What A Year!

 

 Unfurling

30 x 30

 

With all that has been going on in life this year I finally got to spend some time in my studio and finished up this little beauty.  It's a white Dahlia with so many interesting shapes and soft soothing colors.  I needed a calming painting like this right now.....how about you?

Paris Painting Returns to Paris (Kind of)

Song - Little French Song by Carla Bruni

I had a happy surprise several months ago when a woman named Isabelle contacted me through my painting website.  She was wondering about purchasing a painting that I did a number of years ago.  Unfortunately that specific painting had sold several years ago so besides making sure she was legit and not some hacker, I did my research and put on my thinking cap.  Isabelle has a French language business in Paris and she is a tutor.  She wanted my painting for her website.

Here was my solution.....anything sent to Paris would be incredibly expensive to send and since she only needed an image of this painting (which I still own the copyright on) I offered to send her a high resolution copy for a nominal fee while the money transaction would go through PayPal.  She was very happy with that idea and the most charming thing is that we still email each other every few weeks wondering how each of us is dealing in this time of craziness!

If you would like to take a French language class in Paris or on Skype her contact is here:

https://french-in-paris.com/

New Exhibit

I paint with a group of amazing women artists and occasionally we hang exhibits together. 

After waiting 2-3 years for a show at the Orinda Library Gallery BASA's name finally came up.

We were due to hang on March 31st and then the pandemic hit.

So with Covid-19 on everyone's mind we decided to take what we have been working so hard on and give you a virtual show. How creative is that!

Here is the link: Click Me!

During this stressful time I hope our video gives you a moment to relax.

Stay well......Jeanette

Morning Light

Morning Light - 30x30

Several weeks ago I was on Instagram and I came across a photo of the most amazing peonies which were lit so dramatically that I instantly fell in love.  Wendy Straderick from Essex in the UK, politely gave me permission to paint from her glorious photo. You can follow Wendy at wendysgrandgardens on Instagram.

I just finished this beauty today and it's patiently drying on my studio counter.

The Show is Hung

Artist Joanne Taeuffer and myself hung our new show at the Orinda Library Art Gallery on Monday.
The show is titled -  The 21st Century Flâneurs.

Lucky for us we brought along two Sherpa helpers and all looks great for the reception on Sunday!
Hope you can join us at the Orinda Library on Sunday, July 7th from 2:30 to 4:30.  There will be light refreshments and cold drinks.

Two other artists will be showing in the gallery cases.  Above is Kath Balamuth's beautiful work and below are the talents of Elaine & Robert Drew who are illustrators. 

There is a lot of new work to look at!  Hope you get a change to make it to the reception but if you're away for the weekend, please try and stop by the library sometime in July!

Orinda Library, 26 Orinda Way, Orinda CA 94563

Open Daily

M-Th 10 am - 8 pm, F & Sat 10 am - 6 pm, Sun 1 pm - 5 pm

21st Century Flâneurs

I will be showing at the Orinda Library's wonderful gallery during the month of July!  A good friend and fellow painter, Joanne Taeuffer will be joining me for a fresh show entitled ...

As you can see, we both paint in different styles and bring our individual points of view to our work.  Joanne often seeks out quirkiness and bold color while I tend to look for beauty and calm.....I raised three boys so I wonder why I need calm in my life!


PS - the impressionist flâneur  was someone who strolled through the modern world and observed and recorded that world.  We hope also to be such passionate spectators of the everyday!

Bit by Bit

 In 2013 our family took a fishing trip to Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana.  This barn struck me as an old working beauty.  It was located near Victor, Idaho where we were staying.

It overlooks the majestic Tetons, foothills and lots of pasture land.

I would love to know it's history but I didn't think to ask anyone at the time.  It probably isn't standing any longer as it looked like one more winter might do her in.

So I painted it for a show I was doing in Danville, California called "Barn Dance" but I was never happy with the painting.

I kept playing with the mountains in the background. Then it stuck me that there was no entry into the barn (this was the back and I loved the view of the mountains).

So I added a door and lived with it for awhile.....but it was still too stagnant for me......

"The Old Guard" - 40 x 30

Two years ago I added a fence and a road and lowered the mountains.  I lived with that for awhile......mmmm......still there was something needed. I felt that this painting had a lot going for it so it was worth working with.  And yesterday I added cow.......there it is! Some humanity.....life!

Ahhh...I can breathe again.....how about you?

The above photo is from the show "Barn Dance" with the group of women I paint with -  Bay Area Studio Artists!

They are amazing!!!