If I Could Save Time In A Bottle...

The First Thing That I'd Like To Do

 Is To Save Every Day.

If I could make days last forever.

I'd save every day like a treasure.

You may have already recognized these words as some of the lyrics from Jim Croce's 'Time In A Bottle'.  How many of us wish we could save, lengthen, extend time?  How many of us think time passes more quickly each year?  Frequently I say,  'time has large wings that grow larger and flap faster every year'.  Art captures a moment in time, preserves a moment in time.  For the artist, the work created saves the time spent during the process.  It's a bit like saving time in a bottle.  

Painting Palms.

Spending Loads of Time In Front of the Easel

And this is what has happened on the canvas.

 The Palm painting is progressing.  

Laying in the fronds was time consuming but I am pleased with the depth and shadow effects.  

I am using a very limited palette, which is usually the case, so there is a great deal of mixing going on to accomplish my vision.

Back into the studio....brush in hand....a fabulous painterly day ahead.

Installed.

The Gallery Wall 

While this is not the best photo of the installed gallery wall, it will give you an idea of how it came together.  The customer wanted to use the lemon painting I created for them a few years ago and this massive clock.  They left the rest up to me.  After a few discussions about subject matter I came up with pomegranates, green apples and the pineapple painting.  You can read more about those works in previous blog posts.

Now I am off to the studio to continue working on a commissioned palm inspired painting.  I have been blogging about working simultaneously on three different commissions, and this is the second, which will receive most of my attention now.  The canvas,  60" x 48", was under painted with black gesso, and the composition sketched on in pencil.

Here is the palette of pigments for this work.

Layers of pigment were applied to the negative space areas.

Some of the stylized palms, that will become background area are laid onto the canvas, and fronds begin to appear on the left side.

The completed painting will hang in an ocean front home in Southern California.


Check back to see progress on this painting.

Installation Time!

Tomorrow Is The Day!

The commissioned gallery wall goes up tomorrow.  All of the work is complete, finished this afternoon with the Pineapple painting, the last work.  

The new owners play games and have a special talent at Scrabble.  With the request that a pineapple painting be included on the wall and my knowledge of their love of games, this is what and how it came together:

The pineapple is a symbol of welcome and hospitality, so I chose letters from:  Pineapple, Welcome, To, Home, and the owner's name to place on the canvas in a scrabble game appearance.

Some of the palette from the other paintings combined for this work.

I layered on pigment and carved through it to give additional dimension to the painting.

And the pineapple?  Well, it's just a pineapple.

When It Rains, It Pours!

A Descriptive Adage

Here I am in the middle of three commissions, working on them simultaneously, getting a bit scattered, finding my center, and then it starts to pour.

It's a good pour, but it is a bit drenching.  I am not complaining; it's all good.

Before I left for Mexico I was deep into these three commissions, and just before leaving I picked up three small canvases to paint for the Artists' Council of the Palm Springs Art Museum for their fund raising event, 99 Bucks.  More about that event in a later post.  This adds three small paintings to be created.

The small canvas I painted for 99 Bucks last year.

Then two days ago I receive another commission.  Great!  It fits into my schedule.  It's for the new, under construction, state-of-the-art, rural cancer center in Truckee, CA.  Click HERE to be redirected to their web site.  I am one of a few artists who have been commissioned and will create a painting based on my Sticks and Stones Series.  Click HERE to be redirected to that series pictured on my web site.  The painting will be a rock cairn;   the palette will be jewel tones;  the meaning will focus on balance, clarity and power.  You will see it on this blog. This adds one more to the queue of canvases to be painted. Up to six now.

And then, just today, I receive a package in the mail from Placer Arts.  I had received an invitation from them to create a work of art, with a box they provide.  Title of the exhibition:  Outside The Box.  I thought I would receive a small, already constructed box with which to work.  What a surprise to get a mid sized, flat package!  Curious.  Another surprise to open the package and find the tidy bundle of wood slats!  Love the way they were tied together with simple twine.  This is going to be an interesting challenge.

The top slat is about 8"x28"

Do you get the deluge that's going on here?  As I said, it's all good!  

The Gallery Wall commission is nearing completion.  My goal is to have it installed by the end of this week, and I will post photos once it is done.

Now,  just in case you would like to read the definition of 'adage' and get a bit more info about what it is, click HERE.  As for me, I will just get back to the studio and enjoy the pour.

Serendipity

It's a Great Word

Serendipity

Saying the word makes me feel like jumping up and down, or skipping around the room or across the lawn.  Yes, yes, I do have lawn outside this time of year.

Serendipity is good fortune.  So when I was invited to head south into Mexico to paint for a week I thought the invitation serendipitous.  As you know, if you read this blog, I have been working on three commissions simultaneously.  That can get a bit hectic and I can get a bit scattered.  With sketchbook, watercolor paints and brushes I headed south thinking I would draw and paint palms because that is one of the commissions, palms.  I would have a chance to step away from the studio, relax and center myself.  I would focus on palms.

Serendipity is an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.  So even though I declared I would be painting palms, in Palmilla, I discovered, quite by accident,  I wanted to paint pineapples while there.  A beautiful pineapple sat in the kitchen upon our arrival.  One of these commissions involves a pineapple painting, so what a great way to get to know this fruit, one I have not painted previously, one that had been in my scattered thoughts, one that needed some attention.  I would draw and paint this fruit.

As is typical of the way I work, I sketched the fruit in detail and then painted these quick watercolors to give me working knowledge of the pineapple and how I might like to present it in the final painting.  

Check back to see how this all comes together...there is apt to be more serendipity taking place and maybe just a little skipping.