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.

A few smaller new works

I've been busy this week setting up a new online gallery which i invite you to view at www.yessy.com/artbyjoni and redesigning my website so i have only gotten a few smaller works done this week. Next week Im going to get busy preparing for the Glendale show which will be a tough one to get into.

Here are the 3 small pieces I did in the last few days

Pelican 8"x10" acrylic on canvas board

Long Beach Siamese 8"x10" oil on canvas

Seagull Sunset 5"x7" oil on Masonite

My cruise adventures

Well I am back from my vacation (for several days now). I left on Saturday and spend Saturday and Sunday with my friend Jennifer in Long Beach, CA. We just hung out at home on saturday nigght and on Sunday we met and had lunch with Diana (Rosequeen from wetcanvas) and then went shopping at art stores. First we went to Artist Supply Warehouse (http://www.artsupplywarehouse.com/) and then we went to Pearl Paint (http://www.pearlpaint.com/) i was good and didnt buy anything.. well i bought a couple brushes on clearance for .99 cent each and an earaser. And then Monday after a breakfast at Denny's with Jen I headed over to the Los Angeles Port and to the ship, Monarch of the Seas.

There I met up with Sue and her husband Hank who was dropping her off and we jumped through thier security hoops and ladders and finally got on the ship. I wasnt on the ship 30 seconds before I had a drink in my hand, a bahama Mama. They had a cart with drinks all ready to go and you could keep the glass. Im on vacation so what the heck. I only had 2 drinks the whole cruise :) While partaking in lunch onboard while still in port in LA I realized i left my umbrella in my car while chatting with my dad on the phone. I almost went out to get it but then i would have had to go through security again, so i figured i'd take my chances.

We shoved off about 6 pm and theen got read for dinner at 8pm. If was fun dressing up for a change. The food was awesome, i never ever ate so well. Spent the evening exploring the ship and went to bed about 11.

The next day we pulled into San Diego and it was raining and cold. We did the old town trolley tour and a perfect rainy day activity, the San Diego Museum of Art. Nice little Museum but the Phoenix Art Museum is better. Ended at the seashore village a few blocks from the ship where i visited a wyland gallery (the marine artist). I took alot of seagul pictures and we walked back to the ship looking like a couple of drowned rats. We grabbed lunch on board and then found out it was formal night for dinner that night. Once we left port the duty free shops opened and we went shopping. Dinner that night was as fabulous as every night was.

The next day we pulled into Catalina Island and it was raining.. again. Just drizzling this time and chilly. We took the skyline tour, which I had once swore to never do again but I thought Sue might enjoy it and it was very informative to the history of the island. The tour was as scarey as i remembered it, scarier cos the bus was bigger. But I love Avalon, it is such a charming little town with great galleries and awesome scenery. We walked all over town and the sun finally came out just before we headed back to the ship. Got back a bit late for lunch but they always have some food and they had a pizza place onboard so we grabbed some pizza (all this food is included in the cruise price). We sat on deck for awhile drawing seaguls in pastel and then the ship shoved off and it got dark soon after. Went to a show and then dinner and a bit of casino play :) . Then from 11:30pm to 12:30 am they had a chocolate buffet. Yummmmmmm. I tried to be good and only had a little bit of several different chocolate treats.

The next morning we pulled into Ensenada, Mexico, and hour late because someone fell the night before and broke a leg so they had to go back to San Diego to transport that person to a local hospital. Mexico was pretty much what I expected mexico to be. At least the touristy part. It was a nice day, despite the overcast drizzly sky, again. The Mexican folk dancing was interesting. Street vendors every 10 ft all trying to sell the same ol things. I did trade a print I brought for a painted shell. Got back on board in time for lunch and then did some photographing at the only decent sunset we saw the whole cruise.

I went down and got ready for dinner and went to a show before dinner leaving Sue to work on a watercolor painting she started. At dinner Sue didnt show up so i called the room and she was seasick. Violently so... It was quite choppy and the boat was moving around alot. So poor sue's last night aboard was spent throwing up and sleeping. Unfortunately she didnt get to packing till the morning so she was a bit frantic and snippy come morning when we had to be packed and be out of the stateroom by 8am. Then we had to wait around till like 10 am to get off the boat and go through customs.

The drive home was long and i was tired, i was worried about staying awake but i did and we were home by 8pm.

Overall the cruise was awesome even with all the rainy and overcast weather. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Took a better picture i think. Im up later then i intended and gotta leave in the morning for vacation. I'll post vacation adventures and pictures when i get back.

The Casino in Avalon

I'll get a better picture in the daylight tomorrow. "Casino" 16"x20" oil on canvas

a bit more progress and who i think is a cylon...

I worked on this for several more hours today, it isnt near finished yet but figured i would post my progress anyway. Im enjoying this one and yet im not... i feel pressured because I wanna finish it before the cruise and because thehere are so many details. Heh, imagine if i left all the boats in there!

Anyway, im a huge battlestar Galactica Fan ( the new show on Sci-fi) so anyone who doesnt watch or doesnt care just stop reading here because you'll probably not be interested anyway :).

So who are the final five cylons? It'll be a while before they tell us that but they are going to reveal at least 1 this season and it is pretty hotly debated as to who it will be. I saw alot of viewer comments and I saw alot of people say it would be Baltar, or Helo, or Starbuck. I have thought about it and I think this last weeks episode gave a big clue when D'Anna saw the face of one of the final 5. She said something to the effect of "Im sorry, i didnt realize" which leads me to believe it is someone she had dealings with.

Im also keeping in mind that I think Baltars cylon blood test did work and i think the final 5 need to be people who came after and werent tested OR were in a position to avoid having the test taken. They were still relying on that test when Bulldog escaped and arrived on the Galactica.

Back to the identiity of the one D'Anna saw. I have thought back, who has she had dealings with in the human community, who would she feel she needed to appologize to.. Adama? maybe but I dont see Adama being a Cylon, he has a verifiable history going back too far. Laura Roslin and Col. Tigh, I think is same situation as Adama. Both are also too easy. Baltar.. no, way way way to easy, and would be to convienant for him. It is what he wants, it is the only way he'll have a family or be accepted by a race of people now. It wont be Baltar. Tom zarak... I doubt he is a cylon but i think it would be cool if he was. I used to think It might be Ellen Tigh, Im still entertaining that possibility for one of the 5...

I think that the Final 5 cylon they will unveil this season will be the doctor. He I think could easily have avoided the shot as he was always busy being on another ship (like when Adama was shot) or saving peoples lives, obeying orders without (much) question. He is much admired and almost the perfect ideal doctor, saving liveswithout reguard of wether they are human or not. But ultimately what made me think it is the doctor is the confrontation D'Anna had with the doctor on New Caprica just before the liberation. I cant think of another "human" she'd dealt with on such a level that she'd feel the need to appologize.

But now, they have boxed her so she'll never say who she saw.

The doctor would be interesting though.. what a conflict in loyalties that would cause.. and with one cylon aligning with humans.. and possibly another with number 6 now on the Galactica.. could we be seeing a new trend? :) Anyway, thats my prediction for the 1st final 5 cylon revelation.

Had a very nice day today, had lunch with Bill and Carol, got some photo paper at staples and came home and painted a bit. Then I got a headache and ended up being lazy the rest of the night. So much for getting this painting done .. well there is always tomorrow. I still have a headache :(

rainy day in Phoenix

Another rainy day in Phoenix today so instead of going to an art festival, i went to a life drawing session instead. It was fun, i experimented in pastels and black paper. Kind of looks like the velvet Elvis effect... cheesey :) But reguardless, it was fun. I might go to the art festival tomorrow since it is supposed too be nice till evening, then possibly more rain. I need to be inspired...

Less then a week till i leave for my vacation, a cruise to San diego, catalina island and ensenada mexico. Im spending a few days in long Beach with jen before hand, and meeting with Diana and Joe, the local WC'ers, should be fun. Im hoping the weather will be better then it is now! Gonna see if i can figure out a way to sell some prints while on vacation :)

Today was the first real rainy day I've seen in Phoenix in probably about a year. Rained pretty much all day long, it was a nice change! So I spent this rainy day working on and pretty much finishing the catalina island painting. While working on the painting my cat smeagol jumped up on the table i have set up next to my easel in case i decide to do still lifes so I decided to paint her... and quickly cos cats dont usually pose willingly or for very long at all. So i grabbed a small canvas and spent 15-20 minutes till she got off the table doing a quick oil sketch. She fell asleep halway through messing the pose up a little but by then i had alll the main stuff down.

So anyway after that quicky i continued to work on the catalina paiting and I think it is finished. I definately need to reshoot it in better lighting though as it was dark and dreary (and rainy!) here today. I almost started another painting but couldnt quite decide on what to do next. Tomorrow im "probably" going too life drawing session in scottsdale as it is supposed to rain again. There is an art fair in carefree I might go see if it isnt raining (or i can go sunday). Anyway this is todays endeavors.

finally got a WIP

I have been keeping busy this week although very little painting has gotten done. In fact until today it was pretty much none. But i did go to life drawing session last night and got my studio completely cleaned and reorganized, prepared several canvases and started a Catalina Island Painting.

Oh today I got my rejection notice from artlink... hmmm only a whole month since they were supposed to notify artist. It was a form letter and didnt even address me, just dear artist, we're sorry.. blah blah blah. IS all good though as I knew I wouldnt fit in with that group. With them, the weirder the better. I did send out an application today for a Juried art in the part event in Cape May this July. No idea when I'll hear from them but this will be fun if i get in.

Anyway, enough of this babbling, I should get back to the catalina island painting!

the best laid plans..

I finished the pastel and im about to post it for sale on artbyus.com I think. I didnt end up doing anythhing I said i would, but instead I created my colorwheel project for the kids drawing class tomorrow, airbrushed some shirts for a customer, and cleaned and organized the studio and took an inventory of canvas.. wow i have 57 canvas's... i need to get busy both painting and selling! Anyway, the scottsdale thing i will probably do on Wednesday. I feel busier now then when i was working full time! (sheesh it's only been a day!)

New year, new start!

I'll start off with the pastel im working on. This is my first pastel and i know it needs work. 9"x12" soft pastel on wallis.

New year, new start. Today was the last day of my full time job, airbrushing at the mall. Im soooo finished with the rude people. They are so rude they were making me rude. New year, new start. Im going to become a working artist this year. A working fine artist. This year is all about growing as an artist, learning to market and sell my work and becoming self sufficent with my art.

This year is also going to be a big year of change. Im moving back to New Jersey in May in order to reconnect with family and friends. I miss the hometown, the salt air, the arguements on Christmas. I Miss the trees that turn colors in the fall, the smell of rain in the spring and fireworks on the beach in summer. I dont miss much at all about winter. No in winter i'll be missing Phoenix :).

So today, well technically tomorrow begins my new life as a soon to be starving artist. Thats ok i guess because I can sure stand to lose some weight! My first order of business is a meeting at 10:30 am with a potential client for a small airbrush job. Then I will muck about with that pastel im working on, i have found several glaring mistakes that may or may not be fixable. blah blah boring i know.. but now is the excitng part! I am going to tour both the Celebration of Fine art and Arizona Festival of Fine Arts AND THEN.. if thats not enough, im planning on going to my first life drawing session at the Scottsdale Artist School. Im going to try and go every monday night.

Anyway Im making alot of changes, this week is a week in transition, next week i'll get busy and then the week after that I'll take off and go on a cruise :) (planned and paid for months ago). I hope to get alot of groovy referance pictures while cruising (San Diego, catalina Island and Ensenada mexico). More about this later.

I grabbed a couple hours to paint this morning before I leave for work and this is where I am on the sunset painting. Anyway this is 24"x24" on masonite (oils of course!) and just figured I would toss this out there.. Having some trouble i think with the top portion of the sky.

Website Is back up and running!

For some reason my website went down for about 2 weeks, so I moved the hosting to mydomain.com and hopefully I wont have to deal with disappearing websites anymore! Several things have happened in the last 2 weeks, the big news is that I got juried into an art show! Liquid Sunset and Reaching for the sky (a new painting) were juried in on January 19th into the Celebration Of Artist show presented by the Peoria Arts Commission. The show runs till February 2nd at the Peoria City Hall.

I have also started my classes at GCC. This will be an interesting next few months, if not exhausting. Im hoping I can find the time to paint between school and work, so far it has been a bit elusive. Im hoping as I settle into the schedule i can find a few extra hours here and there to paint.

I currently have this sunset painting on my easel, it is 24"x24" on hardboard. I was inspired by some fellow forum members at www.artandartistry.com Marty and Brainless for thier magnificent skys. I hope when it is done it will look half as good as thiers!

Well thats all that is exciting and new that I have the time to type about right now. :)