Reflection

Another oldie-but-goodie.  Mouser, my friends' cat, passed away a few years ago.  She would sit quietly looking at the wall, so was the perfect model. I painted her many times. RIP Mouser.

Mouser

12 x 9 oil on panel

SOLD 

Call It A Day

My home port of Opua is a ten minute ferry ride to the small town of Kororāreka Russell, New Zealand's first capital. In the early 1800s, before New Zealand became a nation, Kororāreka was a whaling town, called 'the Hell Hole of the Pacific'. It is said that every business was either a bar or a brothel. Now the capital is Wellington and Kororāreka Russell is a pretty little town on the bay, a major tourist attraction in The Bay of Islands. 

"Call It A Day" is a sunset from Russell's vantage point. The painting can be seen at Bay of Islands Trading Company on Cass Street. 

Call it a Day

7 x 7 oil on panel

Available at Bay of Islands Trading Company, Russell, New Zealand

Bling

Bling

10 x 8 oil on panel

SOLD

Somewhere in the West

"Somewhere in the West" is an 8 x 8 oil on panel, can be seen at Santa Ysabel Art Gallery in Santa Ysabel, North San Diego County in California. There's information below on an upcoming exhibit at the Santa Ysabel Gallery.  I'd love to attend but I'll be there in spirit. It's a long way from Opua, New Zealand to Santa Ysabel, California! 

Somewhere in the West

8 x 8 oil on panel

Drift Away

 I painted this piece a year or two ago. It has since sold at Horton Hayes Fine Art Gallery in Charleston, South Carolina.  

Drift Away

15.5 x 7.5 oil on panel

SOLD

Oldie but Goodie

This small oil was sold a few years ago. When I lived in Arizona, I taught several painting workshops at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum where I had the privilege of staying in a casita on the grounds of the museum. Going to sleep each night to the sounds of coyotes yipping (and a scorpion sharing the shower with me) was quite an experience. 

Perhaps I need to paint more cacti...

Sonoran Gems

8x8 oil on panel

Wish I Might

Wish I Might

8 x 8 oil on panel

SOLD 

A New Painting Project!

My son, Shane Rebenschied, has challenged me to a painting project. He's the boss for the project but all we've agreed upon at this point is that it won't be a painting-a-day (maybe 3 a week?) and we'll work on 6 x 6 gallery wrapped canvases. At this time, we're unsure of subject matter or the total number of paintings.

Aren't I supposed to be enjoying my golden years? Oh well - as I've realised over the past five years, I'd rather be an old artist that just an old lady and most days, I am in the studio anyway. I guess I'll just be in there a bit longer.

Stay tuned!

New Zealand Tui - 8x6 oil on panel

This oil study is from a previous painting project and has sold

“I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.”

― Jack London

 Silent Witness

10 x 8 oil on panel

This recent oil has just arrived at Mountain Trails Gallery in Sedona, Arizona.  

Aspen in progress

This little piece isn't finished, therefore it isn't titled. It's an 8 x 8 oil, work in progress. When I'm not sure if a painting is finished, I turn it to the wall for a week or two, then will take a fresh look. Sometimes it has miraculously improved while against the wall. At other times I can see that it needs to be tweaked, or occasionally, it goes straight into the bin.

Aspen - work in progress

8 x 8 oil on panel

Free Rein

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I like to paint series of subject matter. This oil is one of four 16 x 8 yachts that I painted for Horton Hayes Fine Art Gallery in Charleston, South Carolina. Horton Hayes has represented me for perhaps 18 years. My home town, Opua, is in the Bay of Islands in the Far North of New Zealand's North Island. There are 144 islands total, some being rocky outcrops and a couple with a few occupants. It is a mecca for sailing enthusiasts. Many local friends have boats and will spend a few days out on the water, anchoring overnight in sheltered bays. I was sailing with friends out on the bay when I saw this yacht as it was leaving New Zealand for the Islands. But nowadays, I only sail when the sea is like a duck pond. There is nothing worse than being seasick. 

A Following Sea

 Since moving home to New Zealand, I've been painting a lot of marine-inspired pieces. I live in Opua, New Zealand's northernmost port where yachties sail in to clear customs and immigration. Besides the international community of yachts that come and go, New Zealanders are avid sailors so there is no shortage of inspiring subject matter. 

A Following Sea

30 x 40 Oil on stretched canvas 

SOLD

Art Genes

 I'm not aware of any artists in my family prior to me. My father explains that as he and his sister were children of the great depression and the Napier Earthquake (1931 New Zealand) there was no time for art - they had to get on with the serious business of earning a living. And though my mother's family was more comfortable, there are no artists on that side either. But mathematicians seem to produce mathematical children and musicians generally produce musical offspring so I assume it is the same with artists. My son, Shane Rebenschied, started painting in watercolour while in high school and by his junior year, set his sights on Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He was definitely influenced by our artist friend, Joe Garcia, an Art Center graduate but also by me. My dear friend, artist Lindsay Scott , was also part of our lives when he was young. There was no escaping it. When working on a painting, I would often ask for his input; 'if you were a bird, where would you be in this painting'?  We discussed composition and colour while driving. "If you cut out a piece of that cloud and put it on white paper, what colour would it be'?  So is it nature or nurture?

Shane graduated from Art Center College of Design with a degree in illustration. He worked for The House of Blues and another company or two before deciding to hang up his shingle to become a freelance illustrator. He has been doing book covers for the major publishers ever since. You can see his work here. Shane has continued to paint on the side and like many illustrators, may shift to gallery work as he gets older.  His new website is up and running and will have a print section shortly.  And yes, there are other artists in the family. My granddaughter graduated with a degree in textile design and works for a university with arty digital fabrication. My sister, Joanne Hanson, is a painter. Her granddaughter is also a gifted artist and so on. Below are some of Shane's paintings. Click on the images to enlarge them. 

Fruit & Floral

Original 6 x 8 oil studies by Shane Rebenschied 

Congregation on Cuba Street 12" x 24" 

Original oil by Shane Rebenschied

Empty Promises

When painting smaller pieces, I like to do a series of images that are of a similar subject matter. When painting my evening sky oils. I usually paint four, all the same size because I like the way they look when they're hanging together as a collection. 

This oil is the second in a series of four of my latest evening sky pieces.  All four have just arrived at Mountain Trails Gallery, located in beautiful Tlaquepaque in Sedona, Arizona and should be hanging on the gallery walls in the next day or two.  I lived in Sedona for 35 years and well remember the hot, dry summer months, waiting for the July monsoons to start.  At the beginning of monsoon season, the dark, foreboding storm clouds produce little more than lightning for the first few weeks. The wait for rain was the inspiration for my little oil; 'Empty Promises".  Click on the image to see the details and brushwork. 

Empty Promises

8 x 8 (203 x 203mm) oil on panel

A Place Like This

I'm hooked on painting these little evening sky oils. When painting them, I rely more on memory than on photographic reference, which I use only for colour, so they come off the brush more spontaneously.  They're usually 8 x 8 (203 x 203mm) and framed simply in a flat profile, 2.1" wide black frame. This piece was inspired by the miles of juniper and piňon between Sedona and Cottonwood, Arizona but it could be many places. 

This little piece is one of 8 new pieces that have just arrived at Mountain Trails Gallery in Sedona, Arizona. 

                                                                         A Place Like This

8 x 8 (203 x 203mm) oil on panel

People ask if it is a hassle to ship work to galleries in another country? Not really, because I use New Zealand Post to mail them. However there are size limits so I keep the paintings on the smaller size. I can ship larger oils but to keep shipping costs down, I paint on stretched canvas, remove the finished canvas from the stretcher bars and ship it in a tube. 

Kōrero - Little Blue Penguins.

Please click on the painting to see the full length of "Kōrero - Little Blue Penguins".

I'm back! It has been a long time since I've posted on my blog. I am long overdue for an update. I am bothered by the upsurge of AI generated 'art' that is flooding the internet, including sites such as Etsy, that has been a reputable site to buy original artwork.  So perhaps it is even more important for me to get back to posting on my blog to regularly connect with those who appreciate original art. I do not use AI to create my paintings, from conception, composition and application of the paint.

Almost fourteen years ago, I moved back to my homeland of Aotearoa New Zealand where I have been happily living in the little port-town of Opua on the Far North regioin of New Zealand's North Island. The Bay of Islands is home to Korora - the little blue penguins in this painting. They're cute little guys that come ashore at night to nest in rocky crevices, under tree roots and even under some of the buildings along the waterfront. 

I continue to paint and supply galleries both in the US and here in New Zealand. You can see more work and information on galleries on my website. 

Kōrero - Little Blue Penguins

15" x 30"  Original oil on canvas

Available at Bay of Islands Trading Company, Russell, New Zealand 

(this piece has sold)

 My son, Shane Rebenschied, and I are having a two-person exhibition at Reyburn House Gallery in Whangarei, New Zealand, ending 18th December, 2022.  The exhibit can be seen online  at https://adeleearnshaw.com/collections/177621  We can ship internationally from New Zealand. Shipping is included in the price of the painting, except for the largest pieces. 

The Waterfowl Festival Virtual Gallery

 I exhibited at the Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland for almost thirty years. After an absence of a few years, I was invited back for the 50th anniversary...but then the pandemic happened. This year, there will be no traditional Waterfowl Festival but rather a virtual gallery. I am honoured to have three pieces in this year's gallery.

Click on the link and enter my name into search to see my oils. As these sell, I'll replace them with new pieces. Waterfowl Festival Online Gallery  If you're in the U.S. and purchase a painting, the work is already there so shipping costs will be the standard domestic shipping with Fed-ex. You will not be paying for international shipping from New Zealand to the United States.  Sizes and prices are available on the link. 

          

My son's work

My son, Shane Rebenschied, is a full-time illustrator. On January 1, 2019, he started an ambitious project to paint one 6" x 8" oil a day for the entire year. As of August 16 2019, he has not missed a day. Shane graduated in illustration from Art Center College of Design, so he is no stranger to painting, but it's been fascinating to watch his growth these past 288 days. He's not restricting himself to a specific subject matter but has painted landscapes, people, animals, seascapes, trees and plants - but lately has been painting a single item; a teacup, catsup packet or a strawberry. He posts daily on Facebook and also on Just Keep Painting.  After a week or two on his website, they're moved to his ETSY page,  They're available for US $100 each plus $10 shipping while on his own page then the price is $120 on Etsy. Check out his work. I'm blown away by his paintings!

Finders Keepers

8" x 6" oil on panel

US$100-$120 unframed

Ready for Take-off
8" x 6" oil on panel
$100-$120 unframed

"Potato Juice"
8" x 6" oil on panel
$100-$120 unframed

Tips
6" x 8" oil on panel
$100-$120 unframed

Snowy

This painting is straight off the easel so the wet painting is causing a glare. When it's dry, I'll get a better shot of it.

"Snowy"

10" x 8" oil on gessoed panel