Intrepid oil painting flowers floral

Intrepid  Oil on wood  8" x 8" 

It's been a beautiful weekend here, sunny and not too humid.  My husband and I went for a long ride on his motorcycle yesterday.  I took pictures from the back and we stopped for sushi late in the afternoon.  (Pictured:  cucumber wrapped salmon and crab with sesame, beautifully presented and yummy too!)

Shoreby Club Six Strings

I set up shop at "Six Strings" a wine tasting art event on the grounds of the beautiful Shoreby club in Bratenahl, OH last night.   One of the pictures above shows the club pool and boat harbor overlooking Lake Erie...  Looks almost tropical, doesn't it? 

From the Archives color pencil wc fall leaf

Here's another watercolor/color pencil painting from the archives.  It's about 9" x 6."  
I'm afraid I've switched gears for a minute here, preparing for fast approaching exhibit of work and other misc. items on the old to-do list. 
This morning I emailed subscribers my summer newsletter!  If you'd like a look, click this link. 

Mull it Over Mondays: An Introduction

Can you believe it's the end of July already?  The painting
above was painted in July of 2008.  I was still re-learning
oil paints, after many years away!  Heehee, I joked about
my nephew's "club hands." 

I've complained in the past about how difficult it is for me to string sentences together after several hours studio time.  It's not so much a lack of things to say as it is a lack of time to write things properly...   A painting a day with a bit of text is good, but there is a better way to share more and give a fuller picture!  Next Monday will be the first installment of a new feature here called Mull it Over Mondays 

Seize the day!  The only time
I'll ever have an excuse to
post a picture of David
Spade on this blog!

Not to be confused with hairstyles like the mullet or the comb over--  Mull it Over Mondays will be my chance to blather about art related subjects.   I will talk about the virtues of a day in the studio, thinking less/painting more and how artists tap into joy.  Other subjects will include painting clothes, how I learned to appreciate art by selling antiques on Ebay and my policy on blog comments.  I've made enough mistakes as an artist to figure a few things out.  I hope Mull it Over Mondays will allow me to pass on some of my hard earned lessons in a way that is not only informational, but entertaining for the general reader.   Look for the first installment of Mull it Over Monday, next Monday! 

Three Pears still life painting

Three Pears   oil on gallery wrapped canvas  16" x 20"
Diane@DianeHoeptner.com

The electricity on our street went out for almost 12 hours recently--I rushed various frozen meats and refrigerated items to my husband's job for storage in the fridge there...  and promptly abandoned my studio for the day.  No AC is a no-go for me here.  It's been dreadfully hot and humid.  After the un-intended break, I finished this 16x20...

Hoeptner Happenings Newsletter Sign Up

I do so love scouring local flea markets for still life props.  This one is perfect for a Fall themed floral still life...      

If you haven't signed up for my quarterly newsletter Hoeptner Happenings, now is a great time to do it!  Find out about sales, new blog features and all my latest art news first!  The summer issue will arrive in email boxes next Tuesday, sign up for your's here.

Have a great weekend!!

Tangled oil painting painter artist ohio

Tangled Oil on wood 12" x 12" SOLD
Diane@DianeHoeptner.com

LOVE, love, love this one!  I'm pretty sure that yellow and warm gray is one of my all time favorite color combos.  I have painted this arrangement before, here.  Sunflowers wrapped in ivy--This (bigger) version has an additional bloom.  ***Despite my initial enthusiasm for this painting, I re-worked it on 11/12/11 and updated it above.

Window Daisies fixing a painting

AFTER:  Window Daisies  Oil on wood  8" x 8" 

BEFORE

I typically opt to "paint new" rather than fix old.  But I get attached to some paintings and start feeling like I owe them a round of tweaks...  (:  Here is the latest version of Window Daisies (top.)  The lights/darks are more balanced and the kitty pitcher pops forward a little better.

Clementine Tulips reworking a still life painting

AFTER:  Clementine Tulips  Oil on wood  8" x 8" 

Before

In addition to getting a couple scratches that needed fixed, Clementine Tulips needed more balanced colors!  It was too hot, hot, hot.  I like this improved version ...and may have to paint it again bigger next time around.

Carried Away painting work in progress

Carried Away a work in progress, 20" x 20"

This is a painting in progress.  It is a 20" x 20" version of my daily painting, Turquoise Lime.  I prefer to work the whole canvas from dark to light, but with bigger paintings, it is necessary to work in sections, as my water soluble oils get sticky overnight.

Tuesday Lilies

Tuesday Lilies  Oil on wood  12" x 12" 
Diane@DianeHoeptner.com

Roses original oil painting of roses

Two Roses  Oil on wood  8" x 8" 

A bit of news here:  Lark & Key Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina will be representing my work!  Yay!  Starting just as soon as I can send them some.  They're doing an exhibit in October called "Table Manners" and I will for sure have several paintings in that.   In other news, I can't believe it's Friday already, where does the time go?  Summer is passing by too darn quick!  Have a great weekend.

Snapdragon Sad simple floral oil painting

Snapdragon Sad Oil on wood 8" x 8" NFS

I love this sad little painting. Keeping my compositions simple this week was a good idea.  ***This painting was a little too sad and was re-worked 11/12/11--The one you see above is the updated version.

Orange Pop floral still life painting Hoeptner

Orange Pop  Oil on wood  8" x 8" 

It's so nice to scavenge wildflowers at this time of the year.  The orange lilies are in bloom everywhere here in Ohio.

Archive color pencil watercolor flowers

Silk & Satin  Watercolor and color pencil on paper--from the archives

More work from the archives:  These have a graphic quality that I still like and want to do more of...sometime.  There's never enough time in the day/week/year.  This week we have some very simple and sweet rose, snapdragon and daisy still lifes, coming up!    

Memories: Color Pencil Art from a decade ago

Here's a sample of my art from about ten years ago.  It's 20" x 16"--watercolor and color pencil on paper.  It's currently in storage in the basement, throwing away work that took hours and hours to create is nearly impossible!  Going from color pencils to oil paint was a worthwhile transition and it's something I will never regret.   FYI:  I've updated the Hot Picks page, browse the best of my paintings and learn more about them there!

Cat and Sunflowers egyptian cat limes still life

Cat and Sunflowers  Oil on wood  8" x 8" 
Diane@DianeHoeptner.com

It's hard to find cat figurines that aren't kitschy!  This one is modeled after ancient egyptian statues.  Cats were almost worshipped in those times--families took very good care of their pet cats.  As a show of grief when a cat died-- The whole family would shave off their eyebrows.  It's true I read it on the internet.  (:  Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!