Matheson Hammock Memories

A peek at the process.

I found time to paint today and was able to get the sky almost done on this big canvas. It just needs some minor tweaking where the black gesso is peeking through the highly textured areas a bit too much. Otherwise, I like it. My apologies, as this photo is not very good. It was taken tonight and the colors, brushwork and texture are lost in the poor lighting. It's much prettier in person.

As I was working on this big canvas, I got to thinking about some of the beaches I used to visit in the late 1960's as a teenager growing up in Miami.

One of them was Matheson Hammock Park.  A man-made atoll on the Biscayne Bay, near my hometown of Coral Gables. It was built in the early 1930's,  a part of President Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corp that helped put unemployed men to work during the depression.
Back in the day, it was a beautiful place to spend a day at the beach. I hear it's not quite as nice now, which is too bad, but I'm painting it as if it's still in it's heyday.

The only photo I have of me as a baby, was taken at Matheson Hammock Park. I'm in the water, being held by my mom. I've always been fascinated by that photo, probably because it's my only baby pic and because my mom looks so happy. All heck broke loose in my family a few years later, and I pretty much rarely saw my mom happy again. Heck, I rarely saw my mom at all.

Reminiscence emotions got a hold of me and I decided to change the random location of my original beach painting, to this beach at Matheson Hammock Park.
I love it when I have an emotional connection to a painting I'm working on. It takes the painting experience up a notch.
This change of location meant I had to add the sea wall/sandbar and a few palm trees and I had to make the water calm. It's almost like a tidal pool at this beach. The water softly meets the sand, so the big waves I had started in my original layout had to go bye-bye.

Before I added the sandbar and trees to the canvas, I used a technique I learned from artist Robert Vickrey. He painted with egg tempera. When he wanted to add an element to one of his paintings, (such as a hat on a child) he would often place a piece of clear acetate on his (dry) canvas, painting the idea on the acetate first, to see if he liked it. He could move the acetate around, helping him with placement, perspective and such, before he actually painted the new element directly on his canvas.
He, of course, did not use the acetate on wet paint. So, if you use this idea, let whatever medium you are using dry first. Because I use acrylic paint, which we all know, dries in a nano second, I usually don't have to wait long if I want to use the acetate.

I use 3M Transparency Write-On Film. Sold in a box of 100 sheets (8.5x10.5) for about $22. Another neat thing about these sheets is they will static cling to the canvas. Just rub the sheet around on something to activate the cling. No tape needed.


Here are my trees, sketched on an acetate sheet to see if I liked the idea or not. I put the sandbar where one of the original waves was. You can see the lights in my studio shining on the acetate sheet.

The reference photo for my original beach/umbrella idea is one I created by mashing several photos together with photoshop.

I had a photo of a plain umbrella on the beach. I wanted a patterned umbrella, one of my own design, so I replaced the plain umbrella with a polka dot umbrella I found in an advertisement. Fortunately it's perspective jived pretty good with the original (plain) umbrella so it fit in nicely.

The polka dots became perspective reference points for me so I could create the patterned umbrella correctly. I wasn't worried about copyright issues using a published photo, since it was going to be SO different from the original. It was just a perspective tool for me.

 Here's the painting from my last blogpost, before I added the sandbar and trees. I'm glad the silly cartoon clouds seen here are gone now.

Brian's latest battle with lymphoma has kept me out of the studio quite a bit, so my painting updates will be sporadic for a while.
I can't wait to find a chunk of studio time again soon as I'm really having fun with this painting.


Thanks for visiting!

"Never take time for granted, and always, everyday, let the ones you love, know it, by your actions and your words." Jenna Millward Corkill

'Lauren and the Old Piano' 2003
Acrylic on canvas

Private collection- Tucson, AZ

This is one of three paintings I entered in this month's CFAI art challenge. Two of them star our granddaughter, Lauren.
Update 3/28- The March results are in and I didn't win, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. Part of stepping outside my comfort zone this year is entering art contests and I'm doing just that. Who knows, someday, I may win one.
See all the CFAI entries submitted (including mine) here

This portrait is of three year old Lauren. She will be 16 next month, the 2nd oldest of our ten grandchildren. She is beautiful and talented young woman, who has starred in a few of my paintings. Fifteen year old Lauren is also the star of 'The Girl', a modern style portrait and another entry in the March contest. I am especially pleased that in the painting of the younger Lauren above, I was able to capture her Mom's piano and music books for posterity, as that piano is now gone and missed.

Now, on a different subject, I'm sorry to have to say, my wonderful husband, Brian, the light of my life, was told yesterday his Non-Hodgkins lymphoma has returned. 

We knew this day might come, as when they 'typed' his cancer in 2000, they told us the good news/bad news with his type of lymphoma was: 

• Good news-it doesn't like to metastasize. 
  
• Bad news-it was a persistent type that almost always comes back. 

The docs were hoping he would get 10-12 years of remission, saying that with the advances in cancer care, if/when it came back, they would have new medicines to fight it with. We got 11 years remission.

So begins another journey.

I'm not sure how much time I'll get to paint or post, but I hope I'll be able to find time to do both. I hope through this blog, to chronicle another success story for him. He has been my Superman, fighting cancer (twice) and heart disease this past decade, with courage, determination and grace. We've had three miracles and now pray for another. If any of you speak regularly with your higher power, please put in a good word for my/our Brian.

"Emma's Fireflies" 2011

10 X 10 X 1.5"

Acrylic on canvas

Original not for sale,

but prints are available here.

click image to enlarge

Yesterday, our oldest granddaughter turned 17.  An amazing, gifted singer, songwriter, piano and guitar player, she already 'glows'. She likes fireflies, so I decided to do a little painting for her birthday. As grandparents, we love to pass on words of wisdom to our grandchildren and I feel that through this painting that I will be able to 'speak' to her for many years to come.

I'm making prints to give to my other 6 granddaughters. If there's someone in your life you think would also like to have one of these, you can ORDER PRINTS HERE  through Imagekind. I also have matted, signed prints of this painting available by contacting me directly HERE . This painting is also available HERE on mugs, greeting cards and totes through Zazzle.

click image to enlarge






"First Christmas" 2004
11" x 14" x 3/4"
Acrylic on canvas
Livingstone collection- Tucson, AZ

A portrait I painted of our grandson, Trevor.  

click image to enlarge

'Brian' 2002
20" x 24"
acrylic on canvas
private collection, Tucson, Az

In 2002 I came across a photo of Brian onstage in early 1997 opening up for 'Three Dog Night" and thought it would make a neat portrait.

Brian has been a local Tucson musician since 1969... in a variety of great bands including... Hobbitt, Aftermath, Hit and Run, Tunesmith, Trilogy, The Billy Shears Band, Raven and his current band, Still Cruisin'.

Still Cruisin' plays almost every weekend at a variety of local venues. 
Visit http://stillcruisinband.vpweb.com/  to see their upcoming event schedule and if you get a chance, come out to one of the shows. Lots of great folks gathered together in clubs, having fun, dancing, visiting, and groovin' with a pict!

I am working on several paintings right now, but none are quite ready to post on this blog so I decided to repost this portrait of Brian. The original blogpost was in 2008.  A lot of visitors don't have the time to browse my blog archives, so I will occasionally dust off one of my favorites, and feature it again.

I have been working on "Peace~Richie and Me" and making great progress. I hope to have that one done and pictures posted with in a week or two. I am also working on a new 'Tall Tree' painting as I sold "Cherry Trees" this week. And last, but not least, I have started another 'whole new style' painting, one that is really making this hard to please artist quite happy. Can't wait to share at least one of these new works with you in the next week. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this encore of my 'Brian' portrait.

click on image to enlarge

"Peace~Richie and Me"
ACRYLIC ON 24" X 36" X 1.5" GALLERY STRETCHED CANVAS

~A work in progress~

My brother Richard came to visit from Durango last week. He comes down a couple of times a year and we just play and have fun the whole time he's here.

He's 9 years older than me and in 1966, when he was just 21 years old, he petitioned the courts of Dade County, Florida to become the legal guardian of both me (12 yrs old) and my little brother, Geoff (11 yrs old), rescuing us from what would probably have been many more years in Kendall, Florida's state run home for children. Our parents were hopeless alcoholics, and couldn't care for us, so the state stepped in when we were little and placed us in the dependent section of Kendall. We were there 6 years before Richie was able to get custody of us.

He's not just my brother, but a papa of sorts. I can't thank him enough for the sacrifices he made at such a young age to take on the likes of Geoff and me. We were a lot to handle and he was awesome to take on the task. I will never be able to thank him enough.

This painting is taken from an old snapshot of me sitting on his shoulders the week I turned 18 in February 1972. I'm shooting a couple of peace signs, but it sort of looks like I'm giving him rabbit ears. I am also pleased that captured for posterity will be my favorite shirt with the peace sign zipper pull, and Richard's flowered shirt. Our clothes back then were so cool! Funny, it's all back in style now.

I am once again using the Indian Yellow/Thio Violet wash technique seen in 'Tornado Road', 'View from a VW', and 'First Lesson'.

I really think most of the painting is done, except the skin tones. They are still just under- painted. I will bring out more of our features as I brighten our skin tones to the proper shades seen under full sunlight. I've also got a bit more to do on our clothes, but they're close.

I am going to leave quite a bit of this painting rough. I am liking the abstract quality of the sky and trees and although it looks unfinished, I like it. I also like how the warm washed canvas is peeking though, leaving a neat glow around my hair and our clothes. I'm not changing it. I'm thinking the rough sketched look of the background will be a neat contrast to the bit more finished look of Richie and me. We'll see. I may change my mind, but for now, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. :O)

I'm hoping to find time to finish this painting next week. Let me know by a click on the 'like it' button below if you're following this one, and I'll make it a point to stay on task. I am so easily distracted by other things, but perhaps your interest will help get this finished.

Thanks for visiting!

"BRINA" 12/2003

acrylic on canvas

This is a portrait of our granddaughter Brina... She was 6 years old at the time i painted this portrait during Christmas time 2003.... She is the third of our nine grandchildren, now 11 years old with a wonderful sense of humor, cracking one liners a lot like her grandfather Fred... she's amazingly easygoing and has a strong sense of wanting to help the world and others less fortunate than her... for the past two years in a row she has donated her beautiful long hair to the cancer society to make wigs for kids with cancer... she is truly a special child and we are very proud of her.

"KAMEA" 12/2003
acrylic on canvas
cropped detail

Brian has always said i captured lightning in a bottle with this portrait... it was the first portrait of any of our grandchildren and took just a few hours, instead of days, to complete... for reference, i used a photo of Kamea taken as she was running and playing with her sisters and cousins... she had stopped for just a moment to let me take her picture... no, she is not an armless child, she just has them behind her back... she was 2 years old at the time and is now 6... she may be the most precocious of any of our grandkids so far... an amazing child!

©

"TREVOR" 2004

acrylic on canvas

This is a portrait of our grandson, Trevor... the reference photo for this portrait was taken by our daughter Casey... she is an aspiring photographer and was playing with capturing Trevor lit just by the Christmas lights... it is one of my favorite portraits, glowing and warm... Casey would like me to paint another portrait of Trevor someday that shows his adorable face... add that to my 'to do' list of grandkid portraits... as i've mentioned in an earlier post, i still have 3 grandkids whose portraits i haven't painted yet... anyways, this was obviously Trevor's first Christmas, so he was about 9 months old... he is 5 now, just started kindergarten... whenever the family gets together for visits, he is papa's (grandpa brian) little shadow... a darling little boy!

The Art War ~ a friendly competition 
My son, Chip, is also an artist, with a degree in visual communication from the University of Arizona... while he was still in college in 1995, we were both employed by the same company....about 75 employees worked there. One day Chip and I happened to be in the break room at the same time, along with several other employees... everyone knew Chip and I were artists, and on this particular day we were discussing our current art projects... well, this child I'd brought into this world, started talking smack about who was the better artist, me or him!... back and forth it went for a few minutes until someone there suggested we have a little 'art competition' to see who was the best... so a few guidelines were decided along with a deadline and the 'art war' began..

It was decided we had 30 days to paint a 16" x 20" black and white of any dead rock and roll artist... we would then display these 2 paintings in the break room and let all our fellow employees vote for their favorite.

The day of the unveiling was so fun!... I was completely blown away by Chip's painting of Kurt Cobain and tickled by his positive reaction to my portrait of John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe... when the votes (60+) were tallied after a few days, Chip was the winner, by one vote!... I teased him that I had voted for him, so it was my vote that won it for him... then he revealed he'd voted for me!... what a sweet son!



"JOHN AND STUART" 1995
16" x 20"
acrylic on canvas
artist: Jenna Millward

My painting was based on an Astrid Kircherr photo taken in 1960... George Harrison was in the original photograph, but he was still alive in 1995. Since this painting could only include deceased rock and roll artists, I had to leave him out of the painting.



"CURT COBAIN" 1995
16" x 20"
artist: Chip Cole

If you look closely in the shadowed area of chip's Kurt Cobain painting, you will see a skull.


Below is a detail of my painting for the competition... I love painting guitars...heck, I just love guitars... look at Stuart's big ole Hofner hollow body bass and John's famous Rickenbacker Capri 325.... I am currently learning to play bass guitar and loving it, but that's a story for another day.

"AUBREY" 12/2003
acrylic on canvas

Of our 9 grandchildren, i have done portraits of 6... all painted in 2003...portraits of our granddaughters, emma and lauren, appeared earlier on this blogsite ... my son's youngest 3 still need portraits painted.... i know, i know... so many grandkids, so little time... this is a portrait of our granddaughter, aubrey, taken from a photo of her when she was about 4 years old... she looks like she was up to something when the photo was snapped... maybe she was hiding something behind her back...all i know is i just loved her impish expression so much i had to paint it... when aubrey saw her finished portrait she asked me "grandma, why aren't i smiling?"... "oh my little miss aubrey, that is a smile, an impish smile, and you are absolutely adorable!"... aubrey is 8 now, smart as a whip and still adorable... she was teachers little helper within 5 minutes on the first day of school.

'BRIAN' 2002
20" x 24"
acrylic on canvas
private collection, Tucson, Az

In 2002 i came across a photo of brian onstage in early 1997 opening up for 'Three Dog Night" and thought it would make a neat portrait... i once did a series of black and white portraits of various musicians... hendrix, lennon, harrison, harry chapin, ian anderson (jethro tull)... perhaps in later posts i'll feature a few of those old paintings in this blog... including the results of an art competition between my son and me in 1995...

Brian has been a local Tucson musician since the '70's... in a variety of great bands including... Hobbitt, Aftermath, Hit and Run, Tunesmith, Trilogy, The Billy Shears Band, Raven and his current bands, Still Cruisin' and Chuck Wagon and the Wheels... he also fills in as a guest guitarist in several local bands... some of his favorite gigs are the ones he does with John Ronstadt(guitar, vocals), Jeanne Ronstadt(accordion, vocals) and Bill Ronstadt(bass, vocals).......he is also a guest guitarist for The Desert Sons.

Still Cruisin' played for Palo Verde High School's 40th reunion last saturday and it was a blast!
That class of '68 knows how to party! ...and there were a lot of really good musicians in that class who sat in with the band... lots of fun!

"LAUREN" 12/2003
acrylic on canvas

Here is a portrait i painted of Lauren taken from a photograph of her at age three... she is 13 now, the 2nd oldest of our nine grandchildren... a beautiful and talented young woman, she recently made the national junior honor society... she also plays a mean game of jacks, but has yet to beat her grandma, although she's coming close... i am also especially pleased to have captured her mom's piano and music books for posterity in this painting, as that piano is now gone and missed.

When i'm painting a portrait, there is this moment of magic that happens...when the subject's eyes come to life in the painting...
When they seem to be looking right at me, smiling and saying "thanks...I like what you've done."
It gives me goosebumps every single time.

Been a bit under the weather for a few days and i am incredibly grateful to brian and annie for their love and support, hugs and kisses, roses and ginger ale... feeling a whole lot better so i'm going to be putting some paint on canvas today!...

Below is a 2005 minimalist painting of brian and annie... i like this style quite a bit and actually have a minimalist work in progress right now... "a fair evening" is it's working title and gently hints at it's subject.....

I start by adding unusual texture to a canvas (messy and fun)... then i paint multiple layers of richly colored glazes for beautiful skies and landscapes to accent my itty bitty subjects...

"ANNIE AND THE RED KITE" 2005

18" x 24"

acrylic on canvas

A magnified detail shows that annie and brian are quite accurate, even though they are REALLY, REALLY SMALL on the canvas... brian is only about an inch high... you can see some of the neat texture on the canvas as well.

"EMMA" 12/2003
acrylic on canvas

Our granddaughter, Emma, sent this quote to us today... here is a portrait i painted of her when she was nine...she is 14 now, the oldest of our nine grandchildren and a very talented songwriter, singer and actress... thanks Emma!

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."