Squint

Before I got into the habit of squinting I had put a sign up to reming myself! I took this picture to use in the book and thought I'd also do a posting. Squinting forces you to see values and ignore the details! 

Sunflowers and Lemon

I did a video for the ibook of this set-up. I had these from a previous session which I might include also. It was the first painting that I've done in months; too busy doing illustrations. I only hope I'm not too exhausted to get back to painting after the book is done. Ah well, not to worry it's all part of the process.

Got (small) review at new gallery!

Wanted to let you know about new gallery representation I have in New Paltz, NY! If you're in the area please stop by! It's a great place to visit. My son and daughter-in-law and three grandkids live nearby so I get to visit my paintings often! And Paty is easy to talk to and will be happy to talk about all the artists she represents. Here's a link to an article about us. Enjoy!

Coaching the Artist Within

Been reading Eric Maisel's book entitled Coaching the Artist Within and highly recommend it! He addresses issues that we all face with helpful hints and practical advice. Basically, how do we start?
How do we get out of the way of ourselves?
I like to break it down; I usually say to myself, "I'm just going to set up the still life today!" Of "i'm just going to make a sketch." That usually gets me started for the whole day. What about you?

Book Cover

This is the "working" image for my ebook cover.  I'm not brave enough to include the title, maybe in a couple of months/weeks? Just started the third chapter yesterday! Whahoo! It's A LOT of work!  Not that I'm complaining. I'm learning a lot and having fun. Last book I worked with a great editor at North Light but this time I'm solo. I miss Erin's input! The book has slide shows and video!! Fun stuff! Books have changed drastically and now can be so much more instructional. Will try and post more often.

Apologies!!

I've been busy using Apple's new program called iBooksAuthor working on an eBook in watercolor. I completely forgot that I had enabled spam detector for my blog and needed to read comments before they got published to website! So sorry that I didn't answer comments and also that I haven't been posting. At the very least I wanted to say the reason I haven't been painting and posting is that I've upgraded my computer (hadn't done anything in four years) and spent a lot of time at genius bar in Apple store. They were so helpful. It took about four trips. I hadn't backed up anything and they had to teach me to do that. I'm sure most of you do it, but I will encourage anyone who hasn't to learn how to do it. Also, if anyone wants to write a book for sale or just for yourself their new program is lots of fun and easy to use. It does take some time to get used to, but I think it's worth it. If anyone is using it, I'd love to hear about your experiences. My book will be on watercolor and how to create harmony. Once it's done I hope to have it translated into other languages. If anyone has publishing connections abroad I'd certainly be interested in contact information or suggestions.
Thanks for all your encouragements!
Happy Painting!!

Yellow Roses in Clear Vase

Sometimes it takes what feels like forever (but actually just days) to figure out what to paint next. I try and keep some inspiring pictures on my desktop or on my virtual desk but somehow they don't mean as much as when I first saw them if I'm just not in the mood. By in the mood I also mean I'm in a place where I'm not affected by outside world and what I think they want me to paint instead of connecting inside and listening to myself. Of course this is not the first or hundredth time this has happened to me or I would say anyone that's reading this. Seems we just have to keep reminding ourselves it's ok to do it our way. Well, long rant about saying that I painted a floral!
"Yellow Roses in Clear Vase", watercolor on board, 4x3 inches