Yellowstone Stream

Yellowstone Stream

6"x8" oil on canvas panel  $150.

Artist Note

This is painted from sketches 

I made while on a trip to 

Yellowstone National Park.

What an incredible place.

I have a visitor - 

a very special blogging friend,

Lisa Graham.

She arrived for a weekend stay.

Lisa recently moved from Witchita, Kansas, to 

Castle Rock, Colorado. Just south of Denver.

Happy me...it is a much shorter drive 

and a straight shot down

to Las Cruces on I-25.

Those of you who have followed 

me for a long time will 

remember how our friendship 

developed while she took care 

of her ailing mother 

and then after she died

 I invited Lisa to visit in 2014💙

Then I visited her...💙

and now she is visiting me again...💙

I have always loved the honesty

in her work.

Totally and authentically, Lisa.

She is a storyteller with paint!

Here is her latest post and

I hope you check it out.

Lisa Graham art

Snowflake Dove

Snowflake Dove

6"x8" oil on canvas panel  $150. SOLD. 

Artist Note. 

I have been wanting to paint 

this beautiful dove ever

since I since I first saw it. 

I have painted it seven times 

learning all about 

its shape, feathers, beak and that 

amazing eye...and this finally

is the closest to what it is like

and importantly...the one I like best.

An interesting fact.

I cannot find a thing 

about Snowflake Doves.

I have tried Google and books.

Zip - nothing.

Here is a pic.

Any of you know anything about them?

(David Gascoigne - an expert on the avian world)

They are so truly beautiful 

with the snowflake markings on their wings.

Asian Pears

Asian Pears 

8x6' oil on panel SOLD

Artist Note

The fruit was a gift from a friends garden 

She is an artist so she left a 

couple with branches. Happy smiles!

I tried something different with this one.

I first painted the panel with gray gesso

and then I painted it as I would

a vignette in watercolor.

I really liked the effect in a frame - 

it kind of makes its own border

so I am going to do some more this way.

Here are some greens made

from the 

Windsor Newton Perylene Black

Look how natural they are.

Top row - Lemon and P Black

Middle row - Yellow deep and P Black

Bottom row - ochre and P Black

The 3 blue/gray spots are with white added.

You can see why it makes good greens. I think it 

would be perfect for the ZORN palette

(Vermillion, yellow ochre, black, white)

because it is a beautiful blue-black

I am picking up steam with my painting.

I will be posting more often as I continue

to get comfortable with paint again.

Thanks for sticking with me...

you are the BEST!

Video Demo - Landscape!

Artist Note.
I came across this old video of me painting a landscape.
It was painted on Senso linen. 6x8'
It is at a MUCH faster speed than I paint!
Hope you enjoy it.

Waterlily Light #2

Waterlily Light #2

6x8" oil on panel   $150.

Purchase HERE

Artist Note

Here I am - back to the Lilypond. 

I am really captivated by the 

three components...

Water, plants, and light. 

It appears almost

 magical to me when

the sun casts through the shaded areas.

I can see why Monet devoted 

so many years to painting

his waterlily series. 

He bought the land and 

diverted water from a stream

to start designing what he wanted.

Seven years of planting, building

and creating.

Then he spent 30 years 

- the rest of his life-

painting it!

The two 80-ft oval rooms

in the 

Orangerie of the Tuileries. Paris,

where the enormous and stunning

murals of 

his water garden are shown

are often described as the

"Sistine Chapel of Impressionism."

Thinking about all the people

and animals who are 

suffering in

The Carolinas 

in the aftermath of Florence.

Sending heartfelt prayers

Anemones plus Hint

Anemones

8x6 oil on canvas panel SOLD

Artist Note

I really enjoyed painting this one. 

I can see red again!

And painting every day 

I feel the old flow 

is coming back.

I sent out my Fall Newsletter

with this new painting in it and 

was really pleased with the response. 

I am going to paint it larger

and see if I can capture the same 

color harmony. 

Easier said than done!

Artist Hint

I have added to my palette

Windsor Newton/Perylene Black .

if you do not already use it,

TRY IT!

It makes fabulous greens 

with different yellows. 

It also makes a beautiful blue/black

when white is added.

I am excited to find a replacement 

for my LeFranc Cassel Earth black paint. 

which I previously used for olive greens.

This Perylene black produces a much 

greater range of beautiful greens...

and I still get the olive with adding ochre.

I was told LeFranc & Bourgeois had a fire

and that is why it is impossible to get their

paint anymore.  

They were the oldest 

European oil paint manufacturer

and their Titanium White was a joy to use.

Sure hope they come back.

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.

Fracturing from the Imagination. Step by Step.

Fracturing from the Imagination.

8x6in  oil on canvas panel   SOLD

This is a re-post I thought some of you would find interesting.
I am doing color charts galore...trying to rediscover my palette
since the cataracts removal


Artist Note

I love painting from my imagination.
Finally at the stage where I feel I know the lemon well enough
to paint without looking at one. I start off with a basic design
and then I respond to what the paint does on the canvas.
Here are the steps I took to do this piece.

First I randomly applied color
in two stages.
A thin underneath wash of colors
see the cool mauve and transp
yellow oxide.
Then I did the drawing of shapes
with a rigger  brush and dark paint.
Next I painted the warm red, lifting off
with the handy tool to expose underneath colors
leaving random areas and fruit, plain.

I added the dark at the top
and made a slightly darker
square at bottom right.
This was intuitive.
At this stage they were all going to be
lemons.

When I had put in the dark top
and moved down to place the darker area
I realized it was because I need another dark
so I made the lemon into a plum.
This is the great thing about painting
from the imagination. You have time to
listen to your inner art voice and
respond accordingly.
I paint at this stage in complete silence.
No music or story going on.

I usually start with the lightest and
focal point area as I did here.

Anyway, at this stage I feel  confident
that I can solve the rest of the painting
and as I feel the fracturing technique becoming
more and more natural

This post was in 2012 so by now the
fracturing has certainly become as natural as breathing.

Sunflowers and Daisies

Sunflowers & Daisies

10"x 8" oil on canvas panel  $250. SOLD

Artist Note

This is my first painting

with my new pupils!

Notice it is larger than my usual 6x8.

I am having a bit of trouble 

with the small size. 

Out of practice!

This is not my first painting

since cataract surgery

by any means,

 but it is my first completed one.

 My depth perception is

slightly askew.

 and I am having

to learn color without a 

seeing a green haze

Meaning lots of tossers! 

The only way to stop me

from painting over and over

on the same canvas, 

(trying to get it right,)

has been to razor it!

Bet you are saying...

been there, done that!

Anyway, I am very excited.

with my new vision

and 

look forward 

to the joys of painting

once more.

A Little Vacation!

A trip to Portland, Oregon. 

with a day outing to Cannon Beach.

Surely one of the most 

beautiful beaches anywhere.

Four days after my second cataract surgery

I flew to Portland for a week.

A wonderful and much-needed visit

to see dear friends.

The sketches are from a previous trip...

one, where my eyes were not blurry from

all the drops I needed to put in!!

I painted from the balcony of the 

Hallmark Hotel,

chosen

so I could capture the

different atmospheric moods.

of Haystack, 

the amazing

monolith rock formation.

I was thrilled to meet two 

BLOGGING FRIENDS.

First, on the trip to Cannon Beach

Lauren Nelson was kind enough 

to drive up and meet me 

and my friend, Jan, for brunch.

           She is as delightful, warm and fun as

the person I know from the years

following her blog. 

(We share a love and respect for animal life.)

 A marvelous hour or so was spent in the 

Dragonfly Gallery, sharing what we 

liked and why...she is smart!

It was stimulating.

Thank you, Lauren, for making the time

to meet me. It will be a treasured memory.

Link to Lauren's blog HERE

A couple of days later I had the 

pleasure of a studio visit with 

another artist

 I have followed for many years.

Randall Tipton

What a guy!

Knowledgeable, articulate, generous and fun!

Patiently, he allowed me and my friend, Jan,

  to pour over his inspiring work,

answering questions and sharing painting

info. I felt like I was in heaven!

Jan and I left both carrying treasured

pieces of art.

Thank you, Randall, for the wonderful visit.

Link to Randall and I recommend his blog

Randall Tipton