Quotidian #23 Maddie & Ellis Reading

This is a 10" x 20" oil on canvas board.  In keeping with my authors and readers series I want to give a shout out to all readers, authors, and people who drape all over each other while they read!  These guys are engrossed while he has his legs all over her lap...may they always be such affectionate litter-mates!  He is reading "Liars' Club by Mary Karr and she is reading "Secret Daughter" by Shilpi Somaya Gowda.  I once heard Mary Karr interviewed and she was talking about having writers block.  She said a good friend called and left her a message, "Write or die".  Thank goodness she chose life!

Quotidian # 22 Baby Launcher

Okay, this is an image that I am titling "Baby Launcher".  It is an 8 x 12" oil on masonite of my friend's daughter and grand-daughter.  They came to visit in my little walled courtyard last Fall; and as it was a nice day the baby took off her clothes and proceeded to play with the hose.  Suddenly the strong, capable mother swept the baby up onto her shoulder to give her a glimpse of the street and the outside world.
In that instant I realized that all women are "Baby Launchers"...from conception to adulthood.

Quotidian # 21 Joan and John

Today I tried painting the titles loosely into the painting.  There are Joan Didion's 'Blue Nights' and 'The Year of Magical Thinking' stacked on top of my grand-daughter's favorite book, 'The Fault in Our Stars'by John Green.  I love reading books that people tell me that they loved...because I not only get a good recommendation, but I get to know that person better.  Anyway, it was fun trying to portray the printed material on the books without getting too literal.

Quotidian #20 Joan Didion

This 8" x 8" oil on museum board is another depiction of my favorite things.  The top two books are beloved Joan Didions.  Her prose is so luminous, that I go back to it again and again.  On top of that, these books are bound in beautiful colors that I enjoy looking at on my bookshelf!

Quotidian # 19 (Joee and Zoe)

This is a 4.5" x 4.5" drawing of Joee and Zoe done in my sketchbook.  After much barking and carrying on,  Joee picked up the small dachshund as we chatted.  Zoe (the dachshund) just nestled into her arms and quieted down.

Quotidian # 18 (Joee and Zoe)

This 11" x 14" oil on canvas is my friend Joee, who is 82 years old.  She came to walk with me and brought her 'grand-dog' Zoe. (She was babysitting the dog for her kids while they were away.)
Sadly, Zoe had a giant Napoleon complex and proceeded to bark at EVERYONE and everything during our entire walk.  So we cried, "uncle" and came back home to have tea..and let Zoe calm down.  I thought she looked fab with Zoe on her lap.

Quotidian #17

This is a pencil drawing, 4.5" x 4.5" of a friend's grandchild with his cat in a hat! 
Hence the title is "The Cat in the Hat".  The painting is 27"x 27" and is oil on foamcore. 
It is very light to ship if anyone is interested.  I will, of course, include the drawing with the painting.

Quotidian # 16

Okay, I got this image of my friend's grandson with his cat and just HAD to paint it.  It is oil on cardboard, 16" x 16".  I couldn't get over how gorgeous this young man is with his cat...hence I had to paint on pedestrian material and not wait to get the perfect canvas!

Quotidian # 15 (Lady in White)

This is a 12" x 24" oil on canvas of a white hydrangea that I bought at the supermarket.  I kind of enjoyed doing the glass vase and water but man that clump of white flower-ness really bamboozled me for a few days!

Quotidian # 14

This is an 8" x 12" oil on board that is an homage to my grandma's cat "Plushbottom".  As a really little kid, I didn't understand how descriptive that moniker was!  Hence, I always smile  smile when I recall  "Plushbottom"... the cat and the name... and of course, Grandma.

Quotidian #13

Last night I read something important in a book called 'Sketch' by France Belleville-Van Stone.  She  said that she got discouraged because her drawings were results oriented.  She wanted a specific image that she had in her head.  When she failed to achieve that exact image, she felt stuck and frozen. It took a while for her to learn that drawing is about the 'process' of drawing...it is about perceiving the thing or scene that you are looking at.  "It is no coincidence that the word 'perceive' itself takes its roots from the Latin verb percipere, which means to seize, to understand.  When you draw, you gain awareness of what is in front of you as you are visually grasping it" (p. 6, Sketch)  This is one of many small, 4" x 6" oil sketches I intend to do this year to 'seize and understand' my new garden as I get to know it this year.

Quotidian #12

This is an 8" x 12" oil on masonite of the Aleppo Pine behind my back fence.  It is green but during that period of magical light (when the sun is starting to set) it turned all of these glorious colors.  So, it appeared that I was painting a giant sycamore with leaves changing. 

Quotidian #11

Okay this is a 4" x 6" oil on cardboard (museum board) of my back yard and the amazing big Aleppo Pine behind my house.  I am trying to get at the essence of the space by doing little studies.  Today while I was painting, I heard this guy (who had the idea for Pixar 20 yrs before he could make it a reality) make an amazing statement.  I think that I will make it my mantra for 2015: "Face toward the mess.  Most people like clarity.  Go toward the mess, don't avoid it.  Go through it...there WILL be more mess."  Amen.