I am preparing for my first Mother's Day Art & Garden tour with the San Dieguito Artist Guild in Encinitas, CA through Off Track Gallery,It is an exciting 2-Day event, May 10-11. 10-4pm. Lots of work, since this is my first time.
Preparing all the painting with prices and merchandizing so all looks nice.
The most exciting step is showing the finished product of Ocean's Dancer,
my Bronze Sting Ray.

This is how it all began;

I love the ocean. Surfing, SCUBA diving, bodysurfing; the ocean has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. While on a night dive at La Jolla Shores I witnessed the beauty of hundreds of dancing bat rays enjoying the delicacies of the squid spawning. Gently gliding along the ocean bottom, the moonlight’s glow casting their wings as larger than life shadows on the sand below us. A sight one will never forget.

Another unforgettable memory is of their cousins, the stingray. Hiding quietly in the shallows of our sandy shoreline, until someone forgets the “Stingray Shuffle” and gets nailed by their barbed tail.

I have had the unfortunate privilege to be struck three times by the incredible pain that comes with disturbing these beautiful creatures, and it was these moments of excruciating pain that gave me the motivation to turn an uncomfortable experience into motivation for art.

Proposed art installation bronze sculpture that is educational, yet represents this creature’s place in nature for the city of Encinitas. Dimensions of public art piece would be determined on the availability of space, installation all professionally engineered by Brandon Roy, founder of California Academy of Sculpture.

"Ocean Dancer" is resting on red clay,

it's harder than the gray clay,

which gives it support. Next step is to paitn on silicone,

that creates the mold for the wax.

Creating Facemask from Alginate~ Mermaid

This is my fourth project in sculpture class, I am hooked. It’s all about creating with your hands and I am “SO THERE”.  We are creating a facemask starting with Alginate,

if we wish it can be altered.  I added starfish to create a Mermaid face. I had it photographed, so it will be on YouTube soon. Stay tuned.

I decided to post the on-goings of my creative thinking. The projects that I have started while attending community college. I have noticed far less stress outside the "Private Fine Art School," which opens up the creative process on a relaxed level. Feeling free to "Play" rather than create in a structured matter. Structure is needed to learn the correct ways, but I was ready to have fun once I knew.

Ready to cut loose!

I signed up for Sculpture and Painting from Life.

Happy Birthday to ME!

This is a very special Birthday... I have received the gift of enjoying being me. It sounds so simple, doesn't it, but it took me 56 years. After our journey on the Queen Mary II, the transatlantic ship sailing across the sea, we sailed into South Hampton, England. 

We visited many museums in London and Paris and noted the paintings' dates. "So, how long DID it take him to paint this painting?"

Hmmm.... Some masters took years to finish a painting; why can't I?

I can!

I will no longer follow in someone else's footsteps or compare myself to anyone else. I am here to give love and guidance to those who cross my path. I am going to enjoy the minute, the hour, the day. Enjoy the small things throughout the day. My Daddy has passed, but his spirit has come to me; I can feel it. I do not need to be in art shows every week, I don't need to win ribbons, and God knows I don't need street art shows.

Was that a nightmare!

All the work for what? To hear people say, "Oh, you are really good"! For Goodness' sake, I know I am good; I do it because I love it. It is a passion, and if my passion works throughout the day, that is great. If it takes a break, that's great too. I will listen to something else that needs to be done.

Thank you for coming to me and helping me see the light. I know my Dad is here opening my eyes.

What a wonderful birthday gift I received.

What a fantastic party I had. There was so much love from John and all my friends.

Thank You.

1st Oil Portrait Complete!

After seven years of taking oil portrait classes, I finally got it!

One has to mix the colors backward. Does that make sense? Let's say you wish to make a peachy cheek; start with the white, then add the colors and make enough so you don't have to guess.

Slowing, add your premixed (colors with the white and the oranges and a puddle of premixed whites & reds). Go slow; make a value range out of all your pools; too much color will ruin the entire puddle of paint.

Keep the warms and cools separate; as soon as they touch, you have created mud, which may not be wrong if you are in control. Use that control and generate value shifts with your color and temperature.

Build up and take a break, maybe a day or so; check your work with a mirror and look through it; you will get a different perspective, and it will surprise you, sometimes for the best (if you are lucky). Well, I'm not one to write a bunch of stuff. Those words are the best suggestions for now.

Take Care and keep trying.