Flames of Life

Flames of Life__A SPECIAL GICLEE REPRODUCTION for the benefit of a Texas fire victim___whatever size you want!



A number of my friends were affected by the recent Texas fires (ONGOING, by the way!...but not being mentioned by the news media...)


My dear friend, Linda has a business, Angel Mountain Events, that is on top of a little hill surrounded by pine trees. A beautiful place she has nurtured for years, making memories for people celebrating life's big events. She hung some of my paintings there, including a large painting of poppies...the center feature of her great room. Last week Angel Mountain burned to the ground...a TOTAL loss. (see photos below).


Linda is devastated, and as her friend, this has touched me deeply. When I am sad, I often paint, and this seems to help me process loss and move forward...even if it is just co-miserating with a friend....SO I PAINTED THE POPPIES ABOVE, and am offering PRINTS for sale, with the proceeds TOTALLY dedicated to helping with this tragedy.


The printer is Canvas Press, and Really Big Canvas, a company in Round Rock, Texas. They do BEAUTIFUL work, and have set up a way that you can order a print EASY!...They have discounted their price A LOT, just for this cause!...Together we are giving every penny of the profit to Angel Mountain...PLEASE pass along this link, to anyone looking for a great piece of art, a spot of color, or a blessing!
http://www.reallybigcanvas.com/content/flames-life
Printed on premium artist canvas or archival paper, you have many choices of size and ALL the prices are WAY BETTER than I could offer! PLEASE help, however you can!...The photos below are "before/after" shots of Angel Mountain...note that the only thing standing was that wall with the crosses...Life finds a way!...please pass this along!




Angel Mountain____before

...and after the fire in Bastrop Texas



The Angel Mountain Pavilion, and butterfly gardens___before






...and after the Bastrop fire....

...by the way, the original poppy painting is for the NEW Angel Mountain!

Poppy Pods

Poppy Pods__8x6 oil on linen

Here is the last poppy painting I did for the Colorado Show. This show was put together by Bea and Peggy, a couple of real art fans and neighbors of at our place in Colorado. The show will benefit the new Fire House which our community built to protect the families here. It is a volunteer fire service, complete with an alarm that sounds each Monday. Hopefully, this fire house will be busy with community activities, (like the art show), and not busy with fires.

My upcoming schedule is below.

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!

Ahhh!!! Poppies!__red flowers, poppies

AHHH! Poppies!____8x6 oil sketch on linen panel____$190

(click blog image to see some neat detail)

A break today from the sketchbook...I will post all the sketches, and as I said I will probably double up on a few. Since this is our last day here, I wanted to post this for my in-laws, BRV. They have planted some beautiful poppies and scattered other wildflower seed. The flowers have really taken off and are all over the property this time of year...For the past several years the poppies were minimal, but they are BACK!

We head home to the hot country tomorrow...I will miss COOL morning walks up here in "sweater weather"...now it will be just "sweat weather"....but, to tell the truth, I LOVE hot sunshine. Can't wait to get home!

Arizona Poppies and Mesquite

Arizona Poppies and Mesquite___6 x 8 oil on linen....Marla got this one!
Sunday afternoon, after the Cowgirl Up! Quick Draw, a few artists went out to paint. Again I went up to the Vulture Mine Road, near Vulture Peak (great place names, eh?) and we found a spot of carpet-green grass dotted with beautiful gold poppies. The Arizona mesquite, like the Texas variety seems to be among the last plants to bloom...
Show week was FULL of fun and activities, so getting out in the field to paint was a welcome change of pace. Painting alongside were a couple of Arizona artists, Marla Smith and Cathy Krieger ...my travel buddy Brigitte Woosley painted too.
The desert does not bloom all the time, but this was a special year! The whole area looked like a golf course...almost too "neat" with green between the saguaro and barrel cactus! It looked soft and friendly, but Arizona might be the thorniest place I know!...heading home, now!

Poppy Place

"Poppy Place" 10 x 8 Available
This is a poppy painting from my in-law's garden in Colorado where he grows them in the summer.
I have a few pieces like this going with me to Charleston Wed. for the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. These look good framed in black! Just in case someone wants this before I ship to South Carolina, tell me before Monday afternoon when I will seal up the boxes! If you tell me Monday morning, it will save me the time and troupble of paperwork for the show and I will knock $50 off the price of $400 (unframed price....you'll get it for $350)...just let me know@ vvaughan@yahoo.com!
Starting Wed. I will show various paintings from the SEWE show mingled with a few from my recent 24 hour Winter Day. If you have joined my group, you will have seen the 24 hour paintings, already :)