Collection of the Artist

2009-04-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

SOLD

2009-04-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

SOLD

2009-04-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

Sold

2009-04-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

Sold

Athena's white baby shoes

2009-04-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

Sold

Leopard

2009-04-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

. SOLD

Alejandra in repose

2009-04-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

Alejandra
8x6in. oil on Pintura panel
I've been away from this blog for too long. I started this little painting at about 9:30pm and finished at 1:20am Saturday. It took me a lot less time to complete than the 10 hours it used to take me. This is not a good picture I took it while it was still wet and on my easel, K helped out with the correction of the feet, her right foot was too big. Perhaps now she looks like she has dirty feet?

50 Paintings in 50 Days

2009-04-10T23:55:00.000-07:00

SHOE LOVING LODIANS INVITATION

I just came home to find this amazing flier and invitation to a field trip that this shoe loving group is taking on April 24 at 11:30 in support of "My Girlfriend's Shoes". Contact Laurie 209-609-3124. This is wonderful, thank you for all your support, I love it!

50 Paintings in 50 Days

2009-04-10T16:27:00.000-07:00

.Sold! Flamenco Dancer, Collection of Regina C.

My beautiful friend and special guest Regina C. was my +1 and accompanied me to this special event, she is this happy all the time.

Wall to wall paintings and wall to wall people.
April 9, 2009 Artist Reception
20TH Street Art Gallery
I believe there is about three sections to this gallery, this is the north side and they were all as full or more, with standing room only. These people were special guests of the artist, opening for the public will be Second Saturday Art Walk April 11.
While Regi and I critiqued, unbeknown to us, the artist standing next to her 50 paintings was present to answer our questions. A very busy night for all and so much to see, a lot of talent, but also a lot of "blood, sweat and tears" filled the air as artist and patrons alike moved around the room. The gallery staff busy tallying up the sales.

50 Paintings in 50 Days

2009-03-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

50 Paintings in 50 Days
Exhibit & Sale
Second Saturday Art Walk April 11
Opens April 8 through May 30, 2009
20Th Street Gallery; 911 20Th St. Sacramento, Ca.

50 Paintings in 50 Days

2009-03-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

Congratulation flowers from Cathy Johnson.
Thank you Cathy you are a wonderful woman too. The flowers are beautiful, I love them.
Cathy Johnson is my sister's' Mother-in-Law who has been part of my support team. I can't Thank you enough for all your kind words and encouragement.

50 Paintings in 50 Days

2009-03-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

Cathy's Lilies
These would be great in a watercolor painting.
Reserved for future reference
I received them on my lunch hour today with a beautiful note congratulating me for finishing as my sister Patty put it, "quite an undertaking".

50 Paintings in 50 Days

2009-03-23T07:50:00.000-07:00

Collection of the Artist #50
My legs and the dogie, haven't had a chance to name this one. This is the final painting of the set and my flag on top of Mt. Everest.
In a few days I will take a much needed vacation to see the Grand Canyon and I'm really excited.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-23T07:44:00.000-07:00

Coco Chanel #49

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

Les Bottes Rouges #48
This is a pair of red velvet boots. Hideous background, I might change it if I have time. I found this boot style interesting and wondered who would wear a pair of these? Probably someone who wants to get a lot of attention if worn with a mini skirt.

50 Painitngs in 50 days

2009-03-20T14:24:00.000-07:00

Alejandra's Work Boots #47

As you can tell I had a hard time with my nieces boots. The shoe lace problem cropped up again and the colors were not working, I might do this pair over before it's all said and done.

50 Paintiings in 50 days

2009-03-20T14:02:00.000-07:00

Blushing Cowgirl #46
I bet you thought I fell off the horse and couldn't get back on. Really busy with many details that must be completed before the deadline. Tonight or tomorrow morning or afternoon I will post the final pieces and then it will be over.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-17T11:25:00.000-07:00

Tattered and Torn #45

The countdown begins, five more to go and I should have 47 today. If my sister Patricia hadn't sent in the little wonders (baby shoes) I would not have been so inspired and caught up as fast as I did last weekend. Thanks to Patricia, Happy Saint Patrick's day and thanks for the art supplies you shipped via express mail.

One of my favorite artists and teacher, Betty Billups, once said, "It's a miracle these little paintings turn out at all" it's almost as if by chance.

Betty Billups, Plain Air painters of America; Winter Park; Grandby, Colorado, sundown paint out class. That's where these boots went on my first plein air painting trip. I bought a book by Frank LaLumia Plein Air Painting in Oils and Watercolors fell in love with the idea, looked him up on the Internet and the next thing I knew I was on a plane to to a class in Colorado. I got off the plane got my rental car took a wrong turn and ended up in Estes National Park (what a sight) I was two hours late to the teachers reception. 20 teachers from the group teaching at the YMCA in Winter Park. I had never painted in oils or plein air, my first teacher for the week was Linda Tippets, "You jumped into it with both feet" my answer: I parachuted in.

A confused pair of shoes, the confusing detail of the shoe laces drove me crazy. These are my old and favorite pair of boots, they have gone with me to so many places and perhaps it's time for them to go, but they are memorialized in this little painting.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

Athena's white lady bug baby shoes # 44
I have to go back and read that book, "How to photograph your art work", definitely a skill necessary to the artist. I love these shoes and I remember her wearing them five and half years ago, I can still see her in them.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

Athena's red lady bug shoes #43
Is this a better picture? The shadows don't read as above in the real painting, they are actually darker.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

Athena's red lady bug baby shoes # 43
This is a bad picture, I took it this afternoon without enough light and no flash, if I use the flash it has a lot of reflection even though I use a flash filter.

I actually did pretty good on Sunday and caught up by doing two new ones, the lady bug baby shoes, an old one finished and one that is getting replaced; the Chinese shoes.

50 Painitings in 50 days

2009-03-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

Athena's white shoes #42
My teacher Peggy Kroll-Roberts taught me how to paint whites in oil, she's a great coach and teacher in Angels Camp. The picture doesn't do this little painting of my nieces shoes justice. I worked on them last night till 2:00 a.m. it took me four hours to complete, but had difficulty getting the picture right.

50 painitings in 50 days

2009-03-14T16:24:00.000-07:00

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy # 41
I botched the top right leg as I was fixing the reflection and I think I made reflection worse. Really difficult to photograph the black background, there was glare so I had to fix it in the photo software program. Nine more to go, what was I thinking? Check out the 20Th Street Art Gallery blog at 50 50 2009 blog, there are some real professional artists that are just popping out these little paintings in a half hour to an hour or so. I didn't dance my way through this project, if I did I was dancing with the devil. This is more like climbing Mt. Everest, I'm so tired and I can see the peak, but it's getting colder and I'm running out of daylight. Thank you for looking, for your comments and your support.

50 paintings in 50 days

2009-03-13T13:18:00.000-07:00

Red Lollipop #40
10 more to go, it's almost over.

50 painitngs in 50 days

2009-03-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

Corrected

There's no place like home #39

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

There's no place like home # 39

Day number 42 and I wish I could go home. The pressure is on and I'm at my Witt's end, now I really have to hurry this weekend. There are corrections to be made and signatures, good thing I got Sharpie oil based pens.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

Wild Tiger # 38
It's getting harder to complete these little paintings because I'm getting tired and bored, but there are only 12 to go and the deadline is the 20th of this month, nine days. I can see the finish line even though I'm behind by three if I don't finish one tonight. I haven't let myself get further behind by keeping up this week, tomorrow I will be out of town so it might cause a problem. If I can do three on one of the weekend days I won't be so worried.

50 paintings in 50 days

2009-03-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

Beyonce #37
A much better picture to replace the one below. Will modify this post later, my lunch hour is almost over.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-10T12:34:00.000-07:00

Beyonce #37
If I can only do three tonight (LOL) I would be right on. O.k., I will settle for one. Beyonce #37 big and clunky, it seems I saw her dancing in a video with a pair of these.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

The Crown Jewel # 36
Not quite finished, the background needs to be the color and value of the left side, in the real painting the discrepancy in the background is not so noticeable. I almost finished one last night that I will be working on during my lunch hour, I should have 40 by tonight, Ha! there are only 10 days left until I'm "supposed" to be done and I'm to turn in all fifty dry by the 25 so you have a couple of days of a grace period, still I have to sign them and tape the sides.

I wish I had these pair of shoes to wear the day of the opening reception.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

Bravo! #32 corrected

I corrected this painting, if you look below you can see the original plus three other paintings I completed last night. I'm not sure if the direction of the shadow is working for me. I expect to do at least one today and hopefully two, I should have 38 by tonight. It doesn't take much to get behind and get overwhelmed, you can't take your eye off the bull's eye.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

Black Tie affair #35
My record in one day, three and now 15 more to go (75% completed). I would have done for had it not been for the pink petal shoe, also I went to a presentation at the Knowlton Gallery on the Sierra Mountains and plein air painting, very impressive. Sixteen more to go. I need to go back and start making corrections and adjustments, taping the sides for a finished look and placing labels and number on the back, my plate is full.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Alejandra and Grant's baby boots #34
Not much more to go, I can almost see the finish line. I've learned a lot, even though I figured out after the gallery splits the commission minus my costs I will end up with about three dollars an hour. The education I received: Priceless.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

Pink Whisper #33
Difficult to say the least, due to the white transparent fabric, far more beautiful in the picture. I think I would have finished four had it not been for this practically all white shoe.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-08T00:38:00.000-08:00

It's 12:30 a.m. and I just finished three, I started at about 4:30 and at 9:30 I took a break and started number three. Number's 33, 34 and 35 are done and I have one about half way and one is already ready to be started. Thank God! I should have finished number 37 tonight to be on time, but I don't really want to work the graveyard shift. Off to bed.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

The above is the corrected piece, although the color looks different for some reason, perhaps because it was taken during a different time. I'm not sure I'm happy with the shadow I might have to work on it and also I gashed the upper right side.

Bravo! # 32

FOR A PERSON WITH A DISCIPLINE PROBLEM IT IS A MIRACLE THAT I HAVE GOTTEN THIS FAR, EVEN BIGGER IS THAT I'M STILL HANGING IN...BY THE SKIN OF MY TEETH.
I finished this yesterday after much needed work on the face. On the back of the board it's number is 25. This is the only painting in the set where there is a full figure with shoes and it will land in the center of the exhibit. It still needs work, because I see I gashed it on the right and the reflection on the floor reads like a mound instead of reflection. She's on a stage dancing although it looks like the sea, whao! how mystical Flamenco dancing on the beach? We are not going to be able to hear her dancing. Any suggestions on changes? 18 more to go, I should be on #37 by tonight, how did I get so behind, it's as though I didn't paint at all this week, but I did. Seems I'm getting slower, I will have to catch up or at least four today, good thing I have three ready to go. Thank you to my figure painting teachers Peggi Kroll-Roberts (I love you) and Donald Puttman (deceased) I took his class about four years ago, I never forgot what he taught me in that week and I walked away with two of his paintings to the tune of 4,200.00 (not including the workshop, which took place in Yosemite) I made payments for six months. He was a master, just like Peggi.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-05T07:36:00.000-08:00

Rose Petal #31
The painting is actually a lot prettier in color. I had problems with the photograph, bad light and it was too early in the morning when I took it. Mia Lamore wore these shoes and the price she paid was worth it $27,500. It probably took me longer to paint it, three hours. These paintings will be on sale at the 20Th Street Gallery, Sacramento, April 11 is the opening date and the exhibition will be open for a full month. The sale price will be between 70.00-75.00 the size is 6x6 unframed

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-04T08:34:00.000-08:00

Alejandra & Grant's baby shoes #30
I tried painting this pair before and it didn't work, for some reason I got off track and it turned into a sloppy mess of paint. I had to change the way I attacked the problem of the background and the shadows inside the shoe. I'm really happy with the way everything worked it turned out "painterly". This is the way I really want to paint. This is me!
Alejandra my niece, the one in the purple striped stockings and Grant my nephew both wore these shoes when they were toddlers. Yes, Grant is a boy, but remember John Kennedy when he was a toddler in one of the pictures he wore a pair just like these. I love them, both the shoes and Alejandra and Grant.
I might modify the left shoe in terms of the brightness (darken the red, it's too bright in it's intensity) of the tip.

Now, I'm really at 60%.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

Orange Sorbet #29
This is one that was supposed to be simple, instead it was a rough start and a rough end. To me it looks overworked and perhaps I need to work it over. Maybe the shadows should be darker or the background needs to be another color or value. I thought in my jumbled mind, this was number 30 this is why in the post below I had mentioned that I was at 60%, but it's 29.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-03T11:32:00.000-08:00

Send in the Clown #28
As I look at the pile of fresh boards I begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel and I laugh at what I thought was going to be an impossible task. I feel like a clown trying to walk a tightrope, but really now I've crossed 60% of the way and it's just a short way to the end. If I fall there is no safety net and everyone will laugh except me.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-01T10:49:00.000-08:00

The models: Athena & Alejandra
My nieces modeled for the this shoe painting. Aren't they beautiful and guess what? They love shoes, especially Athena. She is following in my footsteps, she's drawing 50 shoes in one day. They both love to draw and paint.

I need to do some corrections, it isn't until I take a picture that for some reason I am able to see the errors and realize it needs more work. Where is that Dammit! doll? I'm really loosing it, I thought this was painting #26 and when I checked it is #27. I have skipped painting for a couple of days, I didn't paint yesterday, just did the drawings for three now I realize I'm not so behind. Still it's Sunday and now I gotta pound out three, better keep that doll handy.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-03-01T10:27:00.000-08:00

Dammit!
No, this is not a shoe painting. "When you want to throw the phone or kick the desk and shout, here's a little dammit doll you can not do without. Just grab it firmly by the legs and find a place to slam it, and as you whack the stuffing out yell Dammit, Dammit, Dammit". Actually in my case it should be when you want to smash the painting or break your brushes in half out of frustration. Cathy, my sister's' Mother-in-Law has been watching my blog and she made this beautiful little doll for me at my sister's request, they both agreed I need one in a hurry because she sent it priority mail. It's so cute who wants to slam it? Thank you Cathy, I love it.

50 Piantings in 50 days

2009-02-27T15:20:00.000-08:00

Pink Paradise #26
This shoe is very stylish and has some type of jewelry on the top, looks like an earring. Today being the 27Th of February, I should have 29 paintings by tonight. I have two in progress one is not working out, some orange ugly shoe that I thought would be easy to do, but is not, it seems solid colored shoes are more difficult than the ones that have design or more than one color. I realized that I had left a message at the gallery when I picked up my panels because I was missing one. They must have forgotten to call me back and I forgot to follow up. Now I can only make one mistake, yikes! I emailed to see if they would send me a panel. I think I already made a mistake with Orange Smoothie. Aha! No more mistakes for you Missy. I'm getting burnt out and tired, hopefully I will recover this weekend.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-25T11:50:00.001-08:00

OVER THE HUMP #25 Leopard Mary Jane's
Dear friends thank you for looking and for all your support and comments. As I write this I'm in a daze, we are officially over the hump (25 more to go), I can hardly believe I'm writing this. It has been no doubt a gruelling task, the hardest part; discipline to sit at the easel until the piece is finished. According to my calculations I should have 50 completed by March 20 and then deliver by Wednesday March 25Th. Now that I think about it I'm going to feel a little sad that some of these will be sold, among them and with hope that they won't sell will be the Japanese shoe, the red valentine day boots, the over the knee stiletto boots, red hot flames and some others that I consider took so much work. The only way to think is that someone paid to enjoy my work and that some of these little pieces found a home. It's time to celebrate and enjoy!

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-25T11:38:00.000-08:00

Tres Colores #24

Three colors and a very difficult background to pull off. The inside is supposed to look gold, but it is almost over the hump. After I take the picture I see what needs to be corrected and on this one some of the edges need to be softer, the background needs more paint. I found out that after I sand the top layer of gesso, the paint floats on top and the panel has lack of tooth, it doesn't grab the paint. More corrections later on this one.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-23T00:32:00.000-08:00

I corrected this painting because the shadows on the shoe in the back bothered me, I made the area behind the shoes darker and also the blue on the shoe in front was glaring. I took this picture in better light.

Japanese Box Shoes #23
Seems like I've been painting torture shoes all day today. You can imagine bandaging your feet for yours so they can look small and fit into these boxy pair. Two more...today, Sunday, I should have 24. I will fix the picture tomorrow, I think it's a little blurry. If I complete two tomorrow I will be on time.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-23T00:25:00.000-08:00

Blue Torture #22
Getting really close to the middle of the game. This one only took an hour and a half to complete and I discovered how to make a good gold color to add to my color recipe book. This picture does not do the painting justice, the colors are more beautiful than in the photograph. It is so late and I have to work out of town tomorrow and must get up early, nevertheless this is done and almost over the hump.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-22T12:23:00.000-08:00

Ole! #21
It was so late last night when I was trying to finish this shoe and I chose it for it's simplicity, but didn't think I was going to pull it off, it actually looked pretty dull in the picture, surprise! I'm trying really hard not to fall so far behind so that I can't catch up this is #21, three more to go today and I will be even.

50 Paintings in 50 Days

2009-02-22T12:04:00.000-08:00

Latin Viola #20
I loved painting this shoe, I would buy a pair of these, the color is so feminine and soft. It's a real Spring shoe. We are almost over the hump, just a few more or three to be exact. I should have 24 by the end of today. I will also be posting number 21 which was finished last night. Question is can I complete three today? If I do I will post them this evening, sad thing is I'm running out of simple shoes to paint.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-20T08:55:00.000-08:00

Sports heel # 19
If you ever thought of running in your high heels this is the shoe for you. I'm getting faster at painting these little 6x6 inch paintings. I should have 22 completed by tonight, this weekend I will have to do two a day in order to be up to par. The artist progress reception is next Thursday and I'm almost over the hump. As soon as this is over a vacation is due, hopefully these little shoe paintings will have enough red dots to pay for the expense. They will be for sale at the 20th Street Gallery in Sacramento, CA.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-18T12:48:00.000-08:00

Cafe Latte #18
The shoe is not very attractive and I couldn't figure out what color to use on the background, I might modify to tone it down or make it warmer. I'm trying not to get into a painting that has too much detail so I don't get behind, at the expense of aesthetics, perhaps with the right outfit it would be a knock out. On a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of difficulty, I consider this about 4. Today is day number 20 of the 50, if I complete one tonight or two, I will be at par, as it stands right now I'm one behind.

50 Painitngs in 50 days

2009-02-16T16:03:00.000-08:00

Pretty in pink #17
Completed today, Monday, number 17 of 50, is it too late to quit? I posted five today that where completed since Saturday, scroll down to see the rest, comments are welcome. It is now 3:50p.m. I haven't had lunch, I went to bed late and I'm still in my pajamas. I had to finish this one, I'm so close to catching up, I just need to do today's and that will be 18. I have no Idea how I got so behind? For a beginner like me if I am one behind, it's too much, since it takes me about two to four hours for each painting. I don't know what this girl in the painting is doing, but I like it. I will work on the background as time allows, I found out if I have a dark background I have to tone the board with gray acrylic paint or Gesso otherwise it's hard to cover the board on the first shot. Thank you for visiting my blog, this has become my favorite part of this project and the best part is your comments, I love reading them.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-16T15:32:00.000-08:00

Red Hot Flames #16
I started this one last week and spent days working on it a little bit at a time. The detail in the laces and reflections held me back. I had almost given up Sunday night, but being that I'm so behind, I decided to stay with it until I was done, finally at 12:30 a.m. I stopped.

50 Painitngs in 50 days

2009-02-16T15:07:00.000-08:00

A Lighter Shade of Pale

The above is the same wedding shoe as White Wedding Day (Billy Idol) except it's pointing to the left. This was finished yesterday, Sunday. Remember the song by Procol Harum? "and so it was that later as the Miller told his tale that her face, at first ghostly, turned A Whiter Shade of Pale." Some make reference about this song to Chaucer's Canterbury tales; The miller's Tale ("the miller told his tale") both are about seduction and sex and so are wedding shoes, among other things.

50 Paintigns in 50 days

2009-02-16T14:58:00.000-08:00

White Wedding Day
This was completed Sunday, I was trying to hurry up because I thought it was Monday. I hurried up, not being very difficult since it was all different tones of white. This is a wedding shoe from the 1990's.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-16T14:44:00.000-08:00

I finished this painting on Saturday night very late after going out. It was particularly difficult, I'm not sure if it was the fact that the board was sanded too smooth or it was the transparency of the paint. I could not get the right color intensity and my dark shadows were just not working. I think it still needs work and I don't feel it's as good as my other pieces. At this point I was still behing about four pieces.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T10:13:00.000-08:00

This is a collage I did with Picasa. See the painting below. Please feel free to post comments. XXX's

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

2009-02-14T09:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day. A very red pair of patent leather boots. I love the reflection of the boots on the floor as though she is standing on a mirror. This project isn't getting any easier, but I did figure out that starting several speeds up the process a bit. I'm still four behind and one is on the board 80% completed. I haven't even had my coffee yet, but wanted to post this early for this special holiday.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-14T09:48:00.000-08:00

One of my naughty Valentine paintings, I wasn't going to paint this one, but decided to be bold and it turned out to be a lot of fun. I made the background soft and pink so the boots wouldn't look so hard, being that they are very naughty. Also, I was going to extend the pink background all the way across under her stomach and decided against it because it made it look more attractive. Click on the picture to see the brush strokes, thanks K for the suggestion.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-13T09:46:00.000-08:00

Crazy Zebra was completed last night, it was easy until I got to the black stripes then I had to use a one hair paint brush to do the stripes. You have to remember these are 6x6 paintings and they don't seem small until you get to the detail. I have three others in progress right now, a red pair of boots with red flames, a red pair of shiny boots and a pair of black high heel stiletto over the knee boots, they are all very, very sexy. Hey! it's Valentines day tomorrow and what better way to celebrate then to paint naughty shoes.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-11T17:32:00.000-08:00

The painting above was corrected as to the background. It seemed that the background was too bright and was competing with the subject. Place a comment by clicking comment and let me know what you think. Is it improved?

Rather simple to paint and that is the reason I decided to do it, now that I look at it, it seems rather ugly and it isn't until I take the picture that I'm able to see the mistakes in value, i.e., some areas are too dark, too light and too warm. My brushes are shot and now I'm using a magnifying glass to better see errors. This photo is blurry, I will have to take a better picture tomorrow morning when the natural light is best, I was in a hurry. I'm officially behind, I should have 13 completed by tonight, the above is #9, I have two near completion on the easel. I have five days off and I better use them to get ahead.

50 Paintings in 50 day #8

2009-02-08T13:31:00.000-08:00

This is a struggle, it is only after I look at it on the big screen that I start to see all the mistakes and it's back to the drawing board. I think I'm one behind, at the end of today I should have 10 shoes, oops! I'm still missing one. Better hurry up, I'm doing this today in between doing laundry and dying my hair, gee I wish I was at the movies.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

This is an extremely difficult task, I told my friend "K", because I have other things to do and I can't paint fast without sacrificing the quality of what I think should be a decent effort. This was when I had completed five of the 50 and wanted to quit, his answer: "You've done ten percent already" and Thank You for putting the theory "My glass is half full" into perspective. The Mickey Mouse slippers belong to my nephew Grant Anton, he wore them frequently and we always remember him in these happy slippers. The shadows where difficult because they were so light, but after several tries I finally was able to make them look decent.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-08T11:15:00.000-08:00

Candy apple red shoe #6. I really enjoyed painting this super shiny red shoe, took me a couple of hours. I had trouble getting the reflections right and the value on top of the shoe gave me trouble because I had to mix a very dark rich red to give it dimensionality.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-08T11:06:00.000-08:00

The above is the corrected painting, or is it? I'm not sure it's an improvement, it looks overworked. This one is baffling me, to top it off while I was working on it, I was in the process of dyeing my hair, I saw at the Salon how they dye eyebrows, so I put dye on my eyebrows. Except that while I was painting I got hungry and decided to eat something from the fridge and rest a little, forgetting all this time about the dye on the eyebrows. Now my eyebrows look like they have been tattooed (LOL). Another Aha! moment, however, not in the area I wanted, painting shoes while painting eyebrows; the cosmetologist shoud warn "Don't try this at home".

The missing shoe No.# 4 and my worst effort, it cost so much time in corrections. I had to scrape it off with a dental tool after I realized the color wasn't working, even after taking this picture I continue to work on instead of giving up. When trying to upload this set of pictures, Picasa wouldn't load, so I had to do research and load them via the camera. I will keep trying to rescue and when all rescue efforts to resuscitate fail I will replace it with something that will not be such a challenge, for now I'm determined not to give up on my purple passionata. The problem I found is that patent leather has so many reflections it gets weighed down with detail and I end up feeling like I'm painting miniatures. I'm keeping my head above water, but it's touch and go, two o clock in the morning desperate finishing efforts.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-04T01:26:00.000-08:00

Hi, I'm missing a shoe, sort of. This is shoe number #5, I finished it today at 12:30 a.m., yesterday's shoe is missing because I need to revise the color, most likely I will publish the finished piece tomorrow. I'm not behind, even thought it has been difficult to stay ahead. The problem being that I start off late, I'm not a morning person, my party begins at eight or nine, so here I am in the wee hours of the morning posting to the blog. For those people who have to make a living from their art, I feel for you, it's painful to force yourself to produce weather you are inspired or not. I used to paint when I felt inspired to create and the only reason I'm pushing myself is because I believe that something will come of this, that I will learn and that there will be a few Aha! moments and I think the learning experience is worth it. My two loves come together; painting and shoes. I had to teach myself to paint whites, but it wasn't so hard because I used to do watercolor and used the white of the paper as white, this time the blacks drove me crazy. I had to add minute amounts of dark blues, reds and white in order to differentiate some of the areas for detail. This time I tried to pick an easy pair and it didn't turn out to be so easy (took me 3.5 hours to complete), I'm also running out of "easy" shoes, I have 45 to go; I'm perched on a ledge, question is will I fall? The best thing today, I learned to make a beautiful khaki green from Viridian, Cad lemon Yellow, Cad red light and a bit of Alizarin Crimson which was used for the bottom part of the foreground, then I added a lot of white and extended it to the top. Good night and I guess I'll be late for work tomorrow, thank God for Starbucks.

50 paintings in 50 days

2009-02-02T00:49:00.000-08:00

I painted an easy one today, it was 10:00 p.m. and I was running out of time, when I finished this sketch I thought it was 2:00 a.m. It's a rather simple, beautiful and soft ballet shoe. Still more work is needed and I've decided that the corrections and finishing touches will be made as I go onto others so that I don't get lost in the details and fall behind. Postings and critiques are welcome.

50 paintings in 50 days

2009-02-01T12:11:00.000-08:00

I corrected some of the areas and I'm still not happy with the background or now the foreground, I fear I made it worse. I think my values are not working, I will have to put it away and go back to it later. This is harder than I thought.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-02-01T01:19:00.000-08:00

I thought I wasn't going to be able to post, I was out all day and then came home and spent a lot of time on the computer emailing a friend. I started this one yesterday then again today at 11:00 p.m. after prepping panels with my experimental seizing. The leopard above needs some work, I realize the shoe in the back needs more work and also the lines need to be cleaner and perhaps my background color needs to be re-designed to be more interesting, better picture in the morning, the light at night is terrible in my living room.

50 Paintings in 50 days

2009-01-31T10:59:00.000-08:00

New photo this morning, I corrected some of the elements of the painting. Please feel free to critique my paintings by posting a comment. I'm not really happy with the corrections and how the paint was absorbed with this painting and the shadow beneath the soul is wrong, there that's my critique. I'm cooking some rabbit skin glue right now so I can put on the panels then I will put gesso on top and see how that works. I will also do a set of panels with PVA seizing and with acrylic marble dust, I love to experiment. Thank you, Elizabeth

50 paintings in 50 days No.1

2009-01-30T23:02:00.000-08:00

At first I wanted to start at least five, but then I figured I was going to get jumbled, so I decided to stick with one at a time. I started at 8:00 p.m. with a 30 minute break and I was able to finish the yellow shoe. Although the panel was prepped with gesso twice, it's absorbing all the oil. I will take the picture over in the morning when the lighting is better, for now mission accomplished. It's not as difficult as I thought, but then again it's just the first one. The most difficult part was getting all the pictures together and once that was done I took them, after the disc jumped out of my purse at work, to the photo lab only to find out the disc was blank. It's amazing how many trials and tribulations I've had to go through just to get to this step. As I was doing research I found what I thought were different and somewhat sexy shoes, but the more research I did, it became clear that by comparison they were conservative.

Acceptance is a powerful thing

2009-01-21T23:07:00.000-08:00

I couldn't wait for the 20st Art Gallery to call me, so I called about 2:00 pm to check if I had been ACCEPTED, they said to call back in an hour, one of the judges was late and they were still adding up all the points. I called back at 3:30 pm and the lady said, "You made it". So I went and picked up my 52 6x6 inch panels (2 mistakes allowed, Yikes!). I emailed all my friends and told them to RESERVE THIS DATE: APRIL 11, 2009 we are in. Now the hard part... it's 11:13 pm and I have been working on fixing this blog so I can post my progress in an effort to make it difficult for me to procrastinate, I'm shaming myself into success. The painting of the above shoes, well that is one of my flops, not impressive at all, they were eliminated from the competition. Last week when I turned the application in (with the painting of Pink Marabou), they said there were 80 or more applicants so far. Look below this blog to check out my other paintings. More to follow...

You must be my lucky star

2009-01-20T18:38:00.000-08:00

This is the third painting I completed to turn in to the 20th Street Art Gallery in Sacramento. I used a solvent/medium (it's supposed to make it dry in as few as three hours), since I only had about 48 hours for it to dry before turning it in to the gallery. When I woke up in the morning I checked and to my surprise, it wasn't dry. I remembered leaving paintings in my car in 100 degree weather and they would dry in a couple of days, so I thought heat makes them dry fast and then I thought oven. I researched the Internet and some people had tryed, however they mentioned 350 degrees for 15 minutes and you have to babysit the painting, I thought explosion! they also mentioned the paintings had turned brown. Since I had to go to work, I decided what made it brown was the high heat (wrong). I left my painting in the oven while I went to work, low setting 140 degrees for three hours. I came home and ...brown, the color of Cafe Latte. My only choice was to turn in Pink Marabou. A couple of problems, I didn't use drying medium and the painting was still wet and tacky to the touch. The other problem; it had dirt stains from the fan I had pulled from the basement to make it dry faster. I took a needle and went to work removing all the specs carefully. It looked fair, not great, but what choice did I have? This pair of Dolce & Gabanna shoes were worn by Madonna from 1992-1994, perhaps when she was singing "You must be my lucky star". Not so lucky for me they ended up baked and brown.

Pink Marabou

2009-01-20T18:22:00.000-08:00

I submitted my application last Wednesday to 20Th Street Art Gallery for a show called 50 Paintings in 50 Days and by Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009 I will find out if I have been accepted. If I get accepted you will be able to see my progress on this blog. The painting theme I submitted is "My Girlfriend's Shoes" the credit for the title goes to Sherri Adams, Deputy D.A., whose shoes are fascinating and of the latest style. My sample painting is Pink Marabou and it was the second shoe painting I completed for this show. I'm sure that if I have to paint 50 shoes I will be cured of buying any more shoes for a long time, resulting in tremendous savings.

The artists begin painting February 1 and must submit all 50 paintings March 25. The show will be on exhibition in Sacramento's second Saturday art walk April 8.