Vacant Troughs

01-30-2007 Last Year on the Farm___________Vacant Troughs

The last two days seemed so quiet as I painted. Foggy heavy skies usually make things quieter, but then I have noticed that the cows were not around... I learned that over the weekend, they were all taken away...sold off, I guess. When I asked Nancy she confirmed that this has been an especially hard year for the cattle and, since our time here is short anyway, this was a good time to take them away....Just another phase in our Last Year on the Farm...I think I will start putting the horses in the paintings...I sure will miss the cows, though.

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!

Rockport Sparkle

"Rockport Sparkle"________8x10___________available
Once again, the painting I thought I hated while doing it, is my FAVORITE painting of the weekend! (A lesson for you artists to "DON'T scrape it off" too soon!
This was my last demonstration of the weekend, as I taught a group of teachers in an educators' conference at the Rockport Center for the Arts....I will teach a plein air workshop one day a month in the spring, for anyone interested! The Saturday sessions begin on Feb. 24.
THIS WEEK I will paint 24 in 24 hours "Winter Day Last Year on the Farm" ...like I did in the fall. I am watching the weather and moon phases to find the best , most "interesting" 24 hour period, so if anyone in the Austin area has a thought about it, PLEASE let me know! Don't hit reply....click here vvaughan8@yahoo.com
















"Rockport Sparkle"

Pasture Spots__Enlarged from Dec. 20

"Pature Spots"____________20x24_____available for purchase

"12-20-2006 Last Year on the Farm"_______enlarged from study

If you look back at the archive from Dec. 20, 2006, you will see my plein air study which I used as reference for this large oil painting. I am in the studio for the next few weeks, finishing up larger works for the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, SC on Feb. 14 - 18...See you there!

Cow Harvest Last Year

"Cow Harvest"_______Last Year on the Farm________8x10

In the early summer the hay gets very deep and the cows spend all day moving through it to graze the new growth underneath. This will likely be a "plush" spring with all the rain we have had. I am very glad, having prayed a long time for the rain which has come....selfish reasons....I want more color in the paintings of my 'Last Year on the Farm"

Shade Last Year

"Shade Last Year"___________12 x 16 ________________SOLD

I have heard from many of you how MUCH you like the recent farm paintings....I think it's just because I have shown a few from last SPRING, and you are all tired of the winter colors! So here is some more GREEN! The painting is sold, but new to my BLOG!

Imaginary Green

"May Hay" ________Before Last Year on the Farm ___________sold

WELCOME new Bloggers! Thank you for looking in. You can scroll down to see other daily paintings from January, and see the link at bottom of right column to click back into previous months. The Farm paintings are especially fun to see the seasons change>

The painting above was sold before I decided to "hoard" the Farm works. It was painted in MAY. I probably pait this view most, because this is where the cows often hang out...by the hay and troughs. LOOK AT THE GREEN!!!Scroll down and see what it looks like in winter!

I will have 365 paintings of our "Last Year on the Farm", and then I will do "something" with them before selling them...BUT...you can RESERVE one if you like it, and have first "dibs" on it. Just leave a comment or contact me by e-mail and say "put my name on the back of this one" and I will! Quite a few are "reserved" already!

In about a week I will announce the date for my 24 paintings in 24 hours "Winter Day Last Year on the Farm".... then we will look forward to Spring....gotta leave soon

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!

Dinghy Interiors

"Dinghy Interiors" 6 x 8
Painted on location in Maine a while ago. Recently sold at Richard James Galleries in Charleston, SC....
I will be in Charleston at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition from Feb. 14 - 19. My favorite show! Great art, amazing low country food and just a superior group of artists to hang out with...I have made life long friends, there and I can't wait to see them again. ...But I have a lot to do to get ready...gotta go paint!










"Dinghy Interiors"

Frozen Fog

01-21-2007 Last Year on the Farm

Yesterday dawned clear and cold! That is "frozen fog" on the near horizon. I didn't know it while painting it, but will take the weatherman's word for it :)

Last Cloudy night

01-20-2007 Last Year on the Farm
- Remember, I am not selling the farm paintings until I get all 365 painted....but I am making a list of who wants what :)....just let me know if you see one you like -
There are still slimy puddles around the troughs, and the cattle makes their way down to the pens (just behind these trees) at night now, to sleep. I think they have finally decided that this WILL be a cold season and they are not taking any more chances! I think I learned a little bit about "cow behavior" after all this cold...(Nancy, please correct me if need be...) It seems that our cows seem to know they live in WARM Central Texas. When it gets cold, they just stay put, knowing it won't last long...it usually doesn't. When it got so cold with all the ice last week, they waited days before making their way to better shelter....stupid cows :)

Sonny

"Sonny"

I have painted so many snowy, cloudy days lately, that I thought it was time for something "Sonny"! I just finished this commissioned "portrait" of Tina's beloved guy kicking back in some warm sunshine.
If you get my daily painting by e-mail then you saw my other version of Sonny, but Tina chose this one. ...and I have a THIRD "Sonny" that I might post another time! I'd be interested to know which one you like! To get the daily e-mail please leave your address at right and click "Join". Then you get the art in your mailbox and you don't have to read all the ramblings....just look at the art and toss it!

Farm Before Thaw

01-18-2007 Last Year on the Farm
...this is one of my favorite ice paintings ...painted yesterday, early...and it thawed very quickly after I painted this....What a wonderful 3 days of ice we enjoyed...so out of the usual for our part of Texas! I used up a lot of white this week :) ...and the cows finally came out of hiding. We watched them stream out of the pens and across the pasture to the (now overflowing) tank to get a drink. Once this place is sold I think I will leave after the cows are taken off. They represent, to me, LIFE. They live outdoors all their lives, under the sky and heat and ICE! ...and their Father takes care of them.
If you would like to automatically see my painting every day, please use the space at right to leave your e-mail address and then click "JOIN" when you get an e-mail to join my group "v-vaughan-painted-today" just click the link and you are in! I only send the image to look at and toss, but you could still come see the blog if you wanted to read my ramblings about the art. pLEASE JOIN!

Lots of Ice

01 - 17 - 2007 Last Year on the Farm

We have had a couple days of frozen stuff. The works: ice, snow and frozen rain...mostly ice. It is so RARE for this part of Texas, that we are all enjoying it. I spent a lot of time outside today, nonetheless! I am SO PLEASED that this LAST YEAR has the promise of VARIETY! We usually get NO snow! A few weeks ago out stock tanks were as low as they've ever been, and now they are overflowing! Soon there will be blushes of green and the homestretch to summer will begin. I am planning another 24 paintings in 24 hours: "Winter Day Last Year on the Farm", to take place within the first week of Feb. I will post the day ahead of time, here.

Yes, Snow

01-16-2007 Last Year on the Farm
My studio doors are stuck... sealed with ice. It kept the wind out and kept me from painting on the deck as usual, so I went to the back porch for this 20 minute quickie...We are having a prolonged cold spell with wind, ice snow and all. This has greatly stressed the cattle and a few have died . They finally got behind some barns and moved into the pens today...away from their usual place here by the troughs. All of Austin is shut down and my 8th grader is a happy camper!

Cold Heavy Sky

01-15-2007 Last Year on the Farm
It's not often that we get cold for this long....I am painting the sleet and ice today...it is cold and windy. Yesterday was a sad day on the farm...as I painted this one above, I met with Nancy and Bobby, the family farmers, bringing hay to the cows...as they returned up the hill from the troughs (see Dec. 30 painting)...Bobby had the bucket of the tractor lifted high. What I thought was more hay was actually a big beautiful cow that had died in the cold. Such a sad sight. Today, I can't see the cows, so they must be gathered together in the pen, below the troughs, out of the wind. Winter is so hard on livestock and farmers...please pray for our country's farmers....

Romeo Lounge

"Romeo Lounge - Sketch" V....Vaughan

Yesterday's post will tell you a little bit about Romeo. He is our "GOOD Dane"...not great...GOOD. Danes are huge and hugely gentle and loyal. Romeo is an outside dog, mostly, except in weather extremes (which is often in Texas!). THis week is cold and when I wasn't looking, he escaped his kitchen floor bed and we found him on the couch, pretending he belonged there. I made him pay for it...with a pose for this sketch. How about them legs!? No exaggeration, I promise!

"Romeo" _ a sketch

"Romeo" a sketch
Romeo is our Great Dane. But, I think he qualifies as more of a "Good Dane"...what a special breed are Great Danes! Huge and MELLOW! He watches us through the windows, at eye level, and says "woo woo" in his deep "Good Dane" voice until we let him inside. It is nearing February and Wildlife Art time for me! I am painting many retreivers and other dogs, including a few other "Romeos", so watch the blog in the next few weeks for some other dog paintings and things I will have on hand in Charleston at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition.

Bimbo and Marvin

"Bimbo and Marvin" 8 x 10 special commission

Here are a couple of friends of the family....These pups have a very special story. I greatly enjoyed painting them, becasue it was like looking into the eyes of my son's dog (my studio playmate), Maria.

Awaken_18x24 AVAILABLE.click here for info

“Awaken” from Last Year on the Farm study of 01-10-2006 18 x 24 © V….Vaughan
This is a BIG one which I painted from my study of Jan. 10, 2006. It is available at the
Richard James Galleries in Charleston, SC. It is called “AWAKEN” ….FYI, I located 4,( FOUR) Farm paintings FOR SALE at this gallery…paintings I consigned to them before I started “hoarding “ for the farm series! I will post these 4 in the upcoming days….or click the link to see!
If you want to see the study alongside the studio piece, I send these to my "group" often in my daily e-mail. Sign up for this dailt e-mail in the space at right and click "JOIN"....you will get a confirmation linck to click and then you'll be in the group! I send the same image that's on the blog, but without all the writing, and I often send extra images....(like ALL 24 of the "24 paintings in 24 Hours on the farm " things. Join us!

Another Late Day

01-09-2006 Last Year on the Farm
All our afternoons have been cool and dry and bright with complementary contrasts. If you put this painting side by side (on the right ) with yesterday's, and add a little to the length of the water, you can see the whole panorama of the view I have looking North and a little east. These two make a good pair! We will probably have another day like it today, but , again, they tell us that another real cold spell is coming. Many of you reading this are from northern states, so you already have the latest cold weather upon you! Cold fronts are BIG NEWS in Austin, Texas!

Late Day

01-08-2007 Last Year on the Farm
When the light gets low this time of year, there is an orange cast over the whole farm. Yesterday's sunset was crisp and bright...This might be my favorite "color" time of the year...with lots of complementary colors at war with the eye! I like teaching my thoughts and experience with color and theory...some unique thoughts, too! I will be teaching a one day workshop in Rockport, TX on SUNDAY, Jan. 28. We will work in the afternoon and early evening...yes, plein air in the dark! There will be a waxing moon that night...I hope you will join us in the carpool caravan from Austin!

Pedro

"Pedro" 6 x 8 collection of V....Vaughan Family
This is another painting I did with "palette droppings"...I dipped into my private collection to show here, since yesterday's painting generated a few comments! Yes, this is one I plan to keep....but I'm painting similar pieces! Hope you've enjoyed the "break" from farm paintings...back to "farming" tomorrow :)

Looking Back

"Looking Back" 6 x 8 sold

I got word from Steve at Snowfire Gallery in Fredericksburg, TX that this little one just sold last week. Snowfire is a great new gallery in Fredericksburg and I am VERY honored to have them represent my art there. They are not really a new gallery, Steve and Janet McClennahan moved their Snowfire Gallery in Estes Park, CO to TEXAS! Good move, I say! Go see their new place right on Main Street! They have the large painting of "Looking Back", which I like even better than this one. I did this one from the "palette droppings" from the big "Looking Back"...scraped off and applied with a knife.

Clearing Rain

01-04-2007 Last Year on the Farm

We had a lot of rain this week and with that comes clouds and COLOR! This is a little study that I will certainly turn into a big one, soon. I am working on big ones this month to get ready for the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in mid-Feb. in Charleston, SC. If you have never been to this great show, I hope you will try to come this year. It is an AMAZING and FUN time with brilliant artists everywhere....well, except one :) As I create the big ones I will also post a few here! And mark your calendar for my next 24 paintings in 24 hours: "Winter Day Last Year on the Farm" coming up in early Feb.