Beach Mural

New place, New Mural. Beach theme family room in progress:)

"Precious"

charcoal 8x8 on watercolor paper

I still have the baby crazies!!! I haven't used charcoal for a while. I forgot how messy it was, I had it up to my elbows and on my face somehow, but absolutely worth it of course.

STARE

9x12 Watercolor coldpress canvas

What I am working on Today

22x21 oil on panel 2012

Sweet relief! I am sooo glad to get this painting onto canvas and out of my system! I have been thinking about it for so long! With little leaf vine and a small, bright orange koi added hopefully I will sell this. Disappointed in the photo where no justice is done, looks more realistic and somewhat sophisticated in real life. I am finding lately I am no photographer. It is much easier to capture a good, accurate watercolor for me, I suppose because the surface is (toothy?) -artist term for porous, so glare is rarely an issue. ok back to work...

Soft Kitty

6x6 watercolor on coldpress canvas 2012

Named for and inspired by Sheldon on the sitcom "The Big Bang Theory" haha.

9x11 watercolor 2012

Ok, I'm in full baby mode. My best friend is having a baby and as due date gets near, I have to say, I am Soooo excited! So much so, I'm even painting newborn's!! :) I dove right into this painting with no sketch so I got into a little trouble here and there because, as most of you may not know, watercolor is very unforgiving. Reworking can be scary and extremely tricky. Painting all these delicious little wrinkles was good practice for all the paintings of our little Sophia that are surely to follow in the near future. I can't wait!

Paris in Shayenes room

12x12 Paris Mural painted in teen bedroom

Sally's room-Cherry Tree Mural

acrylic wall mural - cherry tree and moon

The Lion King Mural in progress

The Lion King mural in progress, Acrylic on smooth wall

Believe it or not, this mural is in a 19yr old girls room. I will eventually be painting the entire room with the Lion King theme. The rest of this wall and the other 3 walls are still in the planing stages. I am looking forward to continuing this sky in these  rich, fiery reds and yellows. I don't remember if I have ever mentioned before that I do not buy pre-mixed paint colors. I rarely purchase  any other paint besides Black, White, Red, Yellow and Blue for any project, be it Large or small. I am auto-didactic so I of course was not taught this way. I do remember hearing or reading somewhere, that all any artist should need are the primary colors to make EVERY color that exist. So I guess I took that pretty seriously. I later learned this in only true if you start out with true or good quality primaries. If you are going to try this, make sure to look for true red, true blue etc. The same is true for choosing your black and white.

Geraldine Reaves

partial photo of 36'x36' portrait
acrylic on canvas

This is a portrait I painted recently of/for Geraldine Reaves. Geraldine is the founder of Open Arms Make a Difference. Open Arms is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to helping children of low income families in the Riverside Ca. area, providing them with food, clothing and school supplies. I worked from several photos for this painting. I will try to get a photo of the other half soon.

Mural in progress

Reaves bedroom mural-day 2

This is a very crude photo of one of my murals in progress. The reference for this mural is a Tuscan lake where many weddings are held. I hope it conveys the idea for you, but I do I have much more detail to work out.  I also plan to paint the arch and two pillars to resemble stone or marble with the look of relief work (or carving) in my clients initials, I hope to be finished within a week, so I will keep you all posted.

"the easy life"

79'x30' acrylic on canvas

This is a large portable mural painted on canvas. It could be fixed to a interior wall or a standard door to become your new ocean view. I was inspired to paint this scene while flipping through Architectural Digest. There was of course this gorgeous home but the easy looking evening ocean view made more of an impression on me. I added the torch, it is not original to the scene but I think it works well. Whenever I look at this mural, I picture my family and friends a little further down on the beach, picking up shells and roasting marshmallows around the fire pit, streaming in and out of the house with bare feet to stock up on snacks and drinks...the easy life.

18x24 mixed media on 140lb cold press paper/canvas

I am starting to go through paintings I have had stored away, this is a watercolor/charcoal painting.

"MISS NICKI"

11'x15' watercolor/digital  original on 140lbs cold press canvas

Continuing the musician inspired series. Nicki Minaj. An interesting performer, with an interesting look. This photo of this piece has some digital enhancements so it slightly differs from the actual painting,  This is the first time I have altered a painting digitally, many artist are taking advantage of this technique, what it allows us do is try somethings out without permanently altering our painting or drawing. It is actually liberating in a way. I can see how it can free an artist up to mess up and go totally nuts with no worries. I am almost finished with this painting, I will post the finished painting (however different it may be) as soon as it is finished.

My Pet Portrait Poster

"Sun Child"

8'x8' Watercolor 140lb coldpress canvas
July 2011

Back to my roots. I have mentioned my love for watercolor, but what I have not mentioned is the inspiration behind my interest which was Fashion Photography. Patrick Demarchelier and Peter Lindbergh in particular.
I think it was the striking, bold, high contrast and sometimes backlit scenes that captured a moment that I found irresistible to paint. There was no other vehicle I wanted to use for this exploration of photography than watercolor. Using the white of the watercolor canvas, the way the clean sharp lines also complement its transparency...watercolor just lends itself so naturaly to these references. It was where I lived. I was/am so hooked. Patrick Nagel inspired me to draw, Demarchelier and Lindbergh inspired me to paint.

"Bull Dog Pup"

9'x11' graphite on paper

Dads Anniversary Gift

Before

After

This project was my Moms gift to my dad. Restoration of this photo of him in his twenties taken around the time him and my Mom met. He had hung onto it for years sadly referring to it as irreparable because the damage was across his face over his eyes. We've always known this photo meant a lot to him so, I had a good time restoring it knowing he had no idea it was being worked on, nor that restoration was even possible. He almost cried when he opened it. I am showing it here with a black/grey background but now that we have a digital file of just his figure, his image could be put on any background. We are trying it out on a variety of background colors to print out and add to the family photos hanging in the homes of all of my siblings 

Why Aren't We Talking About Regenerative Medicine?

I am not good at relationships that involve copious amounts of small talk, I need to talk about important issues. So, when I hear "respected" news programs mention the latest pop culture train wreck and what they may have worn to court, I panic a little inside, I feel sick, i feel cheated, I feel as though I am the only one who has noticed that our bus driver has mental illness and we are gaining excessive speed and will soon barrel through a daycare. Exactly who is responsible for my Dad...who only watches local news, knowing who these fashionable sex tape people are? Shouldn't that stuff be quarantined to those entertainment news or magazine shows?  Then, when they can tell its all becoming a bit too much, they report on "too much celeb. media reporting". If I did have the names of those responsible for this mess, I would bombard  them articles like this one: please read this article  and  I would demand they make more of an effort to create a buzz around how Pig Bladders can help grow a burn victims face back (I hope pig bladders become more famous than pop idols) and how as-we-speak, there is life changing/saving work being done in Regenerative medicine. Then maybe they will be sick from shame at reporting on anything less important.....................................what are you doing? Go read that article.....please.

quick sketch "Brussels Griffon"

9'x9' watercolor on 140lb coldpress paper

My Mom walked in on while I was painting this and said "oh my goodness, that is the ugliest dog! what is it!?!"
I told her it was a Brussels Griffon, and that I planed on getting one. She proceeded to tell me it has a "spider face" LoL.