Spring Fed

Spring Fed___24 x 30 oil on linen

This is the one I worked on at the Chocolate Sketch class on Saturday. A typical Texas Hill country bluebonnet painting!

Many of our streams are "spring fed" as are the cattle!

I have some little things left to do, but you might not notice them so I decided to post it tonight...bigger paintings take a little time to "see". I like to hold them for many weeks and place them on walls around my house (or at coffee/chocolate shops!) to see things in different lighting conditions.I have planned this painting for a long while, after doing something outside that was very similar...

Ann's Bluebonnets

Ann's Bluebonnets__12 x 36  oil on linen__sold

 

 

I delivered this one to an old friend Friday night. Ann lives in Panama but was in town visiting family, so we had this date planned for months for her to pick up this painting...and the REAL bluebonnets are everywhere!...

The proportion made it difficult to photograph...

For the past few months I have been a spotty blogger. I hope you have enjoyed the break!

Frankly, these have been tough months, in many ways. The main thing is loss...the loss of my mom's health, mainly. I am really enjoying a lot of time with her these days, because I know I will not have her much longer....And also the loss of a few dear friends...different situations, but feeling their loss in deep ways.

If you live long enough these times happen, I know. So many of you have shared personal stories with me as we correspond.

So as Spring is here with NEW LIFE all around, PLEASE KNOW that I thank God for you...really!

Herf

Herf____4x6 oil on canvas panel ___$150

I remember when there were hereford cattle everywhere in Texas....I also remember when our herd on the farm slowly became angus....more and more, the black angus has become the "trend"....Not that I mind...but it's nice to still see Hereford around, too!

This one was painted with my students' palette "droppings".

I will be talking and teaching about this in my upcoming workshop in Fredericksburg, TX.  Sign up soon! I also have some youth workshops in June (Middle School and High School)

_______________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 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

Black Baldy

Black Baldy___6x6 oil on panel___$290 framed for Passing America: The Great Plains
I posted a Hereford of the same size and price, yesterday but forgot to hit the "publish" button on the blog. So, if you only see the blog (and not the e-mail) click here to see yesterday's Hereford ...This is "cow week" as I have a small little group of different types of cattle that I have seen across the plains...these are small canvases in matching frames for my exhibit, but they are not "drive-by" paintings. ...This painting above is what we call a "white face", which, I think is a type of Hereford but if anyone knows better, please let me know! I suspect they have a little bit of Angus.

Here Hereford

Here Hereford___6x6 oil on panel___$290 framed for Passing America: The Great Plains
I am not sure why the Angus has taken over the popularity contest for cattle these days...maybe it's a marketing ploy for beef? In my studies for the farm exhibit, I am finding out a lot about our food supply as family farms fade away and the farms become corporations...This does not HAVE to be a bad thing, but somehow it is....
Anyway, When I see Hereford cattle, I think of "Texas"...maybe because that was the breed of choice in the pastures when I was growing up!...as an artist, I really do not care which breed is "best", I just like the VARIETY I have seen all across the plains.
I am seriously HOARDING my paintings these days...to make sure I meet the required numbers of new works for my upcoming exhibit in Nebraska. Pretty soon I will count all the works, and when I have the quantities I need, I will begin selling again :) Anything that is painted for the show will not be delivered till just before Christmas :)

Pastured Impatience

Pastured Impatience__9x12 oil on linen___Passing America: The Great Plains
I had a difficult time photographing this one and figured out it is because my brushwork was causing some random glares....sorry about that.
A favorite farm scene of mine is when the cattle egrets are in the pastures following whatever moving target is there. They are not picky and will follow a tractor just as often as they will follow the cattle. They get their meals when the moving target stirs up bugs...usually grasshoppers. This egret was impatient...probably because the cow was not helping him stir up dinner...

Sketch #5___Big Boy Hereford

Sketch #5___Big Boy Hereford ___from my Colorado Sketchbook....auction soon!
At the rodeo pens nearby....this big boy was such a beauty!
Had a great painting adventure in the San Luis valley today. This mountain valley is one of the highest and largest in the world. It is an agricultural valley (potatoes), and the farms are poor little places....perfect for artists' subjects: old tractors, adobe shacks, interesting people...
At one point, today , we had lightning striking all around us...not fun...so we went to town to pick up a few things and got into a nasty hail storm....still, it's a nice break from Texas summer heat!
I am proceeding with selections from my sketchbook, and have a big plan for this sketchbook...I will talk about it soon!