NJ photos for fall painting..

I know, im aweful about keepin up with this blog!

Anyway, I'll write a catch up blog soon, today I went out and about all the way across the state of NJ lookin for decent fall foilage and just general cool photos of natural New jersey. Everywhere I have ever lived I always get some people who believe that NJ is just one big city. Today i drove around for 4 hours and didnt see a single city :)

Anyway, here are the photos taken in various spots in Central Jersey today, i plan on using some of them for paintings in the future.

Im still here!

Hola! Im still here, I know I havent posted in eons but Im hoping to get back into the routine very soon. This has been a busy summer, between work and spending time with family and doing outdoor things i feel like i havent had much free time at all lately!

I need to get my but into gear for making money this fall/winter and im hoping to work on making ebay work for me this time. Also starting on Monday August 27th Im planning on starting a year of daily paintings. Im planning on starting a newsletter and taking the chance I have right now to build up a following and reputation.

Big plans, now to get them into motion...... more to come

Im Moved!

it has been a crazy month with moving across country and the move is finally done!!! I am now living on the new jersey shore :). for now Im staying with my parents as a way of saving a bit of money and plan on having a place of my own by this fall. What i need to do is to work out a place to paint right now, my parents place is abit crowded.

Next week I start my job airbrushing at seaside heights, hopefully that will be a profitable summer. Anyway, the move wass exhausting and long and i have a little journal of sorts on this site http://www.artandartistry.com/index.php?showtopic=7912

Once I get back to making some art I can get back to posting here!!!

its official, im in a gallery

Not been getting too much artwork done recently, but on the good side, I spent alot of time this past week or so packing and mailing about 12 paintings to LMR Gallery in Pahrump Nevada. Here is a newspaper article announcing the opening and listing me as one of thier artist http://www.pahrumpvalleytimes.com/2007/Apr-27-Fri-2007/news/13872873.html

Still working on housing arrangements for when I move to NJ, I *think* I will be mostly living at my sisters, at least for the summer. Will need to organize her porch as a studio for me. After summer I will most definately have a place of my own. Anyway thats whats new today... going to do the Scottsdale artwalk tonight I think as wont have too many more oppertunities to do so.

back to packing... i hate moving.. i will be glad when it is over! :)

keeping busy....

Not finished yet but getting there, i think i last worked on this on Sunday. This has been a busy week, I had a 90 shirt order to do and I finally finished packing all the paintings getting shippped, hopefully they will all arrive safely. Went and saw a really really really really bad movie with Brian on wed, good thing it was free. It was Day of the Dog or something. Just really bad.

Anyway, hopefully i will get a chance to paint this weekend.. tomorrow I need to take back my house, it is a DISASTER. I'll post an update soon as I get to paint again....

here duck duck duckie!

I started a new painting today. Something nice and soothing after a troubling week.

16"x16" gallery wrap canvas

checking in

Well no new art this week, got bitch-slapped by the IRS monday night, went to the zoo and got alot of photos, got a friend visiting from out of town and sinus headaches because of the 7% humidity. Excuses, excuses......

Getting my paintings ready to ship to the gallery, hopefully Monday or tuesday. Just waiting on the contract. Im also going to get busy doing some more packing and thinning out of my belongings beforfre moving back to NJ. 42 more days.....

Hopefully i will get some art made in the next couple days......

Desert Morning

Another offering of my mini Arizona series in Pastels.

Desert Morning 9"x12"

Arizona Orchard

Think I might do a small Arizona Series before leaving so here is my first offering,

Arizona Orchard 9"x12" pastel

I have not forgotten you....

bad Joni!!! Letting the blog go this long! Well the past is past...

Happy Easter! I have done a few pastels this week. I meant to do one today but I got lazy.. well it is a holiday so I guess im entitled to an occassional lazy day.

This past friday was first friday Artwalk and I brought some old paintings and put them out for $10 - $30 just to get rid of them... I made $90 on paintings that otherwise would have gone too the dumpster. It was a good nite :)

I got some good news this week but... Im not going to go into details just yet but it looks like I got accepted into a Gallery. More details on this later :) Im excited though!

So anyway..... Here are the last few pastel paintings I have done in the last week.

Mossy Beach 27"x21.5"


Lilies #2 9"x12"


Beach Grass 9"x12"

big big big pastel

Yesterday i went to a yardsale at an artist home and although there wasnt very much there besides a ton of art magazines, books and frames, i did get 3 large sheets of sanded pastel paper. So I decided today to try a large pastel painting. The paper measure 27"x22" (i think ... i'll have to remeasure to be sure)

Here is where i got today, this is the easy part, the hard part is next...

hmmm well I got a bit of ....advise concerning my latest painting of the boats so I made some changes, think you can tell whats missing? :)

Dinghies and baseball butts :)

finally finished the dinghy painting, this one was alot harder then i initially thought it would be. Even so though i enjoyed doing it.

Dinghies 16"x16" gallery wrap canvas

Ever since I got to Phoenix almost 3 years ago I have wanted to go to a spring training game but never had anyone to go with so never did. Today i went to my first spring training game and i went by myself. In the nick of time cos i think today was the last day of spring training here. I saw the San Diego Padres vs the AZ Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks kicked booty! 14-8, it really was a great game and even alone i had fun and took alot of pictures. No art today but i had fun anyway... :)

current WIP

Got a more done on the boat painting, this ne is taking a bit longer then i anticipated and throwing a few challenges my way. Also distracted myself by going to a movie, Reign over me. Pretty good movie, so many street shots of NYC it really made me homesick. Anyway here is my current progress...

Current WIP

Catalina Dingies

16"x16"

Sahuaro Ranch Reception

Friday night I decided to go to the reception at the Sahuaro Ranch Show in Glendale. It was really nice, good food and I even had some wine. Both my paintings, Rock Pool and Beached will hang this weekend but Monday I need to pick up Rock pool cos it wasnt juried in. beached will hang till April 15th.

Also, her eis a painting i finished up today... although i think i need to reshoot the photo tomorrow in the daylight

Joe's beach 20"x24" oil

rain rain rain :)

Wow today was a fun day! It rained! And not only did it rain but it HAILED! thunder, lightning, downpour and a steady rain all evening, it was lovely :) The humidity even felt good :) What better way to spend a rainy day then painting? So today I worked on and finished up (i think) Joe's Beach


18"x24"

Since it rained all day I couldnt get good lighting for the photo so I'll reshoot it later this week.

Tomorrow is the reception for the Glendale show. I suppose I should go, kind of expensive though....

In other news, 70 days i think till i make my jersey move.. yay!

GOT A PAINTING JURIED IN...

OK I got the good news in the mail, actually it was half good news and half bad. Rock Pool was rejected but Beached (the conch Shell painting) was accepted into the Glendale Arts Council Juried Fine Art Competition. This is a tough show to get into so im glad just to have gotten in. My friend and mentor Bill Martin got Best of Show.

Anyway, started a new painting. The referance is from my friend Joe and is of Santa Barbara i think. Just a start and the lighting was pretty bad for taking a picture...

18"x24"

Help! I've fallen and I cant get up!

Thats kind of what I feel like this past week or so. Im in a serious art funk! I have not painted in either oils or pastels although i did finally finish the drawing of sienna.

In an interesting turn, today is the day that they juried the show I submitted 2 paintings to and I will find out if im in or not wed or thursday most likely... but tonight I went out for Chinese food and in my fortune cookies was this fortune...

hmmmm so maybe i will get at least one in.. and maybe one will sell? We shall find out I suppose. In the meantime.... I'll work on my artist block...

swelting...

Hottt! Wow today wass by far the hottest day, it hit 100 today! And back in jersey it is snowing and sleeting in a nor'eastern. I almost am envious of the cold weather. I broke down and put on the A/C

Today I dropped off 2 paintings for the juried Glendale Show which is a very popular show, expensive to participate in ($20 per painting/limit 2) and hard to get into. Lots of great competition but this show hangs all paintings for one weekend which has a great record for sales. It will be nice it at least 1 gets juried and 1 sells :) I entered the Conch Shell i did in pastels and The Rock Pool (scroll 2 post down for this one) which is oils.

I havent been doing any art, in a funk or something but i am working on this drawing of Sienna. I have a party to airbrush at tomorrow so hopefully i can get back into the groove of painting this coming week.

slow week

Howdy .. bad Joni.. ignoring her blog. Well ya know.. havent had anything exciting to say or show. I did have a reception on saturday night for a show I got juried into, even though I didnt enter my best pieces.

On both panels mine is the bottom ones.

I havent created much art this week, been slow but i did do a pencil study of some calla lilies and then did a pastel using canson paper... wow, canson pastel paper really sucks to work with.

On Friday i have another show to enter, this one is kind of expensive and harder to get in but we'll give it a shot anyway, i'll know by March 26th if I was accepted or not. Anyway... I hope to get some art done or something this week. I'll check back when i do :)

busy week, juried show and new painting

wow been awhile since i posted ... didnt realize I went this long! Thousand lashes with a wet noodle for me! Anyway i been busy with this dat and da udder thing this week. My cat Sienna had her tummy tuck and pedicure this week, had classes to teach at Michaels and I went back to the Phoenix art Museum for the Rembrant exhibit and attended an art association meeting. Also particpated in the downtown phoenix Artwalk on friday, it was slightly better then normal as I sold a few prints and a small painting (normal is selling nothing).

First Friday Artwalk

The good news for this week is that i got juried in for the Celebration of Artist show in Peoria city Hall. i didnt enter my best paintings as there was issues with size and another show in Glendale overlapping this one, but I guess what i entered was good enough!

Rock Pool (work in progress) 16"x20 oil

Since posting last time I havent really done much art.. i reworked the Winter Sails painting a bit on Monday and on thursday i started the Rock Pool painting which is almost finished. Both in oils. I'll be doing more pastels this week coming i hope.

Finished Lil Princess and added a seascape

Yesterday i finished the Lil' Princess, she is much improved from the previous version! It was fun working on this one though!

Today i did a small seascape in pastels for kicks and giggles ;)

It was a pastel Day...

I felt like doing something different today so I pulled out the pastels and decided to do attempt doing a conch shell I found in the wetcanvas referance library. I think it came out pretty ok so I started another which is more challening. A friend gave me a photo of her granddaughter and im attempting to paint her in pastels. Having a few issues with proportion and finer details with big pastels. This one is still a work in progress. Anyway both of these are 9"x12" on wallis paper

Winter Sails (almost finished)

Close up:

For now it is finished but in a few days when it is dry i will try and glaze that hill back a bit so it doesnt stand out so much (hopefully). Need to move on to the next challenge...

getting there....

Almost finished, this one is taking along time.... maybe 15 hours into it now... i ought to start keeping track of that.

I drew this out on Monday but didnt get to paint it till today (thursday). I worked on it most of today and I will go back to work on it tomorrow. Im hoping if it turns out ok to enter it into the Glendale show next month. that of course remains to be seen.

Rembrant Exhibition

Today i went to the Phoenix Art Museum, one of only 3 Museums in America hosting the Rembrant and the Golden Age of Dutch Art exhibition, and wow what an incredible exhibition it was! It was very impressive, mostly highly realistic, most paintings were dark in color (not mood) and often with a limited palette. I was quite humbled and inspired. It is Phx till May and then it is heading to Portland, OR.

This is the book about this exhibit if anyone is interested, I bought a copy today at the museum. Also in the Museum currently is the exhibit Fierce Reality: Italian Masters from 17th Century Naples.. another wow exhibit .... humbling, inspiring.... wowsers

Anyway, it was a good day

a couple new ones

A couple of paintings I did today...

Sleepy Head 6"x12" oil on canvas

Heron 8"x10" oil on canvas

Now it is time to get serious and start the painting for the Glendale show... but I think tomorrow im going to the Phoenix Art Museum to see the Rembrant Exhibit.