first experiments with oils

 

OBOB's

The "more about that later" is now..
I started surfing in 9/04 with some women friends.. Since the youngest of us was 50, we dubbed ourselves the OBOB's (old broads on boards) I still surf 2x a week or more if I can..

Since I love being in the water so much, with the constant changes of light, color, waves, wind etc.. and spend so much of the time with my jaw dropped at the breathtaking beauty, it seemed only natural that it become an inspiration for my art.. I attempted some acrylics, but was frustrated with the fast drying time and colors..When I FINALLY got myself to try oils ( I had been thinking about it for YEARS) it was pretty obvious that it was the right medium.. So, I am teaching myself how to paint..slow, frustrating, but I realized today that I know more than I did when I started... The images I love the most are those of glassy water..Understanding what happens to light on water (not an easy task 'cause it's always moving) ..

image from the past

Until I can post the painting that I am working on now, if I ever finish it, here's a charcoal drawing from a couple of years ago.. In my "Buddha Image period", I was interested in the similar shape/ proportions of the faces.. and was also interested in the idea that we all embody the characteristics of the Buddha, in this case, Kwan Yin..and my daughter, Laurel..I though it would be cool to continue with a series of juxtaposed faces, just never got around to it.. probably on a back burner somewhere, with all the other "maybes"

Comedy cup

Went with some friends to live comedy night at Throckmorton in Mill Valley, Mark Pitta and friends.. The first guy was so bad i decided i would draw to amuse myself, and the only thing available was my cup.....as the evening went on, the comedians got progressively better...but i kept on drawing....When we left the theatre, it was raining (as usual) and the cup got wet, creating some interesting effects.. esp on the guy in the middle... ended up being a nice evening.. some pretty good laughs...

first foam drawings

My friend Barbara talked me into entering the Sausalito Exhibition, Ebb & Flow...jesse is helping me put these images on a cd so I don't have to bother with slides. I don't think I have any expectations...but who knows?




 

First try at oils

i did a series of charcoal drawings, "the foam drawings" over the past year, so it seemed only natural that my first oil painting would be the same subject .. very different working with color.. lots to learn, that's for sure!

camera works!

Finally got a new camera, tested taking an art photo.. not bad.. This is an acrylic painting from sometime last year, '05, while I was experimenting with acrylics. I wasn't happy with it at the time...now it just brings back memories.. surfing with the OBOBs.. more about that later.