A painting is theater.

So I am not an expert on abstract paintings. In fact, when I go to a museum or show, they don’t tend to capture my attention. The only clear exception for me has been Frances Kline.

I see portraits all the time with teeth… oh man, just don’t do it.

A brush is an artist’s friend, so we need to take care of our pals…

“It’s hard to dance with a devil on your back so shake him off…”   – Florence and the Machine

The weather has been nice where I am lately so I recently found myself out on the grass looking up at white, fluffy clouds moving quickly past the trees.

I am a bionic woman.

Pastel Is a tactile medium.

I am crabby. Crabby, crabby, crabby…

And just like an an awkward teenage girl, when a line grows up it can get curvy.

A line is the most powerful tool in art.

There is something inherently powerful about welding a brush…

You know you are an artist when…

So while in quarantine I have been doing critiques for artists…

Sometimes a light shines in the darkness… or at least into your living room.

I am busier then ever… so why do I feel that I am not getting much done?

Hi! this week I am taking you to a wonderful blog spot called How to Pastel.

In the very beginning of designing this painting I asked myself- “What is most important?”

Hang in there everyone! Glad you could join me again this week from containment. I sincerely hope that

“What color should I use for skin?” I get asked this question all of the time.

“Pink” is just a name for a broad category of colors.

I often see artists getting ready to paint something like this flower above and I watch them getting out all their pretty, pink pastel sticks or start to mix up pink paint… uh… nope.

I got new glasses.......

More on those panels!

This week I will take you through the stages that the paintings went through for the restaurant project that was discussed last week.

I recently found myself painting in oils for a new Restaurant…

Over the holidays I was...

My easel broke…

Lately I have noticed a weird phenomenon…

Tomorrow in the United States is Thanksgiving.

One of my favorite...

All light sources have an inherent color. Photos tend to throw things off so we see things as “white light”

While you are reading this I am in day 4 of Jury Duty. Yup, this week I am a servant of the State.

If you paint portraits from photos, you instantly have a battle on your hands because those pesky photo references tell lies. Here’s why.

Controlling color is one of the most important things you can do as an artist… as well as the most difficult.

My students often complain about painting a nose. I hear ya, they are tough… so let’s look at a few things to make painting the schnoz a little bit easier.

I recently posted a little oil painting that I was working on last week and was pleasantly surprised when it received a lot of attention on Facebook. SO cool! So I thought I would show how this little image came to be.

I am always amazed when people tell me, “Oh! you are so talented!!” as though my work stems magically from fairies and pixie dust. Nope. Good art is created out of dedicated time and knowledge.

In September I am teaching two weekly classes…

As of this morning I have two girls in college…

Sometimes losses come all at once. And when it rains it pours…

So last week was my first “Power of Pastel” Workshop at Sweetwater Center for the Arts…

Plein-air and me? Oh man… I thought I would share some pics and struggles from the last week.

Recently someone asked me if I had a plan for my career now going forward. Goals for awards, shows etc… in other words, what does success look like to me now?

Chocolate is my friend. Well, maybe we are a bit too close when I see photos of myself.

Last week I was in Iowa City. I took my daughter to college orientation for the University of Iowa. My days with her home all the time are numbered, and soon it will just be my son and I. On the flight this is what he packed…

“Painting a landscape is illusionary…  like trying to catch rainbows…”
–  Phil Salvato

Last week I had the honor of inviting and studying with Alexander Soukas from Denver, Colorado as part of the Master Series of Workshops I am setting up here in Sewickley at Sweetwater Center for the Arts.

Sometimes a painting just keeps tapping me on the shoulder until I confront it, design it and then try to execute it. Sometimes this conversation with an image takes years.

I am always impressed by those artists that try so hard to keep their pastels squeaky clean.

A quick tip for those working in pastels this week…

Do you hate the painting you are working on? Frustrated with it and just wanna get it “over with?” I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but anyone looking at the painting will know…

“It’s all in how you arrange the thing… the careful balance of the design is the motion.”
– Andrew Wyeth

Yup… composition is king.

“I don’t think that there is anything that is really magical unless it has a terrifying quality.”
-Andrew Wyeth

“The way I feel about things is so much better than the way I’ve been able to paint them. The image I had in my head before I started is not quite – never quite – completely conveyed in paint.”
– Andrew Wyeth

One of the most prized possessions I have in my studio space is an old book I bought for $6.99 from a second-hand book store.

So when is a color not a color???

Some artists are challenging me about the concept of grey not being a color.

Yes, there is a...

Christine is included in this Master Series learning event at Sweetwater Center for the Arts. Learn directly from local artists in these workshops …

Warning-  if you have an aversion to horror films or are a very tidy artist, you may want to look away…

I found myself complaining recently that I was feeling quite scattered. Starting projects, stopping projects. Throwing myself into events and paintings only to table them soon after…

Some years ago I heard the amazing portrait painter, Howard Sanden, talk about his work. He said the most difficult thing for an artist to overcome is inertia…

Monday night was the second meeting of the new Artist Guild here in Pittsburgh. How do I know? I am running it.

Oh the happiness of a...

I have to say the...

So the painting I...

Welcome to the first blog of the New Year and to the first painting of my New Life…

Nope,  I am not talking...

5 months ago I moved to...

“You can only paint the smell of damp pine needles by being there: a photograph is a poor substitute for working from the real thing when painting a landscape.” -David Bellamy

I have 2 daughters and...

This week I have a...

Just like giving birth...

  It is Halloween...

When I grew up my mom...

Since I consider this...

Using diagonals or...

Just like using color...

Now let's put color...

I had a harder time...

Going back to Sorolla...

So last week I touched...

Another way to...

  Just because an...

While on the topic of...

Sometimes finding a...

One of the best things...

Well,  I did it.  I...

I love meeting unique...

Last weekend I was...

My children get dirty....

I am a big believer in...

Pastel has a way of...

A good portrait has...

Since I mostly paint at...

Over the years I have...