girl at large

Snappity Snap Snap

By popular demand, I've loaded a few of my photographs to a ProGallery at Shutterfly, which allows you to order prints (and mugs--I'm not so sure how I feel about the mugs yet) of my photographic attempts at artistic greatness...ok, I'm laughing out loud now.

Find the Shutterfly Girl at Large Gallery here:
Girl at Large Shooting Range

Back in the Saddle

I'm going to be painting again! I've got the studio space, I have the free weekends, I have the easel...I have no excuse.

Setting up again got me thinking that I still have a number of Antibes-era paintings left unsold. This announces a last chance to get one at the 2003/4 prices (in euros no less)! Visit the Gallery, send me an email of what you'd like. Click on a picture to see details, sizes and its sold status.

Stay tuned for updates from the easel.

sightseeing for the soul

...a trip out of town did me so much good, am at last seeing images that inspire painting, itchy to pull out brushes and canvas again after so long...

where's Kevin Bacon in all this?

Bjorn, a retired chief of police from Norway, currently working part-time for a publishing company specializing in true crime stories, has a brother whose son is attending university, studying music, in Lincoln, Nebraska, where my father attended college not too far from his own home town of Edgar, Nebraska. Bjorn's favorite true crime story of the evening involved a Danish airstewardess who was murdered and then dismembered in a wood chipper by her American husband, much the same as the victim in the movie Fargo from the Coen brothers, originally from Minnesota, my home state's northwesterly neighbor, and home of the camp where I first learned French. Bjorn's best friend's wife is an artist, a painter. Bjorn's friend looks just like my father, though my dad never sported quite that elegant a moustache. My father's side of the family is Danish (hence Mikkelsen and not Mickelson, which would make us Swedish, possibly German or just poor spellers). Bjorn, here on vacation every August for the past four years, works with a Danish man who has also brought his family on vacation here in Antibes this week. Bjorn and his wife spent a three week vacation in the States, visiting places such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and of course, Fargo, where they were greeted like family when every third person they met shared their last name. They also went to....Portland.

Did I mention Bjorn and his wife bought one of my paintings last night?

blank

I've been trying to paint this week....emphasis on trying....Don't know what it is; summer lethargy or perhaps the stress of attempting to arrange this big move back to the States, but everything is turning out crap. I think my life is too disorganized and uncertain at the moment to allow my mind to make confidant decisions with a brush or pencil. It's hard to face a blank canvas when your entire LIFE is blank at the moment!

I did manage to get some creativity going in the house though, little Miss Grace joined me for a morning of painting---she loved it. She has a technique of mashing the brush with such force and concentration that she vibrates bodily. Admirable dedication to the work little girl!

easel update

Another archway, acrylic and sepia on paper

easel update

contrary to popular belief, i am not deeply troubled....

all in a week's work

...this isn't the first plant to get the best of me...

a little of this, a little of that

oil, watercolor, sepia pencil, acrylic....trees, landscapes...

sketchy

studies and sketches, falling in love with that sepia pencil...

artists hard at work....

...well, except when Dominique and I were off having coffee and smoking....

....and some say it isn't real work....

I'm exhausted, brain-fried, beat, bushed and battered. Oh, and happy. I've survived another week at Maison des Arts with my desire to 'paint better someday' intact. I believe I've made a satisfactory amount of progress this year, I'm especially pleased with my figurative work (which of course, is not a hot seller like the boats--damn boats!), but the more I work the more I feel I've got another decade to go before I'm able to reproduce on canvas what is in my mind. Well, that decade will pass whether I'm painting or not, so I'll just have to keep at it. I'll have photos posted in a few days.

easel update

Archway, Haut de Cagnes, acrylic and pastel on paper, 19.75" x 25"
Safranier, acrylic and pastel on paper, 19.75" x 25"

easel update

Fort Carre II, acrylic and oil pastel on paper, 19.75" x 25.5"

easel update

Fort Carre I, acrylic and oil pastel on paper, 19.75" x 25.5"

sold!

Pomodoro restaurant down rue Migrainier

i sold More Boats (Left) today! it was one of the ones hanging in the Pomodora restaurant, and it's gone to a good home with lovely Miss Lucy, an artist herself (and furniture designer!) currently working on the boats who treated herself to the painting she loves for her 30th birthday--how appropriate.

easel update

Rue III, acrylic and oil pastel on paper, 19.75" x 25.75"

watercolor sketchbook

old town study, Grace, rue study

i've been studying watercolor techniques---it's a medium i previously thought fiddly and 'grandma sunday painter'-ish, but the more i work with it and the more i read, the more i respect it and am enjoying what it can do---the clarity of color is well suited for the light here in the spring...we'll see where it goes from here....

have hammer, will hang

More Boats Left, Windows, and Two Blue Boats, the three pieces that i've just hung in a little local pizzeria. yeah!

Haut de Cagnes II, watercolor and oil pastel on paper, 31" x 42"

unique job opportunity

my sister Margaret just sent me this interesting posting from the London branch of Craig's List. think i might qualify? ha ha.

debutante a la poterie

i might be a little homesick, do ya think?

Balcony, acrylic and pastel on canvas, 32" x 39.5"

this is my beloved little balcony in Savannah--according to Bob, a death-trap waiting to happen. it's slated for complete replacement in a few weeks. shame, after i went to all that trouble matching the cement-floor paint to the table color. (i do realize i have a problem). i'm hoping to be able to enjoy sitting out there with a bottle of wine and Miss Dawn and Miss Sony (and who ever else is still living there?!? where is everyone going? oh, right, California) again someday.

sketchy

charcoal and graphite live figure study drawings on paper, each approx. 20" x 25.5"

Maison des Arts, round two

i wish every week could be like this one was.

Bert: "THAT is YOU!"

Abstract/Expressive Self-Portrait, acrylic on paper, 20" x 25.5"

i didn't intend to look so cross, that's just my natural expression when i'm concentrating. i'm pleased with this one---a good example of academic study with my own personal expression and preference for strong line, composition. blah blah arty farty blah blah blah... i think it's pretty cool, that's enough said.

more naked ladies

Marta, seated, oil on paper, 20" x 25.5"
Seated Sophie, acrylic on paper, 20" x 25.5"

figure studies

Vanille, oil on paper, 20" x 25.5"
Reclining Woman, acrylic on paper, 25" x 20"
Sophie, reclining, acrylic on paper, 9.5" x 22"

Elizabeth Taylor (young) meets Liza Minelli (aged and drugged out) meets Velma (of Scooby Doo fame)

Then: Classic Self-Portrait (not completed), acrylic on paper, 20" x 25.5", May 2003
Now: Classic Self-Portrait, oil on paper, 20" x 25.5", February 2004

self-portraits suck. even I don't want to look at myself in the mirror that much. the double mirror approach (so that the true image of yourself--how others see you--is shown) doesn't help the matter of the double chin. it is an important academic exercise and good practice but it's making me dizzy and giving me a headache. or it could be all those fumes---the weather has gone crap-ola and we can't open up the studio windows as much or as often as in the summer time.

update: marked improvement from the first session at Maison des Arts to this one, if i do say so myself. just having completed it this time is an improvement!

what day is it? where am i? did i just stir my coffee with a paintbrush?

view of St. Paul from the bus stop in La Colle sur Loup

i'm taking a week's intensive painting course again at Maison des Arts in nearby (only one train then one bus ride, not too bad) La Colle sur Loup this week---long days--up at 6:30am in order to get the doggie out before i go each morning--then lots of work with new live models each day and then back home late. i'm exhausted. but a happy exhausted--sleeping very well. and painting not to badly either. more updates and posts of new work to come when i am less nicotine and caffeine dependant next week.

potting around

i've really been enjoying my little pottery group (both the clay work and the French conversation practice) and now that i have a few hand building techniques under my belt i've been more experimental/expressive --pics of recent work to come, they're being fired later this week. i found a little art society/studio here in Cannes awhile back and now can finally join up later this week. with membership comes the perk of access to both the drawing/painting and ceramics studios during three open sessions each week--AND they have a RAKU kiln! yippee!

with my interest in pottery growing, i've been looking for some pot blogs (ha ha) and haven't had much luck--seems i'm not the only one.

FYI

i'm farting around with the categories and organization of the GALLERY site, so it may be goofy until i've finished sorting it in a few days.

easel update

Red Shirt, 20" x 25.5", oil pastel, watercolor and graphite on paper
Lemon, 20" x 25.5", oil pastel on paper

easel update

Coast II, acrylic and ink on paper, 25.5" x 20"
Coast Night, acrylic on paper, 20" x 25.5"

easel update

Olives, acrylic, pencil and pastel on board, 25.5" x 19.75"
Coast I, acrylic and pencil on paper, 25" x 20"

two very different takes on Cannes

Cannes I, acrylic and pastel on paper, 25" x 19.75"
Croissette/Cannes, acrylic and pastel on canvas, 35.5" x 29.5"

MoBA

this is classic...the Museum of Bad Art.

easel update

Lilies, oil pastel on linen canvas, 29.5" x 35.5"
Wall I, acrylic on heavy paper, 20" x 25"
(click on title for details and price)

i had a really good time getting messy with Lilies---oil pastel on canvas is yummy. the subject matter is a tad twee, but the medium is expressive--you can see my fingerprints even. and yes, the second piece is more abstracted than usual, but i'm going that way these days, and i like it. it's more about studying contrast and color combinations than anything--expect more of these--how the light affects the structures here, light and shadow and color simplified, abstracted--i'm seeing a whole series coming this spring.....

don't panic, more boats are coming too. damn, what is it with everyone liking the boats so much?!?

still love my barns...

Midwestern Landscape Study I
Midwestern Landscape Study II

i got quite a few holiday cards from Wisconsin this year...and with all this cold and rain we've been having no wonder i'm thinking about scenes like these...

c'est fini

i've finally finished the portrait of my brother-in-law and his sister for my sister Margaret (a Christmas gift to her in-laws). i must confess, i'm not crazy about it--working only from photos is not fun, and i'm not a portraitist. i'm taking another weeks course at the art house in La Colle sur Loup in February however--an intensive week focused on portraiture so maybe there's hope. i'm just so much better at drawing naked people.

look this way

Antibes (Abstracted), acrylic on paper, 22" x 16.5"

i keep painting things that that look better when viewed from the side. have i developed a periphial-vision specialty?

busy bee

click on thumbnail for larger image, click on title name for purchase details
Centre Ville, acrylic on linen canvas, 20" x 29"
Rooftop Study, acrylic on heavy paper, 16.5" x 22"
Square One, revised, acrylic on linen canvas, 32" x 40"
Winter Night Boats Study, acrylic on heavy paper, 22" x 16.5"
Evening Windows, revised photo, acrylic on heavy paper, 20" x 20"

painted Savannah

This week's work thus far, click on title for info in Gallery:
left: Savannah Study, 18" x 24", acrylic on paper
right: Square One, 30" x 40", acrylic on canvas (apologies for glare, better photo to come)

truly, i'm not a drunken slacker, i promise

just an update: i did work quite a bit this week, just today finished the largest canvas to date, 2ft x 3ft...a view of the mossy-ness of a Savannah Square. i prefer to work from life, but with some patient work, the photos were reference enough i think to work from for quite a successful painting. pity i can't download the pics from here, but will get over to mom's computer this weekend so all can see and enjoy soon. bigger and better!

hanging around for the holidays

it's getting on to Christmas shopping time, have already had a number of requests for work from the Gallery as holiday gifts..be sure to let me know what you would like or have in mind prior the first of December, that leaves plenty of time even for international shipping. happy shopping!

do not attempt to carry home large canvases accompanied by hyperactive terrier; two blocks will suddenly feel like ten

neglected to mention, that whilst pining for boy, am not entirely useless..have started work on large format series...continued studies today, preping canvases tomorrow--four to five pieces, each 4 ft. by 5ft, inspired by that gray-silver-green mossy business going on in Savannah. can you believe that? here i am, in one of the most overly-painted, classically idylic locales and i'm painting images of Georgia? go figure.

easel update

Evening Windows, acrylic and pastel on paper, 20" x 20"

i've posted quite a few new pieces recently, visit the girl at large gallery here. any last minute requests from the States, let me know now and i'll throw it in my suitcase!

easel update

Horizon/Harbor/Bicyclist at the Port.

(click on titles for more details in the GALLERY)
finally back at it! completed these three the past few days in Cannes...nice light to work with in that front room and i finagled the digicam from Mom for these shots. "Harbor" is more abstracted than most i've previously done (it still holds to my motto though, you can indeed tell that the boats are boats), and i love it. that's Bert on his folding bike in "Bicyclist".

mom:"you always use that funny gray." me: "step away from the easel!"

Rue Docteur Rostan After Rain, acrylic and charcoal on board, 21" x 25.5"

finished, much better photo. i quite like it, despite the 'funny gray'.

rainy day painting

working on this one, as yet unfinished..and currently horrendously photographed..sorry. will complete tomorrow and take a natural light shot..just want to assuage my guilt over not having painted more this past two weeks by getting something up!

in a bad way

never, ever begin a pottery course horrendously hung over. sloppy pots.

painting dead things

Three Apples and a Nectarine, acrylic on board, 21.5" x 18"

i felt i had to do a still life study to practice or, um, "brush up" (horrendous use of pun) on shadows, etc. turns out it was a much needed break from boats and i might continue with the still life theme for a few more days. the french term for still life is Le Nature Morte...i like that, "dead nature".

ok, so i'm sticking with boats for awhile longer afterall

Two Blue Boats, charcoal, graphite and acrylic on heavy (400g) paper, 22.5" x 30"

i might be getting sick of boats

Masts, acrylic on linen, 18" x 21.5"
ok, so a little more abstracted than usual, but with the title in mind you can see what i saw this morning on our walk above the port, near the fort..masts as far as the eye could see. i think i'm going to start a different subject tomorrow though, but don't panic..i'm sure i'll go back to the boats in no time.

never enough boats

More Boats Right, acrylic on linen, 20" x 59"
finished up the companion piece to More Boats today..they could be hung separately of course, but i imagine them side by side for a panoramic-style view of part of the port. i'm really enjoying working on canvas, but i need more room. i think 59" long is the max..any longer and the canvas will stick too far out the window!

you never know what someone else sees in a painting

i was able to see one of my pieces framed (and nearly hung) for the first time last night (aside from grade-school doodles that mom dutifully framed over the years). very exciting. Miss Liz had Heavy Skies framed really nicely, floated in glass. it had surprised me that that was the one she was besotted with, until she pointed out that this particular menacing-looking boat in the scene is so like Jessica, her beloved though often menacing-looking pet cat. i can see it now. can you?

grandpop's prints

another fantastic surprise in the mail this morning..Aunt Anna sent me three of my grandfather's prints! what a very thoughtful thing to do. i've for some reason or another never had any of his work myself and not-so-secretly coveted my sister's, aunts', etc. (two of Peg's can be seen stairway of her London flat here).

now, the only question remains..frame them here? hang them where? i'll probably hang on to them rolled and frame them when i've figured out where i'm going to spend the next year..now, that's another question..what exactly am i going to do next year? i have no earthly idea.

big bad-ass boat picture

More Boats Left, acrylic on linen, 20" x 59"
started working on linen canvas for the first time in ages. i'm enjoying it, aside from the swollen hand from the "big bad-ass-made-in-America" staple gun (those are the french salesman's words, not mine). this is the biggest-ass painting i've ever done as well.

yummy paper

Windows, watercolor, watercolor pencil, graphite and oil pastel, 20.5" x 25.5"
on heavy (600g) deckle edged paper so thick you could use it to shingle a roof.

girl at large GALLERY back in action

now that the dear digital camera has returned home, i can post this week's work:

Archway / Barefoot Coffee / Night Boats / Red Figure

more to come...

brushes and boats

after all of last week's social outings and frankly, a touch of laziness or heat-lethargy, i've been occupied with a number of paintings this week...four completed, two more in progress...but can't put them up of course until mom returns with the digital camera (please god let her not have dropped it in the sea)...

speaking of mom's absence..i haven't seen hide nor hair of Uncle Bert in two weeks..i finally got through on his mobile phone the other day so i know he's ok, but i've been missing his laidback charm since he's had to keep the boat in the other harbor in the neighboring town. (our spot in Port Vaubon in town will be available to us again on the 15th of Sept). he even missed pizza at DeCito night with Liz in her pink lipgloss...he was crushed when he heard that.

sans camera

been painting today after slacking a bit over the weekend...but, sorry, you'll have to wait until mom returns with the digital camera before i can post any pictures...hopefully, i'll have four or five completed new pieces when she returns.

the weather seems to have broken slightly, though i could just be getting used to it. showering two or three times a day helps. Ruby's solution is to sleep all day.

dreaming of rain

Heavy skies, Port Vaubon, oil pastel and pen and ink on heavy paper, 20" x 25", SOLD
finished this late last night, dreaming of seeing such another overcast, promise-of-rain day soon...

we loved this old guy...

...and he loved that beer. i've finished his portrait, had to work from a series of photos i was able to take while pretending to fiddle with the camera on the table top (flash off)..pity i couldn't work from life this time, but i just had to paint him. i've never done a portrait before (except that little one of the back of mom's head and the still-unfinished self-portrait)

as for the finished painting, Ale, acrylic and charcoal on paper, 20" x 25"; i alternate between loving it and loathing it.

high

finally finished this one up today, Deck plans/Monaco. acrylic and oil pastel on heavy paper, 20" x 25"

worked from some sketches and photos i was able to get a few weeks back...Miss Liz kindly let me tag along when she went to take care of her bosses second (or third or fourth?!) home in Monaco, an apt. right on the harbor, the balcony had a direct bird's eye view of the boats. i've also, after much experimentation, found the right finish varnish..one that works for acrylic paints as well as the oil pastel, without smearing it. it reaks, but it works.

girl at large Gallery

much thanks to brother Thomas, my gallery site is now complete. girl at large Gallery. i can accept payment online! ooh, that is exciting. start sending the bucks folks!

seriously, this is an exciting thing. i'll be adding more work at a steady pace, check back frequently, bookmark it, tell your friends.

back to work

completed today, Coursegoules, a view of the small ville we visited near La Gourge du Loup with Suzanne and Jack last month. acrylic and graphite on heavy paper (360g), 22.5" x 19", $275 SOLD

petite

Quai 16; graphite, watercolor, pen and ink on paper, 11" x 7"

rather than lug all my acrylics, papers, boards and easel up to Rachaels' this weekend, i'm working rather small with portable watercolors and a block that fits in my totebag. it's getting so hot i might be down to carrying around only a pencil and blank notecards soon.

Port Vaubon series

One Red Boat; acrylic and oil pastel on paper, 24" x 18" (SOLD)
Yellow Boat, Yellow Crane; acrylic and oil pastel on paper, 22" x 16"

back to the easel! after a week's diversion with family in town, i'm working again. Aunt Suzanne bought One Red Boat (to the left), i mailed it off to her today...here's hoping that La Poste comes through! and to the right, today's work in the same series. more to come. it's a big port.

too hot to think of a clever title

mom enjoys lunch with the ladies (International Women of the Riveria) at La Chateau de La Napoule
Corner; watercolor, graphite and oil pastel on paper, 9" x 16"

perty trolley in a perty lane

Trolley, watercolor, pencil and pastel, 13" x 17"

i used to call it Boules

Petanque; acrylic, graphite and oil pastel on paper, 19" x 23"

(Details)

i just really loved these three french ladies talking in the water

Trois Madames, acrylic with knife medium on paper, 15" x 21"

dog portrait-ist?

Napoleon on the beach, acrylic on paper, 28" x 22"

yesterday was Napoleon's 10th birthday (remember the dog that nearly died in my care?) and Rachael had a little bbq to celebrate...as a gift, i painted his portrait about a week ago, we've been eating dinner with Nap's visage (it really does look like him) above the dinner table until the party day, it was a surprise. no tears as mom had predicted, but pretty close..it was a big hit with Rach and the entire party ensemble. i may end up making a living painting portraits of people's pets!

my nineteen-year-old self is pulling her dyed hair out, but the thirty-year-old, job-less self is saying, "hey, whatever pays the rent!"

the sea is warm enough for swimming

Three Ladies at La Gravette, acrylic on paper, 25" x 18"

waiting for FedEx

i'm waiting for the FedEx man to come by and pick up a package for mom, so while the sun is shining outside, i'm inside finishing some work. i've completed Haut de Cagnes 1 (left, acrylic on paper, 18" x 24") and from Port Vaubon, One Red Boat (right, acrylic and oil pastel on paper, 24" x 16") today.

mom, the drama queen

1) mom plays up her sailing injury (for those who can't spot it, look for the mosquito-bite/zit on temple, near hairline, use zoom as needed). 2)while she moaned, i worked on Haut de Cagnes 1, acrylic on paper, 18" x 26" 3) lesson learned, mom and bert familiarize themselves with new high-tech lifejackets 4) Bert: "They say you should wear it around, get used to it inflated" um, while drinking wine? 5) mom inspects her lifejacket, note presence of cigarette..um, mom? i don't know if you quite have the idea...

life/figure drawing night

click on an image to see larger version in new window
10-minute figure studies No.11 through No.15
charcoal/sepia pencil/graphite on paper (approx. 12" x 24" to 20" x 28")

seeing clearly

it will be a few days before this one is done, but i like to take shots of work in progress in case i need to see later where i went wrong...
Haut de Cagnes 1 (acrylic, 20" x 28").

speaking of seeing, here i am heading out for girls night Saturday, sans lunettes. (yes, Ryan, i cut off all my hair again..sorry)

stuck inside

its a rainy day, after a stormy night so i'm working inside today...lots of piles of stuff to paint around here! including, the Coat Tree (watercolor and oil pastel 10" x 10").

man, was i spoiled that week

i received my CD from Maison des Arts today...Mitch, the tutor, takes digital photos throughout the course week and then compiles a CD for each student, a nice touch, especially for the holiday makers, like the two hysterical British ladies of a certain age (in their 70s!) Jill and Faye that i shared my week with. here is a pic of that dizzying double mirror self-portrait set up (portrait remains incomplete, but i will return to it next week i think). and here, Mom, Bert and Maria join me on Saturday night for wine and reviews on the studio terrace.

i'm returning to MDA for one full day and one evening (figure drawing) session this next week and very much looking forward to it, i think you can see in the pics what a lovely place it is. oh, and the supply room (not shown)...that lovely, organized, complete supply room!!...i don't need a man...i need a studio!

swinging by a halyard

Bert thought mom and i could hoist him up to repair the mast in something called a boseman's chair (?)....with our pathetic upper arm strength, his little hangman joke didn't seem that far off to me...here he's instructing mom, "now Pat,..." (she hates that). in the end, he got more capable (and willing) help from some fellows at the ships services shop.

safely back home, i completed interior with dog SOLD and la bord de la mer.

8409945

this evenings study in oil pastel...a huge palm tree leaf in the wind as night fell...thus, 8:40,9,9:45

Bert says i'm on a roll

neighbors1 orangetree1 orangetree2

on the quai

LTM1, watercolor and oil pastel 18" x 15" SOLD

no, i'm not smiling

started work on a self-portrait (the ladies were too tired this afternoon to pose for me) today, first time i've ever seriously attempted painting a face/portrait (wait, maybe i had to do one at SAIC, yes, i think i did though it was charcoal and pencil)...it was hard work, there is much more to do before it is finished, but i can see where it is going...when i'm not seeing double! (the double mirror approach is very effective, but made me dizzy!)

i'm sad to be done with my week session at Maison des Arts, i really enjoyed my time there..will return for two days every other week indefinately and continue to work at home of course. wishing i had more room to stretch out....

re-work, re-work, re-work

i finished up that troublesome acrylic perspective study today and i hate it much less now...gallerie fini

the artists little helper

i'm please with how a few of the ten eight-minute figure sketches (charcoal) turned out, especially after i loosened up..(wine helps) figure1 figure4 figure6 figure9

long day in the studio

long day in the studio today, just got home at 11pm after a two hour figure drawing session in addition to the regular schedule...today's acrylic painting, perspective study:gallerie doorway

oil on paper

todays oil painting, the entrance path, working on color, tone and light...i don't hate it, especially as i haven't used oils in...forever?

you knew it was coming

well, i finally succumed and painted the dog. god forgive me.

good news: the new school is fabulous (its a holiday makers facility, but i'm a day student and the bookings are low, so i'm getting luxury at a bargain...two hour french lunch complete with wine today!) lots of intense work..i've made progress already...working in oils now. very happy.

another bottle

there are so many empties around the house, it is no surprise that i painted yet another bottle.

making progress

some of todays 10 minute watercolor studies:
glass study
ihategeraniums
apples
this afternoons gouache:
red laundry

little number update

mom wants me to let you know that her hair usually isn't that sticky-uppy in the back.

rainy day painting

a little number in a New Yorker magazine cartoon-style that i finished earlier this week of mom in her usual evening repose.