october

the école has been busy - we have been working on portrait painting with a few side-trips back into the landscape.
some of the recent work:
                                                 
                                               

coco has been spending time at goleta beach.
autumn in santa barbara is really summer.









libby smith 
oil on panel 
8"x10"

                                                                                        

libby smith, oil on panel, 10"x10"

libby smith, oil on panel, 10"x10"

libby smith
oil on panel
8"x10"

libby smith, oil on panel, 8"x10"

meanwhile, mimi was in the sierra's. real weather. autumn color, snow and hail.

nina warner, oil on panel, 6"x12"

nina warner

oil on panel

5"x7"

coco and mimi painted the "hunter's moon" - amazing and fun working at night. views from east beach, watching the moon rise. hard to photograph the darkness of the images.

libby smith, oil on panel, 9"x12"

libby smith
oil on panel
9"x12"

libby smith, oil on panel, 9"x12"

libby smith, stearn's wharf @ night

oil on panel, 10"x10"

nina warner
oil on panel
9"x12"

nina warner, afterglow moonrise
oil on panel, 6"x12"

nina warner, oil on panel, 9"x12"

and now to some portraits....

pamela zwehl-burke
Gige, oil on canvas, 18"x24"

libby smith
bonnie
oil on panel
9"x12"

diane handloser
lulu
oil on canvas
9"x12"

nina warner
maddie
oil on canvas
18"x24"

7 october 2013

Autumn in the sierra's. a few recent paintings from Mimi.

nina warner
trail behind the cabin
4"x12" oil on panel

this painting in a cropped version will appear on the cover of the new 2014 ponderosa telephone company phone book.

nina warner

tuolumne meadow trail

5"x7"

oil on panel

nina warner

tuolumne moonrise

5"x7"

oil on panel

19 september 2013

some catching up. last trip to the sierra's and a day at goleta beach with coco.

                                                                                                          nina warner

late afternoon light, oil on panel, 6"x12"

nina warner

on the lake

oil on panel

5"x7"

nina warner

lone boat

oil on panel

8"x8"

august 2013

spending some time in the high sierra, trying to get some painting time in. a  few smokey days, but mostly clear and hot. it is so dry - we really need some rain and a good snowpack this winter.
here are a couple of quirky quick studies:

nina warner
vase with oregon grape 
5"x7"
oil on panel

nina warner
old & new in morning light
5"x7"
oil on panel









i'll post some of the other landscapes as soon as I get a chance to photograph them.

august 2013

Not much time in the landscape - a lot of time working on portraits that we may post sometime. Coco and Mimi spent a day at oak park, fog lifting after lunch changed the light. 
Spent a week in Tahoe, had about an hour to paint.

nina warner
oak park, 9"x12" oil on board

misty morning light
bees swarm to make a new hive
we watch, keep painting

nina warner
tahoe meadow, 6"x8" oil on board

quick study behind the tamarack lodge

24 july 2013

back in the landscape to paint and celebrate Gige's birthday. started out wet, but ended up a lovely day at oak park. blue sky, dappled sun, the sounds of a clarinet screeching in the background accompanied by colorful cursing from a group of homeless guys, along with the occasional grunts of effort from the tennis courts made for a special time together.
We, all four, did some nice work - different views, but similar palettes of color.
So here we are (some still in progress):

d. handloser
eucalyptus trees
9"x12"
oil on panel

p. zwehl-burke
rocks & dry grass
9"x12"   oil on panel

l. smith
sycamore
9"x12" oil on panel

n. warner
through the trees
9"x12"
oil on panel

july 2013

catching up. have been busy becoming portrait painters, so we haven't been out in the landscape as much. but here and there, we still get out.

"nature teaches us simplicity and contentment, because in its presence we realize we need very little to be happy"  
mark coleman, "a breath of fresh air"


Coco has a lovely, quick study from Yosemite:

lake tenaya
8"x10"
oil on panel





Mimi was lucky to do ONE study from Paris:

view out the window
6"x8"
oil on panel






and some quick studies in the Sierra:

fir saplings
4"x11"
oil on board

behind the cabin 
4"x11"
oil on board

kaiser meadow
4"x11"
oil on board

pines
5"x7"
oil on board 

young and scraggly
5"x7"
oil on board





Lulu did a weekend workshop full of ocean/beach paintings. will post as soon as I have some images.
Gigi has not been out due to a broken leg (!!!) but is slowly mending and may soon be able to hobble out.