Happy Easter!

"Orchid"6x6 watercolor
I am currently visiting in Southern California partly business but mostly pleasure - the pleasure of being warm, surrounded by food I enjoy and of course friends and family.

I had the opportunity to paint a quick commission for a business which I was pleased to do the day before a sudden eye procedure I underwent during the first week of my vacation. A casual visit with my Mom's ophthalmologist brought to our attention a rip in my retina which was a result of a detached vitreous from 2 years ago. I thought just in case worse case scenario takes place, I'd like to know I painted something successfully. Anyway, the procedure was 2 days ago and I'm feeling as if nothing happened already; I am glad I was in capable hands.

Here is the painting framed and ready for delivery! I think it will be a nice addition to their intimate lobby. It's a business by two sisters. One makes silk orchid arrangements and the other has an orchid nursery.

Happy Easter to all my readers! Please excuse my absence, tax time is busy because I am not the most organized person with paperwork so an elaborate scavenger hunt ensues LOL We are also (hopefully) going to be busy with remodeling of our computer area which will eventually become ... basically a "work playroom" for computers, painting and music making. Wish us luck!

My Japan trip, California Rolls DSDF week 25-26

"California Rolls" 5x5 oil on gessoed wood

I'm a big sushi lover but I don't think I've ever ordered California Rolls so I'm not 100% that's what these are. I think it's crab meat, avocado and cucumber wrapped in seaweed which is rolled in sticky rice, I'm not sure about the roe on top though... But I know that I LOVE wasabi so I had to include it in the picture somehow :) My favorite sushi are maguro, tako and spider roll and salmon skin hand roll :) Anyway, here is the reference photo copyrighted to Karin Jurick which she challenged us with in Different Strokes by Different Folks Week 25-26. Click on images to enlarge.

My favorite cuisine is Japanese food. I also enjoy the culture very much. In 2004 my dear husband let me tag along on one of his business trips to Japan and I had a ball!!! It was the best sushi I've EVER experienced - of course! I had so much fun that I created a web page for it when we got home :) Click here to see if you're interested Our Trip to Tokyo

I'm thrilled that my one and only figure sculpture won an award in the recent EBSQ show "Figure in 3D" yay!
Last week I was so thrilled to get out of bed and not rush to put socks and shoes on! In fact I was so happy I decided to grill a salmon fillet and serve it with green beans and roast pine nuts and washed it down with bottle of Snapple Asian Pear, it was a perfect lunch out on the deck. Today however was another cold day. We were supposed to have snow so I was pleased to not wake up to another winter wonderland!

Sistahs Fiestaware Party DSDF week 23-24

"Coffee Clutch" 9x12 watercolor

It was hard for me to take this challenge too seriously for some reason lol But I love the word "sistahs" so I decided to use Fiestaware to rhyme the word with hahaha! Actually my original concept was a full sheet watercolor on Yupo but I just couldn't get my supplies together on time and the 8x10 study I did for it fizzled within 15 minutes (too small).

So here is my contribution to DSDF week 23-24 challenge with Karin Jurick! One can only imagine what these sistahs from different muthas were are ranting about. Maybe it's the last season of The Bachelor and how Jason proved to be just another shortsighted man who was absent when they were distributing class! Bleeghhh I'm glad I didn't see the whole season and decided to just peak into the last show ;)

Mommy Baby WIP II and raspberry still life

The raspberries my husband brought home were so fresh and plump so of course I had to take time to paint some before and the reward was to eat the model YAY! They were definitely pieces of heaven! I do love small pieces of original art as they are so precious like gems that we like to protect and admire upclose. I am enjoying this set so much that I want to keep them and decide if I want to sell them later. Mom bought me these canvases with easels and I don't know where to get them so maybe that's why I am feeling extra attached to these 2.5x2.5 canvases.

Speaking of my Mom she's been diagnosed with some health issues that she's still being tested for (enlarged heart and liquid in her lungs), so please keep her in your most positive thoughts. The umbilical cord is alive and well so I am most definitely feeling very imbalanced over this news especially because I live so far away from her and basically even if I lived with her, there's very little help I could offer. But there's something to be said about one human being roaming this world who I can vouch loves me the most and I could probably humbly claim same position in her life.
I am feeling a bit lost in my Mommy - Baby portrait. I had a definite picture in my mind about it and I somehow lost it lol I am loving the pinkish coralish colors going on. But you know what bugs me the most? That I've painted in the outline of the figures so strongls grrrrrrr for some reason it's impeding my progress. But there ya go, WIP 2!

Don't forget that you can click images to enlarge your view!

Mommy Baby oil portrait WIP

"Ash and Ava" work in progress....

This is 18x24 oil on canvas of my hubby's sweet niece and her first baby! She is the first bundle to grace the family since I legally joined the clan about 9 years ago :) Ash is so beautiful to watch with her baby and it touches me so much I just can't help but pay tribute to her loveliness. This is also an opportunity for me to warm up for some portraits I will be doing shortly. Well I'm very pleased with this start. Lately it seems I am enjoying not having a particular plan on under painting. I was mainly using up the mess on my palette to lay down the preliminaries. It's a good start :)

Soon the daffodils will be popping in their heads from my flowerbeds and I will go absolutely nuts if I once again have other things on my easel instead of painting them from life! Spring is coming YAY! (It's still cccold though).

Tulip oil painting and nude figure sculpture

"Tulip" 2.5x2.5 oil on canvas

Well Linda, here's the tulip I was painting while on the phone with you! I'm terrible! This was the freshest bloom left of my husband's lovely tulip bouquet that he came home with last Friday. It was so artsy with lanky stems that drooped down and each tipped with tulip in a beautiful red shade. We normally just go out to nice dinner for Valentines, but this year I got flowers, chocolates, a very thoughtful card, even some cash, dinner and show! Well we passed on the show since they were all goofy ones at the theater. :-p

I originally had a teenie landscape on this canvas because the view across my window was inviting with the sun hitting the pine trees and the house across the lake. Though I actually finished it, I decided the canvas was best saved for another still life so I took a napkin and wiped it off! I was just as pleased to satisfy my urge to paint the scene as I was to save the canvas for another piece! You see from the glare that it still have left over light source from my window.

It took a while to get started today as usual. But today was even more inconvenient because we had to clean up the house for company all weekend long lol When we clean up, things get thrown all over the place so it takes a some thinking to re-locate the usual items that are normally within my reach.

This is my only sculpture and I'm glad I took a couple photos before I ended up giving it to the model. It's 10 inches tall. I enjoyed it so much, working from a live model that had to be turned on a revolving stand every 20 minutes. We had to work fast! And when some of us weren't quite ready to let go of the view, we pushed our sculpting stands that were on wheels to find the same view again! I do wonder how much of that hectic energy is transferred to the poor model that had to maintain the pose and attitude. Not bad for my first sculpure, it would be so much fun to pick it up again at some point hopefully before I'm 100 years old.

Clementine Tangerine oil still life

"Clementine Tangerine" 2.5x2.5 oil on very mini canvas

I was so unimpressed with my caramel painting so I had to redeem myself somehow. Here is another still life on a dinky 2.5x2.5 canvas I did in less than an hour. It's not a contest on how quickly I can paint something discernable (that would be a very silly reason and would make any serious artist roll their eyes) , but more a race against my attention span waning on me. I'm glad we're having some sunny moments lately so maybe my brain can continue to thaw out. I was also SO READY to eat that fruit! Dear Theresa Rankin is blogging about some wonderful still life so I can thank her for the inspiration. How she finds time to be so generous as she prepares for her upcoming show is amazing!

Thanks so much to Gail H. Ragsdale for the Lemonade Award for Positive Attitude Blog! I think any artist who is continuously creating and pursuing their highest potential deserves this notice so I award all fellow artists who are creating along with me! Thanks again Gale!

So my self portrait was also awarded in the EBSQ Self Portrait show YAY for my Member's Mention award! Mark Satchwill complimented my painting and encouraged me to enter it in the show even though it wasn't done based on what I call a piece ready for primetime viewing lol But see it here along with a description about why I painted it. Also see other entries, they are fun to see! :) http://www.ebsqart.com/ArtShows/cmd_195_Exhibition_Entries_2_2_G.htm

Seal Change is Gonna Come

I saw this in DavidFoster.Com and it simply grabbed me I had to post and share here. Love this video and Seal's rendition, very very nice and smoooooth. I hope you enjoy it too :)

San Francisco Pacific Palisades DSDF 21-22 and an Award

"Pink Yellow Blue and Black" about 5x7 watercolor on paper

Another impressive challenge from Karin Jurick at Different Strokes by Different Folks. This was a daunting challenge for me. Straight lines and I usually don't get along well lol However when I was 10 minutes into the drawing, I realize that it was going to be a really good project to undertake because it's an opportunity for an excellent refresher study on basic shapes! Good grief, I was feeling sorry for the builders as their challenge was far bigger than mine! I was able to start over halfway through my drawing because that's when I realized the tops of the cone roofs (I bet there's an official name for those lol), were not going to fit and that's just not acceptable! Part of the reason why I took so long to make up my mind about painting this was that I was drooling over painting the molds and cool shapes in oils! But I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if I were to paint it smaller than 11x14. I might still do it at some point, don't be surprised! Also, I try not to see what other people do with their DSDF challenge when I can help it so I can focus on my approach. As usual this challenged attracted a wonderful variety!

An admired fellow artist Akiko Watanabe has kindly given my an Art Blog Award! The recipient of this award is supposed to list 7 things that she/he loves. Here are my 7 things:

1. I love my sweet hubby :) Such a sweet spirit on that man!
2. I love art of many shapes: visual art, music, acting, photography, and the art of cooking.
3. I love people with passion. They are titillating to me and I applaud the ones who pursue it to its highest potentials!
4. Do I have to say I love food?
5. I love Japanese cuisine and the culture. Honto!
6. I love dogs! I really appreciate how happy they are to see you and their loyal friendship.
7. I love spring and fall seasons! It's the only time I don't complain about the weather lol Right now it's so cold I can hardly think!

Now I am giving an Art Blog Award to all the blogs I list on my right column that I list because I love them! Thanks Akiko!!! xxx

Roses and Caramel oil still life paintings

I wanted to finally finish a piece I started in the studio last year "Roses and Pears" 8x10 oil and it SURE FEELS GOOD! I sometimes worry when I run out of gas to finish a piece that I know I really was excited to paint! I'm so glad I took photos and the image was still farely fresh in my mind so I could bring it to a finish. I hope Alice Thompson will be proud that I finally gave the piece wings to fly :) Where are you Alice? I miss you and so do the rest of your blog friends I'm sure!

A sweet girlfriend sent me a 160z bag of gourmet caramel (Celtic Sea Salt flavor) and it was DELICIOUS! So I saved 3 because I wanted to try and paint them lol My husband has been bugging me to please paint them so he could proceed to eat the rest . Well here is my attempt at one of them. "Caramel" 2.5x2.5 oil on canvas.

I hope my blog friends are being safe from the rough weather. We in Arkansas have been subjected to frozen rain and snow. In my case, the roads are so bad that we hadn't received mail since Tuesday? I've been suffering serious cabin fever; I easily get claustrophobic when I'm surrounded by the same inaccessible surroundings for an extended amount of time.

Well today, we got mail and I was actually able to get to the mailbox because my dear husband was able to shovel a path for me. It's still so frozen so there's still about an inch or more ice left on the path which made my wheels spin a bit. We woke up to our lake somewhat frozen. I'm imagining those ducks' feet so cold!!! Well keep toasty and enjoy a safe Superbowl weekend!

Cat and bird portrait Van Gogh Starry Starry Night

"Fred and the Birds" 16x20x2 acrylics (I think) on canvas

Most of you loved Zoey's portrait so I thought I'd show Fred this time :) I'll try not to take it too personal that my readers like Van Gogh's backgrounds over what I usually paint hehehe. This is a portrait of our pets. Fred is a she. My husband didn't realize it was a female cat until after she was named. He had her forever, at least until she was 22 years old. I have since converted him to a bird lover lol These are 4 of our 5 cockatiels because we adopted the 5th one after I painted this. From the left: Blondie, Boo, Yellow Head (I named her Alexa but hubby wanted the other name sigh), and Pecker (so named because the bird bites like we never feed him). I do love the texture or brush stroke after Van Gogh's, it's so expressive and decorative. Each time I see this I plan to paint something completey my design in the same technique but shortly after I forget.

I've recently gotten some graphic arts orders and am about to start an architectural piece to do for the same client. I've been busy in the background with that. Sorry so busy!!!

Morphing 44 Presidents

I thought I'd share this since I am in the middle of creating art. Since I am also a graphic designer and have done some animation in Hollywood, I have great appreciation for the crafting of these kinds of productions. ENJOY!

God Bless President Barack Obama and America!

Good morning World!!! Here's wishing you Happy Inauguration Day and sending you blessings on this day may you always have hope in your hearts and joy in having your opportunities! Make it all count and may God bless each and everyone of you!!!!

I'm signed up at http://usaservice.org I hope you are too!

"A New Beginning" 5x8 watercolor

Jefferson Memorial at Night DSDF 19-20

"Jefferson Memorial Illuminated" 8x10 oil on canvas

This is Different Strokes by Different Folks challenge to paint the Jefferson Memorial at Night challenge hosted by Karin Jurick. It's a good day when my husband comes home and says "Wow!" lol I often get the half gaze notice which I interpret as not "didn't quite hit it". It was particularly good painting day because I literally feel my brain has been frozen by this weather so my pilot was not lit to be creative. Anyway, the painting has a little more deep purple that the camera doesn't pick up. It's not all totally blue. Well I hope this got me warmed up to get excited about my next projects :) Incidentally check out the February American Artist Magazine as Karin's work graces the cover along with an article of course! WOOHOO congrats Karin! You deserve it all with your talents and hard work!

I didn't even terribly mind that we woke up to this image below because it meant I didn't have to brave the temperature to do my grocery shopping since the volunteer drivers, that kindly transport me in their vans, don't run when during inclimate weather heheheh So I had plenty of chance to refine my painting and listen to Rachel Ray make Neopolitan baked ziti which I can enjoy vicariously even though my tastebuds are crying even as I type YUM-O! Anyway off I go to make a healthier meal! Stay safe and warm where ever you are! This is my view from my desk.

Hello from your favorite nun

Behold my 4 days old frustration. It's not done. I am painting my (younger self) as a nun lol Don't ask why because I don't have an answer that makes sense. But you're welcome to draw or paint your own conclusion. It is for 2 portrait challenges I'm involved in. I drew this and stared at it for 2 days because I was frustrated at the lack of good reference I have for the habit. When I composed it in my mind I also had charcoals planned for my medium but as it turned out the 2nd portrait challenge came up from my watercolor group (Watercolors Wet and Wild), so I chose watercolors. I grabbed a paper, drew on it, then I found out I don't favor 300lb coldpress so it's another obstacle for a smooth execution. But for now I'll put it aside because I know I will overcome this when I'm ready! For now, I wanted to show you this is how I will appear to you when I come to haunt you wooooooooooOOOOooooOOOo LOL!

Today I grabbed a canvas, drew on it and voila, I had a good painting day with my DSDF Jefferson piece which I can't wait to share. I'll have to refine it tomorrow then! So stay tuned!!!!

Watercolor Cat's Cradle Akiko Watanabe

"Her Cat's Cradle" 2.5x3.5 inches watercolor

This a deal that developed during the DSDF Portrait project. I have always admired Akiko Watanabe's work - it's nothing short of EXCELLENT. Her attention to details that is always done with such care and impeccable skills. Her love for animals is always manifested through each one of her creations. Here is her website http://www.akiko-watanabe.com/index.html and here is her blog http://artbyakiko.blogspot.com/ prepare to be knocked over :)


So I see Akiko as an angel, most especially cats. This is why I thought I'd paint her with wings. And a pair of hands with the cat's cradle string position to symbolize that cats find comfort with her. I tried with my limited knowledge of cat shapes to paint 15 cats on her shirt. This number symbolizes an important figure to her which I will let her own. It's a miniature piece of art, but it's the biggest hug I can send right now and made with love for dear Akiko xxx

By the way, a note to my email subscribers. I didn't realize the printing some text in blue in my previous post was not a good thing since it's hard to read oopsie sorry about that!

Nude Pastel Figure and Imagekind 2009

"Fatal Fetal" 9x12 pastels

I've been working feverishly updating my blog. It is now 3-column vs. 2- column blog. And through the process I managed to lose every gadget I had but I think I've recovered the majority and I've added new things as well. On the left are two websites where you can find some of my prints and originals. I still have to upload some items so when I am closer to show time, I will mention it again. Currently I'm still trying to recover from long hours of prettying up this blog a bit. It's also been so cold that I think my brain literally freezes so I'm just sitting here staring at my monitor lol

I've also added a section for a charcoal drawing I did for EBSQ and I will be adding more as the year progresses. :)

It seems Karin Jurick's Portrait Challenge in the Different Strokes by Different Folks blog got me embedded in portraiture mode for the month of January. I'll also be working on a self-portrait or two. Oh boy, more images of me for the wall! I thought for certain I had enough of those!

The cheerful pastel drawing above was done for an EBSQ show "Conversations with Dead Poets" It received Juror's Choice Award and it's also sold. This is how the piece was inspired:

This show exposed me to more poets than I've ever encountered in my life!
One of the first poets I responded to was the late Anne Sexton who lost her battle with mental illness and committed suicide in 1976 at age 46. My 9"x12" mixed media entitled "Fatal Fetal" was inspired by "Wanting to Die". The whole poem was powerful but these two stanzas were the ones that inspired my art:

"...To thrust all that life under your tongue!--
that, all by itself, becomes a passion.
Death's a sad Bone; bruised, you'd say,

and yet she waits for me, year after year,
to so delicately undo an old wound,
to empty my breath from its bad prison..."

The poet seemed alone and hopeless. The figure in my piece seems cold and appears to lack comfort from clothing or human contact. Taking the fetal position and her fingers in her mouth, she appears to be regressing into a dark direction like a deep depression.

I remember finishing it and planning to paint it in oils on canvas at some point. I still might. I was proud that I made up the figure lol Anyway, as I said this piece sold but I am selling prints in Imagekind where you can also order it in your preferred surface and even framed. Well Red, glad you brought it up since I never touched it since last year lol!

If you need a happy fix, let me show you a video of my bird Joey in case you haven't had the pleasure of seeing him! He's been quite popular on Youtube!

DSDF week 16-18 Portraits

"DSDF Portrait of Us Different Folks with Different Strokes" 8x10 oils

She's done! My humble portrait of the artist assigned to me by Karin Jurick for our end of the year challenge. When I received the email from Karin, she said "Just have fun with it". So I decided to go with my more

playful cubist style. I do really enjoy painting in this style because it's so unpredictable and always playful. She reminds me of Virginia Madsen, I wish I knew who she was. I've sleuthed aroun d the regulars but I failed lol This design reminds me of a happy beginning. As if she's telling the bluebird, "Change is upon us and it's going to be good!" Ok, maybe that's the oil medium speaking lol Please che ck out the wonderful display of varied talents in the DSDF blog! I've also added Janice Warriner's photo that she submitted to Karin which inspired my piece.

Here is one of my bigger cubism painting I've done. It's "Red Moon Over Bella Vista" 4'x5' acrylics. Based on the Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel which is pretty much the touring spot in our little own. In the summer of 2005 we enjoyed a 2-week display of a red moon. It truly mesmerized me and I wanted to capture it but I was in the middle of wanting to paint the biggest canvas I've ever attempted, so this is what I ended up painting. I've sold a ton of prints on it but I still have the painting. The gallery asked to display it around Halloween and I keep telling them it's not a Halloween painting :p It's also a job and half to transport it, I always have to ask my friend Linda please give my painting a ride. And Miss Linda is always so accommodating, I hope she never sells her cute white pickup truck. She brought us some cheese wafers for Christmas which is what I blame for the 5 lbs I gained. heehee

Here's to positive changes in 2009!

"New Year's Toast" 2.5"x3.5" watercolor

I had it planned to post this toast with my DSDF portrait piece but I haven't had any sleep because we had to take Mom to the airport at 3AM. And you know what happens when you lack sleep, your normal seconds stretch to minutes or hours lol But I actually sketched out the portrait by 8AM thinking finishing it would be a piece o' cake...well I can't open the bottle of Liquin - DOH! >_< How do you force open a glass bottle without breaking it? It's not like the can of Turpenoid that eventually punched a whole in because I couldn't take the cap off it WAH! Tips would be welcome for uncapping those stubborn push-and-turn caps.

I sold my "Teacups and Roses" 14"x37" pastel to my dearest Red because she wanted to surprise her Momma who expressed how much she liked the piece when she saw in the pastel exhibit. Here is a closer shot than the previous images I posted. Blowing you a kiss Red - MUAH!

Catch y'all next year ;)

Merry Christmas from ArtByErika :)

I am having a lovely Christmas Season with my Mom visiting from California. I am also especially pleased that I finished all my commissions, even the big one I finished last night that's not due until next week. It's a private piece I'm not allowed to share though :) I feel as if I hadn't taken a breath until I knew this last piece was done lol! Now I can spend a whole week with nothing dangling in the back of my mind to hold me back for some quality time with family!

While I was furiously finishing my last piece, we were surprised by carolers! My dermatologist and the rest of his 20-member family and a box of homemade goods! I wish I could have joined them and singing to the rest of the neighborhood but I needed to keep working. I felt like a Scrooge.

I hope all my blog friends are feeling fulfilled and whole as I am. I wish you all the best that the season can offer. Please know I appreciate the time you've given me by reading up on me even if you don't comment hahaha! Each of you is a beautiful gift in my life xox