Winter Daybreak_24 x 30

"Winter Daybreak"___24 x 30 oil on linen, framed___Call for price
In 2007, painted 365 small daily paintings to document our "Last Year on the Farm". Many of these paintings stirred my soul, and I have been using them as studies for large canvas "show pieces"....here's one, that I will take with me to the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, Feb. 11-15. It is one I have been working on, for a while, even creating intermediate canvases. Deb M. has the 12 x 12, and Mark M. owns the original, which you can see with all 365 paintings on my WEB SITE. YOU are the first to see it!
I just ot back from teaching a weekend workshop in Rockport, TX. Hello to my new friends! Wonderful teachers who now know SOME Of my secrets! God bless y'all and your good work! Please stay in touch, and watch for the works I painted with y'all!

Little Bird

"Little Bird"_____10 x 7.5 pencil on watercolor paper____$50

A lesson in texture! This one is drawn on tetured watercolor paper, and the drawing itself is made with a textured stroke, sort of like cross hatching. It's also an example if leaving out some lines so that the viewer's eye can finish the drawing....This is always a good lesson for the young artists I worked with, who often think they have to OUTLINE everything...

Tomorrow I head off to Rockport, TX to teach ART TEACHERS. Art Educator Days is an annual event where I teach a couple different workshops to give ideas to other art teachers. Last year I taught a "Chicken Clinic". This year I am teaching "Seven Strokes", creating a painting with 7 strokes. And,"Pre-Mixing".. I wish I had called it somethng else, because it's about shapes of values and color...I will teach this lesson at a couple of workshops this year..please ask if you are interested! vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Feb, 7... Rockport, TX (1 day, Drawing to Paint)

Feb. 21 ...Calvert, TX (1 day, Sunrise, Moonrise)

Mar. 7 ...Rockport, TX (1 day)

April 6 - 9 ...Granbury, TX (4 day - comprehensive, in-depth workshop in an elegant place, !!!)

Apr. 18... Rockport, TX (1 day)

April 27 - 30... Gadsden, ALABAMA (4 day - comprehensive)

May 30 ...DeSoto Art League, TX (1 day)

June 5-7... Fredericksburg, TX (Painting Fast - every day, and what to do with all those paintings!)

Fall ...in New Orleans (with EATING in our off hours)

"Winter Horses"___11 x 7___a Watercolor, pen and ink Lesson___ $150
The most comfortable way to delve into watercolor, for a new painter, is to start with washes. These are transparent watercolors that you can apply over a drawing. Work out a good drawing with pencil or ink. If your values are BOLD and contrasty, you can put ANY KIND of washes over it, and it will look good! My high school students always dreaded applying that first wash of color, fearing they'd "ruin" the drawing. Solution: have copies made on heavy weight (cover stock) paper. Putting washes on 'copies" isn't as scary! The funnest part of watercolors, to me, is the total unpredictability! So I tell my students : ALWAYS begin by lowering your expectations! Want to learn more??? Sign up for a workshop! If you have time, and want to IMMERSE yourself, sign up for the Granbury or Fredericksburg workshops. Here, you will be treated to a FULL-TIME artist experience. We will eat,drink, breathe, sleep, talk, and LIVE TO PAINT! vvaughan8@yahoo.com for more info.
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Feb, 7... Rockport, TX (1 day, Drawing to Paint)
Feb. 21 ...Calvert, TX (1 day, Sunrise, Moonrise)
Mar. 7 ...Rockport, TX (1 day)
April 6 - 9 ...Granbury, TX (4 day - comprehensive, in-depth workshop in an elegant place, !!!)
Apr. 18... Rockport, TX (1 day)
April 27 - 30... Gadsden, ALABAMA (4 day - comprehensive)
May 30 ...DeSoto Art League, TX (1 day)
June 5-7... Fredericksburg, TX (Painting Fast - every day, and what to do with all those paintings!)
Fall ...in New Orleans (EATING after hours :)

Red Splash

"Red Splash"....12.5 x 19.5 Prismacolor and gouasch on canson paper....NOT a "small work"....$190
Another demo for the High School...This one is in our spare bedroom, on an easel...a lesson on complements and drawing with color. Some of my friends are enjoying this recent variety and brief lesson info, and some of you are saying "bring back the landscapes!"...I have a nice group of new paintings I am taking to Charleston, SC for the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition....mostly landscapes and lots of DOGS! It has been too cloudy to photograph them....maybe tomorrow...or I'll post another drawing lesson :) Join me in a workshop this spring! Schedule below:
Feb, 7 Rockport, TX (1 day, Drawing to Paint)
Feb. 21 Calvert, TX (1 day, Sunrise, Moonrise)
Mar. 7 Rockport, TX (1 day)
April 6 - 9 Granbury, TX (4 day - comprehensive, in-depth workshop in an elegant place, !!!)
Apr. 18 Rockport, TX (1 day)
April 27 - 30 Gadsden, ALABAMA (4 day - comprehensive)
May 30 DeSoto Art League, TX (1 day)
June 5-7, Fredericksburg, TX (Painting Fast - every day, and what to do with all those paintings!)
Fall in New Orleans (EATING after hours :)

Tree of Life

"Tree of Life"___a lesson in symbolism, watercolor, 6 x 9_________$50
Here's another watercolor demo for the High School class. "Symbolic Color".
There is LIFE in LIGHT...science says so. Scripture says so. To make this "dead" tree symbolize "life" I painted it with the full spectrum. Browns would look flat and dead. I have a sepia version, somewhere which shows the contrast, but I couldn't find it. This lesson was also about overlaying washes....
Nothing should be accidental for an artist. LINES need to point someplace on purpose. Shapes are arranged for a reason, composition flows to direct the viewer's eye. COLOR should SAY SOMEHTING. Artists have unlimited tools to communicate a message, so EVERYTHING needs to be thought out when you "create". It might seem tedious at first, but the more you do, the more automatic it gets....so LOOK FOR ways to make meaning happen in your art!
I teach this stuff in my workshops, and we have FUN at it!!!....here's the schedule for 2009. :
Feb, 7 Rockport, TX (1 day)
Feb. 21 Calvert, TX (1 day)
Mar. 7 Rockport, TX (1 day)
April 6 - 9 Granbury, TX (4 day - comprehensive)
Apr. 18 Rockport, TX (1 day)
April 27 - 30 Gadsden, ALABAMA (4 day - comprehensive)
May 30 DeSoto Art League, TX (1 day)
June 5-7, Fredericksburg, TX (Painting Fast -special 3 day focus)
Fall in New Orleans

Fish Block

"Fish Block"_____6 x 6 Hand colored Block Print_________my collection

This is another school lesson for the Middle School classes I taught. They worked on linoleum with sharp tools. Inevitably someone's tool would slip and the other hand would be lined up in the wrong place ("I told you not to put it there, child!") They loved it when I warned that "In this class there WILL BE BLOOD"...the 12 - 14 year old group seems to like blood and guts...till it happened to THEM!
If I could find the block for this, I could make a small edition to sell, if anyone wants one! Hey, Nancy H., ....did I leave this block in all that art stuff I gave you??? :)
I am painting furiously for the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, SC next month. As soon as I photograph the new works, I will start posting them..... tomorrow, I hope.
Come join me at a show or workshop in 2009. Here's the workshop schedule...they are filling slowly, but there's still lots of space!:
Feb, 7 Rockport, TX (1 day)
Feb. 21 Calvert, TX (1 day)
Mar. 7 Rockport, TX (1 day)
April 6 - 9 Granbury, TX (4 day - comprehensive)
Apr. 18 Rockport, TX (1 day)
April 27 - 30 Gadsden, ALABAMA (4 day - comprehensive)
May 30 DeSoto Art League, TX (1 day)
June 5-7, Fredericksburg, TX (Painting Fast -special 3 day focus)
Fall in New Orleans

Dream Horses

"Dream Horses"____7.5 x 11 watercolor class demo________$65 for the first little girl to ask!
Horses are a favorite subject of mine...they are EVERYthing: wildlife, farmlife, "cowboy" life...all the things I like to paint....every little girl goes through a horse phase...I'm still in mine.
Of course the lesson here (for my middle school class) was composition, scale, transparent color and putting little grains of salt into the solid wet areas to get that "snowflake" effect....of course!
Click link to read an excerpt from the most recent magazine article about my Farm Paintings.
Click here to see all 365 farm paintings!...come to a workshop this year, if you can. I make it FUN to learn painting, and send you away with LOTS to do!. Dates below....
Feb, 7 Rockport, TX (1 day)
Feb. 21 Calvert, TX (1 day)
Mar. 7 Rockport, TX (1 day)
April 6 - 9 Granbury, TX (4 day - comprehensive)
Apr. 18 Rockport, TX (1 day)
April 27 - 30 Gadsden, ALABAMA (4 day - comprehensive)
May 30 DeSoto Art League, TX (1 day)
June 5-7, Fredericksburg, TX (Painting Fast -special 3 day focus)
Fall in New Orleans

Papoose in Light

"Papoose in Light"___12 x 9 watercolor lesson________$150 to the first who wants it!
Compare with the sepia version of this one I posted yesterday . Isn't light great? In light we have ALL the variety of color. There is a nice moodiness to sepia and shadow and tonalism, but I come alive with light! Light and LIFE go together! Teaching this (a vertical demo, of course) was a thrill. I could see the "lights" go on in my students' thinking!...Speaking of teaching. I have PLENTY of workshops of all shapes and sizes coming in the next few months. Time to shake the stiffness out of those brushes and try some impressionism with me! Here are some dates and places. Click for schedule details.

Feb, 7 Rockport, TX (1 day)
Feb. 21 Calvert, TX (1 day)
Mar. 7 Rockport, TX (1 day)
Apr. 18 Rockport, TX (1 day)
April 6 - 9 Granbury, TX (4 day - comprehensive)
April 27 - 30 Gadsden, ALABAMA (4 day - comprehensive)
May 30 DeSoto Art League, TX (1 day)
June 5-7, Fredericksburg, TX (Painting Fast -special 3 day focus)
Fall in New Orleans

Lesson: One color wash

"Papoose in Brown"___11 x 7.5_____A Watercolor Lesson. See Color version tomorrow...
Today was my first day to NOT teach at Round Rock Christian Academy. My alarm went off at 2 pm, as usual, so I thought about the kids and decided I would post a "lesson" tonight.
This was a demo for the class, (last year)showing how to work values with watercolor. I always do my watercolor demos fast and, believe it or not UPRIGHT so everyone can see!
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My Farm book is on the Blurb website, now. Order from them to save time, have more binding choices, and it costs the same. Click here for a cool preview of the first 10 pages of , "Last Year on the Farm: A Story of Change". It's the actual book on your screen that you click and turn the pages...it's so cool!!! http://www.blurb.com/books/196927

Buffalo Help

"Buffalo Help"____watercolor sketch 6.5 x 7.5____$45 if you ask first!
When a student is working on something, struggles with a challenge and would rather I not put MY strokes onto their masterpiece, I frequently grab a canvas or scrap of paper to paint a little solution for them. That's what this one is all about. It's a watercolor sketch to help this student with the layers of grass and yellow flowers.
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TEXAS STATE ARTIST FINALIST...That's my official status, now! Our state legislators will now choose! Guess I need to get serious and find myself a LOBBYIST!
PASSING AMERICA: The Great Plains A solo exhibit at the Great Plains Art Museum will open in October, 2011. I will be painting on the plains for a few years..."drive-by" paintings to depict the "Passing" of ...things :) More info to come! Should I remind you as the date draws near?

Remember Parker

"Remember Parker"___9 x 12____pencil on archival paper___gift to John, Betty and Jennifer
When we moved off the farm, it was to a nice neighborhood in Round Rock, TX. We were so worried that we'd embarrass ourselves, never having lived in a neighborhood before! So we tried hard to be good neighbors, and we got really lucky! Somehow we picked the BEST neighbors! John was always out walking his dog, Parker, and Parker became a friend to our cats, and soon recognized us, too! WHAT A SWEET dog! ...we were so sad when John and Betty moved...before we really got to know them. We are staying in touch , though. While skiing recently, I got a tragic e-mail from John, saying that Parker had gotten hit by a car. I really grieve with John and Betty...Parker was a special friend....this drawing is for my new friends....

Wherefore Art

"Wherefore Art Thou, Linda"___12 x 9 pencil on archival paper for Linda
While on our recent ski trip, our Good Dane, ROMEO stayed with our friends Linda and Matt. Linda called with updates...Romeo was attached, and never let her out of his sight....I drew this for Linda to remember "her" Romeo....And, yes, I know that "wherefore" means "WHY" and not "where"....but I am not sure Linda knows that and it's her drawing! heeheeheee
NEWS >>>>
TEXAS STATE ARTIST FINALIST...That's my official status, now! Our state legislators will now choose! Guess I need to get serious and find a LOBBYIST! hahaha
PASSING AMERICA: The Great Plains A solo exhibit at the Great Plains Art Museum will open in October, 2011. I will be painting on the plains for a few years..."drive-by" paintings to depict the "Passing" of ...things :) More info to come! Should I remind you as the date draws near??? This will be a BIG PROJECT for me
Rodeo Art Grand Champion...My student, Jerrod, is the champ this year! see blog post of 1-12
THANK YOU to Shannon and Becky K. for visiting me today in my VERY LAST teaching day at RRCA. You made NEW memories for me to go with our old ones!!! I hope you love your Farm Painting from my LAST YEAR.

Single

"Single"

12 x 6__oil on linen, nicely framed__contact Act I Gallery in Taos, NM
. The theme is CHAIRS. The reception is this Saturday, January 17 at Act I Gallery in Taos, NM. If you are nearby, go and meet Anita and Dory and take a look at what all the gallery artists painted based on the CHAIRS theme. Here is one I shipped tonight, so Anita will have it by Friday.....it is my favorite kind of chair, at the slopes! "Single" is the fastest way to the top, because you can get in line and hop on with other skiers. Even when skiing with my kids we all line up in the single line, to get there faster. Sometimes you get to ride alone, like the skier in my painting. We skied a few weeks ago at Wolf Creek and this "Chair" idea came to me then. I used my son's short ski blades to save rental money and because I'd never tried the shorties before. My first ride up had me sharing the lift with a couple of big heavy men. I was not sure how I would do, getting off the lift at the top, so I decided to let them get off first and I would go right behind them. When they got off, the chair bounced up (with the absence of their weight) and those short skis never touched the ground, so I had to jump...not pretty....This painting captures a calmer moment on the slopes!

San Antonio Mountain

San Antonio Mountain___a drive-by painting__6x8 oil on linen panel__contact Act I Gallery, Taos, NM
To all my Texas Friends, you KNOW there is no mountain in SA, TX, but there IS a San Antonio Mountain near Taos, NM. It is unbelieveably smooth and round looking, a gentle slope that rises from highway 285, right on the CO / NM border.
I just shipped this small painting to Act I, the gallery who represents me in Taos. It will be there for the opening of "CHAIRS", this Saturday, Jan. 17. No chairs in this painting, unless you get really creative...those are antelope or elk or cows back there....something I added for scale after painting this in the car a few weeks ago ...a "drive-by" painting.
SPEAKING of TEXAS, have I mentioned that I was nominated for Texas State Artist?....a really great honor. The Texas Legislature will decide on Finalists, soon.

Grand Champion_student work

student art____The Balker____by Jerrod S.

GRAND CHAMPION

Star of Texas Rodeo

Click to see other results

http://rodeoaustin.com/livestock_show/art_show.php

I could not be MORE PROUD of my student, Jerrod, who worked so hard on this painting. It is an oil painting on canvas, 16 x 12, and took top honors in this state wide competition. Jerrod was stunned, as it was his first EVER painting. He succeeded because he showed NO FEAR...often I was busy helping other students, so he plodded along bravely by himself...and took my advice on the few adjustments I suggested.

The best advice? "Get rid of that BLACK ROAD in the background!"

He did!

Note: The darkest thing should be on the focal point, not something in the distance...

...right Jerrod?

THIS PAINTING will be auctioned, with 14 others on March 27 at the Bob Bullock State History Museum in Austin. A FABULOUS venue and important event for Jerrod and two other of my students who placed 5th and 9th. ..Our school, Round Rock Christian Academy was the smallest school entering works, and took 3 of the 15 auction places...good job, kiddos!!!

Blessed Rain

"Blessed Rain"___12 x 12_____an idea, hanging at the gallery at Hill Country Bible Church, Austin
Since I have just 3 minutes to post this before midnight, I won't tell the funny story about this one. It's an idea for a larger painting, but is on display for a few months in Austin.
If I remember, I will tell the story tomorrow....this will be my last week to teach art at Round Rock Christian Academy...I will miss the place TERRIBLY!!!

Night Owls

"Night Owls"___12 x 9 pencil on archival paper__$80 if you ask first!
Another sketch from the "night time" exhibit at the zoo. This was a very active pair of owls. They flew to and fro in their room, as much interested in me and the sketching students, as we were in them! We had owls like this on our farm, and I was able to "call them up" if they were nearby.
I got to travel to San Antonio yesterday to work with sculptor, Jason Scull , interviewing 24 high school "superstar" artists. We (and a few others) had the TOUGH task of selecting a few students to receive scholarships for the Western Art Academy. These selected artists will receive THREE WEEKS of instruction in sculpting and oil painting. They get to live and work on a college campus, as FULL TIME artists. Their training concludes with a museum reception to present their works to collectors and patrons... I have taught oil painting at this Academy for a few years :)
CONGRATULATIONS to all the kids who have artworks in the Youth Rodeo Competitions!
I KNOW the hard work and time you have invested in your projects this semester! GOOD LUCK inthe judging, and Art Academy interviews! You are MUCH ADMIRED by the Rodeo Staff and your peers!!!! (and ME!!!....I am totaly impressed with the masterpieces you have created and your efforts these past few months! )

Owl

"Owl"____12 x 9_____$80 (includes free sketch on back :)
Went to the zoo again today....this time with middle schoolers, to sketch. Found myself enjoying sketching in the darkened place where the owls and bats were. Some of the kids did their best sketches in that dark place, too! I wrapped this one up quickly when I spied one of the nocturnal creatures roaming "free" in there....a big roach. When I saw this one in the light, I was annoyed with myself for sketching on back of Kodu sketch I'd just done....so if you want this one, you get the Kudu, too! E-mail me if you want to see it!

Moonlight on the Mission

"Moonlight on the Mission"___12 x 12 oil on linen gallery wrap____$650
Here is a show piece, delivered today to an exhibit in Austin at the Hill Country Bible Church Gallery. It depicts La Bahia Mission in Goliad...a very historical place where a great tragedy took place, regarding Texas Independence. It is a hallowed Texas landmark. This is what it usually looks like as I pass by on the way to teach in Rockport. I'll be going down in a little over a week to teach on Jan. 17. If you are from the Austin Area, plan to come with me and a couple other artists, leaving on Friday the 16th. We'll stop here for a few photos and some plein air painting. e-mail for info vvaughan8@yahoo.com
(sidebar: I had 1 canvas to paint for this show, and forgot that I had already told them what I would paint. So I started a farm/cow painting, and then realized that there was no way to alter it to fit this title, so I painted the mission OVER the cow painting. TWO FOR ONE paintings if you want it!)

Espanola Twilights

"Espanola Twilights"___6 x 8 oil on linen panel____$170 to the first to ask!
click the image to see the juicy details!
We left South Fork, CO yesterday at 3 am. It snowed hard til we got to Espanola, NM. I enjoyed looking out the car window, fascinated by the snow at night. As soon as it got a little bit light, I painted this from memory in the car. I think I will do a big one of these!
Twilight is a great time to paint. The word sort of means "between light", and it describes the time of day just before sunrise or just after sunset. I painted twilight a lot during my Last Year on the Farm. I was so fascinated by the PHYSICS of it all that I started a big study of color and light and the eye....It is ongoing and has become a big part of my workshops (I talk about it til I see the folks begin to yawn!) I think this knowledge helps me understand things I see and I can tell the difference in my painting, and my students' work....oh...speaking of students, I will be working late into the night tomorrow, with my high school kids who are working on a contest deadline...sigh

Mule 7__Click to bid

"Mule 7"____12 x 9 pencil on archival paper_____click to buy or bid!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140292673688

"Mule 7"___12 x 9 Pencil on archival paper___V....Vaughan, contact vvaughan8@yahoo.com
Here is the # 7 mule of about 10 mule drawings created as studies for a large painting I have been commissioned to paint. NO TWO ARE ALIKE!

I have a new artist friend from India who wrote to ask me the difference between a donkey and a mule. Mules, in fact, are a cross between a DONKEY and a HORSE, so sometimes they look like zebras, with rounder rumps (Like the donkeys). More trivia: the mules are born sterile and cannot reproduce themselves! For new mules you have to start over with a donkey and a horse.

I hope that helps you, Sanjeev Joshi. (Y'all need to go see his work....he's an architect with great painting skill!
Scroll down the blog to see the other mule drawings being auctioned this week! To follow the progress of the large painting and see the finished painting in a few weeks, go to http://www.vvaughan.blogspot.com/.

Sign up for a 2009 workshop and we will cover a lot of drawing this year!

Mule 6___click to bid

"Mule 6" __12 x 9 Pencil on archival paper___V....Vaughan, vvaughan8@yahoo.com
click to bid http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140292478990
Here is #6 of about 10 mule drawings created as studies for a large painting I have been commissioned to paint. No two mules are alike! I will share an interesting story about these mules tomorrow, so stay tuned!
Click the drawing to see some detail...If you want to see more mules in this series, scroll to earlier posts. You can see the other mule drawings being auctioned this week! To follow the progress of the large painting and see the finished painting in a few weeks, go to http://www.vvaughan.blogspot.com/.HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
**Sign up for a workshop this year! I give lots of info and handouts on drawing as a foundation for great painting. I can teach you to do this! Click below to see my workshop schedule, and if you have already looked, please look again...I corrected a date or two!
:http://www.v-vaughan.com/

MULES 4 & 5___click to bid

"Mule 4&5"___12 x 9 Pencil on archival paper___V....Vaughan, vvaughan8@yahoo.com

click to bid http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140292322504

Here are numbers 4 and 5 of about 10 mule drawings created as studies for a large painting I have been commissioned to paint. These are a couple of my favorites, probably because I did them together...ALL the mules will be interacting like this on the big painting...I think that's why I like this one.

Click the drawing to see some detail...If you want to see more mules in this series, scroll to earlier posts. You can see the other mule drawings being auctioned this week! To follow the progress of the large painting and see the finished painting in a few weeks, go to http://www.vvaughan.blogspot.com/.HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

**Sign up for a workshop this year! I give lots of info and handouts on drawing as a foundation for great painting. I can teach you to do this! Click below to see my workshop schedule, and if you have already looked, please look again...I corrected a date or two!

:http://www.v-vaughan.com/