I hope each and every one of you have a joyful Christmas & and Happy New Year!

I like what I do and I like the way I do it, but is that enough?

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about what appeals to me in the work of others. Of course that's very broad. However in doing that I started thinking about my own work and whether or not it would appeal to me...as if I were not me but someone else. I really haven't gotten very far along that line but I'd like to know what it is about the works of others and if those things are appealing enough to cause me to change the way I do things. I have reached the conclusion that I need to go further with this line of thinking and perhaps move a little closer to the edge. I doubt I'll ever go over but I'm convinced I need to take a look...

Update...

At long last the Small Works North America 2008 Exhibition is up, minus a few pieces that is. Apparently they've been waiting on some of the artists to give them the asking price for their work. Anyway it is on line now if you'd like to see. Small Works N A

"Two States of Being" - 8 x 10"

I've been invited to participate in an upcoming show at the Wally Workman Gallery in Austin. This is the first of three, maybe four, pieces I'll be sending.

"The One I'd Choose" - 8 x 10

Like the painting above this too will be sent to the show at Wally Workman Gallery in Austin. I am very pleased with how they both turned out....

I am so excited....!!!!!

I got an email tonight saying, " Congratulations! Your painting, ”Lost In a Dream” has been selected as part of Greenwich Workshop Gallery's 2008 Small Works North America Exhibition and Sale." Was I ever surprised. One of the reasons for my surprise is that I'd inadvertently submitted the same piece twice which prevented me from entering another one. After that I was locked out. Because I couldn't go back I wasn't sure if I'd finished the entry process. Also the notification date came and went six days ago. Now you know why I was so surprised and happy when I heard back from them. The really scary part is I was about to delete the email because it came into my mail box in the spam folder.

This certainly is not my first competition, far from it, but it is the first "oil" painting I've entered in a juried show. I couldn't be more pleased!

The show was supposed to be on line by October 1st but they must be running behind. If you'd like to see the show click the link below...if it's not up keep checking back. They will eventually get it posted.

Small Works N A

"From the Garden of Dreams & Desires" - 11 x 24

I taught a workshop in Ohio in early June. The Peonies were just beginning to bloom so the hostess of the workshop put a few in a vase so we could enjoy them during our lunch. After wards when everyone had gone back to work, with a purpose, my camera and I and went back upstairs. The light was streaming through the window. Because the table cloth was pink the colors were amazing. I took dozens of photos. I especially liked this shot because of the shadow so I cropped it down for emphasis. I could not get the colors exact for posting so if the shadow in the painting appears to be warm and red on your monitor, it's not, it's very cool. To counter balance the coolness in the shadow I painted the foreground a warm pink. My husband doesn't particularily like the colors but I love them....

"Sentimental Reasons" - 9 x 12"

Cherries! I just want you to know I have painted cherries and I have not been successful so I've continued to paint cherries and I'm still painting cherries. Oh yeah...I can paint a cherry now. It's funny how you think you know what something looks like, especially something so simple, but I learned something, I had no idea what a cherry looked like.

"Go Your Own Way" - 9 x 12

I feel like the slowest painter in the world but maybe that's only when it comes to actually finishing one. I finished this one and the one above but have eight others I'm working on...hum....maybe that has something to do with it. Anyway I guess eventually it will seem like I finished all eight at once. I'm going to say the same thing about grapes that I said about cherries...I'm going to keep painting them until I know what they look like.

"Mid-Summer Beauties" - Oil - 12" x 9"

I'm really excited about this one. The shadows were a challenge but a lot of fun to do because of the many colors. I created them with a series of transparent glazes which I felt would keep them from looking heavy. The shadow from the basket photographed lighter than it it really is. I did some tweaking but still did not get it right so I guess I'll be taking more pictures.

Anyway, I think this is my favorite piece. I did paint over my name though. I'd signed in the upper right hand corner but, after seeing it on the computer, didn't like the way it looked which means I'm going to have to sign it again...somewhere more pleasing.

If you are interested in purchasing this piece please contact Southwest Gallery - 4500 SIGMA at Welch - Dallas, Texas 75244 - 972.960.8935- 800.272.9910

A couple of quotes by Rainer Maria Rilke

1. Always trust yourself and your own feelings, as opposed to arguments and discussions. If it turns out that you are wrong, then the natural growth of your inner life will eventually guide you to other insights. Allow your judgments a silent, undisturbed development, which, like all progress, must come from deep within and cannot be forced or hastened. Everything is gestation and then birthing. To let each impression and each embryo of a feeling come to completion, entirely in itself, in the dark, in the unsayable, the unconscious, beyond the reach of one's own understanding, and with deep humility and patience to wait for the hour when a new clarity is born: this is what it means to live as an artist."

2. Believe that with your feelings and your work you are taking part in the greatest; the more strongly you cultivate this belief, the more will reality and the world go forth from it.

Have a really great day!

"Lost In a Dream" - 9" x 12"

I cannot believe how long it takes me to do a painting. I was sure I'd have these finished weeks ago. It's not that I haven't been working on them, the problem is getting them exactly like I want them. Anyway, hooray! I've finished two! I guess you can tell I love the dramatic.

I will not be offering these on Ebay. I plan to enter this one in a competition, the rest of them, when finished, will be going to Southwest Gallery.

"When I'm Blue" - 9" x 12"

Ah grapes...maybe grapes are not hard to paint but like everything else, I tend to make them difficult. Nevertheless I am happy with how this piece turned out. I'm especially pleased with the shadows.

If you are interested in purchasing this piece please contact Southwest Gallery - 4500 SIGMA at Welch - Dallas, Texas 75244 - 972.960.8935- 800.272.9910

"Just Like the Morning Sun" - Oil - 6" x 8 " SOLD

This is the second orange pepper that I've painted. I thought this was such a lovely thing with the reflections and all which make it appear to be very shiny. As always, thanks for looking.

"Having Fun With Red & Green" - Oil - 6" x 8" - SOLD

That's a fact...I was having fun with red & green. I actually did this piece twice because I liked it so much. I did the first one in colored pencil which you can see HERE and this one in oil. I guess I was playing with the complementary, not just in the obvious colors but mixing the two in the shadows.

"Just Peachy" - Oil - 6" x 8" - SOLD

I couldn't resist this plate but I found it to be a little more difficlut to paint than I though. Nevertheless, I'm happy with how it turned out. And it looks like I'm still playing with compliments. I actually didn't realize that until I posted "Having Fun With Red & Green". I was going to hang on to all three pieces but decided to go ahead and list them on Ebay. Since I am now painting 9" x 12"s I may not be lisiting any more small paintings for a while.

Here's some exciting news....

I've been invited to demo at Southwest Gallery's 2008 Summer Art Festival. Events include gallery artists painting (I'll be working in colored pencil) and sculpting on-site, as well as jewelry, a painting trunk-show, live music, food and fun!

The other artists who will be participating are: Tony Bass, Lynwood Bennett, Gene Brown, Fran Di Giacomo, Manuel Garza, Jonathan Hardesty, R. W. Hedge, Robert Hogan, George Kovach, Kyle Polzin, Tony Saladino, Paul Walden, Kay Walton, and Mark Whitmarsh.

If you live in the DFW area or somewhere nearby come visit. I'll be there Saturday & Sunday August 23-24, 2008 - from 1-5 pm

Southwest Gallery - 4500 SIGMA at Welch - Dallas, Texas 75244 - 972.960.8935- 800.272.9910

"Charmed" ~ 9 x 12" - SOLD

At last. It's finally finished. I really enjoyed painting this piece. I think the title expresses how I felt the whole time I worked on it.

Workshop in Idaho, Falls....

I'm off tomorrow for Idaho Falls to teach a workshop. My husband and I will be driving. John estimates it will be about 3,000 miles roundtrip so I'll be gone for a while. Belle & Bazil, our two Yorkies, are going to stay with Phyllis and her two Shelties. Belle likes it there but this will be Bazil's first time, not only there but, away from us. What can I say, I miss them already but I'm sure they'll have fun.

We are going to stop off in Wyoming for a couple of days to visit Ginger at the ranch. Last week it was snowing but she said they had hummingbirds. I can't imagine going from the sweltering 90's here in Texas to snow. Maybe I'll get to see another Spring...if Idaho is blooming this will be the third Spring I've seen this year. I was in Ohio two weeks ago and it was beautiful. Even though I'm frequently in different States I very seldom get to see much so I'm really looking forward to this trip. The batteries are charged in the cameras so I guess I'm ready to go.

You all take care and I'll post some pictures when I get back. By the way, leave a comment, I'd love to hear what you have to say....Linda

"The Time When Love Was New" - 18" x 24"

Finished at last! I've been working for weeks to get this painting finished for the Boat show at Wally Workman Gallery in Austin. The deadline for getting it to them is tomorrow, the 28th. I got it framed, boxed up and on it's way yesterday. Hopefully they will get it in time. Don't you just love that blue Adirondack chair on top of the houseboat? By the way, I took the reference photo when I was in Seattle a little over a year ago. I love the flowers on the row boat but have no idea what it was going to be used for. It did strike me as being romantic so I gave it a romantic title.

"Three Pears" - 6 x 8"

You never know what you might find if you move
things around in your studio. I was cleaning up the
shelf where I keep my unfinished paintings and
found this painting I had put away to dry. I had
completely forgotten about it.

An afternoon with Sherrie McGraw...

Photo 1 - The set up

Even though I did not see it, I was told she had the lights off in the room, using one lamp for her light source, when she arranged the objects for the set up. That makes perfect sense if you want to know how the light looks like when it hits the objects. She did say she takes a lot of time when she creates her set ups. "The goal...", she said, "...is the idea that inspires the painting since we are painting light. In part I am setting up the shadows so the light can be revealed. If you take time you'll know why you are doing it and what you want to do with it."















Photo 2 - Blocking in

She starts her paintings with mass rather than line.The reason is to determine what space the mass occupies on the canvas. She said, "...linear drawing is another language; the language of line. In doing mass you don't have an attachment to what you place on the canvas so you can easily remove it. If you start with line you are attached to it."















Photo 3 - Space is important. She continued, "The goal is to paint the relationship you see in all the objects rather than painting the objects as they are. In the beginning you want to lay it in so you can visualize the whole painting. Start with a neutral color so you can size and place the objects."

After the blocking in...

Photo 4 - She started working on the little black vase, basically continuing the blocking in but with the local color. After that she added color to the background.
















Photo 5 - In this photo she is setting the light. She said the light is used to key the background value. Everything is in relation and relationships are what you are painting. The background should be light enough so that the pot is silhouetted and dark enough so the peaches are lit up. Here she is setting up the "run of the color", the abstraction of it. Once you do that then you can make it a peach...how much color or lack of color. She said, "When you do something take the time to see what actually happens."

















Photo 6 - Sherrie said, "There is no way to understand or get better if you don't organize and understand what you are seeing. You don't want to get honed in on one spot. Keep your eye on the whole setup and the effect of the whole painting."

Placing the objects...

Photo 7 - Here's she is laying in local color but still determining space and mass. She talked about carving out which is moving the paint to make what's in front stand out. If you'll notice she's painting with the tip of the brush. That amuses me since I use a brush like a pencil. She did, of course, address that.

















Photo 8 - She said, "Painting the parts can make you lose the sense of why you wanted to paint the painting anyway. Shapes are the language of painting." Which goes back to what she said about thinking about the whole painting all at once.















Photo 9 - Since the meeting was only a couple of hours with a 30 minute break in between I think I can safely say she did this much in an hour and a half. Of course the painting is not finished, far from it ,but she said you do this much then you spend the next day refining it and adding the details. One more thing, she said, "Painting is not a technique or a style. It's a way of understanding paint and how it works." Very interesting Sherrie. Thanks so much!

"Boat" show at Wally Workman Gallery

I've been away for a while because I'm trying to finish an 18 x 24" oil painting for a gallery show which will open at the Wally Workman Gallery at the end of the month. It's been slow going and a stretch since the largest painting I've done in a while is 8 x 10". Wouldn't you know I'd pick something very detailed and complicated. Once it's completed I'll post it.

"How Sweet It Is" - SOLD

I really enjoyed painting this peachy colored rose.
It has such lovely colors ranging from soft pinks
to oranges that almost glow.

"Who Would Guess?" - Oil on panel -6 x 8"

A quote by watercolor artist Steve Hanks

"As an artist you might get into the medium you are working in and then just get into a comfort zone and stay there, " say's Steve Hanks. "However there is something to be said about working outside your comfort zone, something about the mystery of trying to figure it out or not knowing how it works. As accurately as I paint, I need to throw myself out of the comfort zone... " Hanks finds that it's essential to his own idea of creativity that he changes his style periodically so that he won't get stuck doing a certain type of painting over and over. American Art Collector January 2008

"Sweet Dreams of You" - SOLD

By the way, these are nectarines not peaches.

"Three of a Kind" ~ 6" x 8" - SOLD

"Dance With Me" ~ SOLD

"Dance With Me" is the seventh in the series of
paintings I'm calling "Cherry Expressions".
The shadows in this piece are very colorful and the
cherries bright and red however the background is
more of an eggshell rather than light blue or gray as
it may appear on your monitor.

"Sun Fed" ~ SOLD

This was a fun piece to paint. I mixed complimentaries

for the shadows and decided to use the same

colors in the background. It gave it continuity I think

and made it quite a striking piece. By the way, these

are nectarines not peaches that's why they look smooth

and sleek .

Galleries that handle my work...

I am very pleased to announce that I am now being represented by two galleries. I've had a wonderful working relationship with Southwest Gallery in Dallas for four years. As of February 28, my original colored pencil pieces can also be purchased through Wally Workman Gallery in Austin. Once I feel a little more confident in the medium of oil, I will be painting larger pieces and sending them to both galleries. I am extremely pleased with the progress I've made in such a short time which makes this truly exciting. I don't fight the brushes anymore nor struggle with the paint like I did when I first started painting, which was only about three months ago, now I get up in the morning anticipating the day. I can't wait to get a brush in my hand and I'm loving it....

"Sway Me Now" - SOLD

"Sway Me Now" is the sixth in a series of painting

I call Cherry Expressions.

"From the Heart" ~ SOLD

I happened to notice that one of the petals
on this delicate little rose looked a little like
a heart so I decided to title it "From the Heart".
Even though the background may look black,
it is not, it's actually very dark blues and greens.

"Long Before it Begins" ~ SOLD

This is the fifth is a series of paintings
I call Cherry Expressions.

"Born to Shine" ~ SOLD

I thought this orange pepper was so beautiful.

It just seemed to glow from the inside out.

"My Eyes Will See Only You" ~ SOLD

This is the fourth is a series of paintings that

I call "Cherry Expressions". The title was taken

the SWAY lyrics written by Michael Buble.

"For A Moment" ~ SOLD

"Hold Me Close" ~ SOLD

"Hold Me Close" is the third in a series of

paintings I am calling "Cherry Expressions"

As always, thank you for looking!

"Bright Blues & Greens" ~ SOLD

I'm kind of disappointed in how this painting looks

on my monitor. The colors in the painting are

brighter. I hope the colors look bright on yours. Anyway,

I discovered this onion had sprouted so I laid it on

the bar until I could decide what to do with it...it didn't

take long. As soon as I saw those shadows I knew what

I was going to do. Everything in my house is a

potential painting. When I first painted it, I painted

it without the tile but I could not stand how it looked

so I went back and changed it. I am much

happier now with how it looks.

"Lady in Red" ~ SOLD

"Lady in Red" is the second in a series of paintings
I am calling "Cherry Expressions". I thought I'd
have some fun while learning. It worked. I had fun

and I learned a lot.

"View From the Top" ~ 6" X 8" SOLD

I think I'm getting a little better grasp of painting.

In fact I'm a lot more comfortable using a brush

now and I'm enjoying it more. This one is painted

on a gessoed Raymar panel which, by the way,

is the only thing I paint on now.

"Shall We Dance" ~ SOLD

I decided to have some fun so I painted a series
of cherries that I'm calling "Cherry Expressions".
Most of them will have a title that came from the song
Sway written by Michael Buble. This is the first in the
series. I call it "Shall We Dance".

The shadows in this piece are very colorful and the
cherries bright and red however the background is
more of an eggshell rather than light blue or gray as
it may appear on your monitor.

"Through the Fence" ~ SOLD

When I saw the glow from the sunlight as it

dappled our cedar fence I knew I had to paint

this flower.

"Red Pepper With Water Drops" ~ SOLD

I had no idea water drops could be so difficult,
with a pencil, no problem, with a brush....well let's
just say it took longer than I expected.

"You Take My Breath Away" ~ SOLD

I titled this one "You Take My Breath Away"

because that's the way I feel every time I look

at it. When I finished this one I felt very

satisfied. The stress was gone and I knew, at last,

that I was getting paint to do what I wanted.

Oh yes, this is the second posting. I didn't want

to lose the comments from the first post. I really

shouldn't have put the paintings on the blog

before I was ready to sell them but I was anxious

to show what I'd done. From now on I won't post

them until they are listed on Ebay. Thanks for

looking!

"Red, Green & Gold..." ~ SOLD

"Blue & Gold" ~ SOLD

This really is a lovely little painting. The white on

the ginger jar almost has a transparent look as well

as a blueish tint that reminds me of fine china.

And the gold has just the right amount of sparkle.

I must say, I am very pleased with how this painting

turned out.

Southwest Art Magazine - January 2008

From 1987 to 1997 I subscribed to Southwest Art Magazine. Receiving my copy soon became the highlight of my month. If you had told me back then that someday my work would be in Southwest Art and that I would be considered as an "artist to watch" I know I would not have believed you. If I could have gotten the words out of my mouth, I'm sure I would have asked, "how could that be possible & when?". So you see, for me it's a really big deal and one of the highlights of my life. If you'd like to read the article click HERE. If you pick up the magazine be sure to check out the contents page...that one is mine too.