A Good Day of Painting

"Citrus Bowl" is turning out a bit better than I thought. If it turns out decent enough it could be my other entry for the Spring Salon. That would be nice if I had two paintings worked to this point that were possibilities for the show in April. If I get them done there might be time to see if I could do something else that would be better. I had better just focus on getting these done!

A Decent Day of Painting

Even though the lovely citrus fruit for my still life has long since shriveled and rotted, I have the photo of it to work from. I feel so rusty from months away from the easel. My still life felt like a good place to start today. I started this work painting from life so to finish it from a reference photo there were some drawing problems to solve. Overall it was a fun day in the studio. It felt like I am finally going to get into the routine of daily painting again!

Thinking of Spring

unfinished, 16x20, oil on canvas

Angels Above Us, 36x48, oil on canvas, 2006

So now that my 'painting a day' hopes are dashed, what should I work on? The Spring Salon is in April. I had a painting almost ready for entry last year that I could finish for this year. This is a juried show at the Springville Museum of Art and is really prestigious and hard to get in. I did get into their Religious and Spiritual Show of 2006 with Angels Above Us, but the Spring Salon is harder to get in. Upwards of 1,000 entries are submitted by the states best artists. My chances are slim but it's a dream of mine to be in the show. Little Jumping Guy (working title) is my best hope at this point. Each artist can enter two works. That is my goal... two paintings entered.

From 'A Painting a Day' to 'A Daily Painter'

Barbie Couch, 5x7, oil on canvas, 1/14/08

Even though I have been away from my easel for many months, I have stayed connected to the art world through the Internet. There is a movement pioneered by Duane Keiser http://duanekeiser.blogspot.com/ of creating 'a painting a day'. Many artists have found a niche for themselves by selling their small paintings either from their blog, website or eBay. This idea appealed to me because I'm so rusty and it might help me get better at finishing my paintings. (Inability to finish a painting not so good for an artist.) Well the day came that I had my canvas toned and ready. Determined to become 'a painting a day' enthusiast, I did it! I even finished it. Mostly because as my painting time came to an end, I had determined that this wasn't really the direction I wanted to go. I was glad that I had tried it. I would never have known had I not tried. I post this painting as a painful reminder that I should never go months without painting and everytime 'a painting a day' looks like fun, to just remember 1/14/08.

Looking forward to A Great 2008!

As I was reflecting on this past year, I got excited for 2008. Last year brought many changes. Major changes in one's life, like moving, often bring stress. I'm happy to leave it behind as I am enjoying my own private office, my fabulous studio and my walk-in closet. Our new house is at the base of the mountain. Every day as I am driving around my neighborhood I'm struck by the beauty of the mountains. The views from my studio are breathtaking. I'm hoping that this will be a place where my creativity will flow and my career will prosper!