"Onion Shadows" Impressionistic Daily Painting

Original still life oil painting, 4"x6"
Red onion on reflective surface, in reds, maroons, deep purple and warm greys. $99.

I had fun painting this. In fact, this is the most fun I've had in several days! I've had my nose to the grindstone doing paperwork.

This afternoon I saw the humble red onion in my kitchen with interesting patterns on the reflective granite. So I brought my paints and brushes downstairs and forgot about chores for awhile as I enjoyed the challenge of painting this quick study from life.

©2008 Diana Moses Botkin

"Evening Color" Daily Painting

Original landscape/skyscape oil painting 4"x6"
Rosy and violet sunset clouds in turquoise and aqua sky, over blue mountains and green fields.
©2008 Diana Moses Botkin

We've been having days and days of grey rainy weather here in north Idaho. Thankfully, there was a breakthrough of sunlight on Monday. I hope you'll enjoy these serotonin boosting colorful paintings I'm working on this week from Monday's colorful inspirations!

"Summer Afternoon at the River" Daily Painting

Original landscape oil painting, 4"x6"
Trees and green fields, with distant mountains and river in foreground.

I enjoyed looking at my summer reference photo to work on this painting. Weather here has been turning cold and grey and there is lots of fresh snow at about 1,000 feet and higher. So I guess summer's gone...sigh. Working on this little piece was the closest I could get to going somewhere warm and sunny, at least for awhile.

This study utilized simplified color choices. I tried to use only 5 tones to represent this scene. It's good for me to think about breaking a study into fewer steps and colors.

©2008 Diana Moses Botkin

Illegal Chinese Copies Hurt our Art and Livelihood

Many of you know I'm a member of DailyPainters.com and online group of ...guess what?!... daily painters! We work hard day after day to paint something original, eye-catching, fun, or perhaps even a masterpiece. We post our work at the site and on our blogs for online viewers to enjoy and (hopefully) purchase.

Then we find out that a Chinese art factory is ripping off lots of our images to offer at their website (without our permission!); painted copies of our originals. Brazen thievery of intellectual property. Many of my painting images they lifted were originally tiny paintings and were being offered at wall size "painted by artists with bachelor degrees". Yeah, right. I guess those bachelor degree programs didn't include any classes on the ethics of stealing other artists' work. But what am I thinking?! This is China we're talking about... famous.. or I guess I should say infamous... for cheap knock-offs of everything from "designer" luggage to "Rolex" watches.

The good news is that the Chinese site has now removed our images. Anytime you run across my work somewhere and suspect it is being used without my permission, please do contact me. I'll check it out and see if it's something for which I've given permission.

You can find bona fide reproductions of my work which I've authorized at my website repro page and at my giclee print gallery. And my originals are offered here at this blog, at my website, and my links page.

Winner Announced for the Book Giveaway!

Thank you to all who entered the drawing for a free copy of my new little book of daily paintings. Congratulations to Cecelia in Texas, whose name was chosen as the winner of a signed copy of "Gems From the Edge of the Earth".

And for those of you who are disappointed that you didn't win, you can preview the book (see sample pages) and buy if you'd like.

I really enjoy these giveaways because I get to hear from some of you out there in the blogosphere that I don't yet know! A number of the folks who visit here to see my daily paintings I've met personally, and others I've gotten to know through this blog. I value the camaraderie and feedback from all of you who comment and share your thoughts.

Still others of you out there are only names to me at this time... perhaps someday I'll be able to put a face with your name.

And here's my face in a photo snapped by my daughter at the Scotchman Peaks Paint Out Exhibit recently. I'm holding one of my little plein air paintings that had just sold, "Violet Evening". I'm usually not all that pleased with photos of myself and don't think of myself as photogenic, but this one is at least expressive. It says, "Well it was cold and miserable painting out there by the lake but this makes it all worthwhile!"