Now Exhibiting with Island Artisan

Over the half-term break as the Brits call the week kids get off from school half-way through the summer term, I brought some of my paintings, prints, and greeting cards down to the Isle of Wight to sell in the gallery Island Artisan.
All of the originals are watercolors, some landscapes of the Isle of Wight.

Reflections

My newest painting titled Pink Water Lily Reflections

I taught an art class for the first time on Sunday this past weekend at the Merton Abbey Mills art market. It was really fulfilling to be teaching again after this past 2 and half year hiatus! There seemed to be interest in the classes, so I'm hopeful that they will grow into a solid future enterprise.

 This month I'll be focusing on painting with watercolor. Teaching these watercolor basics: how to choose what tools are needed, how to prepare your painting surface, painting light to dark, using the transparency of the paint, what common errors to watch out for and how to correct mistakes, building a painting up layer upon layer versus laying the paint on thickly, and with an emphasis on color mixing and color theory as the situation permits.

In preparing for teaching the course, I've been going over my notes in old sketchbooks from my CCA(California College of the Arts) days. Wow, do I ever miss art school! There is nothing like being surrounded by people who feel as passionately as you do about art and the feedback and interaction are to be treasured.

Merton Abbey Mills Art and Craft Market

For the past three weekends I've been selling my artworks on Sundays at the Merton Abbey Mills Art and Craft Market. The market is open from 10am to 5pm. There is a lovely relaxed atmosphere. People come and listen to live music, sit around outside a cafe enjoying lunch or a pint by the square and browse the stores and stalls. I've been painting while I'm there, which has been a nice change of pace to get out of the home studio.

If you're in the Southwest London area by the South Wimbledon tube station on a Sunday, come and check out my stall and say "Hello"!

Here is a link to their website:
http://www.mertonabbeymills.org.uk

Painting Again!!!

Wow, it's been a while. Well I'm back in the swing of painting after a hiatus to move to London, go on our delayed honeymoon, and have a baby!

My little boy is 4 months old now and FINALLY sleeping through the night. Which means, watch out world, I'm now getting enough sleep to be productive again! Of course it's slow going with fewer opportunities for now. Gone are the all-day-long painting marathons, but it is wonderful to be in the studio once more even if it is broken up into short stints at a time.

I've titled this watercolor Santorini Sunset. It is painted using photo reference that I took while on my one year anniversary/ honeymoon. (Our plans changed and we went to Greece instead of South Africa.) The land is quite dry, so I was surprised to see these flowers peeping up out of the rocky terrain. The sunsets lived up to their reputation- every night was a feast for the eyes.

This painting was begun while I was still pregnant, and finished just last week in time to display it in my booth at the Isle of Wight Garlic Festival this weekend. There's nothing like an upcoming show to give you the kick to get going again!

LONDON, here I come!!!

It's been a while since I've posted anything, but there's good reason for it. I have been BUSY packing! I have exciting news to share...

I'm re-locating to London, England!

As one of the cultural centers of the world, I'll be living amidst a hub of publishing activity and poised in a position to claim my own ground alongside so many amazing cutting edge artists. What inspiration I shall have at my fingertips!

My husband has been offered a prestigious Fellowship to set up his own research facility at Imperial College in London. It is to begin in October, 2010, so off we go! We are planning a month long holiday to Mauritius and South Africa while our home is in transit. I'm bringing my watercolors, so who knows, there may be future posts of African landscapes! (A safari is planned, of course.) The camera will be by my side throughout. I plan to take as much photo reference for future paintings as possible.

Here's a painting that I did inspired from a tiny photo in the back of an old National Geographic a long time ago. I can't wait to see baobab trees in real life!