Silver Lining

01-02-2007 Last Year on the Farm
The January full moon rose on Jan. 2. The forecast was for 100% chance of rain on the following night so I had planned to catch the moonrise this night. I really like it when the sun has barely set while the full moon rises, so I was ready....unfortunately, I was stuck in traffic before picking my son up from basketball practice, so by the time we drove down the driveway the sky was dark and the moon was up...LIKE THIS! I had to have dinner first, so by the time I painted, I had to do most of it from memory...like this...then it rained the next day...but on Jan 4, I "proofed" my work and after seeing the waning (sort of)full moon rise, I think I can live with this study!

Before Thunderstorms

01-03-2007 Last Year on the Farm
I painted this while the thunder was rolling up from the south. That's right of this view, which is looking to the East ....I painted this one in the afternoon, 1:30 til 2 or so and it rained a lot after this...we really like it when we get lots of rain. Rain fills the tanks and waters the cows....a sad note, though...there was a VERY young baby calf dead by the barn. I was by my car and noticed one of our dogs gingerly stepping and sniffing over there, so went to see. It saddens me and makes me wonder what might have gone wrong with the birth or whatever....I heard today that MANY cows are dying in the plains where they are having such DEEP snows. They are airlifting hay to the livestock....Please pray for those farmers and ranchers today.

Jane's Place on the Farm

"Jane's Place on the Farm" 12 x 16 watercolor
My husband's cousins Jennifer and George grew up right here and they asked me to paint their home for their mom, Jane, for Christmas. Jennifer wanted it to match the other home paintings Jane has....all done in watercolor. I used to be a watercolorist. Actually I have MANY more watercolor years under my belt than the current oil painting that I do.
Jane and Uncle David fixed this house up very nice...I can see it from my home about a half mile away, across a couple of pastures. Working this painting up I decided that soon I would start painting other views on the farm. Jane's favorite is looking out her back door down to her tank.

Arise Shine

01-02-2006 LAst Year on the Farm
You are reading correctly! I did not get the date mixed up on this one :) This is from exactly a year ago! This morning was almost identical! From time to time I will post a painting from the same date, but a previous year.
If you would like to receive my daily painting each morning in your e-mail box, I have a google group: v-vaughan-painted-today You can join my group by putting your e-mail address in the space at right and click JOIN. You will get a confirmation e-mail. open and click the link and you are in! I'll send you the image WITHOUT all this writing. You get an art show in your box each day, that you can view and toss out and not have to go to my blog to look at....unless you like to read all this writing :)
Again, have a Happy New Year!

New Year Welcome

o1-o1-2007 Last Year on the Farm
Good Morning and Happy New Year! I continue my series "Last Year on the Farm". If you are new to my blog: developers have bought our family farm and we will be moving before the end of 2007. To give tribute and THANKS, I began painting the farm each day, watching the seasons change and time pass. (I only have a few months left to paint all 365 days!) Experiencing each passing season for the LAST time, I am picking ONE DAY to paint 24 paintings in 24 hours. I did the "Fall Day Last Year on the Farm" and in a few weeks I will do "Winter Day Last Year on the Farm". I will post my 4 favorites from the 24 here on the blog, but if you give me your e-mail and click JOIN (at right) I will send you ALL 24 winter paintings for you to look at and "toss". Joining my group will bring you an e-mailed painting each day, hot off my easle. You will see it without having to sign in to this blog. I send nothing to read....just an image to view and toss :) Please join now!
I welcome EVERYONE to my group. All the company and comments are REALY helping me say goodbye to the Farm. May God Bless your new year!!!!

Happy New Year Cows!

12-31-2006 Last Year on the Farm.................Happy New Year!
Starting tomorrow, the beginning of 2007, we will truly be in our LAST YEAR here on the farm. I have a few calendar days to make up this year in order to have a full 365 days of farm paintings. I look forward to these and especially look forward to the emerging spring, so I can use some GREEN! Our spring can actually come at the end of January if it gets warm enough! Till then, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Before Rain

12-29-2006 7am Before all the rain...wishing they were LONGHORNS!
...And BOY did it rain! We had rain all day yesterday after I painted this 7am study and the 8am one below. I am traveling alittle bit early today, so I will do a later painting. I look forward to future farm pantings because with the rains recently, our tanks are filing up again~~~"tanks" are what some call "pnds" ...stock tank is another word....
Happy New Year! Go Longhorns!!

This Morning on the Farm

12-29-2006 Last Year on the Farm

The sun broke for a few minutes this morning. I painted from 7 - 7:30 as the cows were laying down and after I was through, the sun broke through so I painted this one. As soon as I finished it, the dark clouds rolled back in from the south and it began to sprinkle.
I am planning another 24 paintings in 24 hours...A WINTER Day Last Year on the Farm...for the end of January! Please stay tuned for details or JOIN my group to hear the details FIRST and to get ALL the images...Fill in the blank above and right and click "join"
Good Morning and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Dec. 5, Last Year on the Farm

12-05-2006 Last Year on the Farm
This is from earlier in the month. This morning's painting looked a lot like this just after sunrise, but I had trouble loading the image here on Blogger. I wish they would make the new Blogger as good as the old one was :)
I will be starting big studio paintings from these farm studies today. Until I get the whole year painted, I am holding on to the studies, but if you are interested, I have started a "waiting list" for people who want first pick when they go on sale. Thanks, Annie, for signing up to be first "dibs" for "Midnight" from the Fall Day series. ....but, I have other small ones that I put on e-bay from time to time. These sell for way less than my show price...the link below is for an auction that ends today.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=004&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&viewitem=&item=140067300028&rd=1&rd=1

Pie Steam

12-27-2006 Pie Steam Last Year on the Farm

This one is for Aunt Nancy who does all the farming on the Farm. On Christmas we all got together at Nana's house...probably for the last time and Nancy saw part of the "Last Year on the Farm" series of paintings. She was ammused by the paintings that showed the troughs and the many "pies" around where the cows feed. This morning I painted before the frost melted and many of the pies still had steam wafting up....nothing like fresh pie!

White on the Rocks______click to bid

"White on the Rocks" 8x6

These birds are found on the Texas coast. They are not too shy and I just LOVE their bright yellow feet!....I saw this one in Rockport, TX not long ago. I liked the background and the rocks and wanted to paint them...This is a reminder to all that I teach an all-day plein air workshop one Saturday a month in Rockport. We cover a lot in that one day and it is my main desire to have students become familiar and COMFORTABLE painting outside on location. The next workshop day coming up is on SUNDAY, Jan 28. I will be there Saturday doing some sessions with art educators from all over. But on Sunday, anyone can come and take the class. We will start after church (1 - 1:30 or so) and have 2 sessions: the first will be about planes and edges and what light does on the edges (so, we'll paint architecture) ...the second session will be "DUSK". Many of you liked the dusk paintings I have done lately, so I will teach how I do it... I believe there is a new moon that week, too, so I'm hoping for clear weather...e-mail me if you'd like to take the workshop

Last Christmas on the Farm

12.25.2006

The Cattle were lowing near the little stable. What is that light back there?
:)
MERRY CHRISTMAS, y'all!

"Last Christmas on the Farm 12-20-2006"
I sent a batch of Farm paintings to my group today. This one is my favorite from my little batch ...I have received beautiful gifts this week...Awesome, colorful mornings that thrilled my soul to paint. I thank the Giver of the morning! These little paintings went to my group this morning, snd they get to see them all. If you want to join the group, please put your e-mail in the little box at the top of the column on the right and click "JOIN".
Although, this painting above is not one of the brilliantly colored sunrises I saw this week, I like it, because it illustrates more of God's gifts: the cows KNOW when it's going to rain! They DON't know how LONG it will rain, so they rest while they can! They will ALWAYS spend the day before a rain laying down and resting....How do they know?
Merry CHRISTmas, to everyone!
V....

Hay Rows

"Hay Rows and Cowbirds for Sonja" 9 x 12

I met Sonja at a show recently and she commissioned this painting after seeing a similar one in my exhibit. I just shipped it this week, so I hope she has gotten it and likes it. It's hard to tell in a photo, but it has a lot of texture. This is a view of our lower pasture and that's our aunt on the tractor, cutting hay. I will miss all the farm activity: cutting hay, turning it, baling and putting it up....it's such hard work for the farmers, though! But great recreation for an artist! :)
Merry Christmas eve, eve! Happy birthday to my sister, Mary! xxoOXOoXX

Bay View from Caro's...Click to bid

"Bay View from Caro's" 6 x 8

Here is a little one I painted from my friend Caro's place in Rockport, TX. I have been teaching plein air painting down there about once a month. We have a great group of "regulars" and welcome new painters ANY time! Our next Saturday paint-out will be in January, so contact me or the Art Center if you'd like to come. Past sessions have focused on painting "Early Morning Light", 'Moving Targets" and "Green"...
This little painting is available in an ebay auction...My ebay sales are ALWAYS a steal, so look in uif you are interested :) Click here if interested
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140067300028
MERRY CHRISTmas y'all!

Kelly's Place

"Kelly's Place" 6 x 8
I call this "Kelly's Place" because Kelly commissioned the little painting. It is a special location near Kerrville, TX...a place with a lot of sentimental meaning....I understand the sentiment so well, as our family prepares to leave our lifelong dwelling place early next year. I just shipped Kelly's Place this week to arrive in time for Kelly's Christmas trip and this was to be her gift....The USPS let us down BIG TIME! and sent the art to some unknown location...a HUGE disappointment to Kelly and me, too. I will ALWAYS depend on FedEx from now on!...well, except for the paintings I shipped today USPS...BEFORE I learned of this "mistake"...never again...
Have you finished your shopping? ...me either :)

Dakota Bear

"Dakota Bear"......................... for Stacy
What a fun painting this was....I combined a few of Stacy's photos to compose this portrait....It will be in the mail in a few hours , on the way to Christmas! please have a merry one!

Patty

"Patty" For Claire

This week I will post my Christmas Collection! The commissioned paintings I have done for friends who commissioned them. I hope you like them!

Fall Day...24 paintings in 24 hours

6 am hour....11 - 27 - 2006...

If you have joined my group then you have seen all 24 of my paintings from Nov. 27, 2006 : Fall Day Last Year on the Farm...I painted 24 paintings in 24 hours! These are small works that I will add to my series "Last Year on the farm". This one above is my favorite of the batch that I sent to the group today!Please join today and drop me an e-mail ( vvaughan8@yahoo.com) if you want to see todays' 6 paintings. I will be doing a "Winter Day Last Year on the Farm" as soon as winter gets here! If you want to see all 24 of the winter paintings, sign up ! At the top of the column at right there is a place for your e-mail address and then click the "join" button... 

A Fall Day ...3 of 4

6 pm A Fall Day Last Year on the Farm ...4 pm hour

I sent a batch of 6 paintings to my group today...(this is MY favorite of the 6) from a series of 24 paintings in 24 hours...On Monday, Dec. 18 I can send you the last batch of 6 paintings from “A Fall Day Last Year on the Farm”….They are all painted from the 6 – 7 am hours right at the end of my 24 hour paintathon. It is fun to compare 6 am before cold front with 6 am after cold front….I think you will enjoy the last 6! if you know anyone who might like to see the mail, please tell them to use the space above and to the right to give me your e-mail address. Click "JOIN" and sign up today! When you join you will get an e-mail each day that just has my painting of the day. I usually do not write anything to read, just a picture to look at!

See today’s ebay item
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=004&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&viewitem=&item=140063224710&rd=1&rd=1