Have Paints Will Travel

Practical Painting Tip #1 - Wooden Skewers

2012-01-09T21:09:00.001-08:00

Wooden shish-ka-bob skewers, the type that you buy at the grocery store in a package of 100 for 99 cents make great painting tools.

When working in watercolor they are handy for applying masking fluid. First make sure your masking fluid is thin like water, not thick like gravy. If it is too thick, just add a little bit of water and stir with the wooden skewer. Do not shake the bottle as that will create bubbles. Then use the pointed end of the skewer to apply thin lines of masking fluid or the blunt end to make round dots of masking fluid.

Skewers also work to make tiny fine dark lines on a watercolor painting. For instance if you are painting a leaf with veins that are darker in color than the leaf itself, just paint the color of the leaf and while the paint is wet, scratch the veins into the paper with the pointed end of the skewer. The wet paint will roll into the line you scratched in the paper making it appear darker than the leaf.

Acrylic and oil painters working in impasto find these skewers useful for scratching detail into the impasto. They are also helpful for picking dried paint out of the end of a tube of paint.

So next time you are in the grocery store pick up a package of these skewers and see how many uses you can find for them around your studio. If you discover a new use, please add a comment to this blog post and share with all the artists that read this blog.

My Summer Vacation in Collioure France

2011-07-07T17:47:00.001-07:00

After teaching my workshop for French Escapade in Provence, my friend Sylvia and I took 4 trains from Avignon in Provence down to the Mediterranean Sea to a cute little medieval village called Collioure. We had rented an apartment in Collioure from the American artist Carole Watanabe for 8 days of vacation.

We managed to catch all the right trains and meet some nice French people along the way. Arriving in Collioure we found our cute little apartment with the welcome sign on the door quite easily. The apartment is on the third floor up very steep stairs over Carole Watanbe’s gallery and her studio apartment. She and a friend were there too so it was fun getting to know them. The village is full of art galleries and studios, all the artists are French accept two dutch and Carole the lone American. The quality of art in the galleries and open studies ranged from really really good to marginal.

Our apartment or “nest” as Sylvia called it.

Here is Sylvia with the painting of the apartment she purchased from Carole.

Our first morning was a beautiful sunny day so we walked down to the beach, found a park bench, sat and sketched this famous landmark of Collioure.

Here are some of my favorite photos of Collioure:

One of two beaches in the town with the Royal Castle that sits high on rocks that divide the two sections of the town.

I painted this colorful corner but the painting is not done yet, I will post the painting when I get it completed.

This is a very colorful town. No wonder so many artists make their homes here.

Love these laughing pigs!

One morning we decided to hike up to Fort St Elme on the hill, but we did not follow the map, we just started heading up figuring we would get there. On the way we passed this old ruined wall, there is a painting here!

Farther up hill we came across this vineyard with the gnarly vines. More paintings here…

After hiking for an hour we realized we were going to end up on the wrong ridge and it would be faster to go back down and walk around the beach to the far end of town and hike back up that way. Anyway it was time for lunch. This is Fort Elme, our destination.

On our second try for the fort we climbed to this windmill along the way.

After a good bit of climbing up a mountain goat trail we got to the Fort only to discover the tourist train unloading a group of passengers it had brought up via a road that went behind the hill! Oh well we got some good exercise. The fort was closing for the day but this view of Collioure below was worth the climb.

Carousels can be found in towns all over France. This one was tiny but cute.

These ceramic down spots were all over Collioure. Oh so French!

Not every French village has its own Royal Castle but Collioure does, and we had a great time exploring it.

Sylvia checking out the tiny slit in wall where they probably shot arrows at the enemy below.

Looking out through very old glass in a castle window.

Sylvia on the walkway on the very top of the castle.

A portion of the view from the top of the castle.

Old mossy roof tops viewed from top of the castle.

Relics from ancient times were displayed in the museum inside the castle.

More photos of Collioure:

Hey Bill and Dan here is an idea for making a bit of extra money using your bike as a billboard.

Ad hock art gallery, the artist is the guy in the beret of course!

We loved our apartment and we loved Collioure, the perfect little town for artists and art lovers to kick back and relax.

French Escapade - Oppede le Vieus

2011-06-20T20:16:00.001-07:00

Our last day of painting on the French Escapade Watercolor Workshop in Provece, Jackie drove us through the countryside and up a winding road to the top of a rocky ridge in the Luberon mountains to Oppede le Vieux. This village is so tiny and out of the way that even Rick Steves has not discovered it!

The villagers are busy restoring its twelfth century collegiate church and for those with hiking legs and safe shoes there are ruins of a medieval castle to explore on top of a rock outcropping. Several artists writers and celebrities have found this site and restored old sixteenth and seventeenth century homes to their authentic character. Needless to say I saw paintings everywhere I looked.

Here are some photographs to make all you painters out there green with envy. If you wish to create a painting from one of my photos and need an enlarged image just email me (click here) or use the comment section in this blog and I will email the image to you. Please do not copy any of the paintings posted on this blog, they are copyright protected by the artists.

I wonder who lives here…an artist? A writer…perhaps Peter Mayles? He wrote his popular book “A Year in Provence” somewhere in this area.

This lady must be a local artist.

These walls were built all over this area with “dry stacked” rocks meaning no mortar or cement. Look at the way they stood the rocks on end on the top of the walls, very clever.

Several of us hiked to the church that is being restored. Then we climbed up to the ruins of a castle from the Middle Ages and took photographs. However, perching on the rocky outcropping to sketch did not seem to be a wise idea, so we returned to the village below and found wonderful scenes to sketch and paint. Here are some views of the old ruins, there me be a painting in here somewhere…

Linda and Barbara ordered drinks from one of only two cafes in this tiny village and spend the afternoon sketching.

Linda parked under a tree and tackled a stone cottage with the church on the hill above it.

Jan created this fun painting looking up at Oppede le Vieux from the parking lot.

I plan to return with Jackie on another French Escapade to Provence in the future. So start saving your travel money and frequent flyer miles now so you can join us next time. To request to be on my mailing list use the contact me page on my website, here is the link www.sandydelehanty.com. To see more about Jackie’s French Escapade trips click on this link www.frenchescapade.com.

Following Van Gogh’s footsteps to St Remy

2011-06-16T17:49:00.001-07:00

We painted along the paths were Van Gogh used to walk during the year he spent at the old monastery Mausole of St Paul in St Remy near the end of his life. He created 150 paintings here and 21 of them are displayed as reproductions on sign posts on the property.

We posed for our group photo with one of the sign posts featuring a Van Gogh reproduction.

Wow poppies! They were finished blooming and mowed when I last visited Mausole of St Paul in 2005 so this was quite a surprise! I took many photos hoping to paint them when I get the chance. I started an ink sketch of them on the airplane on the flights home, I will post it when it is completed.

Linda A, the color co-ordinated photographer!

Jan, our most serious photographer.

The courtyard of Mausole of St Paul

Here is how it looked in 2005, or at least how I sketched it in my watercolor journal back then.

Margaret measuring to get the proportion correct.

Here are the olive trees Van Gogh painted.

You can see the same tree on the left in his painting.

We liked this tree in the same olive grove.

Linda C’s wonderful sepia ink sketch of the big olive tree.

Here is Linda with another sketch of the olive trees.

Barbara and Linda A. at work sketching the olive trees.

It rained a few drops and was cold for a couple of hours that day. Then the sun returned….nothing like what was happening at home back in California! I got an email from Burke that said, “Hail, rain, thunder, tornado warnings, just another spring day in California!”

Jan found a comfortable seat to sketch in the van.

As teacher, I try to spend my time helping students so if I do get a sketch done it is a quickly. I did the ink sketch of this tree in less than 10 minutes, added the watercolor in about a half an hour. I thought it was kind of a comical tree with its huge twisted trunk and just a few small sprouts for limbs at the top.

I did not see this little sketch Bonnie did that day until I read her blog. It is so free, gestural and perfectly captures the twisted shapes of these trees.

Bonnie enjoys creative writing as well as painting so she spent part of her day here writing. When she returned home she posted her story about St Remy and painting in France on her blog. She is a wonderful writer, I urge you to click on this link and read her blog www.bonnieandkodiblog.blogspot.com.

Isle sur la Sorgue, France on market day

2011-06-14T23:29:00.001-07:00

This is one of the most colorful villages in Provence and I love taking students to paint here. It sits on an island in the Sorgue river and has very colorful shops and restaurants. Each restaurant has its own color scheme, no two alike, really colorful.

We were here on market day. This market is one of the largest Provencal markets in all of Provence. We spent the morning shopping and taking photographs. Then while we enjoyed lunch in a restaurant the vendors packed up and left so afterward we could find a spot to paint. Great planning Jackie.

(In case you are wondering Jackie is the owner of French Escapade, the tour company that operates this wonderful trip. To learn about her trips click here http://www.frenchescapade.com/.)

There use to be waterwheels like this all over this area, now only about a dozen remain. Check out all the moss on this baby!

The pink restaurant

And the green one, like I said, a most colorful village!

Market color

more color

Linda finds one she likes.

more market color

happy dog, not sure about the Frenchman

This might become a painting.

nice reflections

I took this photo for my husband Burke. This guy was fly fishing right in the middle of town, not exactly the kind of peaceful mountain river kind of fly fishing scene that Burke likes. I did not see him catch a fish.

Linda C never missed a shot even if she had to use Jackie as her tripod!

And I loved her pink hat. I think workshop teachers should require all students to wear pink hats because I never once lost Linda, I just looked for the pink hat!

I photographed this lady sleeping on a cement bench in the park across the river from the colorful cafes. The bench she occupied would be the perfect spot to sit and do a watercolor sketch in our journal of the village. By the time we arrived after lunch, she had gone, the photo below was our view to paint.

Here is the scene we were capturing in our watercolor journals.

Jan’s tables and umbrellas

Jan’s work has a wonderful whimsical charm to it. She did many of these tiny sketches throughout the trip and all have her individual style.

Linda A did this one I think. She finished it after I took this photo, but since this is the only photo I can find, I am posting it. Again another artist captures the charm of Isle sur la Sorgue.

I think this is Margaret’s drawing. Barbara did a charming one too but it was in light pencil and I don’t think I was able to photograph it.

Everyone else left the cars out of their sketches, but I included them in my sketch because they gave me the opportunity to say “this is Europe”. The cars in Europe are smaller and different in shape than most of ours in the USA. I kind of liked this one as an ink sketch so I did not add color to it.

Gordes Village, France May 25 Watercolor and ink sketching

2011-06-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

I have returned to California after three wonderful weeks traveling in Europe. My little netbook computer that I "blew up" with an electric serge during a thunderstorm, is waiting for a complete make over so it will work properly again. By the end of the trip it had become so cranky it would not connect to any website accept yahoo no matter what wi-fi connection I was using. So now that I have downloaded my photos into my desk top I can pick up the blog where I left off, in the middle of our "French Escapade" in Provence.

So, lets turn the "way back machine" to May 25, 2011 and the photo I took of the Abbey of Senanques.

Too bad the lavender was not in bloom, it looked spectacular on the postcards for sale in the gift shop.

We often had picnic lunches, more time for painting that way. Jackie did the grocery shopping and it was fun to learn what the French labels meant and explore new foods. I especially enjoyed the tuna with green olives in it, and the wonderful cheeses she purchased. And we all enjoyed the bread she would buy each morning at the Boulangerie.

These bottles were in the lovely shop at the olive growers farm where we had our picnic lunch.

This is Gordes Village as seen from a nearby hilltop. We decided to challenge ourselves and capture this view of the village in our watercolor journals instead of painted somewhere within the village. This is no easy task, so I demonstrated my process for breaking down the complicated scene by choosing one key point and working out from there. I chose the church on the top and then worked down the hill first on one side and then on the other comparing each building with the previous one. The idea is to capture the essence of the scene the tiny village cascading down the mountainside like a waterfall of stone buildings.

This is Linda A's lovely ink and watercolor sketch of Gordes.

And this one is Margaret's cute painting.

We were sitting on the edge of the road near a view point all working away on our paintings not noticing that we were the subject of many photos being taken by tourists. Jan was nearest the road and she said people kept asking if they could take our photos in French. Even Americans asked her in French! Maybe it was our hats that made the tourists think we were French painters.

After completing our watercolors we went into the village of Gordes to take photos and find ice cream. Love these old walls.

Close up of the same wall, yummy color and texture, this will be a painting.

I thought this graffiti was cool, have no idea what it means. Hope it is not nasty...

The church in Venasque at night...beautiful end to a beautiful day.

wifi gremlins have caused blog to be interrupted

2011-06-04T06:14:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I am fine, but the blog is not.

Several people have emailed me worried because I stopped blogging because that is how they keep up with me when I travel. I am fine, just attacked by dreaded wifi gremlins.

I got so busy teaching and having fun with my students on the French Escapade I ran out of time to update the blog with all the cool photos I took of the rest of our trip. So I thought I would just upload them all from my computer when I got to Collioure the French coast town where I am vacationing with my friend Sylvia. We have an apartment here for a week so plenty of time to update the blog.

Here in Collioure there seems to be only one public wifi connection, in a cafe if you buy something. However the owner of the cafe has not kept up his security certificate so google (who operates blogspot where this blog is located) won't let me upload anything to my blog. So the blog is dead in the water until I find a better wifi spot, probably after I get home June 10. I am writing this in an internet place but can't use my own computer here which has the photos I want to upload.

The French Escapade was wonderful. This seaside town is so cute and full of good artists I love it and plan to rent the apartment again in the future. Sylvia and I are off on Monday to see Barcelona then fly home on the tenth.

more after June 10.....

French Escapade, Roussillon

2011-05-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

Roussillon's ochre mines are famous the world over. No longer operating, they are now a tourist attraction bringing a boost to the local economy. The locals discovered that ocher, a blend of iron, sand and chalk, makes a permanent paint (think French cave paintings) and that was the beginning of mining here. They also used the ochre to paint their village creating a lovely "red" village loved by all who visit here.

This could be an abstract painting.

Bonnie and Linda stayed in the village while the rest of us took a trail through what was once the mine. It kind of reminds me of Bryce Canyon accept the shapes are man made instead of natural.

Here is the village of Roussillon. When the walls are in direct sun they look more of a greyish pink but in the shade they appear more redish. The last time I visited Roussillon was a couple of days after Katrina hit the US, with Sunny Reeves and her painting trip with instructor Susan Blackwood. I remember because a nice lady came out of her shop to inquire if we had families in New Orleans and were they all right, when she heard us speaking American accented English.
It rained that day and the entire village changed color, when the ochre paint gets wet it turned a much deeper red. No rain today, Jackie ordered up another perfectly sunny day.

Linda sitting looks so serious in this shot.

The other Linda and Margret perched on this narrow stairway up to the bell tower to paint. Many people snapped photos of them, but the interesting part was that most of the would be photographers asked for permission to take their picture in French. Even an American lady asked in French.

This lovely arched window was the subject of Linda's painting.

The last time I photographed this window it was raining, look at the lovely sun and shadows today.

Tourists come in all sizes and shapes, and in various states of dress and undress!

Love this tiny window in the stone wall.

Spandex reigns...everywhere we go we see people touring Provence on bicycles. These guys spoke English with a strong British accent.

old door, new lock

A quick watercolor sketch in my journal while enjoying a cold .drink and glace' under the shade of a cafe umbrella. The best part was the mister that came on every couple of minutes. Feels more like July in Provence than May.

Just another lovely day creating watercolor sketches in our journals.

2011-05-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

Breakfast still life.

Our first day of painting will be here in Venasque. The ramparts will built in the eleventh century.

Only in France would a village post office have a trellis of iron work painted a lovely lavender and hanging baskets of flowers. Note the beautifully fashined iron sign announcing "La Poste".

The Venasque Boulangerie (bakery where you buy your bread and other baked goods). The village is too small to have a grocery store or a green grocer, but every village no matter how tiny has a boulangerie.

Bonnie painting the boulangerie.

Margret using her "go-figure" to measure an angle.

At the end of the first day everyone had created at least one painting and some were on their second one. No one offered there paintings to be photographed for the blog however.

We had critique along with aperitifs and then enjoyed a very tasty and filling dinner on the terrace again, then everyone crashed in bed for a good night's sleep.

French Escapade in Provence...continued...

2011-05-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here we are having our first dinner on the terrace our first evening, we are: Jan, Barbara, Jackie, me, Bonnie, Linda, Linda and Margret. Jerome and Martine own La Maison aux Volets Bleus and Jerome is a fabulous French chef. We are eating well!

Martine is an artist, so everywhere you look there is a painting.

Bonnie in the doorway of her room.

The view from the terrace and all my students rooms, very inspiring!

I have been writing my blog off line as I always do in "Live Writer" but when I try to upload onto this blog it gets blocked. The error message is very long, so clearly something is not right. Because of my busy schedule, and the fact that I can only get on line in the living room, not always convenient, I am behind in sharing with all of you the fun we are having. Sorry about that.

Follow along on our French Escapade

2011-05-24T09:34:00.001-07:00

Jackie Grandchanps, owner of French Escapade, a small group tour conpany, picked my students and I up in a new van called a "Jumpy" at the train station in Avignon France for my watercolor workshop in Provence on Sunday. (Computer problems, only half corrected, did not allow me to blog until now, so a bit behind here.) Anwyay, we drove through Avignon out into the beautiful countryside awhile until a tiny village on top of a hill came into view. The village is called Venasque and will be our home for the workshop.

La Maison aux Volets Bleus (house with the blue shutters) is the beautiful B and B that will be our home while we are here.

Have Paints Will Travel to Provence, France

2011-05-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

My friend Bonnie and I arrived in Avignon, France a couple of days before my French Escapade Watercolor Workshop. We stayed at le Colbert, a lovely little hotel recommended in Rick Steves "France" book.

We found the patio of the le Colbert the perfect place to do some warm up paintings prior to my workshop.

While having lunch in the square I sketched this man having a smoke while watching the action in the le Corp Saint square below.

Almost everyone is here now, we are having dinner at an outcoor cafe on the main square in Avignon. We are toasting to being in Paradise if the world ends (it is May 21st). The French did not understand the reason behind our toast. They must not have wacky preachers that predict the end of the world here, either that or the French media pays no attention to them.

Maui painters, so productive and fun

2011-04-12T01:14:00.000-07:00

It has been my good fortune to be the Guest Instructor for the Wahine Artists of Wailea (WAWA) on the beautiful island of Maui for the past several days. Pictured above are the 8 Wahines and the 27 paintings they created. Granted not all are complete; but this has to be one of the most hardworking fun group of students I have ever taught.

They wanted to paint rainbow eucalyptus, bamboo and birds of paradise. The rainbow eucalyptus paintings are the most abstract, and were probably the most difficult. The bamboo was great fun for all of us. We chose Aquabord as our surface for painting the birds and as you can see the colors are stunning!

I will be doing an Aquabord workshop in Sacramento June 24 and 25 if you would like to give it a try. My website http://www.sandydelehanty.com/ has the details.

Getting back to Maui, every where I look I see a painting. And the weather has been perfect! Sunsets, divine and different every night and flowers in bloom everywhere. I got this photo of a hibiscus along the driveway leading into the Four Seasons resort.

Mahalo ladies for all your hard work and your gracious hospitality. I have had an absolutely marvelous time!

Travel Planning Tips

2011-02-27T13:10:00.000-08:00

This photo was taken in the Madrid Airport last summer by a man who wanted to prove to his wife back home, that just because you are an artist you don't have to hall two huge suitcases full of stuff all over Europe!

I know my limits! I am not strong enough to lift a large suitcase onto a train, so I travel with my Rick Steve's backpack and this 22" carry-on roller bag.

TRAVEL PLANNING TIPS

In the past few days I have been contacted by several people interested in my watercolor workshops and we have been discussing travel plans. Since I know that many of you that follow this blog are travelers also; here are some tips I have been sharing with my students.

PASSPORTS: There is a slight possibility that the Federal government may temporarily shut down due failure of congress to agree on a budget. If this happens the Passport Office will shut down as it is not considered an "essential service". If you need a passport go to the post office and obtain your application form and go on line to the governments website at http://www.travel.state.gov/ to follow the instructions. There are websites that are privately run and offer to expedite the process but you will pay extra for their speedy service above and beyond the cost of the passport. If you have your passport, check the expiration date. Some countries will not let you enter if your passport has less than 6 months to expire.

DISCOUNTS: Most tour companies and cruise lines offer discounts for early booking, so stop procrastinating and get planning now!

My "CREATING WATERCOLOR MEMORIES OF THE CINQUE TERRE" watercolor workshop on the Italian Riviera is not until September 2011; however, if you book now you can save $100.00. The Early Bird Discount deadline for this trip was February 28, but I did not publish a reminder of this deadline until a couple of days ago. Therefore, the tour company Toscana Americana has graciously offered to extend the deadline for the $100. discount to March 15, 2011. To learn about this workshop click here http://www.toscanaamericana.com/ , then click on "Italian Riviera & Cinque Terre" on the home page and you will find a gallery of photos of the Cinque Terre. At the top of that page is the link to all the details about my workshop.

TRAVEL INSURANCE: If you are planning to travel check to see if your health insurance covers you where you are traveling. If not, make sure the Travel Insurance you purchase covers health insurance and health related transportation.

Even if you are covered for health problems I recommend you purchase travel insurance to cover the entire cost of your trip if it has to be canceled for any reason. Also, cover the cost of having to change or cancel flights for any reason. You may be young and healthy, but you can't predict natural disasters, political unrest, or health alerts. I had to cancel a trip to Bali due to Sars disease several years ago. You just never know. I have used the trip insurance offered by AAA and also Travel Guard.

FLIGHT DEALS: http://www.kayak.com/ is my "go-to website" for searching for travel deals. I love the "Travel Alerts" feature which allows Kayak to send you email alerts. Months ago I set up a weekly Travel Alert for a round trip flight from Sacramento to Paris this May and June. Each week I received an email notice of the best price on the dates I wanted. The price started around $1,600. and stayed around that price for the first couple of months, then it suddenly dropped to $945.00! Wow! I checked the details for overall length of trip, departure times, layovers, etc. It looked good, so I went to the website where Kayak found the flights and booked it. Two days later the price started going up, last time I checked it is around $1,300. still good but not fantastic. Here is the interesting part, my search was for flights from Sacramento to Paris and Kayak found this bargain using Icelandic Airlines website. I would never have thought to search Icelandic airlines! And the bonus: the longest leg of the flight is only 7 hours from Seattle to Iceland. No 9 hour to 11 hour flights this time....whoopee!

Non-Traditional painting tools

2011-02-03T16:27:00.000-08:00

Yep that's me, wearing one of my favorite non-traditional painting tools! Sometimes instructors have to get a bit silly to make a point.

Today my point is, painting tools can be anything. I once painted an entire watercolor without using a single brush. We were camping and I forgot to pack them. I used pine needles, moss, grass, a sponge and leaves. It worked great!

Artists are creative types, and creative types are usually good at thinking outside the box. In this case lets think outside the Paint Box to the grocery store, craft store, upholstery tool website, office and plastic store...

Here is a photo of the non-traditional painting tools in this post.

WOODEN SKEWERS (from the grocery store)

For watercolor painters, wooden skewers work well for applying or stirring masking fluid. Masking fluid should be thin like water, not clumpy and lumpy like bad gravy. If yours is thick, use the wooden skewer to pull out the clumps. Then add water to thin what is left and gently stir with your skewer. Do not shake masking fluid because shaking creates bubbles that get in the way when trying to apply it. To achieve a very thin line of masking fluid, dip the pointy end of the wooden skewer into the thinned masking fluid, touch jar edge to remove excess, then draw with pointy end. To create dots of masking fluid flip the skewer, dip the thicker round end into the masking fluid and apply to your paper or Aquabord.

Wooden skewers can also be used to make tiny dark lines in watercolor on paper. Apply color first, then while wet use the pointy end of the skewer to scratch your watercolor paper. The wet paint will run right into the scratch in the watercolor paper creating a thin dark line.

Wooden skewers make wonderful tools for stirring liquids, like fluid acrylics and mediums. They also pick dried paint out of the end of tubes. At 99 cents for 100 skewers you can't beat the price!

MAGIC ERASE BY MR CLEAN (found in the cleaners isle of the grocery store)

This stuff is the best cleaning tool in my studio. It is an abrasive with no added chemicals (use the blue box original to avoid chemicals) and it gets all kinds of things cleaner, especially my sink.

Watercolor painters will love this stuff! Buy the blue box original Magic Erase from Mr Clean. Cut each brick into one inch cubes with a pair of scissors. Then cut the one inch cubes in half on an angle forming two triangles. Made a mistake? No problem. Dip a triangle into clean water. Using the point of the triangle for details or the side for larger areas, gently pull the damp "eraser" in one direction across the paint you want to lift off. The paint will be absorbed into the Magic Eraser. You are using an abrasive, so work in one direction gently so as not to rip the paper. It also works great on Aquabord. Keep going to further lighten or lift the color completely off. Yes even the most staining colors can be completely lifted off!

Please share your ideas for this great product with the rest of us.

POCKET KNIFE OR EXACTO KNIFE

Try using the tip of the blade for picking tiny flecks of color off a watercolor painting. Really useful for making that very tiny reflection in the pupil of an eye.

METAL PALETTE KNIFE

Just because it was designed for oil or acrylic painters does not mean it can't become a handy tool for watercolor artists. I use it for splattering paint or masking fluid. Dip in runny masking fluid or paint, hold it an inch or so above the place you want to splatter. Now pull the tip of the metal blade towards you with one finger and let fly.

I also use my metal palette knife to make very thin lines of masking fluid. Dip the blade into thin masking fluid then draw with the side edge of the blade. Practice a bit first, you will get the hang of it. Works great for llama eye lashes and hair.

DECKLE EDGE SCISSORS (from the scrapbooking isle of the craft store)

My student Deb taught me this trick, thanks Deb. Deckle edge scissors are great for cutting the edges of watercolor paper so it looks nice framed in a floater frame.

UPHOLSTERY TACK REMOVER (from upholstery supply stores or websites)

I "borrowed" this tool from my husband's trade show sample box (he is a Manufacturer's Rep for the maker of the tool, C. S. Osbourne). I stretch my watercolor paper over stretcher bars designed for stretching canvas. I secure the paper with thumb tacks because I can easily pop out the tacks with this handy tool when the painting is complete. I then use the deckle edge scissor to cut the folded edge off. The manufacturer of the tack remover does not sell directly, but distributors are on the web under upholstery suppliers.

RED PLASTIC (Tap Plastics, just ask for a small sample...they probably won't charge you)

If you have difficulty distinguishing value from color it helps to change everything to one color. That way it is easy to see which shape is darker in value and which shape is lighter in value. You can get a piece of red or green plastic (3" x 4" is a good size) from Tap Plastics, or use red or green cellophane. Of course if you really want to be cool you can get red sunglasses like those I am wearing! They were a gift from my friend and student Merryjane. I have o idea where she found them. My friend Berna popped the plastic lenses out of a pair of cheap sunglasses and inserted red cellophane in one side and green in the other. That way she sees neutral. Really smart!

Please share your ideas for non-traditional painting tools in the comment section on the blog, or email me. I will include them in another blog post and in my newsletter for everyone else to read. Thanks, Sandy

So how are those New Year Resolutions coming along?

2011-01-19T19:46:00.000-08:00

My last post was "An Artist's New Year Resolutions" posted on December 31, 2010.   I was hoping to receive some New Year's Resolutions from other artists in the comments section on my blog. I did receive several emails with lots of good resolutions from other artists, but only a couple of comments. So now that we are half way through January, how are those New Year Resolutions coming along?

As you can probably tell if you read mine, I am failing on resolution number (7), "blog at least once a week."

But the good news is I am doing well on my painting resolutions (1) to have fun painting what excites me, (2) create a body of new work worthy of a show, and (3) make painting time. (4) to keep my current gallery supplied with new work is going slow, the weather is working against me. The oil paintings are not drying!

(5) to study marketing using technology is going well. I spent time sharing my email marketing techniques with three artist friends and one of them David Peterson spent time teaching me his Facebook secrets. Thanks David!

(6) I have been entering shows like mad. A bit of luck, I had a painting accepted into the Richeson 75 Small Works Open show and just shipped it to Wisconsin.  I even got a photograph into a show, the first time I ever entered a photography show. You can see it at the photography show at the Blue Line Gallery in Roseville. Huge turn out at the opening, great fun!

(8) I am not sure what workshop I will take this year, but have decided to attend the Don Andrews workshop in Guatemala in 2012. Sounds like great fun and he is such a good teacher and fabulous painter.

(9) I am sharing all that I learn with students, had ten really fun students in my workshop last week. Next week I have a Beginner's Watercolor Workshop and the following week a Beginner's Follow-up Watercolor Workshop. Beginners are always fun to work with, seeing the light bulb turn on is a kick! Info on these workshops is at www.sandydelehanty.com. Both still have space available.

So, now I hope to hear how are you doing with your artist resolutions...

So how are those New Year Resolutions coming along?

2011-01-19T19:19:00.001-08:00

An Artist’s New Year Resolutions

2010-12-31T17:21:00.000-08:00

The Gift Amaryllis, my newest painting in my floral oils series.

Happy New Year Everyone

It’s time for making resolutions, here are my “Art Resolutions”. I would love to hear resolutions from other artists, please add them in the comment section below.

Art Resolutions

1. Continue to have fun painting, by painting what I want to paint. I find my best work is created when I am most passionate about my subject, and process.

2. Create a body of new work worthy of a one or two person gallery show by the end of 2011.

3. Make painting time, not just “paint when I get a chance”, as I often hear my students say.

4. Keep my current gallery supplied with new work and search for a second gallery beyond Northern California.

5. Continue to study ways to use technology to market my paintings and my workshops. Thanks to John Stanley for an excellent Photoshop class at the Placer School for Adults, it helped.

6. Check deadlines for competitions on the 15th and 30th of every month and get those entries in. You can’t win if you don’t enter.

7. Blog at least once a week.

8. Take at least one workshop or class this year to continue to add to my knowledge of painting.

9. Sharing all that I have learned with my students is fun and rewarding so I will continue to do that plus listen to their suggestions on how to improve my teaching skills.

I listened to my Sacramento area students when they complained that they had trouble finishing their paintings they start in my classes. They asked for more time in class so I changed my format from half day classes to a 2 day workshop. So far not many have signed up, so let’s hope that is what you all want! The schedule is on my website www.sandydelehanty.com.

10. Share my work by donating to causes that I support.

Now it is your turn.

Please share your Art Resolutions in the comment box below. Maybe we can all inspire each other.

Wayne’s World at the Crocker Art Museum

2010-12-03T17:48:00.001-08:00

I finally made it to visit the new and improved Crocker Art Museum and see the Wayne Thiebaud exhibit just before Thanksgiving.

WOW!!!!!!!!! The museum is fabulous, any city of any size would be proud to have such a marvelous art museum! The café is great too!

I am a fortunate artist in that my favorite artist is not only alive, but I actually got to take a class from him 40 years ago, and have had the opportunity to visit with him recently at Elliott Fouts Gallery.

When I was an art major at Chico State I learned about a trip Wayne and Betty Thiebaud were planning to his opening at the Stone Gallery in New York City. They were making it possible for students to go with them, and spend a week in the city visiting museums and galleries and receiving a unit of credit through Sacramento State. I jumped at the chance, and the trip was memorable.

From shows I have attended in New York and San Francisco, and from reproductions in books and calendars I recognized many of the paintings hanging in the Crocker exhibition. There were some that I had not seen before, like his paintings of the seaside resorts done in 2007. The ice cream sherbet colors, the tall resort hotel on a sandy peninsula, loads of texture absolutely yummy! And the composition, only Wayne would think of that!

Having my share of unfinished paintings sitting around the studio I was heartened to see paintings like “Estate” dated 1969 – 1996! It shows buildings on top of an enormous hill with really rich colors, another one of his brilliant compositions. This too was a painting I had not seen. One of my favorites, also new to me, is dated 2003-2008 and is titled “The Speaker”. Wayne’s humor shines through this painting just like the speaker’s bald head!

Two portraits of Betty Jean hang together, one from 1965 that looks just as I remember her then and one done in 1985. Both are beautiful.

Thank you Wayne for all that you have giving the art world, our community, and all that you have taught your students over the years. Keep on painting!

I do hope everyone reading this can make it to the Crocker even though the Thiebaud show is over, the collection at the Crocker and the museum itself is worth many visits.

New Paintings at Elliott Fouts Gallery

2010-11-10T20:50:00.001-08:00

Today I delivered the following paintings to Elliott Fouts Gallery.

The Last Rose of Summer oil on canvas 24” x 24”

Maui Flowers Watercolor on Aquabord 12” x 12”

Autumn in the Vineyard Watercolor on Aquabord 12” x 12”

Proud Parrot Watercolor on Aquabord 20” x 16”

Tropical Bouquet Watercolor on Aquabord 30” x 22”

This Saturday is Second Saturday and the Gallery will be hosting a reception for the Featured Artist John Karl Claes from 6:00pm – 9:00pm. These new paintings will also be exhibited. See you at Elliott Fouts Gallery, 4749 J Street, in East Sacramento.

Where in the world would you like to paint?

2010-10-31T20:03:00.001-07:00

I am planning my Watercolor Workshops for 2012 and would like to know where in the world you would like to paint. All suggestions welcome, well maybe not really cold places like the North Pole!

In 2011 I will be taken students to paint in Provence, France in June and the Cinque Terre Italy in September. The France trip is full and taking names on the waiting list. The same thing could happen to the Italy trip if you wait too long. To learn more about both trips check out the Travel Workshops page on my website www.sandydelehanty.com. To get all the details and itnereary on the trip to my 5 favorite little fishing villages in Italy, the Cinque Terre, click here www.ToscanaAmericana.com.

Now, it is your turn to dream, please click on “comment” below and leave your thoughts or email me if you prefer, and let me know where in the world you would like to paint!

New Spring Watercolor Workshop Schedule

2010-10-25T22:42:00.001-07:00

I am revamping my teaching schedule for Spring 2011, the new one will appear on my website sandydelehanty.com in a couple of days. Here is a listing of the workshops, for details about each one please go to my website. To enroll telephone (916) 652-4624.

Please note; this spring I will not be teaching afternoon classes, instead I am changing to workshops of at least 2 days. Many of my students have requested this so they can finish a painting, so we will see how it works.

TUSCANY TEXTURES

2 day workshop - emphasis on techniques for creating texture

Friday and Saturday, January 14 & 15, 2011 10:00 – 4:00

University Art Center, 2601 Marconi Ave., Sacramento, California

Fee $160.00

BEGINNERS’ WATERCOLOR WORKSHOP

2 day workshop - Designed for total beginners but beneficial for self-taught painters with gaps in their knowledge of watercolor painting.

Monday and Tuesday, January 24 & 25, 2011 10:00 – 4:00

University Art Center, 2601 Marconi Ave., Sacramento , California

$160.00, Paper $25.00

BEGINNERS’ FOLLOW-UP WORKSHOP

2 day workshop – prerequisite Beginner’s Watercolor Workshop

Monday and Tuesday, January 31 and February 1, 2011 10:00 – 4:00

University Art Center, 2601 Marconi Ave., Sacramento, California

FLOWER POWER

5 day workshop – create bright, bold, luminous watercolor flower paintings on watercolor paper or Aquabord (your choice).

Monday – Friday, February 7 – 11, 2011 10:00 – 4:00

University Art Center, 2601 Marconi Ave., Sacramento, California

Fee $385.00

FINISH THOSE WATERCOLOR PAINTINGS!

2 day workshop – Bring your unfinished paintings learn composition, develop your critical eye, techniques for finishing paintings.

Saturday and Sunday, March 5 & 6, 2011 10:00 – 4:00

Sacramento Fine Art Center, 5330 – B Gibbons Drive, Carmichael, California

Fee $160.00

AQUABORD: PAINTING WATERCOLORS ON CLAY PANEL

2 day workshop – no more framing under glass!

Friday and Saturday March 18 & 19, 2011 10:00 – 4:00

University Art Center, 2601 Marconi Ave., Sacramento, California

Fee $160.00

BEGINNERS’ WATERCOLOR WORKSHOP

2 day workshop – Designed for total beginners but beneficial for self-taught painters with gaps in their knowledge of watercolor painting.

Monday and Tuesday April 18 & 19, 2011 10:00 – 4:00

University Art Center, 2601 Marconi Ave., Sacramento, California

Fee $160.00

BEGINNERS’ FOLLOW-UP WORKSHOP

2 day workshop – Prerequisite Beginner's’ Watercolor Workshop

Monday and Tuesday April 25 & 26, 2011 10:00 – 4:00

University Art Center, 2601 Marconi Ave., Sacramento, California

Fee 160.00

Hope to see you in a workshop, Sandy

Positano Photo Gallery

2010-09-19T19:58:00.001-07:00

Sitting at LAX I decide to write one more story about my vacation in Positano because I have some more photos I want to share.

Positano beach scene

There seems to be two rules for sunbathing here:

1. Show as much skin as possible (no matter your age).

2. What little you wear should be very brightly colored.

A local painter, paints on the beach and sells his work in a nearby garden.

These clever people created a rocking night club inside the rocks.

An ink drawing made during lunch one day, the old watch tower watches over the 2010 beach scene below.

Local guy checks out the tourists below his balcony.

Taking Mama for an early evening stroll.

Father and son, men of the sea..

I saw this same roof design all over Santorini Greece last year. They tell me the domes are filled with sand and it insulates the home from the heat. The dips between the domes, create channels for the water to run off the roof into drain pipes located on the side of the house. Very clever engineering, and so simple.

Doors of a small abandoned church.

Half way up the 72 steps to my hotel, you can stop and pray you will make it.

Church of Santa Maria Assunta

Hope you enjoyed my vacation photos and that they make you want to get out and explore the world. Please leave comments below, Sandy

Catching the Wrong Bus Leads to Discoveries

2010-09-19T19:19:00.001-07:00

Positano has only one road. It is a narrow one way loop connecting to the Amalfi Coast Road at one end of town, winding through the middle of town and connecting back to the Amalfi Coast Road again at the other end of town. Small orange busses make a dizzying loop around town all day long.

One day I spend the morning photographing and exploring the town and then seeing the bus pull up at midtown I hop on to ride back up and around to the upper part of town where my hotel is located. I think I will buy lunch in the grocery store and eat on my balcony.

The bus goes up, but instead of circling back down into to town where I want to go, it turns up hill on a really tiny road. I soon realize this must be how people get to the houses that seem to hang from the cliffs way up above Positano. Soon the only passengers are locals accept for two Germans in serious hiking gear with their walking sticks. Locals ring a bell and get off from time to time at a lone house or a clump of 3 or 4 buildings, the bus keeps climbing. Almost an hour goes by, I am really getting hungry but we have passed no restaurants or grocery stores. What have I gotten myself into?

Finally the bus comes to a parking lot on top of a cliff and stops. “Nicola” the driver says, obviously end of the line. I ask can I ride down now, “No next bus 1 hour”.

I seem to be on top of the world, the only sign of civilization is a tiny church steeple sticking up from below the parking lot and a wall with this map on it.

I must be at the tip of the arrow. The Germans disappear down a trail and as I follow them I see a welcome sign “Ristorante St. Cruz” . Following the trail down past a tiny church I come to a clump of buildings and walk into a lovely restaurant. Up here? The waiter sits me by the windows with an incredible view.

Lunch is a delicious salad at half what I have paid in Positano. A friendly couple from Sidney took this photo in front of the windows with the view.

Here’s the view.

I used the zoom lenses to try to see if anyone was home on this yacht.

The Ausies and I catch the bus down the hill and I snap photos of a few locals that get on by waving down the bus as it comes by their homes.

Seeing people getting on carrying small dogs makes me wonder is this how they walk the dogs? Their cliff hanging houses have no where to walk the dogs except on this narrow road so maybe they take them down to Positano for a walk?

This is interesting, a miniature village sculpted into the cliff along side the road. I have seen a few of them, wish I knew the story behind their creation.

Positano has so many hotels and shops you have to really look to find buildings that actually have people living in them. My accidental trip to Nicola afforded me a glimpse of homes perched above the hustle and bustle of the tourist filled town below and the rugged people that live there.

Big Busses, Narrow Road = Insanity!

2010-09-19T19:04:00.001-07:00

The Amalfi Coast Road was built under Spanish occupation in the eighteen hundreds (I forget the exact date) and “improved” after World War II. It has to be the greatest challenge for bus drivers anywhere!

Huge SITA buses (the local bus system) vie with huge tour buses for space on a road not wide enough to be called two lane by any stretch of the imagination. In addition to buses, cars (many rentals driven by tourists) and local motorbike riders and you have mayhem on wheels.

My first encounter with the road was my arrival day on a SITA bus. Lucky to find a seat, I found myself surrounded by laughing Ausies and locals who have mastered standing in the isle while holding a dog or a bag of groceries without toppling over as the bus took tight corners. I was so enthralled by the incredible views of the coastline and the amazing bus driver that I missed my stop. On the side of the bus where I sat I looked straight down cliffs to the sea with only a short stone wall edging the road. On the other side the mountain went straight up with occasional houses and shops built right up to the road.

I kept wondering what my bicycle riding friend Bill would think of the traffic on this road! He thought drivers on the roads in Belgium were crazy, how about two buses meeting face to face and a motorbike zooming in-between! It was impossible to photograph but here are some feeble attempts.

On another day in the tour bus to Pompeii, I am sitting on the drivers side so this shows what should be the lane coming the other way, accept that it is only 3 feet wide! The driver honks at every corner. If someone is coming they have to stop and back up until there is a space wide enough to pass. Fold-in car mirrors must have been invented here!

I am riding in a big shinny purple and gold tour bus to Pompeii when this big SITA bus coming the other way squeezes by but manages to scrape the bus I am on.

Our driver leaps out of our bus yells at the other driver who also leaps out of his bus and the two argue while traffic backs up both ways. When I get off the bus I find a 6 inch long scrape in the pretty purple paint.

Better to look at the stunning views from the road than how narrow it is:

Parking is impossible to find here so the locals don’t bother with cars, they ride everything from Vespas to Honda motorcycles.

Cars and buses squeeze by these bikes on the narrow road by inches and yet the locals feel safe parking them like this.

At home we have a huge propane tank for our house in the country, and a big truck comes once a month to fill it up. I saw this little truck making the rounds in Positano every day delivering small propane tanks to everyone that needed them.

If you go to Positano, the ferry is more relaxing but you have to experience a bus ride on the Amalfi Coast Road at least once before you leave the coast.

Pompeii

2010-09-17T08:02:00.001-07:00

My only “Must See” on this vacation was Pompeii. Pompeii did not disappoint. For one thing it is HUGE! From photos you just can’t get an idea of scale.

My husband and I both love history so it did not surprise me when our son majored in history in college. So mainly for them, I want to to share some of my photos, along with the most memorable facts I learned from our guide. I am skipping the dates and details that are in the history books and concentrating on the things I found most interesting.

Marina Gate (names here come from Archeologists (not Romans).

Big hole is for chariots, small one for pedestrians.

Much of the marble came from North Africa only a small amount from the Tuscany region of Italy.

My camera cannot capture the enormous size of the forum. That is part of Mt Vesuvius in the background.

Another memorable fact (no photos of this one) human urine was collected for its ammonia for use in the making of wool.

As a painter I was hoping to see more original frescos, but the ones I saw did not disappoint.

This fresco is from the “menu” in a very tiny brothel. Don’t speak the language? Just point at the picture of what you want, like in McDonalds!

How do you find a brothel? The penises point the way!

This is the ceiling in the sauna in the men’s public baths. To prevent drips on the men below, the moisture that collects on the ceiling runs in grooves down the dome of the ceiling into gutters on either side.

The Romans were also ahead of their time in advertising. The name of the family that donated this marble basin in the men's’ sauna is engraved in the marble.

The best preserved statues (not moved to the museum in Napoli) are here in the men’s sauna also. Here is a single one close up:

This looks like our neighbor’s Pizza oven and it works the same way. It is the oven in a Pompeii bakery.

This is a stone for grinding flour, several are in this one bakery.

These large stepping stones kept pedestrian's feet dry when crossing the roads that often flowed with water or waste water. The clever Roman’s also figured out standardization, all the chariot wheels were the same distance apart so they fit between the stepping stones.

These roads were busy you can see the tracks worn in the stone by the chariot wheels.

The archeologists think this tiny bits of marble were fitted in-between the stones of this road to help light the way at night. The marble would reflect the moonlight.

As a painter I am always careful to use archival products in my work, so I wonder if this artist had any idea his or her work would still be viewed today?

Art must have been everywhere, most of course has been removed to the museum in Napoli, but here and there you find carvings like this.

Bringing home the bacon?

If you enjoyed this short tour of Pompeii please leave me a comment below, because I always wonder who is reading my blog. I get many emails about it, but I would prefer to receive comments directly on the blog. Just click on the word “comment” and let me know you are out there.

Positano is Vertical

2010-09-16T06:48:00.001-07:00

Positano on the Amalfi Coast of Italy has been my vacation spot following my watercolor workshop in Cortona. My plan was to just relax, be on my own schedule, sketch and paint, explore the area a bit, and visit Pompeii.

My hotel, Casa Albertina, is a lovely family owned small hotel run by Lorenzo (fourth generation owner) and his capable staff. My room is pretty, everything works, and the bathroom is really nice and probably new (not always the case in Europe). The free breakfast buffet has the most choices I have ever seen anywhere! And the Cappuccinos are made to order from really yummy coffee. The hotel is up 72 steps from the lower circle of the road and down a whole lot more steps from the top circle off the road making it very quiet and insuring that guests get in shape!

Some of the 72 steps, glad I packed light as I had to carry my suitcase and backpack all the way up myself. Note to self: get smart phone that works in Europe next trip so I can call hotel and let them know I am at the bottom with a suitcase!

7:00 am view of Positano (I only set the alarm for the day I was taking the tour of Pompeii and was being picked up at 7:15am) no other alarms allowed on my vacation!

Positano later in the day.

Positano evening

My take on Positano: its vertical, its pretty, its Italy’s Carmel.

The previous photos were looking down from my hotel, the two above are up. Streets here consist of one for cars, the rest for walking only, mostly stairs. The car street is wide enough for cars and tiny city buses to go one way only and it circles the top half of town. Want to go to the lower half of town and the beach? It is down stairs.

A page from my watercolor journal. It is an ink sketch done from Cafe Positano while having lunch. I love that the ancient stone watch tower now watches over the beach scene at the bottom of the limestone cliffs.

The pass times here are first shopping, second eating, third seeing and being seen, fourth the beach. Where Carmel has street after street of art galleries, here there are boutiques selling linen clothes and ceramics.

Shoppers on the only flat street in town, about 100 feet of flat part in the midtown area, no cars allowed.

“Street signs” but the “streets” are simply 3 to 8 feet wide walkways with stairs.

A few of the hundreds of shops crammed into this village that hangs from cliffs and tries not to fall into the sea.

Weather is perfect, more when I make time.

Creating Watercolor Memories of Tuscany Workshop comes to an end

2010-09-15T07:04:00.001-07:00

“All good things must come to an end”, or so the old saying goes. We not only created memories in our watercolors but we also created wonderful friendships to cherish always.

Mary Jean I know you will get this post right away on your I Phone so please tell Patrick and Angela that I made it safely to my hotel in Positano. I was a bit pooped after 3 trains and 2 buses and a 70 step climb dragging my suitcase to the front door of my hotel. It should have been just one bus but by the time I realized I was at my stop so many people were crowding on I could not get off. So I just rode on to the end of the line in Amalfi, had a gelato and then caught the bus back to Positano. Bus rides on these narrow roads are a whole other story… more about that later.

I promised myself my Positano vacation, would be just that a vacation, so I have been relaxing (thus behind in posting on this blog).

Anyway, back to our last day at Cortona. I photographed almost all of the students paintings because I am so proud of their dedication and the progress they made, I wanted their friends and family following this blog to see their creations. So here is our gallery:

First up, Berna’s paintings:

Berna’s pots in the nuns’ garden

The valley view from Cortona and she resisted painting every little house out there! YES!

Great colors,lovely line drawing

rained before she could finish, off to a lovely start

cute door but lunch time came before she could finish

Cathy’s first day (she and Pete joined the group later in the week). We both had a devil of a time with the angle of the steps on this building on a slanting street, she no sooner got the window and door frames painted than it rained buckets and we made a dash for the cafe umbrellas where we had lunch.

The next day she concentrated on one window and got much more done. She had a great time with the old wall, and it shows! When she gets the mortar in-between the bricks and stones and the rest of the wall done this will be a fun and successful painting. Cathy please send me a photo when you finish this painting.

This beauty is by Crew, our most experienced artist and a teacher himself. He chose to do the simple cross in the square at Lucignano and started with pencil and finishing with ink. l love Crew’s style of drawing and stunning use of values.

Rose Michelle awarded Crew the Cortona Sunflower Award for “the best unfinished bit of roof painting” for this one!

Mary Jean really enjoyed panting small watercolor sketches and it shows in her work, there is a happy quality about each painting. Love the wood on the door on this one.

After this photo was taken Mary Jean worked more on this painting and brought it by my room to show me, it looked even better than it does here.

Mary Jean spotted this old watering hole next to our cafe umbrellas, quickly got the basics on paper as lunch was being served and then she added the rest of the color later. Great job in a short amount of time.

Mary Jean’s roof tops impression of Lucignano that was appreciated by the “Art Critiques” that passed by while she was working. Again a painting that shows she was having fun!

At Le Terre dei Cavalieri this tiny wall leads the way to a bridge, Mary Jean created a lovely painting of it, again in a short amount of time. Great job!

Pat seems to do her best work from her imagination. Clearly she knows the shapes of flowers well as she created this bright cheery “plein air” painting on the airplane on the way to Italy. It is easy to paint on the plane if you pack a tiny travel watercolor half pan set and it sure makes the time go faster!

Pat began this colorful painting in the park over looking the valley below Cortona. She worked on it off and on during the week and will probably finish it at home. Next time she may tackle something a little less complicated!

Pat began this painting at Le Terre dei Cavalieri of a restored farm building but ran out of time. I hope she finishes it with her loose free splashy color style.

Rose Michelle did many many light whimsical pencil sketches all week, but my camera just could not record them. I sort of got this one (sorry about the shadow of my arm). Its the cute little house in Lucignano where the lady from New York via London lives with her 8 or 9 cats. Rose Michelle got the cute lamp, the shutters and of course a cat. Fun!

Also in Lucignano, Rose Michelle used a few pencil lines to tell the story of this roof top. Bella!

The outdoor sink and large bottles for storing wine at Le Terre dei Cavalieri, another of Rose Michelle’s pencil drawings. Again she told the story of what she saw, simply. good job.

Rose Michelle chose to do this watercolor of the stump on the tree that she sat under, instead of a building. I love that it shows the “nature” side of Cortona not just the man made side. Great job with the values, you know that is a whole in the stump!

Sylvia’s painting the first day in the nun’s garden, she was beginning to think right brain, but not quite hit her stride yet. Now look at the painting she did later in the week below:

Sylvia hit her stride later in the week . This pot was under a grape arbor and next to a pretty door but she rightly focused on the pretty pot with its tiny olive tree and the rosemary growing next to it ONLY. Great choice, beautifully done.

Sylvia did several sketches during the week but this is my favorite. It is a door in Assisi that she sketched in the time it took to refresh ourselves with cold sodas on a terrace in front of a bar. She told the story of the door with its one pot of flowers and that is all. Great job!

As teacher I spend most of my time running around from student to student and get little time to finish anything. But here is a little sketch of a Grandma watching her grandchildren in the playground. I loved her sunglasses! She kept moving her hands so just tried a quick gesture for the hand and it obviously did not work! Oh well I got the sunglasses!

I did this painting to show students what you do if the sun is playing peek-a-boo with clouds. I did the ink drawing, then mixed a transparent gray mixture of cobalt blue and burnt sienna, then waited for the sun to come out. When it did I quickly washed in the grey where the shadows were. The sun went away again, but no problem, I had the shadow shapes. I could then add transparent colors to the painting and where the shadows are the grey would simply make the transparent color look like a darker shade of the color thus creating all the proper shadow shapes. Or not. I like it without color so I am leaving it this way.

My little painting of the Cat Lady’s window in Lucignano.

Farewell dinner is always bitter sweet. Such a wonderful group this was. Thank you all for your kindness, patient good natures, many laughs and great painting sessions. And as always, thank you to Patrick and Angela for a perfectly wonderful watercolor workshop.

The Passieggio, The Etruscans and Francis Mayes

2010-09-12T12:49:00.001-07:00

Cortona began as an Etruscan settlement and survived. She went through the middle ages and survived. Now Cortona endures being a tourist attraction, and survives. In spite of the popularity of the books by American author and part-time resident of Cortona, Francis Mayes , Cortona refuses to go the way of San Gimignano and other Tuscan hill towns and become a tourist trap.

The people are proud, devout, and stubbornly hang on to their traditions and old buildings. The Cortonezzi (did I spell that right???)are very caring people and will go out of their way to solve problems for friends or strangers. On my last visit to Cortona, several of the Cortonezzi helped my students and I make our flights in Rome in spite of a train strike in Tuscany. On this trip the local pharmacist came to the rescue of two of my fellow travelers when they forgot to pack their prescription medicines.

I admire the simple way they live here. We Americans are always in a hurry with schedules crammed with things to do. The people here are very hard working, but they make time for long lunches and dinners with family and friends every day. Drive up windows do not exist in Italy.

Taking the Passieggio

(may have miss-spelled that???)

Every evening all over Italy everyone comes out of their homes to take their passieggio (evening stroll). If the weather is cold or pouring down rain,the stroll may not last long but it takes a lot to keep these hardy community minded folks in doors cut off from their neighbors. Long after dark, little kids play tag or kick a soccer ball around a piazza and babies and toddlers are pushed in strollers by proud parents and admired by all the neighbors. We Americans would never dream of keeping our kids up until 10:00pm or later at night but it happens every night in Italy. I suspect the kids, at least the little ones, take long naps in the afternoon.

Exploring the Tuscan Countryside September 9. 2010

2010-09-10T09:32:00.001-07:00

Today was our day to explore the Tuscan countryside. We left Cortona driving down into the valley below, then followed winding narrow roads through farm land passing ancient homes some beautifully restored, others abandoned and crumbling. We passed drooping sunflowers, freshly plowed fields, olive trees, many with ancient looking twisted trunks, and vineyards.

After climbing another hill we reached the very tiny walled village of Vie di Lucignano, our destination for the morning watercolor painting session and lunch.

I wonder how many times this wall has been repaired over the centuries.

Bill and Pat visited while Crew sketched in this lovely piazza.

Rose Michelle found a pretty corner in the same Piazza, while Cathy and Berna chose views on opposite sides of the square.

Cathy’s assistant Pete hard at work…

Mary Jean has attracted an audience of art critiques.

After a yummy lunch in an outdoor cafe in sunshine with a light breeze, perfect weather so far today, we drove to a beautiful Agra Tourisimo (Agriculture Bed & Breakfast) on a farm below Cortona owned by friends of Angela. We spent a relaxing couple of hours relaxing and sketching on the grounds, here are some photos of this lovely place:

ToscanaAmericana is the name of the tour company running this wonderful workshop. Owner Patrick and his lovely Angela love to teach us about Tuscan food so every meal is an adventure in fabulous food. Everyone orders different things with plates passing back and forth as we all sample each others dishes and eat and eat and eat and enjoy and enjoy. Tonight I had Patrick’s recommendation of pork with bacon and plums and I have to say it was my favorite meal yet. yum!

Creating Watercolor Memories in Cortona September 8, 2010

2010-09-10T09:25:00.001-07:00

Rain was predicted for today, but the morning began with the sun playing peek-a-boo with the clouds so we parked ourselves on this cute street near the Porta Colonial and began painting. If it rains plan B is to pick up the watercolors and run down the street to the cafe umbrellas where we are to have lunch, just about a hundred feet away. Plan C if it rains so hard the umbrella can’t hold all the water off of us, is we run inside the restaurant.

Rose Michelle parked herself under a tree and drew the stump attached to the tree.

There are door knockers of every description all over this town, but this clever home owner found a new use for one.

I like this photo of Mary Jean.

This is Mary Jean’s watercolor sketch of the a charming little house on the street called Via Della Mura Del Dumo.

The view over the wall behind Mary Jean. That is the very elaborate and old Cortona cemetery at the bottom of the hill.

oops its starting to rain big drops, time for Plan B - run under the cafe umbrella.

Here is the view of the Porta Colonial (one of 5 gates through the wall surrounding Cortona) from under the umbrella. Below is the watercolor sketch I was working on when lunch was served.

During lunch it rained harder and harder until the umbrella could no longer hold all the water so everyone grabbed their stuff to make a dash in the pouring rain across the street to the restaurant inside dining room.

Sylvia has her priorities right – she grabs the wine!

After lunch it was still raining, so we decided to finish our paintings in the breakfast room in the hotel (a newly refurbished convent run as a hotel by nuns). After much gesturing and repeating the words “Aqua color“ several times the girl at the desk received permission from “Sister Mary Efficient” for us to paint in the breakfast room. The tables have clear plastic over the linen table cloths. But one plastic covering was note enough evidentially because Sister Mary Efficient produced a huge plastic bag that must have covered a mattress and carefully cut it to perfectly fit over the plastic that was over the table before she permitted us to paint.

The evening was spent at Donatella’s Cooking School where we all had a fun time learning about Tuscan cooking and getting right into the making of the pasta, the flipping of the crepe like things etc. I was too busy watching to take photos but Bill took videos so we will have great photos of the event I am sure.

Watercolors Under the Tuscan Sun September 7, 2010

2010-09-10T09:17:00.001-07:00

“Bramasole” the home of the American author Frances Mayes and her husband Ed. I read Under the Tuscan Sun when it first came out, and on this trip I am reading Bella Tuscany. We stopped to photograph the home when a nice American lady came out the gate and greeted us saying she is not Francis, she is Ed’s sister. Of course the ladies wanted to have their photo taken with her and she agreed. We had a nice visit with her before we went on to our painting location.

Below is a photo of Cortona from above the Portal Montania (Mountain Gate) the upper most gate in the city wall.

And more photos taken inside the city walls.

This photo is suppose to make me look tall! That is a real door I am standing next to. I wonder how tall the people were that lived here 400 plus plus years ago?

It was a great day for painting, sunny with clouds rolling by and perfect temperatures. Right after we got back to our hotel the clouds stopped rolling by and drenched the town in a thunderstorm.

The food here is incredibly good, and Patrick and Angela our making sure we get our fill and then some! Good thing we are walking up and down hills all day or we won’t fit into our clothes when we leave.

Assisi

2010-09-08T08:32:00.001-07:00

While the tourists visit the Basilica we artists hang out in the top of the town on the tiny lanes with all the houses with their flower pots. Flowers, flowers, and more flowers. Ancient buildings along stone lanes where so many have walked before you, it gives me a real feeling for history.

Sylvia did this quick ink sketch while we were sitting having cold juice at tables outside a bar. The assignment today was to work quick and tell only the necessary story, not the whole book. We also took many many reference photos for later paintings. And of course since this is Assisi we toured churches.

Bill our intrepid explorer and photographer.

Here’s a little sketch I did of a bunch of arches and walls going every which way in about a half hour. I am not sure if you can read my writing, but basically it says that I did not pick the best step to sit on because a dump truck stopped and dumped a load of dirt right next to where I was sitting.

Dinner was fabulous again last night, and Cathy and Pete joined us after their visit with family in Ireland. Now the gang is all here for the rest of the stay.

First day of painting in Tuscany

2010-09-06T10:04:00.001-07:00

As it was our first morning and everyone was tired after traveling we elected to paint in the nuns’ garden behind our hotel the Casa Santa Magherita.

Pat with sunhat

Crew working on a wonderful sketch

Berna sitting under the clothesline

Sylvia painting the zucchini

great zuch! ready for a painting

Mary Jean under the tree

Lunch time, time for the vino

lunch in a cute place in the city park

After lunch we painted in the park, Rose Michelle found a bench with a great view.

I have not had a chance to photo anyone else’s paintings but here is my little montage of elements in the nuns’ garden.

Feeling at home again in Cortona

2010-09-06T10:02:00.001-07:00

Patrick our guide met us at the Rome train station and we all boarded the train for the ride through Umbria and into Tuscany to our final destination the lovely hill town of Cortona.

We are staying in the just refurbished Instituto Santa Margherita run by the Serve di Maria Riparatrici sisters which now is more of a three star hotel with gleaming new tile in all the rooms and completely shiny new bathrooms than the plain place it use to be as described in Rick Steve’s guide book. The Sisters are friendly and efficient. They speak Italian, Portuguese (Brazilian style) and gesture with an occasional word of English. The important stuff like how to operate the security gate, gets through fine, but when Mary Jean asked about mosquitoes she was given an emotional lecture with sweeping gestures about Mussolini!

Here is the view of the city hall on the Piazza della Repubblica in the heart of Cortona as photographed from our restaurant where we enjoyed our first dinner in Cortona.

Walking back to our hotel along with the locals taking their nightly stroll, I realized how at home I feel here. In Rome I felt I had to constantly be on guard. In Cortona I felt relaxed, happy and full from our huge Tuscan dinner.

Bill, Sylvia & Sandy’s Most Excellent Italian Adventure

2010-09-03T14:09:00.001-07:00

Sylvia suggested we go to Tivoli today instead of seeing the sites in Rome. That was fine with me, I feel very “on guard” in this city known for its thieves and pick pockets. To go to Tivoli we had to take the subway, and bus as Tivoli is 18 miles or so outside of Rome. Subways in rush hour are crowded and makes you an easy target for pickpockets but we were not going at rush hour. Putting 3 heads together we found our way, got on and off at all the right places and had a great time at Tivoli, very lovely, most beautiful fountains I have ever seen. Here are some photos

After successfully negotiating the metro (subway) and getting lost in the bus garage we are waiting at the bus stop for our bus to Tovoli.

Don’t we look like we know what we are doing in this shot?

The Villa D’ Este had a fabulous collection of botanical flower paintings and prints from the mid 1500’s to 1,600’s. I only got this first photo when the guard stopped me from taking photos even though my flash was turned off. Below are a few of the 199 photos I took in this breath taking garden of fountains, the Tivoli Gardens.

The return trip to Rome went smoothly but when we got carried away with our subway riding savvy and decided to go on to the Coliseum we hit crowds. We encountered the old 3 little girls with babies trick (two babies 1 fake one) did not fool us, but spooky how through all the people in-between us and them they worked their way right to us. We shoved our way through the crowd away from them just as fast so foiled their pick pocket scheme.

We were too late in the day to get inside the Coliseum but from the outside it is still amazing. The scale of it is incredible.

Constantine is the guy who built this one if I remember right. He took statues and carvings from previous emperor’s buildings and adorned his arch with it. Roman recycling?

Pat and Crew arrived today and we had planned to meet for dinner but they were too tired. So I looked for the closest restaurant to my hotel not wanting to walk alone in the dark, and found a Chinese restaurant. I had an absolutely delicious dinner, good Chinese in Rome? Who knew!

Tomorrow we meet up with Patrick and the rest of the students at the train station to go to Cortona.

Look who I found at the airport

2010-09-02T09:52:00.001-07:00

My good friends Sylvia and Bill are on the same flight as far as Philadelphia. We only discovered that during a phone call last night. I am using frequent flyer miles so I am not on the best of connections so did not suggest my flights to the rest of the group. Its great to begin our adventure together.

I am off Italy again

2010-09-02T09:42:00.001-07:00

I am off to Italy again returning to my favorite Tuscan hill town, Cortona. I will be teaching a watercolor workshop for ToscanaAmericana in Cortona. Afterward I am traveling by trains to the Amalfi Coast to explore and look for painting sites for a 2012 workshop that Patrick (the owner of ToscanaAmericana) and I are planning.

Since most of the readers of this blog are also artists I thought I would show you my traveling art studio. I am a small person and cannot carry a heavy backpack or lift a full size suitcase onto a train, so I travel light..

Here is my tiny traveling art studio, all of which fits in my Rick Steves backpack with room to spare. The camouflaged thing in the photo is a small folding camp stool in case the perfect view I want to paint does not come with a cafe table. Next to the stool is a clipboard which I place on my lap on top of the towel in the photo. On the clipboard is plastic bag filled with sheets of precut 300 lb watercolor paper. A red bag holds all my brushes and other stuff, my palette is a tiny palette of half pan paints which is handy because the paints are not liquid or gel so I can carry it on to airplanes. My water container has 3 cups which fit inside each other, very handy. In front is my watercolor journal, a spiral bound journal of watercolor paper. I enjoy sketching in ink and adding watercolor if time permits, and also writing about my day in this journal.

You can always spot the American tourists by their huge amounts of luggage. After you have hauled all that luggage up a steep cobblestone street or two you begin to understand why the Europeans travel with small suitcases the size of carry-on bags.

I have learned over the years to travel with only my 22” roller bag that I take as a carry-on along with the backpack. I use those vacuum bags that you put your clothes in then roll up and all the air blows out leaving a very flat package. Wrinkle free clothes are a must when using these bags, but they are huge space savers. I also carry a laundry kit of clothes line, Woolight soap packages and a rubber sink stopper. My computer is a tiny Eeepc the size of a paper back book and my camera is a small Cannon digital. Before leaving the house I weighed my suitcase and learned it is 30 lbs, the backpack with my computer in it weighs 14 lbs. This is as much weight as I want to be hauling onto and off of trains and up and down cobblestone streets of hill towns.

Painting Luminous Floral Watercolors on Aquabord workshop at Mendocino Art Center

2010-07-30T18:48:00.001-07:00

All non-profits have been hard hit by the recession and the Mendocino Art Center is no exception. In addition to funding problems brought on by the economy the “MAC” has also experienced a lot of turn over in staff in the past 18 months. So I am very happy to report that the Mendocino Art Center is alive and thriving! Thanks to a lot of hard work by volunteers from the Mendocino village and surrounding areas, workshops are happening, (4 this week), the buildings are getting refurbished, gardening is getting done, and marketing efforts are going full out. The result is students and instructors alike are enjoying their time at the “MAC” while learning new things and making new friends. I feel honored to have been invited to teach a workshop at this fine institution.

My workshop on painting watercolor florals on Aquabord was attended by five hardworking students, here are some photos from the workshop:

Ann with her paintings, the one on the left was painted from live flowers, the one on the right from a photo.

I was pleased that by the end of the week all of the students were painting from live flowers instead of just depending on photographs as their source.

Hetti with her favorite of the paintings she did, not finished yet but look at the value contrasts she is getting!

Lynn just started putting in a fun purple background when I took this photo. Her sunflower has beautiful glowing color, no muddy color here!

And here is Marie with her sunflower, complete with a bee in the center. She also did a lovely painting of a complicated live bouquet of tropical flowers but since it was not finished we are posting the sunflower painting.

Wendy’s tropical painting was created from a live bouquet and her sunflower from a photo, both are stunning.

Aquabord is a very different surface than watercolor paper, and all the ladies worked very hard to unlearn some techniques that work well on paper while learning what works on the Aquabord instead.

Thanks to the Mendocino Art Center for hosting this workshop and to my students for being so much fun and so receptive to new ideas and new techniques.

Proud Parrot

2010-07-23T20:40:00.001-07:00

He’s done. This is a watercolor on Aquabord that I started as my demo painting during the Loomis Art Loop Open Studio Tour in May. I finished him, and I think I will use him as the postcard image for the next Loomis Art Loop October 16 & 17, 2010.

I am busy packing to travel to Mendocino to teach a workshop at the Mendocino Art Center titled PAINTING LUMINOUS FLORAL WATERCOLORS ON AQUABORD all next week. I am looking forward to the cool coastal weather and the ambience of the art center.

Sunflowers are “funflowers”

2010-07-04T16:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday the Sacramento Bee’s Home and Garden section featured a long and informative article about sunflowers. Those of you who know me already know that I am an avid flower gardener and one of my favorite flowers to grow and paint are sunflowers. The article in the Bee taught me a few things I did not know about these fun flowers, check it out.

Every year I teach an afternoon watercolor class on painting sunflowers usually in September. The classes usually fill up fast and the students always seem to have a great time. Most go home with a good start on their painting, but since the class is only 4 hours they have to finish the painting on their own, applying what they learned in class. Sometimes I wonder if they ever finish them, and sometimes I will see the same painting come back to class next year still not finished. So it is always fun when a student sends me a photo of a sunflower painting that was begun in class (in this case in 2009) and is finally finished.

I especially love this painting that Marleen Merchant just finished because the flower seems to be blowing in the breeze. She avoided that awful flagpole stiff stem that I so often see in sunflower paintings. And, she captured the character of the leaves, great job Marleen!

My next sunflower classes are September 23 at the Sacramento Fine Art Center 1:00 – 5:00pm fee $45., or September 25 at University Art Center, Marconi Avenue store, Sacramento also from 1:00 – 5:00 pm. fee $45. Both classes have space available at the moment, call me at 916-652-4624 to enroll.

Its Sunday, lovely quite day in the village of Soreze, France

2010-06-13T09:45:00.001-07:00

As I write at the Cafe Claudie where I can connect with the Internet a group of village men are beginning a game of patanque. It involves rolling little round steel balls and I gather trying to get close or knock away. Oh they just let Kris roll one and she did good! They play it all over France, also in Italy where it is called Bocce.

Today began with rain so I painted from photos on my computer in the lovely studio. Then the rain stopped and the sun came out and Sherry and I went for a walk. I toured the wonderful old military school and Abby here, 16th century to 1991 it had students. Many of Napoleon's general’s were schooled here. It is a beautiful warm evening, but there are thunderheads around so that could change. Last night we had a huge thunder storm after dinner complete with hail and lightening. We watched from the bedroom on the third floor, very exciting. The locals say this is the wettest year they remember, even had a foot of snow in May on the mountain above town which is not very high, at least compared to our Sierras. This is Southwest France so it is not suppose to snow in May.

I am staying in a home owned by California artist Carole Watanaby. It is so “artsy” everywhere you look is a painting, either on canvas or directly on the walls, or a still life or pretty fabrics etc. Here are some photos of the home:

my bedroom

mural in my bedroom painted by Carole

One of Carole’s paintings with a friend (on the stairs).

Kris reflected in an old mirror in the studio.

still life in the studio

our large well lit studio on the third floor

A still life in the studio, ready for rainy days..

I forgot to photograph the paintings I did today, so I will send them in my next posting. Tomorrow we have no internet connection as it is Claudie’s one day off and he is closed. So next posting will be on Tuesday. I leave that day, so who knows where I will find the Internet.

Ah my cafe crème arrived. The cafe owner insists I order it as “Cafe Claudie” (his name). Kris joined me and is having a beer, Sherry is home painting, such is this fast paced life here in Soreze.

Market day and fishing derby

2010-06-12T09:37:00.001-07:00

Saturday is Market Day in Revel, the larger town near here. We took the very nice local bus for 2 euro and went to the market. It was very large, the food section overflowed the centuries old market square cover in the center of the town. Then there was a whole other section where vendors sold clothes, hats, etc. I wondered and took photos for awhile, then shopped, bought yogurt made of goat milk, strawberries and asparagus, very very fresh. I then found a cafe right on market square and sat down with a cafe crème to sketch. Trying to capture people as they shopped is really hard! Here are a few of my photos of the market:

The bus took us back to Soreze in time for lunch. Then I headed for the children’s fishing derby that Remi (friend of the owner of our house who does the handy work on the house) told us about. A fishing club sponsors the event. They stock a pond with farm grown trout and then teach the kids how to catch them. Lionus, Remi’s son, caught several while I was there. I think they starve the fish before planting them as the kids seemed to catch one with every cast. Two things they were doing that was new to me, holding the fish with a rag wrapped around them, and using a plastic thing with a slot in it to remove the hook. OK Burke, check out these fish:

The weather was lovely today, so took some more photos this afternoon before painting. Many of the homes here (including the one I am staying in) are 16th and 17th century. Rest assured it is more modern inside.

ooops I hear thunder. Last night we heard a few rumbles and ignored it, I walked down to the internet bar when it was just rumbling a bit. Warm, so did not take my jacket or umbrella. By the time I finished emailing it was pouring as hard as I have ever seen a rain storm rain. Lucky for me, Kris arrived with a big umbrella from the house. So I am dashing to the bar with my umbrella to upload this before the evening deluge begins. Today was sunny and about 70 degrees so can’t complain, hope your weather at home is nice too. Is it still raining or has it become summer finally?

Sunny day in Soreze France

2010-06-11T07:58:00.001-07:00

I walked miles today on every one of the old streets in this small town taking photographs because the sun came out. My theory on photography is you can never take too many photos, especially in the digital age. You just never know which one might become a painting later on. So to give you an idea of how lovely this little town is, here is a tiny fraction of the photos I took.

An American lives here, she gets the French look.

This afternoon a thunderstorm moved in but it has not amounted to much so far. I am working on a painting of a cute house on Aquabord, not sure if I like the surface yet for painting this subject matter. The good thing about not teaching a workshop is I am free to experiment like this, as no one expects a masterpiece out of me.

More tomorrow…

Its a small world after all

2010-06-10T09:59:00.001-07:00

First I learned that the home of my friends Gregory and Monnie Kondos is near here, next I met our next door neighbor, a painter from California named Leo who knows Gregory. Then a lady saw me painting, and came up to me and asked if I am the watercolor artist staying at Carole’s house. Word gets around fast in a tiny village, just like my hometown! Anyway she is also an American, and lives here part of the year. She asked me if I new Barbara Roth because she is taking a workshop from Barbara in the next town. I was amazed! I have known Barbara for a few years now. She used to live in Auburn, we have both taught at the Sacramento Fine Art Center and for Toscana Americana in Cortona. Glenda, the lady I met offered to give Kris and I a ride to the next town to stop in on Barbara’s workshop, and we could walk back. So we popped in on Barbara and her students, checked out that cute town and then walked home through the woods. Great day, and fun to see Barbara.

Today the sun came out, yeah!

Night at the movies…my roomies Sherry and Kris watching JULIE AND JULIA thanks to Burke loading movies on my computer.

Sherry on her way to paint a very old rock wall.

I ran all over town with my camera once the sun came out. There are paintings everywhere, this is the cross the street neighbor house.

This is what is left of an historic old church, they now use it for concerts.

This little village has medieval houses like this all over the place. Soreze is about the size of Mendocino, and like Mendocino has been discovered by artists from the USA, France and other countries. Like Mendocino before it became commercialized, the artists have bought old homes or half destroyed falling down buildings and renovated them creating homes and studios. So far it is not over run with tourists and art galleries so it is still affordable for us artists.

Here is a little painting I did in my watercolor journal today.

Arrived safely in France

2010-06-09T09:49:00.001-07:00

On the road again…..

A nice lady from New York City took this photo as we waited at the gate in the Madrid airport for our flight to Toulouse, France. Students please take note, it is possible to fly to Europe with all your watercolor painting supplies, clothes, everything in a 22” roller carry-on bag and small backpack as you see here.

And yes, the experiment worked. I cleared security in San Francisco, Miami and Madrid with a regular watercolor palette filled with watercolor paints in each well of the palette, lid on it and packed in a plastic bag between my clothes IN MY CARRY-ON BAG! They either recognized it in the x-ray machine as a paint palette and did not care, or they did not consider the paint (which I had allowed to harden) to be a liquid or gel. To make sure I did not have to throw away the palette and expensive paint I arrived very early at each security, so if it was disallowed I had time to go back to the baggage check in area and check the bag.

The shuttle bus from the airport in Toulouse to the train station was easy to find and the Tourist Information was extremely efficient at determining which local train would get me closet to this tiny village of Soreze. The man advised me to look helpless and asked the ticket seller lady at that station to call a taxi for me rather than try to figure out the French pay phone. The train was coming too soon for me to stand in line to buy a ticket and I did not have correct change to use the machine. No problem, the man in the tourist office wrote a note in French to the ticket agent on the train, stating the reason I did not have a ticket and assuring him that I would buy one from him with my paper money Euros. The ticket agent never came on my car in the train so my trip was free!

I arrived by taxi and was greeted by Sherry leaning out the third story window and waving at me. I was unpacking when we heard some strange music and dashed out in the street to investigate. Here is what we found in the town square in front of the local bar.

A Renaissance play, and in the end the villagers joined in a kind of a Congo line singing at the top of their lungs to the tune played by the lady on the pipes. Only in France!

Sherry and Chris our great and the house is to die for artsy French. Cold, windy, drizzled rain today so had a quite day painting in the studio. Miss you Burke and Mark and all my friends back home but France is great as always.

Catching Up

2010-06-07T07:18:00.001-07:00

Obviously I an not a disciplined blogger, but hey how many things can one person be disciplined about? I try to be a disciplined painter, a disciplined exerciser, and keep up with the office work that goes with being an artist, and oh yeah there is housework and all those new weeds that have sprung up in the garden with all the rain . So where does blogging come in? It falls in that category called “When I Have Time”!

I have plenty of time on my hands at the moment as I am on the first of three flights that will eventually take me to France where I plan to do some painting, some exploring and just soak up some French culture.

Here is a new painting you will find on my easel if you visit my studio at Elliott Fouts Gallery, 4749 J Street in Sacramento.

It is not a good photo as light from the skylight was bouncing off the left side of the painting washing the color out. The painting is 30” x 22” watercolor on Aquabord.

Here is another one I just completed and shipped to the Mendocino Art Center where it will hang as an example of what I will be teaching in my workshop at the center July 26 – 30.

The title of the workshop is PAINTING LUMINOUS FLORAL WATERCOLORS ON AQUABORD and the painting is a 12” x 12” watercolor on Aquabord. To learn more about the workshop go to www.mendocinoartcenter.org.

I am writing my posts off-line using Live Writer and then they will post to my blog on the web whenever I can find a WIFI connection, so you can read my “postcards” from this trip. This post is being sent in Miami, the next one should come from France.

Wall Street Banker’s Bra

2010-05-17T22:43:00.001-07:00

I created this bra for the Artful Bra fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. It is titled the Wall Street Banker’s Bra as I assume there is at least one woman among the greedy Wall Street Bankers Clique, if not, than this bra is for the cross dresser among them!

To view many of the bras going up for auction and to learn about the Ladies Night Out party this Saturday night at the High Hand in Loomis check out the Facebook site High-Hand Gallery Artful Bra Show.

Loomis Art Loop last weekend was great fun.

2010-05-12T22:40:00.001-07:00

Painting watercolors on clay on board (Aquabord) in my studio.

Julie Hirota with her exhibit of textile murals in the living room.

The Loomis Art Loop Open Studios Tour last weekend was a great success. This is our 7th Loomis Art Loop on Mother’s Day weekend, and attendance gets better every year. Mornings started out slow but by noon we were very busy and stayed that way all afternoon both days. We were so busy at times that my little studio could not hold all the visitors trying to enter.

It was great fun to see friends, students, and visitors that we know from previous years. We know that at least half of our visitors were artists, which makes for great discussions while I am demonstrating. I love sharing my latest discoveries and hearing about other artist’s latest work.

I was kept busy demonstrating and answering questions in my studio upstairs while Julie was describing her techniques downstairs where she exhibited her work. Our hostesses, Theta on Saturday and Linda on Sunday, were busy welcoming our visitors, answering questions and ringing up sales. Thank you both, we could not do this without you.

And for all you artists out there reading this; I am happy to report sales were surprisingly very good! Where as last May sales were practically non-existent, this year they were excellent. Original paintings are selling again; however, it is the small paintings that are selling not the larger more expensive pieces. Sales of my small prints and cards were the best ever, showing that although people are buying again, they are not making big purchases. Julie also sold original pieces and loads of cards and prints and books. The other artists at the other studios had similar results.

Most of all, everyone, artists and visitors alike, had a really fun time!

Here’s photos of the other artists at their studios:

Millie Beatie with her pots.

Cindy Bonito busy demonstrating relief printing.

Brenda Dominguez with one of her paintings.

Susan Goodmundson shows her work with Brenda.

That’s Doug Horton under those glasses, working on jewelry at his studio at the Horton Iris Garden. The iris were incredible this year!

Paula Amerine also shows at the iris garden, inside the Horton farm “art barn”.

Victoria Brooks demonstrated oil painting in her beautiful studio.

Thien Dao exhibited her clay sculpture in Victoria’s garden, but not trusting the weather this year, the ladies erected a tent. Good thing, it rained Sunday afternoon.

Larry Brenden with a beautiful piece in his photography studio.

We do our Loomis Art Loop every Mother’s Day weekend and the third weekend in October. So hope to see you here October 16 or 17.

We are getting ready for the big show

2010-05-06T22:32:00.001-07:00

Julie and I have been very busy preparing for the Open Art Studios Tour known as the Loomis Art Loop coming up this weekend.

My art studio is small and upstairs, so I hang a display of my work in our dining room. After we remove the dining room furniture up go the walls.

This wall is done.

Julie arrived after work this evening, and we moved furniture around in the living room an up went her walls. Julie works with textiles by painting, quilting, and using glue and brads, and a host of clever tricks to create colorful textile murals.

Julie hangs the first piece for her show.

An hour later….

Where should I put this one?

We are planning to demonstrate our techniques, share our latest discoveries and answer your questions. Julie will be busy on her sewing machine downstairs and I will be in the studio upstairs demonstrating techniques for painting watercolors on clay on board (“Aquabord”).

We hope you will come see our show this weekend, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm both Saturday and Sunday. We are stop #7 & 8 on the tour map, just exit Interstate 80 at Penryn exit and follow the yellow signs with the Loomis Art Loop logo. This is a FREE studio tour. To learn more about the tour artists and print a map click on this link www.LoomisArtLoop.com.

Hope to see you this weekend. Julie and Sandy

Plein Air Painting on Aquabord

2010-05-04T22:44:00.001-07:00

The Horton Iris Garden held it’s annual paint out on a beautiful Friday and Saturday in April. I decided to do my painting on Aquabord and it worked very well. I took one of the pre-framed types with me, painted it, sprayed it with varnish and I was done.

Here is the painting

It will be in my exhibit this weekend on the Loomis Art Loop Open Studios Tour.

Yes, I completed that demo painting…

2010-05-03T19:38:00.001-07:00

Students in my February classes might remember I began this watercolor on Aquabord demonstration working from a live Bird of Paradise. When they last saw it the central bird was painted but that is as far as I got in the class. It now looks like this. I think I will hang it in my exhibit when I open my home studio to the public in conjunction with the Loomis Art Loop this weekend.

A free map of the Loomis Art Loop Art Studios tour and photos of the artists, work can be found by clicking on this link www.LoomisArtLoop.com.

Oh, and the other demo, the Birds of Paradise on watercolor paper, well that one is not done yet. See you are not the only one with incomplete paintings hanging around in your studio, or stashed under the bed!

How do you solve this sticky problem?

2010-05-01T22:26:00.001-07:00

My friend and fellow Watercolor Instructor Jeannie Vodden asked me if I knew how to remove masking fluid that had been on a painting so long it was stuck for good. The only thing I could think of was to try to pick it off with a sharp blade like a razor blade or Exacto knife. She said she was thinking the same thing, but it really does not work very well. So I am throwing the question out there and hope someone will have the answer and write a comment below.

By the way, Masking Fluid becomes “one with the paper” when it is

A left on too long, a few weeks is OK a few months or years is not

B heated up, so don’t leave in the car on a sweltering summer day or blast it with a hair dryer too close to the paper.

If you have the answer you will truly be a watercolor hero!

5 New Paintings Delivered to Elliott Fouts Gallery

2010-04-30T19:47:00.001-07:00

Next weekend is the local open studio tour the Loomis Art Loop that I take part in every May and October. Prior to the open studio tour I like to refresh the collection of my work at the gallery that represents me in Sacramento, Elliott Fouts Gallery. The gallery is located at 4749 J Street, between 47th and 48th in the East Sacramento neighborhood. Their website is www.efgallery.com, and telephone number is (916) 736-1429. They are open 6 days a week (closed on Mondays). 11:00 am – 6:00 pm weekdays, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm Saturday and Sunday. Here are photos of the paintings I delivered, they are hanging in the front of the gallery. Stop by and see them in person if you are in Sacramento.

“Golden Twins” oil on canvas 24” x 30” $950.00

“Tulip” oil on canvas 12” x 12” $400.00

“Red Tulips” Watercolor on Aquabord 12” x 12” $400.00

“All Things Tropical” Watercolor on Aquabord 12” x 12” $400.00

“Hawaiian Heliconia” Watercolor on Aquabord 12” x 12” $400.00

Now back to work to get ready to open my home studio next weekend. The Loomis Art Loop is a FREE studio tour, to learn more and print out a free map click on this link www.LoomisArtLoop.com.

Artful Bra II Show Call for Entries

2010-04-16T20:07:00.001-07:00

Artful Bra II Show Auction to Benefit the American Cancer Society

Yes you read that right, this is a show of “Artful Bras”. My good friend Paula Amerine is the clever woman behind this show. Last year it was a real hoot! Seriously, there was a “Hooter’s Bra”.

The Artful Bra Show is an opportunity for both artists and community members to contribute to a great cause and a great event. Create a bra themed work of art in any medium, or be creative and decorate a real bra. Bra entries may be wearable, or can be any artistic representation (not wearable).

All entries will be auctioned during the live auction or silent auction. High Hand Gallery and The Artful Bra Show reserve the right to photograph and document entries for publicity, promotion, fundraising, and record keeping.

Entries (completed bras) must be delivered on May 11 or May 12 to High Hand Art Gallery at 3750 Taylor Road, Loomis, CA 95650. A $10.00 entry fee for each artist/creator is due at delivery.

For more information, contact: Paula Amerine (530) 613-8340.

Important Dates:

Tuesday May 11 (10:00 am – 4:00 pm) and Wednesday May 12 (10:00am – 8:00pm) Deliver completed bras to High Hand Art Gallery.

Friday May 21 Benefit Dinner & Live Auction at High Hand Cafe

Saturday May 22 Ladies Night Out & Silent Auction at High Hand Complex

Sunday May 23 at noon Silent Auction ends.

I hope a lot of my friends will enter, this is so fun to work on and it is for such a worthy cause. And the Benefit Dinner and Ladies Night Out are catered by the High Hand Conservatory Cafe, yum yum yum!

A Silk Painting Workshop to be held in Auburn

2010-04-15T22:25:00.001-07:00

My friend Silk Painter Merridee Smith asked me to spread the word about this exciting workshop. Merridee is hosting the workshop in her Auburn studio, and the Instructor is the well known silk painter Susan Louise Moyer.

Merridee says Watercolor enthusiasts as well as silk painters will find this workshop to be an exciting departure from tradition and an inspiration for new directions.

3-Day DyeColour Painting on Silk Technique

Instructor: Susan Louise Moyer

June 4 – 6, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 9:30am – 4:30pm

Old Library Art Studios (OLAS)

175 Almond Street, Auburn, CA 95603

Level: Novice-Advanced

$350. workshop, $35. materials fee

The DyeColour process involves sizing the surface of the silk so that liquid dyes can be applied without the use of resist. The diversity of the medium gives the artist a smorgasbord of techniques that go beyond traditional watercolor. Silk is more forgiving than paper allowing the artist to apply, manipulate and pick up color without the worry of destroying the surface. The transparent dye enables the artist to mix and achieve luminous rich color. The painting techniques that will be taught include: washes, shading, blending, textures, stenciling and wax resist. Color theory, composition and combining traditional silk painting techniques with DyeColour painting will also be explored. As the inspired artist develops ideas that involve multiple techniques, the potential of this creative medium expands to meet the needs of the artist allowing the artist to grow.

Registration and information:

Merridee Joan Smith email creeksidesilk@yahoo.com web site www.merrideejoanfiberarts.com

Susan Louise Moyer (800) 790-6377

email susanlouise@moyerdesign.com web site www.moyerdesign.com

Display your Art on weekends: April – May at the Horton Iris Garden, Loomis California

2010-04-12T16:20:00.001-07:00

The Barn Art Wall is available for artists to display and sell their own art on weekends during the busy Iris season. The wall in the barn is 40 feet long and is covered and shaded. You must be present to sell your art.

The Horton Iris Garden is located in the Loomis Basin near Interstate 80 at the Penryn exit. Please contact the farm at (916) 652-4351 to reserve a space, or see the website at www.hortonirisgarden.com and use the contact page.

Plein Air 2-day event at Horton Iris Farm

2010-04-12T16:08:00.001-07:00

The Hortons invite you to their Iris Garden to paint in the gardens or by the pond Friday and Saturday, April 23 and 24, no charge. On Saturday, the Quick Draw Competition is followed by a reception and awards in the afternoon. Email doughortonart@yahoo.com for application - $35. fee for Quick Draw.

If you have attended the Loomis Art Loop Art Studio Tour in the past then you know how beautiful this 8 acre farm with its over eleven hundred varieties of iris really is. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the tour again this year, May 8 and 9 (Mother’s Day is May 9). To print the tour map and see the work of all the artists, including Doug Horton and myself, click on www.LoomisArtLoop.com . As always the Loomis Art Loop Art Studio Tour is FREE!

Tropical Flower Painting Class, Jo Kopp’s painting

2010-04-06T11:58:00.001-07:00

As a teacher there is nothing more fun then seeing a student complete a painting that she is happy with. Especially when I know it is a step in a new direction, or one of her best paintings. So thank you Jo for emailing this photo of your completed painting from the Tropical Flower Painting class in February. It is truly a beauty!

Just so you know how hard Jo worked to create this painting, here is a description of what we did in this class:

The Tropical Flower Painting class is a watercolor class I teach each February, that helps students to really “see” to their subjects better. We work from live flowers, no photos allowed. We concentrate on really seeing the colors made by reflected light bouncing into shadows, the texture of the plant, how the shapes relate, the true colors, all the things that don’t always show up when working from a photograph.

If you missed it, watch for this class again next February.

A new painter’s success

2010-04-03T20:24:00.001-07:00

Joanie Adam’s watercolor of quail on Aquabord

Joanie Adams began painting about 18 months ago. When she came to my Beginner’s Workshop she described herself as being “very good at making brown”. She worked hard in that workshop, and even took it again a few months later to make sure she “got it”. Since then she has taken a class here and there from local teachers including me. But what makes Joanie a successful painter so soon is she practices.

I am proud of you Joanie, and I hope this story is inspiring to others out there trying to learn to paint watercolors. Put the miles on the brush….that is the key!

A Review by an Art Critique

2010-03-21T21:10:00.001-07:00

Here is what I have learned about having your work reviewed by an Art Critique.

It is best if you do not know that an Art Critique has seen your show prior to the review being published.

About ten days ago I was painting in my studio at Elliott Fouts Gallery when Cynthia, poked her head in the door and whispered “Victoria Dalkey is here.” For those of you who do not subscribe to the Sacramento Bee, Victoria Dalkey is the Art Critique for that newspaper. I knew she must be there to see the new show GO FIGURE!   I have 3 paintings in that show. Everyday since then I have scanned the art section of the Sacramento Bee with apprehension looking to see if she wrote about the show. Today she did. AHH no more suspense!

Back in 2001, I was quite nervous about my first solo show at the JGlenn Gallery in Davis. I assume that is why the gallery owner did not tell me the show had been seen by the Davis Enterprise Art Critique, Paul Dorn. When I arrived for the opening he handed me a copy of the Davis Enterprise, April 4, edition and pointed to the headline “Sensual Fragrant Art”. Thank goodness Mr.. Dorn’s well written review was very positive! I wonder if Jeff would have given me the paper if it had been a negative review…

Just because an Art Critique visits a show does not mean that she will choose to write a review about that particular show.

An Art Critique may visit several shows, but she only has a limited amount of column space so she must choose which shows to write about.   So when I read a review she wrote about another show last week I figured she was not going to write about the GO FIGURE! show at Elliott Fouts Gallery. But I continued to check the Art Section just in case.

An Art Critique’s job is to be “critical”, not to be “nice”. So just because the Critique chooses to write about the show does not mean that everything written will be positive.

As a subscriber to the Sacramento Bee I have been reading Victoria Dalkey’s reviews for years, and I know she does not sugar coat, she tells it like she sees it.   What I like most about her reviews is that I almost always learn something I did know know.   She often describes an artist’s work in an historical context, and I get a mini-art history lesson. Or she will see something entirely different in a piece than I saw in that same piece when I viewed it.   Sometimes her writing provokes me to go to a show just to see if I agree with her take on it.

Art Critiques have their favorite styles. If you don’t paint in that style, you have to hope that the Critique will be fair in their comments about the quality of your work even if they do not appreciate your particular style. In my humble opinion, a good Art Critique does that.

From my reading of Victoria Dalkey’s reviews I think my three small figure paintings in the GO FIGURE! show are probably not of a style that tops her list of “faves”.   So it was a great relief to read in the very last line of her review in today’s Sacramento Bee

“…I liked Peggy Molloy’s compelling photoreal image of women warriors, Derek Gore’s explosive collage image of a Carmen Miranda-type showgirl, and Sandy Delehanty’s charming genre scene of gondoliers in Venice.”   Victoria Dalkey, “Natsoulas, Fouts Shows Feature the Human Figure” Sacramento Bee April 21, 2010.

Here is the painting she refers to:

Gondolier Dudes watercolor

NEW PAINTNG "Balinese Market"

2010-03-13T11:16:00.001-08:00

Myrna Wacknov is a very innovative artist who is always experimenting. If there is a new "toy" out there you can bet Myrna will be one of the first to try it. She has a wonderful loose drawing style, and I noticed on her blog, "Creative Journey" www.mynawacknov.blogspot.com that she mentioned a new "brush pen" she was using. I asked her about it, and it turns out is made by Pentel, has a brush tip, and comes with two cartridges of permanent black ink. I found it at University Art Center on J Street in Sacramento. Alas, my drawing style will probably never be as loose as Myrna's, but I really enjoyed using the brush pen to create this little painting.

"Balinese Market" is an ink and watercolor painting, 6' x 6" framed in a floating mat style that is hanging in the new GO FIGURE! show at Elliott Fouts Gallery 4749 J Street, Sacramento, California. The Second Saturday opening reception is this evening from 6:00 - 9:00pm. It is a group show so the reception will be fun with many artists in attendance, some showing at the Fouts gallery for the first time.

Bali is the most colorful country I have ever visited, and no where is the color more evident that in its markets. The Balinese are known for their beautiful batik fabrics and sarongs. Add the vast variety of colorful fruit and spices, beautiful temple offerings and flower arrangements and you have the most colorful scene anywhere.

As much as I love to draw and paint scenes that I encounter when I travel, it is not always practical to work on site. In this case it would take too long to capture in ink and watercolor all the detail of this busy market scene as it was happening, so I had to be content to take a tun of photographs to paint from in my studio. The early morning market starts before dawn and is over by 9:00am so there is not much daylight. It is crammed into a small space between buildings, and so busy I would probably have been run over by a motor scooter or lady with a pile of baskets on her head had I tried to paint there.

I have traveled to Bali 3 times, my last trip was 2007. I am still painting from my many colorful photos of this mystical island.

New Painting "Gondolier Dudes"

2010-03-06T10:55:00.001-08:00

"Gondolier Dudes" is a 12" x 18" watercolor on paper hanging in the new show titled "GO FIGURE" that just opened today at Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento www.efgallery.com . It is priced at $650. framed. This is an invitational group show and the variety of styles and subject matter that the artists have contributed is just amazing.

I contributed 3 watercolors all created from my travel photos. When I travel my digital camera is always around my neck and I have been known to take over two thousand photos on a single overseas trip.   Hey, its digital, no film expenses, so shoot, shoot, shoot. I like to download my photos into my Notebook each evening and edit them in Photoshop while they are fresh in my mind. I love capturing the local people going about their daily routines, although I must admit I seldom paint from those photos as I am primarily a flower painter. The "GO FIGURE" show was an opportunity to go through my photos and paint from some of my favorites.

"Gondolier Dudes" was created from two photos of the dozens of pictures I took of the gondoliers in Venice.   The expression on the face of the guy to the far left with the "dude" sunglasses cracked me up.   Maybe he thought the guy adjusting his hat was upstaging him. But just those two did not seem to be enough to tell the story, so I addled three more gondoliers placing them so they were also watching the dude adjust his hat.

If you have been to Venice, you have probably seen a scene very similar to this.

Gallery Hopping in Scottsdale

2010-02-20T16:01:00.001-08:00

As an artist I find it inspirational and instructive to visit galleries in communities outside my local area. So when my husband agreed to work a trade show in Wickenburg, Arizona I hitched a ride so I could explore some Arizona Galleries. I had one day to explore the galleries in Scottsdale and on my second day I visited the Celebration of Fine Art Festival in Scottsdale.

So for my artist friends in California and else where that follow this blog and gallery friends Elliott, Cynthia and Michelle, here are my observations of the Scottsdale art gallery scene:

Not one artist painting watercolors on Aquabord....yes! no direct competition for my latest work.

A lot of oil landscapes that look pretty much all the same, especially when it comes to paintings of the Southwest. Quality and prices vary but oil landscapes are clearly the most popular here.

This is the Southwest so there have always been an abundance of galleries showing Indian, Western and Cowboy art and artifacts here, and that has not changed.

Not much in the way of abstracts, just a couple of galleries that really specialize in them and one of those galleries was big on acrylics on metal.

I saw a few Photo Realists of very high quality like Jane Jone's still life paintings at the Bonnor David Gallery.

I found one oil painter creating large florals also at Bonnor David but her compositions are different than mine so that's good.

The last time I was here, 2007 I think, I thought the prices in general were higher than in Sacramento. This time I don't get that feeling, prices vary by artist and size of course, but don't seem to be all that different than prices in Sacramento.

Most galleries were friendly and welcoming. But one was completely empty: door open, lights on, music playing, no one working there. I was there too long for them to be taking a bathroom break, weird, good thing I am not a thief!

I enjoyed seeing so much art in one neighborhood but I did not see anything that inspired me to do anything different than I am currently doing in my own work.

As for trying to gage how the art galleries were effected by the economy, I observed the following:

I was there on a beautiful Thursday afternoon and there were plenty of well dressed pairs and groups of ladies and couples strolling in and out of the galleries and eating at the sidewalk cafes.

I saw an oil landscape sell in one gallery, a bronze sculpture being sold in another and in a gallery showing very commercial "contemporary" art I saw a man hand over a credit card for a big abstract horse painting, that was not very well done.

I had to look for a street parking place cruising around blocks a few times. I did not use the parking garage so do not know how full it was.

I saw some "For Lease" signs on empty buildings, I counted 5 on retail spaces that had obviously housed galleries.

A couple of big well known galleries I visited in the past, the Marshall Gallery and the LeKAE Gallery have combined in one space as the Marshall-LeKAE Gallery.

One of the few galleries specializing in abstract work, the Charoscuro Gallery is now the Gebert Contemporary Gallery.

I did not see "Sale" signs nor witness any big discounts being offered. No one tried to hard sell anything to me even when I showed interest in a particular painting, no discount was offered (as happened in Santa Fe last February). In short I did not get the feeling that the gallery owners were desperate to make sales; perhaps the worst is over economy wise here.

Tips for snagging the dates you want using frequent flyer miles

2010-02-16T23:30:00.001-08:00

CREATING WATERCOLOR MEMORIES OF TUSCANY the workshop I am teaching in Cortona, Italy is scheduled for September 4 - 11, 2010.   We have 5 deposits in so far, we need 8.

I have 50,145 frequent flyer miles with Continental's awards program.   I need 55,000 for the "Saver" seats otherwise its 100,000 for the "Anytime" seats.   So, do I book my flights using my miles now so I can get the saver rate, or wait until all 8 deposits are in and lose out on the saver seats?

Answer: I telephoned Continental and asked what happens if I book and later have to cancel. I learned I can cancel or change my dates up to a couple of days prior to the flight and may be charged $75. (If I do it early enough, no charge.) If canceling the miles go back into my account. This varies airline to airline so always ask.

OK, I book now, but not on their web site, Here is why:
The web site only shows the Saver seats available on that airline. So, for my dates the Continental web site showed nothing available.   If you call the live agent you may pay a $20. booking fee, but you discover possibilities not shown on the web site.

I telephoned a Continental agent and she said, "no problem I will check all our partner airlines, be patient it will take awhile." She scrolled screen after screen on her computer for what must have been 10 minutes checking several airlines, through many different airports all the while telling me what she was finding.   Her persistence paid off I have Sacramento to Rome round trip tickets on the dates I wanted. She did it for the 55,000 Saver miles using two other airline partners of Continental. And it only cost me $30. for the four hundred or so miles I was short plus airport taxes and fees. I saved around $1,300. the cost of the tickets not including the taxes and fees which have to be paid no matter what. And I can cancel and my miles are returned to my account if need be.

American Airlines Awards program allows you to "hold" an itinerary for 5 days before you have to say yes or no. They will request award seats from other airlines during that time if what you want is not immediately available. You can buy the miles you are missing for a small fee. United works in a similar way, and also allows you to buy miles if needed. But all of this detective work is best done with a live agent who will go to bat for you, now on the web site.

Hope this is helpful to all of you frequent flyers out there.
Have paints will travel! Sandy

After Critique

2010-02-09T22:05:00.001-08:00

First a photography explainer - The last photo was shot in daylight, this one was taken tonight under my studio lights so it looks more yellow. The color is more accurate in the previous photo.

The River City 8 Critique Group was helpful as always, as were some of you out there in the blogisphere. Thanks everyone!

So, no one seemed to be bothered by the red sash being the only red accept me as the group said, "that is what tells the story that the big guy is a distinguished teacher". And this is a story painting;, its about the group of chefs standing around waiting for the school to open so they can learn from the big man. By the way I still have no title.....any ideas?

As the Critique group suggested I darkened the cast shadows below them and the wall behind them so as to pop the figures more. Also darkened the shading on the 3 on the far left a bit as they seemed a bit week as compared to the others. I also put a blue glaze on the one shutter so they match better. No one seemed to find fault with my drawing, even the hands seemed to be OK, hands always drive me nuts! Several of you and the group told me to some how disengage the pants on the teacher and student assistant from each other. I lightened the ones on the assistant in the front and now they read as separate from the teacher's.

So that will have to do. I have been painting all day on the other piece for the figure show and it is not done yet. I want to get them both to Cali-Color tomorrow to be photographed. My pictures are too lame to give to the gallery for their website and Cali-Color does a great job at a very reasonable price.

Hope to see you all on this Saturday night for the Second Saturday Artist Reception at Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento where my good buddy David Lobenberg is one of two featured artists in the main exhibit hall. I will be in my studio in the rear of the gallery, so stop by and say hello. David and I will be happy to see you.

How do you know when a painting is done?

2010-02-08T11:17:00.000-08:00

Is it done yet? This is one of the most frequently asked questions I get from students and even professional artist friends of mine. Here are some ideas for answering that question:

Critique from other artists - Ask another artist or two (who have not seen previously seen the painting) to critique it for you. Better yet start a critique group that meets regularly and then you are motivated to paint more because there is a Critique coming up. Kathy, Penny and I started River City 8 in 1992 and the group is still going strong. I will show them this painting at our meeting today.

Ferment - Patrick Dullanty used to let his paintings "ferment", he would stash them away in a closet and then pull them out 3 months later and look at them with a fresh eye.

Look at it in an alternate way - Look at them in a mirror or take a photo and look at the photo. When I look at the photo above that I took 10 minutes ago I can see that I need to put another layer of blue on the right shutter so it better matches the left one since they are suppose to be on the same building. I am also bothered by the fact that the teacher's red sash is so in your face, perhaps I need some red somewhere else in the painting, but where?

Sandy's Semi-Regular Art Stuff Newsletter

2010-02-02T11:05:00.000-08:00

For a couple of years now I have been writing Sandy's Semi-Regular Art Stuff Newsletter nearly every month and sending them to my e-mail list of artists. Of course it is a vehicle for advertising my classes and workshops, but I try to make it valuable to my readers by including Painting Tips, Art Business Tips, Travel Tips, Calls to Artists, Shows to see etc.

I am working on the February Newsletter and it contains the following articles: PAINTING TIP an article by a guest artist from Canada, BUSINESS TIP an article on making your computer do the work of recording your art business tax deductions, and TRAVEL TIP an article on making your computer do the work of finding the cheapest airline flight for you, CALLS TO ARTIST and SHOW TIME.

Writing a newsletter that is of value to other artists is not as easy as it sounds. Sometimes I stare at the blank computer screen and no light bulbs in my brain come on. So if you have suggestions for articles in future newsletters, questions you would like me to try to answer, or any other comments I would appreciate hearing from you.

If you would like to receive my newsletters but have not been getting them type the following email address into your contact list and send an email to me using that address requesting the newsletter. Sandy_Delehanty_Artist@mail.vresp.com. (Be sure to use the underline key between the first three words.) If you do it prior to February 3 (tomorrow), you should receive my February Newsletter. If you don't get it done until after that date and would like to receive the February newsletter, email me and I will send it out again to you.

If you are getting the Newsletter and do not wish to receive it ever again, you can go to the end of the newsletter and click on "unsubscribe" and it will no longer be sent to your email address.

May your next painting be a Masterpiece,

Sandy Delehanty

Are you a painter or a camera?

2010-01-27T22:56:00.000-08:00

In my classes this month we have been painting from vacation photos. I have been trying to get the point across to my students that to create a good painting does not mean you try to paint a perfect copy of your photo. We are after all, not cameras but painters. Painters create. I believe photos should be used as the source, the inspiration, the beginning for what evolves into a painting.

Here is the example I brought to my classes. I took this photo in Corneglia, Italy a few years ago.

I loved the light coming through the arch and spilling down the stairs, the window leading to nowhere, and the textures are great. However, the camera lense distorted the angles of the walls and windows. Can you imagine how wrong my painting would have been had I just traced this photo and painted it?

My painting below captures the light spilling down the stairs, the window to nowhere and the textures I found inspiring. But my creativity let loose in the colors I chose making the painting definately not an exact copy of the source photo.

"Via Fieshi", 24" x 18" watercolor $850.00

A Year of Growth

2010-01-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

May 2010 be a year of growth for us all. As artists lets stretch our talents as far as they will go and then some. Let us study, search, experiment and play. Remember art is suppose to be fun!

I have been experimenting with a new surface for my watercolors, clay coated board called "Aquabord" by Ampersand. I have learned to create luminous florals on the surface like this painting which appeared in the "Value" column of Southwest Art Magazine and sold in my two person show in August at Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento. I also found the clay surface works well for detail as in this zebra painting.

I will be demonstrating watercolor on Aquabord for several groups this year and teaching some classes and workshops using this surface in the future. If you belong to a group that would like a workshop in this technique please contact me.

Those of us who teach should remember to also learn. For me, that has always meant taking at least one workshop each year from an artist who works very different than I. My work covers several subjects and mediums, but my best and most consistant work is my watercolor florals. So in 2009 I took a workshop from Nancy Reynor an acrylic abstract painter, and a workshop from Brian Davis, a floral oil painter. Both are excellent teachers and really stretched my knowledge of painting. Such fun, such growth! So here is an example of this watercolor flower painter's attempt at an acrylic abstract.

I have not painted in oils for a couple of years, but Brian Davis taught me so much that I now feel more comfortable with the medium. I am currently working on more oil paintings at my home studio, here is the one I painted in Brian's workshop.

I began 2010 with a one day workshop with the very creative experimental painter, Myrna Wacknov, where we used gesso to explore new and unusual surfaces for painting watercolors. What fun! Myrna will try anything! Visiting with my friend Bonnie and taking this workshop with the group of painters she belongs to made it extra special. No photo from this workshop as we did not create paintings, only working surfaces. However, I learned a lot and will continue to experiment with these techniques, so stay tuned.

So, I say again, "May 2010 be a year of growth for us all."

New Watercolor Painting of Grapes

2009-12-19T11:31:00.000-08:00

"Yountville Vineyard"

Watercolor on clay coated board (varnished) 12" x 12" $400.

Just in time for last minute gift givers, I delivered this new painting to Elliott Fouts Gallery, 4749 J Street, Sacramento. It was created from photos I took one beautiful autumn day in a vineyard near Yountville. The leaves were nearly every color in the rainbow, and the grapes had not yet been harvested...perfect!

Elliott Fouts Gallery's website is www.efgallery.com or to purchase you can telephone them at (916) 736-1439.