SkyshadowStudios

Brittany Coast

2009-08-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

My art class is touring the world this year. Welcome to the Brittany coast. This was a great exercise in multiple building perspective and water reflections.

Scottish Loch

2009-08-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

Look, Ma, my building has 2 sides! This painting provided practice on painting water, landscape perspective, and particularly architecture. Buildings have been a surprising challenge, I can't tell you how many one-sided and lop-sided buildings I have painted-me and Granny Moses, we're like this... This image pleased Tony, who is a stickler for horizon lines and dimensional houses.

Fresh Veg

2009-08-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

Attack of the giant zuccini! Actually, this is an English market day, so we are viewing a "marrow" squash. I'm pretty pleased with the tomatoes in this picture. I painted the vegetable basket first, and then had to fill in the flowered background around the finished basket. Bad planning....

Split Mountain, Dinosaur National Park UT

2009-07-17T18:41:00.000-07:00

We did a family trip to Colorado with a day trip to Utah to see Dinosaur National Park. The weather was uncertain which made for difficult photography. I was able to use an image of this colorful rock formation as inspiration. The formation is called Split Mountain Canyon. This is the Green River. This is a studio painting in oil.

St Francis of Assisi Church, Taos NM

2009-07-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

Another watercolor from our Santa Fe trip. We did a day trip to view the Spanish churches between Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico. This is the back end of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. Well known from black and white photography by Ansel Adams and Edward Weston, and also painted by Georgia O'Keefe. This was done plein air, interesting experience as it was about 85 degrees in the sun and the paper kept drying out while I was trying to do watercolor washes.

Wisconsin Farm

2009-07-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share "one from the vault". This is a watercolor/goache painting that I did before I started taking watercolor lessons. As you can see, the general "look" of the watercolor style is already formed, but the technique was uneven. I used the opaque watercolor to correct problems.

Sand Dunes and Storm

2009-07-17T17:55:00.000-07:00

This is from our trip to Santa Fe in early 2009. This was a experimental studio piece, where I used a black and white photograph as reference. I like the abstract shapes of the dunes against the naturalistic sky.

Fall Color, Colorado

2009-07-17T17:52:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a trip in late 2008 to Colorado. We did a day trip to Cripple Creek and caught fall color on the aspen trees. They are interspersed with pines, so there is more of a speckled effect than masses of color, except near meadows.

Ghost Ranch

2009-06-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

This is my very first plein air oil painting. I bought the outdoor painting rig for our trip to Santa Fe. Ghost Ranch is a few miles north of Santa Fe, and is one of the places that Georgia O'Keefe lived and painted. I set up the painting rig and laid out my colors, the wind came up and flipped the whole easel over, flinging the glass palette full of paint out, jam side down, into the grass. So there I am picking twigs and rocks out of my paint, before I even touched the canvas. The whole time I was painting, I had to hold the easel down by one corner so it wouldn't fly away. I asked an experienced artist about my experience, and was advised that this is normal. Guess I should have bought the ballast bag... The horse in the picture is reputed to be over 40 years old, I have never seen a horse with a greater sway-back in my life!

Tioga Pass, Late Spring Storm

2009-05-17T22:16:00.001-07:00

Lest you think I've given up oil painting, here is the first oil painting of 2009, titled "Tioga Pass, Late Spring Storm".

This is from a photo that my husband Tony shot on a trip to Yosemite. We crossed Tioga pass on Memorial Day weekend, when the pass was newly opened for the summer. We stopped at a small turnout next to a brook and Tony decided to take the shot. He set up his camera, but a storm was brewing and there was no sunlight to pop the brights in the view. So he waited, and waited....when I woke up an hour later Tony was still waiting for the light. The temp had fallen toward freezing, and he was wearing shorts! I was greeted by the view of the photographer doing jumping jacks to keep from freezing solid. Finally Tony took his shot and we raced down the pass to Lee Vining on the east side. That night it snowed and the pass closed for 3 days.

Sunflowers

2009-05-17T22:12:00.000-07:00

Another watercolor, this one working to paint the flowers loosely, and also working on the reflections/refractions of the glass vase. As always, I like to push the color saturation!

Trunk Show

2009-05-17T22:10:00.001-07:00

This is a "quickie" from my watercolor class. We were practicing painting loosely, "like a child". Well, I'm never loose, but I did think this was fun. You are not crazy, one tusk is much longer than the other. This old boy had a broken tusk.

Feral Chicken

2009-05-17T22:07:00.000-07:00

This is better than those humans! Meet the Feral Chicken. These chickens wander the roadsides of Hawaii and are completely wild. I love the gaudy plumage and iridescent tail feathers. I met one of these chickens recently at the Burbank Animal Shelter. I have no idea how he made it to the mainland. Despite the color saturation, this is a watercolor.

Dancehall Lady

2009-05-17T21:57:00.000-07:00

Another attempt to paint a person, this one not so succesful. The figure had very strange perspective, and I later realized the proportions of arm and leg size to torso were way off. My teacher, Vivi Oldknow, recommends cropping to save the best detail in a case like this. So here is what is left of my painting!

Apres Lautrec

2009-05-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

This is a difficult image all the way around. This is a watercolor homage of a Toulouse Lautrec oil painting of Lautrec's friend, Jane Avril. The original oil painting had a textured background, difficult to capture in a watercolor. This background is "combed" or "feathered" and actually turned out quite well. The fabric and hat were fashion-challenged choices for Jane, who had flaming henna-colored hair. And then there is the green complexion from being painted under gas-light, which makes her look 2 days dead... Given that I don't paint people much, this was a very interesting exercise!

Bahamas

2009-05-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

Watercolor of islands in the Bahamas. I was pleased with the quality of transparency in the water in this painting. Also the abstract quality of the light and dark in the palm tree.

Cotswold Cottage

2009-04-25T13:30:00.001-07:00

I worked from a black and white photo of an old-fashioned cottage with a thatched roof. Interesting exercise to make it "quaint and colorful".

Tiger Lily

2009-04-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

This was a fun little exercise from art class. I didn't get the reflections of the tiger in the water, but the abstract background came out very interesting. I may do this one again, larger, some day. The hard part was getting the eye to look catlike.

Fall Farm Scene

2008-10-08T00:20:00.000-07:00

Another small watercolor. I liked the mix of green and yellow in this picture. It is quite a bit looser than my usual style.

Strolling Under the Silk Floss Trees

2008-10-08T00:11:00.000-07:00

This is a very small watercolor. I took the same general scene as depicted in "A Walk in the Woods", but changed it to a spring setting.

Lovely Lisa

2008-10-08T00:07:00.000-07:00

This oil painting was commissioned as a gift. Much research went into the various types of orchids, to select one that would suit the recipient. Capturing the subtle colors of the orchid petals was a challenge, along with achieving the sense of the pot in space.

Chinese Lotus

2008-10-08T00:02:00.000-07:00

This watercolor was taken from the lotus flowers blooming in the Chinese garden at the Huntington Library in Pasadena, California. I have a continuing series on lotus flowers. The photograph, shot by Tony, was in black and white.

Pacific Beach Sunset

2008-10-07T23:44:00.000-07:00

This is a large oil painting, 24 x 30 inches. It is an interpretation from a photograph shot by Tony Chong on a trip up the Big Sur coastline. I painted this scene about 9 years ago, and it is interesting to see how my skill with oils has evolved. Tony and I would like to do an art show some time showing his photos and my paintings from them.

Paint the Parks Art Show

2008-07-14T18:31:00.001-07:00

I also received a Certificate of Merit art award in the mail on Saturday, from the Paint the Parks national competition. So now I am an "award" winning artist! Here is the oil painting, "El Dorado":

A Walk in the Woods

2008-07-14T18:29:00.000-07:00

This piece, "A Walk in the Woods", is the piece that sold over the weekend. It is very small, 5x7". There were only a few watercolors in the show, which actually made it stand out.

"Enduring Beauty"-Art Show- California Art Club

2008-07-14T18:22:00.001-07:00

I have a piece entered in the art show "Enduring Beauty" at the Women's Club of Pasadena. This show is sponsored by the California Art Club. The show opened with a reception on Saturday, 7/12/08, 5-7 pm. The show runs until December 2008, and the hours are 10 am-4pm, Monday through Friday. The address is: 160 N. Oakland Ave, Pasadena, CA 91501.

Thanks to the folks who came out to the reception, your support is greatly appreciated.

It was exciting, as my piece was the first one to sell during the reception. The buyer was very excited to be buying original art, and to be able to meet the artist.

This was a great show, as they use professional hanging service, there is a hosted bar and hors d'oevres, and a dinner/show following the art reception. It was a very nice event!

Sunset, Morro Bay

2008-06-25T22:04:00.001-07:00

Love those colorful sunsets! I have entered this painting into the Oil Painters of America western regional show, along with the oil painting of the buffalo in the great plains. We'll see if anything comes of that. This was an interesting exercise, much harder to paint natural-looking water than I thought. The little tiny dots are birds flying home to roost on the rocks.

El Dorado

2008-05-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

We recently spent a wonderful week at Moab, Utah. This oil painting is of a rock formation in Arches National Park. The formation near the left of the picture is Balanced Rock. I named this painting El Dorado, as I imagined the conquistadors riding across the desert and seeing this formation shimmering in the sun like a lost fortress made of gold. I am entering this painting in the Paint the Parks 100 competition.

In the Garden of Flowering Fragrance

2008-05-20T20:02:00.000-07:00

And now for something completely different...This is the new Chinese garden at the Huntington Gardens, Pasadena, California. They brought Chinese master craftsmen over in shifts to construct the bones of the garden. I wanted to achieve a dreamy effect and just let the paint flow.

Delicate Arch

2008-05-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

More red rock from Arches National park. This is a formation called Delicate Arch. It is said to look like a cowboy's chaps from this angle. This is on a height which gave a great vista off to the east toward the Rockies in the distance. The canyon was tinted a pale green with the spring shrubs which had not yet shriveled to brown. Rain passed through which make the sky more interesting to paint. This is an 8x10, done in a more realistic style. I plan to enter it into the Paint the Parks competition.

Speckled Iris

2008-05-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

My watercolor teacher is vacationing in England. A couple of the students got together to paint, and this was the result. This is taken from a photo shot by Tony of the iris blooming in our front yard. The petals really are speckled as shown. It is always a challenge to get the deep tones for shadows.

Book Cliffs

2008-05-20T19:53:00.000-07:00

Grand Junction Colorado is bordered by large, worn-down mesas. This is a portion of the Book Cliffs, which runs for miles on the north side of the valley. The colors are very delicate, this picture is a little brighter than the original. We stayed at the Gallery, a local bed and breakfast. I painted this the night we stayed, and showed it to the proprietors as a sample of my work in the morning. They have agreed to hang my work for sale!!

The Three Gossips

2008-05-20T19:49:00.000-07:00

We visited Arches National Park during our family trip to Utah in 2008. The scenery is so amazing that you actually get jaded after a few days because everywhere you look is a great view. We hiked around the base of massive red rock outcroppings. I sketched this in the field and painted it later. Despite the strong colors, this is a watercolor miniature 3x5 inches. I may do this again as an oil painting.

The Windmill

2008-05-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

I completed this painting during a recent vacation to Colorado and Utah. There is an agricultural area by Grand Junction, the "wine country of Colorado".

Christmas Cactus

2008-03-21T14:32:00.001-07:00

This is a walk down memory lane. This was painted about 3 years ago, and was the first time I achieved the proper "watery" effect when painting. This was a class assignment. I spent 2 hours drawing the flowers. When I put the paint onto the pot, it started running all over and I shrieked out loud, "It's ruined!!!" My watercolor teacher told me to let it dry, and this wonderful glazed pot was the result. 11x14", original watercolor.

Squashy Buildings 2

2008-03-21T14:29:00.000-07:00

My friend Karen challenged me to re-create the squashy buildings. This is another 8x10" original watercolor. It was surprisingly hard to achieve the rainy effect a second time. I think I like this painting even better than #1. It must be the purple flowers in the foreground! This is in the private collection of Karen Hilb.

Squashy Buildings1

2008-03-21T14:23:00.001-07:00

An earlier impressionistic building, this 8x10 original watercolor is part of my "squashy buildings" series. It is in the collection of Vicki Hilb.

The Old Mill

2008-03-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

This is an original watercolor, 11x14", not quite in my usual style. It is much more impressionistic that I normally paint. I really like the soft and hard edges. This was a challenging study in perspective, as there are 2 vanishing points, both of which are off the edge of the paper.

High Surf

2008-03-21T14:12:00.001-07:00

Returning to the subject of water, here is another "wave" picture. I love the energy of this wave, with the foam blowing off the top. Would you believe, the rocks were done by crunching saran wrap into the wet paint? This is a watercolor original, 11 x 14".

A Walk in the Woods

2008-03-21T14:09:00.001-07:00

I'm quite pleased by this 5x7" watercolor painting, which was a quick study to capture mood using a limited palette of colors. The people walking in the distance anchor the picture and lend a sense of scale. This was recently accepted in a juried show by the California Art Club.

Yellow Dog

2008-03-19T21:36:00.001-07:00

Continuing my efforts to boost production, I am experimenting with painting oil paintings in 1 or 2 sessions. My first dog picture, I may do a series on this one.

Creating an Oil Painting - Zion's The Watchmen

2008-03-19T21:32:00.001-07:00

This is the final image, after color correction. You will notice that the forested hillside on the left is now rocks and scrub, to match the hillside on the right. Further color correction modified the appearance of the rock formation. Final detail of the plants in the foreground and the colors in the shadows have been completed. I submitted this painting to the centennial Zion National Park art show. Sadly, it was not accepted. So I got my revenge and sold it...

Creating an Oil Painting - Zion's The Watchmen

2008-02-25T16:53:00.000-08:00

Day 3: At the end of a long painting session, I had color on the entire painting. However, some bits are too pink and others an unnatural shade of green. I also realized the water was still tending to float above the ground, and there are no pine forests on the mountain side at Zion, which is a desert environment. A final color adjustment was required.

Creating an Oil Painting - Zion's The Watchmen

2008-02-25T16:50:00.001-08:00

Day 3: Working on the natural color on the left side of the painting. You can see the colors are out of balance, with the grass near the waters edge looking too yellow, and the pine trees glowing blue-green instead of olive. I reviewed the instructions and discovered I had to paint recognizable plants that grow in Zion as part of the competition requirements. This required a greater level of accuracy and detail.

Creating an Oil Painting - Zion's The Watchmen

2008-02-25T16:49:00.001-08:00

Day 2: The hill and foliage on the right side is detailed with an over painting in more naturalistic colors.

Creating an Oil Painting - Zion's The Watchmen

2008-02-25T16:46:00.002-08:00

This is the underpainting, all tones of lavendar, blue and pink. The water is more completely painted. Notice it almost floats above the surface ofthe painting compared to the land...

Creating an Oil Painting - Zion's The Watchmen

2008-02-25T16:39:00.001-08:00

I decided to paint an oil for a juried show celebrating 100 years of Zion as a National Park. Unfortunately, I had less than a week to complete the painting. I began on Sunday, laying the underpainting. Here is the sky, which is almost at its final state. The dabs below mark the reflections in what will soon be a creek. I had company, and every half hour or so they would wander through and see how the painting had changed. It is a pretty dynamic process in the early stages.

Paradise

2008-02-25T16:35:00.001-08:00

This painting may be the first in a series of tropical flowers. This was a class subject. We had a guest in class that day, and she was startled when everyone started saying "oh, my painting is ruined" about halfway through the class. She timidly told her sister, "It doesn't sound like anyone is having fun..." Her sister smiled, and told her, "No, this is just the halfway stage when no one likes their painting. It frees us up to be experimental and some great paintings result!". I added highlights and dark tones after the class, and am much happier with the result.

Koi & Lilypads

2008-02-25T16:34:00.000-08:00

This is a second monoprint, done in the same session as Lotus 2. This is in the collection of Lin & Joe Cochran.

Schuler House

2008-02-25T16:26:00.000-08:00

I received a field watercolor painting kit for Christmas, and put it to immediate use. This is a picture for fellow artist Ellen Shipley and her husband Bill, who runs a computer software company called Schuyler House. The castle in the rear of the picture is the Schuyler House symbol. The sheep in the foreground are a reminder that Ellen began her art career as a fibre artist/weaver. Can you spot the poodle in sheeps clothing, a slight slip of the paint brush? This 5x7" watercolor is in the private collection of Ellen & Bill Shipley.

Lotus 2

2008-02-25T16:23:00.001-08:00

At the suggestion of fellow artist Belinda Del Pesco (check out her website), I experimented with creating monoprints by drawing on plexiglass with water-soluble crayon, then putting a wet paper over and running it through a lithographic press. The resulting line drawing is then painted with transparent watercolor. Here is an example of the result.

Harvest Time

2008-02-25T16:20:00.001-08:00

I liked the contrast of the soft, dusty-looking wine grapes with the brilliant fall foliage. This painting has a narrow depth of field, with the leaves in the foreground being more realistic, and the foliage around the edges fading to the abract. The hardest part of this painting was creating a sense of roundness on each grape...

Windmills

2008-02-25T16:14:00.000-08:00

The first of the 3 paintings done in one day. This is larger, 11x14. I was happy that I managed to preserve whites around the windows and railing and the buildings actually have some sense of roundness. I was not happy with the bland, solid light blue sky that was in the picture. One thing you learn as an artist is that it is sometimes necessary to enhance what you see, to make a better composition. My husband recommended that I add some clouds to improve the balance of the painting. I painted the sky and clouds as you see them, over the existing vanes of the windmill. As soon as I laid in the sky, the water reflections became apparent and the balance of the entire painting was apparent.

Little Newt

2008-02-25T16:11:00.000-08:00

I had one really great day where I painted 3 complete paintings, a new high for me. I painted the Windmills. While that was drying, I painted the Lady in Red. While THAT was drying, I painted this picture of one of my cats, Little Newt. I'm pleased that it actually looks like a cat, and not a meatloaf. I'm happy with the use of negative space in this painting. For once I don't feel I overworked the subject.

Lavender Lady

2008-02-25T16:04:00.001-08:00

Proportion is off a bit on the figure, but I was very pleased with the abstract multi-colored background on this one. The entire background was painted in about 2 minutes, AFTER the figure was painted.

Aspens - Autumn Light

2008-02-25T16:00:00.001-08:00

Back to the subject of aspens again...this time in oil. This is a "plein air" style picture, practicing painting a whole picture in a single session. I was quite pleased with the result.

Zebra 1

2008-02-25T15:57:00.001-08:00

This zebra painting originally came out very flat. Later I added the deeper black tones to enhance the countours. It was still dull, until I popped the image by adding pinks and blues for the reflected light. I'm pleased with it now! Sent this one off to the Transparent Watercolor Society show in spring 2008.

Fall in New England

2008-02-25T15:55:00.001-08:00

Fall in New England is a watercolor. I liked the brilliance of the foliage, contrasted by the deep shadows of th trees. This is a break-through, as the building clearly has more than one side...(perspective being a continuing challenge...).

Mother and Child

2008-02-24T11:33:00.000-08:00

In this picture, a mother holds her child who is dressed in an old, torn shirt. The mother's expression shows her joy in her child.

Lady in Red

2008-02-24T11:31:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of a performer for a festival, waiting her turn to perform. Heavy color saturation in this watercolor.

Bishop's Peak 1

2008-02-24T11:08:00.000-08:00

This is countryside around San Luis Obispo. There are a series of volcanic peaks near the coast, which provide endless inspiration for painting. This is a view of Bishop's peak from the farm country just to the south.

Lavender, Los Olivos

2008-02-24T11:02:00.000-08:00

During my summer trip to Cambria, I painted a watercolor per day. This is a painting of a lavender field, a favorite subject which I return to often.

2008-02-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

During a summer trip to Cambria, California, a friend asked me if it was impossible to paint a "dark" watercolor, as all my pictures seemed very light and bright. I did this painting as an experiment. It also taught me that I should think more about contrast in my watercolor paintings to give them more "pop"!

Aspens 2

2008-02-24T10:58:00.000-08:00

Here is the second pass on the same image, done in a looser, more painterly style. This image gets a better reaction than the more realistic painting.

Aspens 1

2008-02-24T10:54:00.000-08:00

I did this transparent watercolor in an impressionistic style. Then I repeated it immediately in a much looser, painterly style.

Visions of Nebraska

2007-06-12T22:25:00.000-07:00

I recently had a junket to, of all places, Lincoln Nebraska. Nebraska is a very, very flat place which definitely brings to mind the phase "big sky country". This is an interpretation of western Nebraska, which is primarily range land. This is a watercolor. Tony has challenged me to do it in oil, to see how the mediums differ. Should be interesting!

Lath House at Huntington Gardens

2007-06-12T22:11:00.001-07:00

This is a view of the newly opened, steel and glass botanical lath house at the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena, California. For fun, I show a sunny scene in the foreground with a rainstorm sweeping in over the hills in the distance. The building posed a challenge. The lath was laid in using liquid frisket (sort of like painting with rubber cement). After the initial color pass, the frisket is removed and stark white lines remain. Then you have to somehow blend the color together to make the structure look like it exists in space, add shadow, etc. This was my first try working with liquid frisket.

Don's Last View of a Tropical Shore

2007-06-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

A good buddy, Don Lynch, has given up life in the States and is moving to Alberta Canada to pursue a sculpting career. Go, Don! I gifted Don with this tropical scene, so he would have something warm to look at during -20 degree winter days...

Still Life, with Cat

2007-06-12T21:38:00.002-07:00

This is your classic still life study of a bowl of fruit. When I finished it, I had a lot of empty space left in the picture, so I decided to add the cat as a "feature". This is my first attempt at rendering fur in watercolor. I decided to try out some iridescent silver watercolor as an undercoat, which really popped the individual hairs rendered in dark gray over the top. Coincidentally, the week I painted this, we adopted a Russian blue cat who looks like the picture. Welcome Dmitri, the Russian blue!

2007-05-10T21:37:00.000-07:00

I recently enjoyed a great exhibit at the Huntington Library of Constable's 6 foot oils and full size sketches. The sketches were very impressionistic (60 years before impressionism) but Constable then did them over in the required, tight style of the day where every leaf on the tree was defined. He liked a Z-shaped composition with theatrical lighting effects to force your eye to move around the canvas. This is my attempt at a Constable-style picture, rendered rather small and in watercolor rather than in oil. The original is startlingly vivid in tone for a watercolor. (Sold)

2007-05-10T21:22:00.000-07:00

A watercolor where I was practicing layering colors and creating transparent reflections. Would you believe the underlying color on the table is a hot pink? This is a charming German Hummel figurine that dates from 1952, quite different from the Hummel figurines I remember seeing in America. A loan from cousin Vivi to practice figure drawing.

Wipe Out

2007-05-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

Something beachy for on-coming hot weather. I'm practicing people--this is your basic stick figure! This is a watercolor. The foreground achieves added interest by scrunching plastic wrap on the wet paint, then doing over painting on the dry page.

"No Place Like Gnome"

2007-05-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

This one is just for fun, a little picture of an English cottage intentionally done "Kincade" style. The gnome was a last minute addition to solve a flaw in the watercolor paper!

Sunflowers

2007-04-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

After I sold Menage a Trois, I received a commission for another picture. The buyer wanted me to duplicate the picture in oils. As you can see, oil and watercolor are NOT the same medium. Deconstructing the watercolor's washes was an interesting exercise. Here's the result...

Lavender Tea

2006-09-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

For all the "Red Hat" ladies, here is the first of my "Red Hat" series. All set and ready for tea! There will be future additions to this series, I hope to have a set of greeting cards using the red hat theme...

Blue Heron

2006-09-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

Here's this week's entry. It was an attempt to do a more abstract background combined with a realistic foreground. By accident I discovered that by overlaying the blue tones on the heron with a little yellow ochre the result improved the sense of volume on the figure.

Foggy Morn

2006-08-22T22:25:00.000-07:00

This is another California impressionist piece. My reference was a rhodedendron bush in a redwood forest, a lovely photo shot by Thomas Mangelsen. The painting is very different from the original reference material. One of the beauties of painting is the ability to draw inspiration from many sources and transmute it to your own idea. The full effect of the fog, with the trees showing through, only appears if you place the painting under a spot light. The shot above shows the full effect. This oil painting, 24"x30", is priced at $650.00.

Rocky Point, California

2006-08-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

I became interested in California impressionism after viewing Dennis Doheny's work. I can only dream of being as fine a painter some time in the far future! I have plenty of material to draw upon from frequent trips through Big Sur, a favorite photo site for Tony. Even when painting a particular spot on the coast, I can remove roads, add fog, and change the lighting in the scene. The photo I used as reference was a very dark grab shot, so I let the sun come on in the painting. This oil painting, 24"x30", is priced at $650.00.

Old Vines

2006-08-17T22:22:00.000-07:00

This is a recent oil painting that sold shortly before the gallery show. I'm thinking of doing a vineyard series similar to the Provence series. The painting is 24"x30". I like it because I can really feel the wind in the trees and some of the flowers seem to be turning into butterflies.

New Works

2006-08-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

People bought watercolors and wanted to take them home. At first I thought I would insist that the pieces remain throughout the show. Then the lightbulb went off--an opportunity to hang new works! Here are new works that will be hung this week at the show. Drop back in and check it out. (Note, no weekend hours: Open 9-12 & 3-6 M-W-F, 3-7 T-Th.)
The top picture is quite a departure for me, I really went "Van Gogh" with this and just let the paint rush around the paper. It is titled "Menage a Trois", price $200.00.
The bottom painting is a basket of hydrangeas, titled "Hydrangeas" (can't be creative every day...), priced at $75.00. You may ask why two pictures of a similar size have different prices...it is a direct function of the framing cost!

All My Friends at the Show

2006-08-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all our friends who turned out to see the show, because I definitely had performance anxiety before the opening. What if someone sneered at my work??? Instead I heard many great comments and found the experience painless. And now, here's the show!

Water Lily #2

2006-08-13T21:25:00.000-07:00

The next day I got a call that another piece had sold. Here it is. Very exciting!! (I rushed right out and bought more frames... not quite keeping up with my earnings...)

Sold a Watercolor - "Rapunzel Dreams"

2006-08-13T21:24:00.001-07:00

Within 15 minutes I sold my only painting which featured a person, "Rapunzel Dreams". You can see it posted along with the photo reference it was drawn from, Christie in a bathtub shot! Drawing and painting people is not my forte, so I was pleased to be approached by people inquiring about possible commissions for pictures featuring people. (Gulp, now I might have to perform!).

(Tony's note: We did not have a chance to properly shoot the art before the show as it was only just completed. The photo shown has glare off the glass and was shot at the reception. We hope to get a better one before the buyer takes possession. The black and white photo was shot at Roy King's Esperanza Studios several years ago.)

First Sale of the Show

2006-08-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

I had pre-sold the picture "Heat of the Day", one of the lavender field pictures. It was fun to tack up a "sold" sign just as the show opened.

Opening Night of the Gallery Show

2006-08-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

The show opened Thursday night at 6 pm with a very nice wine and cheese reception. Some people were confused to discover the show was hidden in a chiropractic office on the second floor of a strip mall, but were pleasantly surprised when they made their way upstairs. We had 60-80 people turn out for the show. On my side was representational art, water lilies, lavender fields, California coastline pictures, etc. On the other side was wild and crazy abstract art! Attendees tended to divide quickly based on their personal taste. Here's a picture of my co-artist, Dr. Barry Carlin, myself, and Barry's friend Barbara.

"Heat of the Day"

2006-08-12T14:31:00.000-07:00

This is the third in the Provence series. It is currently on display at the Carlin Cooper Gallery in Santa Monica. It is a 16" x 20" oil painting priced at $450.00.

Look for coming entries on the opening day reception!

Tina

We're back!!

2006-08-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

We were off line for a couple of weeks (the hard drive ate my homework, and also itself...). Now, with new and improved equipment, we are back in the blog business!

Gallery Show!

2006-08-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

Skyshadow Studios

Announces

A Gallery Showing

Tina Chong

Oils & Watercolor

At the

Carlin Cooper Gallery

12113 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 203

Santa Monica, CA 90025

Telephone: 310-447-3540

Located on the North-West corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Bundy

10 August 2006 – 4 October 2006

Hours: M-W-F 8-12, 3-6; T-Th 3-7

Opening Reception Thursday, August 10, 2006

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Dusk at Pacific Beach

2006-06-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

And here's Tina's impression of Tony's photo. Oil on canvas, 24"x30" framed for $650.00, plus shipping.

Pacific Beach Sunset - California Central Coast

2006-06-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

This is Tony's photo of the California Central Coast area above Gorda. It was an overcast day and the shooting was marginal. Tina suggested I try for the sunset as she thought it might develop into something nice. It certainly did. She later did an oil painting based on this photo.

Provence at Dusk

2006-06-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

Here is another lavendar field picture, "Provence at Dusk". This is a 16x20 oil painting. This picture is available for $450.00 US, plus $50.00 shipping. This is a great painting for contemplation, as it is very restful.

A Storm is Rising

2006-06-11T21:41:00.000-07:00

This oil painting is 16x20 inches (sold). It is titled "A Storm is Rising". I am fond of pictures with lavender fields and am working on a series of paintings of Provence.