Still Life Studies

It has been awhile since my last post.  I have been keeping busy doing still life studies.  That is mainly because it is either to cold to go outside or the mountain cedar pollen season here in Central Texas is rearing its ugly head.  I think still life is a great way to study color harmony, light, and just observation skills.  Of course some are more successful than others.  I love color and still life painting is a great way to get away with using luscious color.  The other aspect of doing these little paintings (8x8) is getting to try out different formats.  I have used the square format quite a bit in landscape painting and I'm also liking it in still life painting.  The hardest part about still life painting for me is deciding what to include in the painting to create an interesting arrangement of shapes that fill the canvas and are pleasing to the eye.  Another aspect about these setups was the subtle reflections in the surface.  Well maybe not so subtle in the apple set up.  I'm not sure it really qualifies as pleasing to the eye either, but I love red so it allows me the opportunity to play with it.

Asian Tranquility

Asian Box and Lily

Apple Trio

Asian Harmony

Fall Color

Cypress Parade - I think this is one of the prettiest fall seasons that I've experienced in Texas and I was able to get some plein air painting days in before the weather turned cold.  The Guadalupe River is ablaze with these cypress trees.  However, after the winter winds have had their way with them the leaves will be gone. 

The second painting is Autumn Cypress, which was also painted along the Guadalupe River in Center Point, TX.  Maybe the drought has stressed the trees to the point where they are answering back with the loveliest colors. 

Die Kunstler Art Show and Sale 2013

Well, it has been a long time since I last posted and thought the Die Kunstler Art Show was a perfect occasion for getting back in to it.  All of these paintings have been entered into the 2013 annual show and sale in Fredericksburg, TX.

I went to an art class in September in Taos, NM and was able to do many paintings (some good some bad), but it was a wonderful time and the weather was gorgeous.  The grasses were unbelievably beautiful, which I tried to capture in this painting, "Glorious Morning."  That is one of the best things about being an artist, you get to really look at the landscape.

The second painting is also from Taos.  The morning light was shining on the adobe wall creating the most interesting shadows.  I call this painting "Light and Shadow."

 The third painting was done on location last winter in Comfort, TX.  Please note that the mercury vapor light is lighter than the sky, which happened to be very overcast that day.  I call this painting "Old Barns and Truck."  The ranch has now been sold, so my art buddies and I are hoping the new owner will let us paint there occasionally.

 The fourth painting, "The Old Depot,"  was painted on location in Waring, TX.  It is about a mile from our house and the town looks just as it did in the 1930's.

This is my cat, "Jack."  I decided to use him as a study in a limited palette and to utilize the concept that less is more.  The eye is the center of interest and I utilized lots of paint, then as you move away from the eye, it is mostly thin washes of paint.

Capitan Morning View

The Capitan Mountains in New Mexico are beautiful in morning light.  During the monsoon season the light has a warm glow where the sun coming up catches the wispy clouds.  By afternoon the clouds are huge thunderheads.

River Rocks

I love to study water flowing over river rocks.  When the water is clear you see so much color reflecting back the light of the sun.  And when there is more of a slope you see the water rushing down these miniature waterfalls and creating the white foam.  This is the Rio Ruidoso, just a mountain stream these days, but I've seen it when it was a raging torrent!

Clouds Building Up

In honor of Cloud Appreciation Day I decided to paint the clouds over the Sacramento Mountains in New Mexico.  We are in the midst of monsoon season and the clouds build up every day to real thunder heads.  The burn scars from last years fire are very visible against the green from all the rain.

Super Moon

I decided to do the supermoon again last night from a different location.  This is near a golf course overlooking the elementary school.  It is hard to predict where the moon is going to pop up so I picked a vantage point that had a wide view.  Also the moon came up later than the night before so could barely see my palette in the dark.

Late Evening Over the Sacramento Mountains

After doing my first Nocturne, I've been wanting to try it again. So went out last night to paint the super moon.  I wasn't sure we would even see the moon because of the clouds, but it did appear.  I've posted both paintings so you can see how much cloud cover there was.  (Note - I discovered that the lights used for the photos were too yellow, so I've replaced these photos with natural light.)

Gillespie County Fair

The Gillespie County Fair is one of the highlights in Fredericksburg, TX every summer. All the Future Farmers of America (FFA) members can compete in showing their goats, pigs, and cattle for prizes.  The judge gives a running commentary for each entry and it is always a relief when he has moved on to the next competitor.  They also hold quarter horse races at the fair and the winner gets to compete in the American Futurity in Ruidoso, NM on Labor Day.  I was looking at my photos recently and thought I would try to paint some of these events.  It has been hard to concentrate on painting with all the other things going on this summer, but every now and then I have been able to get a day in here and there.

Quarter Horse Race

FFA Goat Competition

Back to Basics

When I started painting a number of years ago, I always used to paint my cats.  I have been feeling stuck lately so I decided today to go back to basics and paint a cat.  I used to paint a cat every time I took an art class as a way to measure how much I had learned.  I've gotten away from that and also moved on to different subjects.  Maybe Jack here will help me find my way back.

Nocturne

On my recent trip to Santa Fe, NM I attempted my first nocturne painting. What a disaster!  I got set up too late so almost missed the sunset; I couldn't see the color of the paint on my palette; and my bright headlamp obliterated the values in front of me.  A fellow painter told me to turn the light to the red so you can at least see the value. Needless to say, I just started throwing paint on the canvas to capture the fleeting image.  I was surprised that anything came of it.  I almost didn't post this because it is so rough, but I thought in the interest of learning about nocturnes it was a good learning experience.

 This is what I learned:
1) Get there early so you have time to set up and think about your composition.
2) Have a headlamp that can be switched to the red light as well as a light for the palette.
3) You only have time for the big shapes so get them down quickly.
4) Use a big brush.

Would I do it again?  Absolutely!  I loved the challenge of trying to get a painting of a sunset.  It was so much more thrilling than painting from a picture. Now that I have the right equipment I'm ready to try a full moon painting.

New Mexico Hills is another painting from the PAPNM paint out in Santa Fe.  This was painted on location and is the view facing north to the Sangre de Christo mountains from the Santa Fe Opera.

Farmer's Market was painted on location at the Santa Fe Farmers Market during the PAPNM paint out.  This was my first attempt at painting people going about their selection activities.  Needless to say they are impressions.  It was quite the challenge.

Morning Grace is the chapel at Bishop's Lodge which was painted in Tusuque, NM during the 2013 PAPNM Annual Paintout in Santa Fe. 

Late Evening Glow is another painting from the PAPNM paint out in Santa Fe.  It is also available for sale at Gary Kim Gallery in Santa Fe through July 7th.  This painting was completed at a Bureau of Land Management open space near Placitas, NM.  What caught my eye was the rim lighting on the clouds and the back lit lights of the grass.

Well, it has been some time since I posted a painting.  This has been a busy summer with lots of unexpected events happening.  Santa Fe Morning was painted at the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico (PAPNM) paint out last week in Santa Fe.  The location is the Indian Arts and Cultural Center.  It is available for purchase at the Gary Kim Gallery until July 8.  The entire show can be seen online at www.papnm.org.

White Vase with fruit is another experiment with the new shadow box.  It is so much easier to see what you are painting, but my lighting is still too strong. You might need to wear sunglasses with the white vase.

Lemon and Cherries on Glassine is an experiment using my new shadow box.  I liked the abstract reflections in the surface. I need to experiment with lighting.  The shadow box makes it easier to control, but I need to investigate different lights.

River Rock and Reflections is "hot off the easel."  I have been traveling the last few weeks and just couldn't wait to get out and paint again.  This painting is of the Rio Ruidoso in Ruidoso, NM.  Because of the drought it looks more like a creek, but it is fun to look down into the water and see the bottom.  I know you probably won't believe me because I forgot to bring my camera, but there was a bull elk about 35 yards from me the entire time I was painting.  He was munching on the green grasses growing along the stream.  We had an unspoken understanding that I wouldn't bother him, if he didn't bother me!

Breakfast Prep is my entry in the DPW Challenge for the week.  The point is to do a cool/warm painting where either cool predominates or warm.  I have also been trying to paint looser and use more paint.

Glass Vases is a study in shapes, color, reflections and shadows.

Red Reflections was painted in front of the Chinese Restaurant - The Great Wall of China in Ruidoso, NM.

Mountain Stream was painted on location in Ruidoso, NM.  It is nice to be able to get out and paint again.

Early Spring is another plein air painting from yesterday.  Now I'm thinking I may have overdone it on the color.  When I go out again I may have to really mute some of the color, but it is New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment.

Winter Yellow and Spring Green was painted on location in Ruidoso, NM.  The dried grass is a beautiful yellow with hints of amber and gold.  Such a nice contrast with the green juniper and purple hills.  I tried the clayboard again.  It dries fast, especially out doors.  What I like is that it forces me to paint fast and loose.  I haven't quite mastered that either, but I do like the expressive strokes. I used a limited palatte and a 5x7 Gorilla Thumbox.  It is aptly named - I felt like I was all thumbs painting with it.  I don't give up easily so will try it again.

Presto Egg is another study in color harmony.  I am also trying out ampersand clayboard.  It is really hard to paint on it using oil paint, but I  like the result.  It grabs the paint and appears to dry almost immediately.  I discovered if I use more medium it worked better.

Apple Tree was painted on location in Ruidoso, NM.  Early spring is a lovely time to catch the flowering trees in bloom.

Abandoned was painted on location in Hondo, NM.  There are so many scenes like this one in Lincoln County.  The winter browns are being replaced by the spring greens.  It was such a beautiful crisp day and no wind.

Unfurled Iris is another study in color harmony.  I found this lone iris in my garden and decided to bring it in and paint it day- by- day and to watch it unfurl. 

Liquid Refreshment is the first painting in a week.  We are settled in New Mexico for the summer and I finally have my paints unpacked.  It is too cold and windy to go outside so will do some studio paintings in the meantime. I was curious to see if I could paint ice cubes.  I put in lots of ice and as they melted the colors kept getting richer. Click here to bid at auction at Daily Paintworks

Lemon Slices is another study in color harmony and reflections. Just when I think I have exhausted a subject, something else pops into my head.  This time it is the floating lemon and the lemon peeking through the glass.

Old Barns and Truck was painted on location at Comfort Falls Ranch.  It was good to be able to paint landscape again now that the tree pollens have subsided.

I will be traveling for a few days so if you have bid on a painting, I will be able to ship next Wed, the 17th.

The Last Bud to Open is the end of the red lilies.  I decided to paint them in a warm light to compare to the cool light of my other lily paintings.  I think I like the cool light better.

Many Lilies is my first attempt at doing the entire bouquet of red lilies.  They amaze me as they are so vibrant, fresh and cheerful. Click to bid.

Red Lily is another study in color harmony.  I bought some for my Easter decoration and was going to try to paint the bouquet. Since I'd never painted a lily I decided I had better do one first before attempting the bouquet.  Click here to purchase at auction.

Study in Green and Lavender is another study in color harmony.  You may not know this but lavender class is what happens when a glass bottle is exposed to the elements over decades.  Back in the days before trash pickup, farmers and ranchers would have their own trash pile.  The bottles would age in the sun to a beautiful lavender.  Those not used for target practice have made it to the antique stores.  I love the patina.

May be purchased at auction from Daily Paintworks.

Study in Blue is a response to a challenge I saw on Daily Paintworks in 2012.  You were supposed to do a painting entirely in blue and not use orange or red in the painting.  So here it is.

Pottery and Orange is another study in color harmony and a nice change from glass.

May be purchased at auction at Daily Paintworks.

Backlit Bottles and Lemon is another color harmony study.  I am fascinated with the abstractions created by the curve of glass next to another glass object.

May be purchased at auction at Daily Paintworks.

Signs of Spring is my entry for the Meaning of Spring Challenge at Daily Paintworks.  This is a Spanish oak tree right outside my art studio.  However, with all the pollen in the air I decided to paint it from a photograph.

May be purchased at auction at Daily Paintworks.