September 1, 2022
I entered “Alice Paul” and “On the Beach” in the Carlsbad Oceanside Art League’s 70th Annual Open Show. The COAL Gallery is at 300 Carlsbad Village Drive, Suite 101, Carlsbad, CA. Both paintings were accepted. “Alice” won an honorable mention. The show closes on September 4th.
The SFVACC “Women Artists Making Their Mark” online show accepted “African Mother in a Yellow Dress.” The online reception was impressive, in that many women artists infused their art with a concern over the environment and protested the Supreme Court’s recent overturning of Roe vs. Wade. I felt admiration for their passion and ability to channel it into an effective piece of artwork. I wondered whether I was being tone deaf for endeavoring to crank out scenes of sublime human experience “while Rome burns.” I also found it interesting that my portrait of suffragette Alice Paul was rejected for this show, which leads me to hypothesize that this group is looking forward rather than backward in its concerns about women’s place in society.
Anaheim Art Association’s international show is about to commence. “Almost Shirtsleeve Weather” and “African Mother in a Blue Dress” were entered and both paintings were accepted. I dropped them off on Friday and was impressed with the quality of artwork I saw all around me. The in-person reception/award ceremony will be on Sunday, October 30th from 1pm to 3pm. I’m batting 1,000 with this art group, since the two paintings I submitted last year were also accepted.
The location of the Anaheim show is MuzeO Carnegie Gallery, 241 S Anaheim Blvd., Anaheim CA 92805 (corner of Broadway & Anaheim Blvd.). There is limited parking on Anaheim Blvd. and Broadway. If you park on Center Street Promenade, check the parking signs carefully. It is easiest to park in the parking structure off Center Street Promenade. Go through the gate on the second floor of the parking structure and get a ticket. There is a walking entrance from the Center Street Promenade to the Gallery.
On August 22nd, Shelley Lawrence and I ventured out to paint a scene at Laguna Lake, San Luis Obispo. I did not complete my painting, and was gratified to say, when more than one person asked to see my unfinished painting, that my painting teacher, Lance Richlin, had advised me not to show any unfinished work. I know that paintings often look weird and disappointing as they are taking shape. I confess that I don’t always follow Lance’s advice, but on this occasion, I was happy to do so. I took several reference photos of the scene of our plein air outing, so I’ll be able to finish the landscape painting when I can spare the time. I haven’t completed a painting in two months, so I may elect to finish one of three landscape pieces I began this year but haven’t completed.
This month, I’m offering a sale on some of my landscapes: “Goldilocks and the Three Oaks.” “Bridget’s Apple Tree,” “Descanso Gardens in Spring,” “Chantal’s Garden in Blueberry Season,” “South Cast Botanic Garden in Fall,” and “Redondo Beach Historic Library Building” are available for half price–$200 framed or $100 unframed.
Meanwhile, I continue my efforts to complete a portrait of Gustavo Dudamel but have been waylaid at times by my four-day trip to Oregon in July, a five-day trip to visit my people in California to the north in August, as well as several days preparing to host people at home this summer on three occasions.
On Aug. 29th, I volunteered for four hours for the CA 101 preparations. The show is going to be engaging. Curator Nina Zak Laddon has done it again, producing a magical experience. The reception is this Friday, Sept. 2nd from 5-8pm, in the Redondo Beach Historic Library building in Veteran’s Park, in South Redondo. I’ll be pouring wine during the reception from 6:30-8pm, so please consider dropping by if you are local. The CA 101 Show is located at 309 Esplanade, Redondo Beach, CA 90277.
August 1, 2022
My painting of “Suffragette Alice Paul” was awarded an honorable mention certificate from the judge of the Destination Art Associates’ Show in June and July.
There is a YouTube video of me discussing my painting, “Children Branching Out,” which was also featured last month in the Destination Art Associates’ Show: https://youtu.be/kPkQ-r2kDEk
“Suffragette Alice Paul” and “Shopping with Mommy” were accepted to an online show with “Artopia”, put on by the San Fernando Valley Arts and Cultural Center, which runs from Aug. 1st through August 31st. View the show at: https://sfvacc.org/events/artopia-2022. The virtual artist’s reception is August 7th, from 5-7pm PST.
The Carlsbad-Oceanside Art League (COAL) show accepted both of the portraits I entered, “Suffragette Alice Paul” and “On the Beach.” The reception will be Sunday, August 7th, from 3-5pm. The show runs from Aug. 3rd through Sept. 4th. The location is 300 Carlsbad Village Drive, Suite 101, Carlsbad. Let me know if you would like to ride with Mike and me to the reception or meet us there for dinner.
“Shopping with Mommy” was accepted for the CA 101 show in September. The in-person reception for this show will be Friday, Sept. 2nd at the Redondo Beach Historic Library building.
This month, I’ll be adding “Bridget’s Apple Tree” to the store.
My current project is a portrait of LA Philharmonic conductor Gustavo Dudamel. I have been told I shouldn’t show an unfinished painting, but one of my girlfriends expressed an interest in my painting process, so I’m including a photo of the unfinished painting. I first drew Dudamel and then proceeded to paint over the drawing.
The Story of My Painting, Almost Shirtsleeve Weather (See Page 1 of Store)
I had just finished a painting of my older brother’s step-grandson, Alex, and decided to try a new one inspired by the same family. I found an image that, if modified, would be the spitting images of the mother and older sister of Alex, the boy in my previous painting, which I named “Child’s Play.” I made up the background for the new painting, which depicted a typical British Isles landscape, with clouds, fog, and a hint of blue skies. My figures were in shirtsleeves, so I decided to title the painting “Almost Shirtsleeve Weather (ASW),” to capture the enthusiasm of folks living in cold weather when they encounter the first hint of spring. I had a bit of fun with the lower left corner of the painting, where I imitated a landscape squiggle that is like the one in the lower left corner of the “Mona Lisa.”
“ASW” won 3rd place at Front Porch Gallery, which was the first time I had entered the painting in a juried show. It was accepted along with both of the other paintings I had entered, “Child’s Play” and “A Muse.” The Judge was Nancy Hillis, MD, a psychiatrist who creates non-objective (abstract) paintings, so I was surprised she liked my hyper-realistic painting. That same year, I entered “ASW” in the 2019 Torrance Artists’ Guild’s annual show for members, and it won The Higbee Award, an award with a cash value that Judge, Bob Mackie, gave to paintings of some merit, but not in the ranking for place winners. In that same show, the other painting I entered, “Soy Nativo de California” won second place in the show. “ASW” was also accepted to The Pasadena show this same year. The Pasadena show did not offer awards.
Subsequently, “Almost Shirtsleeve Weather” was accepted for the CA 101 show in 2019. It was also accepted to a Carlsbad Oceanside Art League’s show in 2021. That same year, it was shown in the Associates Show at Destination Art in 2021. The judge was Desmond O’Hagan, who awarded “ASW” first place in the Emerging Artists’ division. The other painting that I entered in that show, “Child’s Play,” won the Art Lover’s Choice Award.
This year, “ASW” was accepted to the Thousand Oaks Community Gallery show in May 2022 and the South Bay Festival of Arts/TOCA Fine Arts 2022 Juried Show for June 2022. “ASW” is about ready to retire, since most shows require that paintings entered be completed with the past few years.
July 1, 2022
I completed my painting of the Redondo Beach Historic Library building, only to learn that contrary to the past two times when I participated in this activity with the same group, on this occasion, the paintings weren’t collected from the artists to be sold at auction. Instead, publicity was generated by the plein air event and posted on the FB website. This was what the Friends of the Redondo Beach Arts group was after. The artists are free to do whatever they wish with their paintings. It could be yours for a couple hundred—lol.
The second painting I finished in June was “Shopping with Mommy.”
I had paintings accepted into two shows in June. The South Bay Festival of Arts, put on by the Torrance Cultural Arts Center, took place on June 25th, and I thought the collection of paintings was remarkably good. There were a handful of wonderful portraits, which is unusual for a local art show. My piece, “Almost Shirtsleeve Weather,” was in good company.
The other show is still ongoing. It is at Destination Art in Torrance, and can also be viewed online. I have two paintings in this show: “Suffragette Alice Paul” and “Children Branching Out.”
Destination Art made videos of artists discussing their paintings in the current show. They published the video clip of me discussing my painting, “Suffragette Alice Paul.” The link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjbUsOxWi-c.
The Destination Art show has an art lover’s choice award. I hope you’ll take time to look at this show and possibly vote for one of my two paintings, “Suffragette Alice Paul” or “Children Branching Out.” Feel free to choose another painting if you prefer it. To vote, go to https://www.destination-art.net/associates-show-2022 On the screen that pops up for the Associate Artists 2022 Exhibition you’ll see a turquoise blue box that says “Art Lovers, Click Here to Vote for Your Favorite Painting.”
Bridget Duffy and I enjoyed a plein air painting session June 22 at the South Coast Botanic Gardens. We spent a lovely afternoon painting, but unfortunately, I don’t yet have a finished painting to show.
June 2, 2022
My art activities for May included showing my paintings in two shows, one virtual and one in person. The in-person show was at the Thousand Oaks Community Gallery and was put on by the Thousand Oaks Art Association. The online show was sponsored by the California Art League, a group I joined during the pandemic. This show has the theme, “Reflections,” which I chose to interpret as the inner musings of a person. Both of the pieces I entered in this show were accepted: “Suffragette Alice Paul” and “A Day in Paris.” The second painting is an older one of mine, but last month, I reworked some aspects of Doris Day’s face, hair, and hands with which I had grown dissatisfied.
“Almost Shirtsleeve Weather” was accepted for the Thousand Oaks Art Association Show.
“Suffragette Alice Paul” in the California Art League’s Show, Reflections
“A Day in Paris” in the California Art League’s Show, Reflections
I was accepted to two additional shows that will take place in June. One is the Destination Art Annual Associate Artists’ Show in Torrance and the other is The South Bay Festival of Arts show in Torrance. Both shows are in-person.
On May 28th, I participated in a plein air painting event with a dozen other local artists. We all painted the Redondo Beach Historic Library located in Veteran’s Park. This event was a fundraiser for the Friends of the Redondo Beach Arts. The artists agreed to donate their paintings for a silent auction, intended to raise money for the CA 101 show in September, which is put on by The Friends of the Redondo Beach Arts. The last time it was held, in 2019, this show was cited by our local paper, The Daily Breeze, as the best art show in the area. I have to agree that each year the show has been spectacular. The silent auction will be held on June 10th at a lovely Redondo Beach home. Details can be found on the Friends of Redondo Beach website.
The Redondo Beach Historic Library was designed by architect Lovell Pemberton and opened in July of 1930. A three-story building, the library has a combination of Spanish and Dutch colonial styles with arched windows and gables on its north and south wings. Art Deco moldings adorn the front facade, and windows are set in almost every wall to allow unrestrained views of the bay. The library served Redondo Beach residents for sixty years, until a new library was built on Pacific Coast Highway. A Moreton Bay Fig tree to the left of the building is itself a registered landmark.
April 26, 2022
This month, I completed two paintings: Suffragette Alice Paul (4/12/22) and Moon Rising Before Sunset at Harbor Lake (4/19/22).
In 2020, I ran across a remarkable sepia photo of Alice Paul, circa 1915. I was quite taken with Alice Paul’s determined gaze, combined with her frilly outfit and slim waist. There seemed to be a dynamic tension between her fierce expression and her delicate femininity. I wanted to capture that. I cropped the photo and began my effort. Eventually, I decided to add color. I had learned through Wikipedia that Alice was known for her violet eyes. I used Elizabeth Taylor’s famously violet eyes as a model for the color. The background in the photo was so blurred and odd-looking that I decided to alter it somewhat.
Alice Paul lived long enough to play a role in the writing of the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1923, in Seneca Falls for the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the 1848 Woman’s Rights Convention, Alice Paul introduced the first version of the Equal Rights Amendment, which was called the “Lucretia Mott Amendment” at the time. In 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment, designed to guarantee protection against sexual discrimination for women under the law, passed both houses of Congress and was sent to the individual states for ratification.
On April 15th, I had an opportunity to join members of the California Art Club to paint a full moon that was expected to rise before the sun set. I had not tried painting a landscape in potentially dim light, but was excited about trying it. My painting buddy, Bridget, and I sat side-by-side, with half dozen other painters within a 20-foot space. It was challenging to make something interesting out of a lake shore lined with non-descript trees and other greenery.
My painting, “Almost Shirtsleeve Weather, was accepted for a show in the Thousand Oaks area. I’ll be at the reception on May 15th from 1-3pm.
March 25, 2022
” Two new paintings were completed in March: “Naked Coral Tree at South Coast Botanic Gardens” and “La Familia Ranch, San Luis Obispo.”
February 2, 2022
During this plein air outing in August of 2021, I was with my artist friend, Bridget Duffy. There was plenty of yellowed grass in the open fields, but the area around the creek had plenty of water, which turned it a lush green. In the distance is Morro Rock, in the middle-ground you see a Snowy Egret, which I think may be my favorite bird, because of its long, slim, elegant look and its intriguing movements. The Egret was not in this position. It was facing the two ducks and behind them far enough to be out of the scene, but I so much desired to place the bird I admired into this painting.
I abandoned this piece for several months to work on other paintings and then picked it up again in January. It was completed January 31, 2022. An artist friend of mine, Shelley Lawrence, described this painting as having some dreamlike qualities to it. I love that depiction and see that quality in it myself.
January 21, 2022
One of my paintings was selected to appear in the 2022 Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff Reference Catalog. (Click inside the box to scroll down through the paintings.)
CJAS_2022-Art-GalleryJanuary 13, 2022
Palos Verdes Library District Annual Community Art Show – November –December 2021
My painting, “African Mother in a Blue Dress, ” was given an honorable mention.
October 30, 2021
Our friends, Ray and Dale, accompanied us to the Anaheim Art Association’s annual show, where I had two paintings accepted: “Jane Goodall and an Infant Chimp” and “Soy Nativo de California.”
October 26, 2021
Our Torrance Artists’ guild art show reception took place on October 23rd. Our photographer took photos of the award winners. I’m pictured with my painting, “On the Beach.”
October 18, 2021
The Palos Verdes Library District Art Show 2021. November 10-December 31st., 10am-4pm. 701 Silver Spur Road, Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274. The two pieces of mine that will be in the show are “African Mother in a Blue Dress” and Chelsea on the Verge”.
October 19, 2021
The Torrance Artists’ Guild’s annual show is online now and will be available for viewing throughout October. I invite you to see what our artists have been creating. Please be sure to visit and vote for your favorite painting.
Torrance Artists‘ Guild Online Art Show Dates: Monday, October 4 through Sunday, October 31 (view through the Destination Art website at www.destination-art.net), with an in-Person Show Reception: October 23, 2021, 1-3pm (at the Torrance Civic Center Garden Rooms, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance, CA) There will be refreshments and live entertainment. A slide show of the online entries will be running on a large-screen TV and the winning artwork will be present “in person”.
I have two paintings in this show: “Children in a Tree” and “On the Beach” As the current president of this art group. “On the Beach” won an Honorable Mention award, so it will be at the show.
Honorable mention award winner.
October 11, 2021
I had two paintings accepted for the Anaheim Art Association show. The in-person reception is on Oct. 30th. My two paintings that were accepted for the show will be on view until Nov. 7th at 250 E. Center Street, Anaheim CA 92805 . These paintings are “Jane Goodall with an Infant Chimp” and “Soy Nativo de California”.
September 23, 2021
My painting, “African Mother in a Yellow Dress” was accepted for an online art show put on by the California Art League, with the theme of Light and Shadow. I became a member of this group when they accepted my painting, “Child’s Play” for their spring 2021 show, which had the theme: “Sublime”.
The current show will be available from October 1st through December 31, 2021 on the California Art League web site, www.californiaartleague.org. After that date, the exhibit will be in CAL’s archives.
ARTISTS’ RECEPTION: There will be a virtual (on-line) reception on Friday, October 8, 2021 between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. on Zoom Video. All participating artists are invited to attend. Each exhibiting artist will be given approximately 1 minute to talk about their work. Details will follow.
September 15, 2021
I had one painting accepted to the Carlsbad-Oceanside Art League’s 69th Open Juried Fine Arts Show. That painting is “Almost Shirtsleeve Weather” and can be seen in person from Sept. 1st-Oct. 3rd at
Carlsbad-Oceanside Art League,
300 Carlsbad Village Drive
Suite 101,
Carlsbad, California
June 15 2021
People’s Choice Award Winner
In addition to winning First Place in the Destination Art annual show, with “Almost Shirtsleeve Weather”, I won The People’s Choice Award in the same show for my other painting, “Child’s Play”.
June 12, 2021
TAG Award Winner
My painting, “Righetti Ranch Road, San Luis Obispo (off Orcutt Road), won the People’s Choice Award for the month of June, 2021 in my art group’s competition among members. The group is called the Torrance Artists’ Guild, and I’m its president this year.
This painting was done “en plein air” and is part of a series of scenes in the San Luis Obispo area. Other paintings in the series include “San Luis Obispo in January After Rain,” San Luis Obispo Barn on Miossi Ranch,” “Chamisal Vineyard in San Luis Obispo,” “Wolff Winery in San Luis Obispo,” Pismo Beach Butterfly Preserve,” Greengate Farms, San Luis Obispo,” “Montaña de Oro State Park,” and “Morro Bay Inlet”.
May 24, 2021
The Destination Art Emerging Artists first place winner was Tricia Alexander, with Almost Shirtsleeve Weather. The artist judging the artwork was Desmond O’Hagan, of Denver, Colorado, who is a familiar figure to Southern California artists, as he frequently offers workshops here and at other locations across the country.
The show is online and in person through June 12th. Destination Art is located at 1815 West 213th Street, Suite 135, Torrance CA 90501 (You may reserve your time and date for an in-person viewing by sending an email to LocalArtists@destination-art.net) For online viewing, go to https://www.destination-art.net/
May 8, 2021
California Art League’s show “Sublime” accepted “Child’s Play” and “Almost Shirtsleeve Weather” for their online show. The show runs from May 5th to June 5th.
May 7, 2021
I had “Child’s Play” accepted to the Ode to Spring online show at the Huse Skelly Gallery. It begins on May 8th. See it at https://www.huseskellygallery.com.
I had two paintings accepted for the Associate Artists 2021 Exhibition at Destination Art. The show goes from May 3rd through June 12th. The paintings are “Child’s Play” and “Almost Shirtsleeve Weather”.
It is in the gallery and online.
Destination Art
1815 West 213th Street, Suite, 135,
Torrance, CA 90501.
April 16, 2021
I had two paintings accepted to a show with the theme “Models in Motion.” They are “Joshua at Play” and “Child’s Play.” Please visit the exhibit at www.sfvacc.org any time between now and Friday, April 30. This will be exclusively an on-line exhibit.
April 13, 2021
My painting, “African Mother in a Blue Dress” won the People’s Choice Award this month in my art group’s monthly competition. The group is called the Torrance Artists’ Guild.
This painting was part of a three-painting series of African mothers and their infants. The other two paintings are “African Mother in a Yellow Dress” and African Mother in a White Dress”. Later, I expanded my series to include mothers and infants who were not African.