Sketch of M.C.

Sketch of M.C.___a lesson on values
Each week my art students have sketches to do on their own. I usually take THEIR sketchbook and do a demo so they can see what it is I am looking for.
This one is about CONTAINING the shape of the values...(that is, the light areas and dark areas on a face)...contain by outlining the shape of the value, whether it be a shadow or a highlight....If you can see a shape, and get its size and proportion "right" in relation to the shapes around it, you can draw a pretty good likeness, and do it fairly quickly!...I am not sure these high school students believe me, so I show them! This one is M.C.....

Famous Otto

Amy and Otto___10 x 8 commission____SOLD
A few years ago, I painted this dog, Otto, with his owner. (see first painting below)
Over the Holidays, this owner, Kathy, contacted me to see if I could do another painting of her little sister, who is now bonded with Otto. Amy has Down Syndrome, and is full of life and love for Otto! Apparently Amy and Otto have a sweet and special relationship, and Kathy wanted to honor Amy with a similar painting...
There is nothing like the love of a big sister (ask ME!...I have SIX older siblings!!!)
...and there is really nothing like the friendship of a special dog!...now is a good time to send this link to all dog lovers ...watch it in a quiet, thoughtful place, and allow yourself to THINK about the words...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H17edn_RZoY


Otto and Kathy____10 x 8___sold

Sketch-Samantha

Sketch - Samantha in Class_____not for sale
I keep nagging my students to put a BOUNDARY on those values...it's the BEST way to do that "shading", and if taken to a careful extreme, you can get a better likeness this way! The "boundaries" of values have a shape, a proportion, and a relationship with the other shapes, and if done well, you actually get a likeness!....
Hard to explain in words, but I can SHOW YOU if you come to a workshop! hahaha!
I just updated my schedule with another workshop in September. Go see my schedule!
http://www.v-vaughan.com/art/workshop_show_calendar.htm

Duke-ish

Duke-ish___18 x 12 watercolorpencil with wash____$100
This month in art class (I teach a few high school art classes in Austin at Hyde Park), the students are doing watercolor works, so I will post a few more of my class demos.
I learn BEST by WATCHING, so I assume these students do, too...thus, my classes consist of a lot of demos. I do them quickly, because there are also many who learn BEST by DOING, and they want to get on with the assignment!
Which way do YOU learn best???
THis was a quick sketch from a photo, and everyone said it resembled John Wayne, so I call it "Duke-ish" in his honor!
I hope you will see my updated SCHEDULE...please come to one of these events if you are in the area...all are somewhere between South Carolina and Arizona and Montana! :)

Watercolorpencil Ponies

Watercolorpencil Ponies___12 x 18 sketch on paper___$190
I am teaching my high school classes about quick sketching and this week we are using watercolor...here is my class demo with watercolor pencils...
Next week I will do a demo in oils for the Austin Palette Club...and I have a whole bunch of things coming up soon....SEE MY UPDATED SCHEDULE! ...and please let me know if you can come to any of the events!!!

Laura's Place

Laura's Place___8x10 oil on linen panel___commission / SOLD
I enjoy painting commissions...especially when the patron says "do it your way!"
I did not have to change much for Laura's Place...only leaving out the swingset and a few house-tops in the distance....Having a "deadline" brings me back to my years as a "commercial artist"...years that I really enjoyed!
I have just added a few teaching dates to my calendar (not posted, yet...but SOON!), and a new show in Montana...I will put all the info on my website, but FIRST it is time for me to deliver all the sold works from Passing America....
If you purchased one of these, watch for an e-mail from me!

Bird

Bird___9x12 oil on linen___sold
I loved hearing from many friends who missed my blog/posts...THANK YOU!
Here is another dog painting I couldn't post till after the Holidays...just in case...since it was commissioned as a gift. The dog is named BIRD..a sweet name!
This one was ALMOST a problem, as I received photos of a DIFFERENT dog, at the same time, and BOTH DOGS looked nearly IDENTICAL. The other dog, Otto, is on the easel...maybe I will post it soon. Bladen (who I posted Friday) was also very similar in color to this, and I have almost sworn off painting black dogs with brown points for awhile!!!
Happy New Year!
I have some demos, workshops and show events to tell about, so please stay tuned!

Bladen

Bladen_____12x9 oil on linen______sold
Bladen is the beloved friend of a friend, commissioned by a friend!
Knowing that Bladen is very sick made me really enjoy painting this one-a Christmas commission for D.W. to give to J.P....I waited to post it, just in case J.W was looking at my blog!
I have MISSED the regular posting and visiting with my blog-friends, and apologize for being "quiet" for a whole month. This is the longest break I have had since starting to blog about 5 years ago!
Did you enjoy the break from my art???...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Kelly's Coach on First

Kelly's Coach on First__10 x 8 oil on linen panel___SOLD to Kelly

A Christmas commission...I am painting some works for friends and patrons and collectors who have gifts to give....Merry CHRISTmas, y'all!

Hunter's Fence

Hunter's Fence__6x8 oil on linen panel___$190 ...wet

Below is the plein air version of this one...my "state 1", which was a demonstration at my Fredericksburg workshop a few weeks ago....I was making some points about painting trees. Just yesterday I was sitting at the Hyde Park Marketplace, in Austin, showing some work and tending to some student art projects, and decided to finish this one....Without any reference, I just started putting some dark colors into the foreground. A boy watching me said, "I like that fence!"

I said "What fence?" ...He pointed to some strokes that he said look like a fence, so I went with it!

Then I told him I would name the painting after him! ...I hope he is looking at the blog today!

Hi Hunter!

Hunter's Fence- state 1

Cowsides

Cowsides___6x8 oil on linen___$250
This is another one from my November workshop in Fredericksburg...Hey KF, let me know what you think!

Cowside

Cowside___8x10 oil on linen panel___for K.F....I THINK!
I began this one as a one-color value sketch...demonstrating how our brush is a "shape-maker" and not a "line-maker" as a pencil is...I intended to fill the canvas with various views of the cattle in the pasture, but somehow ended up creating a composition with the elements there....ah well....I got carried away...

Moonlift

Moonlift___8x6 oil study on linen panel___$190
Yesterday's painting is literally the "other side" of this one. I painted it facing west as the sun went down, and called it "Sunslide" for a special reason. Immediately after painting it, I turned to the east to paint the full moon rising. But because of the cloud cover, we never really saw the moon, but could see the "lift" of moonlight from behind the clouds. So that explains the title of this one....Both were "lessons" or demos painted during my last workshop in Texas. We had been hoping for some interesting skies and were mostly given CLEAR BLUE skies...until this one evening.

Sunslide

Sunslide___6x8 oil study on linen panel___$190
Here I resume works from my recent workshop in Fredericksburg...hello to the workshop gang! For the next few days I will post the rest of the finished studies. I title this one "Sunslide", because the sun did not set that day, it just "slid" out of sight"......Happy Holidays to all!!!

If I miss a few days of posting art, you can almost be sure something is not well...
I have lost a dear, dear Brother-in-Law....more of a brother to me, since he has been in our family from the time I was a little girl... Doyle Bridgefarmer married my sister, Mary in 1970, and was the father of SIX of my nieces and nephews....He was sick since summer, and cancer claimed him just before Thanksgiving....so, it has been a sweet month of much time spent at their house, and with all the family.
My family is rather fun-loving and very up-beat, so having this time to say long goodbyes has been good for many reasons, but now we have the long process of missing him...

Line of Light

Line of Light__6x8 oil on linen panel___$ 250 unless you were in the Fredericksburg workshop
K.R. remembers chatting with me while we waited for the sunset to BLAZE its spectrum during our last session of my Fredericksburg workshop. While telling her how the color "works" and what to look for, I did a color sketch. I had to make up the clouds to scatter the color, since we had only a few high, wispy clouds. The sky in the painting above was my "demo" for her, and illustrated my point...later on I added the coastal landscape...just for fun ...

Orange in the Dark

Orange in the Dark__6x8 oil on linen panel___$250 unless you were in the workshop :)
OK, I have a lot to say about this one! I painted it while we waited for the moon to rise in the workshop last week in Fredericksburg. K.R. was "shadowing me" and had lots of questions about the sunset colors and how fast they happen...I stalled and him-hawed while waiting for some good color, but it was just too bright looking into the sun...so I created a "South Carolina" landscape and made up a sky with the color I needed so I could tell her a thing or two....Well, in an INSTANT, 15 minutes or more after the sun was down, this BLAZE of color sizzled on the few clouds above us...There was NO LIGHT on my palette, and I only painted the VALUES, using what I THOUGHT were my bright mixes of orangey sunshine...I knew where the darks were on the palette, and used them quickly on the foreground when the color faded in the clouds. All the while I painted, I gave a disclaimer that there was no telling what colors I was using, and that it might not look so hot in the morning!...wouldn't you know it! This is the ONLY study I brought home that I will NOT change!...I guess I paint better in the dark...maybe I will try one with my eyes closed!

11-11-11 Moonset

11-11-11 Moonset ___6x8 oil on linen panel___$190 unframed
I miss my workshop buddies! Anyone who will get up before dawn and drag their paints out in the cold (it was 25 degrees one morning!) is a FRIEND of mine!!! And I have more than a dozen new ones after last week in Fredericksburg!...
Below is this painting above, in its plein air state! When painting fast (which I have to do when the light changes quickly), I often lay down only enough details that I can finish it later. All the info I needed in the field is there!...I was able to do a couple more such "starts" before the sun got too high...now I am home, finishing these! You will see such "finishes" in the days ahead! Let me know what you think! ESPECIALLY those of you who were with me when I started this one :)

11-11-11 Moonset_state 1__in Fredericksburg, Texas Workshop...My next workshop there is during June 2012. Email me for details! vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Chilly for Breakfast

Chilly for Breakfast__ oil on linen__sold to F.S.
We had a couple of paintouts at this location during my Fredericksburg workshop this week.
These cows look like they are all safe in the corral, but the gate was open the whole time and they were free to leave and roam up to our hilltop location....which they did! Cows are very curious and could not resist inspecting our easels and art gear!
Our hands froze on this chilly morning, but it was worth it to paint in such a great location!
(A BIG version of "Chilly for Breakfast" one will be on the easel right away)

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!

Art Student - JK

JK___18 x 12 sketch on paper___for JK
My student sketches usually have some lesson that is easier for me to SHOW than to tell...This was a quickie in class not too long ago. Since then, we have ventured into clay and then oils, but I want to take the students to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, soon. The weather is cooled off and the animals will be active and fun to sketch.
Various "life matters" have prevented me from posting lately, but hopefully things will settle down soon!