Pandemonium

Life has been a whirlwind these last several weeks as my daughter decided to accept a transfer of her job from San Jose, California to Amsterdam, the Netherlands! It all happened very quickly - passport, visa, plane tickets were obtained and she moved all her worldly goods to storage here in Reno. Lucky for us, she came to stay with us for a week before flying off to her new adventure. We helped her sell her car, load all her household goods into storage and pack for two years in Amsterdam. She ended up with 5 gigantic duffel bags of clothing and shoes. Monster, her 7 pound miniature Yorkie will stay at her brother's house until Kimberly is settled - then she intends to fly her to Amsterdam. She has been over there for a week now, is still in a hotel in the downtown area but today she rented an apartment with a view over a canal - it is just lovely! I am so excited for her.

Kimberly and Monster - ready for the big adventure!

 I admit to not having as much time at my easel as I normally do but, hopefully, as life settles back down, I will get back on track with painting.

Here are a few of the things I worked on over the last few weeks:

Walt Whitman / oil on masonite / 16x20

Ballerina #34 / oil on canvas / 30x15

Jockey / oil on cardboard / 14x18

Dance Recital / oil on linen / 18x24

Evil Wears a Green Cap / oil on canvas / 12x12

A Surprise on my Doorstep

And look what arrived for me today! A lovely basket of gourmet treats and thank you note from my daughter's boss and his wife. This was to thank me for the painting of Guinness that I did for him! I am so surprised and absolutely thrilled!

And, in case you have forgotten, here is Guinness:

Coeur d'Alene Auction 2014

Each July the Coeur d'Alene Auction of Western Art comes to Reno and I always wait for it with great anticipation as it is a wonderful opportunity to view some really excellent and exciting art. The best part is that I don't have to travel to see it - it comes to me!My catalog and  event tickets arrived in the mail about a week ago with the catalog cover featuring a dynamic painting from 1943 called "Dodging the Lead" by William R. Leigh. Even though I was not familiar with his work, the beautiful brushwork evident in this photo really appealed to me as well as this moment of great action. I could not wait to see it in person!

Friday was the preview day and potential buyers from all over the US came to Reno to participate in and experience the excitement of the auction.

So much art to see - nicely displayed all across the room on long tables with overhead lighting.

  In this photo you can see the magnificent bronze sculpture by James Fraser called "The End of the Trail". It is perhaps the most famous sculpture of the American West and had a pre-auction estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. But when the bidding began there were two very determined bidders and when the dust had settled after about a minute of furious competition, the final sale price was over $900,000!

This is Frederic Remington's "The Story of Where the Sun Goes" which auctioned off at a cool 1.5 million and, on the right, the William Leigh painting sold for $850,000. It was magnificent in person with vibrant color and unrestrained energy and it did not disappoint! I am always amazed at the very high prices these paintings are demanding - amazed but happy as I continue on my own art journey.

  This photo shows the auctioneer with his arms spread wide welcoming the incoming bids and the man in the isle is the Yipper - he yips to alert the auctioneer of a new bid on the piece. The pace is fast and furious!

 And all the while, bids are also coming in over  computers and phones - here, over the heads of the people in the crowd,  you see the auction employees taking internet bids and manning the phone bank.

This large painting by Richard Schmid (36 x 48) titled Still Life with Oranges and Flowers sold for $37,500 and a smaller piece called The Last Roses sold for $17,000. It was a treat to see his brilliant brush work and be able to scrutinize it closely.

I love that the auction has not only old masters of western painting such as Charles Russel and Remington but new masters like Schmid and Robert Kuhn. Bob Kuhn's work hit a new world record here when his acrylic painting of grizzly bears fishing in a stream called "The Spawning Run"  went for well over $300,000.

Already I find myself wondering what delights next years auction will bring to Reno!

Wednesday Portrait Studio

Hannah / oil on linen panel / 18 x 14

The lovely Hannah posed so serenely for us yesterday morning. It was a tall order to try to capture her beauty, youth, energy and vitality in paint - but I certainly gave it a whirl!

Wild Mustangs

Wild Mustangs / 18 x 24 / oil on canvas panel

Painted using several reference photos that I recently took of wild mustangs. These two posed so beautifully for me!

Renoir as an Old Man

Renoir as an Old Man / 20x1 / oil on artboard

Experimenting with a new support from Canson called Artboard and I like it very much. Renoir was painted from an old black and white photo showinghim seated in his studio. I was fascinated with his hands which were completely crippled and distorted as a result of severe arthritis. I just could not bring myself to paint them however. I read recently that he actually tied brushes to his hands in order to paint when he could no longer hold a brush.

Wednesday Life Painting

Santos Corral-Bandito with Sombrero / oil on canvas panel / 18x14

 At the Portrait Group session this morning we were so fortunate to have Santos pose for us wearing a very large and ornate sombrero.  I just loved painting him in this 3/4 profile, with the elaborate hat, his tangle of wild dark hair and that fabulous gray mustache and beard! The time just flew by. What a great morning, although the temperature outside had already reached 94 degrees by the time I left the studio around noon. Its a scorcher today!

Me and my Ballerina #33 after a few final tweaks

And here I am in my own studio by the side of my latest large ballerina after a final dab here and there.

Ballerina #33

Ballerina #33 / oil on canvas panel / 30 x15

Ballerina #33 in all her glory. This is the largest figurative piece I have done yet at 30 by 15 inches. I have done larger equine paintings but this is my first human of this size. And all that flesh was daunting! I have a new found respect for Lucien Freud since painting her. Small photos of larger paintings tend to diminish showing the vigor of brushwork and texture of the paint so I decided to add a few close ups for your scrutiny.

Ballerina #33 / close up 1

Ballerina #33 / close up 2

Study for Ballerina #33 / oil on paper / 25 x 15

And a quick study on brown paper done as a warm up before attempting her.

Danny with Guinness

Danny Wallace with Guinness / oil on canvas / 24x18

My daughter is a Manager for Price Waterhouse Coopers in the San Jose, CA, office where Danny Wallace  is a Partner and is her boss and mentor. He has been so very supportive and kind to her that she wanted to do something very special and unforgettable for him. She had recently shown Danny my website where he spent a lot of time looking at the paintings and told her that he loved my work. So after discussing it with her staff, she asked me to paint his dog Guinness as a surprise gift for Danny. I was delighted and could not wait to do it. Of course, I did not know at the time that Guinness was a gigantic all black Newfoundland with volumes of thick, black fur!  During the time that I was working on this very joyful project,  Guinness was sadly diagnosed with osteosarcoma and quickly underwent surgery - amputation of a front leg. And so this portrait took on a very special significance in the middle of painting it. After it was completed, sealed and dry, I framed and shipped it off to California. Yesterday afternoon my daughter and her staff presented it to Danny. I am very happy to say that he just loves it and couldn't wait to call me on the phone to tell me.Guinness is doing well now and Danny is delighted to have the portrait. I was on absolute pins and needles awaiting his reaction and could not be happier. Now I can breath again!

Sakoto

Sakoto / oil on convas / 16x12

Sakoto posed for us at the Portrait Society session on June 11th and I painted her portrait that day. Once I got home and had a chance to evaluate it more critically, I took a rag and wiped it off. This full  figure rendering was done from a photo I took that day. I am infinitely more pleased with it than I was with her portrait!

Guinness

Guinness / oil on canvas panel / 24x18

What a challenge! Guinness is a 9 year old 180 lb black furry mountain of a Newfoundland dog. My daughter asked me to paint it as a surprise gift for her boss. I sure hope he likes it!

Nicole

Nicole / oil on canvas panel / 16x12

 A special treat at the Portrait Society today - Nicole, who is hearing impaired brought her helper dog, Coal, with her. He was so gorgeous and a perfect gentleman.In fact, when a deliveryman knocked at the door, he immediately jumped up and demanded to know exactly who it was that was interrupting us! I badly wanted to paint him but Nicole has such a beautiful and interesting face that I chose to do her portrait instead. If I had brought a larger canvas I think I would have attempted both Nicole and Cole.

Nicole and Coal, her Hearing Aid Dog 

Jaimie and an Art Show

Jaimie / 16x12, oil on canvas panel

 These past two weeks have produced lots and lots of starts for me and very few finished studies. I have been quite unhappy with the way I have been painting and so have wiped off miles and miles of canvas. I was feeling rather down about myself and almost decided not to go to the weekly portrait session this morning. But I set my alarm and forced myself to go, and, of course, had a wonderful time. In the car on the way to the studio, I talked myself into just relaxing and not thinking too much and, thankfully, it seemed to work. Our model was the lovely and serene Jaimie. She is a local college student and has experience modeling for photographers. I can see why! She was so beautiful, held her pose perfectly  and wore a garland of flowers in her hair!

Jaimie and her portrait in progress

 Reno is famous for the month of July being "Art Town" with numerous art related events celebrated throughout the month. As part of the festivities, the Reno Portrait Society is holding a show a of portraits painted by members. The subjects are all models who work at the Reno Food Co-op and that have posed for us over the course of the past year or so. There are so many wonderful portrait artists in this group so I was absolutely astounded to have 5 portraits juried in. Here they are, all framed and ready to go.

Juried selection for Art Town portrait show

The show is going to be held in the gallery space of the First United Methodist Church. It is the oldest church in Reno, being built in 1870 by Methodist missionaries. It was a meeting place for travelers on their way to California to join the Gold Rush - that was before silver was discovered on the Comstock and Reno became a destination in its own right.

First United Methodist Church at corner of First and Sierra Streets - its much more beautiful that the photo depicts.

A Glorious Sunday Afternoon!

Caleb / 16x20 / oil on canvas panel

What a great Sunday afternoon! The weather was warm and wonderful with a delicate breeze perfumed by flowering trees and bushes. It was intoxicating and I felt so peaceful, so happy as I headed over to the Museum for open studio. My panel today, at 16 x 20, is the largest size I have used in painting from life. I have been having trouble fitting the model on smaller panels and so wanted to try painting a little larger. As you can see, the figure still ended up barely fitting! It must be me and not the panel size at all! Caleb was the seasoned model as he has posed for many weekday open studio sessions but today was the first time I had an opportunity to paint him. I loved his relaxed pose and pale skin with shadows filled with wonderful color. I painted him in about 2 1/2 hours and may decide to work more on the background in my studio.

Last Wednesday at the open portrait studio session, Kay modeled for us and this was my attempt. I want to call it a feeble attempt as I am not happy with it. She looks too tentative to me, too forced. and, not surprisingly, that is how I felt as I painted.

Kay / 12 x 12 / oil on canvas panel

Roux & Cyr Gallery Grand Opening and Art Mash 8

Having just returned from a trip to California to help my daughter move into her new apartment in San Mateo, I was delighted to find so many nice comments on my previous post. Thank you to all who follow my blog and for so many generous and encouraging comments - they help keep me going for sure!

Today is a very exciting day for me as it is the grand opening of the new gallery in Portland, Maine. Susan Roux and her business partner Paul Cyr have worked so hard to make this venture a success and I have no doubt that it will exceed their expectations! All are invited to the opening festivities - please do stop by if you are in the area!

Roux & Cyr International Fine Art Gallery / 48 Free Street / Portland, ME 04101

The gallery was recently featured in a wonderful blog post on the Portland Old Port blog site: http://www.portlandoldport.com/france-texas-roux-cyr-finds-fine-art-portland/

Lissa / oil on linen panel  / 18 x 14

This portrait of Lissa was painted from life last Sunday during open studio at the art museum. The model was Lissa who was costumed as a fairy with a garland of ribbons and pearls in her hair. During the sitting, she was reading a book about fairies so her eyes were downcast. I had great fun painting her brilliant red hair and all those white ribbons!

Daryan at the Portrait Society

Daryan / 18 x 14 / oil on linen panel

Feeling very free with both brush and paint, this alla prima figure study was done from a photo taken of model Daryan at the Reno Portrait Society. I loved her clothing and tall black boots, I loved the way the light caught her features and her hair - and well, I just loved painting her!
And, by the way, congratulations to California Chrome! What a magnificent horse!

Ballerina #32 and Happy Mother's Day

Ballerina #32 / oil on canvas panel / 24 x 18

 A lovely, quiet day spent in the studio today working on Ballerina #32. At one point the sky clouded over, thunder rolled and the next moment it began to snow heavily - on the 10th day of May! What a surprise! It snowed for about 20 minutes then the sun came out and all the snow melted!

My daughter also surprised me by sending this little book as a gift for Mother's Day. I have yet to look through it but I know I am going to be delighted as I was so captivated by his paintings that I recently saw in Washington.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's - may it be filled with love and joy!

Life Portrait and Toulouse Lautrec

Meghan / oil on linen / 12 x 12

Meghan, with her rosy cheeks, strong chin, silver earrings and dimpled smile, posed for our portrait session. I painted her on a linen panel as I have all but abandoned working on corrugated cardboard during the life sessions. I am dismayed by the ridges that are apparent in cardboard due to the underlying corrugation. Even with several coats of gesso on the surface, these ridge lines remain prominent. For  quick practice, I may still use cardboard, but now that I am gaining more confidence in painting from life, I want a more professional looking surface - just in case the painting turns out decently! I wish I could find a stiff cardboard support that is non corrugated but have not been able to after multiple internet searches.  Both Degas and Lautrec used cardboard supports - often unprimed - for oil painting. I do love how the surface grabs the paint and is absorbent and  wish I could find the kind of flat, smooth cardboard that they used.

Toulouse Lautrec / Alfred la Guigne  / oil on cardboard

This painting, at the National Gallery of Art, is done on cardboard and Lautrec left the entire jacket of Alfred unpainted, using the pre-exisiting color of the support as the color of the suit.

Toulouse Lautrec/ Rue des Moulins

 Another Lautrec masterpiece painted in thin oil paint on cardboard. And close ups of the extraordinary faces on the women. I fell in love with these faces.

 After seeing a room full of Toulouse Lautrec paintings, he remains one of my favorite artists. I am in awe at the honesty with which he painted.

Lautrec gallery at the National Gallery  of Art in Washington DC

Life is a Whirlwind - Art Mash and an Award!

I have been so preoccupied this entire week with helping my son move into his new apartment, wrapping up our month long anniversary celebration and getting ready for a trip to San Jose next week, that I completely forgot about the Women Artists of the West show in San Diego until my friend sent me this photo! Ballerina #3 won the President's Award! That was a big surprise and only a minute or so after seeing the photo, I received a personal call from Christine Drewyer, President of the WAOW organization, and she had such wonderful things to say about my painting - things like beautiful handling of paint, exciting subject matter, setting the bar higher - so many things that my brain was in a whirl and I can hardly remember anything from the conversation!  I am just thrilled and delighted to know that my large ballerinas are being appreciated - and I will no doubt have time to seriously consider this series once my excitement settles down.

Yesterday was Art Mash day at the museum and we were fortunate enough to have Kimberly once again as our model.

Kimberly / oil on linen / 16 x 12