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Updated 2/29/08
Paintings of People, Life Drawing (some), and Groups
Elin has been painting the human form for over thirty years, beginning with life drawing back in the late 60s. This body of work includes paintings from live models and also from her own reference material.
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Ho ho ho! Uncle Willy comes to town! Here he is, monacle and moustache, and just a little 8 x 10 canvas, showing the variances of using acrylics as a collage/assemblage medium! I always have such fun when I pull out the stops to create thees silly, whimsical characters with acrylics. Full of yarn, handmade paper, feathers and gold pseudo leaf, this is just a hoot to create! Acrylics are SO versatile!
Yesterday several of you commented about the possibility of having....um... hemp leaves! in the handmade paper. Well, there's a joke for you, I guess Uncle Willy is a hippy! Those layers are no longer visible in this image. I worked some more on him, so he has a different look now, and will be featured in the DVD on Acrylic Painting that is falling off my brushes!
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I'm so happy I brought my watercolors in a quick dash for the camper as we left for Santa Barbara! The seminar with Seventh Dan Donovan Waite was absolutely exhausting in both mind and body! But what an opportunity to study the fluid movements of this master of aikido!
So what could I do but paint the effects of seeing the flow and energy in the training? Here is a watercolor, about 7 x 5 inches, of two partners in motion, one receiving the art and doing a high fall, and the one giving the art in a balanced, centered position.
Tomorrow we go back for another day--I hope I will have the physical stamina to learn and offer good partnerships. Then it will be back home to digital editing on the Acrylic DVD!
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"TSA" I found myself with about two hours wait until my flight to Dallas/Fort Worth sitting in the Ontario airport this morning. I took out my watercolors and did this portrait of the many security people evident around the area now. He was restless, and moved a lot, but seemed to have that almost blank stare so often seen in folks with his job description. It was tough to catch his pose, but I did get his "look", which doesn't require too many details.
I had several people come by and look over my shoulder, and one very nice artist chat with me for a while about methods and materials while creating this. Now there's an amazing way to meet people--better than a dog on a leash!
My watercolor setup is a white plastic Jilur palette from Japan, set up with the 12 colors of my color system. This palette is one my mom had, and it was strange and yet comforting to find myself cleaning out her colors to replace them with ones I use. I've not painted much with watercolor, but actually like the end result. It is a whole lot easier to translate the color system to a new medium--like having a familiar friend! The palette folds into a 1/2" deep 3.5" by 8", and here's a photo of it (left)
This 6 x 6 unique watercolor painting is available for $100 with the press of the button below.
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Do you think an artist ever truly "arrives"? By that I mean achieve all their creative goals? I don't think so. Every time I reach a new level of knowledge in my technique, a new challenge presents itself. This is good, both for me and for artists reading this. Many of you have emailed kind words of enthusiasm about my work, and of course I am grateful. But even an artist who seems to make it look easy has challenges. That's part of what this art creating is all about. One can never "arrive"! We are all on a journey to different destinations, with the destination constantly moving! Frustrating? Only if you focus on the destination instead of all the beautiful points along the way. One of the reasons I don't get intimidated by a blank canvas is because I always see it as a step on my journey, not a performance on the platform of the destination. It's all in the attitude you bring to the easel. Am I learning, or performing? Yesterday's painting opened a door to new thoughts about edges and space, and now I will be following a different destination's path on controlling more of the execution of those elusive edges for better paintings. "It never ends." When applied to things other than art, that would elicit a sigh. I have a huge grin on my face!
Today's painting is a 6 x 6 gallery-wrap oil, and just a bit of fun. Called "In the Park" it shows a man and his dog, both taking what we call "practice naps". Perhaps he was at an obedience trial? Or retired and just enjoying the day in the park. No matter who or why, the scene is timeless, and tinged with humor. Those of you looking for some learning, notice the gradual transition from intense foreground colors with high contract between light and shadow, versus the distant areas, made clearly so because of less contrast, and less color intensity. $125
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"A Swish and A Wash" I'm never more astonished than when I uncover something that I could hardly remember creating, and moving is really uncovering an interesting array of artwork. Since this is Saturday night, and I'm tired from a long day of moving and cleaning the house for people to see on Sunday, I thought you might enjoy a journey into the past. (Why do people want to see the house when it is in such disarray? These people better buy it!)
The story behind this watercolor (!) is that I painted it 38 years ago while enrolled in a figurative painting class at Ventura College, on the coast of California. Watercolor was how we learned to do quick studies, and I must have done fifty of them. This one was the best of the lot. I gave it to my aunt and uncle, and they had it professionally framed under glass in the gold you see here.
The work itself shows youthfulness, no color sense, and yet the proportions on the figure are better than one would expect. I went through a period of doing quasi-abstractions, mostly to cover a lack of the pure knowledge that comes with time and practice. I can remember putting in the squares on the lower right, exploring my new knowledge of negative space. I thought that they would add interest and movement.
As you look at it, I hope you realize that making art is all about growing, not about arriving. This work is signed in ink with the name I used at that time (Patricia Thomas), lower right, with a number 1/20 as though it was a print. I didn't know squat about print runs, and numbering this original is a splendid example of my ignorance. 20 x 13.5 inches, in gold frame, $300 for a piece of history.
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"Another Lily" In the United States, citizens are looking at today as the day to pay taxes. And I recalled line about the "pound of flesh" (was that Shakespeare?) and renovated a life study I had. I love the pensive look of this lady, and also the loose brushwork. This study probably was from a 15 minute pose, as that was the length of these studies. I highly recommend taking a life drawing or life painting course, as this kind of disciplined finish-it-now regimen will prepare you to capture the essence of whatever you need to paint in the future. This is an oil study (I cropped out my signature for better design) of a model named "Lily" 14 x 11 and it was done with thin layers underneath before the thick lights were laid on in the second pass.
I wish more of my work would get like this. But it seems to work best for quick studies only. Tomorrow I have another commission to do.
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Today my siblings and I removed all of Mom's things from her assisted living apartment, and it was wonderful and yet sad. do you know I saw my sister and brother with new eyes?--seeing how much each reminds me of either Mom or Dad, and enjoying their company knowing that in being with them, I am also enjoying many of the characteristics reminding me of my folks. Mom's wit, Dad's dry humor and so much more. We are beginning to plan the trip that will provide closure for us--to take their ashes to their beloved Hawaii.
So today's painting points my "foot" in new directions. Kinetically posed, ready to step off, it is a study of light and dark and flesh tones on a mirrored image, backlit. About 6 x 8 inches, on un-stretched canvas. Moving onward.
And new directions it is! Tomorrow I go to San Diego's Balboa Park to the museums for my Art Appreciation online students (who are not aware of all that's gone on), and see more of the continuity of human art-making at the Timken and San Diego Museums of Art. Then I start the new commissions that are awaiting my brush--1) Wolfy, a German Shepherd, 2) a landscape of the Santa Rosa Plateau for a most patient collector, and 3) a still life for the San Diego County Fair Educational Pavilion, due May 1. So for my 100th painting of the year, new directions is most appropriate!
Life (and living it fully) is grand.
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"Quick Study--Foot" Take a limited palette (white, cad red light, alizarin, ultramarine blue and yellow ochre) and do some quick studies of your own anatomy. Great savings on model fees! All you need is a mirror and yourself--and a spot warm enough to keep you from seeing goosebumps. Makes you think, makes you see, and for me, makes me realize that I am starting from the ground up--"On a new footing". Sometimes the simplist images convey the most poignant message. Original oil on unstretched canvas, 9 x 6 inches. Oops, forgot to sign it. Ah, well, too tired tonight, and besides, it's just a sketch.
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"The Rock Pickers" Many years ago, I traveled with some friends to Baja California. These two friends were developing a very special relationship together, and passed many hours on our four-day trip talking and collecting rocks on the beach south of Ensenada. I lost touch with them when they moved to Washington. Original oil on board, 8 x 10 inches. $200
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"Memories" I just don't know WHAT is going on in my head. I have commissions to do, and yet here I am picking up old photo albums and finding images that just MUST be painted! Go figure. The end results are sort of astonishing to me, however; as they come off the brushes with incredible facility and strength. Something going on here. This image is an oil on masonite, and is of my paternal grandmother Bessie Dale Thomas. The source photo was taken in 1911 at Glenwood Springs, Colorado. I love the dressand hat and the pose is pure Thomas. I've been told I look like her. This is a 12 x 9 inch image, and is for sale with all that thick paint, for $250
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"At Ease in Himself" This painting came off the acrylic brushes tonight, with a "look". Do you see it? He knows who he is, what he can do, and where he's going. Lots of appeal in that kind of man. The Bushrod Gentry character in "Many Rivers to Cross" perhaps, or the Sam Elliot macho man, with attitude. Without fail, though, this was the kind of man who made me sit up and take notice as a younger woman! It's so much fun to have the skill now to paint them any time I want one. The painting is an 10 x 8 canvas, and if it doesn't sell, I just might hang it in the guest bathroom! I may do it anyway because I enjoy looking at him! $200
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"Now what?" He's got his coffee, and has a *look* on his face. Could be he broke too many broncs and the pieces of his face don't fit together so well any more. Could be he thinks you're a greenhorn! Could be he's got some inner joke going on, but regardless of the reason, he has a Mona Lisa smile on his craggy face. Can you see it there, in the twinkle of his eye? Original oil, 12 x 9 inches.
Enough already, it is after midnight and this is the same fellow pouring the coffee from yesterday, but now he's going to down some of his brew. Featured on my advertising post card.
Fun to paint tho', even if it is night owl time!
$350.00
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Today's painting is another 6 x 8 (I have a couple boxes of them and they just keep popping up on my easel) of a girl I'm either calling "Yellow Dress" or "Before Milking".
Had a lot of fun painting the figure, trying to get the nuances of the arm shapes and her pose to look relaxed. Buckets are a passel of fun to paint! And the source was a black and white old time photo, so I had to brighten up her dress and give her a contemporary hair and "look". Using the Color System made painting the lights and shadows on the grass near and into the distance a piece of cake.
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"Sharing a Cup" I drink coffee. Love the stuff. I even have a Capresso 1300 automatic machine in the studio, I'm that bad about it. OK, I drink decaf. Now don't jump all over me about health risks, I know the story. I just love the aroma, the flavors, the... nevermind. Today's painting is about coffee. It is about sharing the pouring of a cup of java between friends. It is only 12 x 12 inches, and FELL off my brushes. I just love the guy's hands. Nice to have the muse back in the house! This from source material taken at Big Bear in 2003. I keep references for ages, because back in '03 I didn't have the skills to tackle this subject. We can grow into our source material!
$300 from me.
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"Military Re-enactment Memories" This painting is all about the color notes in the shirt, really. I wish you could see the amazing array of color in the shadow side of thie garment, and also enjoy the purple in the hat. There is much more than this digital shows. I like the nondescript loofk of this fellow--no urges to make him into Tom Selleck! He is "Mr. Ordinary", which means he is probably somebody pretty extraordinary to a lady out there somewhere. Original oil, 12 x 9. $200
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Sometimes a painting will tell me how big it needs to be. This was the case today, when I pulled out a 6 x 4 inch canvas, and then sorted through some of the un-filed photo references to pick something to brighten your day. A couple of photos of this girl washing "her favorite racehorse" at Del Mar caught my eye, and so I composited it up into a quick design. It wouldn't cooperate and fit into a rectangle. And the power of the structure of the painting wouldn't lend itself to a small format of only six inches. Take a look at the lines and movement of the structure, and think about where your eye goes as it wanders over the canvas. Each part is designed to carry your eye on a journey. Even the two buckets need to be there.
So to solve my dilemma about size, I retrieved a canvas from my "paint over them before they see the light of day" pile and brought this one to life on a 12 x 12 inch box canvas. When I paint over a canvas, I always paint thickly, and never over one that has a final varnish. It was with a sigh of relief that I obliterated a cute palm tree with a coconut wrapped like a present. You don't want to go there, trust me!
Join with me tonight as I raise a glass of wine to honor the sacrifice of a bad painting, and to celebrate with you the birth of a better one.
12 x 12 inches, on gallery-wrap (no framing needed) and I'm enjoying the painting of human figures these few days. $400
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"New Acquisition" Tonight I was a guest with a handful of other artists painting along inside the Riverside Art Museum (or RAM). The museum was host to a special event, and we were (I think) a form of entertainment. Parked in a side gallery (with one of the bars!) traffic was light, and most all of the attention was going to an artist who was doing oil sketches of folks who sat down for a portrait -- she was giving them away. She had quite a line. So I leaned into my harness and painted two paintings without much interruption. Studio time away from the studio! The first I'll post later, here is the second one. My husband came to cheer me on, and he ended up sitting for me, under a large abstract. I liked the design of the pose and asked him to stay still. I like the looseness of it and the flat areas of color. It was fun to paint someone else's work, too!
Original oil, 16 x 12 inches. |
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"Aikido en Esposo" My beloved husband, finally painted in a way he appreciates and with my assuredness that I won't botch it up, he appears in the traditional dress of the Akido man in balance. I will need to add the Japanese characters to the upper left, when I receive them (I'm here, he is there, and I don't have them here.) Original oil, 20 x 10. Not for sale. |
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Ha! What fun... to take a digital image that you didn't even take, and make a decent painting from it. Actually what happened today was that my artist-students came to the studio after a long hiatus, and we were working on solving some issues. Joan had an on-location piece of her friend and fellow painter Terry on the easel. Struggling with abstract structure, she knew I wanted to help. Rather than paint on her work (not good, as her painting is going on display for the Plein Air Artists of Riverside (PAAR) show, I decided to teach by doing. So, using her digital source material, I painted the artist painting on location. This painting is the result, a 12 x 9 oil, quickly laid in to show strong abstract structure and making changes to the composition to make a better design. Took about 40 minutes, maybe. Still learning to leave out the junque and get only the essentials. AVailable for $275 wet. |
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"Suzanne at Hart Park" I mentioned that I had received flowers right after my mother passed away, and they were from Suzanne and David. I have always wanted to paint her, and today I had the opportunity, as she was in attendance at our Women Artists of the West and always a cheerful and funny lady. I never knew she was so fidgety until I needed to capture her in one pose! It's going to be given to David when he comes to the Park Saturday to play guitar with the Lost Canyon Rangers. I think he'll be surprised. As for me, it is pure pleasure to paint another nice painting from life. Original oil, 12 x 9.  |
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"Madeleine Thomas, Jan. 1, 1908 - April 8, 2006, aka Mom" When one chooses to remember a loved one, it ought not be the image of the last moments spent with them, their physical frame hardly recognizable as the specter of death approaches. Better to remember the light in their eyes, imagery of earlier times, and more. My vigil continues with my mother, and I brought my brushes again. Concentrating on the image of my mother as a younger, vital woman distracts me from the reality of the shell of the person I love beside me. I'm sending this from her room, as I am staying the night, since her time is near. I do these paintings because I love her, and I need to be here to lift her spirit to the next life.
This amazing woman got her private pilot's license while living in Hawaii in the late 1930's, and was there for the bombing of Pearl Harbor, too. I chose a black and white photograph of her in the flying cap and goggles, as I know her spirit will be soaring again soon, to meet up with my father who left eight years ago after 57 years of marriage.
Here on Earth I will have her sparkle and smile in this painting forever. Original oil on board, 12 x 9 inches.
(Three hours after I painted this, she died beside me.)
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"Mom, Resting (Last Days)"
I spent my day caring for my mom, and as you can expect, brought my brushes. I did this 8 x 10 oil while she was resting. When I look at it, I see so much more in the painting than it's just being a painting. I see technical certainty from miles of canvas, I see good design. But I also see a complete infusion of me, the artist, in the work. Along with that, I also see the reason for the work, the merit of the subject, and what I have been trying to do for many years--connect the work to the world at large and capture a specific moment of living--of life.
"Mom, Resting" is not for sale. Contact Elin. |
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"Detail Man" Folks not familiar with the horse industry might not know the significance of folks like this fellow and hundreds like him, who are the real backbone of what goes on in the show ring and race track. Men, and women, who work in the stable area cleaning tack, cleaning stalls--to me they have great value, and I honor them by painting their portraits. And besides, they are very appealing!
Original oil, 12 x 9 inch canvas, available for US $385.
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"Molly and Daisy" I had mentioned on my Daily Paintings mailing group that I've been working on commissions, and this is the first of two that are coming off the easel. It is a composite of several photographs taken by someone other than myself, but I am able to design a workable composition and make a decent go of it. This is a 20 x 16 portrait, and it gives me a great deal of pleasure to do work like this. As it is a commission, it is already . |
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I spent this morning finishing up this fellow for the lesson page--don't have a title for him yet. You can see what I've done to finish up the painting by comparing it to yesterday's image. I also included a detail shot of his head and torso below.
I think I will take him up to Cattlemens next month, and might spend another couple hours on him, making some corrections. Sometimes the paint just goes where you need it to, and some other times, what seems easy on reflection is going down the wrong road! Still, US $550...
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"You've Got A Friend" I was sent a photograph by a member of the Equine Art Guild, and finally made the time to do this 9 x 12 oil painting. I just loved the idea of the young girl going through the angst of being a teenager, and the only animal that seems to understand is her horse. Available and entered in the Animals in Art show at the Louisiana Veterinary College.
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"Junk Man" I have wanted to paint this fellow and his valued possessions since I took the reference shots way back in the 1980s. Imagine having a painting stick in one's head until one's ability catches up to the task. I paint this one tiday in honor of all the new friends I have made because of the kind generosity of Robert Genn in his latest newsletter. There is some really sly symbolic humor poking fun at myself in it as well. Original oil on stretched canvas, 24 x 30 inches. For sale for $875 directly from the artist.
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"Fishing Buddies" Another big painting, this one 30 by 36 inches! I went back to my palette of five colors plus white again, as an exercise to refresh my hand with these colors. Available for US $ 550.
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"The Young Spinner" My goodness, it is 11:30 pm. These daily paintings are getting later and later, but you know? It seems to help somehow. This is a 7 x 5 inch linen canvas mounted to board, and I just thoroughly enjoyed painting her from reference material I'd taken years ago over where many re-enactment folks gather. The rim light on her face, bonnet and on the spinning wool just gave me such joy to depict!
$175
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"Looking to the Future" The first painting of a new year. A self portrait, in the positiion I ahve held for a major portion of my life--looking up, to Orion, to the skies. Asking, probing, wondering. As I come to 2006, the journey continues. Original oil on board-backed canvas, 7 x 5 inches. Not for sale. |
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Merry Go Round Miniature This is one of my pleasures, painting these tiny little canvases. This one is only three inches tall by 1 7/8 inches wide. Orignal acrylic on silk canvas, $350 from the artist. Shown unframed when enlarged.
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"Three on a Roll" When reenactment folks get together, the action never stops! Here are three of the Cross Creek Cowboys having a fun time (all in play for the camera) and Elin has forever captured their play on this 24 x 24 gallery wrap canvas. Available for US $650 from the artist. Fabulous!
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" The Trainer" Girls and horses. And coaches to help them succeed in jumping courses. Here is an adorable scene of four pre-teens with their coach walking the course before they are to take their horses over the jumps. Original oil on canvas, 12 x 16 inches. US $ 500 Purchase from the artist
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"Californio" With oils, Elin paints the re-enactment figures that have modeled for the Women Artists of the West on occasion. This fellow is "Sweet Eyes", so named because of his liquid dark, sensuously kind eyes. Original oil on canvas, 24 x 12 inches, US $400 Email to purchase or inquire
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"Self Portrait, 2002" Working from life, and two mirrors, Elin painted this self portrait using only black, white, ultramarine blue and cadmium red light. Original oil on board, 16 x 12 inches. Not for sale--Elin's husband took it! |
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"Another Self Portrait" OK, a smile was what my beloved asked for, so a smile is what he gets. I know, I look a little tense... but what do I know? Anyway, he loves it, thank goodness! Shown here only to remind myself that I do horses so much better... |
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"Relaxin' at the Autry" Elin was one of about a gazillion California Art Club painters on location at the Gene Autry Musuem one Saturday this year painting from live models. This fella was leaning up against the outer wall, and held a good pose. Original oil on board, 20 x 8 inches. US $350 Email to purchase or inquire
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"Remembering: Civil War" Elin paints figurative works that are more than just portraits. This studio work is from many reference photographs of period constumed individuals such as the Cross Creek Cowboys. In the story behind this painting, the wife holds the hat of her officer husband, missing in the Civil War. Original oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches US $400 Email to purchase from the artist
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"Lisa in Black Gloves" The model Lisa stayed in this pose for an hour and a half, with several small breaks in between. Elin found this piece to be the most "finished" of her paintings, and then decided to work on the smaller 12 x 9 studies. Original Oil Painting, 12 x 16 inches. US$ 225 Purchase with your credit card
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"The Hotfoot" Elin takes many photographs of the people she rides with, and here are several of the weekend cowboys playing a prank on the sleeping figure of one of their own. Original acrylic painting on canvas, 30 x 40 inches.US$ 2100 Purchase with your credit card
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Life Studies
As a part-time faculty member of the Art Department at Mt. San Jacinto Community College, Elin drops in on the Life Drawing class for a few painting sessions during the semester. The poses hone her skills at capturing a likeness, and painting intuitively.
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"For your Eyes" One of the students in the life drawing class modeled for this image. Just barely 20, she shows the luminous image of a woman from 1940. Oil on Stonehenge paper, 22 x 30 inches. US$ 440 Purchase with your credit card |
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"Sage Woman, Lifting Eyes" One of the images from the 20 minute poses. Elin captured the strength of this woman, with her hard life and practical outlook. Oil on canvas, 12 x 9 inches US$ 185 Purchase with your credit card |
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"Waiting" A reclining woman, aloof and impervious to her nudity, she awaits...what? Original oil on canvas, 12 x 16 inches.US$ 225 Purchase with your credit card |
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