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

 

Cow - Palette Droppings

Cow__8x10 oil study__$250

 

Saturday was the last of my little sketch classes at Joel's Chocolate and Coffee House. Robin and I did a couple of fun demos and steered everyone to the truffle display...My favorite pecan truffles were fresh, so we made the display smaller!

I have painted a lot these days and there were a lot of "puddles" drying on my palette...that semi-dry sticky blobby stuff I call "palette droppings"...when I got home, I used the droppings for this one above...Catchy title, eh?

British White Warmup

British White - Warm-Up

Last week in Nebraska, I painted with a group outside in various locations.

One location was the Bohaty Farm, one of the top breeding places for the beautiful British White catte. It was a PERFECT DAY on their farm: enthusiastic cattle people were there to purchase at their auction, the fields were full of Sandhill cranes and the artists were scattered around, creating works in oils and watercolor.This one is my morning study. I often grab a tiny canvas as a warm-up.

Herf

Herf____4x6 oil on canvas panel ___$150

I remember when there were hereford cattle everywhere in Texas....I also remember when our herd on the farm slowly became angus....more and more, the black angus has become the "trend"....Not that I mind...but it's nice to still see Hereford around, too!

This one was painted with my students' palette "droppings".

I will be talking and teaching about this in my upcoming workshop in Fredericksburg, TX.  Sign up soon! I also have some youth workshops in June (Middle School and High School)

_______________V....Vaughan Spring Schedule________________

Workshop: Fredericksburg Artists School, June 11-14

High School/Middle School Student Workshops: Austin, TX, June 18-21

 Southeastern Plein Air Festival, works hang thru May, 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

Side of Angus

Side of Angus___5x7 oil on canvas panel___$150

Here's a little one from last week's "palette droppings"
Again, it's done with a knife...a technique I will share at the upcoming workshops. We will spend a LOT of time drawing...and not always with a pencil!

Have you ever drawn with a knife?

Will you be in Omaha, Nebraska this month? A group of my works from Last Year on the Farm is on display there. "Simply Agrarian" On exhibit May 2 through May 31, 2012

Florence Mill ArtLoft, 9102 N. 30th St., Omaha NE 6811

Hours are 1-5 PM, Wednesday - Sunday. (closed Mondays & Tuesdays)

Contact: Linda Meigs (402) 551-1233

_______________V....Vaughan Spring Schedule________________

Workshop: Fredericksburg Artists School, June 11-14

High School/Middle School Student Workshops: Austin, TX, June 18-21

 Southeastern Plein Air Festival, works hang thru May, 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

Gertrudis Grazing

Gertrudis Grazing____6x8 oil on linen panel___$250 to the Gadsden Museum of Art
Here is the "right facing" cow I painted on location the other day in Alabama, while at the same time painting a left facing one....It seemed that whenever I worked on the left, the small herd grazed in the other direction. So, I picked up this canvas to paint the view moving right and the herd would switch back...when all was said and done, I let there with 2 and 1/2 paintings! ...the 1/2 was my attemt to paint a cow while it came toward me, but I ran out of time...

_______________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

Chilly Morning at Allen's Old Place

Chilly Morning at Allen's Old Place__8x10 oil on linen__$450 with wet paint
With miles and miles of Nebraska cornfields and soybeans ready to come out of the fields, my workshop found the PERFECT HILLTOP to paint from. A hilltop place (formerly belonging to one of my hosts, Allen, but now being restored by his good friends, the Moravec's) has given us 360 degrees of landscapes to paint! You will see a number of my hilltop demos in the next few days! Whereas the sun rose QUICKLY from reds to yellows in yesterday's post, this sunrise "stalled" when low, foggy damp clouds rode in on the western breezes. Artists like when there is a LITTLE more time to grasp the glance outside.
Passing America: The Great Plains click to see 154 works from the show

Dumas Shade

Dumas Shade___6x8 oil on linen panel for Passing America: The Great Plains
I am sitting at my friends' kitchen table, blogging from their computer in David City, NE....A LONG day started in Salina, KS, after a short visit with my son (and I dragged my daughter along for this ride), we headed up to Lincoln, NE to deliver 130 paintings to The Great Plains Art Museum...My show will open there on October 7, and runs through Dec. 11...
The small work above is one painted on the plains of the Texas panhandle, where shade is a big comodity this long hot summer.
I will be in Nebraska and Kansas for a few more days, telling the story of my drive-by painting effort and visiting with friends. Like the Bohaty's who we visited with tonight. They fed us a wonderful feast of their grass-fed beef from their own herd of British White cattle. We had a wonderful meal and talked about farming and such....

Sketch #5___Big Boy Hereford

Sketch #5___Big Boy Hereford ___from my Colorado Sketchbook....auction soon!
At the rodeo pens nearby....this big boy was such a beauty!
Had a great painting adventure in the San Luis valley today. This mountain valley is one of the highest and largest in the world. It is an agricultural valley (potatoes), and the farms are poor little places....perfect for artists' subjects: old tractors, adobe shacks, interesting people...
At one point, today , we had lightning striking all around us...not fun...so we went to town to pick up a few things and got into a nasty hail storm....still, it's a nice break from Texas summer heat!
I am proceeding with selections from my sketchbook, and have a big plan for this sketchbook...I will talk about it soon!

Colorado Sketchbook-page 3

San Luis Valley Mesas - From my Colorado sketchbook, 2010 -
On the way "in" to our canyon and summer house, the land changes from farm valley, to mesas to the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado. I did this sketch in the mesa area, near Mogote and Fox Creek....The trees there, mark the path of the Conejos River.
This is a really remote area of wildflowers, wildlife and certainly CRICKETS!
Not that I have seen many (mostly small grasshoppers, which I noticed while out painting yesterday), but I mention crickets, because I read a funny and thought provoking essay about "Cricket Places"...I pasted the link below...

http://www.insight.org/library/insight-for-today/devotional-archive.html
Friday, July 16

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!

Lowing 1__cow, calf, small oil painting

"Lowing 1"___6x6 oil sketch on linen panel___$150 soaking wet!
"Away in a Manger" is one of the best Christmas songs. The first line in the second verse is "The Cattle are Lowing..." so that's where I got the title for a little batch of lowing cattle I painted today...Like that movie I mentioned yesterday (The Small One),the song is a creative work which takes the real Christmas story and embellishes some of the facts, giving your imagination a moment of wonder. This is a season of WONDER!...Merry CHRISTmas!

Grazing Together_cow, cattle egrets, angus, black

Grazing Together__24 x 30 oil on linen__available

FINALLY, I completed the demo start I did the other evening at the PACT meeting (PACT is an art group in Austin...and I hope y'all can remember how this one started...it was difficult to photograph, but you can click on the image to see details.) This subject might be my favorite thing to paint...really, ANYTHING having to do with farms is my passion. Please see my new blog and project at http://www.vvaughanusa.blogspot.com/  and be sure to sign up to be a follower, as I am making changes  constantly to update the project.

E-mail vvaughan8@yahoo.com
web http://www.v-vaughan.com/
Passing America: The Great Plains http://www.vvaughanusa.blogspot.com/

Grazing Trio_cow, angus, egrets, sketch

Grazing Trio___5.5 x 8.5 sketch
I have been painting this week, but not well enough to photograph the cow painting I began as a demo Tuesday night...Actually I lost most of the day, doing some heavy duty house cleaning and solving a self inflicted cell phone problem...TOMORROW I will finish and post the Angus painting. I am on the verge of creating so much anticipation that I hope it's not a let-down!

Angus Place_sketch, pen, Black Angus, cow

"Angus Place"___from my sketchbook, 5.5 x  8.5
I am still sketching the angus this week, preparing paintings, and working out problems, all while re-configuring my studio...I FINALLY finished that project today!
The demo I did last night was a good start! (Notice I chose to NOT post it, yet). There was a good crowd of at least 40, so I chose to work BIG, though I only had about 45 minutes...I hope to post it tomorrow!

Angus Reflection_cow, angus, black, sketch

Angus Reflection__from my sketchbook__8.5 x 5.5__$50
We have water in Texas now....ahhhhh
I am moving my studio downstairs this week...what a chore! I don't have an easel I like down there, yet, so twill be sketches this week!

Daybreak in Calvert_farm, cow, fenceline, shadows, green

Daybreak in Calvert_6x8 oil study on linen_____$150
Whenever I teach a plein air workshop I always schedule a sunrise demo...this painting gets everyone out of bed, and loosens me up for the day! The Backroads around Calvert, TX are full of small farms and familiar looking scenes...I love it! The sun rose behind us. Since the sky was crisp and clear, I knew the light would hit FAST and chose to look WEST for sunrise. The long shadows drew slowly toward us, till the foreground finally got lit up. My painting shows the foreground still in shadow, with sunlight hitting just the tops of the trees and the cow. While I painted, the class sat in lawn chairs and enjoyed the break of day! ...a new experience for a couple of them, I think!
As I prepare for my upcoming exhibit "Passing America..." I will be staying home more, working in my studio, and taking care of my partner/galleries. I have a few shows I will keep doing, but I am trying hard to NOT look for new opportunities....It turns out that my October is fairly full, so if you want to get out to see me, this month is your chance!
Sat. Oct 24 - Texas Country Reporter Show, Waxahachie, TX (by Dallas) 9am - 5 pm
Sun. Oct 25 - Bovine Art Show, Gruene, TX at Cactus Jack's
Sat. Oct 31 - Workshop, near Austin, TX...I think it's full, but call me if you are nearby and want to come vvaughan8@yahoo.com
Feb 5 - 7, 2010 Workshop at Fredericksburg Artists School. 3 days of sunrises, moonrises and plein air!

Early Thirst_6x6_ V....Vaughan

"Early Thirst"___6x6 oil on canvas panel___$ 120 if you ask for it first ($10 to ship)
This one and the one yesterday were painted from sketches and from memory as I drove from Taos to Albuquerque a few weeks ago. I had been doing some business with "my" gallery in Taos. Act I Gallery represents my work there, now. CLICK to see what they have!I am VERY honored to have such fine people behind me there in Northern New Mexico. Taos is my favorite place in New Mexico...right near the heart of the most beautiful parts of the state. There are some fabulous galleries there and many of my favorite artists live there, including a special mentor to many, Ray Vinella. If you have never been to Taos, PLAN TO GO THERE! It's great ANY time of the year. My husband and I skied there first, as rookie skiers, before we understood what steep means to skiing! Every place else is EASY skiing, after Taos!

Little Hereford_Click to Bid

"Little Hereford___3.5 x 3.5 oil on canvas with small easel_____Click to bid!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140263408419

Here is a juicy little oil painting that comes with its own little easel. I found them at Jerry's Artarama last year and today it was fun to just grab a tiny canvas again...for fun...It is one you'd want to put on a shelf in a small space, maybe ...I have been off the farm for nearly a year now, and find myself missing it more and more. When that happens, I have to paint it.
I am going to re-order the Last Year on the Farm books this week. Let me know if you want one and I will autograph it for you.
For more inf e-mail me at vvaughan8@yahoo.com

7 of 24 - Last Day on the Farm - Click here to bid

"Graze-By" #7 of 24 in 24_____6 x 8 oil on fine linen panel _Click to bid

Click the "bid link" to read the field notes, and to see another image...a DETAIL of part of the painting.

Click this image also to see a detail version...

...and now for a preview of tomorrow's #8 auction. Because somehow #2 was duplicated, I revised it to the #8 painting, which was coming up tomorrow . (revising it saved me from having to pay twice)...it's a bad thing for anyone watching the auctions, because the #8 auction will only last about three days....BUT it's good for me, because the #8 painting is my favorite, and maybe no one will buy it, and I can KEEP IT!...I will post it tomorrow, but here is the preview link and the auction is ON!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140239235827&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=004

Only a few more days of auctions, and then I will start posting new works from Arizona and the COAST!...I wonder when I will paint farms again....