Good Day Anyway

Good Day, Anyway__6x6 oil on linen panel___sold

I've been busy traveling and teaching. Last week I enjoyed teaching close to home for a change. When the Fredericksburg Artists School had to suddenly cancel my workshop, the artists who had signed up banded together and asked if we could do it nearby...so, I called on my old tee shirt company, RockSports who just opened a location that also houses a gourmet chocolate company and coffee shop...They have a BIG lounge area which was PERFECT for our group. We spent much of the time outside, painting the quickly changing light of sunrises and sunsets...wait till you see some of the works we did!...and tomorrow I will share the strange story of why this one is titled "Good Day, Anyway"

End of the Day Lights

End of the Day Lights___11x14 oil on linen___$950 (unless you saw me paint this)
If you saw me paint this, then you are in my workshop this week in Fredericksburg, TX. This was my first demo...NOT a fast demo, because I talked a lot while demonstrating all the color you can get out of a BASIC limited palette of 3 ccolors plus white. It was painted from a photo of a place in Colorado's San Luis Valley (my FAVORITE place on earth to paint)...I will teach a workshop there in August next year...e-mail me if you'd like info!....
We are painting en plein-cold-air this week, and enjoying warm beverages afterwards. Wait till you hear the stories!...I have to wait till after we are through tomorrow to share...just in case my workshop is blogging tonight!

Low Tank__Angus, cows, water, tank, pond, whiteface

 

Low Tank__18 x 24 oil on linen___available

I finished this one today, using one of my studies from the farm collection . (click link to see all 365 of those works). I have wanted to paint this one BIG since I first painted the study a few years ago. The title describes the setting. A "tank" is what we call "water ponds" in this part of Texas...They are "stock tanks" made to keep livestock watered. Our farm had 4 or 5 of them and they were gathering places for cows, herons, migrating birds and our boys who loved to fish, and the dogs who loved to swim there. The water is VERY low in this view, but I remember a rainy fall followed and the water came nearly to the top of the dam that year.

I shot this photo late in the day, and will replace this image with a better one tomorrow, so if it looks funny, check the blog tomorrow afternoon :)

E-mail vvaughan8@yahoo.com  
web http://www.v-vaughan.com/

Guadalupe Visitor_state 2

Guadalupe Visitor__state 2___30 x 40___ click image to see some detail____available
I posted the "paper towel block in" of this a couple days ago, and last night I posted the detail of the bird. I made a few adjustments to the bird (beak oil change), and some contrasts around the bird. ...The painting is "done", but I already see adjustments in "drama" that I will be working on for the next few weeks. If anything drastic happens, I will post it again...but I am already ready to move on to a new adventure tomorrow!
So, this is a giant cypress tree along the banks of the Guadalupe River, near Gruene, TX. It's a good thing I painted it when I did, because fall color will hit this tree pretty soon! These turn a beautiful orangey-rust color...Hey Chris...you ready???
The water is crystal clear, fed by cool springs...As I sketched and photographed, a group of "tubers" launched "off camera" on the right side. We all grew up as tubers in this part of Texas. It's the funnest thing you can do in the hot summertime. Schlitterbahn, the worlds greatest "toobing" water park, was created by tubers, for tubers, just a few miles from here. vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Cove Lights

"Cove Lights"_______6 x 8_______$250

Tomorrow we leave for Fallbrook, California, and the "Reflections in Nature" show. Fallbrook is in southern, CA, north of san Diego...Come see me if you can!

This little painting is where we will paint EARLY at my next workshop day in Rockport, TX. Please contact me if you'd like to attend on May 12.

Upcoming events......

May 4-6. Fallbrook , CA show "Reflections in Nature"

May 12. "Sunrise Saturday Workshop" , Rockport, TX
May 19 "Art Splash" Graham, TX
May 26-28 Phippen Museum Western Art Show, Prescott, AZ
See Website for Scheduled Workshops

Emerging Green

"Emerging Green"______________6 x 8
As I sized and filed this in my computer, I noticed that the upcoming week is the "anniversary" of when I started painting the farm daily ....one year ago I put together over a week of daily paintings of the farm and decided that I would paint our "Last Year on the Farm". Since then I have painted it over 200 times and started posting them on this blog in October. You can see many as you hunt back through the archives. I will fill in the mising days in the upcoming months....as well as painting another series of 24 in 24 hours "Spring Day Last Year on the Farm " will be in late March/early April....
Soon I will be offering them for sale....many friends have already asked me to put their name on the back and to let htem know when it becomes available....I will be showing as many as I can in the upcoming "Last Months" on the farm, so stay tuned!

Rockport Dusk

"Rockport Dusk" _________8x10_________available
Last Friday evening in Rockport, I went to my favorite place with my friend Mary and we painted til it got so dark we couldn't see. I painted the Pelican first (scroll down to see him) and then this one, virtually in the dark....I tell the artists that I teach that the first thing to do as an outdoor painter is toKNOW your pallette and to be consistant with where you put thyour colors....I have finally learned to stay put with my mixing and not "SPRAWL" color all over the pallette...that way I can paint faster, without having to look for things... This one will ship with my art to Charleston unless someone wants it! My 8 x 10's go for $450 but the First one to reply gets it for $300...let me know! I take all kinds of payments...

Rockport Pelican

"Rockport Pelican"____________6x6______________available

The other pelicans had taken their places on the "No Wake" sign and were ready to fly off to roost (or whatever they do at night). I was throwing little pieces of banana to a big white Egret that landed really close and I wanted to keep him there to photograph! After the photo session I decided to paint the pelican since he stayed, and he was a good model! ...I was there at Cove Harbor near the Off the Hook Restaurant with my friend Mary and we painted till we couldn't see anymore! This one will go with me to Charleston, unless someone wants it first!

just e-mail me vvaughan8@yahoo.com ....and watch for my announcement later this week....I will paint the "Winter Day Last YEar on the Farm" ...24 paintings in 24 hours....probably FRIDAY and Saturday!

Windy Nets

"Windy Nets" sold

Well, Here is another recent sale made by the Richard James Galleries in Charleston. I painted this with my fun and faithful friends in Rockport (where I will be again this weekend), and shipped it off to Charleston (where I will be in a few weeks!). Now that it is sold, this will be my goodbye showing!

It was a mighty windy day when we painted in September, but it was wrm and nice nonetheless! I will resume the plein air workshops (once a month) in Rockport in Late Feb. Plenty of time to make plans to join us!

As winter cold and rain wear us down in Austin, I am looking forward to spring just around our corner....MORE COLD FARM PAINTINGS soon!

Blackwater Greens

"Blackwater Greens" 6 x 6.......................$100 TODAY

If you are looking in for the first time today, scroll down for other paintings from the Blackwater Refuge in Maryland. I painted there a couple weeks ago. At just the right moment as the sun rose, the water in the distance actually looked minty green! It felt strange to "apply" that color, and I did not like the painting that day, but now, it is one of my favorites, lately! This one is available.