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.

Another Long View.

Looking toward the Jemez, NM.  

6”x8” oil on canvas panel. SOLD

Artist Note

Like in the previous post, 

this is another “long view.” 

This time it is a high dessert

area between 

Santa Fe and Albuqerque. 

I love the drive. The views are amazing. 

and throughout the many years of traveling

I have never got tired of it. 

This was painted on a overcast day. 

The view was so vast I could see it raining

in several areas at the same time. 

Sometimes the rain never touched the ground.

Interesting ground shadows 

were cast from the clouds

Best of all... there were no trees to block 

the beautiful long view!!

Santa Fe Gate

Santa Fe Gate

8"x6" oil on canvas panel $150.

Purchase HERE

Artist Note.

I found this delightful gate

on a trip to Museum Hill in Santa Fe.

The property must be old because 

the trees were very tall. 

Fall color were glowing through here and there

and the yellow was like a spotlight on the lens

...way too bright,

so bright the camera had to be adjusted

so they didn't bleach out.

Then it was important to decide, 

was the gate the focus

...or the golden trees?

I hope the gate is noticed first.

Tricky!

Santa Fe Adobe

Santa Fe Adobe

6"x8" oil on canvas panel  $150 SOLD

Artist Note.

Most of you know how much

I love living here in the southwest 

and this is the painting which

got me back into the flow

of painting again

after having cataracts removed.

I feel like a whole new person.

 I am enjoying seeing clearly.

Life is good

... but the painting part of my life

has only just starting to flow 

instead

of hit and miss.

I have completed

several paintings 

and I am going to 

show them first in my newsletter.

It has been sadly neglected

so I am hoping to make amends.

If you feel you would enjoy 

getting it about four times a year

you can sign up on my website 

using link below

Newsletter

Enjoy your week.

Maybe I will be back before then.

Yellow Crocs - Santa Fe.

Yellow Crocs

6x8in oil on canvas  $135. SOLD

Artist Note.

I saw this lady with the

bright yellow crocs

catching the rays in Santa Fe.

When I asked if I could take a photo 

she said, "sure" but she never looked up 

from her writing...

and her dog's eyes 

never stopped watching me.

The dog had a purple leash

and next to the yellow crocs

my heart was captured.

My First Alcohol Ink Painting - Koi.

Koi.

9"x9"

alcohol ink on Yupo NFS

Artist Note
My first time with the alcohol inks.
I found the inks powerful
in saturation, luminous
and tricky to work with.
I can see the benefits of
experimenting especially on
the Yupo paper.

Last week I joined
some  painting
 buddies on a trip
to Santa Fe to paint the
aspen leaves turning gold.
Aspen???
Guess what interested me more...
remembering I have been involved
with a series from the
waterlily pond?
Yep - my mind was still
on the water reflections and fish.
Funny how I couldn't just
be attracted to anything else.
A series is a series!

For those of you who have
never been to
Santa Fe
 there is a gallery
with a magical sculpture garden.

Formally known as the Fenn Gallery
It is now the Nedra Matteucci Gallery.
I have been visiting there for many
years. Look how gorgeous it is.
(click to enlarge).

I did do a plein air of the aspens
up by the ski area.

And loved seeing all the 

Chamisa  (rabbit grass)

in full bloom.

I encourage you to treat

yourself and

explore the link

Nedra Matteucci

 Gallery

 I am going to enjoy catching up 

with everyone's blogs.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Santa Fe Arroyo - Snow

14x11"  oil on canvas  framed

M.Phillips Gallery

What a difference a day makes.

This is the same arroyo and 

Pinion tree as previous post.

One moment, the day is sunny with 

temperatures in the 60's

and the next day ...snow!

The beauty of this area

is when the storm passes...

 out comes the sun again!

Artist Note

Obviously, this view is painted from

the other side of the pinion from 

the previous post and this time

is facing the hills of Santa Fe. 

I only did a few color notes on the canvas

and took photos because 

although it was sunny, my feet

got darn cold!

I am never a happy Julie with cold anything!

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.

Late Summer in Santa Fe

Late Summer in Santa Fe, NM.

6x6in oil on canvas panel  SOLD


Late summer walks along on Canyon Road
cannot be beat. This was on a side street and
the light fixture caught my eye.

Artist Note

A neat couple saw this painting and liked it.

 We started to chat and I enjoyed some interesting

conversation before they returned another time

to buy it.

I really appreciate getting to 

know people through my paintings.

For a start, it has occurred  to me that we must 

share a liking for similar places
and types of beauty.

Computer fixed. What a pain when
they misbehave.

Snow in the Arroyo, N.M.

Snow in the Arroyo, N.M.

14x11in  oil on Raymar canvas panel  600.

This is a truly beautiful area of New Mexico,
on the outskirts of Santa Fe. I have painted this
arroyo quite a few times.It can be very dramatic
when the storm clouds hover and it fills with rain.

Artist Note.
Recovering quite nicely from the challenge and
enjoyed relaxing and finishing this piece which
was started as a plein air painting
in the early spring. The white snow does not
photograph well to show the texture.

Watercolor Weekend - Santa Fe Trip

Santa Fe House

6x8in watercolor on acid free paper  Not for sale

We enjoyed a lovely trip to see a friend from Portland, OR
who was visiting Santa Fe  for the Indian Market.
We stayed with a couple of dear friends who treated us
like royalty. Bliss. They have a new and stunning Standard Poodle.
Meet Master Dash. I had so much fun playing with him.
May he have a long and happy life.

Artist Note
Still continuing my exploration into my fracturing technique
with watercolor.

I was thrilled to find Strathmore has a mixed media pad which

I tried out over the weekend and
was pleased with the colors staying pretty true and it can
take some lifting and scrubbing. I have shown the pad with
some of the paintings I did using it, in the photo below.

Santa Fe Door

Santa Fe Door

8x6in oil on canvas panel  $125. SOLD

Here is another New Mexico blue door.
This one is in Santa Fe. The adobe is very
old and has been patched here and there...
but not by an expert!
The door is slightly more turquoise than
the photos shows. For those of you who
are unfamiliar with this area - it is a strand
of red chili peppers hanging on the wall.
Called Ritras they are very popular and
come in a wreath style too.
Check here RISTRAS

Artist Note.

I was overwhelmed at the response to my
600th post. As well as the wonderful
comments, I received personal emails galore.
It made me so happy and appreciated that
I realized it how nice it would be if we all sent
at least one blogger, (we follow) a thank you
for not only their talent, but
the "time and effort" they put into it. 

I am going to be busy!

The Pink Adobe

Pink Adobe, Santa Fe.

8x6in   oil on canvas board   100.

We are back home from out little trip and we both agree
life doesn't get any better than visiting good friends and
catching up.

Artist Note.

This has a strong horizontal format so placing the tall trees
was needed to break it up.
This may sound elementary, but I was careful
not to place them above, or too near the peak
of the roof...even though that is where they were. 
As an artist, I have permission to do
some landscaping chores!

Santa Fe Mosaic

Santa Fe Mosaic

8x6in oil on canvas board $100.

Back to using the Rectangle Challenge. This time I deliberately went for a more mosaic look to see how far I could take it. I managed to remember to change the color slightly with every brushstroke and I tried to soften edges with color and value changes.

Big change from yesterdays stormy sky.

Studio Window in Santa Fe

Studio Window

8x6in oil on canvas 100.

My friend in Tesuque is a fabulous artist and this is one of her studio windows painted in the early morning. She has this enormous pot filled with glowing red geraniums. They are so bright that you almost need sunglasses on to look at them. I painted them in the shade but maybe I will try painting them in the sun later.

Her husband has done incredible things with the landscaping. It is all very natural and organic in the curves and rhythms of the different, secluded and shaded areas to read (paint) and rest in...not easy to find in the hot arid air of NM.

Santa Fe Lane

We arrived in Santa Fe after a enjoyable couple of days in Albuquerque.

My husband is with me on this trip and he is very patient and cooperative when I see something I want to paint. This is one of the many picturesque lanes in this area.

I have no idea why I find the adobe so neat to paint. Why do I prefer to paint these "every shade of brown" houses? It is a mystery but they do make me respond emotionally to their unique beauty.

A limited palette of:

cad yellow light, alizarin, ultramarine, ivory black (for the greens) and titanium white, was used.

Santa Fe Window

Santa Fe Window

8x6in oil on canvas 100.

Santa Fe has many beautiful and interesting windows. This window box was on an old adobe at the back of Canyon Road. What appealed to me were the shadow patterns as well as the window box.

This particular adobe house had several great features and I found the front door to be wonderful too... so I painted it as well.

I am going back up to Santa Fe next week so I will be painting more plein air pieces.

Santa Fe Hollyhock Study

Hollyhock Study

8x6in oil on canvas 100. SOLD

The hollyhocks are blooming all over Santa Fe. They are so colorful and tall that they appear to be nature's perfect counterpoint to the earth colors and structures of the adobe walls and buildings.
Yesterday I posted the painting I did of the hollyhocks before I did this study. There is a huge difference between painting something close up like this and the more distant landscape. Close-up observation makes for a more confident, and swifter brushstroke.
I am gaining a lot of respect for the ability of the artists who specialize in painting miniatures. I can already tell this painting-a-day commitment is going to be a valuable experience for me and should help my painting skills in different ways.

Santa Fe Hollyhocks

Santa Fe Hollyhocks

6x8in oil on canvas 100.

This is the time of year when the hollyhocks are blooming all over Santa Fe. They are beautiful and are painted by most 'realist' artists at sometime or other. It is hard to do anything this small but I decided to put the wall they were growing up against in the painting and later I did a study of only the flowers. Two completely different types of paintings. I will show you the other one tomorrow.

Santa Fe Sink

Santa Fe Sink

6x8in oil on canvas 100.

I fell in love with this sink. It was a pleasure to look at and with it having the slight imperfections of an artists hand it helped me realize that everything does not have to be perfect. So this painting is offered in the same spirit.

Santa Fe has many pieces of folk art because the adobe architecture lends itself to using it so well

My trip is coming to an end and I have many images and color studies to take back from which to produce studio work. My artist friends have been a wonderful inspiration and help. I will miss them.