tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353692822012-01-11T18:56:39.967-08:00Thoughts of a San Francisco Bay Area artist.Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.comBlogger1071100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-3161352887086474832011-08-22T15:40:00.000-07:002011-08-22T15:40:50.013-07:00

I revised the text on p. 7 of the Common Core Standards, to reflect our goals for English Learner college and career-readiness. I have marked the text I added in red. ELs can demonstrate independenceOver time and eventually without scaffolding, will be able to comprehend and evaluate increasingly complex texts across a range of types and disciplines. Given an appropriate time frame, they can

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-26774860689066144782011-03-19T17:57:00.000-07:002011-03-19T18:11:08.451-07:00

When I decided to become a teacher back in 1991, there was a figure from Puerto Rican education I was so inspired by, I must have read his biography about ten times before I got my teaching credential. When I think of him, I visualize the famous painting that shows Maestro Rafael Cordero teaching at his school. He started the island’s first public school in 1810, for Black children who had not

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-86214305984353020422011-02-05T13:02:00.000-08:002011-02-05T13:04:23.332-08:00

While at Nicholls Park (in Richmond) the other day, I met a younger man. He said his name was Oscar. After going through the usual questions most people ask of outdoor painters, he settled next to me and  watched me paint for a while. Then Oscar said, half joking, "bet you wouldn't put me in your painting." "Why not?" I asked. "Can you stand for twenty minutes?" "Sure I can!," he responded. "Ok,

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-11992695885701738752011-01-09T18:17:00.000-08:002011-01-09T18:17:43.075-08:00

We took a short family vacation this winter. The three of us and our dog rented an RV, drove for two hours and stopped at the coastal village of Moss Landing. Every morning I would take the long walk through the estuary to find a spot where I could legally paint the Salinas River flowing out to sea. For some reason the Moss Landing harbor, though very charming, did not cast the same spell. You

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-90761382701413733842010-08-12T21:41:00.001-07:002010-08-12T21:42:17.794-07:00

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-76737478387995687162010-05-27T17:39:00.000-07:002010-05-27T17:41:21.904-07:00

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-5273589975824911092010-05-27T17:08:00.000-07:002010-05-27T17:36:28.818-07:00

These are pen and ink studies I did while teaching at the Richmond Art Center. Those are the students. I like drawing people the most when they are not posing. I used a drawing metal nib, a watercolor brush and india ink on 140 lb Cotman paper. The paper was roughly 8 x 10."

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-89402821409915389692010-05-10T10:53:00.000-07:002010-05-10T10:56:03.172-07:00

I returned this Saturday determined to redo Sausal Creek in a different manner, with oils and a 20 x 20" canvas. I wasn't, however, planning to do an abstraction, it just came out like this. I begin all paintings with the spatula, and this one did not want me to pick up a brush. I meant to continue working on it, but after about an hour it was clear nothing else needed to be done. I didn't feel

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-13007282327904621982010-05-03T18:57:00.000-07:002010-05-10T11:19:43.802-07:00

This creek runs through the middle of Dimond Canyon and in some parts the children and adult visitors can access it. I sat on the edge of a retaining wall bordering the creek to paint this 20 x 16" acrylic. It was a challenge not because of the many children who stopped to give me compliments, but because I was sitting in full sun. The glare was hard to avoid. The sun dried up my acrylics in half

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-1257686846153123962010-04-18T18:39:00.000-07:002010-04-18T18:39:09.894-07:00

This trawler was getting maintenance at an Alameda boat yard. It was enormous! I arrived late because of traffic and painted this 18 x 24" acrylic for two hours before returning home and finishing from memory.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-81446254161793079832010-04-13T15:06:00.000-07:002010-04-13T15:06:13.877-07:00

In the end there is something to be said for small, intimate paintings. This one (11 x 14") was done by the morning light of a window, while teaching Basic Oil Painting at the Richmond Art Center.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-5399331926131128762010-04-11T19:50:00.001-07:002010-04-11T19:57:02.619-07:00

The first half of this 18 x 24" oil was done on location in Alameda, CA. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and the waterfront had many visitors. It took me a long time to find a spot. I was interested in the pampas grass mounds I saw right after getting off the parking lot, but they were so big they covered the entire view. The upper part of the beach was flat so there was no vantage point from

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-41849534222814309142010-03-25T17:48:00.000-07:002010-03-25T17:51:09.896-07:00

...at least in subject matter! This oil I started and finished at home, to make myself feel better after having a bad week. The canvas is slightly larger than the previous one, 16 x 12."

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-52190084887344168742010-03-25T17:44:00.001-07:002010-03-25T17:46:30.321-07:00

This 11 x 14" oil on canvas was something I made while teaching the Beginning Oil class as a way to model some of the skills and approaches. I revised it at home.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-14971086678053348732010-03-23T15:27:00.001-07:002010-03-23T15:28:56.151-07:00

This is a model I had not painted at the Firehouse before. I used oil on a 20 x 20" canvas.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-8279195398570304812010-03-07T17:53:00.001-08:002010-03-07T17:58:10.188-08:00

That was the name of the demo that I gave for the oil painting class. I was saying that if you take the trouble to understand what you are painting (I mean structurally), then this can help you achieve likenesses. So I tackled this trumpet, which I bought from a middle school boy in Antioch, and the flower vase, which was a bit dirty. The canvas was a bit big (22 x 28") for a demo but for me, the

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-34294055458428474862010-03-02T09:06:00.001-08:002010-03-02T09:13:57.103-08:00

These flowers were a gift. My mom likes daffodils and it was raining. I had a lot of paint left over on my palette after working on a landscape, so I took a 16 x 20" canvas and spent a couple of hours painting these with acrylic.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-32902127006731265602010-02-25T11:39:00.000-08:002010-02-25T11:44:17.056-08:00

This 16 x 20" acrylic was done during class. I was trying to model the depiction of challenging surfaces in this medium, and arranged a still life in the vanitas tradition. Only that this time I used african and european instruments to symbolize my culture.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-47491184095055571322010-02-11T09:41:00.001-08:002010-02-11T09:51:37.595-08:00

I am teaching a beginning painting class at the Richmond Art Center. Hopefully I have organized an environment that lets us sample different ways to engage in the discipline, which is why we based our abstraction in the observation of an object. I modeled this with a small (16 x 20") painting, mostly because I did not want to be looking over anyone's shoulder. I am also trying to cultivate

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-85799522162155042202010-01-19T18:09:00.000-08:002010-01-19T18:15:47.175-08:00

He was on a hammock and warned me I only had 30 minutes. It is not a good likeness, but it is a great watercolor. On Lanaquarelle block, 140 lb, 12 x 16"

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-14974087293292619042009-12-22T17:46:00.000-08:002009-12-22T17:51:18.853-08:00

This is another 18 x 24" acrylic done from my memories of Halloween. I am not sure if it will stay like this, but I am really liking doing this research into the recesses of my visual memory. It is amazing! I have focused on remembering the mood and light more than anything. In these memories I am the viewer, so none of these children is me. I am not forcing the composition or anything. The

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-23852360966653066492009-12-16T13:42:00.000-08:002009-12-22T17:46:23.939-08:00

This 20 x 16" acrylic was done entirely from a collection of memories I have of my childhood in Puerto Rico. The top one is the most recent version. I took some licence with the houses as I did not want to make the background too distracting. I did not want to remember every detail either. After all, the genre is defined by the absence of small details. The composition came out ok, considering I

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-79449211893549158832009-12-08T18:18:00.001-08:002009-12-08T18:24:30.014-08:00

At first, one sees the person who is modelling; but little by little, all of the possible sculptures that could be made come between artist and model. Alberto Giacometti This is a 24 x 24" acrylic that I completed at the Firehouse in Berkeley. It took me six hours because I had a lot of trouble with the hands, but I like the light and the background. I learned a lot struggling with it!

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-87863484948655987222009-11-11T16:57:00.001-08:002009-11-11T17:00:02.764-08:00

This 18 x 24" acrylic on canvas has an interesting story. Manicured places and objects have never held my interest the way deteriorated stuff does, so I pretended I was painting the view of the bay, but I was painting the house directly in front of me. The boat's owner, I overhead, was leaving the following day for Colorado, so I took a cell phone camera picture and left after two hours with just

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-39117754303264451712009-10-29T11:52:00.000-07:002009-10-29T11:55:34.260-07:00

If every person who commissions a portrait was able to pose this well, I would be done in record speed and they would pay less. Adrian had never before modeled for a group of painters. He held the pose extremely well! The result was a decent 24 x 18" painting, with good color. I hope he was not in pain when we ended. Modeling is very hard work and it's best to be in shape.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-86545999162414918782009-10-23T13:42:00.000-07:002009-10-23T13:44:28.731-07:00

I was invited to a painting group that meets in Berkeley, at the home studio of a local artist. I have painted the model before, but this time, because of the strange size of the canvas (15 x 30") I extended the view to include a fellow painter hard at work. This palette had Titanium White, Pyrrole Orange, Pthalo Blue, Dioaxine Violet, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow, Lemon Yellow and Pthalo Green.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-80263961184687504342009-10-20T12:45:00.001-07:002009-10-20T12:52:49.823-07:00

This painting started as a family joke. Kafka, our schnauzer, is a perfectly well-behaved dog until he sees either cats, picas or squirrels. The later seem to flip him into another channel! Standing is his favorite position once he has spotted one. Because I am teaching a basic painting class at Richmond Art Center, I wanted to do this painting completely from references. Thus began a series of

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-88910417184709533352009-10-13T10:54:00.000-07:002009-10-13T10:57:11.547-07:00

We went to Lake Anza in Berkeley for two consecutive weeks and I worked in acrylic again. On the first week it was quite sunny, but on the second week the day was overcast and even dark, with an approaching storm. I revised the sunny painting (24 x 18") on the second week because I thought the water reflections were duller than they should be, and I had time to embark on a second painting (20 x

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-76209564883422690882009-10-12T18:26:00.000-07:002009-10-12T18:29:45.218-07:00

I occasionally visit the Firehouse group on Tuesdays to do figure painting. This 20 x 16 acrylic painting felt wonderful, because it flowed. The model was excellent! I was happy with the light and the modeling of this figure.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-65591831220589488962009-09-08T18:46:00.000-07:002009-09-08T18:56:17.755-07:00

It was only three days, but the folks from Tides pampered my paintings at the Hotel W. Marika Holmgren the event coordinator, made sure I had everything I needed. My work was shown at the Community Room, together with the work of Amanda Lopez. This photo was taken by Kevin Tuney, the engineering assistant who hung my paintings with 100 lb nylon line from screws placed on the ceiling of the hotel

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-67647807489807245532009-09-03T17:30:00.000-07:002009-09-07T20:18:43.578-07:00

The way to form transcends its own destination, goes beyond the end of the way itself. Paul Klee I set out to paint a still life this week. Since I have northern light from a large window, I placed a large piece of foam board on top of a table right by it. I had a birch panel that I had primed with gesso, the cheapest acrylics available on the market, and some cheap nylon and hog brushes. I

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-84089218163244485162009-09-01T18:03:00.000-07:002009-09-01T18:08:30.826-07:00

I gave this painting to my mom because I know she loves flowers and she loves this nursery too. The truth is plants are always a challenge! The place was lovely and they were very nice to the seven of us who showed there to paint. The light changed midway through the session and the nursery posed compositional as well as time contraint challenges. This is always a good exercise, but can feel

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-35005756128779537412009-08-29T18:35:00.001-07:002009-08-29T18:40:04.854-07:00

I have never revised as intensely as I did with these two acrylics. Maybe it was the unusual sand color, or the fact that the light was so strong. The one with Sarah, Kafka and my mom (16 x 20") was done quickly because they didn't know they were posing. The one with the mountain (18 x 18") went slower. Intense light and many interruptions were big challenges, then I went home and finished them

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-45295764671830611602009-08-23T21:00:00.000-07:002009-08-24T10:17:15.209-07:00

Well, it's actually the same bridge with arches, seen from opposite sides of the Rogue river, at roughly the same time in the day. There is a beautiful park on one of its shores that I've been dying to paint, but the water was calling...We don't have rivers like this in the Bay Area. I painted the purple bridges (18 x 24") on Saturday, and the yellow bridge on Sunday. If you look at the purple

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-73535249325059286972009-08-18T12:07:00.000-07:002009-08-24T10:18:34.834-07:00

Benicia's Waterfront, Acrylic on birch panel, 16 x 24"I don't know if many of you know that for years I did not have a proper studio. Because oil and acrylic demand a certain amount of space, I felt I had to paint in watercolor all of those years. Now, I made this choice joyfully as one of my most admired art instructors happens to be a superb watercolorist and he influenced me. As a result,

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-67960169051858504712009-08-15T14:51:00.000-07:002009-08-15T15:19:00.530-07:00

Artists, it turns out, tend to be almost universally frustrated by having to give time to pursuits other than art. Staying away from distractions, switching from the left to the right brain, organizing life so that they can sculpt, assemble, draw, or etch, that's the hardest challenge of all. I belong to a very active group on Facebook called "The Life of An Artist." The goal is to get artists

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-79264565000726978942009-08-11T19:14:00.000-07:002009-08-11T19:19:34.930-07:00

The male model, Otenio, is sitting at a table beautifully arranged by Vicki Salzman. This acrylic (16 x 20") took almost two sittings to complete. The painting of the Barbara in the other acrylic of the same size, took a three-hour session. Both are models from the Bay Area Models Guild.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-54806618448377866782009-08-10T17:41:00.000-07:002009-08-10T17:52:00.072-07:00

The edge of the Parchester marsh was an acrylic done on a 15 x 30" canvas. It took two visits. We had to park near a shooting range near the Richmond dump, and walk to the southern edge of the marsh. The biggest challenge of this painting is that the weather conditions kept changing so rapidly. The second challenge was that the sky was overcast and the lovely marsh greens and reds turned into a

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-42221800306925966292009-08-04T18:49:00.001-07:002009-08-04T18:53:36.622-07:00

Our plein air group went to China Camp for a month. I got to go for two weeks in a row, and these acrylics are the result. The square one measures 24 x 24" and the rectangular one measures 20 x 16." The square one is an acrylic on birch panel, the other one is painted on canvas.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-90759509436404304662009-07-10T20:24:00.000-07:002009-07-10T20:30:39.664-07:00

Two huge watercolors I did outdoors a few years ago, about 18 x 24" I was remembering them because I will be traveling to Tubac (about 20 minutes south of Tucson) next week.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-54134452350698432122009-06-17T16:58:00.001-07:002009-06-17T17:19:56.079-07:00

These are three recent paintings. The first one is an acrylic, the last two are oils. The last one is a large format oil (47 x 24") done at the Whittel Marsh in Point Pinole. The pickleweed is barely noticeable. It was a nightmare to keep the easel stable in that wind. It fell twice in the sand, and this is after I had placed bags with rocks on the easel legs. The middle one was done at the

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-89178915141605894372009-06-14T11:53:00.000-07:002009-06-16T21:41:23.210-07:00

Open Studios went well for me. I had a total of about 80 visitors, mostly local traffic. For a location like mine, isolated from the major art centers, this was very good. One in every six people who came bought something. I kept the prices low intentionally, even though a collector told me I was charging too little. I did not sell portraits, but I sold a lot of landscapes to people who had hiked

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-57448529399118378322009-06-04T21:21:00.000-07:002009-06-04T21:35:43.454-07:00

Sarah and I went to the Pro Arts Gala this afternoon. We were listening to the wonderful jazz ensemble when I got a call on my cell. I stepped outside to take it and discovered it was my friend Karen Sherr, telling me a reviewer for the East Bay Express had named me as one of the top ten picks for Open Studios. I was happy. I hope many people come to see it.CRITIC'S CHOICEEast Bay Open

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-52528186199356976812009-05-12T20:47:00.000-07:002009-05-12T20:53:37.682-07:00

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-11417049857163756092009-05-09T13:09:00.001-07:002009-05-09T13:18:46.686-07:00

Two professional models, both posing for the Long Pose Lab that Karen Zullo Sherr and I have organized. We will start a new six-week cycle in a new location, at the Firehouse Collective North, on June 9, from 10 am to 1 pm every Tuesday. The fee is $20 and it goes to pay the model and expenses for the collective.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-24330035409725687492009-04-07T09:08:00.000-07:002009-04-07T09:31:47.123-07:00

I wanted to paint a big landscape, but the size prevented me from lugging it to the locations I normally scout for plein air. So I decided to gather as much information as possible so I could paint it at my studio. This is a series documenting the progress of a relatively big landscape painting.Photographic ReferencesI don't have a projector, but I took protographs with a small digital camera

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-52881279906634558432009-02-23T12:08:00.000-08:002009-02-23T12:19:30.074-08:00

We've been going to the part of El Sobrante north of San Pablo Dam Rd. This is before the rains ruined our Mondays! These are small oils I did in about two hours, without my puppy Kafka.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-81969264009327699642009-02-05T16:08:00.000-08:002009-02-05T21:00:36.274-08:00

These oils on canvas are the product of three hour sessions with a wonderful model from Berkeley. The square one is 20 x 20" and the rectangular one is 16 x 20." I was joking about the difficulties inherent in doing the pattern on her jacket when the previous coat of paint has not dried. For this, I avoid hog brushes and use something much softer, like sable. I have many nylon brushes but they

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-77027524949841524002009-02-04T15:42:00.000-08:002009-02-04T15:55:49.528-08:00

Two professional models who posed for a total of six hours. They chose their pose. These are oils on canvas, approximately 18 x 24." I bought this new chair and I'm asking everyone to sit on it, perhaps because I am tired of the old chair. I confess I love the heater next to one of the models. That is, I love the painting of the heater. It was a lot of fun to do, toward the end. I have removed a

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-68970275806314372722009-01-23T16:53:00.000-08:002009-01-30T18:16:48.168-08:00

Getting my work professionally photographed over the winter break wasn't hard because I didn't do it. The hard part was packing it again for storage! Canterbury Media did a great job of preparing the images for reproduction, something I could learn how to do eventually, but that is not cost-effective right now (and it would wreck my arm).I have now uploaded the initial seventeen images to

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-64380058549945922512008-12-07T13:37:00.000-08:002008-12-07T13:41:32.539-08:00

This was oil on a birch panel. It is an effort to paint the light and the colors in a landscape as I perceive them. In the process I use what some people call "fluorescent colors."

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-33914827462450857832008-11-12T14:29:00.000-08:002008-11-12T14:43:03.313-08:00

These are not all acrylics, there is one oil among them. Can you tell? They are all the same size, 11 x 14 inches. Two were done in the summer, and three in the fall. One of them took an excruciatingly long time to complete, it was a very difficult painting. Write what you think in your comments. I'll publish answers next week.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-34422123520383103452008-09-21T12:12:00.000-07:002008-09-30T17:59:22.919-07:00

Where else can you paint while besieged by mosquitoes, sand flies, and fiery ants? You become aware of the sweat running down your back while sitting in the shade. The smell of rotting matter ambushes you next to breathtaking vistas. Skyscapes change within minutes, and huge raindrops pelt whatever cover you've taken, along with your watercolor paper. You feel sorry you wore shorts. All of this

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-88286591322161604042008-08-31T14:13:00.000-07:002008-09-20T18:59:46.596-07:00

The packing was the hardest thing to do in preparation for the show. It required creativity, lots of math skills and stamina. Unfortunately there isn't an Artists' Depot where you can go and pick up packing materials for your artwork. There are services you can hire (Artex, Artpack), though. They will come, pack it, transport it and deliver it safely, for the price of a week in Sedona.Some folks

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-63347974512257679362008-08-25T15:27:00.000-07:002008-08-25T16:06:39.583-07:00

The exhibit held at CompassPoint, Undocumented: Latino Immigrant Portraits by Rebeca Garcia-Gonzalez, was a fantastic event. The VIP reception was earlier, to give the press a chance to see it before the rest of the public. Given the tremendous number of people who came (more than a hundred), this was a wise decision. Luckily for us, some came earlier and others late. Martina Ayala and her

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-53023710369305474012008-08-03T19:49:00.000-07:002008-08-03T20:14:04.871-07:00

My friend and former classmate Martina Ayala, who is promoting my upcoming show Undocumented: Latino Immigrant Portraits, preferred the boxed version of this postcard, now making the rounds among friends and colleagues. Carmen Melendez, the graphic designer who created this card, also liked the card because of the model, whom she found exceedingly handsome. They also said the green lettered

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-54782428556079030852008-07-02T13:02:00.000-07:002008-07-02T13:15:41.298-07:00

She was the last model to pose who could have made it into the exhibit, and the only canvas I had left measured about 20 x 24." She was also the most forthcoming of all the people I have painted, in that she felt completely free to comment on my style and approach to her portrait (for example, she thought my colors were too bright). I explained to her that I had grown up in the caribbean, where

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-5432016421432846662008-06-24T07:25:00.000-07:002008-06-24T07:50:26.296-07:00

It's a team effort! My childhood friend Carmen Melendez is designing the bilingual postcard that will announce my August solo show at Compass Point, a non-profit organization on the second floor of a building (731 Market St) in downtown San Francisco. The opening will be on August 22, at 6 PM. The show is titled Undocumented: Latino Immigrant Portraits by Rebeca Garcia-Gonzalez.Meanwhile, my

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-22778169005204129212008-06-23T08:08:00.000-07:002008-06-23T20:12:22.153-07:00

I've returned from Santa Fe, where I was coordinating a professional writing retreat for the National Writing Project. My colleague Lisa and I decided to take a stroll through Canyon Road before dinner at Geronimo, and got a glimpse of the art business as it is conducted at this point in the town's timeline. I must say we began our walk at 4:00 PM, toward the end of the business day for most

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-68465378780259513732008-04-28T20:57:00.000-07:002008-04-28T21:19:37.020-07:00

As I was explaining in a previous blog, when I decided to engage in art full-time after 25 years of doing it "on the side," I confronted many challenges. Some were about my own insecurities, and other were more technical. As I have not yet resolved my own fears about "coming out" with my art, I will focus on the technical challenges in the hope that my experience may be useful to a reader.One of

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-80010825245366201792008-04-27T19:27:00.000-07:002008-04-28T21:18:44.712-07:00

We have continued going out to paint on Mondays. This is despite the poison oak, class-cutting teenagers, and exceedingly friendly dogs (one, named Coltrane, gave me a bear hug). Our group now has three steady people and might continue growing. We tend to meet at trailheads or parking lots, and not stray too far into the park. We actually climb up sometimes steep hills looking for views or just

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-26290193258789182302008-04-08T08:35:00.000-07:002008-04-08T08:41:36.868-07:00

I've added paintings and watercolors I've done in the last couple of years, since I've been making the rounds trying to find a venue for a solo show and curators need to see my recent work. This oil was done last summer, but I had a hard time photographing it because of its unusual size (24 x 48"). It is our driveway in San Pablo, with my beloved Toyota Tacoma.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-41456762411008765882008-04-08T08:14:00.000-07:002008-04-08T09:01:27.573-07:00

These past two years I have been participating in more events with other painters and visual artists than ever. I regularly meet with other people to draw or paint. I have also observed people in a class context. At my age and later, many folks who've held a lifelong fascination with art decide to take the plunge. It is because of my interest in how different the process is for every person that

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-78512177012974773152008-03-13T11:40:00.001-07:002008-03-13T12:10:33.705-07:00

Let's say you are painting without first making a few thumbnails (to plan your composition) and without making a preliminary drawing in black and white (to understand the values). Let's say you gave nominal thought to your palette. You probably grabbed the colors you always use. To complicate matters, your time is very limited, about as much time as a professional model can hold the pose (20

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-35889019084357752042008-03-10T17:14:00.000-07:002008-03-10T18:22:14.242-07:00

But I've been busy! Karen and I continue to go plein air painting every Tuesday morning. I am still figure drawing on Wednesday nights at the Richmond Art Center. And I have three paintings at the Prescott Joseph Center until March 31. The exhibit, titled Women Band Together, is in honor of the International Women's Day.I've actually been busy recovering from (new official name) cubital tunnel

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-11271231818469500292008-02-07T10:31:00.000-08:002008-02-07T10:46:10.538-08:00

In my never-ending quest for professional improvement, I've decided to give this "artist-run company for artists" a chance. I've bought their software for $149., a filemaker database customized to the needs of professional artists. There weren't reviews on the web to help me pick this one from among four or five other contenders, so I had to choose based on minimal descriptions of the features on

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-84451746465733574102008-02-02T14:58:00.000-08:002008-02-20T09:32:23.490-08:00

I have been painting Latino immigrants for a few months now. Sometimes they bring each other, or I hire them from the neighborhood. They pick their clothes and the pose. I pay them by the hour. At the end of the day I take a photograph print it, sign it, and give it to them. They sign a release and take a copy home. Once they leave, I might finish the background, but I don't tend to work on their

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-66464731911001948602008-01-28T17:39:00.000-08:002008-01-28T18:31:22.424-08:00

Rather than employing it as a supplement to active, conscious seeing, they used the medium as a substitute, paying less attention to the world than they had done previously, taking it on faith that photography automatically assured them possession of it.Alain de BottonI had spent three days last winter, making sure the same morning light passed through our deck door (the setup was on the floor),

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-57029917082564015152008-01-21T12:33:00.000-08:002008-01-21T18:10:56.711-08:00

Inspiration Point is a rather beautiful (and conveniently located) part of Tilden Park. A friend from figure drawing class and I went at 9:00 AM on a blustery morning, and climbed up a steep little hill next to the main and paved path. I was going to take my oils, but it was just too cold to sit there for hours. I took watercolors instead, and a Lanaquarelle pad that is 16 x 20." As it turns out

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-27377170744003292042008-01-15T08:45:00.000-08:002008-01-16T10:45:29.264-08:00

I intended this painting as an homage to my uncle, who passed away recently. A middle school teacher, my dad's brother was a beloved figure of my childhood. I was the eldest grandchild, and benefitted early from our conversations. He had the ability to listen to children as if their opinion mattered, and made his contributions in ways that could be understandable to a child. All of his life he

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-50640015923190042932008-01-13T18:29:00.001-08:002008-01-15T09:01:50.235-08:00

Last year I started a tradition of painting a few still lives indoors, between December and March. Our winter is very rainy, and here on the hills between El Sobrante and El Cerrito, it gets foggy too. All of which makes working outdoors unpredictable. So I turn the focus inward and work from my imagination, from dreams, or from something I can place indoors.I seldom have the patience to find a

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-54858232073199117032008-01-11T08:54:00.000-08:002008-01-15T09:00:52.952-08:00

Sometimes I am more interested in what's happening behind the scenes than in the foreground. I think it has to do with the need to feel some kind of release after my attention has been focused on rendering accurate depictions of a model or object. I did a series of ink drawings in our figure drawing lab (this is the best one) showing what I can see beyond the model, and they were fun.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-65564934763116191762008-01-09T09:55:00.000-08:002008-01-09T10:35:11.402-08:00

Turpentine is banned from most collective painting spaces and classes, even with good ventilation. Turns out that they cause headaches, exacerbate respiratory issues in most people, and if rubbed onto your skin while cleaning brushes, you can end up with contact dermatitis. We don't even know what long-term exposure to it may cause.Oil paints, while fume-free, should be

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-15647516708538622382008-01-06T18:51:00.000-08:002008-01-06T19:00:45.574-08:00

These are more figure studies from last year. A group of us, six to be exact, is meeting at each other's studios while the Richmond Art Center is renovated. Our lab will start again February 6. These are watercolors, but in a much smaller format, about 16 x 20". I've reduced my palette to three colors: Burnt sienna, cerulean blue and yellow ochre. I've been making a line drawing first with walnut

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-28771643306971814252008-01-06T13:48:00.000-08:002008-01-06T14:04:26.525-08:00

HP "fixed" my laptop, or so they say. The truth is, I am tired of sending it out for repair (yes, I fell for their extended warranties). I keep getting it back in the same state, minus my software, which I have to re-install. The screen went black sometime in November, almost two years after I bought it. So, for more than three months I've had to do without it while HP pretends to restore its

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-23500425113072292102007-11-01T15:55:00.000-07:002007-11-01T16:59:16.654-07:00

Pardon the quality of my images. To make a long story short, my laptop quit and my scanner broke down last month. I've had to edit images on a primitive image editor. We've been doing some short poses, and I've been stitching media to keep it all fresh. The color piece is acrylic, and the black and white piece was done in ink and grey watercolor. These are also smaller than what I've been doing

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-49251051913119683342007-09-24T08:33:00.000-07:002007-09-24T08:45:35.714-07:00

I took my partner and parents to an exhibit at the Richmond Art Center, where one of my paintings was featured in the members' only show. I had made this portrait of my mother about two years ago during the winter. She had posed for about eight or nine two hour sessions. The members' show is staged in one of the center's hallways, so we saw the other exhibits first before we got to my mom's

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-12158867535946908822007-09-19T08:31:00.000-07:002007-09-19T09:49:43.904-07:00

I have been working with the expression of energy through line and brushstroke on canvas, board, and paper. This is the opposite of what I do with my other work, where content, color, and form take precedence over movement. When you are working towards creating the illusion of distance, texture or an environment, it is an extra challenge to convey the stored energy of the

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-43019109727534804992007-09-15T17:46:00.000-07:002007-09-15T18:13:55.732-07:00

Here is a painting done in two afternoons. My neighbor brought these hydrangeas she had picked that same day. In Spanish, they are called hortensias. They were sitting in front of one of my studio windows. I was fascinated that they had not wilted or fallen apart the day after, so I painted them. Here I must explain that two years before I had had a conversation with a florist who told me she

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-43279205887364698322007-09-11T10:15:00.000-07:002007-09-11T12:49:22.490-07:00

How do artists decide on the size of a piece? This is, assuming this decision is up to the artist, of course. Sometimes, it is not. I recall a call for entries from the California Watercolor Association. Only pieces about the size of a coffee table were considered. This effectively ruled out most field work, as it is extremely difficult to work on paper of that size outside of a studio. This in

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-45782021069157249182007-09-04T08:52:00.000-07:002007-09-05T20:28:13.171-07:00

It was during my middle school years when I realized the art world was not the homogeneous, equal opportunity institution I took it to be. Back in the early seventies, I bought my art supplies at a mom and pop framing and art store in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. The display shelves in the beyond-cluttered one-room storefront were taller than me. More art materials than I had ever imagined advertised

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-17471889113049739662007-08-28T13:23:00.000-07:002007-09-03T17:02:55.120-07:00

I took my acrylics to the field. I went to a highway about three exits down the freeway, took a less traveled road up the hills, parked the truck by a small tree by the road and looked down. There was no path and no way to walk beyond the road's edge unless I wanted to roll. So I went to three other roadside sites before I settled under a large, moribund bush, hidden from the high speed cars. It

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-34693261994024728902007-08-24T08:20:00.000-07:002007-09-03T17:00:31.933-07:00

"I've been 40 years discovering that the queen of all colors was black." Auguste Renoir"Black is not a color." Edouard Manet"Without black, no color has any depth. But if you mix black with everything, suddenly there's shadow - no, not just shadow, but fullness. You've got to be willing to mix black into your palette if you want to create something that's real."Amy GrantDo you use black? From

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-11382253906245212902007-08-18T21:03:00.000-07:002007-08-19T10:40:32.506-07:00

That it was an honour to be Sickert's model I had no doubt.Nevertheless, I had sufficient experience of this form of service to look forward to the next few hours without enthusiasm. I was standing; I had no book, my legs would ache abdominably after a time; it would be a long business and thoroughly uncomfortable. Vanessa Bell Painting human subjects is a polarized experience for me; I paint

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-71446166281743676332007-08-16T10:14:00.000-07:002007-08-16T11:06:46.834-07:00

You make a promise to yourself, to paint as much and as frequently as possible. Early on you may have very specific notions of what the production should look like, but these are gradually abandoned through the recognition that you will never have total control over the output. That is, if you are trying to work from the inside to the outside, if you recognize that every image and experience in

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-20077026094899110542007-08-15T08:26:00.000-07:002007-08-15T16:27:39.802-07:00

Lately, maybe because the good weather beckons, or because everyone else seems to be doing their summer traveling, I've been painting outdoors by myself quite a bit. I might bring watercolors, oils, or more recently, acrylics. My setup is not too complicated. By now I have a system that enables me to get ready in about 15 minutes.I carry a smallish canvas. If I am doing oils and the canvas is

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-63328615793313001792007-07-07T15:02:00.000-07:002007-07-07T15:13:26.441-07:00

On November 2006, we were hit from behind by a sleepy pizza delivery man. Soon after, I started to experience numbness on my right arm when typing. At the time, I was using the computer a lot, putting the finishing touches on my web site. I was also working as a consultant, processing too many e-mails per day.Soon I found myself wearing wrist braces without overusing my hands, unable to sleep at

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-16461611083659915872006-12-08T20:53:00.000-08:002006-12-08T21:11:59.941-08:00

This weekend, it has started raining in earnest in the Bay Area, but I am ready for winter. I ordered a pack of Lanaquarelle hot pressed watercolor paper, I bought some new colors, and I am going to retire to my studio during those long rainy evenings to experiment with reference materials. In other words, I will create paintings with photos, old pictures and my imagination. There's no pleir air

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-1443789157278496892006-12-02T17:36:00.000-08:002006-12-02T18:24:46.511-08:00

I had an ill-founded mistrust of artificial light. For years I did not even entertain the thought. I was afraid of what incandescent light bulbs would do to my colors. In my mind, I would wake up the next day, take a look at my watercolor, and shriek in horror at the ghastly color schemes. But it was during the storms of El Nino that I had force myself to work at night. Winters in the San

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-15988170874307062922006-11-27T08:04:00.000-08:002006-11-27T08:28:01.683-08:00

Just finished cataloguing all of my artwork. My dad has been helping, sending in work I did when I attended the Art Student's League of San Juan, Puerto Rico back in the late seventies. I've also had to sit down and think of all of the people who've either bought or received art from me in the past 25 years. To answer your question, I didn't do this before because art wasn't a career back then,

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-89346226355302203692006-11-25T12:07:00.000-08:002006-11-25T18:01:00.151-08:00

Since I haven't yet gone to the real Paris, I reasoned, Paris Las Vegas, the hotel, will do. I stationed myself at a corner wedged between the hotel wall and the fountain. The fountain was inspired on the one at the Place de la Concorde, which in turn was inspired on the ones at Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican. Nothing is new.The falling water's roar was almost unbearable, and the mist made

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-31044085233721103762006-11-25T11:06:00.000-08:002006-11-25T18:03:22.919-08:00

I don't smoke, don't gamble, hate to lose money and can hardly tolerate hotel food, so what was I doing in Las Vegas? Painting was an excuse to escape our very wet Winter and Spring, so there I was, outdoors, at a time when even outdoor pools are closed in Sin City, with my 10 x 14" Lanaquarelle block and my tiny color box. I walked quite a bit during that sunny morning looking for a spot that

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-49290195273865854572006-11-11T10:18:00.000-08:002006-11-11T10:31:48.660-08:00

These are two others I did close to the beach, one of them inside the car for lack of a proper place to sit. Neither of these views had a dramatic element, so I settled on the mountains as the focal point for both. The beach was wonderful that afternoon, meaning there was very little wind and very few people. Crabs crawled out of their burrows, looking for food close to my bare feet. Behind me

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-64282990291399176222006-11-11T09:17:00.000-08:002006-11-11T09:49:59.477-08:00

Sorry about the previous rant. I just had to get it off my chest so I could talk about the more pleasant aspects of painting while vacationing. For this five day trip I took:a pocket box (I fill it with my own colors)plastic mixing pan about 7" x 10" foldable water "bucket" three brushes in their own case12" x 16" block of paper mechanical pencil (never needs sharpening)plastic container with my

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-79660710012155432152006-11-11T08:43:00.000-08:002006-11-11T09:56:31.094-08:00

The first rule: Don't try out anything new on a combination painting/traveling trip. Let me now tell you how I broke this most cardinal of principles. A day before our five day trip, I went to the art store and bought two very important items, a round brush and a block of watercolor paper. I figured I'd be safe with Arches, but with the brush I took a risk. The salesperson at Flax had been at

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-1724767498959239862006-11-10T18:19:00.000-08:002006-11-10T18:22:50.133-08:00

I took advantage of the mild October weather (read: not rainy) to do a couple of quick oils in the park behind our house. Finding a cow-free spot requires a mile-long trek uphill through hot dusty fireroads. I normally take a $30. aluminum portable easel, a hat, a snack, a bottle of water, my sunglasses, a long sleeved shirt, and a foldable chair that doubles as backpack. Inside are no more than

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-1161919529489813542006-10-26T19:57:00.000-07:002006-11-12T12:42:36.506-08:00

We visit Oregon frequently, three or four times a year. Along Highway 5 there is a stretch of land with an excellent view of Shasta. I wanted to paint it when we first began stopping there for a break from the driving, so eventually, I began bringing my watercolors along. The first results were disastrous. The colors were just not what I wanted, so I would get home and toss them in a pile. To be

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-1161746927995677052006-10-24T20:25:00.000-07:002006-10-27T09:46:29.942-07:00

We were very broke upon arrival from my visit to Brazil in 1991. I threw myself into obtaining a teaching credential and later into graduate school. Watercolor was the only media I worked on during these years. I used the 7 x 10 blocks, or cut larger sheets to these dimensions. At times I also used 10 x 14. Because my work is usually not based on photographs, the larger formats seemed

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-1161661376249243452006-10-23T20:33:00.000-07:002006-10-27T09:46:29.827-07:00

I've been busy "inventorying" (does this word exist?) my work of the last five years. Yes, I have been lazy, I'm one of those people who don't even sign most of their work because they think they'll go back and "resolve" whatever issues later on. So, if I don't even sign my own work, coming up with a title, media, dimensions, and value feels even more troublesome. But now that I am getting ready

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-1160945976448176832006-10-15T13:53:00.000-07:002006-10-27T09:46:29.623-07:00

Still life is difficult. Just yesterday I started one in acrylic and I stopped. I am so used to oil now that the acrylic painting proved to be too hard for me to tackle. Am I being overly ambitious by crowding it with too many objects? Should I do it at a time when the light does not change so rapidly? I set this one up on the table where I normally keep the miter cutter.

Rebecahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com1