Behind Club Street

"Behind Club Street"
6"x6" Oil on Gessoboard
$120 Unframed
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This little guy is on the street just behind Club Street, Gemmill Lane. I'm really starting to see colors in shadows, which is really exciting. Right now it is really only when looking at photos, but I've been going out to get photo references and sketching more right now than I have been, so hopefully I'll start seeing in person soon too. It feels like a paradigm shift. At the edge of a lot of shadows there is either an acidy yellow-brown color, or like a crazy pthalo blue. This seems to happen mostly with white (or light colored) buildings and super strong sunlight, when the shadow takes on almost a blue hue.

A great example of an artist that over-exaggerates those colors is Wayne Thiebaud.

Here's another great example of how he exaggerates the shadows. 

Tanjong Pagar Palms

"Tanjong Pagar Palms I"
12"x24"
$995 Framed
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Happy Monday! I'm so glad I get to be back in the studio tomorrow morning. This past week has been very productive - just not in the studio. I now have at least a year's supply of art supplies. Paint, panels, and even rags. So exciting! We finally have some of our things that have been in storage for over three years. A lot of the things were our wedding gifts. It was kind of like Christmas all over again! For the first time in three years, our apartment feels like a home, not a temporary residence. Nevertheless, time to get back to the studio!

Chinatown MRT

"Chinatown MRT"
6x6 Oil on Gessobord
$120 Unframed
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Back to the shophouses! This one is right by the entrance to the Chinatown MRT. If you come up from the MRT, and look up to your right, this house is right there. As for painting the shophouses, it feels good to be back. I really enjoy coming back to them and trying new ideas on them. On this one I really wanted to try and work on painting the details in the architecture. I've done it a little bit, but not in quite as much detail as this one. Man, it was fun.

Roadhouse

"Roadhouse"
6x6 Oil on Gessobord
$95 unframed
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This is a wonderful little signal house that I saw as I was driving south on the 101 from Palo Alto to Newport Beach. That highway has some beautiful scenery on either side of it. I am only sad that I didn't have the time to really explore more of the nooks and crannies - I had to boogie down to Newport Beach for my workshop. 

Sorry about not posting much the past couple of weeks. I've been working on this California series, and after letting it sit for a week or so, I went back to the paintings. Only a couple of them were really up to par, and should have been wiped off. I think I was just locked in such a battle with them that I didn't want to let go. But that is one of the things I've started to learn about painting - when to not release things. The journey is about painting every day - but there are going to be some lemons in there, and that is okay. The lemons are an important part of learning, it means you are pushing yourself.

Southbound

"Southbound"
6"x6" Oil on Gessoboard
$95 unframed
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It's that time of year, the great American summer roadtrip. I figured that with this week being the 4th of July and everyone embarking on their family vacations that it would be a good time to start posting my CA roadtrip series. This little number is on 278 in South Carolina, on the way from HHI to the Savannah airport. I seem to paint that highway quite a bit, but then there are some pretty sights to be seen there!

What's the Catch?

"What's the Catch?"
4"x4" Oil on Gessoboard
$45 Unframed
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This painting is of a scene that I have grown up witnessing and always wanted to put to paint. Finally, in the last year, I felt like I could possibly do it justice. Soon I hope that I can maybe paint it bigger than 4x4! This is a shrimp boat that can be seen from Highway 278 as you are leaving Hilton Head Island and crossing onto the mainland, Bluffton. Such a beautiful scene in the Lowcountry that is fast disappearing.

In other news, my husband and I are off for the week to Vietnam. We are headed to Saigon, one of our favorite cities, then we thought we would try a beach in Vietnam - Mui Ne. Supposedly the kite surfing is grand, so we're going to try and catch a wave or two, wish us luck! My husband just finished working 55 days straight (no days off!) so I think he deserves a bit of a break. I'm happy to tag along ;).

Cloud Study III

"Cloud Study III"
4x4 Oil on Panel
$35 Unframed
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This is another little 4x4 study that I did. I just love the sailboats on the intracoastal waterway. I didn't get nearly enough time on HHI. I didn't even see the beach there!

Wow, finally back in the saddle at the easel. Well, sort of. I'm very much looking forward to getting life pulled back together here in Singapore. While I was in the US my husband moved us out of temporary housing into our regular apartment. I've decided that having packers pack your things is great, until they unpack. Because they insist on unpacking for damage and insurance purposes. So instead of being able to ignore certain boxes pushed against a wall, I walked into a house that had piles of stuff all over. My husband did a fantastic job of starting the process of getting settled in, but he's been working 7 days a week. So in the meantime, I get to walk in circles putting away piles of things ;)...