Challenge Abstract

Challenge Abstract

6x8in painted and wiped off.

The painting above represents

controlled  frustration.

Artist Note.

In the spirit of doing the collage 

of all the paintings from the challenge

I tried and totally wasted a couple of hours

trying to learn PicMonkey.

Lesson learned.

I am full of true admiration for all of you

who whipped out a collage

I do know enough about PicMonkey 

now to know I really like what it can do.

I thank Leslie Saeta for doing all the 

work to pull another successful 

challenge together.

It appeared that less than one third 

of the enrolled artists 

showed their work on her blog. 

That is good in a way because would I 

have ever been able to see ALL their work?

It was mind boggling to try and get through

the images of the 300 - 400 daily artists.

At the same time...

the best thing about the challenge was

being introduced to the work of

artists I was not familiar with ,and seeing a 

whole slew of new and fabulous paintings 

from artists

 I already admire.

See the final collages from everyone

HERE

Work In Process plus a Handy Hint! - Final day 30 in Challenge

Work in process

6x8 oil on canvas

This series will allow me to work on different surfaces.

The first few will be on black gessoed panels.

I feel it important to use the gesso and not an

acrylic black paint. The reason?

It needs to be slightly porous to grab the oil paint

 and gesso is made to work that way.

A handy and easy to make guide for 

making a "same size guide" for helping to design

the composition. Frames from the Dollar Store 

with the paper taken out and glass left in.

I have several for each size of my canvases

this is a 5x7 but with the frame is exactly 6x8

The grid is divided by the usual rule of thirds.

with a marker.The circles are for 

possible focal areas.

Doing this really helps me design and 

find the focal area and also eye flow pattern.

I am holding it directly over the photo here. 

I can move the frame back and forth to find

a composition I like best or rest 

it right on

the photo like shown here.

 .

I try it in a vertical position and do the same thing.

Having the frame helps me see it clearly with 

its boundary.

Using it for a still life works the same way

Only better -because you can mark off the 

spacing of your object with a marker

Yes, you can buy a product already made

 but I enjoy having them

match the size of my canvas.

Snow, Water and Crows #2 - day 29

Snow, Water and Crows 2

6x8in oil on canvas  $130.SOLD


Here is number two in my new series
It became more realistic than I wanted, but
that is part of exploration on a theme

Artist Note
In this one the crows became more
important.  Those little suckers are
not easy to do.
Took about ten wipe-offs on
such a small space.
I realize that they are going to
be one of the areas I will be exploring.
How not to get dorky crows!

For serious art lovers. I have linked to a
wonderful video of a presentation
the AMAZING  landscape painter
Clyde Aspevig
gave in Montana.
It is 25 mins long.
When you want to give yourself a treat,
settle down and get inspired.

Clyde Aspevig

here

Snow, Water and Crows #1 - Day 28

Snow, Water & Crows #1

6x8in oil on canvas $130. SOLD

This is an abstract I have been looking 

forward to painting and the start of

a new series.

For a year I have photographed, 

painted and sketched this spot

5 days a week. 

through all of the seasons.

Situated in the heart of the city, it is

a drainage pond for a local factory.

It is surrounded by unattractive

buildings on one side - two roads 

and a parking lot.

I LOVE THE PLACE!

I have never seen another person

even give it a second look.

I proudly showed it to my good friend

Lisa Graham 

when she came to visit. She understood

my fascination.

(hey, Lisa, can you believe I have actually

started on it?!!!  )

Just in case you cannot find the crows...

look carefully and you will see three small

dark spots (middle-ish left) and they 

are the crows. As I said...an abstract.

The factory is a pecan processing

plant and the crows flock there for 

their pecan fix! 

My Mountains - day 27

My Mountains

6x8in oil on canvas panel $130.

click to buy

The view from my studio at the "golden hour."

I never get tired of it.

Organ Mountains, Las Cruces, NM.

Artist Note,

Only three more days to go in the challenge.

The Facebook Challenge was on at the same 

time and I thank everyone who invited me 

to take part. I would have loved 

to have participated, but it just would 

have been too much on top doing this 

challenge PLUS working.

I must be getting old when I cannot

do everything I want to!

Old or sensible!

Sensible is old!

Cherries - Day 26 in the Challenge

Cherries
6x8in oil on canvas board $130. SOLD

Artist Note.
Painted during cherry season,
but it never made it to my blog.

I painted it at a friend's house
from life. I liked her nice shiny
colander better than the cherries.
It was a challenge to paint
the reflections

Kat - day 24

Kat 

6x6in oil on canvas panel. Gifted to self!

This is my dear companion, Kat. A Blue Heeler.
She died a year ago and I have tried to paint her
several times. This is how this one came about.
It caught her anxious look perfectly

After making an abstract gesso 
mono printing on my canvas
I turned it around looking for an image to
appear...something...anything.
The one below said waterfall!
Done that already.

This one said dark stream, snow 

and shadows

In this one you can clearly see a 

Native American's head in the middle 

with outstretched arm

and then this one...

I could clearly see the dogs eyes and nose

in the middle especially the nose.

Can you see it?

(click to enlarge.)

It inspired me to paint my
beloved dog in a way I had not done before
-  it was more about my memory
I am very happy with the results. I have had too
many failed results going from a photo.

If you are interested
Here is a previous Utube

video gesso demo

I showed some examples on my blog of painting
in color over abstract mono printing on canvas.
See back post gesso mono printing

and this post gesso mono waterfall

Mustard and Garlic.- Day 22-23

Mustard and Garlic

6x8in oil on canvas panel $130. SOLD

Artist Note.

Paint and group things which "relate" was the 

mantra at art school. 

Example.

A flower would not go as well with radish, 

onions and garlic as a jar of mustard would.

I always have flowers in my kitchen so 

why not?

A casual flower like a daisy or sunflower

looks great with my blue and white dish towels

but I have tried mixing them with the veggies

and it just doesn't work.

But... I am an impressionist and 

that could be why. Abstract them more 

and I know it would work.

Missed day 22 posting but I did work on 

completing several paintings.

Roses and Gift -Day 21

Roses and Gift
6x8in oil on canvas panel $130. SOLD


Some guild member friends gave me this
beautiful lidded pot for Christmas.
I have already painted some
tiny studies in watercolor and this is my first
attempt in oils. I know I will be painting it again.

Artist Note,
I took a day off from the challenge yesterday,.
The workshop was over and I needed a day
to regroup and focus back on teaching.
It felt so good!

Figure Session - Day 19 in the Challenge.

Figure Session

12x9' oil on gesso board 

NFS

Artist Note.

The water-media workshop was great and

it gave me a feeling of freedom

in my oils. I had an opportunity 

to paint the figure today and went

at  it with a very fluid paint quality.

No drawing, but found my angles 

and proportions first with a script brush 

using transparent brown oxide

with Gamsol to make it flow

.

My favorite area is where the chain rests

between her breasts. 

The glare of wet paint caught on the area

her hair 

 in the photo But it doesn't matter as the 

painting is unfinished and 

stands as a study.

The workshop had some good

non-representational artists. 

The collage method was extra powerful

in that and the abstract area.

Here is a photo from the workshop.

at group critique time.

Nancy Frost Begin is holding the

collage and the actual painting is the 

one on the easel.

With Susan Hanssen standing to the left.

It is not one of mine, but I watched 

the experienced artist work on it from 

start to finish and I can tell you 

a strong and beautiful design like this is not easy 

to achieve.

Decorative Nest - workshop. Day 18

Decorative Nest

15x11" gouache on paper

NFS

Day 2

Susan Hanssen 

Workshop.

Goal

 Paint something in a way we would 

never paint it. Reach outside our 

comfort zone.

Susan's example was an abstracted chicken 

with a blue top-not instead of red! 

If you think of the very organic way I 

painted the nest and feather just a 

couple of days ago then you know

how much I pushed myself out 

of my comfort zone with this one.

Polka dotted eggs and bright colored 

branches/twigs - plus a border!!!

Step one was to mark up the paper 

in a random way with dark watercolor.

Those marks can be clearly seen behind the nest.

2. Draw the subject with watercolor crayon..

3. use transparent washes.

4. Finish with gouache. 

5.Touch up with watercolor crayons.

The border happened quite naturally

to stop the very bright nest from

appearing to float.

Decorative art can be fun and relaxing

and I quite enjoyed painting this. 

Here is a wonderful sheep Susan did.

The patterns are painted the same

 as from the collage study..

See more listed under sheep on her website

HERE

I was asked why I was taking a watercolor 

workshop from two artists who work

so differently to me. 

Simply this... when the opportunity comes 

along to have the opportunity to learn from two

artists of Nancy Frost Began

and Susan Hanssen's

incredible talent and teaching skills...

any artist should jump at the chance.

17 of us are very glad we did!

It was AMAZING! It was BRILLIANT!

I am exhausted.

SW Landscape - Watermedia Workshop. Day 17

  

Southwest Landscape

24x20 watermedia on paper 

not for sale

Artist Note.

Today was the first day with the fabulous

Susan Hanssen.

It was very interesting because her

goal is to make us think in a different

viewpoint from our regular work.

We start by making a collage from

colored magazine papers assembled to fit 

an abstract view of a specific image.

Here is mine.

I really liked this method because it provided 

color and shape inspiration. 

I soon found out what did NOT work

regarding color or shape. Saves a lot of time

 messing it up later...with paint!

It was not easy, but I noticed everyone 

in the class turned out really good work.

People, pets, a fabulous

beetle and truck...

 non-representational 

and abstract landscapes.

I think it is the planning that takes 

place for that first step which helped us all.

Changes took place automatically 

as the work progressed but the basic

design stayed in place.

Steps.

1. Collage

2. Transparent washes

3. Gouache

4. Watercolor crayons

I don't want to give the impression it was

easy because I worked all day on this image

and there are still some areas 

which I am thinking changes may take place.

I will wait and think about it.

Feather - Water-Media Workshop. Day 16

Feather and Nest
17"x13" water- media on paper
NFS

Artist Note

Another creative day.

I had a blast.

So many amazing artists are in the group 

 I can't help but be inspired 

by what they do, but the ooh and ahh moments
happened when
Nancy Frost Begin
worked on a painting to demo the
way we would be working.
I could have sat and watched her paint
all day long.
No such luck...She was very aware of
wanting her students to have time to paint.

This was another method where we painted 

on top of an old painting. No coating of acrylic
matt medium this time.
(I goofed and called it varnish yesterday.)
With this one

 white tempera paint was applied 

over the painting in different ways

and left to dry. Next, black (permanent) ink

was put on rather intuitively. 

Special instructions were given

 on the next step

of hosing the tempera off.

We did that yesterday.
See below

The resulting imagery

"spoke to me" and I saw 

the direction I wanted to go.
The underlying marks
provide some wonderful natural effects
one cannot create any other way.
I really like this painting.

What a creative and stimulating

two days they have been.
Thank you, Brilliant Nancy!

The next two days are with

Susan Hanssen.

She is fabulous painter.
I am looking forward to another
completely different approach.

See her work HERE

Spider Mum - Watercolor Workshop. Day 15

Spider Mum

13x17in 

mixed water-media on rag paper.

Different for me I know.

This is a workshop painting and is still 

not finished. I may have to do some tweaking 

after I have time to look at it.

Artist Note.

It was an exciting and very busy day.

The instructors are

two award winning sisters

who have a mission to free

artists from the constrains of 

the traditional, and introduce

new methods to achieve 

creative fulfillment.

Their motto is 

COURAGE LOOKS GOOD!

Today, the first of two days out of four,

were with

Nancy Frost Begin

(Click her link at bottom)

The painting above was worked on top 

of an old painting which we had varnished.

I went freely into it with

great inspiration after watching Nancy's 

amazing demo using gouache.

She applied it in a certain way and then

 moved some around with various tools

allowing random areas of the original

painting to show through. 

This created beautiful abstract areas. 

My flower would look dorky on a regular

background, but I feel this method

provided some oomph!

Tomorrow we try another exciting method

involving tempera paint and permanent black ink.

Check out Nancy's amazing work 

Nancy Frost Begin

Sunrise At Caballo, NM. Day 14

Sunrise At Caballo, NM

6x8in oil on canvas panel $125. SOLD

The only time of the year the sunrise is

 in this position is during the winter

I am always amazed at the large swath 

the sun travels from summer to winter.

The sun doesn't always rise in the true 

east as far as my sense of direction

is concerned.

Artist Note.

Day 13 passed in a blur of busy work.

No post...gasp!

We are learning about the 

Ned Jacob Palette. 

I took a workshop from Ned in the later 80's 

at the Art Students League in Denver,

and his palette was all I used through 

most of the nineties.

That plus ONE accent color if needed. 

Like a turquoise for a door.

The colors.

Yellow light or med, Orange, Alizarin (Perm) 

Ultra Blue, Black and Titanium White

Beautiful harmony can be achieved

by mixing all the secondary and grays with 

with these few colors.

The most important reason for using a 

limited palette is to learn what is IN certain colors

Example... to make yellow ochre you have to use 

yellow and a reddish purple. 

Too blue a purple and you 

get marvelous greens

Fascinating stuff, color!

I did not cheat and used the limited palette 

for this painting knife painting.

Tesuque, New Mexico - Day 12

Tesuque, New Mexico

6x8in oil on canvas panel $125. SOLD

Artist Note.

Painted this while the area 

is fresh in my mind from my trip 

this weekend.

Painted quickly using

  only the palette knife.

This consists of such simple 

shapes 

but I love the color of the dirt

with the rich green of the pinons.

Busy time catching up

with everything. I will be heading 

round everyone's work soon.

Rose Duo - Day 10 &11

Rose Duo

Watercolor on Strathmore paper

NFS

Artist Note.

Sorry - a lousy photo for accurate color, 

but seeing I did 

not post yesterday I went ahead

and posted it. 

Yesterday my hubby and I drove to 

Santa fe to visit a dear friend

who was critically ill in

the hospital. It is a four hour drive 

so it was an overnight trip.

Glad we went because she had just been 

taken out of the ICU after 5 days

and into CCU. A good sign.

She has a long way to go but the 

prognosis is good.

I painted on the way there

something from memory

I painted on the way back

experimenting on Yupo

Several more "starts" were fussed over.

Maybe to be worked on the next trip?

The weather difference was quite profound.

This is what 300 miles can do.

This morning we left this weather in Santa Fe

and sailed past this beautiful scene with just

one hour left to arrive back in Las Cruces.

I love the diversity of this beautiful

Land Of Enchantment.

Farmers Market - day 9

Farmers Market #26

8x6in Oil on canvas $145. SOLD

Artist Note.

This is a fully realized study.

It started off as a sketch 

during the summer and I kept going

here and there until today when 

I added some finishing touches.

I call it a study because I

became very aware of what, how...

and why I was placing the paint.

The reason...

I am working on a huge Farmers Market

painting. A commission.

Huge for me. 

It is 43in high by 62 inches across. 

That is equal to 50 of my daily paintings.

I will be doing some Farmers Market

paintings to help get me back into the 

groove - so to speak -  

and I will be sprinkling them 

amongst the challenge paintings.

Snowy Sunset - Day 8

Snowy Sunset

8x6in oil on canvas  $125. Donated

The glow of a warm sunset against the cool

shadow of the snow makes an artist 

forget the cold.

Artist Note

Regarding the post about the circular 

rainbow on day 6

I was thrilled when this kind artist sent me the 

following email confirming my experience.

When I saw your rainbow painting

I knew it was a "Pilot's Halo".

I was a stewardess back in the 60's

and whenever we saw the shadow of

the plane against the cloud below

surrounded by a full rainbow

we used to love to make the announcement

and tell everyone to look

 and it created some excitement....

today when I see one I call the flight attendant

and ask them if they know what a Pilot's Halo 

is so I can show them...but 

they don't seem to care.

I guess the glamour and excitement 

has gone out of being a stewardess!!!

Maryann Stephens

Maryann belongs to a group of 

 8 artists who - get this - all

paint on the SAME PAINTING!

(Talk about collaboration!)

The results are truly amazing.

Do yourselves a favor and

check out how fabulous their

website is HERE

More Pears! Day 7

More Pears

6x8in oil on canvas panel  125.

Artist Note

It appears I am working on a

run of pears at the moment.

They are fun, but it

happened all on its own and I cannot

call it a series because I usually 

plan for those.

I have authorized my

 left hand to slap the brush 

right out of my right 

hand if it tries to paint another pear

for at least a week!

Time to do something else

Happy News

I NEVER win anything so imagine my

delight at winning a beautiful 

sunflower painting by Sharon l Graves.

Yea!

Check out the painting at the

River Run Gallery

Sharon L Graves

I have been visiting Sharon's blog for quite a 

while now and she always has interesting 

information along with her 

lovely artwork.

You can also scroll down to the previous

post where she demonstrates my 

useful correcting with glass hint.

Demo Vases - day 6

Vases

8x6 work in progress

Artist Note.

It was back to teaching all day today 

and this was 

 a very quick demo this morning.

Was the demo anything to do with 

something you would find interesting...

probably not. 

The painting below could be though.

It is a rainbow painted looking down from

 a plane. 

I always get a window seat  

and take my little painting kit.

I looked down after the drinks were 

served and there is was. 

I am embarrassed to tell you I called the flight

attendant to made sure of what I was seeing

She actually gave me an Eye Roll and a sigh...

(you pay to get abused like that.)

and in a condescending way I was told

Yes...it was a rainbow.

and YES...rainbows are ROUND 

DUH!

...never felt so dumb. 

Of course I was used to seeing half the circle

because the ground blocks the rest of it. 

Did we have this in school?

Or is it so elementary everyone knows but me.

See the center - that is the shadow of the plane

Honest to god...painted on the spot

as I actually saw it.

Rainbow, dessert ground with small bushes,

Blurry Pears - Watercolor. Day 5

Blurry Pears

6x6 watercolor on paper 

unfinished!

Artist Note

First, I want to thank you for all the

good wishes for my hubby. 

He was a little too smug about all the 

attention, but as he still isn't back to normal

I cut him some slack and let him bask in it.

I caught him checking my blog comments

all day long!!

You are a very kind bunch of bloggers.

I do appreciate you all - very much.

This is an experiment and at the first stage.

It was a study for the pair of pears I did on day 2.

The blurring is intentional.

 I am going to bring it back into

focus very slowly. 

Will show it you then. 

My Red Teapot - Day 4

My Red Teapot

7x9in watercolor on moleskin paper  SOLD

Artist Note

Remember in my last post 

saying painting only 

one item is so much easier...

Well...this is almost one item with 

the pot and cup linked together.

My regular followers know

how many times I have painted this 

much loved teapot.

Started from memory

in ER during the final hour when I knew

all would be okay.

On a serious note.

I am passing this info on in case 

it can be helpful.

I spent 9 hours in the ER with my 

hubby yesterday. 

A very serious allergy reaction to a 

med he had been taking 15 years.

Enalapril.

We are all familiar with a reaction to 

something immediate - like a bee sting

or food, but I was unaware that you 

can also have a gradual 

build up leading to a very severe one.

He has had a dry cough for a couple of 

years and that was apparently 

a symptom all was not well.

The ER doctor 

recognized the culprit was 

Enapril for blood pressure, 

causing the Angioedema

He started the standard treatment

to WHICH my hubby DID NOT RESPOND

 We had some heart thumping moments

of fear and dread.

The clever (young) doctor remembered 

reading something and went and 

researched on the 

computer and found it.

Fresh Frozen plasma 

has started to be used as a successful treatment.

Keep that part in mind if  you 

or someone you know

is ever in a similar predicament...

especially in a small town hospital 

where they do not see a lot of

angioedema.

One pouch of drip drip and the swelling 

started to respond and after the second 

bag he could feel he wasn't 

suffocating to death

The drugs in the 

category ACE inhibitors.

are used for:

blood pressure

coronary artery disease,

diabetes,

mellitus,

chronic renal disease and 

recurrent stroke

if interested -read details HERE

Praising God for answered prayers.

Our grateful thanks to 

Paul and Lindy Bridgers 

who came over and prayed for 

my husband and the 

MVRHospital's Doctor Kinkel.