A Bend in the Blues

A Bend in the Blues___24x30 oil on linen__$4500 framed
I used a couple of my recent field studies from last month's great bluebonnet "show" to paint this larger work. It will come to a show or go off to a gallery unless someone wants it QUICK!
Here is a link to the yucca painting that I did in the field.
http://vvaughan.blogspot.com/2012/04/double-yucca.html Working outside really makes the difference in "seeing" color and forms. I teach these things in my few workshops each year. Check out my schedule below!

_______________V....Vaughan Spring Schedule________________

Workshop: Fredericksburg Artists School, June 11-14

High School/Middle School Student Workshops: Austin, TX, June 18-21

 Southeastern Plein Air Festival, works hang thru May, Gadsden, AL

Memorial Day Weekend-May, Phippen Museum Western Art Show, Prescott, AZ

Summer Workshops in Texas, Colorado and more!

...see my schedule for more dates and events

Double Yucca

Double Yucca___6x8 oil study on linen___$250
I have been painting springtime in the Hill Country, going out with friends
into the fields and creek beds of Central Texas. I grew up on Walnut Creek,
which winds through East Austin. We LIVED there on those limestone banks, and
I have many stories of getting stabbed by these yucca plants, stepping on
mesquite thorns, and even sitting on prickly pear....I dreaded these sharp encounters
but I always thought these are the prettiest plants around!....Come paint with me
at a workshop this summer!

_____________________V....Vaughan Spring Schedule______________________

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

Memorial Dy Weekend-May, Phippen Museum Western Art Show, Prescott, AZ

Summer Workshops in Texas, Colorado and more!

...see my schedule for more dates and events

Up a Creek

Up the Creek___6x8 oil study on linen___$250
Yesterday's post was looking down the creek before the fog lifted. This one is
"up the creek" just after the fog lifted.The fog cloud burned off quickly,
leaving blue skies for the rest of the day.
Blue skies are sort of boring, so I am glad I put these in FIRST.One thing I stress
when I teach is that a painter needs to FIRST paint the thing that will change the quickest.
It might be the color of a sunrise, or livestock moving by or fog, like this day. I teach painters
how to anticipate these changes....It delves into science at times, as I am
fascinated about "why"....I have some great workshops in great locations coming up!
Please sign up and come paint with me!!

_____________V....Vaughan Spring Schedule______________

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

Memorial Dy Weekend-May, Phippen Museum Western Art Show, Prescott, AZ

Summer Workshops in Texas, Colorado and more!

...see my schedule for more dates and events

Blue as Fog

Blue as Fog___6x8 oil on linen__$190

Saturday we greeted the sunrise along a Hill Country creek near Marble Falls. I had hoped for sunrise color but this fog was a nice change. I had not painted "en plein fog" in awhile and it was fun this time, because we had some long views in a tight canyon.

If you take a workshop from me, be ready for some EARLY mornings. It is my favorite time to paint, because there are ALWAYS surprises!...our surprise this time was that Kay and Carol brought a tent to set up so that they could stay out of the sun and paint all day. While they set it up, I went traipsing around our perimeter, looking for things of interest. It is always good to do a "walk through"before painting. When I was a soccer coach, I always scoped out our field, from end to end and all the way around, noting things like where the sun was, and which way it was tracking....which way the wind was blowing, and if the field had any bumps or holes or even glass or rocks on it!....as a painter, I look for dangerous things like wasp nests, fire ant mounds and snakes...and if we have cell service or can get out quickly if "bad guys" show up. It all looked great till I noticed a sign on a tree right by our cars! "POSTED, no tresspassing"...Kay's tent was already staked in, so we got our stories synchronized and stayed put....ready to ask permission if someone busted us!....just to be safe, though, I left early! So, I hope they ended up OK! hahaha

_____________________V....Vaughan Spring Schedule______________________

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

Memorial Dy Weekend-May, Phippen Museum Western Art Show, Prescott, AZ

...see my schedule for more dates and events

Laura's Place

Laura's Place___8x10 oil on linen panel___commission / SOLD
I enjoy painting commissions...especially when the patron says "do it your way!"
I did not have to change much for Laura's Place...only leaving out the swingset and a few house-tops in the distance....Having a "deadline" brings me back to my years as a "commercial artist"...years that I really enjoyed!
I have just added a few teaching dates to my calendar (not posted, yet...but SOON!), and a new show in Montana...I will put all the info on my website, but FIRST it is time for me to deliver all the sold works from Passing America....
If you purchased one of these, watch for an e-mail from me!

Hunter's Fence

Hunter's Fence__6x8 oil on linen panel___$190 ...wet

Below is the plein air version of this one...my "state 1", which was a demonstration at my Fredericksburg workshop a few weeks ago....I was making some points about painting trees. Just yesterday I was sitting at the Hyde Park Marketplace, in Austin, showing some work and tending to some student art projects, and decided to finish this one....Without any reference, I just started putting some dark colors into the foreground. A boy watching me said, "I like that fence!"

I said "What fence?" ...He pointed to some strokes that he said look like a fence, so I went with it!

Then I told him I would name the painting after him! ...I hope he is looking at the blog today!

Hi Hunter!

Hunter's Fence- state 1

Moonlift

Moonlift___8x6 oil study on linen panel___$190
Yesterday's painting is literally the "other side" of this one. I painted it facing west as the sun went down, and called it "Sunslide" for a special reason. Immediately after painting it, I turned to the east to paint the full moon rising. But because of the cloud cover, we never really saw the moon, but could see the "lift" of moonlight from behind the clouds. So that explains the title of this one....Both were "lessons" or demos painted during my last workshop in Texas. We had been hoping for some interesting skies and were mostly given CLEAR BLUE skies...until this one evening.

Sunslide

Sunslide___6x8 oil study on linen panel___$190
Here I resume works from my recent workshop in Fredericksburg...hello to the workshop gang! For the next few days I will post the rest of the finished studies. I title this one "Sunslide", because the sun did not set that day, it just "slid" out of sight"......Happy Holidays to all!!!

If I miss a few days of posting art, you can almost be sure something is not well...
I have lost a dear, dear Brother-in-Law....more of a brother to me, since he has been in our family from the time I was a little girl... Doyle Bridgefarmer married my sister, Mary in 1970, and was the father of SIX of my nieces and nephews....He was sick since summer, and cancer claimed him just before Thanksgiving....so, it has been a sweet month of much time spent at their house, and with all the family.
My family is rather fun-loving and very up-beat, so having this time to say long goodbyes has been good for many reasons, but now we have the long process of missing him...

11-11-11 Moonset

11-11-11 Moonset ___6x8 oil on linen panel___$190 unframed
I miss my workshop buddies! Anyone who will get up before dawn and drag their paints out in the cold (it was 25 degrees one morning!) is a FRIEND of mine!!! And I have more than a dozen new ones after last week in Fredericksburg!...
Below is this painting above, in its plein air state! When painting fast (which I have to do when the light changes quickly), I often lay down only enough details that I can finish it later. All the info I needed in the field is there!...I was able to do a couple more such "starts" before the sun got too high...now I am home, finishing these! You will see such "finishes" in the days ahead! Let me know what you think! ESPECIALLY those of you who were with me when I started this one :)

11-11-11 Moonset_state 1__in Fredericksburg, Texas Workshop...My next workshop there is during June 2012. Email me for details! vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Colors of Drought

Colors of Drought___6x8 oil on linen panel for Passing AMerica: The Great Plains
Driving through this southern end of the plains where I ive in Texas, is fairly depressing...somewhere in northern Oklahoma, the green appears a little bit, and it is nice and green in Kansas, but our Texas Plains are suffering from the aweful heat and drought...ONE GOOD THING, that only an artist would appreciate, is that there is more "color" with drought...when things are "normal", there is a lot of green this time of year. THe frought gives us many browns, purples, gold and warm colors to complement the blue skies...

SCHEDULE

Little Church__6x8 oil demo__sold

This is another version of one I painted a few weeks ago, but I wanted to post SOMETHING today before I head to Colorado for a few weeks of COOL-OFF-TIME! We have already had 32 days of temps over 100 this summer, and we are JUST NOW getting to the HOT part of the season (our record high was in early September a few years ago). Texans are NOT being flippant or joking when we say "please pray for rain and our farmers!"
I will be posting from Colorado, of course. We are driving a special loop through the plains so I can add a few more "drive-bys" to my works for the upcoming exhibit.
Below is my schedule for the near future...and a little bit beyond! See if you can meet me at any of these!

July 16___THANK You, GOD for the bit of rain in Round Rock this morning
July 23-24___Art on the Conejos__a NEW SHOW, featuring artists who live in the Conejos Canyon, CO
August___Painting the Plains...I will be ALL OVER The place, finishing my project which opens on...
October 7___Passing America: The Great Plains. Lincoln, NE...Reception and Gallery Talk in the evening
Oct. 8-13___Nebraska Workshops...painting farms en plein air
Oct. 18-Nov. 17___Remembering the Farm, Solo show at Inspiration Gallery at Riverbend Church, Austin
October 27___Remembering the Farm Reception and Gallery Talk 5-8 pm. Riverbend, Austin
Nov. 9-11___Fall Workshop at Fredericksburg Artists' School
June 11-13, 2012___Spring Workshop at Fredericksburg Artists School
Surprise Summer 2012 Workshop...early August! TBA!

Sunrise Scape

Sunrise Scape__6x8 oil on linen panel___$190
Another demo from the Fredericksburg workshop.

We arrived on locations at 6 am for our morning paintouts. This one was at the home of Bill and Nancy Bush and it was downright CHILLY that morning. We all reminded each other that later in the day we would WISH it was so cool....our afternoon temps topped out at over 100!

We painted all week with a limited palette of just FOUR paint colors, and the goal was to see the spectrum in each scene. The sun was just above the horizon when I painted this, so the spectrum was in the sky and not on the land, yet.....

To my class: I DID a few "oil changes" on this one when I got home, and I stayed true to the palette...Can y'all see the refining of shapes?...and the addition of the "pure color" we talked about?...I miss y'all!

Bluebonnet Stream 2

Bluebonnet Stream 2___6x8 oil on linen panel___wet today, dry for CHRISTmas!__$250 includes shipping
I halway expect the fllowers to start blooming! It is 85 DEGREES in Texas today!!! I am still in the midst of a week of little studies...solving bluebonnet problems! See my blog for the past three or 4 days of posts...these little works are good examples of painting shapes and colors and having the outcome look like something! Click the blog image to see the juicy details! MERRY CHRISTMAS from Texas!!!

Bluebonnet Stream 3

Bluebonnet Stream 3 ___6x8 oil on linen___$250 delivered for Christmas!

Morning Overlook

Morning Overlook_____18x18 plein air study on linen panel____$1620, if you were not in the workshop :)
I think this is the last post I will make from my recent workshop in Fredericksburg, TX. It was another "big sky" morning, where the clouds seem HUGE and soft, because they float so low...the summer morning sky is something I remember from my youth, so it brings back those childhood memories for me! We painted this on the last morning, from Bill and Nancy Bush's place. Check out Nancy's work...then check again in a few months...she has a unique style and is one of my favorite artists, because her works are always fresh!
I talked with Bill, today, and I am all set to teach next summer during the same week, June 13 - 15. We will paint during the cool and color of the day, in a unique split schedule (an early morning session, midday break and a late afternoon session each day)...this will provide fun opportunities for sight seeing, shopping or extra studio time. We also can explore the museums and galleries of the area, and there are some good ones! Let me know if you need more info, or contact Bill to register!

Art School Sunrise

"Art School Sunrise"___6x8 oil on linen panel___$190, unless you were in the workshop! ;)

Yesterday's post showed this same sunrise facing the west. Of course this one was painted when the sun first came over the horizon in the east.... I really did not want to put that yellow bit in the center, but I had to...it was there...yellow as you please!!

If you feel like an art student right now, pull up the blog and look at them together. It looks like a whole new palette of colors, but I ONLY USED A LIMITED PALETTE OF THREE (3) COLORS plus white!!! Isn't it amazing that these 4 pigments can create all the VARIETY of a rainbow??...and a sunrise from east to west!!!
This is what you will learn in my workshops...how to get all this variety with the limited palette, which will automatically UNIFY your painting...It is a wonderful skill, and EASY, so much easier than wrangling 12 or more colors on your palette!...Next year's Fredericksburg workshop will be June 13-15, so let me know if you want one of the 12 - 15 spots, because I am going to keep it small! vvaughan8@yahoo.com

(Hey, Joanne....how's THIS font???)

Sunset for Color

Sunset for Color___6x8 oil study on linen panel__$190, unless you were in the workshop ;)
You need to read yesterday's post to understand the context, but this sunset was painted on the first day of the workshop I just taught in Fredericksburg, TX. ...As the class prepared to paint the FOLLOWING day's sunset, I had everyone pre-mix the sunset colors, using this painting above as reference. One could assume that a new day would bring a totally new sunset, and new colors, too...but summer days in Texas are consistent: hot, bright, humid...I knew the colors would be thee, but the patterns of clouds and distribution of these colors would be new....
In all the many days I painted early or late light at the FARM, no there were never two alike!!!
If this exercise does not make sense, please comment and I will try to explain it better. vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Sunset at the Art School

Sunset at the Art School____6x8 oil on linen panel___$190 (unless you were inthe class...wink)
This one above was painted on Day 2. For this painting, I had the students sketch the basic landscape BEFORE the afternoon break. They had painted it the evening before, so they knew where the sun would be at sunset.Then they PRE-MIXED a palette full of "sunset colors", using my study from the night before. Our afternoons were hot, so the class took a break then. Folks went in to Fredericksburg to see the great galleries and shops that they are famous for...Fredericksburg, TX is also known for fine dining as well as fruit stands in abundance...and PERFECT timing for this year's bounty! I came home with tons of peaches, berries and tomatos...can't get fat on those, I hear, but I am doing my best to try!
We gathered together again at 7:30pm to set up to catch the quickly changing light...The sketch was ready, the color mixes were on the palette, ready, set, GO!!!!

Summer Shade

Summer Shade___6x8 oil on linen___$150 workshop demo
I am teaching this week in Fredericksburg...Today featured a typical summer day in Texas...bright warm sunshine (OK..."hot" sunshine), plenty of those puffy clouds delivering shade across the landscape and the constant sound of cicadas. This was my afternoon demo for the group, and all we had to do was step onto the porch to see it. The views are beautiful, here...I spoke on drawing this morning, handed out some "goodies", fielded lots of thoughtful, smart questions and we even enjoyed some of Fredericksburg's famous tree-ripened peaches...best crop in years! ...it's a good, small group of 8, and several came from out of state. (Leigh, from Illinois said our cicadas sound different from her cicadas...) I am loving this!

Willow City Loop

Willow City Loop____30x40 oil on linen____Available at Whistle Pik Galleries, Texas
in early April, I did the plein air study for this large painting. I knew right away that I ought to do a big one...here it is! Click the image on the BLOG to see it larger. I will deliver this one (in my new, special, unique, REALLY COOL FRAME!!!) to Whistle Pik Galleries in Fredericksburg, TX next week.... I have just a few more of my spring bluebonnet studies to post, so I will scatter them with the new things I am working on....TOMORROW I will post a "drive-by" painting which I have not done yet! I am starting my third trip across a portion of the plains, to work some more on "Passing America the Great Plains" This will be a solo exhibit at the Great Plains Art Museum at the University of Nebraska....I have three plains trips this month. This weekend I will cover the Texas High Plains...to read more about my plains project click here.