Portrait Commission at Sawdust Winter Fantasy!

Grandmother, mother and twins came into the booth at the Sawdust Winter Fantasy in Laguna Beach and wanted the oil portrait of the girls. I took some photos of them (they are much too young to sit still), but the next day their mother called and said, "If you haven't started the painting, we have just taken a wonderful photo of the girls running on the beach." So she emailed me the photo, I painted it, and they loved it! It's truly "from heart to art."

I get such a thrill when a client is happy with an original painting that I have created. What could be better?

There is only one more weekend, December 8 and 9, for the festival. I have very special low prices on originals and commissions, so be sure to come and bring your friends and family - there are lots of fun things for kids, plus great food and great music!

Print Sold Today!

Sold - Laguna Beach
Check out Fine Art America- it's a great place to buy or sell prints of artwork...

My Sawdust Winter Fantasy!

I'm so excited to be part of the Winter Fantasy at the Sawdust Festival! Each year I have attended the summer Sawdust Festival over the past few decades (seriously!), I have always yearned to be a part of the festive atmosphere and artistic showcase. Now I'm getting my chance! It'll be open on weekends November 17 through December 9, 2012.

But first I'm planning my booth construction, painting up a storm, promoting, and trying not to get overwhelmed. If you've participated in a similar event, I'd love to hear your insights...

Guard Cat on Duty

Mr. Tux watches out for suspicious looking dogs and other critters.

This little kitty lives with us, and he guards the house. He's so darn good looking, I can't resist painting his portrait - this is number three. Now I thought it would be fun to experiment with an iridescent gold background, and it was a great success! The painting is 6"x6" oil on panel. I think I will paint some more golden paintings!

Skimming off the Top

"Wipeout!" by Alice Leggett - Prints available

Wet and wild, cutting through the water and kicking up the spray, makes a great action scene with an impending splashdown. I enjoy seeing the graceful curves of the white spray that follow the trail of the skimboard's path - I think it's quite beautiful! Not sure if I would ever try skimboarding, though. I like painting too much.

On a technical note, I'm using phthalo blue and phthalo green instead of cerulean blue and viridian. I'm enjoying the more intense colors for the water, finding that interpreting the color I want is more challenging and dynamic than matching the colors of nature. 

I'd love to hear what you think about color interpretation!

This new painting is a 6" x 6" oil on panel, $225 unframed.

VanDerHoek Art: Top 5 Mistakes Artists Make When Trying to Sell Th...

Great article on marketing your art! Thanks, Kim!

VanDerHoek Art: Top 5 Mistakes Artists Make When Trying to Sell Th...: After years of selling my artwork both online and off and talking to other artists, I've found that there are several common mistakes arti...

Mill Stream Fishing

"Mill Stream Fishing" 36x48 oil on canvas

Here's the finished painting! It was such a pleasure to work on this painting, matching colors and designing the layout along with the client. They were thrilled with the painting, which hangs proudly in their home. This is what I mean when I say "from heart to art!"

For a closer look, go to my print website. I would love to hear your comments!

Portrait Demonstration


For the 2nd Saturday Downtown Long Beach Art Walk at the ArtX studio on 3rd and Elm last night, I painted a portrait of my good friend, Luz Morales. I'll be conducting a Portrait Workshop there in the near future, so stay tuned! My next demonstration there will be February 11, for the Grand Opening starting at 6:00 pm. Please come over and say hello...

Back to the Easel 

I really have been working on this painting a lot since my last post - in fact, I feel like I'm in the home stretch now! Of course, the most critical part of the whole painting is the two little fishermen on the pier. There are a few more details, like the shadows under the pier and bridge, the addition of some red leaves in the background trees, breaking up that dark area behind the tree trunks, and painting the edges. OK, that's still a lot of work. When will I ever be able to estimate the time it takes to do a painting? Does anyone have a magic formula? Anyone?