Personal Art Blog

Sharing the lessons I teach at the Artist Guild and the personal discoveries in my art.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Albuquerque Gate, N.M.



Albuquerque Gate, N.M.

6x8in oil on canvas panel  $125.

This is one of many beautiful places in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The owners have built a rambling adobe wall which accommodates
the existing cottonwood trees by building around them.
It is down near the Rio Grande River where the large cottonwood
trees grow. It is easy to forget you are in a big city when in such
peaceful surroundings..
We lived there for a number of years and still have close friends
we love to go and visit.




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19 comments:

  1. OH MY gosh, Julie!!! This is a fantastic painting full of texture and color!! That blue door is gorgeous as well as the flowers. One of your best!! LOL Your paintings are ALL good.

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    1. Thanks so much, Hilda. I love the blue doors out here in the Southwest. They stir something within me.

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  2. I really admire your way with exciting color. Seems like every time I comment I rave about your masterful handling of color! The adobe wall is gorgeous and the turquoise gate really reminds me of the time I spent in New Mexico. Beautiful painting, Julie.

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    1. Nice of you to complement my colors - thanks Carol.
      Loved your color today too.

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  3. The color and texture is amazing! I love it!

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    1. Thank you Bruce. You do great color yourself! I enjoyed your step by step demo on your blog.

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  4. Love this, Julie! I'm partial to the southwestern architecture myself and love the way many owners have kept that style in their properties. This is so lush and colorful. The way you have handled the shadows on the wall is amazing. Makes me want to be there!

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    1. Glad you like the s.w. architecture. I had a friend who lives in NYC and when I took her to Santa Fe I was stunned to find out she "hated" the brown, flat roofed buildings. Taste is so subjective because I fell in love with everything about the southwest as soon as I arrived.
      I admired the way these people let their wall go in and out around the trees so they didn't have to cut them down.
      Adobe can be hard to paint because it is not smooth. There are subtle undulations which catch either the sky or what is growing around it

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  5. My eyes are drawn to that door, awesome.

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    1. Thanks Roger - I took your idea of placing it center and using the pattern of light and dark to make it work.

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  6. This is a gem!. All the colors are wonderful and I love the flower suggestion in the foreground.

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  7. Thank you Kaethe - I like the way you noticed I only suggested the flowers. The mind fills those blobs of color as flowers.

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  8. being from New Mexico, I so love painting gates, windows, and doors. This is lovely. Dee Sanchez www.deesanchezpaints.com

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    1. Welcome and thanks for the comment, Dee. Your work is amazing. I enjoyed a visit to your site listed above. That is a neat group you belong to Paint New Mexico. Any openings for someone from the southern part?

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  9. This is gorgeous Julie! There's so much life to it and it seems to glow. Amazing!

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    1. Hi Jennifer. Nice comment - I appreciate it very much.
      Congratulations on your 100th blog post.

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  10. At first I thought what a lovely garden scene, must be in England. Then I recalled where you lived. This painting is very charming Julie and involving. I, too, love doorways and gateways and windows. I always wonder what is beyond.

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  11. Julie, love this door and the contrast with the shadows in the foreground. The greens in the background really light it up, love the movement of them !!

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  12. You would be amazed at how lush the greens can get with irrigation.
    The places down along the river feed off a series of irrigation ditches. Some of the flowers are hollyhocks which grow all over the place and need hardly any water. The yellow daisy type is another common weed but quite beautiful.
    I did a series of my studio door from inside and out. I am drawn to them.

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I love that you are taking the time to comment and thank you for it. I am sure other readers will enjoy them too. If you cannot comment through this format then email me at juliefordoliver@gmail.com
Cheers,
Julie