the artist's dog

My faithful studio companion got too close to my palette and stuck his head into a pool of cadmium red light.

It doesn't show up much in this photo, but it looks like he has a bleeding ear.

Could this be his halloween costume this year?

He is posing for us in front of one of my sunflower paintings in progress.

warmer yet

My front yard looks as though giant paint tubes of cadmium red and cadmium yellow have exploded and splattered everywhere. I have a wonderful maple tree that is giving me so much pleasure this week. I gathered leaves today just to marvel at the colors, nothing I can paint will capture this complexity and brilliance. I scanned some of my leaves just to save this moment and share.

warmest

A very large, very warm canvas of a huge hibiscus flower.

(Maybe I should wait and post this painting in the middle of January, when I will really need the heat.)

I intend to display this one at my big show in December.

48"x48" acrylic on canvas

warmer

The fall colors in the Chicago area where I live are just now peaking. It doesn't matter if the sky is clear and blue or overcast and murky gray, the colors are really intense. I can enjoy the effect of a brilliant red maple on a rainy dark day even more. Or, the thrill of nearly black wet tree trunks that contrast with yellow and gold foliage along the roadside.

Another detail that I scanned off a much larger painting of another hibiscus flower. And this is really how brilliant the colors are that I can see from my studio window today.

warm

Lovely October days make you happy to feel the warmth of the sun and to see the red and gold colors. This is a plus factor about living in the Northern Illinois area.

I am painting a series for my big show in December. Lots of sunflowers, which I will show as I finish.

And this is a detail from a very warm tone painting of a hibiscus flower. I didn't get a photo of the whole thing, but I like this snippet of the texture and edges.

The new design

I redesigned my website. My family calls this effort my "hobby". It is true that I am frequently working on it and months go by without anything to show for it. Isn't it also true that it is hardest to design something (like promotional material) for yourself?

A wise friend finally said to me "Think of it as just one of many websites you will do, not your ONLY one" Good advice. That does take the pressure off somewhat.

I thought about that advice when I ran the Chicago Marathon, (I have finished 3 times now) and it helped to think "this isn't my only chance, I can try again". So enjoy the race while you are out there, don't think of it as the only time you'll ever run it. (Pardon me for bragging on my own blog.)

So there it is, another attempt to show my stuff on my website and naturally as soon as it is up and running I will want to change it all again.