Not Your Granny's Europe

                                      16x16; contact me if interested
This is the reworked lower portion of the painting I cut in two. It's a comment on the contrast you see in the "old country"- very very old buildings juxtaposed with modern technology. The one I don't get is high heeled shoes on cobblestone streets. The women seem to manage just fine, but I can't imagine trying it! The high heeled shoes alone are challenging enough.
We're leaving early tomorrow for points south. We'll get no further than Portland tomorrow as we have people to visit. There's no hurry though; this is a road trip and road trips are meant to be savored. I'm taking paint supplies to Arizona, but no light box, so I doubt there will be many still lifes. Don't know just what I'll paint, but I'll find something!

Everywhere a Crow Crow

                                           12x21; contact me if interested

Here's another of the Spain/Portugal series which, by the way for any locals who are reading this, will be on exhibit at the Meyer Wells showroom in the Seattle Design Center by the second week in November-at least January. There is an art event planned there for 11/11/11 that promises to be a lot of fun. Click on this link if you want to know more: www.communityartistsprogram.com

This painting actually part of a larger painting at one time, and I wasn't liking the way the whole thing came together, so I cut the panel and worked it into 2 separate paintings. That's the beauty of panels; you can "crop" as needed.

Sunday we're leaving for Arizona, taking our time and detouring into Colorado and New Mexico- making a road trip out of it. Usually we go more directly. I've been busy preparing to leave, so I haven't had time to paint (I miss it!) but I am taking paint supplies with me. There's a fabulous clay studio near our house down there, though, so I split my time between paint and clay- and hiking and tennis and pickle ball and biking.....what a life! Am I lucky or what?

House on the Hill

                                      24x30; contact me if interested
I posted a version of this a couple months ago, but it has been through may renditions since then. With these larger paintings I find that I can't get the depth and complexity  that I am looking for without several painting sessions and paint layers. The challenge is to retain spontaneity at the same time.

Morning Stroll

                                             30x24 Contact me if interested

I've wrapped up my Spain and Portugal series with a total of 13 paintings- 2 of which have sold. The rest will be on display at the Seattle Design Center in the Meyer Wells Showroom for an undefined period starting sometime at the end of October. There will be a big event on November 11th, featuring 11 artists in the Community Artists Program- and food and wine. I will have more information on that very soon.
Relevant to the subject of Spain, I heard today from a young Dutch woman we met on the Camino de Santiago. She said that we (my husband Jed and I) are "featured" in a Dutch TV show about the Camino (http://www.rkk.nl/kruispunt/; click on the first of the 3 shows- the one on the left depicting walkers). On our first day in St. Jean Pied de Port there was a Dutch film crew. They filmed us at breakfast (OMG I looked bad!) and then later on the walk. The Dutch man I was talking to at breakfast later died in Pamplona of a heart attack. We heard that a Dutch man had died there, but we didn't know until today that he was the one. Pretty shocking because he was about our age.
Watching the film brought back a lot of good memories. It was a special experience and I would definitely do it again. I highly recommend it to anybody who wants an inexpensive, somewhat challenging, and personally enriching experience.

Alley View

                                     24x24

This is part of my Spain/Portugal series- a view of some colorful houses seen through a narrow street.

Bocce Players

                                14x18 Contact me if interested
I cheated a little on this one. I took a photo of the bocce players in Lyon, Spain, but it wasn't a great painting reference. So I made a composite of several photos i found on the internet and painted from that.

Tapas Stop

                                     18x24

This is another painting for my Spain/Portugal series, based on a photo I took in the late afternoon in Leon. Spain. I'm finding it immensely helpful to post these; for some strange reason I can spot things I don't like- and things I do- in the photo better than in the actual painting. For example, I think that there is too much definition between the walls and the sidewalk in this painting. I would like to see more of the wall color in the sidewalk and more of the sidewalk color in the wall. They should still read as separate surfaces, but more unified. I also take note when I receive many or few comments on a piece. I know it's not an absolute science, but it gives me a feel for the appeal of the painting.

Wine Country

18x24 oil on canvas

This is another of my Spain/Portugal series. While on the Camino de Santiago, we walked through miles of vineyard with the leaves, some with the leaves just beginning to appear and some with grapes already forming. The pattern of the vines and the red soil were more apparent than they will be later in the season when the lushness of the greenery will take over.

House On the Hill

This is one of the Spain/Portugal series I've been working on. It's 24"x30". Thus far, I've done 3 landscapes and 2 figurative. My goal is to have 12-15 paintings including landscapes, figurative and city scenes- rooftops, street scenes, etc. Oh yes, and one with cows in the street. I have an idea that it could be interesting to display them along with the photographs that inspired the images and perhaps a little narrative about them. At this time, I don't have a venue for the exhibit, but I have some ideas for that as well. Right now, it's just fun re-living the trip through these paintings.