Several months ago I was commissioned by the Innis Arden Golf Club in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, to create an historically-inspired painting for their clubhouse. The mandate was to portray the club as it existed at the turn of the 20th century, when it was a 9-hole private course located on Sound Beach (now Tod's Point), at the waterfront estate of J. Kennedy Tod. 

I was unable to travel to the site, so, with limited e-mailed reference material -- a small black and white photograph of golfers Sound Beach in 1901, a copy of a 1900 hand-drawn course map, new color photographs of the Innis Arden Cottage (which is now a community treasure on part of the town beach), and sleuthing on Google Earth -- I developed a plan to place the golfers in accurate perspective to the home and figured out the direction of sunlight  for that location. 

I could take some artistic liberties to help tell the story. I chose the time of day (morning light) and season (late summer/early autumn), taking clues from the golfer's clothing. No one living today would know exactly what the golfers looked like and what specific plantings were around the home.  At the same time, the painting needed to be an accurate impression of the site. Without the historic cottage and a specific pair of entry gates -- the painting could be three golfers anywhere along a coastline.

Over several months, rough sketches and color studies, more photographs and videos created on iPhones were sent back and forth by e-mail with the client.  My very patient husband stood in as a model for the kneeling golfer, as the reference photo was very dark, and I wanted to place him in a different direction to improve the composition.

An online artist friend who lives in a nearby town kindly sent me some of his personal photographs of the area which helped me recheck the colors of sea, sand and sky.

The finished painting measures 30 x 40 inches and will hang in the main entry of the modern-day Innis Arden Golf Club, which is a few miles away from Tod's Point.

Sometime during the next year, I will see it in it's new home and give it a protective coat of varnish.  Some things, you just have to do in person!

Northern California weather has been extraordinarily mild and dry this winter. I know this is not a good thing for our snowpack water supply, but it has given me the opportunity to get outside and paint.

I joined a "Meet-Up" group of plein air painters on the last Sunday of January in Sonoma County and had a great experience. The group loosely convened about 1 p.m.and wandered off in many directions. We gathered back together late in the afternoon and showed each other what we had accomplished.

Here's a  photo of my finished painting "Marsh and Mountain" on the easel.  You can see my pencil sketch up in the corner. 

It's now ten days later, the paint is dry, the painting is framed and ready to be shown to prospective collectors at an event this weekend.

I just discovered a new type of frame - called a floater frame. Instead of mounting a painting through the back of the frame, which hides the painting edges, you "float" the painting on a solid board and the edges show.

This is very effective with small paintings, and gives them a lot of presence on a wall.

I was able to secure this frame at a great price, so I am happy to pass along those savings. 

"Tennessee Valley" is a oil painting that measures just 6 x 6 inches, and is on sale for only $150 at Moss & Moss, in Mill Valley, California.

MOSS & MOSS is a great "antiques & etcetera" shop in my hometown of Mill Valley, California, owned by a delightful couple with great talents. Larry plays the grand piano and Marjorie creates beautiful vignettes to display the merchandise. One Friday a month they have a jazz and wine reception, and it's a popular place to stop by on the way to dinner in any one of the great restaurants in town. I am very delighted that they have chosen to carry my paintings and prints. It's a treat for me to see how they are displayed, and very exciting to get the phone call saying, "Linda, we sold another one!" Visit MOSS & MOSS at 1 El Paseo, just off Sunnyside Avenue.

We spend a lot of time in the heart of our homes, gathering with family and friends and creating good food and memories. Kitchens are a natural place for art - and not just the masterpieces taped to the refrigerator! Still life paintings of fruit and vegetables are natural subjects for art in the kitchen, but have you ever considered a landscape? 
This beautiful gourmet kitchen in Washington state is the new home for my recent oil study of Mt. Tamalpais. The owner chose a warm cherry frame to complement the cabinetry, and the cool gray-blue color palette of the painting picks up tones in the slate backsplash and the skies of the Pacific Northwest.

Going back to the same spot to paint in different weather or different times of the day is a great exercise in painting what I see -- not what I know, or what I think I see. 

One dry afternoon, Mt. Tam looked clear and the grasses along the creek were hot orange. The result is a very warm painting.

On another day, the air had quite a bit of moisture and the mountain had a vague mist around it. The grasses were more uniformly green, and the water seemed more blue. It was a warm day, but the painting is cool.

I've been doing these smaller paintings outdoors ("en plein air" as termed by the Impressionists) as studies for a larger one. 

The same paint colors were on my palette each time, but the results are so different, I am tempted to go back to the scene again this week with fresh eyes and see what happens! What do you think?

A group of painter friends and I went out this week on a rare hot summer day in Mill Valley to paint in the cool, shady Old Mill Park, locally called "Dark Park." 

WOW what a challenge. I brought my painting home and put it on a shelf to dry. Later that evening, I caught a glimpse and was shocked at how awful it looked. So I took out a palette knife and scraped every bit of paint off, leaving just a ghost of the composition. 

The next day, my friend and houseguest Jessica came to town from Montana and was anxious to stretch her car-weary legs on a hike. She started off in the park, and I went back to my same painting location with my easel to try, try again. The shadows of the redwoods and the dappled summer light filtering through on the creek bed were so beautiful. What you don't see in this painting is the steady parade of beautiful toddlers wading in the cool water...that's another challenge for another day!

Just got the call that another Mount Tamalpais, Richardson Bay print sold!

I am so grateful for the response to this limited edition print of my painting. This giclee is 10 x 20, printed on dense watercolor paper, surrounded with an 8 ply thick mat and framed in a 14 X 24 wood frame.

It is now hanging in homes throughout Marin County and in Colorado, Ohio and Virginia.

There are 7 framed prints remaining in this final, signed edition.

My Landscape Reduction series has morphed from nature to technology with these new iPhone and iPad cases!
 

Now you can personalize your phone, and the small royalty I receive will help me buy more paint! See all the options for your iPhone 3, iPhone 4 and iPad at Zazzle.

The hard shell cases are covered with an easy-grip fabric that has been imprinted with the paintings. They are made by Speck, a leading supplier in the Apple stores, and Zazzle has a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

"Mt. Tamalpais, Richardson Bay" is a 10" x 20" giclee, printed with archival inks on heavy watercolor paper, was featured in the Mill Valley Arts Commission Show in April 2010, and on the main gallery wall of the Marin County Fair in 2009. Beautifully matted and wood framed, measuring 14" x 24" and priced at $300 at Moss & Moss on El Paseo in Mill Valley, or send me a note if you would like to buy direct.