Blue Rose Vase and Flowers - NEW!

Alstroemerias in Blue Rose Vase

8x6in oil on canvas panel $125.  SOLD

I painted this at a friend's house. As soon as I see a blue and 

white vase it just tugs at me to paint it. 

Artist Note.

Hope everyone has enjoyed the summer as much as I have.

It was fun visiting friends and family - still painting,

but in a more relaxed, and sometimes experimental, way.

What follows is a little bit of bragging...

How exciting to get the calls and emails 

about my art being in the 

Utrecht fall catalog - frame section.

Their designer apparently found my blog 

a couple of months back

and they asked for permission to use seven

of my images. They picked one of my fall landscapes 

to go on the cover, but, darn it - I could not 

get it to them on time. Here it is.

I am impressed with their color reproductions

as catalog paper is not the easiest  to get right.

Nice people, good products. I am grateful.

Lemonade

Lemonade
8x6in oil on canvas SOLD

Still on vacation and using this time to repost some
older paintings.
Re-post from May 2012
Thank you for still paying me a visit and commenting.

The incredible painter Abby Ryan came up with the the
 Daily Paintworks Challenge this week. The Yellow Challenge

Abby asks the question - what does yellow mean to you?
Easy - sunshine, happiness and feeling good.

This time I thought I would see what it was like to explore fracturing
with painting the lemons in water.

 YELLOW
My palette was:
Titanium white
cad yellow light
Naples yellow
Indian yellow
Light red
viridian
Transparent brown oxide.
I put some yellow in every color I mixed.

Jessica Seated

Jessica

12x9  oil on canvas

study - life class

I usually jump at the chance to paint from 

a model...especially a clothed one.

Jessica had a nice roundness to her body which I liked.

She fell asleep so was perfectly still. 

Artist Note.

I started off finding the shape and proportions in a 

transparent red. I had pre-mixed a batch of clothing 

and background colors while waiting for the right pose 

to be found. I painted fast and 

scooped up the paint for texture. The red showed through

in places and I liked the look so 

came back and outlined with red here and there.

Not my usual way to paint, but enjoyable and that's what 

it should be all about. Trying new ways and  

treasuring the moment.  Right?

Apples Blossoms

Apple Blossoms

14x11in oil on canvas  SOLD

This one was done back during the actual blossom time.

I have painted blossoms in this vase before...in fact I do 

one every year because I love the combination.

It is larger than my typical daily painting so I did not

post it - it went straight to the Phillips Gallery here in Las Cruces.

A beautiful gallery and I feel so fortunate to

be in there. I rather liked the painting so

I was delighted to hear it had already sold.

Artist Note

Classes are finished for the summer and before

I take off for the month of July I am having some

extra shelving put in the classroom.

Quite a project. One of the members of the Guild

is a top-of-the-line carpenter and he offered his help.

First, he hung plastic sheeting to keep the dust 

out of the gallery area. 

It impressed the heck out of me, but then I remembered

he is also an artist and would think about that type of thing.

I moved my easel back 

there too so I could carry on painting.

Saw horses were erected and wood cut to size

Here he is patching an area.

 More to follow next week. Rich is off visiting his son

who is a Green Beret, for the weekend.

Nest With Three Eggs

Nest With Three Eggs

5 x 7 in  watercolor on Yupo paper

NFS

Another piece painted in the car. 

The road bumps can be very handy!

How about this nest below?

Small snake OR big egg!!!

It was forwarded to me but I have no name to pass on for credit

And the WAX of choice is...

Yes...Renaissance Wax Polish

This product manufacturer claimed it is used by the British Museum

so I called the BM  to check. I enjoyed my inquiry 

being treated with great respect by a gentleman in the

restoration department.  I was informed they 

do indeed use it and they find it truly 

is a wonderful product. Absolutely safe to use as a 

protective coat on paintings.

Get this...it dries almost instantly 

and it has not lifted off any color. 

I placed my painting done on Yupo paper 

in water overnight after coating, and it 

remained  perfectly protected so it really is excellent as a sealer.

As well as waxing the Yupo paper,

 I have tried it on a watercolor painted on aquabord,

 a gouache painting done on 100% cotton paper,

and I liked the finish it gives, very much.

It smells like furniture polish before it dries so I use it in a vented area.

Below is a very short video showing how I apply it.

(unedited as I do not know how to do that yet)

I place it on with a palette knife using the bottom flat part to spread. 

An old cotton t-shirt is perfect to buff it up to the sheen I like.

A note about price.

I purchased mine at the Artisan in Santa Fe NM.

The 200ml size was $35.50. Not cheap!

It goes a long way and this may last me a lifetime!

I do like Gamblin's Cold Wax for mixing with oil paint. This is not to be confused

with that type of use.

Watercolor Daffodils

Watercolor Daffodils

8x8 in  watercolor on Aquabord  $135. SOLD
click to purchase

Another painting from the same bunch of flowers.
This time larger, and in watercolor.
It is amazing how fresh they are keeping.

Artist Note

This watercolor will not have to be framed under glass
because it is on a board and not paper
I will have to place a protective coat on it.
Varnish or wax? I prefer wax, but does anyone have
any suggestions for other protective coatings?

The White Roof

The White Roof

8x6in oil on canvas board 125.

A northern New Mexico landscape in the fall.

Artist Note.
Playing it safe with a format I have used before.
At the moment painting seems to be a struggle
so I thought I would go back to a safe area and
not set myself up for failure.

This month at the Artist Guild the focus has been
painting the landscape with a structure in it.
Most of us painted houses, gates or walls,
but we also had an artist who added a boat,
another did a dam, and I do believe I saw a
wonderful  bridge.

We had to use the following in our painting.
A FOREGROUND
A MIDDLE GROUND
A BACKGROUND

Santa Fe Adobe and Development Steps.

Santa Fe Adobe

6x8in oil on canvas panel $125.

The color of the adobe clay is extra marvelous
in the snow. Adobe comes in many different
shades of earth colors according to the area and
type of soil it is made from.

Artist Note.

I always place a piece of glass over a photo reference
to make sure it can become a painting beyond just
copying a photo. 
Here are the steps I took in developing the painting above.

This old adobe has had
an addition
added to the top of the
house. The vigas -
(wooden posts) show
where the original roof
must have been. yes,
they pop tops in the old
adobe houses too!

Placing the glass over
the photo I paint the
roof line where
I want it to be.

Next I turn to the
foreground.

I am establishing
the colors of the
adobe

Then the gate color

Trees maybe?
Develop
foreground
and shadows

Because it is on glass
I can easily wipe off
and try something else.
It is important for me
to use my imagination
and try different colors
and ideas.
From this last  one I
arrived at the one above
changing to the horizontal
format and adding snow and
gray sky.

I sometimes bring out other reference photos  if I am
not sure. On this one I had some pics of the foreground
chamisa plants in the snow.

A Day of Love and Memories

A Day of Love and Memories

6x8in oil on canvas panel   SOLD

On Valentines Day I like to sit and think about all the
different types of love in my life - past and present

God
Family
Friends
and definitely Pets

I feel blessed, and I am grateful.

A love filled Valentines Day to you all.

Waterlilies

Waterlilies

8x6in oil on canvas panel   $125. SOLD

Beautiful colors for all of you who are
experiencing a cold winter's day.

Artist Note.
I am swamped at the moment. Too much
going on so I will be taking a few days
off from blogging. I will be treating myself to
visiting blogs to catch up with all
of you who have been so encouraging on mine.
For those of you who completed the
30 day Challenge - my hats off to you!

Roses in a Water Glass.

Roses in a Water Glass

6x8in oil on canvas panel   $125. SOLD

Painting the rose again while it is still fresh.
No peacock feathers this time.

Artist Note.
My mind and hand have only just started to
settled down from the trauma of painting the
previous post of peacock feathers and roses
in the tiny area of 7x5 inches!

I thank you for all the great comments about the painting
and want you to know
they helped guide my sanity back to the land of normality.
Although we all know it is good to push ourselves out
of our comfort zones, next time I choose to paint something
so complex -  I will do it on a much easier, larger size.


This one went much faster and was painted mostly with
a knife

A Couple of Mums

A Couple of Mums

6x6  oil on gallery wrap canvas  $115. SOLD

Play on words here. In England, Mum is used
like Mom is here

Artists note.
I am doing a demo this afternoon for our local
art association and am
soooo nervous. I can go somewhere where people
do not know me and relax and enjoy myself, but
locally...failing locally...Oh boy!
I was doing a demo last year where I was fine until I
turned round and saw a huge crowd had gathered.
I proceeded with the demo... and I think 5 wipers
happened. Honest, no exaggeration at least 5.
Afterward people reassured me, when my dismay was
obvious, that they learned  so much from watching that
demo.
Oh sure...RIGHT!
But, here I am doing another one again,
 and another in March.
I question why I cannot say NO!