Ravens At The Pond

Ravens At The Pond.

6x8in oil on canvas panel  $140.

purchase HERE

Artist Note.

I have been sitting 

sketching the ravens

from inside the car

at this spot.

They vanish if I get out.

This is a local ponding 

area for the Pecan Factory. 

The Common Ravens 

stay year round in our area

and LOVE this particular

spot... even

 when there is no water!

I have seen up to 20

at one time, but

there are only 

about 8 ravens 

in this painting.

Cactus Wrens

Cactus Wrens

6x8in oil on canvas panel NFS

Artist Note.

I decided to keep this one.

The Cactus Wren is a 

favorite of 

mine. 

Hard to spot with their 

very effective camouflage

markings when they are

in the desert and nest.

Did you know they mate for life?

Their beak is long for a reason,

they can be quite aggressive,

but the ones I have visit me

are models

of decorum with the other birds

at the feeders.

Happy St Patrick's Day!!

Look what I will be wearing.

A gift from a good friend.

She knows I love fun socks.

Thank you, Gail!

Single Bloom

Single Bloom

6x6in oil on canvas panel $110. SOLD

Artist Note

I thought a close-up

of a single blossom

would be easy.

Sigh...

I did enjoy painting it though 

and that is the reason

I paint.
The pleasure of it

 cannot be beat.
Struggle included.

Have a lovely weekend
and for those of you
in the big storm area,
be safe...
be warm...

Life Force.

Life Force

6x6 oil on canvas panel $110. SOLD

Artist Note.

I know...

I know...

 I thought my 

water paintings

were finished,

 but there is still 

a compulsion inside me

 to do more.

Loved painting it!

Floating Dahlias.

Floating Dahlias

Work in Progress

Artist Note

(yup...still painting water!!!)

I saw these wonderful floating 

dahlia flower heads 

in September when I was 

 visiting the 

Nedra Matteucci Gallery

in Santa Fe.

 I fell in love.

I tried painting them in 

watercolor first, and found it 

waaay too busy to include 

the bird bath. Easy decision

to paint only the 

flowers, but it presented

a whole new set of problems.

In our culture we are only 

used to seeing the waterlily

floating on water, and 

they have many petals too.

How to make sense of 

floating flowers? 

How to make them 

appear to be in water.

Finally arriving at...

does it matter if they look 

like  another flower 

or in water?

Nope. What matters is 

painting something

close in my heart.

I went a little larger than my 

usual blogging size... 

because 10"x8"

 is a far easier size 

to work out 

problems.

Start.

Transparent washes of colors

 then fracture or disturb

the surface

The stage below is 

my personal favorite. 

basic and very abstract.

I am going to be exploring this

theme further

in several different ways.

Lily Pond #3

Lily Pond #3

6x6in Oil on canvas $110.

Purchase HERE

Artist Note.

The difference a bright blue
sky and sunshine makes
to color is pretty well amazing.
This is 4pm... afternoon sun..

Enjoy a fun Labor Day!

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.

Callas At Christmas

Callas for Christmas

6x8in oil on canvas $125. SOLD

Artist Note.

Such a busy time of year.

This will most likely be my last post

until after Christmas.

Is it too much to hope for 

Peace in the World?

Wherever you live -

 I know we must all wish for it.

I thank our military, and their families

who sacrifice for this ultimate goal.

May everyone's 

Christmas or Holiday

 be full of joy and love for 

those we care for, as well as those who 

now are only memories in our hearts.

Be safe, be warm and be at peace.

Blessings!

Santa Fe Arroyo

Santa Fe Arroyo

9x12in oil on canvas panel
M.Phillips Gallery  SOLD

Artist Note.

I love this spot and have painted 

it many times in all types of weather. 

 The far mountain range,  

named the Jemez Mountains,
(pronounced Hay-mez) 

and over 11,500' high,
is also where Los Alamos Laboratories
are located.
From this spot the Jemez range
can appear almost a cerulean blue 

under certain light conditions.

 With snow it is extra stunning.

Ancient Pitcher at Thanksgiving

Ancient Pitcher with Pomegranates 

12x9in oil on canvas  $700. framed On HOLD

For sale in M.Phillips Fine Art Gallery


Happy Thanksgiving to all.
May your day be filled with Love
and many blessings for which to be grateful.

I truly am grateful for all of YOU!

Sunset Reflections

Sunset Reflections

 8x8in oil on canvas panel  SOLD

The Rio Grande River is the main source of water 

for the beautiful Mesilla Valley, NM, where I live.

Many irrigation ditches divert the water to

the small farms which grow

chilies, onions, cotton, pecans, 

corn and yes...even wine.

The sunsets here are gorgeous, making even the 

oldest farms beautiful in their glow.

Artist Note.

Mission:

Create a sense of place without detail.

 Simple, abstract shapes and color

were formed using palette knife and brush.

Rose in Glass - days 19-20 in Challenge

Rose in Glass

6x6in oil on canvas panel

Days 19 - 20

Artist Note

It was Page Railsback 

(fabulous with color and design)

who commented on my previous post

that my work was so complicated

it was hard to believe I could do it in a day.

 And that made me think... maybe 

she was right?

I would try something simple.

Whip it out.

So here it is. - a single rose in a glass.

It should have been simple, right?

 ...wrong!

This little sucker took two days and 

I am still not sure if it is done.

See the amazing, colorful work of

Page Railsback HERE

By The Fire In New Mexico - day 11 of the challenge

By the Fire in New Mexico

6x6in oil on canvas panel $100

 purchase HERE 

Day 11

Every day this week I am painting interiors

for the 30 in 30 Challenge.

This one is in a friend's home

in Corrales, near Albuquerque. 

The kiva, adobe style fireplace is common

in the old homes in New Mexico and

are so popular that many of the new homes

have them.

Artist Note.

My first oil in the Challenge.

I was going to paint in watercolor for a month 

but started to miss my oils. 

It feels good to feel some texture.

I guess I will be using both.

I