I've been TAGGED!

"Celo Citrus" 6x6" Pastel

TAG, you're it!
This week I came back from Thanksgiving break to find out that I had been tagged by a fellow artist, Loriann Signori, who somehow found my blog in this huge pool of talent on the internet. I'm always amazed when someone finds my blog, coming from anywhere on this planet to comment on my artwork. I'm extremely grateful for anyone who visits and offers comments on my blog, bringing the artist community closer. So, without further adoo...

Here are the rules for being tagged.

You need to:
1. Put a link in your posting to the person who tagged you. Check out my tagger Loriann's blog.
2. List 7 unusual things about yourself.
3. Tag up to 7 other bloggers at the end of your post and comment
on their blogs to let them know.

So, here are some truths about me you may not know...

1. I'm short. I've always been short. I'll never forget when I was in 3rd grade I was called "shrimphead" by a mean boy, and I still remember how it made me feel.... Yucky! I've since overcome my height with confidence in who I am. Oh, 5'0" is my vertical dimension by the way, and I love having tall friends!

2. I love Green Tea Latte's. If I could have one everyday, I'd be in heaven. I must confess, sometimes I have to dig for spare change in my kids closets for just that one GTL fix.

3. When I was in 2nd grade, I drove my bike into a cactus! I was not very confident on the bike and this cactus had some long branches that hung over the curb, taunting me to fall into it. So I did. Just of late, my Dad told me that I was a kind of clumbsy kid, and so I guess he's right. I did get pricked near my eye, nose and mouth, but the doctor was able to patch me up leaving barely any scaring. Thank goodness my eye wasn't poked out!

4. Some 18 years after the cactus incident, my husband and I rode our mountain bikes down the entire Oregon Coast in 10 days. It was a great and challenging vacation trip and am so proud that I did it. Now, these days my only biking is done once a year for the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure.

5. When I was about 9 years old, I visited Disneyland and I saw portrait artists painting people's portraits right there in the town square. I secretly wanted to be a portrait artist painting at Disneyland when I grew up. Well...I do paint portraits, but not often enough.....and I'd still love to work for Disneyland...maybe.

6. When I retire (as if artists ever retire), I want to live in San Luis Obispo, CA. This sleepy college town warms my heart on the Central Californian coast. I love the coast line whether foggy or sunny. It always washes away my stresses. And it's an incredible area for plein-air painting.

7. I love spending time with my husband of 21 years. Is this unusual? Maybe for some, but not for us. We recently spent 3 days dating while the kids were in school prior the long Thanksgiving break. He's my biggest art supporter, for if it weren't for him I wouldn't have moved into this profession.

Now, I'm tagging these 7 artists, so be sure to visit their blogs!

1. Celeste Bergin Celeste paints in oils and is a plein-air artist in Portland, Oregon (where I live). I think she was just tagged by someone else, so she may have already posted.
2. Carol Marine Oil painter in a loose, clever style. Daily painter too!
3. Gretha Lindwood Gretha is one of my tall friends who is my painting buddy. Be sure to stop by and comment on her new pastel blog!
4. Margaret Dyer Pastels and and occasional oil. Incredible figurative painter whom I have admired from afar.
5. Bill Cone. I have found Bill's pastel work to be very intuitive and refreshing.
6. Michael King Michaels ubber-realism in pastels is incredible!
7. Michael Orwick. Michael and I are neighbors. Oils in the plein air and fantasy genre.


Oh, and I forgot, "Celo Citrus" is available unframed, $75.00

By Way of Water (study), 6x6

"By Way of Water" 6x6 Pastel

There's something about tree tops that I've been paying more attention to lately. This gravitation to a subject or object and studying it intimately is how I learn about being a more effective painter. I am discovering that they are a bit lighter on the top, like the sun has put a veil over them, and they are a bit blurrier too. Something like a little smudge of the pastel wouldn't cure. I think if I give them a light dusting on the tops, gives the trees a heightened effect. Available unframed through Paypal, $75.00.

Roll Call (study), 6x6

"Roll Call" 6x6", Pastel on sanded paper

Well, I do have another study of a farm, but this one comes from the Image Reference Library on Wetcanvas. As posted below from my Open Studio series, a good number of the previous small studies were images taken from this library. All are copyright-free photos, available to study from. This library is quite the resource for artists. This little barn has seen better days, with it's slumpy roofline. My husband came up with the title "Roll Call" and so it is!
Offered through PayPal, unframed, $75.00.

Color Field II (study), 6x6

"Color Field, study II" 6x6", pastel on sanded paper

This is the last and final study of my small farm studies. This particular one is so colorful! I'm really liking the combination of colors and the warm and cool play of the landscape. I started this one off with a vibrant red underpainting in the field area, and a yellow underpainting in the sky. I'm pretty close to making a LARGE series of these studies. Maybe... we'll see. Anyway, I can't hold myself down to any particular direction now, but maybe that's just what I need. $75.00, unframed.

Ponderosa Hillside (study), 6x6

Ponderosa Hillside", 6x6" Pastel on sanded paper

Have you ever spent time in the California Sierras? The climate is very hot in the summer months, and I wanted to portray the temperature in my painting "Ponderosa Hillside". It's reminiscent of my visits camping in the Lake Tahoe area as a kid. Oh, the beautiful area that takes all your troubles away, washing out the business of city life. If this piece seems familiar, that is because this is my pastel demonstration #3 that I painted on my second day of Portland Open Studios. Now it's completed, giving it the much needed color and detail. $75.00, unframed.