Harbor Flight

Harbor FLight___24x18 oil on linen___for Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, unless you want it first

I have been in the studio this week, preparing for upcoming shows and travels. The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition is in Charleston, SC each year and I am almost finished preparing for it. This one is actually a "study" for a larger canvas I am working on...I like working out problems in paint. When I finish the study, I usually "wish there was more"....all the time spent "in the scene" FINALLY comes together at the end and it's hard to "put down the brush" (If you are an artist, you KNOW......this is why we sometimes OVERWORK a painting). Rather than overworking, I prefer to just do another one, to "FINISH" the mood! It's sort of like reading a good book or getting engrossed in a good movie. Just when you get into the story and the characters, the movie ends!....This painting has not "ended" for me, yet....there will be a sequel! :) HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Century Tree-State 1

Century Tree_State 1_____for JP

Well I delivered this painting before remembering to take a photo of the final state....Here it is with a heavy emphasis on the warm underpainting...and contrasts are flat...but it was painted as a special Christmas present from J to A....a scene of where he proposed !...

Merry CHRISTmas, y'all!

Bluebonnet Stream 2

Bluebonnet Stream 2___6x8 oil on linen panel___wet today, dry for CHRISTmas!__$250 includes shipping
I halway expect the fllowers to start blooming! It is 85 DEGREES in Texas today!!! I am still in the midst of a week of little studies...solving bluebonnet problems! See my blog for the past three or 4 days of posts...these little works are good examples of painting shapes and colors and having the outcome look like something! Click the blog image to see the juicy details! MERRY CHRISTMAS from Texas!!!

Bluebonnet Stream 1

Bluebonnet Stream 1____6x8 oil on linen___will be dry for Christmas! $250 includes shipping
Saturday I mentioned that I have spent a few days solving "bluebonnet problems". The problems I am working on involve the little bluebonnet flower...they are very detailed, but as an Impressionist, I try not to dabble in all the details, but rather I try to create the impression of the big batch of blue! Here is one of three of the same scene I painted. They are all real JUICY and full of color. click the blog image to see the thick paint! But the paint will be dry by CHRISTmas!...MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Bluebonnet Stream 3

Bluebonnet Stream 3 ___6x8 oil on linen___$250 delivered for Christmas!

Blue Path

Blue Path___6x8___$250 includes Christmas shipping!!
It's Christmas time in Texas and everywhere! This week, I painted a little batch of paintings which are similar to my most POPULAR works in 2010....our great Texas Bluebonnet!
These will be shown JUST THIS ONCE, and then I will take them to one of my Galleries, where they will be framed and cost more! Ha! I hope you enjoy a little springtime at Christmas!...stay tuned!

Bahia Dusk

Bahia Dusk____6x8 oil study on linen panel______$190 for CHRISTmas!
This holy presidio looks especially sacred at night, when there are spotlights trained onto the facade. Before the sky got too dark we stayed and painted studies there a few weeks ago when I was there with artist friends Barbara, Caro and Susan....I didn't finish this one out thee, but made notes of color onto the canvas and just now got around to finishing it. It's good to do this, because once you are away from the visual "standard" of having the "model" right there before you, yu can BE A PAINTER, and complete it the way you FEEL....not trying to hold to the standard of "the truth" that your eyes see.
So there you have my lesson: Lower your standards, forget about "truth" and do what you FEEL. ....PLEASE only apply this to art, and do NOT raise your kids this way! hahaha
Merry CHRISTmas!

Conference

Conference___8x10 oil on linen panel____Christmas commission for K
I LOVED doing this one, because it is getting close to baseball season again....already!
I also like the scene, so typical of baseball !
I have not posted a lot lately, because I am working on many details of many projects! Some are art oriented, some are family!....ALL GOOD!
If you are an artist and want to come to a workshop next year, I have a few different ones to choose from that would make a GREAT CHRISTMAS gift to self! Think Texas Hill Country, in early springtime and late spring!
I have a very exciting painting excursion coming up next month. It's another leg of my project
PASSING AMERICA: THE GREAT PLAINS. This leg will take me through the northern-most tier of our American Great Plains in the deep winter-time under the full moon! Can you imagine?...I will be talking about it a lot....get ready!!

MERRY CHRISTmas!

La Bahia Courtyard

La Bahia Courtyard ___study__8x10___click blog image to see details
This was done on location a few weeks ago while I was there painting with art buddies B and C and S....we painted til the moon came up that day! I am using these studies to make bigger works and really enjoying the "immersion" in this landmark.
Funny story for you artists: FOLLOW UP on every e-mail, even if you THINK it is a scam! I recently sold some works to a collector in UK, even though I tried hard to brush them off. They jumped through all my "pretend-hoops" and eventually paid in British Pounds (which Paypal converts to dollars for a fee.....to check people out carefully, just make up stories so they have to respond! I do this every time, and if it's a scam, at least I have fun yanking their chain!....ALSO, I had TWO collectors with almost the EXACT SAME NAME contact me this week! Check carefully before offering to deliver the painting in person! One lived nearby and the other one on a far away ISLAND! It took me a while to realize they were two different collectors! ....
BUT, you probably are safe to toss an email that says "Plis reply me soonest".
Note to collectors: you have my permission to call my bluff when I ask you to jump through hoops before purchasing. Just say "knock it off, lady, I really want the art" and I will behave :) ....Merry CHRISTmas!

Sunrise at La Bahia

Sunrise at La Bahia___8x10 plein air study____click to enlarge___$300
I painted this one on location a couple weeks ago...making a few "oil changes" when I got it home...adding the figures below, which give it some "scale". It was a WARM Texas fall morning and my friends and I spent time soaking in the atmosphere at this important Texas landmark....over 300 Texans were killed here on this spot, which is hard to believe, because it is such a quiet peaceful place, today.

Moonset Morning

Moonset Morning__8x6 oil on linen panel__available next week at Wind Rush Gallery, Sedona, AZ

Last week we had a full moon! I was out with some friends and we saw the moonset through the clouds. I grabbed a small canvas and "took notes"....the fall colors were just about at their peak in South Texas. I know that might be hard to believe for you folks who live up where Winter is :)

Lion

Lion__oil on linen panel 8x6__$250
Here's a study... I will probably take it with me to an upcoming wildlife show. The lion was seen just walking across a causeway in South Africa, and the sun was hitting him just right. I have had this photo (from a friend/artist in South Africa, Liz Pearson) for about a year, and have been wanting to paint it! I just came upon it in my laptop files (which are all in different order since I had the laptop "fixed"....THANK YOU, E....!), so maybe the dis-order helped me locate this photo to work from! THANK YOU, LIZ, for the photo!!!

Click the image to see some detail!