saw this five-year-old musician at a performance of the Levine School Suzuki Flute Ensemble back in April.  I was mesmerized by her innocent beauty and just had to paint her (with her mother's permission, of course, although it is not a commission).  Boy, it was a tough task!  I had started the painting in May, worked on it for three sessions, then left it sitting on the display easel for two months. 

Do you know why?  I was intimidated by what I had done so far and didn't want to ruin it.  I know it sounds silly, but it happens all the time.  The fear of failure grips us artists at times, and we don't know how to battle it. 

Eventually, I had enough of my timidity.  I decided that the face was good enough, although  it was not exactly her (the girl is a lot prettier than my painting).  She has also that worried look, which the photo doesn't.  I let my self-criticism go and focused on the rest of the painting: the background, white blouse, wonderfully braided hair, and flute, which was a lot. 

The girl's skin tone had hints of purples, mauves, and greens, so I worked those colors into the background, blouse, and even hair.  The burnt umber ground that had made everything look dirty receded.  Suddenly, Khloe came alive!  I am glad I saw the painting to conclusion.  Now I can get on with my life.

By the way, did you notice that my blog now has more than 20,000 views?  When I started blogging two years ago, there was only one person who read it regularly, i. e., myself.  Now every post seems to get about 200 views.  As they say, if you build it, they will come.  Thank you, my loyal readers!

"Golden Girl" (oil on canvas; 18" x 18") nfs

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Some paintings I do to sell; others for entering juried shows.  And there are paintings just for myself.  "Golden Girl" belongs to the last category.  The girl who is holding something in her right hand is my daughter when she was ten.  She had just found a piece of sea glass and was showing it off.  We were at Glass Beach in northern California.  Yes, Glass Beach--I didn't make it up.  Apparently, there used to be a bottling factory nearby and lots of broken glass made into the beach, hence the name.  The time of the day was obviously the sunset.

Reference photo

I had this girl when I was almost 40.  She was my dream child come true--healthy, happy, affectionate, and bright.  She just became a teenager this summer, and well....  She has changed quite a bit since I took the picture above.  Although I wouldn't change anything about her for the world, I still miss her when she could sit on my lap, be a flower girl, and pose for the camera gladly.  I miss those days. 


So I painted "Golden Girl" to remember my daughter at the age of ten, just as I painted her when she was a preschooler.  She was about three when she posed for a photo in a rose garden in Portland, Oregon. Of all the beauties I saw that day, she was the prettiest in my eye.

"Pretty in Pink" (watercolor, 17" x 12") nfs

I will probably do more portraits of my daughter, perhaps as a young lady, definitely as a bride, and hopefully as a new mother with her baby.  I am thankful for my family and my ability to immortalize their likeness in paintings.

"Walk in the Redwoods" (oil on stretched canvas, 18" x 14") sold

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I struggled with this painting, largely because the photo I worked with was so washed out by the blinding light.  My teacher, Diane Tester, suggested that I should restore the darks with Photoshop.  Today I brought to her class the original photo that shows the glowing ground where the figure--my then-seven-year-old daughter--is standing, along with the adjusted photo.

My intention was to darken the background trees with dark greens.  No, Diane said, you already have enough greens.  She recommended that I glaze them with purples, which I did promptly.  Wow!  Suddenly there was a differentiated background, middle ground, and foreground.  I redrew the figure (the head was too big!), tidied up things here and there, and you are now looking at the result.  I was so close to the finish but didn't know it.

"Playing with Dandelion" (oil on linen; 4" x 5") sold



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I am so glad that I started a daily painting project.  Paint everyday--or at least try to--and upload the results on my website.  Some paintings were not so great, so I didn't even bother.  I learned what subjects work better in such a small format (initially I had limited myself to one format: 4 x 5").

When I had 20 paintings ready, my blog within the website went public, that is, Blogger became its host.  The new blog started out just with brief descriptions of the paintings.  Then I began to explore the medium of blog, which is supposed to be a web diary.  More and more entries became discussions and thoughts about my art adventure.  It is time-consuming, to be sure.  I could be painting instead of writing about art.  But writing has a way of clarifying muddled thoughts, and I hope to connect with other artists and art lovers with my words.

There is this wonderful art co-operative called The Art League in the Old Town in Alexandria, VA, which operates a gallery, school, and store.  They have monthly juried shows, which are very competitive.  As a watercolorist, I used to get accepted into these shows on a regular basis.  The best record was eight times in ten shows.  Ever since I switched to the opaque mediums, first acrylic, then oil, my performance plummeted.  I barely scraped by with three or four shows a year (if you make three shows, you become eligible for the non-juried bin gallery section and can sell art).  This year has been pretty grim.  The last time when my painting was juried in was May.  Even my stoic Scandinavian husband was getting worried.

Then, bingo, this month in which the gallery hosts two shows simultaneously--the small works and large works--my painting, "Playing with Dandelion" won the second place, obviously, in the small works show.  How about that!  I am thrilled.  I credit this honor to my daily painting project!

"Zen Moment at Crissy Field" (oil on linen; 8" x 16") sold

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You don't need me to tell you what the bridge is.  The view is from Crissy Field, which my family visited three years ago.  Do you know it used to be an old airfield?  After it became a park, indigenous flowers were planted and a tidal marsh that runs to the San Francisco Bay was restored.

That day a silver-haired gentleman was practicing Tai-Chi as his faithful dog was watching.  Then something strange happened.  My daughter, then nine years old, sat down on a piling; instead of staring at the man out of curiosity, she looked out at the Golden Gate Bridge for a very long time.  Fog was lifting, a large ship went by, and birds flew over.  It was a mesmerizing scene.  Three beings existed in perfect harmony with respect and contentment.  A true Zen moment.