Santa fe Adobe

Santa Fe Adobe

8x6" oil on canvas panel $150.  SOLD

Artist Note

I started this plein air last year 

and finished it off in the
studio recently
when I discovered it at the bottom

of my plein air carrying box!

What more could I want...

an adobe home with a blue gate

- the subjects I love.

These people must get a lot of mail. 

This has a sturdy post and big box.

WASH DAY

Wash Day

6x8in oil on canvas panel $135. SOLD

Artist Note. 

I went plein air painting with a couple 

of artist friends and my reward for 

getting up early on a non-working day

was finding this place.
Rare to find someone hanging their
laundry outside any more.

Would you believe there was a 

chicken coop too!

The little cluck clucks were as 

cute as can be.

Dilemma...put them in

or leave them out.

Such a small space so I left them out, 

but will go back and paint them

for sure.

Refreshments In The Garden

Refreshments In The Garden

6x8in oil on canvas $125. SOLD

I visited a good artist friend who has really beautiful 

front and back gardens.

Artist Note

In the mornings we stood and painted standing
in the shade on the west side of the house,

and in the afternoons we hauled our stuff to the east side.
I added to this when I returned home.
The white legs on the sunny side of the chair
jumped out too much so after placing the glass
over the painting
I added a front pot on the left side.
This also helped with a layering effect
indicating more frontal space than first shown.

Cloudy Day

Cloudy Day

8x6in  oil on canvas panel $125. SOLD

This was painted plein air last week.
We actually had some welcome rain

Artist Note.

The front area was painted very abstractly.
just shapes of color and values to suggest
growth. As the painting is "site specific" I
tried to make it recognizable as the
Organ Mountains, but fudged on proportions
to fit my emotional response to light and shadow.
Fast - all done with palette knife.

Following my last post on the hurtful
critique where a peer said he would puke
if he saw one more mountain painting - a
wonderful and hilarious suggestion by
Celeste...to send a postcard of my painting
and write
... here...just for you...have a puke!
Love it, love it, love it! Thanks Celeste.
Brilliant. Wish I had the nerve to do it,
but just  the thought has been fun.
celeste bergin paints FABULOUS landscapes.
Check her out.

I received many excellent comments putting
into perspective the critique issue.
Very helpful and thank YOU all.

I am going to give away a painting in my
next post which will wrap up the year.

Irrigation Ditch

Irrigation Ditch

8x6in oil on canvas panel  $100.
See DPW Auction

I am off on vacation visiting the kids and grandchildren.
My hubby and I are excited because they have moved from Portland
and are now in Santa Cruz, CA. We know the area well and have
some fun times planned
As I will not have access to the computer easily I am placing this
on auction through daily Paintworks for a good reason.
I have had several paintings sell  multiple times through Pay Pal but
David at DPW has now got a way to prevent that. I have to change
some things with Pay Pal  and will do it when I return.

Artist Note.

This was painted plein air. Because of the drought, the area farmers
had a one time water allotment to fill their irrigation ditches.
Things are bad for this farming community.
I love painting the river and ditches so
 I dashed out to get this done.
A lot of clouds started to form and I thought it would actually rain
but so such luck. The sun merrily came and went causing my
patterns to change. I do not usually alter a plein air  painting
but the bush bothered me.  See original painting below.
Notice how it divides the bottom half  in two
and the top part of the bush is too symmetrical.

Then I made it thinner

Better, but does not seem incorporated into the surrounding area
very well. I remembered some of the weeds and quickly
put some brush marks with a rigger resulting in the top painting.
I had to slap my hand because I would have kept fussing at it.

Farm in the Valley

Farm in the Mesilla Valley

6x8in oil on canvas panel   $125. SOLD

This was very quickly done on location and "tweaked" in the studio.
It was a very beautiful day and the pecan orchards at the back of the fields
still have their leaves.


Artist Note.

The "tweaking" part was the foreground. I had an even space
either side the larger front bush. See below. I try and stay away
from even spacing with either positive or negative shapes.
I used my painting knife to smoosh some of the paint from
the smaller bush sideways into the larger one, but I had to
mix more paint and create a new shape. Once I did that
I started making small adjustments here and there, and had
to force myself to stop. I know you all understand the
need to to do that. I could go on piddling forever and
completely lose the plein air freshness.

New Mexico Adobe

 New Mexico Adobe

8x6in oil on canvas board  $125.

Same as yesterday - this is another piece painted just for the pure
pleasure of doing it.

Artist Note.

I find after I have had a really intense period of time I want to paint
things I enjoy... more than having a difficult challenge.
I love the New Mexico adobe houses and this one is close-by
in the Mesilla Valley. It has the metal roof which gives it a
different look from the flat roof adobe. I find both styles hold
a different appeal to me, but I like to paint the metal roof because
the reflective quality creates a link to the sky.
It was painted plein air and I fudged a bit on the tree by moving it to
the back. Good to feel in charge!
I remember when I first started to paint plein air I would try to paint
the scene exactly how it was, but I soon started to listen to my
inner design voice and found I enjoyed having my own
landscaping service, moving things at will.
It is always the light I try and capture. Today the sun cast strong
shadows and the one I was standing in
kept changing, so I painted it first and then started on the rest.
Most of it was done with a palette knife.

Mesilla Irrigation Ditch

Mesilla Irrigation Ditch

6x8in oil on canvas 100.

Mesilla is a beautiful and historic small town in southern New Mexico and only a 20 minute drive from where I live in Las Cruces. There are many, many fabulous places for an artist to paint here.

I did this piece before I left for Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

This morning I am in Albuquerque and I painted an old adobe directly across from my friends, Pam and Steve's house where I am staying. I will post the painting tomorrow.

Steve Cox is a writer of science fiction/action adventure books.

Check out his website www.stephenrcox.com