Good Morning Gorge

Good Morning Gorge  8x10 oil Available at Act I Gallery, Taos, NM

This one just MIGHT have sold last month at my Act I solo show...I forget! But I have some new pieces (similar!) that are headed to ARIZONA for the Phippen Museum Western Art Show in Prescott...come see me there Memorial Weekend!

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UPCOMING FOR V....

Phippen Museum Western Art Show___Prescott, AZ___May 23-25

Ballad of the Farm: Then. Now. Tomorrow__OPENING__David City, NE__May 23

This event is a VERY SPECIAL exhibit, that I have put my heart into since October, 2014. I will have a month of TARGETED blog posts about this topic, and "unveil" my special painting very soon. Visit Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art for more, and PLEASE follow my journey...soon!

Stormy Thumb

Stormy Thumb___16x20 "Quick Draw" in oil
Yesterday's post showed my first "quick draw" at the Phippen Museum Western Art Show out in Prescott, AZ. Here is the one I did on Sunday last week. It also took one hour and was auctioned off along with 18 other artist's works. The scene is Thumb Butte, with the lights of Prescott twinkling.
I worked from a reference photo I took the day before, when I took a wrong turn on the way to the event, and saw a spectacular view from the hill top!
The painting is larger than my usual quick draw canvas....see ?

 

 

I AM HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE that my works are now represented in Sedona, Arizona at the wonderful

Mountain Trails Gallery

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Flight

12 x 36 oil

Available at Mountain Trails Gallery, Sedona, AZ



39 Arizona Roadrunner

 Roadrunner__ in Arizona__10x10 watercolor pencil__$250 unframed

#39 in my Birdseed Project

 

YESTERDAY'S POST was put up hastily, because I needed to post before midnight and it was 11:58!

So I didn't identify the bird: a beautiful golden orange and black bird that I saw in Arizona. THE FIRST ONE to respond to my call for "help" was the greatest bird artist I know,
 Adele Earnshaw. www.adeleearnshaw.blogspot.com She is an active blogger and frequently paints birds...GO SEE!!!!...Adele is a real pal and lives in New Zealand, after many years in Arizona. New Zealand is her homeland and she achieved her dream to move there for good! (well, for HER OWN GOOD....I say it's BAD for the rest of us!!) In March 2015 I will teach a workshop in New Zealand, and Adele will be our host....CAN'T WAIT!

Tomorrow I will share my heart about a few recent struggles I have had, and why I have been a spotty blogger....so many of you care and ask....I just want to get my thoughts together before "sharing"  :)

#38 in the Birdseed Project - Hooded Oriole

 

NAME THIS BIRD__ in Arizona__6 x 86 oil__$250 unframed

#38 in my Birdseed Project

 

This one from Arizona is the Hooded Oriole. I saw him on a hike near Tucson with artist frind, Lydia Dillon-Sutton...She does the BEST BATIK art!

Here is the video of my Quick Draw at the recent Cowgirl Up event in Wickenburg, Arizona's Desert Caballeros Museum. 

Turn up your speakers!

Cowgirl Quick Draw Video

Cowgirl Hawk___16 x 12 oil on panel__SOLD

 

WATCH THIS ONE BEING PAINTED!
 

 

Here is my Quick Draw Painting at Cowgirl Up! 2013

I derived it from photos and a painting I did a few weeks ago (which now belongs to M.D.!)

ENJOY the time lapse video created by Mike's Road Trip. I told him that all my friends would watch this and LIKE HIM on facebook....PLEASE do that!!!

This painting is not available, and it is not part of my Birdseed Project. But the video is a blast!!! Watch it twice and turn up the music!

 

http://www.mikesroadtrip.com/cowgirl-up-quick-draw/

 

https://www.facebook.com/MikesRoadTrip

Cowgirl Quick Draw

Cowgirl Quick Draw Study____a gift for my "host", Monica Lambert!___6x8 oil on linen panel
For some reason I cannot load the picture of my actual quick-draw...so take a good look at this one and I will load the BIG one tomorrrow.
A "Quick Draw" is an event where artists have ONE HOUR to complete a painting, then the works are auctioned for the benefit of the Museum. I rose early this morning to see a beautiful sunrise shining on Vulture Peak in Wickenburg, so I did this study, and used it as reference for a larger, 16 x 20 version. The Cowgirl Up! event has been another wonderful time in the art world! Wonderful women painters and sculptors are here, and you ought to see the BEAUTY!...both on the walls and in the great western clothing these women wear...
My Quick-Draw painting sold to some NEW FRIENDS who bought Shady Wait last night...
Headed home soon!

Those Red Walls

Those Red Walls___8x10 oil _____$400 unframed

Yesterday I related a story about my painting being stolen from a museum... Original Art has great value, but art theft just does not happen very often, because security is so good these days. I travel a lot and recently I was in an airport bookstore, browsing the non-fiction section when a man came up to me, pulled out a book there and told me I needed to buy it! He was the author and was excited that his book was there. I learned that he is Robert Wittman, founder of the FBI Art Crime Team! His book is called PRICELESS. I bought it and had it signed by him, and we had a great discussion there at the airport...I think I will e-mail him and tell him about my art heist!...by the way, the book is FASCINATING!!!
I will be in Wickenburg, AZ for the rest of the week! Come see me at Cowgirl Up!

_____________________V....Vaughan Spring Schedule______________________

March 23-25, Cowgirl Up! Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Wickenburg, AZ

April 9-13, Southeastern Plein Air Festival, Gadsden, AL

...see my schedule for more dates and events

Morning Moonset

Morning Moonset___24x24 oil on linen____for Cowgirl Up! Wickenburg, AZ, March 25-May 8

Here is my third painting for the big show! It is a scene I saw a few years ago while in Northern Arizona...my favorite time of day is early morning and it is a real treat to see the full moon going down just as the sun is rising. ... I like it when it's still dark enough that the lights on the farms are still visible, so that's how I painted this scene...and it is an Arizona landscape without the saguaro cactus icon!!!The little part that took me the longest was the moon! Click the blog image to see a larger version, and MAYBE you can see the man in the moon! Join me in Wickenburg if you can! Please tell all your Arizona friends to come see the show!
***WORKSHOPS ahead!...
Fredericksburg, TX in mid June. Start planning ! It will be my longest workshop of the year.
David City, NEBRASKA in October. This one is in conjunction with the opening of my newest exhibit. A solo show at the Great Plains Art Museum in Lincoln. The workshop is filling fast.
email me if you want the brochure/info on these workshops vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Monzon San Xavier

Monzon San Xavier__36 x 36 Oil on linen__available at Cowgirl Up! Wickenburg, AZ, Mar. 25- May


A couple weeks ago I posted my small study for this big painting. Click to see the study.

The title means "San Xavier Monsoon", referring to the big rains over Mission San Xavier. I have seen the monsoons which water the dry Arizona landscape in late summer, and I can imagine what a blessing they are to the people of the desert.....This is my biggest painting for the show, and I wish you could see it in person! The frame is a heavy, distressed, black with an antique-looking gold liner. I have a real hard time photographing the big canvases! Below is a detail...

Monzon San Xavier__detail

A Study for...

San Xavier Monsoon - study____8x6 oil on linen___available when I am done with it __$190

I like to work out my paint problems on a small scale, before diving into a large canvas. This painting has been "brewing" for a few years as I have traveled through Arizona...

I am working from my own reference: photos of the Mission San Xavier, pictures of monsoon clouds in Colorado, and sunset pictures from Arizona...it is a work in progress!

Took a quick trip to Kansas this weekend...do any of my blog friends know anyone in Salina, or Wichita, KANSAS...just curious!

:)

Tono Dulce

Tono Dulce___30x24 oil on linen___available> On display at Parade of Homes, in Rough Hollow at Lakeway, TX

Parade of Homes is going on now through October 31. The house can be seen HERE (My art is in the house at 301 Bisonet). I provided several paintings for the designer who is a dear NEW friend of mine! This one above, "Tono Dulce" was painted especially for this Mission-style home...maybe the style is more Italian, Tuscan...My friend selected several works to place in various rooms (including a SECRET HIDDEN ROOM!! COOL!!!) When I went to deliver the art, I saw a PERFECT PLACE, so I asked if I could paint this one which I had planned, but not finished!
I turned it out in a hurry, so if you look real hard at the one BELOW, you sill see IMPORTANT changes that I will do when I get it back in a week or so! For now it hangs as below, but FINIDHE, it will look more like the painting above...thank you, Photoshop!

Tono Dulce___State 1

My Schedule:

October 23.(THIS COMING SATURDAY!) Texas Country Reporter Festival in Waxahachie, TX. I'll be there!!

Nov. 17-18 Workshop...(Wed.- Thus)….Bryan/College Station, TX vvaughan8@yahoo.com for info
Jan. 27-29 or so…..Rockport, TX ***This one is for ART TEACHERS. It would cout as “in service”…continuing education credits and all that. You would sign up for several different workshops and your school ought to be able to pay for it …I am not sure of the dates, but sign up for it is right now, I think! See Rockport Art Center for details! . I am just one of MANY instructors!
June 13-15, 2011…info at Fredericksburg Artists School

October 4-6, 2011 David City, Nebraska in conjunction with the opening of my exhibit on October 7, 2011

"Passing America: The Great Plains"



I also offer PERSONALIZED workshops…if you can round up a group of 10 - 15 , I provide all the literature and info, you just collect the money and organize locations and you get to come FREE!...If I have to travel, the fees would include travel expenses…It works well, and I do this all over the country!

Gila Woodpecker

Gila Woodpecker__8x6 oil on canvas panel___$190...no thorns!
If you stand still in the desert, you can see lots of things !
I was not standing still on purpose, but had paused in a place near some saguaros, just to rest and feel the hot sun (I actually LIKE hot sun!). I had my camera already up to my face, and was just standing there when I noticed this Gila Woodpecker hopping around on the nearest Saguaro cactus....Got some great photos before he flitted away, and painted from one today...Here it is, with some info about the bird, below. If you are at ALL interested in birds, check out the BEST bird site I know...it's at Cornell University!!

Gila Woodpecker
Melanerpes uropygialis ORDER: PICIFORMES FAMILY: PICIDAE
A conspicuous resident in the deserts of the Southwest and Mexico, the Gila Woodpecker is a characteristic bird of the saguaro cactus forests
Cool Facts
• When a pair of Gila Woodpeckers excavates a nest hole in a saguaro cactus, it typically does not use it for several months. Drying time is required for the inner pulp of the cactus to form a solid casing around the cavity.
• The male Gila Woodpecker forages mainly on the trunk and main branches of saguaro cacti, while the female concentrates on the periphery and diseased areas.
Habitat: Deserts
Found in deserts that have large cacti or trees suitable for nesting (especially saguaro cactus), dry subtropical forests, riparian woodlands, and residential areas.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gila_Woodpecker/lifehistory

Piano Man

Piano Man___8x6 oil on linen panel___$190
While in Prescott, I attended church with my friend, Sandy. THere was a special music presentation and I was captivated by it...bsides a geat message for Memorial Day, the stage was lit particularly nicely set up...I couldn't get it ff my mind, so I painted this from memory later in the day....
Then today, my daughter, (who met me in Prescott and is travelling home with me)...and I. went to GRAND CANYON!!! We had a great hike!
I have a funny story about that tomorrow...but I am exhausted right now...

Red by the Vulture

Red by the Vulture____6x8 oil sketch on canvas panel__$150

Today I traveled from Wickenburg, AZ to Prescott, AZ.

Last night I stayed with a friend in Wickenburg, and we went to the Vulture Peak Trail with a group of her buddies and watched the sunset and then the moonrise. I painted BOTH...FAST!!!...while the gang drank wine, and ate chocolate and beat on drums... Here is the sunset part...looking east where the moon would be rising. Right when the sun went down, it turned the tops of the mountains BLOOD RED! It was too good to pass up, so I altered the painting ON THE SPOT!

I will be teaching some of these techniques for grabbing color fast and getting the impression down quickly. The workshop is in Fredericksburg, TX, June 14 - 16, with an extra optinal day of painting on the 17th...email the art school for details bush@fbgartschool.com

Xavier Study

Xavier Study____6x8 oil on linen___$190 or I am taking it to Phippen!
I just painted this. See the photo below for the "real" view. I shouldn't show these together, but click the image above and see the quick strokes of color...this is a SKETCH in oils, meant to gather color and the impression....but sometimes the impression is not all that "IMPRESSIVE".....I spent the morning at the "Dove of the Desert", San Xavier Mission in southern Arizona. This is near the Mexican border...a BEAUTIFUL place of such diversity. I also spent sunset there last night...and saw the moonrise...it was here that I discovered that I FORGOT all my painting gear, except a small pouchade box still loaded up for my drive-by paintings! Better than nothing!. So I am typing this 90 miles up the road at a McDonalds in Phoenix, hoping to squeeze in a visit with a former student who lives here (CALL ME JULIE!), and will bide my time at the Jerry's Artarama, buying new paints etc., so I can do the quick-draw at the Phippen Museum Art Show on Saturday-Monday. WHEW! Come see me!
OR, come to my workshop in Fredericksburg June 14-16 or 17. We'll be learning to sketch like this and MORE! vvaughan8@yahoo.com for info

Vulture Peak

Vulture Peak__Wickenburg, AZ__6x8 oil on linen panel__$150 if you like 'em WET!
YIKES! Because of the way I have to post, this image is HUGE! You artists might enjoy clicking the image to see every molecule of paint!
We went out to paint this afternoon, before the big Cowgirl Up! sale at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum. It was good to get out in the warm sunshine! We didn't have long, but found this great view of Wickenburg's beloved Vulture Peak, a typical, saguaro cactus covered Arizona landscape...THough, this year is VERY unusual in that the desert is blooming! Flowers everywhere...we are going out to paint again tomorrow, so I will look for a good place with flowers!
Cowgirl Up! began tonight and was BUZZING with sales and happy patrons and artists. I made some new friends, welcomed old ones back and had some sales, so I am breathing easier. Tomorrow is the quick draw, where the artists have one hour to paint on the spot, with crowds watching. We then frame them and the museum auctions them off. It is a fun time and I enjoy competing with the clock to create a great painting in such a short time.

Mission Bells_8x6 oil on linen

Mission Bells___8 x 8 oil on linen___$190 while it's wet!
I cannot name this mission, because I made up part of it. The photo I painted it from was a nice one I took a few months ago in Arizona. I did not plan the composition well, so I added the doorway below and the doo-dads beside it. I NEEDED to , because there was flat, empty space that killed the composition...the lesson here, for you artists is that, unless you are illustrating the official Mission Book, or working on a conmmission for Mr. and Mrs. Mission, it's more important to create a good composition, than to be ACCURATE with the "likeness"... My favorite part is the light on the tower behind and through the lower bell archways...you probably can't tell that's what it is, but it's the reason I painted this one.