Happy New Year!

Okay, it's an advertisement, and maybe everyone with TV has seen this already, but this is beautiful.
Wishing you a fabulous New Year.
click here: Fun with Colorful Orbs.

and flowers came marching (drifting?) in

I started both of these paintings feeling... abstract. Like they might not contain recognizable imagery. Like birds, or flowers. Yet as time marched on, well, it seemed they needed flowers. More on this-- abstraction, or not-- perhaps later.
I'm teaching a class, a new offering at the college, called 'Abstract Painting' in the second half of the spring semester, and I'm looking forward to it. Should be fun!

slowly, but surely...

...inching towards completion. It feels good to be back in the studio after too many days out of it!

(click image to enlarge)

still more on Painting-a-Day bloggers

A Merry Christmas to you all!

Yes, we've been out and all about, receiving and spreading cheer in numerous Northern California counties. Feeling good to be home in our PJ's, and ready to watch some movies.

But, for your viewing pleasure, yet another round-up and review of online Daily Painter's Blogs et al. click here: Painting a Day blogs, round 5.
Brought to you by Lines and Colors.

School's Out!

Here are a selection of my beginning drawing student's final projects. A project I devised a number of years ago, students select 2 (or more) xerox images from a selection I provide. They glue 'em down (to sheets of paper ranging from 18 x 24 to
24 x 36") and extend the values and textures in the copies out from their edges, creating a world in which they connect.

Yesterday we had a final critique on these, and the portfolios were finished & grades were filed.
I had really nice classes this semester.

But still:
yippee!!
Remember that 'painting every day' thing? Did we mention that December is a difficult month?

Two Artists Talking

I was just saying to Tony that there don't seem to be that many (abstract) artists who blog. But there is this:
Two Artists Talking: a conversation in blog entries between 2 artists: one in Oakland, CA., one in New York City.
I love this idea, though when I'm cruising the blogosphere, I tend to favor more pictures, less words. Short attention span, you know...
Other painting blogs you'd recommend?
e-mail me: lisabee@sonic.net

My friend Shtebe

Here's a small painting by my friend Stephen Niccolls, now of upstate New York. (is near Poughkeeepsie "upstate"? ) I found it on a little blog he started, apparently, one day in September. I'm feeling a certain kinship with his use of this bit of ornamentation.



Actually, I currently have out from the library a great book called "Ornament & Abstraction", a great big coffee table catalog of a book, that accompanied an exhibition by the same name.


Here's the latest on my latest:

This is starting to feel like one of those 'struggle' paintings. Ones that take much, much longer than others to resolve. But it's still too soon to say. It is starting to get a litlle bit more of a focal point, with that emerging flower form...

a city day

Yes, impulsively, we set off for San Francisco again today. There were whole YEARS after we first moved up here (Sonoma County) when we didn't get in to the Big City (it's just one hour-- without traffic, that is). Lately, we 've been feeling the pull. Mainly, just wanting to look at art-- 'filling the well' as Tony calls it. He's also been particularly interested in a lot of the new (hip, young) galleries, and wondering where his work might best fit...
Here are a few things we saw today. Tony has posted more images over on his site...)









1 + 2) Blaine Fontana @ Upper Playground
3 + 4) Anne (?) @ White Walls
5) @ Andrea Schwartz
6, 7, 8) on the streets

(names to come!)

Still...

dancing around the middle, and waiting for it's 'raison d'etre'.
(This seems to concern Tony, but I have faith that it's coming.) The problem with trying to post frequently about what's actually happening in the studio (even if I AM painting every day), is that most days it may not produce all that dramatic a change...

Here's a peek into the work spaces of a number of creative people:
On My Desk.

New Again

Tony & I both announced our vow on the same day-- to paint Every Day. I've been sort of angst-y about my work for the last month or so-- but just painting, relentlessly, day after day, is helping to make that feeling subside.

This one is just barely begun, entirely inspired by this bit of vintage fabric. It was an apron (Claire, did you give me this?).

Trout Salad Update Alert!

They're rather infrequent-- so if you haven't checked lately, Tony's posted on his recent activities, in & out of the studio: Trout Salad

plant elements arive...

in this work in progress.

The Brain Whisperer

Sure, this may seem a bit 'off-topic'-- but where would any of us be without our brains? I just need to put in a plug for friend Suzanna's blog, The Brain Whisperers. Suzanna nursed her mother through Alzheimer's, and developed a very real interest in learning what she could do to keep her own brain vibrant & alive. She loves her topic, and shared lots of interesting tidbits with us through the long sessions when she was one of the most avid contibutors to the 'Game of Life' Project. Now she has this very fine blog, where she shares her wisdom with YOU. And how can you not like a program that prescribes dark chocolate?

(I've pulled the illustration above from her blog (cool, huh?) but don't know who to credit...)

Duane Keiser on Duane Keiser,

and the origins of the Painting a Day concept. I've written about the Painting-a-day phenomenon here before (heck, via Claire, it's indirectly because of Duane Keiser that I have THIS blog)... Turns out he has a couple other blogs, one called "On Painting"where he shares his thoughts... well, On Painting, and here is some history on how & why he first started the Painting-a-Day project & blog (and how it became Famous).

Taking the Leap

When we lived in the East Bay, we were aware of the intensive workshops run by Cay Lang, which trained artists to enter the world of exhibiting and galleries, business and professionalism-- areas often missing from schools art curriculum. After a few years, she published a book, including a lot of material covered in the workshops. Our copy went out on permanent loan a couple of years ago, and now there's an updated version. This one adds to the original, invaluable info with updates for the digital age. Very specific nuts and bolts stuff. If you're an artist at the cusp of your career as an 'exhibiting' artist, you need this. Or if you've been showing, but need to kick it up a notch. Check it out. Taking the Leap

A Glimpse from the 'Other Side'

Oh, Tony's been Very Busy...
There's a sort of abstract beauty to this chaos, isn't there?
(Click to see more exquisite detail) You'll see that there's a whole slew of 'Little Loser' paintings underway. I think he may need to start a waiting list for those popular little babies.

yet another

...painting in progress.
It looks better now than it did...yesterday.
I guess that's progress.

the latest, continues

More words on this later, I'm off to teach!
(click image to enlarge)

Blog Banner!

Notice something different up there?
I'd noticed that some people had these fancier 'headers', and our friend (& web consultant extraordinaire), Wendy Coy, figured out how to do it! This one is probably just 'on trial', but cool! Thanks Wendy!

(P.S. Our internet is temporarily down-- you realize how much you depend on it when it's gone! Back tomorrow?)