Susan Smolensky: August 2019

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

A Little Catching Up

My two large ballerina paintings have settled in to their new places in my home. This one in the living room on a wall that was just begging for a painting.

And this one in the foyer at the top of the stairs.

And to stay cool and out of the heat, I have spent some time on figurative and portrait practice and some hound dogs!.

Joleen / oil on board, 12x16

Joleen

Scottish Artist with his Creations / oil on board / 12x12

Hounds at Play Among the Flowers / oil on linen / 12 x 16

Comments and thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Friday, August 2, 2019

Portrait Practice and DIY Framing

78 Years Old / oil on brown paper / 25 x 27 inches

A closer look at the face

After getting in some portrait practice, I tried my hand at framing my two large ballerina at the circus paintings. In an effort to save on the cost of framing such large paintings, I ordered frame pieces from an internet site called Custom Frame Solutions. I am very pleased with the product and the fact that the pieces were cut precisely as I ordered. Putting them together with a little wood glue and small plastic brackets was not too difficult. I chose a narrow silver leaf frame as the background of the paintings are mostly gray and I thought the lighter frame would offset that color well.

The pre-finished pieces as they arrived in the mail - small corner brackets were provided by the manufacturer and, with a little effort, hammered in tightly.

One done and one to go!

And now to find wall space to hang them!

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Magical Mystery Tour

In July, my husband and I got some very good news and decided on the spur of the moment to celebrate with our very own California magical mystery tour – no hotel reservations, no planned sightseeing – just spur of the moment fun!

And so we drove through California farm country and saw massive fields of strawberries, cherry farms and numerous other edible green things. Next we drove through the hilly and very beautiful wine country with grape vines covering almost every hill and vale and a place to stop for wine tastings around each curve in the road. Our next stop was the mountaintop home of William Randolph Hearst, aptly called Hearst’s Castle. It is a gigantic estate home of over 65,000 square feet full of European and ancient Greek and Roman antiquities. It covers over 250,000 acres of breathtaking California land, from mountain to sea. The drive to the top took about 20 minutes and was harrowing on a very narrow and twisty road with no guard rails and cows randomly crossing back and forth along the way! The castle itself was spectacular but it was very hot – making the outdoor pool extremely inviting. Fortunately that night we found a room in a lovely Inn right on the Pacific Ocean. The wind was blowing and it was chilly seaside but we walked on the beach for a couple of miles and breathed in the wonderful salt air. I had forgotten how much I love the coast and the ocean and this trip was a wonderful reminder. Then we drove along the Pacific Coast Highway to Carmel by the Sea and then on to Monterey. Stopping at Elephant Seal Beach we actually saw two huge males fighting in the water. The deep bellowing sounds they made were unforgettable – a true National Geographic moment!

Carmel is one of the most beautiful little seaside towns –as there were lush and lovely gardens in full bloom everywhere you turned. The air smelled intoxicating! Staying overnight at the Portola Inn in Monterey, we visited the Aquarium then sauntered around Cannery Row. The weather cooperated fully the entire time!