The First Plein Air Sunday

On the last Sunday of every month a nunber of studio students, and friends are joining me to go out painting at various sites around Los Angeles. We went out for the first time today and it was fantastic!

Everyone got something. The weather was a little weird. Sun and warm temperatures were forecast but it actually rained for about one minute- a great reminder to bring along extra clothes.

My batteries died and I didn't get good photos of everyone's work but Elizbeth took a photo of mine. I'll get as many images of the others as I can.

Jennifer did three charming paintings. She tarted out with small canvases to get started. The third image is a painted on a 'toned canvas' which means it was painted with a mid-tone venetian red. This is really a good choice because the red is a contrast to the greens of the trees and hills.  

And here is Shana's painting.  Really good attention to the perspective in the foreground buildings and a good representation of the view she had.

Teresa ( Boying)  painted this in acrylic and it has a modern impressionist style.

Our next meeting will be on February 23 at 1pm. I'll let you know the location by mid month.

If you are not on the mailing list just let me know and I'm happy to add you .

signal control boxes

If you go way back in this blog you can see some of the signal control cabinet murals that I have done over the past several years. I was really terrible at cataloguing the images on my website but since I would like to do more murals and it would help if one has a coherent way of seeing them.... I'm working on my website. Does that count as daily painting? I taught today too. Here's a link to the page that I started today. It will have links to each box and maybe a google map.

Signal Box Murals

This is a photo from the corner of Wilshire and Western with my security detail and docents, 

Officers Rudy and Freddie. 

And here  is a video of \ the finished product.

Night Painting

I've always loved paintings of the night. Charles Rollo Peters is a favorite and also the western night scenes of  Frederick Remington. I use variations of raw umber to get started. Raw umber and blue in the background coming to raw umber and turquoise, green and yellow ochre in the foreground. Then touches of city lights. This is a study I did last summer and there is one larger unfinished painting in the studio. Will get on it this week!

I was invited by my friend Linda Keeler to Palm Springs right before New Years. We went to see the Richard Diebenkorn show at the Palm Springs Museum of Art which was fabulous. The next day we both went out to paint in the neighborhood. I love the mid century houses. We just had a few hours so I did two paintings of the same thing.

Here's another small painting from the same area that I did in 2007.

A little more from Echo Park

I'm finishing up posts on recent Echo Park paintings. This is from November at the corner of Sunset and Maltman, a place I've painted many times with my friend Sarah Arnold.

Someone suggested that I photograph the paintings as they progress so I gave it a try.

 12" x 16"

And here are the last two from the park

11" x 14"

6" x 6"

Maybe I should add that I went back to Echo Park this week and started on a painting of a house in the hills. When I got back to the studio I realized the composition was really wrong, so I scrapped it down. I'm glad but will have something new that works soon!

from Echo Park again

It was a huge surprise and relief to discover that the lake at Echo Park was restored and the lotus were blooming again this summer. 

Just for the fun of it I painted this still life 24" x 24". 

Ancelle Apartments

I got this painting out of the store room after a couple of years. It had a drawing problem in the proportions of the building, I sanded it down and made corrections and now I'm happier!

A larger cityscape

I started this painting about six months ago and it stalled out so I put it away. I got it out again and have been adjusting and changing and for now it's done. 24" x 36"

Friday the 12th

I got to paint again today!

I had a chance to paint in between classes yesterday and set up a really dark still life. Will try to replace this blurry photo later in the day.

8" x 6"

Spring

There are so many flowers in the garden. I brought these in yesterday for class then stayed late to paint them myself.

This is a little unrelated to my daily painting but not to art and creativity. My daughter Mia is completing her MFA in Fashion at Parsons and has a Kickstarter to help her fund the final push to get to her graduation exhibition and her show at New York Fashion Week.  Very exciting but very costly.

I am posting this link in case there is anyone who would be able to make a contribution and also to share the link.

Thanks!

Mia's Thesis Collection

A student cancelled at the last minute this afternoon so I took the time to paint the roses that are still sitting on my table. I like this one much better. 6" x 6".

Laurel Canyon

Sometimes I get paintings out of the storeroom and when I look at them after a few months I know exactly what to do. This one was done from the tennis club and I just couldn't finish it but now it's done. 16" x 20"

Roses!

The roses are just about to bust out so I brought some into the studio and painted along with a student who was there earlier in the day. It's just 6" x 8" but loaded with paint!

I did this one at the Thursday class. It's been so busy in the studio with classes that I am in need of starting the daily discipline again. 

Yesterday I went down to Murrieta teach my Thursdat class. We all did this still life.

peppers again

I'm not finished with the food paintings yet, in fact I haven't even gotten out of the produce department. Ralph's has this ongoing sale on peppers and they seem so good to paint that I can't pass them up and besides all old pepper paintings have left the studio.:) 

First daily painting of 2013

The last painting of the year

I just finished this still life! Good Bye 2012!

And Sunday too!

might as well finish the year off in good shape.

saturday

I finished the utility box on Thursday and I guess I had a day off.... Saturday we had a figure session in the morning and the attendance was light so I painted this 4" x 5" from a 30 minute pose.

Last side finished.....

I finished this side yesterday just in time for the December art walk. Even got the four coats of graffiti protection. I'm exhausted. If you look at the clearance between the box and the street, it's not much. I'll measure but it's less that 36". I put on layers and layers of clothes and at one point earplugs. Started working in the rain one day but it stopped and all was well in the end. 

This side of the street was a little easier because there wasn't the constant spill of people getting off the Metro and busses but there was a major bus and trucks and people. Mostly lots of supportive and appreciative people but some funny stories. One ten year old girl came by with her mom and in kind of a hysterical voice said, "what if you make a mistake?" Now there's a real artist in the making.

Saturday - side three!

this sort of looks just like  yesterday but there's more paint. I started on the drawing of the third side and hope that the rain comes and goes before I get there again.

Thursday

Good weather today . Finished side one and got a good start on the second side. More tomorrow!

I got this far yesterday. On my way over to finish and start side two.

Rain then another step closer

I had time set aside yesterday but it rained all afternoon. So today I got the primer on and I'm ready to start painting in the morning!

Day one

Maybe this doesn't look like much progress but it took all day to prep the box before priming.

The worst is that posters get stuck on the box and then they get covered up with another layer of paint. Yuck. But it's ready to go.

Utility Box Images for Wilshire and Western #2

I worked on these studies over the week end and came up with four landscapes that are from the surrounding neighborhood. I went just a couple of blocks in each direction from where the box is located.

west

east

north 

 south

 this location is less congested than the other corner because there's no bus stop.The weather is good so I'm excited to get going!

Great News! Another Uitlity Box at Wilshire and Western

I'm very happy to report that I get to do another box on the other corner of Wilshire and Western- the south west corner for neighborhood followers. I've been working on ideas for the past two weeks and will get the studio done this week. Then it's out to prep and prime and then get to work.

The above painting isn't finished yet. It's the historic Langham building- site of lots of old movies. I'll add more detail in the am.

And this is 6th Street that includes the Chapman Market circa 1928.