Sunday, July 27, 2014

Painting the Town

First of all I want to give a shout-out to
Art du Jour for the inspiration for these paintings.


The photo on the right is the reference picture.


I had two visitors, two weekends in a row
to paint their houses.  Here's Katie...
all about the color.



Her style reminds me of the paintings 
I saw in Santa Fe.  Luminous heat
radiating from the canvas.



Almost there...


Now that is the definition of
Hot Pink!


Melysa went another direction
with a sunny butter yellow.


We all pondered the bottom portion of the 
original painting.  Is it a street, a sidewalk,
a stream?  Time for interpretation...


Adding some shrubbery makes it homey.


 

I'd want to visit this cheerful house
if it was on my block.
 
 
 The pink color is what attracted me to
the painting, so I decided to copy it.
I didn't quite get it finished with the other ladies.


Here is our little neighborhood.




After a break from the 90 degree heat
I went outside in the cool of the evening
and put the finishing touches on.


Adding some shading made the pink pop!


Sandi and Jean came over the next weekend
for their take on the same picture.


Interestingly, they both went an intirely
different direction with their paint choices.


Jean decided on earth tones with a punch
of red and orange on the rooftop.


She also used a square canvas instead of
the 11 x 14 the rest of us used.
I like the battered look of the roof,
like it has baked from the heat.



Another mystery with the original painting
is, what is in the doorway?  It looks like 
Jean decided on flowers in a vase.


Sandi went for a white house.
She is queen of the pastel palate.


She did a great job of getting dimension
with the trees and bushes casting shadows
on the sidewalk.


There is a welcoming light for those
who come to visit.


Maybe the dab of orange is a reflection of the sun
dancing on the roof as the evening descends.




Here is Sandi and Jean's smaller neighborhood.


Sandi and Shade in the "hood".

As the famous quote says,
"There's no place like home."

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Keystone Cafe Play

I've been enjoying Nature's varied
personalities this morning from the
backyard viewing stage...
overcast, sprinkling rain, thunder, sun.
Coffee, books, ipad and Chris at my side.
Sunday morning bliss.


Cool new Rooster mug for enjoying my coffee.


This is Keystone Cafe...a breakfast institution in
Eugene, Oregon since 1979.  If you haven't eaten there
you have been missing out on one of the best
breakfast/brunch places around.

Sandi (my art buddy and regular on this blog) and I
have been wanting to sketch this place for awhile.
We figured that since this was the weekend of
The Oregon Country Fair, the streets would be clear
and we would have a clear shot of the building. 


We unpacked chairs and art supplies across
the street to much curiosity and speculation
from those inside.


Two hours and a few visitors later we had
our sketches made.  One visitor was from
Salt Lake City.  You never know who you will
meet when you are out drawing.  It's fun.
We asked the people who dropped by to 
sign our sketchbooks.


This is my version of Keystone Cafe.  I wish
I would have put in the parking meter and a 
bicycle.
Sandi had a Peter Max version in mind
and followed through.
You remember the art of Peter Max....


Max's psychedelic images were all over the
60's and 70's.


 Here is Sandi Max...
I think she got it just right.

After we packed up the supplies we went across
the street for a yummy pancake and parfait brunch.


  The shade was quite nice for painting.



 Sandi broke in her new watercolor paints.


Color and ketchup...


Shade's finished watercolor...
minus one window and a bicycle.


Two hours drawing...two hours painting.


Sandi's 70's relived...
Captures the spirit spectacularly.



Follow the magic of the melody...


All done and closed the place down!


Success times two.


Peace Out!