Cow Study 1

Cow Study 1___Oil on oil paper

That weekend paint trip with Robin was a typical "stop and sketch it" session, as we stopped all along the way to photograph and paint....We stayed a little bit with friend Barbara, but really, I only remember the road and the things we sketched. This was a quickie cow...Part of a small herd that settled down to watch us watch them!

 



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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

 

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 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!

Line of Scrimmage

Line of Scrimmage__12x24 oil on linen___$2100

Available at Cactus Jack's in Gruene, TX

My longhorn paintings have football titles and images that reflect some of the deep things about the game, teamwork and how football is a lot like life!  There are "holes" in all allegories, but I like the symbolism found in sports...When a Quarterback steps up to the line, he looks around and must be aware of everything, while the lineman focus ONLY on their assignment and timing...I imagine that the other team is across the water and....

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Here are some locations for a few other workshops. email me if you want more info on any of these...

And here is a link to a SPECIAL ONE.

I can't wait to see the water go down the drain BACKWARDS there!

July-August ___weekly__Austin___ "Chocolates and Chiaroscuro" 

Sept. 15, 2012___Salado TX

2013___New York City, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania...

2014___February 23-March 1___New Zealand

**BE SURE to tell me if you sign up! I like to send things to my students to get them ready, keep them "seeing", and thinking, and talking about it!

The Backfield

The Backfield___10 x 30 oil on linen___available soon


I am in the middle of a blitz of western and wildlife works for my galleries...summer is SOON so I want to equip them with some good new works, plus I have a couple of shows I will bring new works to!


Of course there will be plenty of longhorns and horses, but if you have ides, let me know!


THIS WEEK, though...I am headed to Gadsden, Alabama for the Southeastern Plein Air Festival...can't wait to see friends there that I have not seen in about 3-4 years!
See y'all on the Coosa!

_______________V....Vaughan Spring Schedule________________

April 9-13, Southeastern Plein Air Festival, Gadsden, AL

Memorial Dy Weekend-May, Phippen Museum Western Art Show, Prescott, AZ

Summer Workshops in Texas, Colorado and more!

...see my schedule for more dates and events

Cowside

Cowside___8x10 oil on linen panel___for K.F....I THINK!
I began this one as a one-color value sketch...demonstrating how our brush is a "shape-maker" and not a "line-maker" as a pencil is...I intended to fill the canvas with various views of the cattle in the pasture, but somehow ended up creating a composition with the elements there....ah well....I got carried 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!

#90 - Windy Hilltop

Cow Hilltop__8x10 oil on linen panel__for Passing America: The Great Plains__$590 framed

Some of you have noticed the #89 before the painting title (or #90, for this post!). I have numbered each painting that is in the upcoming exhibit as a way to track and catalog the pieces. VERY SOON, I will have all the works TOGETHER in a special place on my web site, and you will be able to view thumbnails and a LARGE image, and to see which works are available. I will give my blog/email/Google group/and facebook friends the first look at the exhibit "all together". There is still a lot of writing to do, but each painting has a story of travel and observation of the lost farms across the Plains. I hope you will stay along for the finish of my journey.
Below is some info about upcoming workshops, and help for a Texas fire victim ...

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.

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!

Kansas Ridge

Kansas Ridge__6x8 oil on linen panel__for Passing America: The Great Plains__$490 framed/shipped
Another winter painting from my upcoming solo show.
Passing America: The Great Plains consists of about 100 paintings in oil, created mostly while ON THE MOVE through the plains. Small farms are passing away, and my works tell the story of these passing American impressions.
The exhibit opens with an artist reception (that's me!) at the Great Plains Art Museum at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln on October 7. You can see the works there from Oct. 7 through December 11. Please tell your friends! Especially the "Corn Husker" types...October 7 is the beginning of Homecoming weekend for the U of N! Please let me know if you are coming, so I can look for you!

Step Ladder Sky

Step Ladder Sky___8 x 10 oil on linen panel___for Passing America: The Great Plains
I was going to post this one today, anyway...a drive-by painting in the plains of northern New Mexico. But, this is the first time I have given a title like this...the title goes with that step ladder of cirrus cloudy sky, but it also goes with a LANDMARK EVENT in my life.
For 27 years, I have been a FULL-TIME MOTHER (doing a little art on the side)...This week, my youngest (a 6'4"+ football athlete) goes away to college and the "new normal" begins!...
So, the FIRST THING I noticed about this "new normal", is that since all my TALL KIDS are gone, I do not have easy access to the top shelves, anymore....yesterday, I had to go to Lowes and buy a step ladder....

August___Painting the Plains...I will be ALL OVER The place, finishing my project which opens on Oct. 7...
October 7___Passing America: The Great Plains. Lincoln, NE...Reception and Gallery Talk in the evening
Oct. 8-13___Nebraska Workshops...painting farms en plein air
Oct. 18-Nov. 17___Remembering the Farm, Solo show at Inspiration Gallery at Riverbend Church, Austin
October 27___Remembering the Farm Reception and Gallery Talk 5-8 pm. Riverbend, Austin
Nov. 9-11___Fall Workshop at Fredericksburg Artists' School
June 11-13, 2012___Spring Workshop at Fredericksburg Artists School
Summer 2012 Workshop...early August, 2012! TBA!

British White

British White__6x6 oil on panel___$290 framed for Passing America: The Great Plains

I was introduced to this beautiful breed of cattle the last time I traveled through Nebraska on my Passing America journeys. I spent an afternoon on the Bohaty farm, where they raise grass-fed British Whites. This proved to be a VERY IMPORTANT visit, as I saw how a family is adjusting to the current farming climate, and is doing something GOOD and NEW! As I move forward soon to update my project blog I will share MUCH more about this farm!

I Love my blogging/ facebooking/ e-mailing friends, and I really know how to pick them! I only pick SMART ones, who also are clever and BEAUTIFUL! (right, y'all???)
A number of you wrote after yesterday's post and said you were giving me your "two cents' worth"...so I now have TEN CENTS and the proper name for the breed of cattle I posted yesterday...it is a Black Baldy...and you will see that I corrected the title on yesterday's post!

Black Baldy

Black Baldy___6x6 oil on panel___$290 framed for Passing America: The Great Plains
I posted a Hereford of the same size and price, yesterday but forgot to hit the "publish" button on the blog. So, if you only see the blog (and not the e-mail) click here to see yesterday's Hereford ...This is "cow week" as I have a small little group of different types of cattle that I have seen across the plains...these are small canvases in matching frames for my exhibit, but they are not "drive-by" paintings. ...This painting above is what we call a "white face", which, I think is a type of Hereford but if anyone knows better, please let me know! I suspect they have a little bit of Angus.

Here Hereford

Here Hereford___6x6 oil on panel___$290 framed for Passing America: The Great Plains
I am not sure why the Angus has taken over the popularity contest for cattle these days...maybe it's a marketing ploy for beef? In my studies for the farm exhibit, I am finding out a lot about our food supply as family farms fade away and the farms become corporations...This does not HAVE to be a bad thing, but somehow it is....
Anyway, When I see Hereford cattle, I think of "Texas"...maybe because that was the breed of choice in the pastures when I was growing up!...as an artist, I really do not care which breed is "best", I just like the VARIETY I have seen all across the plains.
I am seriously HOARDING my paintings these days...to make sure I meet the required numbers of new works for my upcoming exhibit in Nebraska. Pretty soon I will count all the works, and when I have the quantities I need, I will begin selling again :) Anything that is painted for the show will not be delivered till just before Christmas :)

Pastured Impatience

Pastured Impatience__9x12 oil on linen___Passing America: The Great Plains
I had a difficult time photographing this one and figured out it is because my brushwork was causing some random glares....sorry about that.
A favorite farm scene of mine is when the cattle egrets are in the pastures following whatever moving target is there. They are not picky and will follow a tractor just as often as they will follow the cattle. They get their meals when the moving target stirs up bugs...usually grasshoppers. This egret was impatient...probably because the cow was not helping him stir up dinner...

Cattle Paths

Cattle Paths- Williston, North Dakota___6x8 oil on linen panel__for Passing America exhibit Oct 7-Dec11

Williston is fairly close to the Montana border, so by this time, I had been painting and sketching many hours on my Amtrak trip Passing America: The Great Plains. I think this was the sun's highest point in the sky all day! My Montana friend, Sarah, said in the winter, the sun feels like it is at eye level all the time....though it shone brightly, it was very cold outside, and we all wondered how those cows make it through the winter! My last winter on the farm was such a bitter cold one, and our southern cows suffered a great deal.

In response to D....who recently asked me if I ever paint from photos. Below are a few photos from the train...Bad Photo 2 was adjusted with photoshop, and STILL is lacking! I just could NOT paint from these!!! Photography is a whole 'nother gift which I do not possess! For a painter, there is NO SUBSTITUTE for training your eye outside...or on location.
Now, NO SASSY comments about my photography, please....I am a sensitive artist!!! ;)

Bad Photo 1

Bad Photo 2

Bad Photo 3

Bad Photo 4

Lowing 3_black cow, cattle, white face, small oil painting

"Lowing 3"___6 x 6 oil study on linen___$150
The cattle are still lowing...I have revisited the farm lately, via photos and a few small studies. Compare this "Low-er" with yesterday's. It appears that it is the same cow, and I think it is. Funny, as an artist paints, our eye records MANY things each time we look up. We take note of proportions, and negative space and lights and darks and all the art terms you can think of...These things stay in our memory bank, stored up to use later on another painting. While painting the "bangs" on this cow's forehead, I remembered painting similar shapes and textures in yesterday's work....same cow! To you art students: THIS IS WHY carrying a sketchbook is SO IMPORTANT. I worked from two different photos that I had taken, but did not remember or notice the similarity in the photos of the cows. Shooting pictures really does NOTHING to improve your art technique...but sketching does! Do you agree?

Lowing 2_cow, cattle, white face,oil, small original

"Lowing 2"___6 x 6 oil study on linen panel___$150

The cattle are lowing...it's Christmas time and I always loved this "theme" when I lived on the farm. If you haven't looked at the 365 small paintings from my "Last Year on the Farm" (which is the name of the exhibit which traveled the USA in 2008), please go look! Especially take a look at the December paintings and read those field notes...there is a lot about "lowing" in those paintings. It was a cold December, as it's turning out to be this year, and our cows huddled up together a lot....Merry CHRISTmas!

Big Boy___black cow, angus, pen sketch, cattle

"Big Boy"...sketching a lotta bull!

This is officially "angus Week" for me, since I will be painting an angus scene tonite at a demo I am doing for an art club nearby. I have been enjoying the sketches, and when it came time to prepare reference for a demo, the angus angle seemed just right! I will post it tomorrow, unless it comes out awful...

Some of you, my "regulars" replied a few weeks ago that you'd like to follow my new blog "Passing America..." I will get more info out on that sometime during the Holidays. I created the blog this week, and am learning new things about Blogger. Since I started this blog a few years ago, I have done NOTHING to update it...just too busy to get on that roll, but last night I really got into it. It appears that while working on the new blog, I must have ordered changes or updates for this one , too, because it LOOKS different....UH OH, I hope I didn't lose all my archived content....