San Marino: CAC Artists Celebrate 100 Years

I am pleased and honored to announce that (4) of my recent oil paintings of beautiful San Marino, California have been juried into the California Art Club's "San Marino: CAC Artists Celebrate 100 Years" Exhibit, which opens early next year!  It was my pleasure to paint just a few landmarks of this historic city, and am looking so forward to seeing all the contributing pieces for this show!

Location:  The California Art Club Gallery at the Old Mill
                1120 Old Mill Road
                San Marino, CA  91108
             
Exhibition Dates:  January 8-May 15, 2013
Opening Reception:  January 17, 2013  5:30pm-7:30pm

Historic Thurnher House
8"h by 16"w oil on canvas panel

San Marino Community Church
10"h by 20"w oil on canvas panel

Original Fire Engine
11"h by 14"w oil on canvas panel

Before the Sun in San Marino
6" by 6" oil on canvas panel

Twinkies in the Sack Lunch-Circa 1972

The DPW Painting Challenge:  The Hurricane Sandy Fundraiser!

Twinkies in the Sack Lunch-Circa 1972

I seriously had not bitten into one of these Hostess treats in probably 40 years until last Saturday!  I had seen a post on Facebook that Hostess Brands, the maker of Twinkies, HoHos and Wonder Bread, said it was going out of business after failing to get wage and benefit cuts from thousands of its' striking bakery workers. 

Most importantly, over 18,000 people will lose their jobs because of the closure-this is the true tragedy!

But also, the event brought this tasty treat to the forefront of my mind.  There was a time in my life where I so enjoyed this particular snack. I remember biting into that soft golden bread with it's creamy and uber sweet filling, and life was good!  Now, my parents did not include a snack of this sort often in our sack lunches, and while I show a soda wrapped in foil (to keep it's temperature down), this was also a rare occurrence. This would have been reserved for special days at school where a field trip was planned.  For some reason, my mom must have been regularly including a Twinkie in my lunches (who knows, maybe because I told her I LOVED them!) and, as I said, life was very good!  This came to a crashing end when one of the other parents who was supervising the school yard informed her that I was throwing everything except the Twinkie in the trash so I could hurry out to play.  Imagine that!

Fast forward to Saturday morning when I decided I was going to paint one (after all, when would I have another chance at it?!)  The Twinkie package was on sale at the grocery store for $1 (not $50 as some alarmists would have you believe) and of course the tonic water I had on hand in my pantry served quite well as a "soda" once I wrapped it in foil. The paper bag was tricky; did you know they don't sell paper "lunch bags" any more?  That was easily solved since they give them to you for free if you ask for one at the check out. ;)  

I certainly enjoyed painting "Twinkies", and hope you will consider making a bid on this painting to benefit the American Red Cross in it's Hurricane Sandy Relief! Copy and paste to your browser:

http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Challenge/C0EB586C-7142-4c96-A589-DF9DC9BABA1A

A Week in Telluride, Colorado

Telluride Wine Festival  12"h by 16"w oil on canvas panel

My husband and I spent the week of the 4th of July in glorious Telluride, Colorado, at the prestigious Sheridan Telluride Plein Air Invitaional.  We stayed right in town, and enjoyed the convenience of being within walking, biking or gondola distance to any location in town. With the exception of this first image, "Telluride Wine Festival"  12"h by 16"w with my bicycle in the foreground, all of the following paintings were done "en plein air" during the event.  The weather was unpredictable to say the least, but the scenes to capture were at every corner, and it was a delight to be there!  The plein air paintings that are still available will also be published soon on the Telluride Plein Air website www.telluridepleinair.com, with 40% of the proceeds going to the Sheridan Arts Foundation. (this portion is a tax deduction for you!)

Eleventh Annual Paint San Clemente Paint Out

After a great week of painting the beautiful City of San Clemente "en plein air", I submitted my two favorites for the Plein Air Competition Saturday morning.  I chose "El Ranchito" and "Morning at Casa Romantica".  This year, the weather was extremely cooperative, and I was blessed with the gift of time to spend almost every morning or afternoon painting.  

I was thrilled and honored to have received a First Place Ribbon at the Awards Reception/Gala! For more photos, see: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/clemente-360510-art-san.html

The submitted entries will be on display until August 3rd in the San Clemente Art Gallery (also located in the Community Center)

 

"Late Surf"  12" by 12" oil on canvas panel

"Morning at Casa Romantica"  9" by 12"  oil on canvas panel

"Morning at the Clock Tower"  11" by 14" oil on canvas panel

"El Ranchito"  12" by 12" oil on canvas panel

 

"Break Time"  11" by 14" oil on canvas panel

"Afternoon at the Pier"  8" by 10" oil on canvas panel

Art in the Pines

From Razor Point Trail, 12" by 12" plein air in oil

"Torrey Pines, End of the Trail"  8"h by 10"w plein air in oil

"Torrey Pines, Ocean View"  8"h by 10"w plein air in oil

"Afternoon Cactus"  8"h by 10"w oil on canvas panel in plein air

This year, I will be participating in the Art in the Pines, in LaJolla, California.  Saturday, May 5, 10:00am-5:00pm and Sunday, May 6, 10:00am-4:00pm.  "Art in the Pines"  is a celebration of nature through the interpretive eyes of many local artists.  These are some of the works that I will be offering (and they will be offered at a bit of a discount by the way).  35% of artwork sales will go to the Torrey Pines Association, and will benefit the children's nature educational programs.  I hope you can make it by while the preserve's wildflowers are in full bloom!

In Front of Buffalo Brothers Guitars in Carlsbad, California

Retired Red Tractor  12"h by 16"w plein air in oil on canvas panel

Since my husband and I moved to Carlsbad a few years ago, I've been admiring this beautiful old tractor that's displayed in front of Buffalo Brother's Guitars, Bobby's Hideaway Cafe and a flower shop on El Camino Real.  Finally a few weeks ago, I brought a student to the location and we began to paint it from life.  (en plein air)  The weather has been absolutely glorious this winter in Carlsbad, so I was able to go back today to finish it!  I spoke with Marja Selna today, who is the daughter of the original property owners here.  Her parents were egg ranchers; collecting, cleaning, packaging and selling their eggs to nearby businesses. This business was sold to Olson Farms.  In 1970, they opened up a Country Store (which is why local Carlsbadians sometimes refer to the area as "the Country Store") , but now Marja primarily manages the property which is rented to other businesses.
Years ago, Marja's dad had admired the tractor at the nearby Wiegand farm, and eventually he obtained it.  For years, he kept it in good repair and repainted it red, and here it sits as a true historical representation of a time gone by in Carlsbad, California..
I entered the painting in the Carlsbad Oceanside Art League's "Members' Exhibit" this spring, and it was awarded First Place in Oil/Acrylic Category.  The judge for this show was Greg LaRock, one of my favorite plein air painters, so that was a real honor!