The Reception 12x9 oil

Weddings are so much fun.  This one took place on a ranch in Ojai under the open sky.  Thought I would try my hand at painting the subjects during their first dance.  I am hoping to give it to them as a gift.  

Lemme Tell You 8x6 oil

This Basketball lays dormant "About the House" against the wall in the shadows most of the time these days, but if it could talk it would have stories to tell.  Like I said yesterday shooting hoops is a fun thing to do around our house.  Most family parties there are kids of all ages trying their hand at hitting the hoop.  Even I have shot a few on occasion.  It has been a good activity.  

Lots of talk goes on here and our portable bond fire gets pull over and lit up for some late night conversation.

This same area hears the sounds of live music that melodically fills the garage and pours out onto the driveway and into our house and our neighbors windows.  Lucky for us we have had wonderful neighbors with there own history of drum playing.  THANK YOU THANK YOU!

I realize this is an odd subject, but it caught my eye and it fits the series.  It got a little muddy in the shadows and without the lines on the ball it could be an orange...hummmmm.  What can I say. 

Bob named this one and the spelling is his!!!!

Through My Garden Gate 8x10 oil

Got out mid to late afternoon today to paint this one.  I kept thinking I would start painting inside, but wanted to try this busy scene to see if I could simplify it.  there are several layers and I have trouble with dark foliage in the distance.  Like what color is that anyway.  So here it is..I think it is a bit busy or dotty.  To many iceberg roses, I got a little carried away.

So this is the walkway close to the house in the back yard.  I am sitting under the Crepe Myrtle tree that I painted in my last post.  I have a thing for gates and walkways as they feel hopeful and inviting.  This leads to our driveway where lots of basketball has been and still is played.  I have several broken roof tiles to prove it.  It is an area of energy and action.  With three boys and their friends, it is a place to escape, shoot a few and return to whatever.  To the right is an old Orange Tree that has been in the background of many Christmas photos.  Love to send those back to the Midwest.  So I continue with "About the House"...

Made In the Shade 10x8 oil

In the back of my house behind our garage is this view of our patio area.  There are a number of trees back here.  My favorite from this view is the multi trunk Crepe Myrtle with the pale pink blooms that hang down like ornament do on a Christmas tree.  I always feel like a bird in a tree peering in to my own life from this angle.  Many a party has taken place out here and lots of Easter eggs have been found and some not.  Most people don't see this view.  It is another one of those quiet places I have enjoyed over the years.  So another in the "About the House" series.  

This came together faster then I thought it would.  Editing was very important and I can tell you there is much that was left out.  The Umbrellas were what caught my eye and the focus was on them.  I talked to myself a lot on this one and found it to be helpful in staying on track.  

Well the one thing with working at home is I forget to put my stuff away.  I come in and get busy and just forget.  So I better get out there and clean up before the bugs make there way into my paint.

Sixty-First Street and A Lovely Afternoon 6x6 oil SOLD

In a brake from life and my " About the House" series, my husband and I stole an afternoon down at the beach. Bob loves to rollerblade and I love to paint and it is working out to be a nice combo. So I gathered up my little MacPherson plein air box from Artwork Essentials and a few brushes and paint and and and. This was a fraction of what I usually bring, which makes me wonder how much of that stuff I need. Anyway it was lovely and I painted this little scene and right in the middle they packed up and left. Light moving is one thing...subjects moving is another. So this is what I got. About that time Bob returned completely exercised out and it was time to read and take a nap. It got a little chilly and I had a hat with a sweatshirt and hood on to keep warm. Bob made the comment that I looked like the Unibomber...keep those compliments coming sweetheart. It really was a lovely afternoon.

Fleet Street 20x10 oil

Fleet Street is the view we have from our front yard north.  This Sycamore tree has always caught my eye.  I have watched it through season after season.  It is among our largest trees on the block and I love it.  There is a pine tree to the left of it about half the size that looks as if it is growing out of the Sycamore.

This is another in my series.  Again I am dealing with greens.  The light changed a lot in the time I stood out there and I found it hard to choose the time.  Working larger I have to work fast and be very aware of the lights and darks that originally drew me to the scene.  I found it easy to get lost in a section of foliage while the light changed in the shadows.  I wish it had a little more punch.  That might be color in the shadows, I don't know.  The tree is a busy textural area and covers a large part of the canvas.  I started to get busy in the background and changed my mind, thinking it would be too much.  Don't know, what do you think?

Stepping Out And About the House 10x8 oil

Onward and upward with the "About the House" series.  It sure is easy to pack up and step out my front door.  I only made 5 trips back in the house to get stuff.  Much better than driving home.  Which I have not done yet.  Ah well, you forget something and you just get along without it, but not 10 steps away.

This was a challenge with green.  Green grass, green plants, green green green.  Thank goodness there was a house to add some structure and shape.

Love these iceberg tree roses.  They line the walk up to my front door.  I decided to paint them from the side where I walk around my house from the back to the front.  We have these stepping stones that create a path to the front side walk and continues through to the other side of the house.  I like to almost jump from step to step.  It reminds me of being a kid and stepping on every line in the sidewalk. 

So it was a peaceful morning with birds chirping and neighbors out for a morning walk.

It was suggested that I do a nocturne painting...hummmmmmmm.  Thanks for the idea Marian (check here to see her blog).   

Lemons, Tomatoes and Things 20x10 oil

Continuing with my series.  Does two constitute a series?  Just kidding.  I will go back outside today.  So this is our side yard where we have two Meyer Lemon trees that are producing like crazy.  Lots of lemonaid this summer.  Now we have a couple of tomatoe plant starting to really produce.  Our lime tree is a bit stingy, but hopeful.  I love this place!  I go out with my apron and gather up the crops.  

This is also a place that gathers the broken with hope.  A place that old tables, stepping stones,  and yard equipment that is either not used, but might be in the future or things broke that have a slim chance of coming back.  These things fall into the forgotten and unnoticed.

This is also a place that cigarette butts have been found over the years.  I think they blow in with that gentle breeze I talked about yesterday, because know one in my house knows how they got there.  

As far as the painting goes, I'm not sure I'm done.  Needs finishing I think.  This long format is hard and I feel the forground is disconnected.  All in all it was fun to do one this large in plein air.  I like paths and will try this again.

Happy Birthday Spencer : )  Twenty years....  

A Shady Spot 6x6 oil

This is a little spot on the deck in my back yard.  The planter is surrounded with birch trees, which in the Spring, Summer and Fall makes for a nice shady place.  It sits just above our spa that is seldom used and often has no plants.  I have decided to paint around my house for a while.  Kind of a way of recording the places I have known so well over the past 20 years.  I realized that very few pictures are of our home.  They tend to be of the people who live and pass through, with the surroundings as a backdrop.  

So here is the first of a series.   I like this part of my yard because we get lots of birds.  The tree limbs and leaves shimmer in the breeze and make tranquil rhythmic sounds.  It is a good thinking spot and I am sure lots of decisions have been contemplated in this very place.  I have sat and looked back at the house from here and listened to the sounds of my children's voices.  Those sounds have changed from the zoom zoom of little boys playing with cars to the electric sounds of guitars and amplified vocals of men.  All these sounds are here.  And even now when there is often more silence than noise, I still sometimes hear a zoom zoom in the breeze and I feel a tickle in my heart. 

Cruising Through 10x8 oil SOLD

I was back out in Irvine Park Sunday. It was a nice day with walkers, skaters and cyclists out on this back path in the park. It is a good place to paint because it offers distance with hills and mountains. I usually stand on this path to paint the river bed that is on the left of this path, but today I decided to paint the path. I added the cyclists in the background when I got home. I am a bit chicken when adding figures and bikes. Hopefully you knew that is what they are before I told you, but if not I'm still working on these types of things. Figure I will get it if I try and keep trying. Hope everyone had a nice weekend.