Chinatown, Boston pen ink and watercolor

I have two things going here. I'm using the sketch book to hone my drawing skills. There are no short cuts there. This drawing is from a Google Earth street view of a Chinatown street in Boston which is this month's subject of Bill Guffey's Virtual Paintout. I also broke out my sweet little 6x6 pochade box and began a painting of clothes pins which is some what in need of a tweak before I post the final version. This little box is the proto-type and will be refined to include a slide out palette. Email jfinbar@comcast.net for info on it and others like it.

Wolfie and Abba-I couldn't resist ;)

Just Sketching

I bought some of those cool sketching pens you can use with paints and started doing some pen and ink sketches for my Gallery the Art Boutique at Tin City. The original watercolor of Joanie's Blue Crab Cafe was painted last Spring and I did this pen and ink w/c this afternoon. This is a fabulous little Road House out on Rte 41 in the Everglades. If you want to see some fantastic pen and ink watercolors check out Urban Sketchers and their links. Drawing is so important and we artists tend to want to get right to the paint. It's almost like the drawing part is the sit ups and the paint is the pool ;)

Connie Hayes Interior

I've finally settled in here in Naples and today I found a set of acrylics that I have never used. I must admit that sometimes I'm at a loss as to what I should paint. I worry that I look too much like the painters I admire and it holds me back. It shouldn't. I know it's all been done and that we all bring our own view to our subjects. I decided to use the acrylics and was pleasantly surprised at how well I was able to 'feel' them. They also seem different from when I used them in Art School which was forever ago and they don't seem to change value as much as I remembered. I chose to copy a beautiful interior scene painted by the incomparable Connie Hayes, author of "Borrowed Views". What fun! 

Although I try to eschew political comments on my blog, today is Martin Luther King day and I've watched some wonderful biographical and Historical programs about him. I lived through the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and  Medgar Evers. People who had the courage of their convictions. I was young and I felt the grief. The shootings in Tucson mirror those bewildering events. The lone gunman looking for notoriety, strikes again. Changing all of our lives.

Snowed In

Virginia Sunset

We awoke to snow Sunday morning and our plan to leave early ended up being 8 am. But can I just say that my hyper-hubby was really cool about it? After a beautiful sunny drive we pulled into our fabulous pet friendly Best Western in  Fredricksburg, Virgina and had our Gerard Farms turkey sandwiches for supper. Woke up early today ready to make Brunswick, Georgia. All went well until around mile 280 of the drive when the snow began to spit and suddenly the road was covered with three inches of snow with cars skidding and sliding. I was on the phone in a flash and got us a room at the BW in Lumberton. We checked in at 12:30. Thank Heaven because North Carolina is shut down. They have one snowplow and they don't use salt. The parking lot is rutted with frozen ice and we are hunkered down until this weather clears. Seriously, snowed in in North Carolina?
Since I don't have a painting for you let me share the work of Robin J. Mitchell a fellow member of Fresh Paint Daily Painters. 

View from our room

 

 

Beach Umbrella

6x6 oil on RayMar panel $100 plus $10 S&H

 

I tried to generate a PayPal Buy Now button but there was one hitch that I couldn't resolve so email me if you are interested in this sunny beach scene. We're supposed to leave for Naples this Saturday but the forecast calls for snow Friday and Saturday so there may be a delay. Southern Florida is trending towards cold winters last year and this. Already the growers there are in crisis. So, when I go over to the beach I'll be wearing my fleece. I know, I know it's doesn't snow but...whatever ;) I'll take the barbs.

Happy New Year

Click to Bid

I've never made a New Year's resolution that I didn't abandon soon after but I do view the beginning of the year as a blank canvas so to speak. Along these lines I plan to broaden my horizons by teaching classes in my studio starting in May when I return from Naples. Teaching is a mutually satisfying exchange in which the teacher learns from the students and I can't wait to get started!! I'll post more info on that later. I also plan to spice up my blog with links I've been collecting to the many artists I admire out there in cyberspace. Today's link, which is also on my sidebar, is to Artists Helping Artists a talk radio show by artists Leslie Saeta and Dreama Tolle Perry. If you can't listen live on Thursdays all of the shows are archived and you can listen while you paint or browse the blogs. This blog has done much more than I could have have imagined when I started it. It keeps me focused and my work has improved consistently. I have to thank all of you who follow and comment and encouragement me. You make my day! Happy New Year!