William James said....

"Each of us literally chooses, by his way of attending to things, what sort of universe he shall appear to himself to inhabit."   ----William James

Buddha said....

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change."   ----Buddha

From Art and Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland

"Making art means working in the face of uncertainty; it means living with doubt & contradiction, doing something no one much cares whether you do, and for which there may be neither audience nor reward. Making the work you want to make means setting aside these doubts so that you may see clearly what you have done, and thereby see where to go next. Making the work you want to make means finding nourishment within the work itself."

Sweet Sheila

My friend Steve adopted Sheila, who is a total sweetheart. Her coat is like gray velvet, and I really struggled to try to capture that in paint. I think this is the best I can get it.

Lillian Hellman said....

"Old paint on a canvas, as it ages, sometimes becomes transparent. When that happens it is possible, in some pictures, to see the original lines: a tree will show through a woman's dress, a child makes way for a dog, a large boat is no longer on an open sea. That is called 'pentimento' because the painter 'repented,' changed his mind. Perhaps it would be as well to say that the old conception, replaced by a later choice, is a way of seeing and then seeing again."
                        -from the introduction to Lillian Hellman's Pentimento

Watercolor sketch

Two days ago, I experimented with painting in watercolor in my sketchbook after first putting down a layer of white gesso. I did this in order to smooth out the surface of the handmade paper a bit. I used my small travel watercolor kit while at the library to paint this picture of Armstrong Woods Park. I had been there with my wife the previous evening to watch the sunset. As we drove away, we saw the moon in the distance.

New medium

I went to the art supply store (FLAX) in San Francisco the other day and bought myself this watercolor sketchbook with beautiful handmade paper. I also bought some watercolor pencils. I like the idea of them for having painting materials while traveling. The concept seems simple enough---draw with them, then add water and presto! What looked like drawing with colored pencil now turns into watercolor! I'm finding, however, that they need to be used in layers, just like watercolors. Of course they don't work in quite the same way as regular watercolors, so I'm struggling with them at the moment. Much more practice ahead of me!

Dinner!

Tonight's dinner will include freshly harvested turnips from Foggy River Farm in Healdsburg. They are so beautiful that I decided to paint them before they are gone!

Rizzo

Even though it's gorgeous outside, I'm stuck at home waiting for the plumber. Therefore, I decided to paint my friend Dar's dog, Rizzo. Not sure if it's done or not; have to look at it for a while....

Fern Kagan said....

"The hardest thing about art is letting it be easy."

Finally....a cow painting!

I've been wanting to paint some cows for awhile but just haven't gotten around to it. These sweeties are Miss Betsey Bigelow & Mr. Asa Bigelow. They live on my friend Paul's farm (www.beltanefarm.com) in Connecticut. I'm going to visit them in July!

Finished!

I did end up making several small changes. Can you spot them? 

Vincent Van Gogh said....

"How difficult it is to be simple."

Today's work in progress

Yesterday on the coast, I took a photo of a marshy area on the way to Doran Beach. Today I decided to do a painting based on that photo. I just started it a few hours ago. I don't think I'll get to finish it today, but will post the finished version when it's done. I am trying to avoid getting too fussy with it, but the sky and water obviously have more layers to go.

D.H. Lawrence said....

"One's action ought to come out of an achieved stillness; not to be mere rushing on."

My muse

Also known as "Wilson," "Mr. Wilson," "Willie Boy," "Shredder," or "Spawn of Satan," depending on whom you ask, he is a 3-legged Chihuahua Terrier mix. He is not an easy dog, but he is definitely memorable. In this photo, I was painting on Blind Beach, and Mr. Wilson was resting under his umbrella. He's old now, and the direct sun is too much for him.

Thomas Berger said....

"What is art but a way of seeing?"

Stein Collection

Went to SF this past weekend to see the art collection of Gertrude Stein & her two brothers, Leo & Michael, and Michael's wife, Sarah. Impressive, what a cutting-edge family they were. The art was amazing. I love the distinctive, Spanish eyes of Picasso's figures, though I was most drawn to the work of Cezanne overall. I've always liked his color palette. To see the paintings in person is so inspiring.

Working in my studio

Yesterday, I painted on the coast. It was completely overcast until, just as I was leaving, the fog started to break up. I couldn't finish the painting on location because I had to get home to get ready to go to a concert. Today, I worked some more on the painting in my little studio.

R.D. Lang said....

"The range of what we think & do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice, there is little we can do to change until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts & deeds."

Finally...painting outside!

With my trusty paintbrush stand, a relatively small number of acrylic tubes of paint, a bit of glazing medium, my travel watercolors (and travel watercolor pad), I'm packing up the dog and heading to the coast today! What isn't pictured is the small canvas boards I'll carry for acrylic paintings. They are stored in a new 9" x 12" canvas carrier I got on sale at Riley Street art supply. I've been waiting for a non-rainy day to get out and paint!

Finished

The only part I might work on a tad bit more in this study is the blue of the sky behind the trees to the left. Otherwise, I'm moving on!

Leonardo Da Vinci said....

"The average human looks without seeing,
listens without hearing,
touches without feeling,
eats without tasting,
moves without physical awareness,
inhales without awareness of odor or fragrance,
and talks without thinking."

Favorite new studio find

Went to many fabulous local art studios in Guerneville, Graton, and Santa Rosa for the Art at the Source open studios event this past weekend. Met many very gracious, very talented, very interesting artists. Favorite find: The Barracks Artists in Santa Rosa, a group of 12 artists with studios in a big, old military barracks that has been converted into artists' studios. So much fun to walk from one studio to the next, seeing such a variety of creative work in one building. They are located at: 3840 Finley Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA.

William Dobell said....

"A sincere artist is not one who makes a faithful attempt to put on to canvas what is in front of him, but one who tries to create something which is, in itself, a living thing."