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.

Meditation Mount 10x8 oil

Still in Ojai.  The wedding we were attending wasn't till 5:00pm which left us with time to site see.  We decided to go to Meditation Mount above Ojai and take in the views.  It was truly a place of peace and silence.  The walk took us out on an overlook where we could see much of the valley and groves of fruit trees.  It was just beautiful.  I took lots of pictures.  They even had a library room for meditation and reading with green tea to savor.  My husband took a snooze and read from a book published at the turn of last century about "New Age" religion.  I again had some time to paint and went to the other end and painted this view to a house a top a hill.  It was 106 degrees, with a breeze.  I found a tree and painted beneath it.

Back Road 6x8 oil SOLD

Just got back from a wedding in Ojai. We had a great time and there was even a bit of time to paint. Last time I was in Ojai I was not plein air painting. Ojai is like taking a step back to the 50's and 60's of what California was when I first came as a child from New York. It was country. I remember all the lovely trees and back roads. The thing I was reminded of was the wonderful sound of silence and the sound of a car or airplane in the far distance. It was so peaceful and revitalizing.

This painting was done on a back road near a ranch of fruit trees. I love roads. They just go until you can't see anymore. I have been thinking a lot about atmosphere. I struggle with values and color that push a scene into the distance. I want to understand what is going on back there and why it looks so far away. I know the academics, but I fight with it. Ojai offered major atmosphere without smog to gray everything down. The distant mountains were truly a dreamy blue. I was happy to have this wonderful California country side to practice. It was a nice relaxing weekend and my husband was a great sport. Actually he was very encouraging and made it so easy for me to do my thing. He brought his chair and book and snoozed from time to time on the side of the road.

Jana 16x12 oil

This was a model day.  I have been asked why I paint the human form from life...especially if they don't wear clothes.  It is hard to explain just how wonderful the human body is to paint.   Maybe it is the challenge of capturing such an amazing 3D form on a 2D surface.  I am always challenged with creating something that looks like the real thing.  The human body is the ultimate challenge to bring to life something so amazingly complex and constantly changing.  I could paint the same person over and over again and get a different aspect and essense of them every time for an unbelievable amount of reasons.  You really get past the nude thing...really.  It is the form, value, color, line, cool, warm, dark, shadow, light, gesture and so many other things that captivates my mind and exhausts my thinking at the end of a model day.  It is being in the moment and it is a wonderful place to be!