Ann's Bluebonnet Study

Ann's Bluebonnets - Study___3 x 9 oil on linen panel___$190

A few weeks ago I posted the finished painting of this study above. I usually work out my "oil changes" on tiny canvases before taking on a big canvas. The studies are very loose and impressionistic. Just for fun, Click the blog image to see the details of this tiny study, and compare it with the larger work!

Bluebonnet Season is winding down here in central Texas.

As they fade and get covered by the taller grasses, new flowers are springing up! There are huge fields of yellow flowers near my mom's nursing home, with a whole palette of color splashed along the edges of the roadsides. I guess our late rains and cool weather have made this a really pretty wildflower year so far!

45 - Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret__10 x 8 oil on linen panel

#45 in the Birdseed Project

SPRING!!! Brings on the cattle egrets! I see them here most of the year now (in the southern parts of Texas), but in spring they GLOW against the electric greens of the new pasture grasses. So the cattle egrets just seem more plentiful this time of year.

For you artists: if you like to photograph white birds outside (or white ANYTHING), you will want to adjust your meter to shoot DARKER, so that the white bird's shadows will show up....and so that it is not over exposed, making it a glowy blob.

Yes, I learned this the hard way :)

41- Snowy Robin

Snowy Robin__tiny oil on canvas 3.5 x 3.5__$150 includes a little easel

#41 in my Birdseed Project

 

This is a tiny warm-up painting I did in the snow over the weekend in Nebraska. There were Robins EVERYWHERE there, ALL fluffed up in the cold. My friend, Allen said that he saw one that looked confused as if to say "where is SPRING?"

That might be a better title for this little canvas...winter seems to be hanging on tight in the Great Plains!

Please consider this painting, or a little donation to the Birdseed Project!

Your purchase will provide seed for bird feeders at a nursing home, and light to a lonely place.

NOW, you can even send a few tax deductible dollars, without having to buy art!

Contact Friends of the Forgotten and mention BIRDSEED!

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

Gertrudis Gathering

Gertrudis Gathering___12 x 16 oil on canvas panel___$950 to the Gadsden Art Museum

I painted with artist Amanda Carder on a nice back road full of farms near Gadsden, Alabama....this herd kept moving that morning, giving me lots of "cow views", and a couple of small studies which I have already posted. All the works are still at the Museum, on display with Amanda's work and some 13 other artists...

_______________V....Vaughan Spring Schedule________________

Works hang till May, 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

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

Gruene Extreme

Green Extreme, from Passing America___6x8 oil on linen panel___$450 framed

It won't be long and Texas will look like this again! We have had a little rain and the winter rye is making the pastures green, already!...Next will come leaves on the trees! ...( and then a freeze, probably...oh well).

I am posting this one from my exhibit, "Passing America". One hundred works from Passing America are on display in Gruene, Texas from now through April, and I am hoping everyone will go see this nice collection...the project took me across the country, painting for 3 years!

Gruene (pronounced "GREEN") is between Austin and San Antonio.

If you can come on VALENTINE'S DAY, I will be there to say "hello". How about bringing a special person and celebrating...maybe have dinner and enjoy music at the famous

Gristmill Restaurant ...Below is your invitation! I'd love to know if you are coming!

On Exhibit Through April, 2012

Spring Lace

Spring Lace___8x10 oil on linen for Passing America: The Great Plains $590 framed and delivered

I painted this drive-by painting, somewhere in Oklahoma or Kansas, last spring... THe day was bright, and with sunshine reflecting off of EVERYTHING, there were few contrasts, except for tree trunks and buzzards!

My area of Texas is still reeling a little bit from the huge fires nearby. Several of my good friends have suffered BIG losses. I am amazed at the outpouring of fundraisers and ACTION being taken by people from all over the place...ESPECIALLY here in Texas! There are folks already out there ON SITE doing clean-up and HELPING, and not waiting for the government to sweep in here with solutions that usually cause problems on top of problems...there is something really encouraging and admirable about watching COMMUNITY roll up their sleeves...the fires rage on, with MUCH FUEL available, as everything is so parched from lack of rain...We wish we could take some of that rain from the Northeast, which is suffering, too, in their own way....

FIrst Thermals

First Thermals___8x10 oil on linen panel___for Passing America: The Great Plains (click image for details!)
Early in the spring the air is often too cool and heavy for the buzzards to float as they like to do, but the day I painted this was warm. In fact, it was one of the very FIRST warm days of spring. The air was warm and light and the buzzards were enjoying their ride on the thermals!
I mentioned yesterday (or so) that I am a crazy person for the next couple of weeks, as my son prepares to graduate high school....CONGRATULATIONS Sam!

Spring Patchwork

Spring Patchwork-Caldwell, Kansas_8x10 oil on linen_for Passing America: The Great Plains

This one was painted through Kansas last month...a "drive-by" painting for my project.

It is GRADUATION time for my youngest son...if you have had a high school graduate in your life lately, you understand...it is a crazy time, with proms, parties, powderpuff football games, dodgeball tournaments and important things like that! Oh, yes, and academics! Tonite was the academic awards, and I am amazed at the success earned by the beautiful young people who have worked so hard! I will be erratic with posts for the ext couple of weeks...did I mention finals, parties and family and friends at graduation time???

Lavender Textures - 1 of 2

Lavender Textures- 1 of 2__6x8 oil on linen panel___$150 or $285 for pair!

Last week I stopped by the lavender farm at Becker Vineyard in Texas. THIS time I brought my camera and snapped a few pics before going to paint a demo for Die Kuenstler (Art Association). It is late in the season...a season with NO rain, so there was NO PURPLE to speak of. This color is all imaginary. I painted two studies from my photos, because I mixed a lot of color at the demo and was able to use the "demo sky purples" in the lavender bushes. This is the first of the two....it so happens that the paintings are VERY similar and actually seem to be a continuation of the same scene. If you get my group mail, I have shown the two works together....even the perspective works right....

I will post #2 tomorrow...but e-mail me if you want to see them side by side....they make a nice "pairing"

**YOU ARE INVITED!...FRIDAY, May 13 I will give a gallery talk in Smithville, TX at a reception for the opening of an exhibit. Thirty of my Farm paintings are there, for a month-long exhibit we call "Missing the Farm". Come, if you can! Stay till Saturday for a special one-day workshop. E-mail me for info vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Sunday Morning

Sunday Morning__18x24 oil on linen___available, and for the exhibit "Passing America..."

A few days ago I posted the small study for this painting, which was a "drive-by" memory while passing through Enid, Oklahoma. I used the drive-by study as my reference for this larger work. There are more details: more lights, street signs and vehicles. Again, I have given it a title with a broader appeal...this "Sunday Morning" could be ANYWHERE. We have all seen brilliant sunrises like this one, and they are even more special when you can enjoy them on the way to early services!. The study is below and to read about it, click here :
http://vvaughan.blogspot.com/2011/04/next-morning-enid.html


Next Morning-Enid___8x10 oil on linen panel___available for exhibit, "Passing America..."

Spring's Skipping Light

Spring's Skipping Light__6x8 oil on linen panel__for Passing America...exhibit in October

We took an Easter jaunt over to my in-law's in College Station, TX and I brought the gear along to paint some drive-by's. I only did this ONE small canvas on the trip...the truck was full (5 people, and 4 small dogs who were MOST interested in my drive-by painting, or maybe they just needed my lap...).... Our south plains region is fairly flat, sloping toward the gulf coast to the east. Occasionally there is a broad vista toward the east, as in this view near Thorndale, TX.

I feel sad for our Texas farmers...it promises to be a BAD year, with the draught we are in. Already the spring color is gone, even though the pecans are only in early leaf. Everything else is the deep green of summer, and the grasses and grains are already golden, on the way to brown. We really are praying for rain...

Texas Elevators

Texas Elevators__6x8 oil on linen panel_ for Passing America: The Great Plains

Saturday I posted a "drive-by" painting from my April plains trip...this one is from my late-February Plains Trip. it is a different view of the same location, not far from my home. I just realized this and am fascinated by the differences. The paintings were completed a month apart, so the change of seasons is noticeable. All the "art words" can be used to describe the differences: The COLOR, VALUE, CONTRAST, TEXTURE, EDGES, INTENSITY, Warm colors, Cool colors, COMPLEMENTS...ALL of these are DIFFERENT in each painting, giving each one it's personality, and specific "voice"...this is why a student artist should never have a formula! Rather, the artist needs to OBSERVE and simply match their paint with what they see! If you can match the color of something, and its relationship to the things around it, your painting will give the IMPRESSION of what you are seeing: its mood, season, temperature and all!
Happy Easter, everyone...I hope your weekend was blessed!

Near Home on the Plains

Near Home on the Plains__8x10 oil on linen__for Passing America: The Great Plains

The landscape from my home on the southern reaches of the Great Plains to the middle of our American Heartland does not change much, superficially: pastures alternate with wooded fence lines, horizons punctuated with water towers or grain elevators, and the distant "line" where plain meets sky. The main difference I observed on my early April trip was the progressive change from spring in Texas to Late Winter in Nebraska. Careful observation tells a story of uniqueness of the regions from state to state, though. I notice subtle differences in crops, architecture, wild places between the farms and even the attire of the farmers! Things that Lady Bird Johnson once described in her book as each region "speaking in its own accent". I agree with her that each area of the country has a story to tell and it ought to "speak" and retain its personality...

Gathering for Kansas

Gathering for Kansas___6x8 oil on linen panel__for my October exhibit, Passing America: The Great Plains I have returned from my latest Plains jaunt, and ended up with 18 small "drive-by" studies, several thousand photos, and lots of sketches and notes. This little scene caught my eye in Kansas on the way back. It was a small gathering of cattle crossing the gathered waters of snow melt, under a little gathering of clouds, which were the only clouds we saw on the way home. We got home just in time for a special day for my son. On Friday, April 8, he signed his letter of intent to play football at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, KS. (Now you know why I asked if anyone knows anybody in Salina or Wichita, KS!) After many college visits, and lots of consideration, Sam chose this wonderful small University and is eager to become part of that community. His high school makes a big deal when kids get scholarships, so Sam enjoyed a nice morning with his friends, and we got to dote on him for a few minutes before school. It also happened to be my birthday!!! A great day which ended with the boy pitching in a victorious baseball game, and lots of time with family and friends.... Purple CUPCAKES!!! (I am a better painter than "froster")

Friend, Priti helped design the tables complete with Kansas sunflowers and Round Rock Donuts.

The boy (coyote shirt), and some of the greatest "other boys" in Round Rock.

Vaughans 1 through 7...

...I don't talk much about my personal life...sorry to break tradition....back to art and such tomorrow!

Spring Blush-Nebraska

Spring Blush-Nebraska___6x8 oil on linen panel___for October exhibit, but available The old stalks from last year's crop were falling down in the rows of this field. They make interesting textures for artists and provide food for the migrating birds. The fields were still filled with sandhill cranes, which graze all day and then spend the night on one leg in the cold waters of the Platte River. Spring is in full "verge" in this central part of Nebraska. Each farm seems to have at least one field that is brilliant green with new grass, while all the perimeter trees are blushing with sap, but no leaves, yet. Looking like Texas did about six weeks ago!

Field Day-Nebraska4

Field Day-Nebraska___6x8 oil on linen panel__for the October Exhibit Passing America:The Great Plains

As I painted this one while passing buy, it seemed as if this might be the first day the farmers took the tractors out to work! There were three in this field, going different directions and kicking up dirt....Spring is arrived!

Passing the Post Oak

Passing the Post Oak __6x8 oil on linen panel__for Passing America: The Great Plains

On the way through east-central Texas, there is a narrow band of "geology" called the post oak belt. Post Oaks are tall, straight oak trees that never get TOO big in these parts. It is generally fairly flat on this part of the VERY southernmost area of the American Great Plains. Passing this little farm I liked the unusual hilliness, and how the post oaks made stately vertical contrasts to the scene. I saw no other life on this farm, except the cows, so I supposed that the farm house was over this hill.

Spring is just emerging, so the colors are a nice "in-between" version of orange and green.

We are having a VERY MILD spring. By now we usually have had a cold blast or two, but each day of March has been a little nicer than the day before....and more warm is on the way!

NEW MINI-WORKSHOP!! If you live in the Austin, TX area, I will be teaching a special event mini-workshop on

April 14, 6-8 pm. This is part of a new Art Night event at Hyde Park Quarries. There will be a few demos, talks and HANDS ON art activities for ALL artists (12 and over). I will do a quick demo, then teach and lead a small group on the basics of oil painting. We will do a Texas Spring Landscape. ALL MATERIALS are provided for a small $10 fee. Can you come? vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Enchanted Spring

Enchanted Spring __12 x 16 oil on linen panel___state 1 plein air study

Late in the day on my painting excursion with Pat, yesterday, we were on the road to Enchanted Rock and HAD to stop to paint this scene. The grass was so green and lit just right it actually hurt the eyes!...and the photos are very dark, so I am glad I painted this one from life...I will need to "finish" it from the photos, but the colors I need are there :) (I will post the finished one if I remember)

Today was my actual birthday. THANK YOU to all my old friends! It was a SPECIAL treat to hear from a friend who has known me the very longest! Rhonda and I were babies together, lost track of each other for 30 years and today, remembering my birthday, she found me. God bless Mr. Internet! ...My favorite part was dinner with my family! After a great meal they rented a "nice" "G" rated movie. Last year's birthday movie is STILL a big sore subject around our house...the kids thought I would like "Sweeny Todd...the Evil Barber" (or something like that). They know I like musicals, and I like Pirates of the Caribbean, but in this one, Johnny Depp cut people's throats in the barber chair while singing broadway songs!! Caught us all off guard...way too graphic ...we were not expecting all the blood! I was horrified and traumatized...my kids still laugh at their own poor judgment that day. vvaughan8@yahoo.com