New Work and Work in Progress
oils on canvasboard
This is the first piece I did using the limited palette of Ivory Black, Cad Red, Yellow Ochre, and Permalba White.
It is only 8"x10", done in studioG from my mind, based on a farm I used to walk by near my past home in Sebastopol. When we moved in, it was an orchard full of Gravenstein apple trees; when we left they had just uprooted and burned all the old trees in huge bonfires and planted grapevines. Wine is a lot more lucrative than apples. Well, I admit--I buy more wine than apples myself!
oils on canvas, from B/W photo, about 18x22"
Jasper Deeter was my acting teacher more than thirty years ago. More important, he founded the first true repertory theater company in the U.S., Hedgerow Theater in Moylan, PA. With it, he founded Hedgerow School of acting.
Jasper was an amazing teacher and a remarkable person, devoted to theater and completely generous with his admiration and knowledge.
One day during dinner with a group of students, Jasper, with huge excitement, began praising that day's performance by a young student. In a scend from Chekhov's Seagull, she had an interpretation Jasper had never thought of and loved. The wonderful part is that Jasper had directed The Seagull many times, once spending two years on one production, during the Repertory years. Yet this teen's interpretation could still thrill him.
oils on canvasboard, 8X10"
The limited palette of Ivory Black, Cad Red, Yellow Ochre, and Permalba White had little paint left on it. I wanted a clean palette. So I took my palette knife to the old one and began playing to use up the paint. I was having so much fun that I actually laid out the fresh palette to finish up.
I have little idea what I was doing, but I rather like it. I named it for the brilliant red dress that I wore to my daughter Bert's wedding.
oils on canvasboard, small
I did this before I limited my palette. It's totally imaginary. I played and played.
It's for the birds, because there should be birds--egrets and herons, ducks and puffins, bushtits and marsh wrens. But my courage failed me and so the birds are out of sight. Maybe they will show up tomorrow.
I'm a bit happy about the stuff in the foreground. I like the textures and colors. 'Course I kinda fell in love with the red-orange foothills!
SOLD
Water soluble crayons on watercolor paper, very small
We have a group that paints on location in the Laguna de Santa Rosa, a wetlands preserve. One day I didn't feel like painting, kinda out of sorts. I chose this rather ordinary view and pulled out my crayons. crayons--Crayolas and now the marvelous water solubles--are my artist's comfort food.
It turned out okay and I learned a lot! Plus, the willies went away. : )
