Conversation

I had a wonderful conversation with a family today who were visiting from Sao Paulo, Brazil.  We talked for a couple of hours.  I helped them with their English and they helped me with my Portuguese.  We discussed the differences in life between here and Brazil among many other things.  It was an awesome conversation that made me miss the experiences I had when traveling and living overseas.  I only wish I would have learned their last name or have given them my business card as I would have loved to keep in touch with them. 

This experience has reminded me of how much I love to travel.  You meet the most interesting people and I love sharing and hearing life stories.  We are all really not very different. 

Questions: Have you ever had an instant connection with a perfect stranger?? What is your favorite part about traveling??

Catalina Vacation Plein Air Painting- Catalina Hills, Catalina Palms

Catalina Hills 

 watercolor on paper

 9 x 12

 For Landscape Painting. 2 paintings from the same location. 

For me vacation and painting do not mix.  My husband and I took a trip to Catalina to celebrate 5 years of marriage and doing these were very difficult.  You would think beautiful island, lots of inspiration, but it just wasnt working. 

Of the two I think this one is stronger, but I also think I have done better.
The weather here is a bit nutty.  It will be beautiful all day then out of no where the clouds will roll in and it will get cloudy and overcast. I technically did three paintings but the first one was really not working so 1/2 way through I scrapped it.
I really wish I could have captured the beauty of Catalina/ Avalon better but it doesnt seem that that was in the cards.
This remind me of some prehistoric landscape. 

Catalina Palms

watercolor on paper

  12 x 9

For Landscape Painting.  2 paintings from the same location.  This was done when it was cloudy and overcast.  I tried to capture that in the clouds.  Originally when I was inspired to do this painting the sky was a beautiful bright blue but by the time I grabed my gear and got back to the location the weather had changed.  These arnt totally horrible but like the other one I could have done better.

Evening at Channel Islands Water Tower

Evening at Channel Islands Water Tower

 watercolor on paper

 12 x 9

For Landscape Painting. Paint the same scene at different times of day. Earlier in the day.  This was as difficult as the other one but for other reasons.  I was still being bothered by bugs and because it was late in the day I found myself chasing the light.  It is less finished then the other one because the sun went down before I could finish it. 

Rancho Sierra Vista Casa

Rancho Sierra Vista Casa

watercolor on paper

  20 x 24

For Landscape Painting.  My midterm project based off of this study.  Finished.  I just refined all of the different bits and pieces to bring it to a completed piece. 

Previous step. 

Plein Air- Morning at Channel Islands Water Tower

Morning at Channel Islands Water Tower

 watercolor on paper

 12 x 9

For Landscape Painting. Paint the same scene at different times of day.  I have to go back here after work and paint this again.  I really dont want to as painting at this location was miserable.  It was hot, I was being attacked by bugs, and the tops of my feet started to sunburn.  It was not a nice fun relaxing painting experience.  I hope it is nicer this afternoon. 

Despite how not fun it was to paint this I like the result.  My favorite part is the color scheme.  The blues and blue-violet with a splash of orange.  

In real life there is a tree next to the water tower but I feel like the composition is stronger without it.  I really like the simplicity of it.   

Plein Air- Westlake River Bed

Westlake River Bed

watercolor on paper

  12 x 16

For Landscape Painting.  Limited Palette- Cadmium Red, Lemon Yellow, and Ultramarine Blue. I met up with a friend this morning and he showed me this beautiful spot.  Thank you Keenan.  

I love this.  The limited palette presented a few challenges but they were fun to overcome.  I love the colors.  As I was doing this I really concentrated in getting the values correct.  My watercolors tend to be too light so I am trying to work on getting darker values. 

Plein Air- Hueneme Tree

Hueneme Tree

watercolor on paper

  12 x 9

For Landscape Painting.  Limited Palette- Cadmium Red, Lemon Yellow, and Ultramarine Blue. Not my fave painting but not all of them will be.  Usually I use a big round brush and on this one I used almost only a flat brush. I like the look of the flat brush so I think I will use it more :) 

WIP- Jessica and Baby Evelyn, Rancho Sierra Vista Casa

Jessica and Baby Evelyn WIP

watercolor on paper

  16 x 20

As a Mother's Day present I was commissioned to do a portrait of our friends wife and baby daughter.  Previous step.  

Ahh!! So I was done with this right? And then I went and mucked it up.  I worked out the hands, darkened the hair, got the values all right then I laid it down on the table paint side down and covered the back with water and put it under some books to flatten it out.  I turn it over and there is something right on the shoulder.  I try and clean it with water and it doesnt come off.  I try and blend it and it looks ok.  Then I get the bright idea to try and sand it off with some sandpaper and it all when down hill from there.  I was working it and working it and then I just had to stop and walk away. 
 

Besides my little boo-boo I think this painting looks awesome.  I hope I am able to fix it.  I have a couple of things I want to try in the morning and if those dont work I am going to buy Daniel Smith Watercolor Ground and fix it that way.  From what I have read it is pretty much liquid watercolor paper.

Rancho Sierra Vista Casa WIP

watercolor on paper

  20 x 24

For Landscape Painting.  My midterm project based off of this study. I began with a wash of cadmium yellow and then a warm green and a cool green.  Just building the layers.  Looking good so far.

QOTD

"All paintings are lessons for the next. It's an ongoing learning process, increasing skills for future works."

Plein Air- Eucalyptus Path

Eucalyptus Path

watercolor on paper

  9 x 12

 Done en plein air for Landscape Painting. There is this really beautiful path by my house where I like to walk my dogs and every time I walk up it I think "Ive got to paint this."  So today I did.  I had a hard time beginning this piece.  I wasnt getting the composition correct and I was getting caught up in the little details instead of just going for it.  Once I put brush to paper all was well.  This is quite a busy path so I had a quite a few people stop to chat with me. 

I think it is pretty successful.  I like the way the light falls across the path, the colors, and the way the trees look.  I am not totally happy with the direction of the path.  In real life it slopes down and I was unable to capture that slope in my painting. 

200: Plein Air- High Water at Castaic Lake

This is my 200th post.  Wow I cant believe it!  I began this blog 17 May 2009.  I cant believe that I have been updating this blog regularly for over 2 years.

This began as a place to post paintings for my summer project to create A Painting A Day.  I wasnt totally successful in that project but it got me started.  7 September 2009 my Painting a day project ended and I "changed this blogs name from a Painting A Day to Drawings, Paintings, Thoughts- A Creative Dump."  and it became "a place for me to share my art without any constraints." Then 10 January 2010 "I changed the name from A Creative Dump to A Creative Spot.  "Dump" made me think of poop or of trash and my art is not either of those so a name change was needed."And it has been a creative spot ever since that change.

It is really awesome to be able to look back at 2 years of my artistic growth posted right here.  I feel like I have a lot of really great thing going for me and a lot of really awesome things yet to come.  So thank you for reading and watching and hopefully enjoying the art that I post here.  Today's post is for you :)  

High Water at Castaic Lake

watercolor on paper

  9 x 12

 Done en plein air for Landscape Painting.  Today we went to the lake and my husband encouraged me to bring my painting supplies along.  After a great morning of wakeboarding and driving around the lake we docked the boat and I had some time to paint.  I went exploring and found this cool scene.  The water is super high at the lake right now and I found this cool tree growing out of the water.  I used making fluid to mask out the lighter parts in the grass and the bush.  I usually dont use making fluid in my outdoor paintings but I felt this scene would benefit from it and it did :) I bet I looked pretty silly standing on the shore painting in my bikini.    

Plein Air- Old White House, Old House at Satwiwa, Limited Value Oak

Old White House

watercolor on paper

  9 x 12

 Done en plein air for Landscape Painting.  One of two studies for a larger midterm project. I prefer the colors and composition of this one.  It isnt my original idea but I think it is more successful.  I used Cad Yellow in almost all of my color mixes to help harmonize the colors.   

Old House at Satwiwa

watercolor on paper

  9 x 12

 Done en plein air for Landscape Painting.  One of two studies for a larger midterm project.  You can tell this was done earlier in the day while my other one was done later.  The colors in this are a bit too garish for my liking and I dont feel like the composition works very well.  

 Limited Value Oak

watercolor on paper

  12 x 9

 Done en plein air for Landscape Painting.  This week we are to focus on the values and not so much the color.  This was so hard for me to do as the mountains are so so beautiful right now.  My favorite thing about painting is color and not using color was awful.  I also found it hard to just see value. I added the warm colors in the foreground to help give the piece a better felling of the perspective.

Snakes, and Gnats, and Paints, Oh my! Plein Air- Monochromatic Landscape, Oak on Yupo

Monochromatic Landscape

watercolor on paper

  9 x 12

 Done en plein air for Landscape Painting.  My painting day started of interestingly.  I hit the trail totally ready go and conquer a painting or 2.  Then a guy next to a bike stops me and says "Hey they are 2 rattlesnakes mating on the trail." That stopped me in my tracks!  I stopped at watched the snakes and talked with the biker for a good 30 minutes.  Sometimes it is nice just to enjoy nature without having to record it.  

 This painting came easily.  This week we are to focus on the values and not so much the color.  This was so hard for me to do as the mountains are so so beautiful right now. I tried though.  I added the warm colors in the foreground to help give the piece a better felling of the perspective. 

Oak on Yupo

watercolor and water soluble oil sticks on yupo

  12 x 9

 Done en plein air for Landscape Painting.  I began this one because my inability to use color in the first one frustrated me.  I was also being attacked by flies and this painting help me relieve my anger.  The yupo is funny to work on.  It is like painting on plastic.  I began in watercolor but that wasnt working so well so I tried out the sticks.  They worked a bit better but I was limited in my colors.  Not my usual style but fun to do. 

Plein Air- Calleguas Creek Watershed, Foggy Day at Pt Mugu

Calleguas Creek Watershed

watercolor on paper

  12 x 9

 Done en plein air for Landscape Painting.  This weeks assignment was to work on atmospheric perspective.  It was a perfect day today to paint because of the nice June Gloom fog we have been having.  I had a hard time trying to decide what to paint.  I drove around for an hour and ended up where I have painted a couple of times before.  Of the two I did today this one is my favorite.  

 

 

Foggy Day at Pt Mugu

watercolor on paper

  9 x 12

 Done en plein air for Landscape Painting.  This weeks assignment was to work on atmospheric perspective. It was hard to get the correct feel in this piece and I dont think my colors are bold enough.  It was a very gray day and this is a very gray painting. I have painted at the spot before on a sunnier day. 

Back to School- California Pepper Tree at Camarillo Ranch

Summer classes have started.  For the next 8 weeks I am taking Designing Careers and Landscape Painting. 

California Pepper Tree at Camarillo Ranch

watercolor on paper

  12 x 9

 Done en plein air for Landscape Painting.  School started 2 days ago and I already have my first assignment due today.  Gotta love summer classes.  I went to Camarillo Ranch because I have painted there before and found this cool looking tree.  Overall I like it.  To me it has a sort of Disney feel to it.  I dont know why. 

WIP- Jessica and Baby Evelyn

Jessica and Baby Evelyn WIP

watercolor on paper

  16 x 20

As a Mother's Day present I was commissioned to do a portrait of our friends wife and baby daughter.  Previous step.  

Today I just begin refining.  I finished baby Evelyn, worked on the background, and added some touches to Jessica.  I love the way the baby looks.  There are two spots that are bothering me, her right eye and the hands.  Hopefully I will be able to get them worked out.  

WIP- Jessica and Baby Evelyn

Jessica and Baby Evelyn WIP

watercolor on paper

  16 x 20

As a Mother's Day present I was commissioned to do a portrait of our friends wife and baby daughter.  Previous step.  I have darkened the hair a bit more, worked on the skin tones and the facial features, and began the skin tone and hair on the baby.  A few more days and hopefully it will be done!

WIP- Jessica and Baby Evelyn

Jessica and Baby Evelyn WIP

watercolor on paper

  16 x 20

As a Mother's Day present I was commissioned to do a portrait of our friends wife and baby daughter.  Previous step.   Today I began darkening the hair and worked on the face a bit more.  Its coming along well.  Right now I am thinking the eyes are going to be the most difficult part. 

WIP- Jessica and Baby Evelyn, Gold Rose and Red Wine

Jessica and Baby Evelyn WIP

watercolor on paper

  16 x 20

As a Mother's Day present I was commissioned to do a portrait of our friends wife and baby daughter.  Previous step.  I began working on the skin, darkened the color of the dress, and removed some hard lines around the hair.  I am really liking the progress so far :) 

Gold Rose and Red Wine

oil on canvas

  20 x 16

Way back in 2008 when I took my first painting class (Still Life Painting 1) and first started learning to use oils, I created this piece.  Recently we had a yard sale which gave me the oppertunity to sell some of my not so favorite pieces for cheap.  They were doing me no good just stitting in my house.  I would rather someone actually enjoy them.  Friends of ours actually bought this piece and two others. 

It has been stored for awhile and went through an international move so it needed a little bit of fixing up.  I hit it with a varnish of liquin and burnt unber and I patched up a little line in it that was there from when another painting was laying on it.  I like how the repairs look.  Here is what it looked like before-

WIP- Jessica and Baby Evelyn, Ephemeral Sculpture

Jessica and Baby Evelyn WIP

watercolor on paper

  16 x 20

As a Mother's Day present I was commissioned to do a portrait of our friends wife and baby daughter.  I begin my Summer Semester at Academy of Art very soon and I want to have this done before school starts.  This is just the first step.  I have sketched in the figures and began laying in the big color areas.  The key to this piece will be layers.  The more layers I have the deeper and more dynamic the colors will be.  

Ephemeral Sculpture

e·phem·er·al[ih-fem-er-uhl] –adjective  1.lasting a very short time; short-lived; transitory: the ephemeral joys of childhood.   I have been trying to figure out what to do with my sculpture I created for Sculpture 1.  They are all pretty large and the take up too much room in my too small studio.  I have always liked the idea that art is ephemeral so I wanted to explore this idea with my sculptures.  They will now be living in my garden.  I am excited to see what happens to them over time, especially the clay as it is self-hardening clay and has not been fired.  If anything super interesting happens I will post it here.  /ɪˈfɛmərəl/

Questions: What do you think of the idea of ephemeral art?  Are you excited for summer??