UPCOMING WORKSHOPS and LESSONS

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

I hope you can join me for one of these workshops to sharpen your skills, or just try something new! OCTOBER promises cooler days, coastal birds and clouds and coffee-shop sketch classes! Have some fun before the crazy holiday season. My workshops are intense, and intensely fun. I keep them small, so respond soon for supply lists and "housing" info.

email me
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    COFFEE SHOP SKETCH CLASSES    

October 5, 12, 19, 26. 

November 2, 9

6pm - 8pm

Wednesday nights in October and early November.

I will introduce you to a new way to see, sketch and capture impressions QUICKLY!

Learn how to keep a travel sketchbook, and how to SEE in SHAPES, rather than lines and contours...(nothing wrong with lines, but you already see those!)

We explore new drawing media, too...I bring lots of my own stuff for you to try. 

Location: Joel's Coffee House, Lakeline Blvd., Austin, TX. Bring a friend, enjoy fun coffees and Joel's new salad and sandwich menu, along with the usual great handmade chocolates....oh yes, and we will sketch like crazy!

email to sign up

$30 per session or $160 for all sessions

A Little Light

A Little Light   4 x 6  Available at Act I Gallery, Taos, NM

WELCOME TO ACT I Gallery
My FAVORITE Gallery, Act I Gallery in Taos, NM has new owners!
This is a "Welcome" to D. and G. and wonderful well wishes as they embark on a great art adventure!
This little tiny painting was the first one I did for my recent solo show there, and I almost lost it before the show! (it is very small!).  I believe it is still there, waiting for a home!

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UPCOMING FOR V....

Phippen Museum Western Art Show___Prescott, AZ___May 23-25

Ballad of the Farm: Then. Now. Tomorrow__OPENING__David City, NE__May 23
This event is a VERY SPECIAL exhibit, that I have put my heart into since October, 2014. I will have a month of TARGETED blog posts about this topic, and "unveil" my special painting very soon. Visit Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art for more, and PLEASE follow my journey...soon!

St. Francis

St. Francis Study             8x10 oil study                 SOLD

I sat in the car with a friend and we chatted and sketched this pretty little church in Waco, Texas...Something about the PINK cast on the walls appeals to me, so I might do another version!...When you paint outside, you need to trust what you see, COLOR-WISE...did I really see pink???

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Y'ALL!

A Little Light

A Little Light___a little Texas December Sunrise, 4x6 on canvas___$150

Testing...One...Two...Three...
I left off with this blog sometime in May!
If you are connected with me on Facebook (Virginia Pedro Vaughan) or Instagram (@vvaughan8) or
 Twitter (@vvaughan8), then you have seen this...and some other art posts.
I can't wait to show and tell some recent art and news! For now, I just want to say HAPPY HOLIDAYS, Y'ALL!!
Are you surprised to see a post from me?
I would love to hear a "hi" back from EVERYONE!!!!
vvaughan8@yahoo.com 
V....

Maria del Presidio

Maria del Presidio___5x7 watercolor for Chocolate & Chiaroscuro

Wednesday is my first open "studio" event...if you want to call Joel's a "studio"...I DO!!!
Joel's is where I go several times a week, just to get out of the studio and the classroom. To sit with my artist buddy, or sometimes alone with a sketchbook. Robin Cheers and I solve all the world's problems over coffee, chocolate and sketchbooks...Come see some of our "coffee shop works" and enjoy a casual evening in our "studio". info below.

 



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UPCOMING EVENTS

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NOW thru Nov. 24 -  AWA Show, RS Hanna Gallery, Fredericksburg, TX

Wednesday, November 20 - Chocolate & Chiaroscuro....and Holiday CHEER
4 to 8 pm at Joel's

an open studio event featuring V....Vaughan and Robin Cheers...and CHOCOLATE

at Joel's Coffee House, Austin
 

St. Mark's Shadows - Cuero, TX



 

St. Mark's Shadows__Cuero, TX___water soluble graphite on paper

One of many small watercolor originals available at our Joel's event.

PLEASE COME if you can! Info Below.

 



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UPCOMING EVENTS

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NOW thru Nov. 24 -  AWA Show, RS Hanna Gallery, Fredericksburg, TX

Wednesday, November 20 - Chocolate & Chiaroscuro....and Holiday CHEER

an open studio event featuring V....Vaughan and Robin Cheers...and CHOCOLATE

at Joel's Coffee House, Austin
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Here is an updated video for my demo yesterday....

STILL NOT QUITE TOGETHER, BUT MY FRIEND BEV IS HAVING FUN PLAYING.

 

 

Behind the Studio

Behind the Studio, St. Jo ___8x10 oil on panel

Last weekend was the first Annual (I hope!) plein air and gallery event in St. Jo, TX. Hosted by Davis & Blevins Gallery, which is the home place of great cowgirl artist,

Donna Howell-Sickles....the event was a big fundraiser for the Montague County Child Welfare Board, and I think a lot of money was raised with the art, auctions and galas. Of course for me and the other artists, it was all about "hanging" with other artists...some, my heros, like Donna. LOOK UP her work and see if it doesn't make you smile...She is one of those artists whose work is 100% unique, and can be identified just by it's style...I like that!

My painting above is the back of her studio and gallery on Main Street.



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UPCOMING EVENTS

***

NOW thru Nov. 24 -  AWA Show, RS Hanna Gallery, Fredericksburg, TX

Wednesday, November 20 - Chocolate & Chiaroscuro....and Holiday CHEER
an open studio event featuring V....Vaughan and Robin Cheers...and CHOCOLATE
at Joel's Coffee House, Austin

 

Spring Fed

Spring Fed___24 x 30 oil on linen

This is the one I worked on at the Chocolate Sketch class on Saturday. A typical Texas Hill country bluebonnet painting!

Many of our streams are "spring fed" as are the cattle!

I have some little things left to do, but you might not notice them so I decided to post it tonight...bigger paintings take a little time to "see". I like to hold them for many weeks and place them on walls around my house (or at coffee/chocolate shops!) to see things in different lighting conditions.I have planned this painting for a long while, after doing something outside that was very similar...

Ann's Bluebonnet Study

Ann's Bluebonnets - Study___3 x 9 oil on linen panel___$190

A few weeks ago I posted the finished painting of this study above. I usually work out my "oil changes" on tiny canvases before taking on a big canvas. The studies are very loose and impressionistic. Just for fun, Click the blog image to see the details of this tiny study, and compare it with the larger work!

Bluebonnet Season is winding down here in central Texas.

As they fade and get covered by the taller grasses, new flowers are springing up! There are huge fields of yellow flowers near my mom's nursing home, with a whole palette of color splashed along the edges of the roadsides. I guess our late rains and cool weather have made this a really pretty wildflower year so far!

Bay Day

Bay Day___6x12 oil on panel__Rockport Art Festival, July 5, 2013

I started this plein air oil the last time I was down in Rockport, TX. A few days ago I uncovered it, unfinished in my studio and could see enough info that it was easy to finish. I will set it aside for the Rockport Art Festival, in early July, unless someone wants it BEFORE then!

As I type this, I am surrounded by winter's last grip on the Great Plains! So STAY TUNED for some winter paintings, which will be a real exercise for this Texas girl! I figure it will be EASY!! I brought a big tube of WHITE...

I am in Nebraska to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art! My exhibit, Last Year on the Farm was their first EVER exhibit, and that's when I became friends with the museum! I come up here EVERY CHANCE I can, and get my fill of agrarian (FARM) life, which surrounds this area of Nebraska....FRIDAY thru Sunday I will be LEARNING from painters Michael Albrectsen and Michael Bingham, both from Utah (AMAZING ARTISTS). If you are nearby PLEASE try to come to ONE EVENT here in David City, NE. I can PROBABLY get you into the workshop, even at the last minute   vvaughan8@yahoo.com

OR, come meet everyone at the opening reception for the current exhibition "The Barn as a Chapel", presented by artist Michael Wilson. Saturday, April 13, 6-8 pm...you can meet me and ALL the

Michaels, and tour this little GEM of a museum....

Ann's Bluebonnets

Ann's Bluebonnets__12 x 36  oil on linen__sold

 

 

I delivered this one to an old friend Friday night. Ann lives in Panama but was in town visiting family, so we had this date planned for months for her to pick up this painting...and the REAL bluebonnets are everywhere!...

The proportion made it difficult to photograph...

For the past few months I have been a spotty blogger. I hope you have enjoyed the break!

Frankly, these have been tough months, in many ways. The main thing is loss...the loss of my mom's health, mainly. I am really enjoying a lot of time with her these days, because I know I will not have her much longer....And also the loss of a few dear friends...different situations, but feeling their loss in deep ways.

If you live long enough these times happen, I know. So many of you have shared personal stories with me as we correspond.

So as Spring is here with NEW LIFE all around, PLEASE KNOW that I thank God for you...really!

Hook This

Hook This___10 x 30 oil for Cowgirl Up!___Wickenburg, Arizona, March 22 - May 31

 

This is the first one I painted for this year's event, Cowgirl Up in Wickenburg Arizona, at the Desert Caballeros Museum. Opening festivities are next weekend, March 22-24. And I mean FESTIVITIES!!! This is one event that I LOVE to go to! There are wonderful beautiful cowgirl artists everywhere, and their great art to match. It is a fun time to catch up with old friends, to be in the old west, and enjoy Arizona before the heat kicks in. Please tap me on the shoulder if you are out there. I will probably tap you right back!

#4_Young Whoop

Young Whoop___6x6 oil for the "Birdseed Project"___$190 includes shipping

On Dec. 3, I kicked off a special project to benefit a nursing home and its backyard birds!!

This is #4 in the series...

WHOOP!

If you are from Texas, you know how beloved the endangered whooping cranes are. When I was a little girl, there were only a few dozen left in the whole world. I never thought I would see one in the wild, but they are making a comeback! For the past several years, I have been blessed to see whooping cranes from both the eastern flock AND the central flyway. This is a young whooper I saw in Texas...

The other WHOOP happens at Texas A&M University! Just mention "A&M" and if  there is an "Aggie" within earshot, you will hear a loud "WHOOP"...and with the announcement of the next Heisman Trophy winner, there might be a LOT of "whoop" in Texas!

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AND...

How about ART for Christmas?

See my new fine art prints

 http://vvaughan.blogspot.com/2012/10/son-of-sun.html 

 

or ask Santa for the adventure of a lifetime

A Painting Holiday in New Zealand March 3-9, 2015

#2 Bird_Mockingbird Sage_6x6

 

Mocking the Purple Sage__6x6 oil__$190 includes shipping

Here is #2 for my Bird Seed Project mentioned yesterday!

I barely hit "send" and the little bird sold...dear Anna and Allen from the

 Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art were with me when I shot many pictures of mocking birds...they were passing through central Texas on museum biz when I nabbed them and dragged them off to San Antonio. While at the San Jose Mission, we were followed and serenaded by several mockers, and I shared this project idea with them...Knowing Anna, she was waiting by her computer for the first little painting...MORE TO COME!

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Consider a fine art print for Christmas! http://vvaughan.blogspot.com/2012/10/son-of-sun.html 

or ask Santa for the adventure of a lifetime

A Painting Holiday in New Zealand March 3-9, 2015

Boat Trailer

Boat Trailer__6x8 oil on linen__$350 at Wind Way Gallery, Rockport (framed)
Across from the gallery in Rockport, TX, was this little boat. When I was there a couple weeks ago, I did this little painting that will hang in the show which opens tomorrow!
Join us Friday, September 14 from 5 to 8 pm for a reception, and the unveiling of another NEW WORK that I will post on Saturday night...

Yucca Bonnets

Yucca Bonnets 1___8x6 oil study on linen___Sold
It is bluebonnet time in Texas, and it is a banner year! They have peaked sooner than "usual"...whatever that means. They are thick, tall and all over the nearby Hill Country of Austin, TX. I spent the day out with my bluebonnet pals, Pat, Kaye, Margie, Carol and other friends...Carol took this one home, so I will have to paint again tomorrow....ah well....
Tomorrow is the BIG vrsion of the small study I posted a few days ago from Arizona. The big one below was 16 x 20 and was completed in an hour at the Cowgirl Up! Quick Draw. Compare it to the study and tell me which one you like better!

Wickenburg This Morning---Cowgirl Up! Quick Draw---16x20 sold

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 ...

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)

#96 - Plain Mesa

Plain Mesa__8x10 oil on linen panel__for Passing America: The Great Plains__$590 framed
See a special feature about my upcoming solo show at the University of Nebraska's Great Plains Art Museum in this month's issue of Peaks&Plains Magazine. I will give a little talk about the practice of "drive-by" impressionism, and some thoughts about the passing of America, during the opening reception in Lincoln. Come if you can on October 7, next Friday night.
The painting here was done near Santa Ana, TX, at the edge of the plains, where a few mesas break up the plain, and in this case, some skipping shadows moved over the plainscape. I love the suummer sky!
I now have ALL 154 paintings for this exhibit on my web site. Go take a look!, and come back as I am adding more details every day...but the good part is the pictures, and they are all there!

Sign up for one of these two workshops!
http://bonecreek.org/pdf/Vaughan%20workshop.pdf

http://www.fbgartschool.com/2011_classes.htm scroll down this page to V....Vaughan

Click to see SPECIAL piece of artwork to benefit a Texas fire victim. A fun way to help if you can!

#80 Lightning Path

Lightning Path____8x10 oil on linen_for Passing America: The Great Plains__$590 framed

I painted this after painting #79 (yesterday's post)...we drove right into the storm and I continued to paint it...studying the CONSTANT flashes of lightning so that I could try to nail the color. It was a FIERCE storm on the plains...the kind that gets your adrenaline rushing. Zoom in on this one and you will see some NERVOUS brush work!

Sign up for one of my two upcoming workshops!
http://bonecreek.org/pdf/Vaughan%20workshop.pdf

http://www.fbgartschool.com/2011_classes.htm scroll down page to V....Vaughan

Click to see SPECIAL piece of artwork to benefit a Texas fire victim. A fun way to help if you can!