November 5, 2009
Well, I won’t actually “unveil” my new jewels painting (even I’m not that dramatic)… but, I now have it mounted on my triptych canvas panels and hung it in my studio today! So, if you’re coming by, you’ll be amoung the first to see it completed!
I’ll have my studio open Friday, November 6th from 5-9pm for First Friday to kick off Denver Arts Week. Directions to my studio are here on my website.
"Claudia's Jewels", watercolor mounted on canvas panels (triptych), 48 x 48 inches.
November 4, 2009
Denver Arts Week is November 6 – 14, 2009! Lots of different events are planned, all kicking off with First Friday in Denver’s art districts. This year’s theme is “Know Your Arts”. So, I invite all of you to get to know MY art… with a FREE “flapjack” mini-painting!
What’s a “flapjack” and how can you get one? Well, while creating some mini-sized paintings in my studio recently, I noticed that my stack of finished art looked like a stack of flapjacks – just the right size at 4 x 4 inches. So, for my First Friday Open Studio (November 6th, 5-9pm), I’ll be painting flapjack art “to order” for my studio visitors (while “batter” supplies last). So, come by my studio, pick a color or two and I’ll paint you a free flapjack… what a great way to get to know my art! Click here for directions to my studio.
And for those of you not able to make it to my studio, I have 10 flapjacks ready to mail out to 10 lucky folks. Just leave me a comment on this post by the end of Arts Week (November 14th). On November 15th, I’ll RANDOMLY draw 10 winners from everyone that left a comment, and then contact each to get them mailed out (so be sure to enter your email address). Here’s what one of my Facebook Fans had to say about my flapjacks:
“Flapjacks…what’s not to love? They’ve got fabulous texture, incredible color & awesome composition, the perfect piece of affordable art for your abstract art fans!” — Candy in California
I’ll also be selling additional flapjack original paintings for $20 each (or 3 for $50). These are perfect for a mini-sized frame or I can also mount them on canvas for you for an additional $20 (my regular price for these mini paintings is $65!).
November 3, 2009
Denver Arts Week kicks off with First Friday on November 6th! Lots of different events are planned, all kicking off with First Friday in many of Denver’s art districts. Visit the Denver Arts Week website for details on all of the events. Some highlights that caught my eye include:
I’ll be in my studio in the heart of Denver’s ArtDistrict on Santa Fe introducing my new “flapjack” mini-paintings on First Friday. Watch for more details and visit my website for a preview!
October 29, 2009
Looks like I won’t be making into my studio today… so, paperwork and Snickerdoodle-making for me!
View out our back door - about 21 inches since yesterday... and it's still snowing!
October 27, 2009
Well, it took more than a “snip”, but “Claudia’s Jewels” is now cut into 3 pieces and ready to be mounted on my stretched canvas panels. This painting is on 300lb. watercolor paper, so it’s a bit tough to cut through. I clamp my straightedge down and use a utility knife (with a fresh blade!) and carefully go for it.
I plan to mount the 3 pieces onto canvas tomorrow, unless the snowstorm we’re promised hits and I don’t make it in!
My latest "jewels" painting (about 44 x 45 inches), cut into 3 for mounting onto stretched canvas panels.
October 21, 2009
Have enough BFFs (Best Friends Forever)? Well, you can become one of my FBFs (FaceBook Fans)! Over at my FaceBook Fan page, I’m posting great art specials exclusively for my FBFs – study paintings, mini paintings, notecards and a few of my regular inventory paintings all at special prices. But, you have to be my Fan on Facebook (click here to become one)! Or, visit my website homepage to become a fan (click on the “Fan” button at the bottom).
I just posted this “study” original watercolor today on Facebook – check it out!
"Study - Winter Dark and White", original watercolor, about 18 x 18 inches.
October 19, 2009
So – here’s my latest jewels painting… “Claudia’s Jewels”. Can anyone figure out who Claudia might be? Pretty obscure reference, but it kept coming back to me as I finished this painting.
Now I’m just about ready to cut the painting into three pieces for mounting in triptych on canvas panels. The paper “canvas” is about 44 x 44 inches and I plan the final canvas-mounted size to be 48 x 48 inches.
"Claudia's Jewels"... ready for cutting up into 3 pieces!
October 10, 2009
Snowy and 17 degrees: I love snow, but wish the temperature was closer to my age today!
September 30, 2009
I’ve been working on a new, large jewels painting that I plan to mount on canvas panels as a triptych.
Large jewels in progress... working size is about 48x52".
My own de-coder card... or is it a "jewels" periodic table of sorts?
Squares awaiting my "jeweling" process with a palm brush.
September 28, 2009
I’ve been working on a new, large triptych in my studio and have painted a few autumn-colored shapes on one of my walls just for fun… I love autumn!
Triptych in progress (on my table) and some autumn shapes on my wall...
September 23, 2009
I’ve been busy in my studio lately working on “re-discovering” my feel and technique for mini cityscapes that I once painted many years ago. The technique for creating these mini paintings is a combo of wash, timing, perspective and a quick hand with scraping shapes.
I first lay down a wash that will give me some good contrasts in the shapes I’ll scrape out while also providing an overall mood to the painting (night/day, winter, foggy, Chicago or New York…). These go quickly since I have a short time before the wash becomes too dry to successfully scrape shapes.
I’m having a more difficult time re-discovering how to paint these with results I’m happy with than I expected. Most frustrating seems to be that the pieces of rigid plastic (like cut-up credit cards… take THAT Chase Bank!) aren’t scraping satisfactorily. And, it has taken many tries to remember what paper is best (I like 140lb. Fabriano hotpress). At least in this example, the John Hancock tower is recognizable and I love the rather monotone feel I captured for Chicago (uh, I LOVE Chicago – “monotone” isn’t a bad thing).
What do you think?
Chicagoscape, watercolor, 5 x 5 inches.
September 3, 2009
One of my Tall Tree Fine Art Prints framed. This is just the Autumn trees, hand-embellished with my metallic watercolor paints. I usually don’t use double mats, especially with a color, but think this looks really sharp with that bit of color!
I rarely use colored/double mats... but this looks sharp!
Tall Autumn Trees Fine Art Print (about 40 x 20 inches framed size; $390 as framed with hand-embellished metallic highlights).
August 27, 2009
Two weeks ago I was camping at 11,000 about Turquoise Lake and Leadville in one of my favorite spots on earth: Hagerman Tunnel Trail and Pass. I’ve been going to this same destination since my first summer back in Colorado right out of college 20 years ago! And, I’ve soaked up much inspiration on previous visits – here’s a painting I created from colors I found in old photographs I took years ago.
I don’t remember how I first discovered this trail and my “secret” camping spot, but I keep coming back for several reasons. It still feels a bit off the beaten path (and Colorado has alot of beaten paths these days). It is the site of an old narrow-gauge railroad bed from the 1880’s which leads to what was once the highest train tunnel in the world – Hagerman Tunnel. I’ve always loved trains. And finally, I love the feeling of coming back to an old, friendly and familiar place.
I’ve shared this special place with many people over the years (maybe I’ll do a photo-spective sometime from the last 20 years). I’ve included more images than I normally do in my posts, but why not (can you find the hidden pika)? Hope you love my views, too!
My hidden camping spot with views of Turquoise Lake, Leadville and Mt. Massive.
Historical sign about the Midland railroad and Hagerman Tunnel.
Old railroad bed... now a hiking trail to the tunnel.
"Douglass City" ghost town.
The tunnel... with perpetual ice flow.
Fascinating rock shapes and texture... can you find the pika?
4WD road continues over the pass and to the Divide.
August 24, 2009
Here’s a new blog that is worth checking out: Marcio Correa. Marcio is already sharing some great artwork and descriptions of his painting adventures and successes.
Marcio is a fellow Colorado Watercolor Society Signature member, and I’ve gotten to know his work a bit this year. I’m sure some of his paintings are evoking that sense of “place’ that fascinates me. Here’s one from this year’s Colorado Watercolor Society State Exhibit that transports me to this place and time that Marcio has created in his painting. Check him out!
Marcio Correa, Farmhouses on 76th Street, watercolor on paper (copyright the artist).
August 18, 2009
I notice that I’m not the only blogger that has taken some time off this summer from regular blogging. At the beginning of the summer I knew that I would have some out of the studio time in July and August to work on home renovation projects and travel a bit, including a solo camping trip to one of my favorite spots in Colorado, just outside of Leadville.
So, in my effort to get back into the swing of things, I thought I’d post a few snapshots from the last 2 months of a few of my outside-of-the-studio activities! I’ll share more about my favorite camping spot in another post.
After 11 years in our home, I finally tore out the original 1899 coal room from our basement.
Red doors might be cliche, but we've always wanted one. The "right" red is tough and I got this one on the first try: Behr "Heirloom Red".
My camping perch above Turquoise Lake and Leadville, Colorado.
July 22, 2009
It was in, perhaps, 1989 or 1990 that a co-worker and I thought we coined an awfully useful new term: “substitute reality”. I was pretty fresh out of college and working for a software development/consulting company where we often seemed to be surrounded by project managers and bosses and clients that loved to operate in what we saw as a clear and present substitute reality.
Project Manager: “Oh, we’ll have that telecom billing code completely tested and ready for production by tomorrow.”
Boss of the Whole Place: “We can have an team of developers highly experienced in coal mineral rights billing software onsite in South Dakota by tomorrow morning.”
Client: “We found this whole list of requirements that we forgot about that must be implemented for launch… tomorrow.”
Well, a dream I had awhile ago has had me thinking about and noticing that episodes of substitute reality continue to happen all around me nearly two decades later. And, at the risk of sounding unbalanced and cryptic, I’ve been wondering how much of my own substitute reality I operate in when I’m working away in my studio?
My studio... my own "substitute reality"??
July 9, 2009
I had read several months ago that this was in the works… road trip to Chicago, anyone!??
NEW YORK, NY.- Bravo’s latest stroke on the reality canvas brings Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner Sarah Jessica Parker and her production company, Pretty Matches, together with the Emmy-nominated Magical Elves (“Top Chef,” “Project Runway”) and Eli Holzman, to produce an hour long creative competition series among contemporary artists.
The Untitled Art Project will bring together thirteen aspiring artists to compete for a gallery show, a cash prize and a sponsored national tour.
Open calls for artists interested in competing in this highly anticipated new competition series will be held in cities across the country starting in July. Casting Calls for The Untitled Art Project are as follows:
LOS ANGELES Saturday, July 11 & Sunday, July 12, 10 AM – 2 PM www.laxart.org
MIAMI Tuesday, July 14, 10 AM – 2 PM Fredric Snitzer Gallery www.Snitzer.com
CHICAGO Thursday, July 16, 10 AM – 2 PM School of the Art Institute of Chicago Sullivan Galleries www.saic.edu
NEW YORK Saturday, July 18 & Sunday, July 19, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM White Columns www.whitecolumns.org
For additional information, go to www.BravoTV.com/casting.
June 25, 2009
I went to Meininger’s “Garage Sale” a few weeks ago and (with much restraint) walked out with less than 10 items… one of which was a pack of 300lb. rough watercolor paper. After having used very smooth, hotpress watercolor papers for several years, and after my fun experimenting on black paper, I thought this would be a good paper for shaking things up some more.
So, I started with some small “fossils” and was somewhat pleased with this result. More are in progress!
Mini Fossils on rough watercolor paper, about 6 x 6 inches.
June 17, 2009
The good news is that three of my original “tall tree” paintings have been sold! The bad news is that the local gallery owner is refusing to pay me what we had agreed for the sale of these paintings.
I’d love to hear folk’s thoughts and advice on how to proceed! Here’s the story:
My agreement with the gallery owner is a standard 50/50 split of the retail price of sold original art (and does not cover any discounts). Without my knowledge or agreement, he sold these three paintings to his client at a 20% discount. And, he subtracted half of that discount (10% of the total sale… over $500) from the payment he has sent me. In effect, forcing me to participate in the discount he gave. This gallery has sold one other painting and, per our agreement, I was paid 50% of the retail price.
We discussed this discount after the sale was completed twice: once I even offered to participate in this discount at a lower rate and was refused; the second time I was told I would get no more money and that I could continue our discussion through litigation if I wanted to. Ouch!
As you might imagine, this issue both surprised and angered me (this gallery owner is a good friend of a family member – I mistakenly assumed a level of honesty and trust). My relationship with this gallery has ended after this sale, so I have no vested interest in maintaining it. I worked very hard to create these large paintings and would just like the full, agreed-upon payment.
What’s the right thing to do? Pursue this more? Walk away and deposit the check he gave me? Warn the other artists that he represents? Name names here on my blog?
June 10, 2009
Today I received my acceptance letter from the Pikes Peak Watercolor Society that Juror Tom Owens has selected my “Autumn No. 3″ painting for the International Watermedia XVI Exhibit! I’m thrilled! But, also in my mailbox was a rejection for the Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Exhibition (I’m sad).
I have rather mixed feelings about “Autumn No. 3″… I’m actually a bit intimidated by it. The precision of my elemental shapes and the razor-thin lines I achieved is truly amazing (if I say so myself). I have it hanging high on one of my studio walls partly so that I don’t inspect too closely… because when I do, I instantly have a feeling that I couldn’t paint with that precision again.
Perhaps getting it down for this exhibit will inspire some precision elementals painting – we’ll see!
Autumn No. 3, watercolor on paper, 22 x 30 inches.
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