Rebecca's Doodles...

Two of my favorite and VERY inexpensive daily brush cleaners are old fashioned bar laundry soaps that you can find at many discount “dollar” stores:  Zote and Fels Naptha.  I simply keep a bar in a plastic food storage dish (also thanks to the dollar store), and keep it in the art drawer next to my easel.  When I’m done for the evening, I simply rinse my acrylic brushes in the paint water, scrub the wet bristles on the bar, scrubby rinse in clean water, press dry in a paper towel to re-smooth the bristles, and call it done!

Prayers are definitely being answered in droves right now, it’s pouring outside again.  A perfect day for being inside, doing all-things-art related.  Rain on the roof, fire in the wood stove, it’s all good.  

I love collecting Native American Pottery which has motifs of animals, plants, images of the natural world.  When I saw this little pot, the pattern looked so much like an uncoiling fern that I knew I wanted to do a painting around it.  Ferns and toads are so much a part of rain, they seem to be reborn and celebrate after a rainstorm passes.

Now here’s one that I’ve heard about and REALLY need to try...  Supposedly Murphy’s Oil Soap does an amazing job on dried oil brushes, and possibly even better on dried acrylics -- something I definitely need to try!   Supposedly an overnight soaking does wonders, leaving the brushes soft, supple and clean.

(Wash with a mild soap afterwards, rinse well. )  

One night, a little while after our first good rain (and after the deep cold let up a bit) we had this most unusual visitor at night near the lights by my art studio.  She was big (about 1 1/2 inches), and had the most wonderful green soft fuzzy body.  I think she looks JUST like he’s made out of moss, so I’ve named her the “Moss Moth.”  I don’t know what kind she is, I’ve never seen one like her before.  I hope I can find out what kind of moth she is, and I’m very happy that we have them here!

Does anyone have an idea who this might be? I believe that she may be in the Sphinx family...

Windsor & Newton’s Brush Cleaner and Restorer

Oh no -- you stayed up late painting yet again -- and crawled off to sleep and hustled off to work the next morning....  And when you sat down at your easel the next evening you discovered that you missed cleaning your favorite brush and now it’s hard as a rock!  What now?  

Well, there are some things to try before you throw that expensive (and your favorite) brush away.  Here’s something to try:

Winsor & Newton’s Brush Cleaner and Restorer:

I’ve had excellent results with this Winsor & Newton product,  for restoring (and general cleaning) of both oil and acrylic brushes.  Yes, it can even restore rock-hard brushes to completely soft and usable condition again! My oil painting spouse even uses it on his clothing for oil paints, and acrylic house paint, with no harm to either the brushes or his clothing (check yours in a hidden spot before assuming that it’s ok for your fabric.)  One caveat though -- it WILL also break down the paint on your handles, causing the finish to crack and flake off in chunks.  So, only let the bristles soak, or you’ll end up with a bunch of plain wooden-handed brushes (which may not look the way you wanted, but will still be ultra soft and paint great).   Added benefit -- it’s non-toxic and biodegradable!  Dick Blick has it available for $13.28 for 16 oz.

One competition I particularly enjoyed participating in was a national competition to support and promote the National Park system called “Paint the Parks.”  A juried competition, they selected 100 large and 50 small paintings to tour museums and galleries nationwide for a year.  I was thrilled that not only was this painting selected for the national tour, but it also won the Juror’s Award!

While on a road trip through Anasazi sites and museums in the Southwest, I was intrigued to find out that there were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of tiny little “twig animals” found in sites all throughout the regions.  Charming little creations – simple yet elegant.  The Havasupai tribe, who live in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, were particularly fond of these twig animals, and were also wonderful basket makers and often added animal motif’s to their basketry, and carved pictographs into the cliff sides.  

This small piece (9x12) is painted on panel, which allowed me to get all those details of the basket’s weaving and the rich textures and highlights on the little twig animal.

Every now and then I do pet portraits, and this one is one of the most unusual “pets” I’ve had the chance to do.   This fellow, named “Sparrow,” was rescued from the ground (and certain death) as a little hairless hatchling.  But he survived and grew into an incredibly spunky character.  His caregiver never clipped his wings, and Sparrow only slept in his cage at night for safety.  When his person turned on the kitchen sink, this little guy would fly from wherever he was to his hands and ecstatically bathe with total abandon.  He did have an unusual side, though – if he liked you he would sit happily on you, bathe in your hands, eat tidbits…. But woe to the person he decided he didn’t like – he would turn into a flying terror and literally dive bomb attack them with a determination and a vice-like beak that he knew how to use Ohhhhh so well!   

Fascinating little entity.   I’m glad to have met him.

This portrait of “Sparrow” is pen and ink, black and Sepia, done on Bristol paper (private collection):

Wow, tonight it’s absolutely pouring rain – a great night to be inside being creative, working on all-things-art.  Our mountains, great noble oaks and neighboring pastures are breathing a deep sigh of relief as they can finally drink their fill. The drought had been heavy on everyone – man, beast and bird, oak and field.  

One of the things I love most about the winters here in the Central Coast’s mountains is that day after day we get treated to the most wonderful stormy sunsets (when we can SEE the sunset, that is…).  So full of color, I love the way the clouds give such dimension to the sky.  You can feel the depth, the distance… and how small we all are in comparison.  It’s soothing.  And I am so drawn to clouds, the dreamer in me wants to fly up through the towering tumbling sky, to touch the colors first hand.  

Here is “Sunset Afterglow,” a small piece, done on panel: 8x10

Remember my post “Inspiration Underfoot” – about finding a Western Blue Tailed Skink, a lovely creature whom I thought would be a fine inspiration for a future painting?

Well, here is “Symbols of Sky and Water” – where a related variety of Blue Tailed Skink has balanced himself on an intricate Anasazi ladle, eyeing a Blue Spot butterfly drawn to the water still dripping from the ladle.  

One of the things I truly enjoy about painting still life pictures like these is that I get to spend so much time studying the little creatures and artifacts, observing every pattern, every scale.  They become friends, pets, things close to me.  It’s that intimate closeness that I really like.

This painting is a small piece (8x10) on panel.  I enjoy painting on panels, especially for smaller works, because the smooth surface lends itself to subtle blending and layering of colors as you see in the adobe wall, plus still allow rich precise details of the ladle and Blue Spot butterfly.  

This piece also had the honor of touring with the “Paint the Parks” National touring Exhibition.

Hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I did painting it!

I decided to make my once-a-year excursion to San Francisco’s Chinatown for a nice long walkabout.   It was raining, and I was early (most stores don’t open until at least 10:00 am) so I had a good long walk in the rain before being able to browse around inside the stores.

Something about the rain on the venerable buildings adds a certain amount of magic – flaking paint turns into sparkling facets, the sound of plinking rain on the awnings softens all the noises, makes them almost seem like distant music.

I watched old people walking arm in arm, smiling, laughing…. 

And ancient old ones.  Step. By. Step. Up. The. Steep. Hills.

One set, an old man with his arm reaching up over the shoulders of a younger (but no youth himself!) man for support, under the umbrella carried by the younger one…smiling, chatting while they walked, paced to the elder, but gently, filled with patient affection.

Many places in the city feel like a shell – history on the outside, but the innards have little spirit.

Chinatown never faded...painted over by the new, pretending to be old.  Chinatown’s soul sings like a robin in the rain. 

 John Cogan

One of my favorite Southwest landscape artists, John has a fantastic eye for light, shadow, and a wonderful talent for capturing atmospheric effects.  One of his favorite themes is the Grand Canyon, and he just had the honor to participate in the very first Grand Canyon Celebration of the Arts, which is a fundraiser for creating a permanent art museum for the Grand Canyon!  I’m certainly looking forward to following the progress on that great effort!  Check out some of his art!

It was one of those Southern California triple digit summers where everything in its right mind seeks indoors – of any kind – to escape the heat of the sun.  I was Senior Artist at a local company at the time, and as I came in from the solar oven and up the stairs, my eye caught an azure jeweled motion as I stepped up.  Some people jump, some freeze – I stilled myself so that the little creature would not dart away and carefully bent down to see who graced me with his presence…

 There, tucked into the angle of the step was a creature worth a thousand words – a vibrant Western Blue Tailed Skink*.   More like a denizen of fantasy stories, his cerulean blue jewel-like tail trailed longer than his body, as he tried quite in vain to blend into a plain grey carpeted stair. 

 Knowing that the indoors would bring him sparse fare (and many tromping feet), I carefully coaxed him onto my hand and brought him outside.  I knew of a shady moist spot in the nature conservancy within a short hike away, and full of far more tasty items than industrial dust bunnies.  He paused, contrasted against the shaded lichen rocks, and scurried out of harm’s way.  It felt like I was honored to share even a little time with such a jewel.

 A symbol of water and sky – and worthy of a painting in his own right – he will definitely have to be a guest in one of my future paintings….

It was an “aha” moment, one of those times where you stop in your tracks – rub your eyes and read again, to make sure you didn’t miss something….  An innocent Halloween candy from a “major” well known brand who had included “science facts” on the wrappers of their bite-sized tidbits.  And there it was in official looking print “Elephants are the only mammal to have FOUR knees.”  Yessir, “four knees” it said, plain as day.* From purported “Science Experts”  aimed towards impressionable children and sweet-aholics alike.. Well, elephant’s knees DO NOT “bend backwards,” nor do horses nor wolves nor birds. I actually had a lively discussion with a fellow animator about that very fact.  ….It’s no wonder that his creatures moved awkwardly – his horses had pivots, not joints!  They would not have survived in the “real” world.

So, that is why I always start teaching students “from the inside out” on the creatures that inhabit their works. One must understand the structure inside out so that they can achieve balance or show movement of creatures in their paintings, drawings, sculptures.  Even at a standstill, your subjects have weight, suspense.  At any moment, they may rise up and trot down that path in your painting. 

One way of making students aware is to take their reference material and put it up on the board with tracing paper over it. Then, I draw the skeleton inside the creature on the tracing paper, and we discuss how that internal structure affects the outward view.  Hips rotate from the pelvis… Here is the knee…. Look, this joint corresponds to your own wrist….. 

First we start on profile, since it’s less confusing, and I compare the anatomy of their creature to other species.  Look at a horse, now see how that compares to a chicken – the commonalities and the differences – horse hip to bird hip, shoulders, “wrists,” etc..  Once they can accurately do a simple side view on their own, we introduce ¾ perspective, weight distribution and axis of rotation.  We take a static image, and on tracing paper, sketch how that limb would move – being directed by the skeleton inside.

It’s amazing how the more they do this simple exercise, the more understanding is gained – and I can see their own “aha” moment arriving.

So, try this simple -- yet invaluable -- technique on your next animal.  It will open windows of understanding, and bring your art to the next level.