Yes, it has been awhile. Nearly three months in Brazil, where it isn't always samba and sunshine. Winter storms, mindboggling bureaucracy, and a public transportation system that doesn't always go where you want to go; everything seems to take at least twice as long as it should. It all balances out though. There's lots of great stuff too. Like the art supply store and gallery that's not far from me here, Arte Cedraz . I've met some wonderful artists that I paint with every Friday. I decided to leave my watercolors back in the States this time, since it appears no one in this area works in this medium and quality paints and paper are hard to find. So it's been acrylics for awhile. The painting above was a small warm-up piece I did there. This represents a fairly typical rural scene, more commonly seen in the interior states like Minas Gerais.
Yes, I have been remiss in my postings lately. But for good reason. I've been painting my tailfeathers off! As well as matting, framing, hanging and everything else that goes with it. I'm finishing up 6 pieces (3 watercolor and 3 acrylic) that will go into the annual El Cerrito Art Show & Sale next weekend, and now have paintings hanging at Jack London Square, Oakland, the El Cerrito Dept. of Motor Vehicles (a captive audience for sure), and at the Oakland Chamber of Commerce. And trying to squeeze in some actual painting once in a while. So this was one I did over the summer: Acrylic, 11x14" This little church is the first thing you see as you come into the tiny town of Nicasio in Marin County,located about a halfhour drive north of San Francisco. It's a favorite of artists of all media, a scene that probably hasn't changed all that much in the past hundred years.
Acrylic, 11x14 inches So, I know you've been waiting with baited breath (ew). Bated breath? Whatever. Why there haven't been any new paintings here, and only a few sketches, is because I've been secretly experimenting with a different medium. For the past few weeks I've set the watercolors aside and tried to make acrylics behave. Well of course, they don't. But now that I've finally stopped treating them like watercolors, I see some limited success. I signed up for a series of plein-air classes with Deirdre Shibano and made a commitment to at least give it a try. The first few classes were awful, not the classes per se, but because I couldn't figure out how to approach the darn canvas. Plus, the acrylics en plein air dried quickly, and I was frustrated by having to unlearn how to do the flowing washes and transparent layers of watercolor. I likened my first day's experience to pushing wads of bubblegum around with a stick. While I won't go so far a...
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