Tales from the Rushmore Kid

Sketchbook Art - Bethlehem

I have been lucky enough to have been in the town of Bethlehem on Christmas day.  It was one of my parochial school kid's dreams come true.  Our Jewish mother tour guide took us to the Church of the Nativity on Christmas night.  The line was hours long to go down to the cave where the baby Jesus was born, but our guide knew of a secret door that is only open on Christmas. We followed her down and viewed the glorious Nativity scene--surround by chicken wire, just in case someone wanted to take baby Jesus home.  As we sang Christmas carols on our way back to the hotel, the brightest star I have ever seen shined over the land.  On this blessed day, Merry Christmas to all.

Sketchbook art - Mykonos - Greece

Mykonos is sort of the Disneyland of the Greek Islands. The white buildings with their blue roofs lend a charming fantasy feel to the towns. During the high season the streets are jammed with tourists, and the white sand beaches, where tops are optional, are loaded. The shopping is fun and the locals friendly. Like everywhere in Greece, Mykonos has its own mythology. This was where Heracles killed the giants. The rocks around the island are supposedly their corpses!!!

Art for cash sake - Murals

I have painted many murals over the years. I have a love/hate thing with them. They are way too much work for way too little money. They are intensive manual labor. When you are done with them you can basically kiss them good-bye. Eventually they are painted over. With that said, I do enjoy an occasional mural. There is nothing like art on a massive scale.  The one pictured here was for a Mexican restaurant and the owners wanted some bright and festive flowers. I did have a blast with this one. I heard later that the restaurant was sold and I don't know if they kept the mural, but it is still alive in my heart.

Old manuscript art

Now it seems overdone, but at one time the publishing houses were crazy about pirates. I loved to create pencil drawings on colored Canson paper. I experimented with a drawing for an ABC book on pirates. This one is E for eye patch.  My ever obliging husband agreed to pose for the drawing. I never did publish that pirate alphabet, but my critique group member, June Sobel did.  Shiver Me Letters is a wonderful pirate alphabet book and I recommend it to all.

Sketchbook Art - Kyoto - Japan

For something like 1000 years, Kyoto was the capital of Japan. Home of ancient palaces, museums and temples, this remarkable city is a feast for any artist.  Everywhere design and style have come into play.  This is Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion. It was built  for a retired Shogun and became a Zen temple after his death. Like many temples, it has wonderfully harmonious gardens, but what makes it unique is that it is painted in gold leaf. When the sun is shining, the temple glows.

Sketchbook Art - Musee d'Orsay

One of my favorite museums in the world is the Musee d'Orsay.  In the center of Paris on the banks of the Seine, opposite the Tuileries Gardens, the museum was installed in the former Orsay railway station. I am a nut for French Impressionist art, but I also love the architecture of the museum, which displays collections from the period 1848 to 1914. I leaned on a bridge, with hundreds of people passing by, as I quickly painted this muddy sketch. I usually spend two entire days in this fabulous museum. One of the jewels of the Musee d'Orsay that I always visit is an American painting, "Whistler's Mother."

Museum of Fine Art Boston

Whenever I am in Boston I have to go to the Museum of Fine Art Boston. One of the finest museums in the world, the MFAB has a wonderful rotunda featuring John Singer Sargent murals.

One of my favorite American portrait painters, Sargent lived most of his life in Europe. He painted house sized portraits of the wealthy and the aristocracy. Tired of painting portraits (the rich probably bitched too much!), Sargent turned to landscapes.

Near the end of his life, he painted the entrance to the MFAB, and he worked on the MFAB murals until his death. For me, the entrance to this museum has the holy feeling of Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. I've been told that the new wing to the MFAB, now under construction, will have an entire gallery devoted to John Singer Sargent.

Sketchbook Art - El Deir - Petra - Jordan

Petra is an ancient, hidden city carved out of rose rock. It is a hiker's dream. El Geir, known as the Monastery, sits at one of the highest points in the city.  One afternoon I hiked donkey trails, cobblestone steps and sheer cliffs to sketch this well preserved building.  There were other people on the top of the cliffs, but I was able to perch on an outcrop and work on the sketch undisturbed. At sunset, I was the only person left. Done with the drawing, I was able to take in the peaceful beauty of the desert below.

Ventana Canyon - Golf Art

Occasionally I got to play the golf courses that I painted. Ventana Canyon in the rolling desert hills near Tuscon, Arizona, was inspiring to play. On this par-3 hole, the bulls-eye greens were guarded by giant cactus. If you were lucky, you bounced out. If not, you were stuck in the Sororos and penalized a stroke!

Sketchbook Art - Bora Bora

Of all the places I've traveled, Bora Bora is one of the most beautiful. I can see why Gauguin chucked rainy Paris and moved here.

The island huts, built over the water, made me feel like I was living right on the ocean. Our hut even had a glass coffee table that opened to the water below and lit it up. We could actually feed the colorful tropical fish that swam beneath us.

I painted Matira Beach several times. We could walk out about a mile on velvet white sand in waist-high turquoise water.

The locals were friendly and gorgeous. The French Polynesians are uninhibited, and to my husband's delight, most of the beaches were of the topless persuasion!

Monet Barbecue Cover

Summer is coming and this is a repeat post from last year. After a year on the beach deck, this barbecue cover STILL looks great!

There is nothing I hate more than those black barbecue covers,  especially when they become weather beaten. So every year or so, I paint mine. This year it is Monet's lily pads.  In five easy steps, you can paint one too!

Sketchbook Art - Athens

Athens is a friendly city as well as an ancient one. As is true in Paris with the Eiffel Tower, the Parthenon can be seen from many parts of the city. I was once there during the World Cup finals. Soccer is an obsession in Europe, and when the games were on, all business stopped and TV's blared from every square for everyone to view. The Parthenon is lit at night and rooftop gourmet restaurants are scattered below.  I sketched this in one of those restaurants at a long and leisurely lunch involving many refills of expensive wine and soccer chats with the waiters...

100 Hands - Torture Art

I was cleaning the studio and came across a giant sketchbook filled with nothing but hands. When I was in college, I had a figure drawing teacher we called "Porky" who found great pleasure working the class to the bone. Nothing ever pleased her, and she was convinced that if we did a Death March of Drawing we would become true artists.  One of her homework assignments was to draw 100 hands in one week. These are four of the 100.  I don't know if it made me a true artist, but I know I never had a boss as tough as that teacher.

Qala'at ar-Rabad - Sketchbook art

Jordan is one fabulous place. In traditional Arab fashion, tourists are treated like guests in the homes of Jordanians. When my girlfriends and I were there, we were treated with gracious hospitality by the locals and guides alike.

Jordan is also one of those Middle Eastern countries that has been conquered and occupied  by hundreds of armies over the years. The desert landscape is dotted with castles and walled towns. Qala'at ar-Rabad  is one such castle.  Between Aman and Petra, the ruins still stand tall on the top of a mountain, strategically located for watchmen to spot trouble coming out of the surrounding valleys. Most of this castle was built underground to protect its inhabitants, but I chose to sketch the view from one of the remaining watchtowers.

Apple Bay - Tortola - Gallery Art

Sometimes sketchbook art becomes gallery art. Tortola is a beautiful island in the British Virgin Islands. My brother has lived there for the last thirty years, and I have spent many hours sketching, drawing and painting the pristine beaches. I used oil paints for this painting of Sebastian's, a beach bar on the west side of the island. Oil paints are rich in color but take forever to dry, and it took days to pick bugs off this canvas. In the end this very lumpy piece sold at a local gallery.

Golf Art - Calabasas Country Club 18th hole

 One of the many series of paintings I have showed and sold falls under the category of Golf Art. I love the sport that I only begrudgingly took up as a good girlfriend but later thrived on as a wife. I find that golf courses are almost like Japanese gardens, weeded, trimmed and landscaped beautifully. But, while you meditate in a Japanese garden, you do anything but on a golf course! A frustrating, crazy game, golf has at times made me less of a lady and more of a lunatic. Just when I thought I would have a great game, a little hazard would come my way. I must have hundreds of golf balls in the water hazard that surrounds this 18th hole at Calabasas Country Club--and maybe even a club or two.

Contest Art

I'm big into contests. I find that they motivate me to experiment with new art techniques and to sharpen up manuscripts. Over the years I have entered many illustrators' and writers' contests. I've lost more competitions than I've won, but the experience is always worthwhile. This is a piece I did for an SCBWI Writer's Day illustration contest. The theme was "Happily Ever After with Books." I won runner up!

National Portrait Gallery

Often when I am stuck for an idea for a book or painting, I go to museums. Back in art college, the instructors used to take us to the galleries and make us copy the masters. This was helpful for studying composition, light and color. It also gave me, the ham, an opportunity to gab it up with all the museum goers. I find history fascinating, and every painting has a story behind it, whether the subject is person, place or thing.  One of my favorite museums is the National Portrait Gallery in D.C.

Tourist Art

There are many ways to make a living as an artist. One side biz I did for a while was creating tourist art. I would paint a black and white sketch of some famous local tourist spot, run a limited edition at Kinkos, then watercolor each print. This example is from a series I did on Laguna Beach. I took on an alias and signed my sketches Chic V.

Chemainus - Mural Town - Vancouver Island B.C.

Last summer I had the opportunity to drive through Vancouver Island and visit many small towns. One town that I had to visit, as a muralist, was Chemainus, known as Mural Town.

Art for Love - Ariel

Occasionally, I will do a painting for friends.  This painting of Ariel is one of those.  Ariel was a great dog who was well loved.  She would show up on my doorstep dressed up as a bee for Halloween.  Our dog, Star, was invited to many of Ariel's birthday parties, where all the dogs munched on Doggie Birthday Cake from Three Dog Bakery and came home with chew toy party favors.  Ariel could catch a tennis ball on the fly that had been thrown two stories straight up in the air.  But mostly she was a gentle soul who would lay her head on my lap and make me feel loved.  Ariel passed a few years ago, but she is still missed by all.

Hubert Laws - Gallery Art

Gallery Art lends itself to what I call "Inspirational Art."  My musician series fed on inspiration.

I am a huge fan of Hubert Laws, the classical and jazz flutist.  As I've done with all my musician paintings, I played Hubert's music while I was working.

I felt a camaraderie with the jazz musician because with both gallery art and jazz, you take the vow of poverty to pursue the passion.

Tuscany - Sketchbook Art

 

 

I have been fortunate to have spent time sketching while traveling through Italy. Tuscany is an amazing place--  rolling, lush hills, vineyards everywhere and charming, ancient towns.  It was difficult to do sightseeing when all I wanted to do was stop in every square, have a glass of wine and draw. In the small towns throughout Tuscany, very few people spoke English, but art is a universal language.  Most of the time waiters brought me free food and refilled my glass. Sometimes I gave the owner of a cafe the sketch I was working on. Always, the painting was accepted with great fanfare and gratitude. Or at least that's what I thought was going on.  My Italian is so bad, they could have been telling me about the next day's menu!

Rumer the Cat

Along with holly, cookies and presents, another Christmas tradition for me is the holiday commission. This involves the painting of grandkids, vacation landscapes or beloved pets.  If I am lucky, I have a few months before delivery. But usually what I get is a last minute request requiring a few late nights.

This is Rumer. I had a few months to complete him, but I struggled for a long time with the photos I'd been sent. I'm glad I waited till I was truly inspired by the play of color and light. When I finally delivered Rumer, everybody was happy.

Armadillos - Old Manuscript Art.

Like many authors and illustrators, I have a ton of sketches and old manuscripts living in my flat file just waiting to become a story again. This is a piece I did for a manuscript called "Bowling Armadillos."  It is about a family of armadillos who travel to New York by becoming bowling balls.  No takers yet, but the story still makes me laugh.

Sketchbook art - Hawaii

Sketching gives me the freedom to be a real ham. Hawaiian beaches are always loaded with people, so finding a private place to draw was next to impossible. Art is a magnet for all sorts of folks. Sometimes they are shy about talking to me, but I enjoy gabbing it up. This sketch is one of a series of five.  I actually got a portrait job from sitting on this beach, sketching and just being goofy me.

Priscilla the Kitty Fairy - Old Manuscript Art

Years ago, one of the first stories I wrote was about a magical kitty fairy. In those days, my writing stunk and I didn't realize that the story needed to be nailed down before a dummy could be made. I gave up on the story, but someday I might rework it. The art is fun and still lives in my flat file.

Paris - Sketchbook Art

When I visit Paris I always stop to sketch.  It is one of the most beautiful city in the world.  The buildings are classical and ancient.  This is a city of art. Museums, galleries, art movements and the most beautiful women in the world.  At times these super model Parisians would take my breath away as they strolled by in their high fashion and very very high heels.  I stuck with my Nikes, sweatshirts and watercolors.

Tasmania - Sketchbook Art

On the island of Tasmania there is a wildlife preserve that allows the kangaroos and the koala bears to roam freely.  I quick sketched the scene and then hand-fed the kangaroos.  It was some surreal experience as the kangaroos, ever so gently, held my hands and ate.  They moved like prima ballerinas with their graceful jumps.   The koala bears gripped the trees through out the preserve and allowed us to pet them.  The only critter caged up was the  vicious Tasmania Devil.  The little darlings only ate dead meat.

Sketchbook Art - Egypt

 Traveling through Egypt was a remarkable experience.  The unexpected hospitality of the people, the delicious food and the awe inspiring ancient ruins made for a memorable experience. Up and down the Nile towns sprawled around five thousand year old temples with covered markets that sold everything from gold to cucumbers.  Horus was the falcon god of  whatever pharaoh happened to be living at that time.  The most amazing aspect of this temple in Kom Ombo was that parts of the ceiling still had the original paint.

Peter Island - Sketch book art.

One of coolest things about the Caribbean is everywhere you look there are little islands.  Some are British, U.S., French, Dutch and some are privately owned. If you have the bucks, anyone can go to Peter Island.  It is a fabulous resort island without cars, streets, little kids and only one guest per ten acres. Crystal blue Caribbean water and white powder sand.  My brother, who lives on the next island over, often took me to lunch there when I visited.
This is a quick sketch from the ferry.

Sketchbook art - LPGA

Being golfers, every now and then, my husband and I have played in P.G.A. or L.P.G.A. charity Pro-Am events. They are  held the day before the real tournament begins.  Here I was up in the bleachers sketching the 18th hole as my husband played in the Pro-Am.  His partner, Si Ri Park not only gave him tips all day, but she also went on to win the tournament that year.

Tracy Arms - Alaska

The Inside passage has it share of glaciers.   The ship sailed back into these small inlets to view these massive mountains of ice.  Of course it was freezing cold as I stood on my deck to quick sketch in the drizzle.  It paid off with a drawing and a sighting of a pod of killer whales.

Sketchbook Art - Sydney

When I was in Australia, I ended up sketching this amazing building three times.  The Sydney Opera House is one of the most recognizable structures in the world.  It was said that the architect came up with the design by playing with orange slices.  Inside was remarkable with curved wooden paneling that followed the shape of the ceilings. We were lucky enough to hear opera at the Opera House. One of the three tenors, Jose Carreras, with the Australian Philharmonic, gave an astonishing performance that included five encores.

Grand Champion Golf Course

Golf courses are built in some bizarre places.  Sometimes when you play you have to watch out for alligators, rattlesnakes or the dead!  This spectacular course in Palm Springs is built in between Indian burial grounds.  If your ball flies into one of these fenced off areas little signs are posted requesting that you do not retrieve it.  Creepy.

Sketchbook Art - Skagway

Because it is near the top of the world, Alaska still has a frontier feel.  Most of the towns look like they are right out of the Wild West.  Skagway is one.  The tours basically show you the bars, boarding houses and historic houses of ill repute.
Now, being on the Inside Passage, instead of loggers and miners, it is full of cruises passengers looking for the best deals on souvenirs.

Sketchbook Art - Villa d'Este

One of the most fabulous hotels in Italy is the Villa d'Este on Lake Como.  Around 1500 it was built by a Cardinal for his private residence. It was owned in succession by a ballerina, a Napoleonic General, an English Queen, without a crown, who renamed it Villa d'Este.  In 1873 it was transformed into a Hotel.  One of the coolest things are the gardens that were built in the 1600.  What's unique are these giant mosaic buildings.  The mosaics aren't out of tile, but made with sea shells.  Lately, the hotel's claim to fame is being a neighbor of George Clooney.

Columbia Space Shuttle

When I was a member of the Society of Illustrators they had a program that I participated in with the Smithsonian and the Air Force. With a group of illustrators I was flown around country to different bases to do research for the paintings.  It was a fun program and in the end we donated the paintings to the Smithsonian and they had an art show and a dinner for us in D.C. This is my painting on the Space Shuttle, Columbia.

Bunny the Cat

Bunny is my friend Alexis's white cat. Bunny is so beautiful that years ago she inspired my kitty series.
Bunny always reminded me of a French princess waiting to be served, petted and fed.  When I visited Alexis, it was an honor that Princess Bunny would grace me with her presence.

Sketch book Art - Huahine - Society Islands

Traveling through the South Pacific I felt the spirit of Paul Gauguin everywhere.  The color of the foliage, the beauty of women and the crystal blue seas, reminded me of his paintings. Sketch book art is very quick and stealthy. In most countries it is considered rude to even photograph people, so basically I stuck to painting landscape. Parts of this small  island of  Huahine  was so untouched it felt as if Gauguin could come around the corner at any minute.

Golf landscapes - Art for cash sake

This is a painting from my golf course series. The big island of Hawaii is home to an active volcano.  The old lava flows made the  golf courses there resemble the surface of the moon.  If you hit a ball into the lava fields, you leave it.  The fields cut up golf balls or any fool who tried to get them.  This painting is featured on my art site and has brought me many commissions.  I guess all golfers want to play on the moon.

Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum

L.A. is loaded with museums.  Some awe inspiring and some just goofy.  The Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum is both.  Built by the signing cowboy, movie star, Gene Autry, the museums holds his collection of American art, a Hollywood cowboy collections of costumes and such and a rotating gallery of up and coming artist.  Here I am with visiting editor Carolyn Yoder.  I thought she'd get a kick out of a museum that is uniquely L.A.  She is a history buff  and I am happy to say, enjoyed singing Gene's museum.

Valentines Day

When I was a kid, Valentines Day was a popularity contest.
How many one got and who sent them.  Then as an adult it turned into my national holiday to find creative ways to express my affection for my hubby.  This is a sketch for a picture book idea that I was kicking around a few years ago.  "The Valentine Kitty," manuscript is still in a drawer, but the painting I made into a card and gave to my husband from our cats. 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY.

Portraits - Art for Cash Sake

One of the bummer things about portraits is that they tend to be more work than the fee you get.  Just like a photo, no one likes the way they look, so it is usually endless sketches and a lot of ego stroking.  But there was an upside, sometimes I hung out with the very rich.  This was a portrait I did of this gorgeous model, Finele.  She was a blast and married to a gasilliionaire.  One of the clauses in her marriage contract, because the rich have marriage contracts, is she had to spend like a half a million dollars a year on clothing.  So whenever I'd visit her in Manhattan we'd go shopping.  She tried on the clothes, which she looked fab and I'd hold the bags.  Though I gave up portraits I remembered this client who fun, down to earth and a pleasure to paint.

Corn - Art for Cash sake

For many years I illustrated black & white spots for different food magazines.  If the art director really loved it they would bump up the size to feature it, all for the same work-for-hire pay.  My assignment would be very basic like " Something to do with corn. And don't forget a space for type. Oh and we want it tomorrow."
It was a challenge to do something creative.  I must admit the thought of people, place or thing usually came up. With my trusty splattering toothbrush in hand, I would deliver.

Art for Art's Sake - Paris, sketch book art

One of the coolest things about Paris is that you see the Eiffel Tower from everywhere.  It dominates the city and you can use it to find your way around.  The Parisians dress for dinner, which I love, because being an ornament is one of my favorite games.  But, this trip I traveled solo and only stopped over for a few days before I met my girlfriends in Jordan, to hike the ancient ruins.  All I had with me were jeans, a back pack and hiking boots, but no cocktail dress.  So, at this fancy hotel every night, I took dinner in my room with a million dollar view of the city and a sketch book for company.

Sketchbook Art - Santorini - Greece

The Greeks say that after God made the world he had a few rocks left over and threw them into the ocean to make the Greek Islands.  Santorini is one of those rocks.   Set 1800 feet on top of a crater this town is amazing.  You have to take a burrow or these bubble trams up a sheer cliff.  On top I was not surprised to find the breathtaking view, the traditional blue and white buildngs and a onion dome church.  But I was surrprise to find Cartier, Louis Vutton, Valentino and many other Beverly Hills type stores! Apparently, this was one of Jacky O's haunts.

Art for Cash Sake

This was a painting I did for a Mexican restaurant.  If I'm lucky, I get to know the clients like I did here.  They loved their dog and their restaurant was unique because they delivered.  So this is a painting of their beloved dog Hunter delivering food to Ventura County, I thought the red T-bird spruced it up.  It has a place of honor hanging in their restaurant, Mexican Express.

Art for cash sake

From the time I was in grade school getting a quarter for drawing on book covers to later being commissioned by collectors, I managed to make some money with all sorts of art.  One of the jobs I did for a few bucks was a series of black and white prints for street fairs.  These were quick illustrations that I copied at Kinkos on cool paper and sometimes added watercolors to it.  I used a different named when I signed them...Chic V.   I was always changing my signing name in those days.  The prints were as commercial as I could make them. Tourist Art.  I sold a ton of these. 

Salvador Dali - Painting and Film

At the L.A. County Museum of Art there is a fabulous
show on the paintings and films of Salvador Dali.  What I found amazing was all the different mediums he was into, painting, sketching, sculpting, film, animation and just some goofy stuff.