Happy Holidays from Cali

This will be my last post until the first week in January.. so I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!!
Love you all..
Hilda

Cousin Al

This is my cousin Al.  The reference photo was taken in Orlando, Florida where he lives.  I used mostly Rembrandt pastels and Carbothello pencils on this portrait.  I thought he had a great face to paint....it "called" me. lol

Richard

Richard was our Friday model. He modeled for two weeks at my Long Island Portrait group. I loved his hat and poncho...When I paint a portrait I focus on the face but a few of the artists paint the entire body and the poncho was really nice. I used my Rembrandts and unison pastels for this portrait.. 

FINK'S FARM

I love this farm which is located in Wading River, LI.  Guaranteed to have the best in their vegetables fruits and beautiful flowers.  They decorate for all the seasons which is wonderful if you like those reference photos!!  My favorite season in Fink's Farm is the 4th of July with my favorite colors...red, white and blue!!!!

Gerry

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I painted Gerry on Friday at my Long Island Portrait group ....A wonderful model with strong features.  He told us that if someone had told him that he was going to model...he wouldn't have believed them....lol.   I used mostly Rembrandt pastels for this portrait....

Esperanza - 1909-2017

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I wanted to dedicate this to my sweet Aunt who passed away today peacefully in her sleep at the age of 107.  She was so caring, compassionate, friendly, wise and an inspiration to all who knew her.
She was a proud lady and her family was her greatest accomplishment.  In her younger days she worked in a Bridal shop as a seamstress specializing in wedding dresses.  I will miss her so much but now we  have been blessed with so many beautiful memories.
I love you, my sweet Aunt

Penny for your thoughts

I haven't had a chance to take more reference photos for my portraits so I used an older photo.  I said I would paint some landscapes and here I am painting another portrait.. lol  It was such a nice photo and it was calling me AGAIN.

Twilight

My Granddaughter's friend asked me if I can paint him this from a photo he had for years!  I immediately loved the colors in the sky as well as the beautiful reflections in the water....so of course, I said I would.  He loved it!  Something a little different from my norm!!

Jeff

This is Jeff, my friend's husband who had the perfect face to paint.  I used mostly my Rembrandt pastels as well as my Terry Ludwig pastels.  I enjoyed painting him and  hope you like him.

Tangerine still life

I don't do too many still life paintings but I needed a change, so I decided to try one again.  I actually enjoyed painting this but would have loved to have painted it looser.  The only problem is that I have no idea how to paint looser..lol  I painted this with sanded paper which I'm enjoying more and more because it's the perfect paper for texture.  Now that my daughter is recuperating so beautifully, I can concentrate so much better on my Art.

Nadja

This is "Nadja Missouri".  She was my daughters mini dachshund for 16 years...and such a beautiful dog.  I enjoyed painting this little girl. 
Also, my daughter Carin is slowly healing and the doctors told her today she can go back to work August 13th.  Everyday she feels better.  I'm smiling again!!!

New Beginning

This has nothing to do with art but I needed to share...Today, my daughter Carin had heart surgery.  Apparently she was born with a hole in her heart and only found out after having a stroke just recently.  A blood clot went through the hole in her  heart and landed in her eye which took away some of her vision.  The Doctors felt that surgery was imperative to close the hole to prevent having another stroke in the future.  The operation was a success!  My beautiful daughter now has a complete Heart and she's coming home tomorrow!!  Thank you Dr. Ong and thank you God.

Pensive

Once again I had my granddaughter pose for me.  She's always willing to make me happy.  lol
I used my Rembrandts and terry Ludwig pastels for this portrait.  They are always so creamy and blends so well for my skin tones.  Skye is always a pleasure to paint.

Mckaela

This is Mckaela....she is my son-in-laws niece and such a sweet little girl that was so happy to pose for me.  Painting children isn't too easy, so I used a few photos in order to get that perfect reference picture.  I used Rembrandt as well as terry Ludwig pastels which has wonderful colors for the skin.

Enjoying the day

We had such a nice time when we went to the Plattdeutsch beer garden in Franklin Square, NY.  The German band had everyone up and dancing.   The food was amazing as well as the entertainment!!    I took the reference picture of a man who was enjoying the day.   We sat with this stranger but he was fine with me taking his photo!   My husband is German ..
and I'm Spanish but I like German food and he doesn't....lol

Sunny side of the street

This is a painting I did for my friend.  I don't paint too many houses but it's always a challenge to do...its like building a house.. every detail counts..lol.  I have to admit, I enjoyed painting it.  Yesterday I finished my painting of  the peaches.  I didn't like the way it turned out so no more still life paintings for awhile.!!

Best in the Orchard

Taking rides out East is my favorite thing to do on a Sunday morning.  We stopped by a vegetable stand near Riverhead and they had all kinds of apples in these baskets and I knew I had to paint them someday.  I took photos in October of last year when the apples were at their best!
Peaches next ??

Shadia

Shadia was posing for us today at my Long Island Portrait Group.  She's a beautiful model who poses all over Long Island.  She wasn't feeling well today and yet she modeled perfectly for us.  I'm ashamed to say that I do a lot of my work through the camera.  however, I am trying my best to paint looking at the model instead of the camera...slowly but surely?  I  hope so!

Golden Mane

I painted this horse awhile ago and I thought I posted it...
I really love painting horses and I'm looking forward to visiting the Baiting Hollow Horse Rescue Farm on Long Island this year.  Seeing all the horses being treated SO well after some of them were abandoned is a definite treat.
By the way, it's also a wonderful Winery which donates part of the sales to the Rescue Farm.
This horse wasn't a rescue horse....I took the reference photo of him somewhere in Montana.

Lauren

This is my first painting since my surgery in March.  I have to admit it was very difficult holding pastels for a certain amount of time, so I paint no more than an hour at a time.  My doctor doesn't want me to hold anything heavier than a cup of coffee!!  That's almost impossible to do..lol...  Anyway, Lauren was definitely an adorable subject.  Thank you all for your comments .... I appreciate every single one!!

Vera

Vera is a lovely lady who goes to my art class on Tuesdays.  I painted this with Terry Ludwig pastels, because of the vibrancy in the colors..  Also, I wanted to tell you  that I'm  having surgery on my right shoulder tomorrow morning....last year it was my left shoulder!!   I won't be able to type or paint for a few months but I will be visiting your blogs and enjoying everyone's beautiful work.  Hopefully I will see you very soon!!!

American Pharoah

American Pharoah won the American Triple Crown and the Breeder's Cup Classic in 2015.  He won the four races becoming the first horse to win the Grand Slam of American Horse Racing.  I live about 1/2 hour away from Belmont Raceway and wish I could've seen him in person...but it was so exciting watching him on television!!  He is definitely a handsome boy!!

Pointe slippers

I went to see "The Nutcracker" November 2016.  It was so magical.   To see these Ballerinas dancing on their toes was amazing!!  I can only imagine the incredible strength that they have to withstand their own weight on their toes... OUCH!! 
The Nutcracker is a must see...  I wanted to practice "color" so I painted this in oils... 

Intermission

A few years back, at the Rockville Center Dance Recital, this little girl was resting during an intermission.  She had a sweet face and looked beautiful with her costume.  I decided to paint this in oils....which was a bit challenging since I have a difficult time mixing colors... Basically one of my first oil portraits and I will be practicing with more in the future.  Please feel free to critique!  I'm a big girl...lol