mARTa's Art

On this last day of the year, the decade; I thought a nice long hike would be a great way to finish out the year. Aside from 2 surgeries this year and the minor aches and pains of growing older; it has been a good year. I find myself very blessed with family, friends and health.

So here's to a New Year, the second decade of the 21st century and to a long and happy life! May you all be blessed this coming year!

Yesterday instead of hitting all the 'after Christmas sales,' two of my children joined me for a short hike at the North Etiwanda Preserve in Rancho Cucumonga, Ca. It was a very easy hike thanks to the running I've been doing lately.

I was glad I took along my new moleskine as this little flower makes for a great start to a new sketchbook. I have neglected my painting and sketching since I began seriously running a couple of months ago. I really need to find room for both loves.

Yesterday I treated my friends Diane and Dawn to a day at the Huntington Library and Gardens. I made reservations for High Tea to end our day. This was my Christmas gift to my good friends.
We paused during our wandering to enjoy the Zen Garden and sketch the Ginkgo trees.

The latest editions to my large watercolor moleskine sketchbook that I began this summer while on a road trip through the american southwest. We left Death Valley for a fall visit because we certainly didn't want to visit when it's 125F in the shade!

This past week Rudy and I took off for a few days in our little trailer "the casita", to visit Death Valley National Park. What a marvelous place we found it to be. This vast desolate wilderness is right in our own back yard! What took us so long to go there?

After a wonderful 5 days at the beach I came home to quickly pack for a canoe/camping trip down the Colorado River's Black Canyon; starting at Hoover Dam and ending about 14 miles down river. As you can read on the sketch journal entry the water was calm and clear.

9 x 11 inches, pastel on pastel card.

This is my favorite little girl, my grand-niece Annie

Working on pastel card from photo, computer screen and conte sketch. Reflected on the computer screen is the backyard swimming pool. With the temperature at 104f I am tempted to take a break and go for a swim!

This little girl was playing shy. Her mother, the fruit vendor, had given her approval for me to snap a few photographs.
This will be the next in my series of Guatemalan paintings. Because of the angle of her face I wanted to sketch her out with conte on bristol board first.

Pastel on pastel card, approx. 9 x 11 inches

This little girl and her older sister were very gracious to let me take their photo, if I bought a trinket from them. It was worth it I think.

I do like this but I might have gone a bit heavy with the pastel application. My goal here was not to let the yellow scarf bounce off her face to much and make her sallow. She was quiet and sweet unlike her sister the business manager!

pastel on Canson Mi Tienes
approx 17x23 inches

Final rendering of painting begun months ago. Going under glass today :)

I"m thought I'd have another go at this. This is much smaller, aprox 9x10 inches, done on pastel card. I do like this surface much better. I might have to buy a large sheet! I do like this one better than the first but I'm still not satisfied with it. I think I need to move on for now.

I'm not as happy with this piece. I'm really searching for a support that will work for how I want to paint. This is on streatched wc paper with pastel ground toned with cad red. appr. size 15 x 17. Back to the drawing board!

This pastel painting was done on 300lb arches watercolor paper prepared with Golden acrylic pastel ground and toned with burnt sienna. A much rougher surface than the suede mat board. I really like the rough texture here. This piece is quite small (5 x 7 inches) as I was just 'experimenting' today. I have a large support already prepared for the next pastel painting.

I attended Alicia Sotherland's pastel portrait workshop today in San Clemente, Ca.
I had a lot of fun and was grateful my friend Dianne attended also, for she drove and hauled supplies for me.
We worked with nu-pastels on suede matboard. Interesting. No preliminary sketch but began by putting in the background with a dark and finding our shapes. Alicia was a great teacher and I found myself really picking up some good tips. Alicia is a hands on teacher so she had a bit of a "hand" in this piece. This was from a photo from my trip to Guatemala in 2008

Aidan and Adam helped me by picking some ripe tomatoes from the garden this morning. I grabbed my moleskine wc sketchbook and my new Daniel Smith Watercolor Sticks samples I ordered and gave them a try. I think I'm going to love them!!

Summer 2009

A two week road trip that took us to some beautiful places in the desert southwest. Our travels took us from Riverside, California through Las Vegas, NV, three national parks in Utah and two national monument. Then to Colorado stopping at 4 corners and then Mesa Verde NP. Into New Mexico spending time near Taos, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque. Heading home we went to the Painted Desert, Petrified Forest and Grand Canyon National Parks before reaching home by the 4th of July. All sketches were done on site. Only a few were done using photo reference and I will note that on those sketches.

Just a quick watercolor sketch of my constant model: a sea shell. I think I'm going to take the schminke watercolor box with me on the road trip because I have more colors in it than the W&N travel one.

Not only are we going to reap the benefits of all the tasty vegetables growing in our garden, but I am going to have fun sketching them before eating them!

But my friend Dianne (Desiree) came over this afternoon to visit over glasses of Sangria and to tell me all about her recent trip to Europe.  I've missed her the past few weeks and am so happy to have her back!  She came bearing gifts:  Macaroons from Paris as I requested (they were yummy!) and a surprise from Italy,  the new 8 1/2 x 12 inch watercolor moleskine!  I haven't seen this in the US yet!  Oh I'm just so excited about the possibilities!  I feel like I"m the first kid on the block to own one!!!!!  Thank you dear friend!!!

22x22 inches watercolor and pastel on Killimanjaro 300lb cp paper from Cheap Joe's.

Another art class assignment done!

"Ante tu altar me postro, gloriosa Santa Marta, para bendecir a Dios que se dignoó atesorar en tu alma gracías especíales."  Before your altar I kneel, glorious Saint Marta, to bless God who choose to bestow on your soul special graces.

On Monday May 10th I had an appointment at the Jules Stein Eye Institute of UCLA for a consult on controlling my persistent battle with congenital glaucoma.  I was there from 10am to 6pm for this first visit.  When all was done the specialist said, "We will be doing emergency surgery on Wednesday."  So on Tuesday I spent the day getting all the pre-op exams and tests done.  Along with all this I had a previously scheduled appointment with a gynecologist because of the persistent uterine bleeding I've been experiencing for a few months now, despite the use of hormones.  Well, that didn't go so well as she decided to do a biopsy then and there and send me next week for a trans pelvic ultrasound.  Back up, one step at a time, just breath.

All done!

Today we were to do something experimental in figure painting class. I chose to do a self portrait using cray-pas oil pastels on Walis paper. I used the cray-pas to sketch out the portrait and used turpentine for blending and toning. I also used a little oil paint in areas like the shirt and the eyes. I loved the Walis paper. the oil pastel/paint lifted easily when dabbed with turpentine and lifted with a rag. I don't know how good the cray-pas oil pastels are, as far as artist quality, but this was lots of fun to do!

5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, pastel on pastel card.

While he was sleeping the other day I quickly sketches him in pastel pencil and blocked in the values. I took some photos for reference and continued building up the layers referring to the photo. It's a bit muddy as I had a hard time with the colors. He has really wild hair and I exaggerated that with movement and color!

I also got to practice cutting a double mat. I need to be a bit more careful but it turned out pretty good. I just need to get a frame for this.



ps: Dottie is doing better too!

The heat takes a lot out of me.  Surprising that aside from wiping me out yesterday, I slept like a log to wake at 7 this morning.  With the sun already hot and bright I set out for a long walk.  When I got back I put on a pot of coffee and went out to peek at the garden.  I know, a watched pot won't boil, but I was pleasantly surprised to find some radishes sprouting after just a few days of planting the seeds!  Then I tended to our Dottie who is quite ill right now with something called "old dog vestibular syndrome".   My heart is heavy hoping she gets better soon.  

Sent from me and my cool iPhone

Pregnant model. Twin girls due in Sept. 2009
11x14 inches, oil on canvas.

This was the all day pose for today's figure painting class. As usual, the day runs out and none of us finish our painting. The model was sweet and said she really liked this painting I did of her.

Pastel on masonite hardboard primed with gesso and pastel ground medium, 9x12 inches.
I'm awful at doing flowers, as can be attested to here. I didn't like working on the hardboard with the pastel ground. It was rougher than I expected. I might try again with subject matter that would be more amiable to a 'rough' depiction....like the old iron!

Pastel on pastel card, approx. 4 1/2 x 6 inches.  

I am participating in an art exchange with some online artist friends. This is my first contribution and it went to Sherry at  Late B(l)oomer in exchange for her beautiful rooster on yupo paper!

Spent the day doing homework. This is a master study of Sargent's Madame Gautreau in watercolor. Mine is 5 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches.

drawing class assignment. This is 3 point perspective. I imagined a futuristic  city.

18x24 inches, oil on masonite board.
Not a good photo as I only had my iphone with me in class today.  And yes, this is from life.

16.5 x 22 inches, Pastel on charcoal paper

9x12 inch oil on hardboard prepared with pastel ground and toned with acrylic.

24x18 inches, oil on masonite panel

Very busy with mid term papers and assignments.

Nice how he posed for me huh? Actually, I took the reference photo by holding the camera lens up to the eyepiece of one of those 'drop a quarter in telescope' at the Wild Animal Park. He was fun to do and now he belongs to my little grand-nephew Aidan.

approx. 6.5 x 8 inches, pastel on canson mi tienes