Overcast

Overcast

8x6in  oil on canvas panel  100.

What a difference in ambiance when the sun is not shining.
The stream was rushing along due to springtime melting snow.
A heavy mist was settled into the atmosphere creating
a very tonal painting. After the brightness of what I had been
painting, it felt more like England than New Mexico.

Artist Note.

This is all about subtle value changes so I kept my colors
on the palette in a circular pool so it was easier to compare
the gradations...step by step up or down in value.
I let my palette do the work!

New Mexico Gate

New Mexico Gate

8x6in  oil on canvas panel  SOLD

I think most New Mexicans take pride in the unique and
wonderful gates found almost everywhere.
This one is very old and is set in an adobe wall. Nothing ever really matches
in these older doors and that is part of the charm.

Spring Green

Springtime Green

6x8in oil on canvas panel  100.

Here I am painting with my least favorite color...green!
I must admit to being blown away by the beauty of the
springtime, vibrant, green color of these trees.
The little creek was full and the shadows were perfect.
There was a white house in the back of the field,
 but artist choice prevailed.

Artist Note.

I mixed my greens from warm and cool blues
(cerulean and Ultramarine)
and a warm or cool yellow.
(lemon and cad yellow med.)
I always put red into my greens but with wanting the
special, springtime green I mixed a little alizarin with white
to make a medium value of pink and lightly added
just a touch into the mixes

Abandoned

Abandoned

6x6in oil on canvas board  $85.

This abandoned building was about two miles from the Nichols Ranch
and we stopped to photograph it on the way home.
The light hitting the roof made for a really bright spot against the
soft shadows of the hillside.

Artist Note.

In a small, square format it is hard to place a building and not
have it kerplunk in the middle. I think this piece works though because of
repeating some angles...the hillside bushes, the lean-to,
green bushes and the fence..

Spring at Nichols Ranch and Orchards

Spring at Nichols Ranch and Orchards

6x6in  oil on canvas panel  85.

Almost too pretty and lush to believe, here in the drought stricken,
southern part of New Mexico.
The ranch is nestled in a hilly area located up about 6,000 ft, so cooler weather
prevails in the scorching heat of summer. The ranch also has its own water to
irrigate with - a huge advantage,

Shown is part of the huge lilac bush I posted yesterday. The cherry tree
on the left is one that my friend grafted and planted when he was 7 years old
...many moons ago! Beautiful views are everywhere you turn so we all felt
blessed to have been invited to paint here.

Artist Note.

As I said yesterday, when painting on location it is hard for me to decide
what I am going to paint so I look for light /dark pattern flow... a linkage of light or dark areas.
Here the light areas ( building, cherry blossoms, trees in sun and path)
link by eye flow leaving the dark areas to hold some stability.

Lilac Time

Lilac Time

8x6in oil on canvas panel   $100.

 A few of us from the Artist Guild went to the Nichols Ranch to paint the lilacs, cherry and apple blossoms. We all enjoyed the day and the weather was perfect.

Artist Note.

When painting directly on location it can be hard to decide what spot to pick.
I wanted to paint the lilacs but found it overwhelming so I did a small area of the huge bush.
The light changes so quickly I only had an hour or so to paint this.  I tried to be careful about not making the lilacs appear too spotty so I linked them as much as possible.
I used a knife for most of it.

I was able to do another painting and will post it tomorrow.

Iris Time

Iris Time.

8x6in  oil on canvas board  100.

These are some of the several different iris growing in my garden

They are Dutch Iris and are spectacular. In the bottom photo
it shows two more varieties.
The white one has speckles of lavender and the yellow is two tones of yellow.

Artist Note.

I usually like to paint Iris in watercolor as I find it much easier to capture the
delicate quality of the petals, but today I had a go at fracturing them.
It was hard as I still do not know exactly what works and what doesn't...
so this is part fracturing and part impressionism.
I used a warm purple and cooler blue on the front iris. If you check the photo
you can clearly see the warm and cool colors on everything.

On the Edge

On the Edge

6x8in  oil on canvas panel    100.

We have all seen this...a thriving tree right on the edge of a cliff,
growing out of what appears to be solid rock.
I can plant seeds with tender care into perfect soil...
only to see some survive better than others.
Weeds leap out of places where there has been no water.
Mother Nature continues to astound.

Mountain Meadow Flowers

Mountain Meadow Flowers

11x14in  oil on linen. Demo - Not for sale.

I did this a demo in class this morning. It is from a photo
I took in southern Colorado. We were driving to our destination
and I nearly dropped my jaw when I saw this amazing carpet of flowers
in the middle of nowhere. When I opened my mouth to yell, stop the car,
I found my own Mr Wonderful was already pulling over.
The years together do have their benefits!

I am not sure what flowers they were, but they looked to be in the wild aster family.

Artist Note.

This months focus in class is painting on a colored background.

I covered the canvas with a pinky/purple color and I lifted
out the light of the sky.

I chose this color as it would give me a good idea
of the placement of the flowers without having to put paint on top
too soon. I like to keep everything in a transparent paint quality
for as long as possible. Two reasons. It is easier to lift off cleanly anything
you are not comfortable with, and I like the dark areas to be painted
as transparently as possible. Richard Schmid along with many other artists,
stress this theory.
Unless I am making soft grays I never use raw umber. (as a dark)
I do use a beautiful transparent brown by Rembrandt which is
wonderful mixed with Ultramarine Blue or Viridian to achieve
rich, non chalky darks.

New Mexico Mailboxes

New Mexico Mailboxes.

6x8in  oil on canvas panel   Sold.

One of the delights about living in New Mexico is
discovering communities full of creative people.
I have painted this group of mailboxes before and have enjoyed
ruminating on the different owners who painted them
The second one in from the left obviously loves balloning.  The blue one has a large
rain cloud with rain drops - maybe they like to grow things?
And I bet the owner of the red one has a happy personality.

Artist Note.

When painting with a strong horizontal design, placing in a vertical
shape helps with balance. The posts provide that, but they are all in a row so having the
evergreen pop up behind the mailboxes helped a lot.
Another thing to watch when painting a group is to have a focal point.
The two tallest boxes should provide that.
They were lower down so I raised them slightly.