Donna Kleinman and her mom.........

look at those baby blues.........that baby  (donna) looks very alert.

more classroom work by donna kleinman...

sometimes the background color is almost all you need.  she called this one "collin"......

in classroom student work.......by donna kleinman

TREX and the girls - I think Donna said that this Trex is or was located just outside of Palm Springs.  One little girl is Donna and i'm thinking the other is her sister.

student work.......by minnie helvey

a birthday card to dad.

i love the pink jacket and that dash of green on the left.  the dog is fun too.

student work.......the moon family

again by chris mori.  check how happy the little girls are.

student chris mori, "surf lesson"...

not often you see women surfers from this era.  i like the solitude of this picture.  nothing but a couple of friends considering the breakers.......er, if there were any.

more pieces from student Chris Mori......

Just look at these two.  the red hair is perfect on 

Just look at these two.  The red hair is a perfect color match with the sweet little green skirt as well as the rest of the background.  The yellow works well too.

The older sis, being serious and, well, an older sister, colors are great because although she is important; she is a nice counter to the red as well.  she is in colors that meld well with the background and make the entire piece work.

Getting ready for the Halloween season.  Again the yellow band is a nice contrast to the purple as they are opposite colors. well done.

student chris mori.....

...has family photos that tell a story.  this one, an elegant woman meets up with a starfish.

this one is entitled dad.  see?  not just your normal pose.  i love teaching this technique.  i get to visit with other folks' relatives from the past.  Everyone's story seems so different, yet totally relatable.

love her chosen colors.   of course.

encore students work....... diane silveria

she created a porcelain doll from a photo of a family member.  check out the soft cheek colors.

student diane silveria work from class....

i love that she left the background in the first painting sort of transparent so that the house shows through.  i love the bright yellow on the pouty-faced girl.  the yellow with violet are high contrast colors  which highlights the pouty girl and make her even funnier.

the girl -on -horse pic is a classic.  these colors work very well together.  i think i will make note of this combo.  burnt orange with periwinkle.  nice.
love the horses face as well as hers.

the annual la jolla rough water swim

 i know ocean swimming is challenging; there are no walls to push off from, no turns, and no solid floor at least for 30 feet or so.  but the la jolla rouh water swim comes once a year- the day before school starts for some, marking the end of a long sumer vacation.

i competed in it in 1961 for a number of years and then picked it up again as a 30 year old.  i had a slight encounter with it in 2004, but felt like i had been hit over the head.  so i gave it up.   i am too old and mostly too untrained.

rosie started competing in the LJRWS from age 7 every year until she reached age 15.  but now that she is 16, i won't let her swim it.  not because she is 16, but because in the last few years i have noticed more and more bird poo contamination, by the sit- and- watch pelicans.  more sea lions and baby seals floating around acting nearly tame.  but they also look yummy and inviting to more and more sharks.  and today being 9/11, i did not want to force luck.  

her coach was disappointed but understanding.  he has been  the events master of ceremonies since 1969 or something.  its not like he wouldn't know if she didn't show up to swim it.

so rosie gets to compete in pools only.  she doesn't mind.  having been born and raised here in san diego, she has had plenty of ocean experiences.  and now that she drives, she can go any old time.

but somehow i feel a bit wimpy for keeping her home.  thankfully i have not heard a word of shark misconduct at this years open water swim.  that's good.

still.

rosie stays home and does not have to empty her swim suit of 10 pounds of sand.  that's about right.  i will still hold my head up even if i am a wimpy swim mom.   bloop, bloop.

student minnie helvey's journal entry....

fun, fun - i love the trike and the cowgirl dress.

student janet brockman's work

this unusual painting is of a whale mural and grand daughter hanging from the "inside" of the whale.  i liked how the whale is in focus and the moving child is not.

angela barribeau's work

all the way from eau claire, wisconsin - a FB friend.  one reason her work caught my eye is because of her unusual colors. looks like she is using a transparent quinacridone red or magenta paired with an opaque pale blue --on top of her underlying ocher yellow.
my favorite one is the top one - i love how these two colors work with the opaque blue anchoring the red.
here's what she said:

Lisa,

I had never saturated paper and worked with the wet technique, and dabbing......it was challenging to me, to force myself to work with big brushes.  I know you joked about it on your dvd, but it turned out to be a good thing, very freeing.  I also was timid to work fast, but your techniques forced me to not over think, but to just go for it! 

I also dug out my color wheel and chose my color combinations by using that tool. 

her advice to others who have bought my instructional dvds is:

 So, I learned a lot, and my advice, would be, make multiple copies of what you supply us with, for an image, and sit with your laptop nearby, playing the video, and painting along with you... and do it over, and over, and over again, until you start feeling free with your brushstrokes and process.

Angela

angela took lessons from my instructional  "oversaturated polaroid look" and "rosie in the garden" dvds.

she has made me proud
 ......... and i know she thought it was fun because she told me she had made dozens of others.  (sounds like the way i work, too).

check out more of her lovely work: http://re-angelarae.blogspot.com