"Tomato and Basil" Painting and Paintings To Be Arrive

"Tomato and Basil," oil on Raymar panel, 6"h x 6"w, ©Jill Banks 2011

A little one today. I just squeezed in a little bit of painting time so this is as much as I could handle.

My Book
Today I started writing ... and laying out my book, "100 Faces in 100 Days." It's forcing me to learn new software (with some bugs in it), think, write, and select images to include along the way. I'm typing directly into the book formatting software, pulling in text and images from my blog and other files, and enjoying recalling those 100 days. Still, today was one of those days that I wish I had two of me ... so at least one of those could be painting all day long.

When I'd had enough of bookmaking, I took a trip to the grocery store for a change of pace. No grocery list. Just me loose in the store figuring out what to cook. Fortunately, I ran into Eduardo, the chef owner of Jasmine's who gave me some hints about what to make with the stuff piling up in my basket. Turns out I have yet to cook it ... because I wanted to paint instead. Husband Randy's out of town until tomorrow ... so any slight regimen we have is out the window. It's because he's gone I chose today to work on the book. Writing is something I need to do with no distractions. Randy can be one of those.

Paintings To Be

I received the best package yesterday ... and unwrapped them today. I finally ordered new panels ... as my studio was running very, very low on something to paint on ... especially in smaller sizes. Today, I unwrapped ten 6"x6"(nine of which are still paintings to be), twenty 8"x10," twenty 11"x14," ten 8"x16," thirty 16"x20" and ten 18"x24" panels. That's 100, oops now 99, pretty soon to be paintings. Maybe not in 100 days, but I'll work on it. This is one of the first times I remember being excited about that many blank canvases. All of these are Raymar panels -- museum quality, oil primed, linen-lined panels -- similar to the ones I used for my 100 faces project. I need to get around to toning a big batch of them so they are ready to go. Panels, versus stretched canvases, are much more practical for plein air work -- particularly because they are hardier -- more difficult to damage. In plein air -- everything manages to fall. Constantly. It's rough out there.


And ... as an ongoing reminder:
August Exhibit of the 100 Faces in 100 Days Project at the Artists' Atelier
I'll soon be hanging the second exhibit of these 100 Faces (or 101) at the Artists' Atelier to be on view from August 1-31. You are cordially invited to visit (I'll establish open hours and post those on my web site and here on the blog) and especially invited for the two main events.

Jill Banks' 100 Faces in 100 Days Exhibit -- August 1-31, 2011
Reception: Friday, August 12, 6-9pm

Ice Cream Social: Saturday, August 13, 2-4pm
At the Artists' Atelier, 1144 Walker Road, Suite G, Great Falls, VA 22066

Read more about the project on my web site (www.jillbanks.com), go to the 100 Faces Project Pages 1 and 2 where you can see all 100 of my volunteers. Click on the paintings, and go to my blog post for that person's sitting.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page 1 (faces 1-54): www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project.html
100 Faces in 100 Days Project Page 2 (faces 55-100): www.jillbanks.com/jillbanks/100_Faces_in_100_Days_Project_2.html
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435