March 14-20: I went back to Scottsdale Artist's School to study again with Hedi Moran doing floral/still life paintings. I finally feel like I gained some confidence in doing it on my own, and plan to teach a workshop to several of the Santa Cruz painters next month. MaryLou Schingler went with me and we had a great time painting and looking through all the galleries. We made some new painting friends, too, and had some wonderful, fun times out with Hedi for dinner. I came home with several new paintings that I really like, plus I bought one of Hedi's demos again!
April 23: I taught a one day workshop here at my studio for 15 local artists, showing them Hedi Moran's technique for painting flowers and other still life set ups. It's a method using all transparent colors at first, then "pulling" the scene from the background with some opaque colors. It's quick and loose, with no tedious drawing or any transferring...just painting directly with a fresh touch. Several of the artists who attended went home to try it and loved the technique...great fun!
May11-16: I was juried in to the Carmel Art's Festival, a plein air competition that draws some of the top plein air artists from around the country. It was quite an honor to even be accepted into the show. (I'd gone down the week before with seven of the local oil painters to stay at the monastery Villa Angelica across the road from Monastery Beach, in Carmel. The weather was great, so I planned all the beautiful places I wanted to paint for the competition.) But, for this event, the weather was very cold, windy and foggy each day...no sun at all, so my locations changed. I also got a bad cold and fever and sore throat just as I went down, so it made it all quite an endurance test! My new tripod also broke when I was out at the point at Pt. Lobos...Lee "rescued" me after a couple of hours with a new one, but the painting wasn't done in time to enter. I ended up entering only the ones I'd done the first day, and sold one called "Spring Dunes." It had all the pretty wild flowers that are growing over the dunes right now. I hope to try to enter and do better next year! I learned lots the hard way...like taking plenty of back-up equipment next time!
June: We had a the "trip of a lifetime" in the Grand Tetons, where I painted every day for almost two weeks. It was my 60th birthday gift from my dear husband. We stayed at Jenny Lake Lodge, (including a 5-star chef who created amazing gourmet meals that sent us off each AM and welcomed us home each PM), and we rode horses, hiked and painted a lot. I had the privilege of selling four pieces to fellow travelers in the Park, got them framed and shipped when we returned. It was truly magnificent. Pictures will soon be on the site under The Grand Tetons. I've entered one larger studio piece into the National Regional OPA competition from a plein air sketch of the meadow and the mountains in the afternoon, called "Mountain Majesty".
July: After a week at Tahoe with the family, Lee and I spent a week with the Garretts at June Lake, and hiked several areas in the Eastern Sierras and Tuolome Meadows in Yosemite, including up the seven mile hike to Rock Creek, my favorite hike of all!. I did just a few plein air pieces, so as not to make them wait and "watch the paint dry." I'll be painting larger studio pieces from some of those beautiful places. I also had a one woman show and demonstration at the James Harrold Gallery over the weekend of 24/25. It was great fun, meeting new customers, selling paintings, and getting commissions.
August: I took my second workshop with Laurie Kersey of Pebble Beach. I'd first studied with her 10 years ago, and it was great fun to see the progress, but also listen and try to assimilate her many wonderful lessons now that I've had lots more experience. She's a wonderful teacher!
September: I'll be competing in the North Tahoe Plein air Competition from the 8th thru the 12th. Our show and sale will be on the weekend at North Star Village. Please come by and say hello if you're in the mountains! I'll also have a private showing of some of my coastal work at Barbara Ditmore's in the Preserve, Carmel, on the 24th. (37 Rancho San Carlos Road, Carmel, Ca.) Please contact me if you plan to attend: she needs to leave your name for the gate keeper's guest list.
October: Open Studios will be held here at my studio on Oct. 9-10, and 16-17, from 10:00AM to 5PM...lots of new work to show from my many wonderful adventures this summer!
November: I've had the great honor to be included in the Passport/Palette PBS documentary being filmed in New Zealand from the 1st thru the 12th, with Kevin Macpherson. A film crew will follow us as we go out each day to do plein air painting on pre-scouted vistas all over the islands. It will be such a grand adventure, so beautiful to paint there in the "Spring" with snow-capped mountains, beautiful lakes, rivers, wildflowers, baby sheep, etc....Lee plans to go with me for this amazing experience. More specific news to follow!
2009
My recent 12x16 plein air painting, "Point Lobos Shadows", was chosen by the Scottsdale Artist's School to be part of two competitions/exhibits this winter. It will first be part of the "Celebration of Fine Art" exhibit in Scottsdale in January and February, then moved to the art school for the "Best and Brightest" exhibit through March 28th. There will also be two Gala opening receptions: January 15th for the "Celebration of Fine Art" show, and February 18th for the "Best and Brightest" show.
I'm going to hold Open Studios here on two weekends in October. My studio/gallery will be open on the 3rd-4th and also the 17th-18th, from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Please come by and see all my new paintings and maybe pick up the new book I wrote this summer, The Hidden Treasures of Our Trials.
I was juried into the Statewide California Landscape competition with the paintings "Laguna Canyon and Point Lobos Sundown". I was also juried into the American Impressionist Society competition with "Morning in the Mountains." I was also juried into the Western Regional Oil Painters of America competition with the painting "China Cove." This show is held in Washington, but it opened the same weekend that I was painting in the James Harold Gallery at Lake Tahoe, August 8-9, so I wasn't able to attend. The show at Tahoe was very well received, and I sold three paintings while there and really enjoyed meeting many new friends who enjoyed watching me paint.
Lee and I spent the month of June hiking around Lake Tahoe, while I painted several new pieces. We had thunderstorms every afternoon, so most paintings had moody cloud scenes and softer, muted colors. I also painted in Yosemite in May and entered two of those paintings in the Paint the Parks competition. I also hosted a friend from Nebraska while she painted in the Carmel Art Festival. I painted along with the other artists, so next year I hope to enter and be included in that competition, along with the Sonoma, Los Gatos, North Lake Tahoe and perhaps the Maui or Laguna Beach plein air events. I'll post those dates on this events section as soon as I know the schedule for 2010.
2008
Grand Painting Events
I continued my study in florals and still lifes with Hedi Moran at the Scottsdale Artists School. I also painted a month on The Big Island in Hawaii in February. In June, I took a plein air workshop with Brian Blood in Carmel. I had a wonderful three-week trip with the Plein Air Masters. We painted in the St. Andrews Island area, New Brunswick, Canada. I enjoyed painting with Kevin McPherson and John Cosby tremendously. I did 26 paintings, and actually sold three there!
I juried three paintings into the California Landscape Competition, and I also juried one painting into the National Landscape Competition at the Haggin Museum in Stockton, where I won Honorable Mention. That show continues through the end of November. On October 11-12, from 11 am to 6 pm, I'll be holding Open Studios here in Santa Cruz, where I will show my most recent pieces from all my great painting adventures!
I'll be attending a workshop in Laguna Beach in November with John Cosby. I enjoy his work and his wonderful teaching style.
2007
Plein Air Masters in Banff National Park, Canada.
I had a fabulous experience painting all through the park with some of the best impressionist plein air painters in the U.S. We loved staying at Chateau Lake Louise, and I brought home 17 new paintings, and have done several studio works from those. See the new Canada paintings!
2006
Florals Workshop
In August, Hedi Moran from the Scottsdale Artists School came to give a week-long workshop on florals from August 7 - 11. She is a wonderful teacher, and several of my latest florals are in the still life gallery.
Open Studios
My Gallery was open for viewing on the weekends of October 7/8, 14/15, and 21/22, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., as part of the Santa Cruz Open Studios.
James Harold Gallery
Located in the Boatworks in Tahoe City, CA
The James Harold Gallery is showing some of my recent Sierra paintings.
York Gallery
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
The York Gallery is currently showing many of my latest local works.
Martin and MacArthur Gallery
Located in the Shops at Wailea, Maui
The Martin and MacArthur Gallery showed and sold many of my latest Maui plein air and studio paintings.
2005
Rivas on the Wharf
I had two art shows on the wharf at Rivas and sold several local pieces of Monterey Bay Scenes.
Western Seminary
I had a six-week show at the Western Seminary campus in Los Gatos this past fall.
Studio Gallery
The studio gallery was completed at the end of the summer, 2005. The grand opening was on the weekend of October 1-2.
