Waiting on the Waves

My local strip of California beach is notorious for small summer surf and I couldn't be more excited for the fall waves to be rolling in. With sizes of 5-6 ft waves making a morning search for the perfect wave a welcome retreat.

Waiting on the Waves is an original oil pastel drawing on archival watercolor paper;
8 x 12 inches (20.32 x 30.48 cm).
Original drawing available in my Etsy shop; prints available on Imagekind.

Come to the Fair

It's the peak of summer here in Paso Robles and the California Mid-State Fair, known as "the biggest little fair anywhere" kicked off this week. The community really rallies around all that the fair has to offer supporting all the exhibits in whatever way they can. It has all the classics...carnival, tasty treats, animals, big-name entertainment and the largest art show I have ever seen at a county fair.

mmmm….funnel cake…

A special preview party is held the night before the fair opens inviting the artist who entered a chance to get a sneak peek at the show and award winners. Included in the show are hundreds of photos that are entered in the various categories from children, amateurs and professionals within the county.

I am excited to announce I was among this year's award winners in the professional categories receiving a 2nd Place award in the "Fair Theme (Endless Summer Fun) division with On a Day Like Today and a 3rd Place award in the "landscape" division with The Promise.

On a Day Like Today-photograph

The Promise-photograph

More snapshot from the fair…

Can’t make it to California right now? Here are some fun finds inspired by all things carnival…

1.  Suzanne Aunan Gallery 2. Jennifer Dickerson Photography 3. BeckyM 
4. Sew Many Quilt Books 5. My Selvaged Life 6. Kc Soaps N More 
7. Mimi Kirchner 8. Wandering Whimsies 9. Bovine Bubbles 
10. The Fancy Lamb 11. Dawn Correspondence

Surf and Sand

While we enjoy heading to the beach year-round, many make it a special event with summer fun and 4th of July celebrations. A favorite spot to catch views of two fireworks displays is sitting seaside on Studio Beach just on the south end of Cayucos, California. From that beach you can watch the colors fly above the Cayucos Pier to the north and over Morro Rock to the south. Get there early, claim your domain and don't forget all the necessities.

 
Beach Life-iPhone Photo from #MailArt Series

The Ocean is Calling-Watercolor on Paper, 7 x 9.5 inches (17.78 x 24.13 cm)
Original painting is sold-prints available at ALTAMIRA  or on imagekind and ACEO on Etsy

The Rush

I am expanding my Surfer Series of paintings to include some new larger original acrylic paintings. The Rush is an original acrylic painting on 1 1/2" deep gallery wrapped canvas, 12 x 36 inches (30.48 x 91.44 cm). Working larger is allowing me to create additional dynamics in my scenes.

Life's Better Surfing

On a cool fall day I was hanging out on the beach with the teenage daughter of one of our surf buddies. In between texting her friends and listening to her iPod she started telling me about that morning  on the way to the beach. They were in the drive-thru line at Starbucks when her father was starting to wonder if they should make the 30 mile drive to the beach and waste a day surfing when he had to start his week of graveyard shifts that night. She looked over at a lamppost and saw that some other slacker had already been there and left his words of wisdom with a sticker that read "Life's Better Surfing". She of course pointed it out and any reservations he may have had floated away in the wind, because as he has known since he was a teenager-even in the worst of waves you never regret a day in the surf.

 

 

Life's Better Surfing-MailArt, iPhone photo.

Call it a Day
Watercolor on Canvas, 7.5 x 8.5 inches (19.05 x 21.59 cm).

 

#MailArt

This last fall I participated in an art project called "#mailart", developed through networking artists on Twitter. Organized by artist Mark Philip Venema (@Art_News on twitter) artists were to create postcard size art depicting the chosen theme "human in time" and send out the works to the other artist. As we received the small originals in the mail we were to post them to a Flickr group pool for viewing including any new textures created through the mailing process. The styles and mediums varied amongst the artists and so did their individual interpretation of the theme.
For my series I tweaked the theme to "being human in this time, how this generation spends time". I also decided to create all my work on my iPhone employing various photo and drawing Apps available. I see it as an extension of how this generation spends time. Throughout the series you can glimpse how I spend my days, while also seeing how I see the world around me spending time. All the pieces start with a photo I have snapped on my iPhone then I edit and add effects to enhance and emphasize the scene or message I am portraying.
Some of my days I am lucky enough to spend time at the beach. Whether surfing or sitting and photographing, there is something to the refreshing serenity of being by the ocean. While I snapped this photo in the middle of the day but edited it for sunset, it just doesn't matter what time it is-it's just always relaxing. The original print that I sent out was one that did not fare so well in its' travels. Prints available, please contact me for details.

 

ALTAMIRA Gallery

A selection of my original watercolor paintings and prints from my
Surfer Series are now available at ALTAMIRA Gallery in New York.

Surf Lesson-Watercolor on Paper, 9.5 x 11.75 inches

 

My Etsy Shop Featured

Happy 4th of July!

I am so excited to have my note cards featured by Jackie on Etsy Item of the Day. She maintains a super stylish list of her favorite finds from Etsy sellers. Go take a peek at my feature and browse around at some of the other gorgeous shops she has introduced to everyone.

A Day at The Beach

I have had the urge to continue on with my A Day at The Beach series. With the added push to create a commissioned new piece I began work on two new scenes. Both paintings below are watercolor paint on canvas that has been treated for wet media. The canvas surface has a unique absorption that can be a bit tricky. I have come to enjoy the challenge and love creating the leisurely days at the beach.
Top: Surf Buddies; Bottom: The Break at Pico-Sold, prints available.

Change Your Latitude

I feel as if I have been neglecting this lonely blog of mine lately. I apologize for the lack of fascinating posts. It is not that I haven't wanted to fill my few followers in to my work in progress-it's just that I have been too busy actually working on new art to document it in this way-but soon. I have on my calendar new commissioned work as well as additional pieces to continue "My Girls" series and "Day at the Beach" series. I am, as I write this, waiting for larger canvas and rag boards to arrive for the actual work to begin. In the meantime let me leave you with one of my leisurely images from my "Day at the Beach" series. It makes me want for that casual day when my commitments can wait and there are no worries...











Change Your Latitude is a watercolor painting on canvas,
5 x 10". Sold, prints available.