ArtFest of Scottsdale Nov 21 & 22

I'll be at the ArtFest of Scottsdale in Arizona next weekend, November 21 & 22, in booth #132. If you're in the area, please stop by.

Watercolor: California Quail

California Quail 4.5 x 5 Watercolor on BFK Rives paper
There is a cute little family of quail in my neighborhood - a male & female with about 8 babies. I see them scampering along the cap of the block wall in my yard early in the morning - single file - like first graders on a field trip.

Watercolor: Watson

Watson 5x5 Watercolor on plate bristol

Watercolor: Little Couch Nap

Little Couch Nap 5x5 Watercolor on paper

Watercolor: Propagation

Propagation 14 x 10 Watercolor on paper
There's something that's both neatly geometric and artist-messy in the composition of the photo I used as a reference for this piece. I snapped the image while visiting one of my best friends in Massachusetts nearly 30 years ago. The title is in reference to the potted plants sprouting on the ledge, and the potential of paper, notebooks and pens. There are bits of text on the sheet of paper beneath the apples; an excerpt from an E. B. White poem titled Window Ledge in the Atom Age:

I love this day, this hour, this room,
This motionless narcissus,
I love the stillness of the home,
I love the missus.
(She grows in pebbles in my sun
And she is like a star.)

Yesterday, the two pieces below were shipped to Arizona for the Tubac Center of the Arts "Human Element" Exhibition, Oct 16 - Nov 14. I'll miss attending in person, but if you're in the area, be sure to see the exhibit. The juror was Ruth Weisberg, and I bet it's going to be an exciting show.

Top: Window Seat 11.5 x 17 Watercolor Bottom: Dreaming About Tomorrow 6 x 9 Monotype with Watercolor & Colored Pencil

Watercolor: Persimmon on the Sill

Persimmon on the Sill 8.75 x 10.75 Watercolor on Strathmore Bristol
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As a kid, my grandparents had a sun porch which served as a back-lit sunbeam for displayed glass in their dining room. I've been fond of sunlight on glass for as long as I can remember. The photo used for this watercolor was taken many years ago, in the squinty Fall light in Massachusetts when I was in college. Now that it's officially Fall, it seemed appropriate to paint that light again.

I've delivered the two pieces below to the Brand Library Gallery in Glendale, CA for Brand 38: Works on Paper. The theme of the show is 'Beginnings', and I'm so pleased to be included in the exhibit. I *hope* to attend the opening on Oct 3rd, which is the same night as the Disney-Ryman exhibit mentioned in yesterday's post. With good luck and great stamina, I'll be zig-zagging through Los Angeles that night, looking at inspiring & lovely art.

(Top: Charles, Painting, 7.5 x 5.5 Trace Monotype with Watercolor. Bottom: Adolescence, 4.25 x 5.5 Dry Brush Watercolor on paper)

Linocut & Watercolor: Corona

Corona 2 x 3 Linocut & Watercolor
This petite linocut based on the likeness of Frida Kahlo will be exhibited for sale - along with four watercolors below - October 3rd at the Ryman Affair of the Art 20th Anniversary fund raising event. The Ryman Arts program gives selected teens an opportunity to practice studio arts on Saturdays for free, instructed by working artists, with a goal of getting the kids into college - and the arts as a profession. It's an honor to participate in this show every year. There's a preview of the art for sale and ticket details on the web site.

(Watercolors are - top left, clockwise: Glendale 7 x 9, Mermaid Intern 4.75 x 6, Three Tenors 5 x 6.75, Alaska Slough 7 x 9)

Watercolor: Freesia, Pitcher & Lemons

Freesia, Pitcher & Lemons 6 x 8 Watercolor on Strathmore Bristol Plate Finish paper
Painted while flying between LA and Orlando, so the pigment is applied in pretty heavy layers. I can't blame too much time on my hands & my less than ideal set up on the plane, but this one was a challenge. Next time, I'll bring multiple drawings to fill the time, and I'll prep them just a bit more petite in size. (Unless I get upgraded from coach.) :)

Watercolor: Carpinteria Street

Carpinteria Street 10.5 x 7 Watercolor on Bristol paper
Lots of watercolor glazing on this one; sheer washes of transparent color applied in layers with a very soft touch. The reference photo was taken in Santa Barbara in 1984 on Carpinteria Street, and I've painted from it several times. An artists' reference library is no further away than those family photo albums on the shelves.

Watercolor: Glendale

Glendale 7 x 9 Watercolor on paper
My first home after re-locating from the East Coast in 1991 was a nondescript apartment in Glendale. The Southern California light more than made up for what the space lacked in character, and trying to capture it here in watercolor was challenging and full of memories.

Watercolor: Apples & Roses

Apples & Roses 10 x 14 Watercolor
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Watercolor: Sabino Fish & Plums

Sabino Fish & Plums 6 x 8 Watercolor on paper
This is the 18th time I've painted something on the tiles in front of my kitchen window. I've got a whole list of ideas for more of them - in a variety of sizes. This was a pleasure to get lost in. My Great Uncle Nick collected Sabino Art Glass, and gave me the art deco fish tucked between the rose and the bowl of plumbs.

Watercolor: Vacation Rental

Vacation Rental 10 x 6.59 Watercolor on Bristol paper

Inspired by a reference photo I knew I wanted to paint when I snapped it ten years ago in Florence, Italy. Old world charm, wrapped around a relaxed array of books, maps and tangerines from the market downstairs, all polished with a wash of Italian light. I think I've loved window light in rooms like this since I was a child, and I so enjoy painting them today - for the challenge of trying to really see & render the values and temperatures that convey such a relaxed, invitational atmosphere.

First washes in the early stages of the watercolor.

Watercolor: Printmaker Adjusting the Press

Printmaker Adjusting the Press 5 x 6.8 Watercolor on Bristol paper
I've been sorting through my reference photo library, preparing another series on interiors (windows, genre scenes), but I thought a mini series of paintings, based on printmakers at work, would be a nice little side theme. Singular focus has always been challenging for me, so I'm padding my plan.

Collograph: Reader

Reader 6.8 x 6.3 Collograph with watercolor
This is the same printmaking and plate-building process I described in this post. The process shots begin at the bottom.
Available for sale here.

The plate was inked with Daniel Smith water-based black, and printed on my friend JMC's Blick mini-press. The result is in black & white in the above photo, and then painted with watercolor at the top of this post. The print has wonderful texture from all the different ink-holding patterns glued to the plate's surface. The plate was inked & printed again à la poupée with color (print not shown), which is why you can see leftover color on the plate in the photo.

You can see the various textures if the items I've adhered to the plate in this close up. The first layer of matboard has been cut & peeled away in the spaces of the t-shirt, the book binding and the hair on the figure to hold more ink in those recesses.


I'm using a piece of scrap matboard, with a pencil drawing of a figure reading, sealed front and back with a thin coat of Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish. In this photo, I'm attaching (with the same Gloss Medium & Varnish) random things from around the house trimmed into the shapes where I want various textures on the plate.

Watercolor: Early Bird Breakfast

Early Bird Breakfast 17 x 20 Watercolor on paper
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Watercolor: Printmaker at Work

Printmaker at Work 5 x 6.5 Watercolor on BFK Rives paper
Private Collection

Collograph: The Written Word

The Written Word (A/P) 9.75 x 7 Collograph with watercolor
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So, let's say you want to make a print, but you only have matboard and an exacto knife. The process starts at the bottom of this post.

I laid the blotted paper on top of the inked plate, and covered the back of the paper with a sheet of wax paper so I could rub with the baren and the wooden spoon without marring the still-wet paper. After lots of rubbing and checking, I'm pulling the print. After it dried, I added watercolors (above). I'm looking forward to using oil based inks and a press for this one, to pull a small edition for adding other mediums later (colored pencil, gouache, inks, etc.)

I've coated the plate with Daniel Smith Water-based inks, using a bristle brush, and here I'm wiping areas with newsprint. I've got a sheet of paper soaking in water, and a towel ready to blot it just before I print (the inks dry fast on the plate, so you have to move quickly).

This is the back of a piece of matboard, with a pencil sketch and a coat of Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish on the front and back. After drying overnight, I incised areas with an exacto knife where I want ink to settle into line work. In other places, I've outlined shapes and peeled them away to create tiny wells to hold ink. I re-coated the plate with gloss medium three times during the cutting to hold things down if the cuts were close together, or when I got overzealous with tearing away shapes.

Monotype: Early Retirement

Early Retirement 6.8 x 8.8 Light Field Monotype & Watercolor on paper
Process shots begin at the bottom of this post.
Another post on light field monotypes using mylar is here, in case you want to try one.

In this shot, I'm pulling the print. It came off lighter than I wanted, but it's still salvageable with the addition of some watercolors later. There are all sorts of interesting textures from the print process that unfortunately aren't visible in the shot above, even underneath the watercolor. Lots of mottled textures I couldn't duplicate if I tried - examples of sweet surprises from printmaking.

The mylar sheet is laid on a piece of matboard (cut to the same size) on the press bed, and then it's pressed against a sheet of soaked & blotted Arches Cover paper.

With a reference photo of Mister Magoo nearby, and Caran D'Ache water-soluble crayons, water and a bristle brush, I'm painting and drawing - in combination - on a mylar sheet (.005 Matte Draft Film).

Watercolor: Sour Green Apples & Wine

7 x 9.25 Watercolor on paper
Available for sale here.

Watercolor: Mermaid Intern

Mermaid Intern 4.75 x 6 Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico paper
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It's hot and windy in the desert today, so I'm painting swimmers.

Collograph: Back Yard Cat Bath

Back Yard Cat Bath, 6.75 x 8.5 Collograph [#1 of 5] with Watercolor and Colored pencil
Available for sale here.
Process shots begin at the bottom of this post.

While visiting my friend JMC, I used some of her water-based inks on the plate, and a sheet of soaked & blotted Arches cover paper to pull two prints (one in black, and another with a little color added a la poupee') on her little Dick Blick baby press. I'll be curious to see how this prints with oil based etching inks, but I wanted to avoid the fumes in the house, so that will wait till another day. For now, the first print (above) is ready for some watercolor & colored pencil.
I've cut the first layer of mat board away to become an ink-holding reservoir in the stripes of the towel wrapped around the cat to give it cat-shaped volume, and after brushing a diluted layer of gloss Medium & varnish on areas I'd like to print dark, I've sprinkled carborundum, and then sealed it the next day with two more layers of the same varnish.
I've used Scotch Quick-Dry Adhesive glue for linear elements; facial features, limbs, hedges and architectural outlines. The cat is made from pieces of cotton balls, the hair on the figures is kitchen twine, and their clothing is kleenex tissues. The ground texture is saran wrap... I was winging this, and the kitchen was my best source for scrap materials. :o)
With a reference photo close by, I'm using a piece of mat board as a plate, and building texture with tissue, cellophane, string and glue. Each item is adhered to the plate with Liquitex Gloss Medium & Varnish.

I've listed some new art in my Ebay Store. You can browse here.

Watercolor: Independence Day

Independence Day 5.5 x 9 Watercolor on Strathmore Bristol paper
Available for sale here.
Painted from a borrowed flickr photo over the July 4th weekend as a study for a larger painting with another figure added to the scene. She's on the cusp of young adulthood, so I'll have to imagine a narrative about leaving the nest before I add the other figure in the final piece.

Watercolor: Summer Sunday

Summer Sunday 6 x 7.5 Watercolor on BFK Rives paper
Painted today from a photo taken on a breezy summer afternoon in the back yard. DC was reading a magazine and dozed off (though he'd deny this), so I grabbed the camera and started plotting a watercolor themed after reading and napping; two of my favorite subjects. (And apparently - his favorite subjects too.)

Watercolor: Central California High Noon

Central California High Noon 15 x 11.5 Watercolor on Arches Hot Press
Available for sale here.
This was painted during the San Diego Artwalk in April (in process on my easel below), based on a photo my step dad TC sent me of an abandoned farm in Cayucos, CA. I've listed it on Ebay and will be posting more work there, and in my Etsy shop, each day this week, so check back to see what's available.

Painting & talking all weekend in San Diego.

Watercolor: Three Tenors

Three Tenors 5 x 6.75 Watercolor on Arches paper
The roses in my yard are great models for still life. I'm snapping photos and painting from them as studies for larger pieces I'll work in this Fall. This one was done on the plane enroute to the east coast last week.

Watercolor: Tender Garden

Tender Garden 6 x 5.3 Watercolor on BFK Rives
Painted on the plane while flying west - after an incredible visit with family; mostly between 70-94 years old. There were some peer-age cousins in there too, but the focus was on those born in the first third of the last century. It was a nostalgic and poignant trip.

Watercolor: Copper Mine

Copper Mine 9.5 x 7.5 Watercolor on Aquabee paper
This copper mine is in southern Arizona near the Mexican border, and my traveling buddies were kind enough to pull over and let me take photos to use as painting reference. The geometry & colors of the storage barrels and metal feeders made me want to try something industrial.

Watercolor: Guitar Solo

Guitar Solo 5.5 x 6.75 Watercolor on paper
Available for sale here.
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My rearranged studio has a new sound system connected to my itunes library. The music in here sounds really good when it's LOUD. I *love* music. It makes the paintings spill out faster.

Monotype: Indian House Mountain, AK

Indian House Mountain, AK 8.5 x 6 Caran D'Ache Monotype & Watercolor
Available for sale here.
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Using the same piece of mylar as yesterday's post, this was a fast and loose sketch of Indian House Mountain, from a reference photo taken as we drove along Seward Highway near Anchorage last June. You can see in the image below that the pressure on the press was too light, and I got a very faint print, but that's okay, because there are plenty of art supplies in the studio, waiting for experiments after the print & paper dry.

Pulling the print after a trip through the press.

Monotype: Not Tied to the Ground

Not Tied to the Ground 8.5 x 6 Monotype & Watercolor on Somerset paper
Available for sale here.

You and I, we're not tied to the ground
Not falling but rising like rolling around
Eyes closed above the rooftops
Eyes closed, we're gonna spin through the stars
Our arms wide as the sky
We gonna ride the blue all the way to the end of the world
To the end of the world.

You & Me, Dave Matthews Band

There's a reference photo in the background of a bird, some roses and a horse on the window sill in my studio. I'm drawing on a sheet of Mylar (.005 Matte Draft Film) with Caran D'Ache crayons and a wet brush to soften areas and add layers. (I left the process photos full size so you can click on them to see more detail.)

The mylar is placed on the press bed face up on a same-size piece of matboard. A sheet of soaked and blotted Somerset paper is carefully laid on top of the pigments. After a trip through the press with quite a bit of pressure, I'm pulling the print.

The print on the left, and the mylar sheet - with remaining pigment - is on top of the matboard. (I did get a ghost print, though it's quite faint.)

Watercolor: Seventy Four Years

Seventy Four Years 2.75 x 3.75 Watercolor on Fabriano Artistico paper
My maternal Grandparents, Al & Margie, have been married for 74 years. They met in a textile mill in Connecticut on the assembly line - they were both 17. Al used his first paycheck - in 1933 - to take Margie to the movies. I'm going to see them soon, and I can't wait to hear more of their stories.

Monotype: Chestnut Mare

Chestnut Mare 3.75 x 8.75 Monotype & Watercolor
Available for sale here.
This piece was pulled from the same mylar sheet used in the last post (Geat Dane), made with Caran D'Ache Neocolor II Water Soluble crayons. Scroll to the bottom photo: you'll see my reference photo, and the drawing on mylar, next to the crayons, an old paint brush and water. You can scribble the crayons on the inside cover of the box they come in, and use a wet brush to pick up pigment and paint washes and soften areas around your line-work.

Pulling the print after a trip through the press.

Laying the mylar sheet on a piece of matboard on the press bed; notice that you can see my fingers through the plate. The one I'm using here is about the same weight and texture as a plastic file folder.

In process: reference photo, mylar, crayons, brush and water.

Monotype: Great Dane

Great Dane 3.75 x 8.75 Caran D'Ache monotype on Somerset paper
Available for sale here.
This is Deebo, a four year old Great Dane, who will be traveling cross country with his peeps in about a week. He's relocating to Virginia. In a Geo. This is a light field monotype; I'm using Caran D'Ache Water Soluble Crayons on a sheet of Mylar (also called sheer Polyester Drafting Film). My reference photo of Deebo is in the background (below), along with an old paint brush, dipped in water, blotted, and used to move the pigments around on the plate.The drawing is laid face up on a piece of matboard, and covered with a soaked and blotted sheet of Somerset paper. After a trip under the press, I'm peeling the paper off the mylar plate (below). The pressure transfers (and alters/squishes) the pigments from the mylar to the damp paper. I pulled a ghost print from this image as well, and cleaned the mylar to make something else. You can print from it over and over again.

Mini Watercolor: Sunshine Jacket

Sunshine Jacket 2.75 x 4 Watercolor on paper
Available for sale here.
After the Sierra Madre Art Fair last weekend - which was great - I'm swimming in ideas for new, bigger work, and a different layout for my studio that will accommodate standing while painting. But first, the requisite job of post-show sorting, putting away and cleaning up, and lots of purging in the studio to open the space in here. I'll be painting again soon.

Watercolor: Reading Chairs

Reading Chairs 4.5 x 7 Watercolor on Bristol paper
I'm loading art, road cases and display panels to set up for the Sierra Madre Art Fair today. There will be lots of great art in the park this weekend; my friends Laura Wambsgans and Nancy Eckels will be exhibiting too. Come on over and say hello.

Sierra Madre Art Fair
Memorial Park
222 West Sierra Madre Blvd.
Sat 9:30-6pm & Sun 9:30-5pm

Watercolor: One More Chapter

One More Chapter 6 x 7.5 Watercolor on BFK Rives paper

Watercolor: Window Seat

Window Seat 11.5 x 17 Watercolor on Fabriano paper
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Watercolor: Saturday Morning Sleep-in

Saturday Morning Sleep-in 10.5 x 15 Watercolor on Bristol paper
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Watercolor: Kass

Kass 3 x 5.5 Watercolor on Bristol paper

Tiny Dry Point Engraving: April

April .75 x 1 Dry Point Engraving with Watercolor
Another tiny scrap of copper (see photo below) found under the metal cutter in the print lab, used to make a petite pre-raphaelite inspired portrait.

Watercolor: Conversation in the Garden

Conversation in the Garden 3x4.3 Watercolor on Bristol paper
Working small this week while recovering from some sort of flu. Looking forward to working a little larger when I'm back in full swing.

Glue Collograph: Charlotte on the Dock

Charlotte on the Dock 4.25 x 5.75 Glue Collograph with Watercolor on Arches Cover paper
Available for sale here.

The reference for this is an old photo taken on a lake in Connecticut in 1934. My great-grandmother Charlotte is sitting with one of her grandchildren, ready to go sailing and have a picnic.
Process pics are below, and more details about previous Collographs are posted here and here.

Dry Point Engraving: Persuasion

Persuasion 2.5 x 5 Dry point Engraving (Artists' Proof) with Watercolor
The plate needs more work, but painting the proof gave me ideas about where to go with lights and darks.

Watercolor: Wells Beach Huts

Wells Beach Huts 6 x 9 watercolor
Available for sale here.
Big thanks to Andy English for allowing me to paint his wonderful photo of the beach huts at Wells-Next-The-Sea. Both sides of my family's folklore chronicle summers on shorelines, and my affinity for the water is steeped in family histories of cabins, swimming, boating and fishing.

Watercolor Study: San Luis Obispo Fountain

San Luis Obispo Mission Fountain 5 x 7 Watercolor study on Canson Cold Press paper
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Trace Monotype & Watercolor: Charles, Painting.

Charles, Painting. 5.5 x 7.5 Trace Monotype & Watercolor

Dry Point Engraving: Tiny Dancer

Tiny Dancer 1.125 x 3.125 Dry Point Engraving with watercolor
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I found this tiny scrap of copper (below) under the metal cutter in the print lab on Friday. Most of the scraps piled there are too small, but every once in awhile, I spot something too potential to throw way. The plate was engraved with a twisted scribe in the lab that was a bit dull, so the lines and burrs weren't deep/high enough to hold ink, and my dancer lost some of the detail and shading. My scribe is sharper here in the studio, so I'll engrave more & see what happens when I pull a 2nd proof. The first proof was painted yesterday (above).

Watercolor: Alaska Slough

Alaska Slough 7x9 Watercolor on BFK Rives paper

Dry Point Engraving: Jules

Jules 4x4 dry point engraving with waterclor (artists' proof)
I've got more work to do on the plate for this dry point, but the first proof print - shown in the photo below, behind the copper plate it was printed from - was good for adding watercolor washes (above) to map the shading I want to engrave on the plate. I'm sure the dry point will print quite different from the watercolored proof, but the painted version gives me something to aim for.