Made in USA

There's nothing like getting a new container to organize your stuff! I deserved this - I kept my paints in the same Plano tackle box since college. It finally gave out and I got a nice, clean new one. It was made in the USA, too.

And I love foxes

Almost finished: Bolinas and Mercey

Still obsessed with my studio - all I want to do is paint - and pressing forward with many slow pieces approaching the finish line together.

I had the idea to paint a fox for a new vegan restaurant that was supposed to open near my studio called Citizen Fox. Before I could even start or talk to them, and after three years of sporadic construction, the project was called off and they're closing their two pop-up locations. I don't know what to think. This neighborhood doesn't need any more fancy restaurants, bars or cafes, but it definitely needs more vegetarian places. They feel like a refuge to many of my friends and me. You always know they're going to be kind of groovy there!

Quagmires

Pond in the Woods oil on canvas 9 x 12 in.

Pro: I love walking to my studio

Con: I have a sore ankle and wrists (the "Mommy Thumb" probably from carrying shopping bags home)

Pro: When I paint I feel no pain

Con: The chemicals I paint with could be making me sick

Pro: Soon I will be finishing a dozen paintings all around the same time, and after that I can switch solvents

Con: I don't have any shows this year besides Open Studios

Pro: I do have commissions and they're going well. 

Numbers and cartoons

Dog on Rug oil on canvas 28 x 20 in.

Lately I have been working on over fifteen paintings at once, which was getting a little overwhelming - seven or eight is more normal for me and feels more manageable. So I assigned the paintings numbers 1 - 15. I keep a log where each day I write my hours and what I worked on, and the number system makes it easier to scan back over and cycle through, so for example if I work on two paintings a day for a week, I've put in time on 14 paintings and can start at the beginning again on a piece that's had time to dry enough to not go muddy. It's still as slow going as ever, but I feel like I'm getting somewhere.

Another thing that makes me feel like I know where I'm going is black lines. I've been told to avoid them in paintings, but after years of taking that advice, I'm kind of letting myself throw it out the window. Anyway if someone asks me to describe my art, I've often said it's like a cross between Impressionism and comics! A black outline feels so definite and right. 

Was about to donate a loyal hound to a fundraiser when I noticed they required items created in the last three years. Wow, this one is from 2000. OK, never mind.

Scones and Mojo

I found a British program called Portrait Artist of the Year on Ovation TV and am amazed not just by the enduring fascination with portraiture, but that there could be such thoughtful discussion of painting on television! I hear that's the appeal of the Great British Baking Show:  no drama, just appreciation for the craft and the quiet concentration of those who do it well.

Past 3 person show at Glama-Rama

Happy to say I have done some curating, putting together three artists who will show at Glama-Rama Salon & Gallery early next year. Each artist's work is so distinct, so personal, and yet I think they'll be magic together and in that space. I'll keep you posted on this matchmaking venture and their colorful and surreal adventures!

Stars

Starlight Caravan oil on canvas 7 x 5 in.

Happy New Year - well, not very happy, as this is now a world without David Bowie. I don't think it's completely sunk in yet.
We also lost Chicago musician Kevin Junior, who was only 46 (my age). I always used to look forward to his band the Chamber Strings playing San Francisco, and how he'd look so cool I'd think, too late, "that would make a good painting!"

Winter's here

Moonlight Caravan oil on canvas 4 x 6 in.

Thank you, everyone who came to Open Studios last month! It was great having six artists onsite, the most ever at the Allied Box Factory, and seeing all our friends. Special thanks to our Gallery Girls for helping it run smoothly. The weekend was a big success. I've continued to paint since then, even though the days are short and it's getting colder.