Lab Sketch

"Lab Sketch___from my sketchbook

It was a baseball weekend, though my guy sat the bench with an injury. While I sat at the gate, taking tickets all day Saturday, I had a moment, some new pencils and an old sketchbook handy. This one is a little bit over-done, but I am posting it, anyway!...As I am working on large paintings for Cowgirl Up!, a big western show in Arizona, I think I will showcase some recent drawings for the next few days. The large paintings are taking me longer to complete, and I am not too fond of the "stages", but prefer to show them finished. So I will post the drawings till I have a finished painting to post! No doubt, there will be a few ball players to sketch, along the way this week!

El Confin de la Luz

El Confin de la Luz___a gallery work__24 x 30 oil on linen

Here is a big one I have been working on for a while. The mission, here, is San Jose in San Antonio, TX. I have had this painting in mind since last spring when I was there as a BIG STORM blew up and The rain cloud was literally over the mission, much like this.

I love the symbolism of the mission, its architecture and purpose, juxtaposed with the symbols from nature: light, shadow, storm cloud, big heavens, rain left behind, doves flying through...The title is Spanish, meaning "Boundary of the Light". It is a line from the book of Job in chapter 10....

The hardest part of this painting was the perspective drawing, and keeping the verticals vertical! If you have drawn with me, you remember how I STRESS VERTICALS on man-made things..they are ALWAYS vertical, from any angle...my next drawing workshop is June 14-17 in Fredericksburg, TX. e-mail me for info vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Parked

Parked___from my sketchbook

I was waiting for my friend to get there so we could work out, and outside the gym was this guy standing with his hand on the "no parking" sign...It was a quick sketch, because I didn't want him to notice me drawing him....I am glad I did this one, today, because I didn't get to sketch what I had planned to sketch, today: another ball game. But it was SO COLD, I stayed bundled up the whole time...Round Rock is supposed to get a few inches of snow tonight! What an unusual winter we are having in Texas!

Sam's First Outing

Sam's First Outing___from my sketchbook
It's already baseball season! I took my sketchbook to the field today, thinking I would sketch one of my son's teammates, Joe. Joe's mom won my donation at the silent auction fundraiser a few weeks ago. I donated a small painting of "whoever" wanted their ball player sketched in oils, and Joe's mom, Jennifer bid the highest! What I did not know was that Joe had pitched earlier in the week. My son has been injured and I really wasn't expecting him on the mound, but here he is...with a little sketch in the middle and my make-shift scorecard at left (he played 2 innings, and had 4 strikeouts, 2 base on balls and a couple of earned runs...yikes...preseason craziness! (also had a base hit at the plate!) Welcome back, Sam! Now go put ice on that arm!

Low Country_ACE Basin

Low Country Hideaway____6x8 oil study on linen panel___$150
With the cold wind at our backs we stood and painted on the causeway between the waters at ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge.
ACE is for the three rivers that converge here: Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto rivers. ACE Basin is a 350,000 acre area made up of many different habitat types such as brackish water tidal marshes, fresh water wetlands, bottomland hardwoods, pine and hardwood uplands, barrier islands and beaches. It is one of the largest undeveloped estuaries on the East Coast of the United States. The wildlife abounds…especially birds! I think this painting needs a little snowy egret in it! If you want this sketch, I will put the bird in there, if you will let me! Vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Lion Lounge

Lion Lounge_11x14 pencil on acid free paper__$250 (click to enlarge)
I hope some of the kids and teachers who saw the start of this drawing will send me a note of "howdy" if they see this one finished. I did a demo for the Federal Junior Duck Stamp group in South Carolina on Tuesday. The talk I gave while drawing this was all about the importance of sketching. I spoke about "seeing" the easiest elements: line, shapes, values, and built the drawing with values rather than "outlines"....I will be teaching this thoroughly at my next big workshop in June (5-7) here in Texas. Ask for info! vvaughan8@yahoo.com
This morning I was leaving the house to go pick up my new tennis racquet at Golfsmith in Austin, TX. As I was leaving, my daughter called about a big fire across the highway from Golfsmith. The police had just passed her on the road and she snapped a few pics with her cell phone. She was passing it as we spoke, and said it looked like the building exploded. Just then my son called and his boss had been nearby at the same location and heard that an airplane crashed into the building!...It is all over the national news. I decided to save the errand for later. A few hours ago I went to get the racquet and snapped my own picture of the building you are seeing on the news today. The real damage is around to the left...This was an awful day in Austin, but many are thankful that the evil intended did not pan out to the extent that the pilot intended when he flew the plane into the building...

Dean

Dean___from my sketchbook
I have been in South Carolina at the Wildlife show and busier than I thought I would be! I hope you enjoyed the break from hearing from me every day...As I have done the past 4 years, after the show I joined artists Joe Garcia, Adele Earnshaw and Melanie Fain at ACE Basin Wildlife Area south of Charleston. The place is wild and remote in the heart of the low country and at the edge of where sea meets the low country. It abounds with ALL KINDS of waterfowl, alligators, bald eagles, and armadillos, otters, and more. We spend our time there unwinding from the four-day show, painting, and photographing this amazing area. But the main thing we get to do is teach a full day workshop to South Carolina's Junior Duck Stamp winners. We had a group of over 20 people this year (including a few teachers and parents), who watched demos, and listened to us share our thoughts on art. A great group this year, they asked many questions and seemed VERY interested in what we had to say...Dean (above) is the Game Warden and property manager at this wildlife area. He is a biologist and a REAL EXPERT in ALL THINGS "wildlife" in this part of South Carolina. When Joe and Adele went to visit Adele's new gallery in Charleston one day, I tagged along with Dean on a drive all around the islands and wetlands. Poor guy had his brain picked for almost 3 hours, answering my questions about everything from anhinga birds to hurricanes to the ancient rice field trunks on the property....while he visited with us I sketched him on the couch...

North Star__night, mountains, porch lights

North Star___12x12 oil on linen__available at "Nocturnes", opening Feb 13 at Act I Gallery, Taos NM
Imagine a whole show of night paintings! That's what's going on for the next month at Act I Gallery in Taos, NM. I have a number of night time works at the gallery. It's one of my favorite things to paint. I did the study for this one in the mountains near Taos last Fall, and I used the study as my reference for this larger (but still small) painting. I wish I could go to Taos for the opening, but I am now on the way to Charleston, SC for the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. I will paint at the Wildlife Refuge afterwards, but my posts might be sporadic for a few days. Last year I lost part of my turp tank in an alligator pond, and the year before I painted an alligator "en plein air"... Click the links to see those works (and the stupid stories!) It's a fantastic place to paint, so stay tuned!

Daisy Day

Daisy Day____14 x 11 oil on stretched linen___available at Act I Gallery, Taos, NM
Here is one I am NOT taking to SEWE...I will ship it to Taos tomorrow, along with a nice little night time painting I just finished. (I will post it tomorrow). The night painting is for a show opening next Saturday, Feb. 13th called "Nocturnes"...I wish I could be there, but will be in Charleston.

Daisy Dog

Daisy Dog___11x14 oil on linen ___ for sewe
I painted the study for this one back in July...always having it in mind to do a larger work....I think I want to do a larger one, still. Click on the image to see a larger version.
A few days ago I was a little bit smug about shipping 230 pounds of paintings to Charleston. (Maybe you couldn't tell, but I was pretty proud of myself: first, for getting it all into just two large boxes, and second, because I, myself, lifted those big boxes into the truck to take to FedEx)...payback time happened today. I turned to see "what next" to do in my studio, and there was ONE large painting left behind...I forgot to ship it! So today, I had to take one painting to FedEx...I am mad at me for the extra shipping expense.....vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Mock vs. Hawk

Mock vs. Hawk__6x6 oil on linen panel__painted for Sewe
I combined a few photos I took at the farm. Hawks were always flying over the fields and I loved to watch them and hear them scream. This day, a hawk was on a fence post and the mockingbird must have had a nest nearby. She could not tolerate the big hawk, and pestered it till it flew away, giving chase and nipping at tail feathers. I saw hawks carry big field rats and rip them to shreds, but for some reason, they never took on the mockingbirds!
vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Surf Bum

Surf Bum__10x8 oil on linen panel__to be exhibited at SEWE
I saw this "surf bum" in Maine a few years ago. She played and played and never looked up....tail wagging furiously...There was also a black lab with her, and they ripped around the surf for quite a while...I put up a picture on facebook the other day and asked, "Cats or Dogs"...though I love them both, I think I would have to say "dogs"...
So, I shipped 230 pounds of paintings to Charleston yesterday, and received a lot of fun comments about that today. My friend Robin Cheers was reminded of a funny Dilbert cartoon...something about selling art by the pound...

Charleston Eve

Charleston Eve_state 1___24 x 24 oil on linen with a REALLY COOL frame___shipped to Charleston for SEWE
The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) is Feb 11-14 in Charleston, SC. This painting is one of my special ones for the show. I am mad at myself for shipping it off (just now!) before taking a picture of it FINISHED, and before taking a picture with the frame. I am so excited about the frame, I can't stand it!....but will have to leave you in suspense about that, unless you can come see me in Charleston!...I shipped 40 new works to the show...230 pounds of art in two big boxes...My prayer is always that I have to ship back EMPTY BOXES ;)...I will post a few more paintings from the show...stay tuned! vvaughan8@yahoo.com