can't make sense of any of it

My dear friend Reuben lies in a hospital bed tonight, in the ICU. Dying. Blood in the lungs, kidney failure. It's been four weeks of ups and downs and saturday morning, finally, the ICU.
What a waste of a beautiful person.
Reuben is like no other. A unique individual, full of life and love and kindness. The kind of person that you'd rush to see in the morning, as you felt a connection and energy that were intoxicating and at the same time addictive. We're crazy about each other, both artists, both having experienced so much of the same decades, but such a goddamn liar: fourty four or thirty four?
No matter. Constant reference to our jokes about the masterpieces we'd painted just that morning, the crap we'd cranked out when the other one wasn't around and of course the dancing and singing.
Always a party.
What a waste. No sense at all.

this is what

"Birch Winter"12x36"
Call me. 415 992 1537

No, not yet

It must be hard to tell when an artist is done with her work. No, Ludwig is not finished. I did move him to another wall in the studio so that I could get a longer view. Whilst the paint dries a bit, I can look at it and live with it so that I can formulate my next step of nuance and putting in the highs and lows, the lights and darks.

van Beethoven, in stages

p.s. this painting is in progress... please stay tuned.






I've begun working on this piece- 4.5 feet by 6.5 feet tall. Quite enjoyable to get back to an oversize portrait again after my friend Giacomo left me.

So long, Giacomo

This week, a few day after Open Studios, I sold the portrait of Giacomo Puccini to a lovely couple in Calistoga. And they had a truck. Truly, clients that I can appreciate.
The painting is 72" tall and 60" wide.
I'll miss him.

Weekend One: success all around!

Yes- so much success on so many levels- I am so happy this week as all of the artists at Gstudio had a successful first weekend of open studios. For me, 9 paintings. For my oh so wonderful studio mate Reuben, selling some key paintings, wonderful.
So this week, following up with clients interested in commissions, payments and starting up and finishing up paintings before the next weekend. Just a snippet for now. I'll post again next week after I wake up from my coma of exhaustion sometime around wednesday with the final reflection of open studios. Weekend two awaits! Wish me luck!

Ready, Set

Yes, we here at Gstudio are ready for our close-up as Nora Desmond would say to Mr. DeMille. We artists are definitely on that level of crazy, and in anticipation of a show like this one, a big art-palooza of one, we go a little further into crazy.
I wonderful friend/food blogger for winecountry.com did a blog on our group this week and Liz of Gstudio and I agreed: we knew we were crazy, but had never seen anyone actually say it. In print.
Oh well, at this stage of my life, um, at this, ehem, age of my life, I'm happy with me and I won't be attempting to change that part of me other than the natural evolution of myself. As it should.

Wish me luck on the show! Hope to see you there, K