Thursday, December 11, 2008

bowl of pomegranates


I saw a little film on how to remove the juicy seeds from a pomegranate. I haven't tried it yet but I bought a big giant one and am looking forward to the new method. Though I have to admit, half the fun is wrestling the seeds out of them.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

little guy


The winter light has moved so that we see the birds shadows so sharply against our fence. The quality of winter light is extraordinary.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Screamer


I've been feeling a little like this lately.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Mink Stole Chicken


Clearly, I have rekindled my obsession with chickens.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Appenzeller Spitzhauben


Some of you have commented that you have been unable to leave comments on my blog. I must have inadvertently turned off that feature. It's fixed now and I welcome those comments.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Susie's Chicken


Trish and I went to see some of the artist's studios for weekend four Open Studios yesterday. We fell in love with a few. Sarah Newton, Alice Gibbons, had extraordinary work. We also liked Marti Mckee who put her prints under resin which created a very cool affect. It was a crisp fall day and we had such a great time being art viewers.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Leghorn Portrait


I did more chicken portraits for Open Studios and found my love for painting chickens has not waned.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

debate


Like the presidential debates I found this piece rather forgettable. I painted over it.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Another look at that Ox


I painted this ox a couple of months ago before my house revealed it's crumbling corner. I've been preoccupied with repairs but the work is almost complete. Open Studios is this weekend and I've been in my studio all week and loving it. Thanks for your inquiries.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

It's a bird...It's a bird...


What can I say? I'm lovin' my new outdoor animal companions!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Birds birds


I am struggling to create something worthy of a post. It's funny. When I was posting daily I hardly cared. Now that a lot more time is elapsing between posts, I think I have to produce something brilliant. And I'm having a little artist block. Trish thinks that means something great is brewing...I sure hope so. In the meantime, we have many families of finches and doves feeding from our little urban bird feeder. So sweet.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Returning


We watched "The Breakfast Club" in Dolores Park last night. If you've had a chance to experience Film Night in the Park, you know what fun it is. Last night we were surrounded by fog but for a patch of star filled skies directly above the park. I love this City!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

bird


We're off to New York to celebrate Vin and Noelle's nuptials. Hopefully a little break in the big City will inspire me to come home and paint again. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

little figure


I'm working on a series of figures placed in different seasons. This was a little practice piece that I did because sometimes it's easier to play than it is to put down paint and take myself seriously.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Two Minute Gesture


This from class last Saturday. Joe and Seely in one of ten fabulous two minute gestures. So fun to work with these two!

Sunday, June 29, 2008

front facing


We set up bird feeders in our back yard and have attracted some un-birds that we are choosing to call squirrels. Tonight we set traps. In the morning we'll see how well we did in our urban big game hunt. This piece has nothing to do with any of that, however.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Cheeky Peach


I took a little vacation from painting and posting but I am back. I still haven't eaten that perfect summer peach yet, though the strawberries and cherries have been doing a good job of taking up the slack. Year after year I am filled with amazement at the quality and abundance of fresh local produce available in California. I feel so lucky.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Aerial Peach


Another one for the good doctor who already has the pear and the orange. I ate a white peach for breakfast and it was amazing. Sweet, juicy, and perfectly ripe. I love summer fruit.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Pasta Con Sarde


Fennel, onions, sardines, anchovies, tomato paste, saffron, pine nuts, olive oil, salt and pepper and buccatini pasta. My friend Vinny grew up eating this dish and one time while in Manhattan it was on the menu at a little neighborhood Italian place in the East Village. We were all blown away by the flavor and I have been making it ever since. The Italians don't mix cheese and fish, but I do grate a little parmigiana on top. Yum

Monday, June 2, 2008

Happy June "gay bride month"


I seem to be in a re-do phase. I nearly threw this guy away because I hated the background so much but instead of tossing him, I worked on it today and now I'm happy. Trish squirms every time I paint over a painting or toss an image because I no longer can bear to look at it. I guess I'm not much of an archivist.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Aerial Orange


A little something for Dr. Julie, the chiropractor extraordinaire who has fixed the pesky little problems I was having before seeing her. It seems my painting studio is not exactly the most ergonomically correct work space so I'm in the process of raising my easel and making it more functional.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Sewing Circle


I took an encaustic painting class last weekend and learned a lot of cool new things. I did this painting in the class. The images of the sewing machine and scissors are quick sketches on tracing paper. I've always wondered how to do that!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Summer


Joe and Isabelle posed over the course of a couple of Saturday afternoons for us. It must have been 110 degrees in the studio yesterday and each one of us made really nice drawings. I only have two more classes left and then my drawing class is over for good. I'm starting to feel sad.

Friday, May 16, 2008

First pass at the lemons


Californians are celebrating the historical decision passed
down by the State Supreme Court legalizing gay marriage. Well,
maybe not all Californians. Did you hear, Ellen and Portia have
announced their engagement?

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Shadow Pear


My pal Ellen picked up a beautiful pear last fall. I took
a bunch of pictures and recently ran across them. The
pear and the shadows are so dramatic I couldn't resist
another go around.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Belgian Chicken



I can't remember the name of this chicken, but it's been on my easel for months.
Not the actual chicken, that would be really messy.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Art for AIDS


I made this painting last fall and it remains one of my favorites.
Now you can have it by going to annual Art for AIDS benefit in October.
Each year they have a silent auction as well as a very exciting live auction.
Hope to see you there.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Meyer Lemons


Sweet, juicy, and just a little tart. Yum.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Fear is a door that has to be opened....


I found a little inspiration poking around on the web last weekend.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Cruella


Spent the week systematically preparing for open studios as to
conserve energy. Not much painting got done, but Cruella has been
waiting for her debut!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Blue and Red


Trish and I are getting ready for Spring Open Studios next weekend.
She has a studio at 1890 Byant Street so I'll be joining her for the weekend.
We'll be in Studio 311.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Sea Ness


Fooling around in my studio today with more wood scraps.
My truck is now in the hands of a new family. Bye bye little truck. We are
now a one car family. Woo Hoo!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Who said that?


My computer is back, yeah! Though I am now scrounging around in search of software. I should be so lucky, were it not for that extended warranty I could be researching a new laptop.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

High Noon


The "greeen" show at City Art Gallery has inspired me to continue painting on
found wood. This is the lid to a cigar box where I once stored my keys. Trish gave
me the pear with a directive, "paint this!"

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Waiting


I'm working on a little project for my drawing class and ran across this from a couple of weeks ago. I think this drawing has the potential to be worked into a completed drawing.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

I love the finches


We brought a bird feeder closer to our house and now we can watch the doves and finches
while we're sitting at out little table in the rear parlor. They are really sweet.

Monday, March 31, 2008

City Spring


I didn't have much time in my studio today but this showed up and it made me happy.
Spring makes me happy.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Stitch


I've been having some dramatic technology problems.
The good news is that I bought that extended warranty and
will be shipping my laptop off to be restored. In the mean time ,
I'm posting on an old dinosaur of Trish's, which I am grateful
to have.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Pattern 5566


I have a bunch of wood in my studio that I am having a great time painting on. Much of it is redwood scraps left over from a fence that Trish and her dad built in our yard. Here's a little piece done with those dress patterns.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Bird Pattern


I found some old dress patterns in a box on the street recently and have been experimenting ripping them up and covering them in bleached wax. I generally use unbleached, but was given a container of the bleached variety and decided to play.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

2 Birds


The California Supreme Court heard the same-sex marriage case today. Trish was there as the photogragher for NCLR. Look for her pictures on their web site soon. The justices have ninety days to rule. I won't be holding my breath. But maybe I'm just preparing myself in advance for the disappointment.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Sunny Rain


Yesterday it poured and then quite suddenly stopped. And then poured again, sideways.
Today it was gorgeous. I was thrilled to see the sun all day.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Rain


I haven't been in the mood to paint lately. Perhaps it's the light, or lack of it. Encaustic paint requires a lot of ventilation and I obtain that through opening a window and adjacent door in my studio. Perhaps I've been avoiding the chill.

Friday, February 15, 2008

197 posts in year ONE

I'm not sure if I'll be able to maintain my fervor of 2007 but I'm not going away either. Trish and I just returned from a family visit to Long Island. It was so good to be back in the studio painting today.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Look what the bird feeder brought...

We first saw the doves the Sunday after we were married. Doves and a humming bird. Jane said it was good luck since doves mate for life. I took this from my kitchen window a few weeks back. It was sunny for a little while on Friday, but mostly we've been pretty soggy here in the Bay Area.