"Quietude"

"Quietude"  Mixed Media (18" x 24"),  C. Eastwood © 2017

Quietude -- the state of being quiet; tranquillity; calmness; stillness; quiet.

Sometimes you design a painting with a specific message or theme from the beginning sketches.  And other times there is a painting hidden within, waiting to be discovered.  You might be surprised to know that there are actually about 15 layers to this particular painting.  And it took all 15 before she was ready to make herself known.

Molly

"Molly"  (Watercolor  8"x10")  C. Eastwood, ©2016

I am so grateful to a friend's niece who gave me permission to use this photo she had taken.  Molly is a lovely young woman whose smile just radiates the joy and loveliness within.

Daisy Dear

"Daisy Dear"  (Watercolor --  6.5" x 8.5"),  C. Eastwood © 2016

It's that time of year again for the annual Daisy Miracle Benefit and once again I am donating a painting to the cause.  This one isn't very large.  Sometimes I like to change it up so that someone can still enjoy an original painting that tucks nicely into a smaller space.  I hope that it finds a good home and brings someone much joy.

Afternoon Delight

"Afternoon Delight"  (Watercolor -- 8x10) © C. Eastwood, 2016

"Afternoon Delight" was a commissioned piece for a surprise anniversary gift.  I went back to a more traditional approach for this one, raiding my stash of old antique tea and coffee pots and selecting some rather lovely looking fruit to put together a still life.  What could be more refreshing in the afternoon than a cup of tea and some cherries or pears?  Possibly even a tangerine.

I am delighted to say that the surprise factor was a success and the new painting went off this afternoon to live at its new home. I love participating in this kind of thing.  It's really fun to see the joy on the faces of both the giver and the recipient.  Yay!!!

"Mau Loa" (Forever)

"Mau Loa" (Forever)  (Watercolor, 8" x 10")  © C. Eastwood 2016

"Mau Loa" (which means "forever") was a commissioned piece that took almost forever to actually paint.  I was humming right along with the painting when life was diverted down another track due to a leak under the slab of our house.  In my haste to pack everything up so that work could be done to repair the damage, I neglected to hold out any of my painting supplies or work-in-progress.  While frustrated, there wasn't a thing I could do about it because it was one of a vast number of boxes stacked with furniture into a three-dimensional puzzle of a mountain covered by tarps filling our garage.  Little did I dream that it would be almost three months later before I would be able to pick the work back up and complete it.

I was in the midst of trying some new techniques, which had just really started to fall into place, when the hiatus hit.  So incredibly frustrating and, once everything was unpacked again, frightening. What if I couldn't remember what I was doing???  What if I'd forgotten how to paint???  What if I ruined what I'd already done???  It's amazing the places your head can go and the level of anxiety those trips can produce.

One of the new techniques was to have escaped edges (my terminology) where part of the images escape the edges of the the boundary created by the painting.  I'm sure there's a proper term for this -- I just don't happen to know what it is, nor am I curious enough to research it.  I'm happy with the results and will probably do this again on some future paintings when the subject matter lends itself to this technique.

But I'm happy to report that I was able to complete the work and it is already off to it's new home.

Time to start a new painting!

A Rose is a Rose

"A Rose is a Rose"  (Watercolor, 8"x10")  C. Eastwood, © 2015

So I've joined this watercolor painting group on Facebook that issues a challenge each month.  I haven't been painting in watercolor recently and had decided that the next painting I did would be in that medium before I forgot how to use it.  I don't paint a lot of flowers, and I don't believe I've painted roses before (if I have it's been so long that I've forgotten about them), so this was a challenge on several levels.  My initial reaction was to wait for next month, but then I heard the sound of clucking in my head and realized I was exhibiting definite "chicken" tendencies.  So it is, with a nod to Shakespeare for the title.

....And here it is...matted, framed, and at it's new home.  It's always fun to see the work when someone has purchased it and found a place for it in their hearts!

Make Lemonade

"Make Lemonade"  (Acrylic Mixed Media, 8'x10' canvas panel)    C. Eastwood  © 2015 

"Choose your own direction...when life gives you lemons."  I was experimenting with some different techniques and media, and this is the end result.  Underneath the painting, and visible through the lemons, is a recipe for making lemonade.  There are some other little surprises tucked into the painting for the viewer to discover.  Just a simple painting for a kitchen wall.

I'm Listening

"I'm Listening"  (Watercolor)  C. Eastwood, © 2015

This sweet St. Bernard was painted as a gift for a friend's birthday.  She and her husband have two of these gentle giants and it seemed appropriate to try and capture this breed's sweetness in a painting.  I was having difficulty deciding on a name for the painting and another friend suggested this title.  It was perfect.  If you've ever poured your heart out to a dog when no one else is around to listen, you may well have been on the receiving end of a look like this.  May we all be blessed to have someone who will listen when we need a loving ear.

Woman in Scarf

"Woman in Scarf"  (Watercolor), C. Eastwood © 2014

I don't usually post a picture before I'm sure it's completed -- but I was so pleased with the results so far (and I haven't decided if I want to mess with it or not) that I wanted to put this one up.  (The poor lady doesn't even have a name yet.)  I just finished taking a three-day workshop with Fealing Lin @ Catalyst and this is from the class.  It's such a major departure in style for me.  I really like the effect and will try to incorporate more of what I learned as I go forward.  I hope you enjoy.

UPDATE:  So I decided she was done and she is simply, "Woman in Scarf."   And I still hope you enjoy!  Mar. 8, 2015

It Takes Two

"It Takes Two"  (Watercolor)  C. Eastwood, © 2014

For whatever reason -- maybe it's all the dancing shows on television -- I had a desire to try painting a couple dancing.  And if I'm going to paint two people, well, it almost has to be the tango, n'est-ce pas?  I'm trying some new techniques with this painting, allowing the shadows to have sharp edges (something I don't generally do).  It was definitely an interesting exercise since there were two people and I not only had to get each one sketched in a fashion that made sense and was recognizable, but they also had to relate to one another in size.  (It's good to challenge yourself!!)  I hope you enjoy it.

(detail)

October Morning

"October Morning"  (Watercolor)  C. Eastwood, © 2014

For those of you who follow this blog, you know that I don't generally do a lot of landscapes.  But I was going through some of my photos and ran across this one that I took last year at this time when we were in Calistoga for a family wedding. The mornings were crisp and a ground fog shrouded the fields as the morning sun came up.  It was so tranquil and almost other-worldly.  I was trying to capture that feeling in this landscape -- to share the golden hazy light that blanketed the field across from us, revealing only glimpses into the distance.

Twilight Waves

"Twilight Waves"  (Watercolor, 8"x10")  C. Eastwood,  © 2014

This is based on a photo that I took at dusk while standing out on the pier in Newport Beach, CA, and looking down the coast to the next one.  I'm trying to capture that moment when there is still enough light to see, but with darkness being imminent.  It's amazing how quickly everything changes moment to moment.

Winter Waves

"Winter Waves"  (Watercolor, 8"x10")  C. Eastwood, © 2014

This is from a photo I took in January 2013 at Newport Beach, CA, near the pier.  It was a bright, sunny day with lots of wind, and the surf was up.  We were actually killing some time and getting in a last little bit of sight-seeing with our friends before driving them to the airport for their return flight home to Kiel, Germany.  They were delighted and snapped lots of pics to show friends back home and help perpetuate the myth of the weather here in Southern California!

Fried Egg Poppy

"Fried Egg Poppy"  (Watercolor, 8"x10")    C. Eastwood, © 2014

The first time I saw one of these, it stopped me in my tracks.  There's something delightfully fun about this huge, frilly poppy that looks like a giant fried egg.  So when it came time to make a painting for the 7th Annual Daisy Miracle Benefit (http://www.daisymiracle.com) which supports the UCSD Neonatal Intensive Care Unit -- this was it.  For the last couple of years, I've painted pictures of little girls, and I just felt like it was time to change it up a bit.  Et voila!  This is my fourth year donating art and I am so pleased to be able to contribute to this very worthwhile cause.  I hope you'll visit the website and read about Miss Daisy and the legacy she leaves behind.

Seeing Blue

Detail from "Seeing Blue" (Watercolor)   C. Eastwood  © 2014

Okay -- the final assignment -- and I do mean final.  We were charged with doing a self-portrait (eek!) and I decided that since I've been so liberal in adding odd colors to other portraits that I've done it was only fitting and proper that I treat myself the same way.  I'm not one of those people who naturally smiles when a camera is aimed at them, but I had no idea I would look sad.  I really wasn't, I was simply contemplating the fact that it's time for me to leap out of the nest and the safety of painting class and try doing something with all of this.  That's not to say that I won't take other classes...it's just time to "graduate" and move on.  So maybe what that look was is wistfulness.  It's been fun.  The best part has been the people with whom I've painted and become friends.  So here it is ... a self-portrait of the artist.

"Seeing Blue"  (Watercolor)  C, Eastwood © 2014

Eye of the Tiger #3 -- Confidence

"Eye of the Tiger III -- Confidence"  (Watercolor)   C. Eastwood, © 2014

For the final painting, I decided to shift styles and let the colors mix and merge directly on the painting.  This is a technique that I often avoid because I don't feel as if I have as much control over the outcome.  And yet this time, like the painting title, I felt confident enough to just let it go and see what happened.  Ironically, this is my favorite of the three.  I think this tiger had something to teach me.

Eye of the Tiger #2 -- No Fear

"Eye of the Tiger II -- No Fear"  (Watercolor)   C. Eastwood, © 2014

The second in my series of tigers.  This next keeps the soft painting style, but a more ferocious expression.  This tiger is telling you that he's not afraid and he's ready to take a stand.  I actually had a blast painting the teeth on this guy.

Eye of the Tiger #1 -- I Can Wait

"Eye of the Tiger I -- I Can Wait"  (Watercolor)  C. Eastwood, © 2014

We've just finished working on a personal series of three paintings.  I originally decided to try my hand at painting lions and tigers.  (And everyone added, "...and bears! Oh my!")  At first there was no particular reason other than I hadn't tried painting either one before and I thought it would be interesting.  But along the way my focus shifted to the tigers and the intensity of their expression.  I painted them softly, almost gently, but let their intensity and strength come through the eyes.

Little Red Riding Hood

"Little Red Riding Hood" (Watercolor),  C. Eastwood, © 2014

L

ittle Red Riding Hood hurried through the woods toward her grandmother’s house.  She was frightened by the villagers’ stories of the big bad wolf who lived in the dark forest. 

More experimenting in our class to learn how we might use watercolor in applications other than simply a painting to be hung on a wall.  This time we were to take a children's story and work through concept sketches and color scheme experimentation, with a final product of an illustration and the text it might accompany.  We were also challenged to so something "different" with the story -- to provide a "twist."  I decided to use the negative space painting technique to create the suggestion of a forest with Grandma's house in the distance.  And my "twist?" --  Little Red Riding Hood is no longer blond-haired and blue-eyed like the illustrations I remember from my childhood, but a young woman of color.  I wanted to try updating this story to a "modern" version that might appeal to children of all ethnicities.

Sourdough

"Sourdough"  (Watercolor),  C. Eastwood  © 2013

It's "finals" week and this is my last painting -- excluding the one I'll probably start in class after the critique is over.  At least that's the plan.  We were given the option to paint a still life or to choose our own subject.  I just loved this guy's face -- so much character.  So I decided that since I hadn't done any portraits this semester, it might be fun to try one and make sure I hadn't forgotten how.  I really don't know for certain that he's a prospector -- but he looked like he just might be.