Getting Ready to Teach "The Good, the Bad and the Beauty of Color" Class

I always enjoy getting ready for this upcoming class starting on Friday at Bend, Oregon's Art's Central.  Students will be doing lots of color studies as well as learning how to use the color wheel to help them create beautifully colored paintings.  One of my favorite parts is teaching how the temperature of colors (either warm or cool) can greatly affect the color mixes.  By the end of the class we will put our color studies in a little spiral bound book, a perfect reference for taking to future classes.  There is still room in this class if you would like to sign up.  Just sign up on line with the Art Station.  Here are some photos from previous classes:

Daily Paintings

Romance

Cold, snowy days are great for painting small paintings for the upcoming Art Hop on December 3, 2010 in Bend, Oregon!

Miniture Paintings

Summer Repeat

I love painting these small paintings that are really meant for a spot on a shelf or coffee table.  My goal is to paint one or two a day for the next few weeks so that I have a good supply for the upcoming December Art Hop in Bend, OR.  Perhaps they will make a perfect Christmas gift for someone special.  If you are strolling around town on Friday, Dec. 3, please stop by at the Birkenstock Shoe Store to say "Hi".

Wishing you Sunshine, A peek inside my Watercolor Journal

Driving around the steep hills of the Island of St. Thomas, our car peaks a high point and we burst out of the lush vegetation to spectacular views of the emerald Caribbean Ocean below.  Then just as quickly, this gem is hidden again by the jungle overgrowth along the narrow roadside.  In this painting, I wanted to capture the colorful patterns and shadows created by the bright sunshine on the windy streets.  My hope is to depict warmth and light!

Painting in the Tropics, a Peek inside my Watercolor Journal

Spending a week in the tropics is refreshing for those of us who reside in a color stricken area such as Central Oregon in the drab months between fall and winter.  What a feast of color!  Even the Iguanas slipping into the bushes are colorful.  This ancient creature was sunbathing on a rock.  He actually had more color than I gave him!

Surprises along the way

Enjoying the view with a cup of Cortadito

We are traveling from Oregon to St. Thomas for a wedding and after 16 hours and 3 plane rides later, we were hoping for a good cup of coffee as we waited for our last flight out of the Miami airport.  Our layover was 3 hours.  I approached a perky looking petite woman holding an very official clipboard, dressed in a red skirted American Airlines suit and seemed open for questions.  "Is there a Starbucks nearby?"  "Just 10 minutes by the sky train," she said.  She had a beautiful Italian accent and we struck up a friendly conversation when she offered that her favorite coffee is Cuban coffee and available just around the corner!  I was up to try something new and so was David.  "You have to go past the sit-down area and go to the coffee stand-up bar and ask for Cortadito".  Which we did and absolutely loved our tiny cup of cortadito that we ended up having 2!  We also enjoyed Cuban pastries, savory and sweet.

Ladies at the coffee bar making Cortaditos