Boat_Gone By

By Gone__8x10 oil on linen panel__$350 unframed

Several weeks ago I took a quickie trip to Rockport, TX with a friend, Terri Wells, who is a great watercolorist...We spent a few hours at my favorite boatyard on Cove Harbor, and I did this little oil sketch...8x10.

This boat is a little break from my Bird Seed Project, as I gather the latest works and photograph them to post. But, there ARE birds in this painting! ...The nursing home has a good "stash"  of seed for now, but I have many more little bird studies to post! Keep a look-out and tell your bird loving friends about my project!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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...

Reflecting in Rockport

Reflecting in Rockport__12x9 oil on linen____SOLD
Not that I am IN ROCKPORT, or anything...in fact I am at my home computer, now....back from the cool Colorado mountains....reluctantly!
This image was waiting for me in my mailbox...sent to me by the person who bought it a few weeks ago in Rockport. I sold it right off my easel, and never had a chance to photograph it, so I am glad to have this image...even though it is a little bit "rough"....

Lorraine Sketch

Lorraine Sketch from the Rockport Workshop____5 minute sketch with oil on linen

Monday and Tuesday I taught a workshop in Rockport, TX. Our focus was capturing impressions QUICKLY. I worked in color in the morning demo, then gave some instruction on "seeing" to sketch fast...it is a favorite topic of mine. Maybe because as a young artist, I am sure I was the slowest artist in the world: very deliberate and obsessed with PERFECTION.

Yes, I was perfect ... :) ....NOT!

But my detailed drawings were pretty dang close to the photo I copied line for line, value for value...and the eraser was my friend!

I am very glad I spent so much time being technically accurate. It trained my eye! A very young artist NEEDS THIS, because they have very little experience in ANYTHING. This is why they are generally impatient with verbal instruction in large doses. They prefer to DO IT, rather than analyze it! I reassure my adult students that they HAVE experience, even if they are new to art! Experience like GEOMETRY, science and physics...these go a LONG way in helping define certain art principles!
My group this week learned a few things in our sketch sessions. I hope they are PRACTICING! :)

Boat Study

Boat Study___6x8 oil on linen panel___for Caro and Don
Ahhh! I just enjoyed a WONDERFUL couple of days painting in Rockport, TX with a fabulous group of artists who let me pretend to teach them! As usual, we met at my favorite haunts..this demo was a quickie at the Cove Harbor Boatyard....I got home a few hours ago and went straight to a ball game. (It is now baseball season...the first scrimmage was tonight for the Round Rock High School Dragons! No pressure, guys, there were 4 pro scouts in the stands with their radar guns and note pads!)
Yes, this is what I would describe as a perfect day!
But it came after a very sad weekend. One of my great friends and the best boss I ever had died suddenly on Saturday. Susan Owen was the principal at Round Rock Christian Academy where I taught for 19 years. She was just a few years older than me, a YOUNG woman :)...even younger at heart! Her great gifts were gifts of the Spirit. If you ever wonder what Jesus was like, her name would be at the top of the list: Gracious, and FULL of real love and real grace and real mercy. And no one I know who knows her EVER saw her deviate from this type of goodness. Can you imagine having a boss whose door was ALWAYS open, and who ALWAYS was ready to hear you and to laugh or cry with you? And to watch her work with children was a work of art. Of course, being the principal, she often had little "law breakers" in her office. Susan had a way of correcting them with love and RESTORING these little renegades, rather than heaping on them with a guilt trip. They usually skipped away from her office, and were determined to do better just for Mrs. Owen!...I could go on and on, and I will miss her TERRIBLY...I hope you will meet someone like Susan some day.
I am sorry to be behind with e-mail replies...will catch up tomorrow

Repair at Low Tide___Click to bid

"Low Tide Repair___9 x 12 oil on linen panel_____click to bid
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140262280451
Painted on location in Maine. This was painted a couple years ago in Maine (Camp Ellis, near Saco)...Before I was finished with it, the tide came in and my easel legs were in the water....It made me a little nervous, because our tide does not come up so fast or high in Texas and I was freaked out a little bit...but it helped me to paint faster!!!
Please note that this is NOT a small painting. There are MANY small paintings available on the blogs these days. I want to offer a few "larger" paintings (as opposed to small studies) from time to time...this is one of those times! For more info, e-mail me at mailto:painting.vvaughan8@yahoo.com