The River, She Rises - Day 22 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"The River, She Rises" - 18" x 24" acrylic on paper - $295 includes free shipping

As you know I'm trying to keep ahead on my paintings for this challenge, and I'm writing this particular post on the evening of January 18th.  Living in California gives us enviable weather compared to many other parts of the nation, so I feel like a big whiner whenever I talk about our storms or heat or drought.  But tonight in Sacramento we're having a hellacious storm with high winds and heavy rains that are downing trees and fences in my neighborhood, and our Sacramento and American Rivers are swelling to capacity.  It's nerve wracking and I'm trying to keep busy so I don't go into panic mode.

This painting was done several days ago and is called "The River, She Rises" - very appropriate for the current storm.  Also I love the clouds and colors in this piece - I didn't intend on making it into a landscape but here it is in all its glory :-)  Here's hoping tomorrow brings less turbulence and fluffy clouds with a hint of sunshine.  But for now, I'm going to grab a glass of Merlot; light my candles and hunker down with my dog as we wait out this storm.

Zenscape - 18

"Zenscape - 18" - 4" x 4" oil painting on unstretched canvas - $44 plus shipping

Zenscape 15

"Zenscape 15" - 4" x 4" oil painting on unstretched canvas - $44 plus shipping

Seaside Sunday - Day 28 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"Seaside Sunday" - 5" x 7" acrylic on paper in 11" x 14" mat - $65

Pulsing Waves - Day 24 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"Pulsing Waves" - 5" x 7" acrylic on paper in 11" x 14" mat - $65

Windswept Waves - Day 23 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"Windswept Waves" - 5" x 7" acrylic on paper in 11" x 14" mat - $65

Peace to Shore - Day 12 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"Peace to Shore" - 6" x 6" acrylic on paper in 14" x 11" mat - $65

Why is it the simplest paintings are sometimes the hardest ones to complete?  Is it because I don't know when to say "stop?" Or is it just difficult to walk away from something so calming when the emotions I experienced while painting this piece were just the opposite? 

It took a great deal of restraint to walk away from the easel without picking up my black ink or beloved jar of sludge gesso to add some shadows/rocks to this painting.  But I held myself back and I am glad I did. 

Painted on 9/11 - a very memorable day, here's "Peace to Shore" - in honor of all of those precious beings who perished in the 911 attack and their families.  I don't know if it will happen in my lifetime, but I hope and pray this world will experience a time of peace from shore to shore. 

Evening Tides - Day 7 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

"Evening Tides" - 6" x 6" acrylic on paper in 14" x 11" mat - $65

Another ocean painting based on memories of last year's vacation at Stinson Beach.....these colorful waves are calling my name.  Time for another trip!

January 27, 2015 - Day 27 of 30 in 30 challenge - "A Carefree Breeze"

"A Carefree Breeze" - oil paints on unstretched canvas - 6.5" x 7" - $52 plus shipping

January 26, 2015 - Day 26 of 30 in 30 challenge - "Spring Melt"

"Spring Melt" - oil paints on unstretched canvas - 6.5" x 7" - $52 plus shipping

January 25, 2015 - Day 25 of 30 in 30 challenge - "A New Tomorrow"

"A New Tomorrow" - oil on unstretched canvas - 6.5" x 7" - $52 plus shipping

January 23, 2015 - 30 in 30 challenge - "Homeward Bound"

"Homeward Bound" - 8" x 9" oil on unstretched canvas - $65 plus shipping

January 21, 2015 - 30 in 30 challenge - "Babbling Brook"

"Babbling Brook" - 7.5" x 6" - oil painting on unstretched canvas - $52 plus shipping

January 16, 2015 - Day 16 of 30 in 30 challenge - "Dawn of Light"

"Dawn of Light" - Oil paint on unstretched canvas - 6.5" x 7" - $52 plus shipping

January 15, 2015 - Day 15 of 30 in 30 Challenge - "Glistening Tides"

"Glistening Tides" - 6.5" x 7" oil paint on unstretched canvas - $52 plus shipping

January 10, 2015 - 30 in 30 challenge - "Sea of Life"

"Sea of Life" - oil painting on unstretched canvas - 6.5" x 7" - $52 plus shipping

January 5, 2015 - 30 in 30 - "Shadows on the Seas"

"Shadows on the Seas" - Oil on unstretched canvas - 6.5" x 7.5"- SOLD

January 4, 2015 - 30 in 30 - "Wild Sea"

"Wild Sea" - oil on unstretched canvas - 6.5" x 7.5"- $52 plus shipping

Me and my Frenemy

Thanks to the upcoming "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge I'm going to extend the olive branch of forgiveness to my old frenemy, oil paints.  When I was 10 years old my parents gave me a fantastic oil painting kit (the adult version no less!) and I struggled for years trying to master the medium.  Though I managed to notice the wonderful blending qualities and amazing color options immediately, I fought with the drying time before finally waving the white flag to turn to watercolors and acrylics.

I tried taking a class in college which ended badly because I didn't mesh with the teacher's requirement of painting flowers each and every single lesson.  I tried once again after noticing an artist using them on top of their acrylics (what??!!) and managed to ruin every single painting because of my severe lack of patience.

Earlier this year a dear friend of mine lost her husband who had been an amazing artist.  While I was helping her clear some things out, she decided she wanted to redecorate her house and commissioned me to paint a very large painting to go on a huge family room wall.  Part of the deal we struck included my taking her husband's oil paints and brushes, which until now had gathered dust in my studio.

So when trying to decide what to do for the upcoming art event, I decided to REALLY challenge myself and work with Larry's oil paints.  What better way to get over the love/hate relationship than to stare at it day after day for a month?

So here are a couple of studies I painted in preparation for the upcoming challenge which begins January 1, 2015.   I'm planning to do a mix of non-objective abstracts (to work with color and composition) and abstract landscapes using Larry's top quality paints and brushes.

Each morning I'll be posting the latest painting on this blog and uploading them to my ETSY stores, Creative Soul Revival and The Beachy Boutique.  The beach scenes will be in the latter store while abstracts and non-beach related landscapes will be for sale in Creative Soul Revival.

This will be my 4th "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge and I'm looking forward to kicking off the New year with it.  There is something exciting about creating something each and every day for 30 days, and I want to get a cohesive line of work to show on my new website that is being worked on that will be strictly for my art.

Here's to making friends with my old enemy - may we overcome our issues and become the true friends I had hoped we would be when I first met you on my 10th birthday.   And may I channel a lot of Larry's talent and patience in the process!