Grazing Riverside

Grazing Riverside__11x14 oil on canvas panel__available at the Gadsden Art Museum

Painted on location on the Coosa River in northern Alabama. I photographed while still in the field, and never took a picture after I "formed" the horses a little better...so this (above) is a step before "finish"...below is a picture that, when I looked at it later, seems to "line up" with the scene I was painting...

_______________V....Vaughan Spring Schedule________________

Works hang till May, Southeastern Plein Air Festival, Gadsden, AL

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

Summer Workshops in Texas, Colorado and more!

...see my schedule for more dates and events

Gruene Extreme

Green Extreme, from Passing America___6x8 oil on linen panel___$450 framed

It won't be long and Texas will look like this again! We have had a little rain and the winter rye is making the pastures green, already!...Next will come leaves on the trees! ...( and then a freeze, probably...oh well).

I am posting this one from my exhibit, "Passing America". One hundred works from Passing America are on display in Gruene, Texas from now through April, and I am hoping everyone will go see this nice collection...the project took me across the country, painting for 3 years!

Gruene (pronounced "GREEN") is between Austin and San Antonio.

If you can come on VALENTINE'S DAY, I will be there to say "hello". How about bringing a special person and celebrating...maybe have dinner and enjoy music at the famous

Gristmill Restaurant ...Below is your invitation! I'd love to know if you are coming!

On Exhibit Through April, 2012

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

Mark at the Round Barn

Mark at the Round Barn___8x10 oil on linen panel__$450
Dale Nicholls is the great regional painter from this area, who made it big in the art world.
Now deceased, this was his family's home, and this type of barn is rare and unique...It is a treasure in Butler County, NE, and we had to have special permission to bring the workshop here for me to paint this study.
My aim was to NOT get tight and paint every board on the barn, and when I do another version, I will emphasize the scale more with some more people or equipment...see the little man by the door on the left? He is too BIG for this scale...the barn is HUGE!!!
I have a few more things to post from my workshop, but for the past few days, I have been working in some of the high schools here, speaking and demonstrating and introducing them to my Chicken Clinic...Great kids here, and a LOT of fun!
See my entire exhibit Passing America: The Great Plains
Next workshop: Fredericksburg, TX, Nov 9-11...FULL MOON FUN! vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Lit Up Cloud Tops

Lit Up Cloud Tops__6x8 oil on linen panel__$350 while wet!
There was rain predicted for each day of my workshop here in Nebraska, but somehow we managed to avoid it! These little cloud tops were in the east as the sun set at our backs on the Moravec Hilltop. I forgot the point I was making to the students when I grabbed this small canvas and put in the color of the cloud tops....maybe it was something about the complementary colors in daylight...
I am in NE for the opening of my long project, "Passing America: The Great Plains" at the University of Nebraska's Great Plains Art Museum...it has been well received, so far, and will be up through mid December! Click link to see all 154 works

#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!

#93 - Morning Puff

Morning Puff___8x10 oil on linen__$590 framed for Passing America: The Great Plains

Along the Texas Plains Trail one morning, I did this "drive-by" painting south of Lubbock, near Slaton, TX. These humid clouds and all the moisture and "lift" became tornados later in the day. (May 17, 2010)

This canvas is one of 150 works completed for a solo show at the Great Plains Art Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Please join me at the opening reception on Friday, October 7, 5 - 7 pm. I will give a brief talk about the works and my journey through the Plains. The Exhibit runs from Oct 7 - Dec 11, 2011...please let me know if you go, and what you think!

ALSO...PLEASE see what you can do to help a Bastrop, TX fire victim...My good friend, Linda....(below)

Flames of Life

A SPECIAL REPRODUCTION to benefit a Texas fire victim___various sizes

To see the sad story, and photos click here...PLEASE pass this along to ANYONE who might help!

For order/size info, click here http://www.reallybigcanvas.com/content/flames-life

High Plain Span

High Plain Farm Span___6x8 oil on linen panel for Passing America: The Great Plains
I painted this one last spring...back when it was green...These days my nearby "plainscape" is various shades of brown and gold.
In a few hours I will venture north to Kansas...painting the sunrise and HEAT along the way, I hope!...I have a few more quick trips to gather some last minute drive-bys, before the opening reception of my solo exhibit, Passing America: The Great Plains

Moonset Morning Over Kansas

Moonset Morning Over Kansas ___8x6 oil on linen panel___for Passing America...exhibit reception in Oct.

I just now returned from Kansas...we took our son to college. This is my last one, and it feels a little bit strange. For the first time in over 27 years, I do not have a child at home, nor am I waiting for one to "check in" with me tonight!....I do not like how this feels at ALL...
We left the boy with his football coaches last night and went back to the hotel. I was up all night, taking my son's dog outside every few hours (she had a stomach issue....probably missing her boy)...so I saw the full moon at all stages of its trek across the sky!
On the way home this morning the full moon was going down as the morning was rising behind us...It's one of my FAVORITE things to paint! I will be teaching THIS in early November! Check your moon calendar and you will see that the full moon is on the 9-11. PLEASE JOIN ME in Fredericksburg, TX, and we will focus on this and Nocturne painting! It is a BLAST to paint the extreme ends of the day. e-mail Bill for info bush@fbgartschool.com

Snowpaths

Snowpaths___8x10 oil on linen panel___for Passing America: The Great Plains, exhibit opens in October
The record-breaking heat in Texas has me remembering the good cold days many months ago!. This little drive-by was in the Texas High Plains on a bright, clear winter day.
My "location" work on this one was a quick oil sketch as we drove by. I finished it farther down the road, and only recently made a "painting" out of it...all from memory, letting the first IMPRESSION on canvas speak to me to complete it....
Guess what, y'all....I will be teaching a LOT real soon!...get ready!

My Schedule-----------------
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!

Plains to There

Plains to There___6x8 oil on linen panel___for Passing America: the Great Plains
For the next few weeks, I am gathering together all of my "drive-by" paintings of farms across the plains. Here is one I painted RIGHT at the beginning of my project. I seem to have a number of paintings created along the edge of the plains (where the edge is OBVIOUS: next to the Rocky Mountains). I am intrigued by the CONTRAST: one side is flat as far as the eye can see, and the sky almost matches the land...featureless, while directly opposite are the mountains with great towering clouds and the upslope which catches light and shadows....this one is at the southern edge, near Santa Fe. The summer sky builds like this every day, watering the mountains, and leaving the farms mostly dry...But the water is there! Available to the farmers for irrigation.
So I am rounding up the small works, to varnish them, tweak the rough ones, clean up the edges and put them in frames. The rest of my frame shipment comes in this week.

My Schedule...
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!

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!

SCHEDULE

Little Church__6x8 oil demo__sold

This is another version of one I painted a few weeks ago, but I wanted to post SOMETHING today before I head to Colorado for a few weeks of COOL-OFF-TIME! We have already had 32 days of temps over 100 this summer, and we are JUST NOW getting to the HOT part of the season (our record high was in early September a few years ago). Texans are NOT being flippant or joking when we say "please pray for rain and our farmers!"
I will be posting from Colorado, of course. We are driving a special loop through the plains so I can add a few more "drive-bys" to my works for the upcoming exhibit.
Below is my schedule for the near future...and a little bit beyond! See if you can meet me at any of these!

July 16___THANK You, GOD for the bit of rain in Round Rock this morning
July 23-24___Art on the Conejos__a NEW SHOW, featuring artists who live in the Conejos Canyon, CO
August___Painting the Plains...I will be ALL OVER The place, finishing my project which opens on...
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
Surprise Summer 2012 Workshop...early August! TBA!

FIrst Thermals

First Thermals___8x10 oil on linen panel___for Passing America: The Great Plains (click image for details!)
Early in the spring the air is often too cool and heavy for the buzzards to float as they like to do, but the day I painted this was warm. In fact, it was one of the very FIRST warm days of spring. The air was warm and light and the buzzards were enjoying their ride on the thermals!
I mentioned yesterday (or so) that I am a crazy person for the next couple of weeks, as my son prepares to graduate high school....CONGRATULATIONS Sam!

Spring Patchwork

Spring Patchwork-Caldwell, Kansas_8x10 oil on linen_for Passing America: The Great Plains

This one was painted through Kansas last month...a "drive-by" painting for my project.

It is GRADUATION time for my youngest son...if you have had a high school graduate in your life lately, you understand...it is a crazy time, with proms, parties, powderpuff football games, dodgeball tournaments and important things like that! Oh, yes, and academics! Tonite was the academic awards, and I am amazed at the success earned by the beautiful young people who have worked so hard! I will be erratic with posts for the ext couple of weeks...did I mention finals, parties and family and friends at graduation time???

Near Home on the Plains

Near Home on the Plains__8x10 oil on linen__for Passing America: The Great Plains

The landscape from my home on the southern reaches of the Great Plains to the middle of our American Heartland does not change much, superficially: pastures alternate with wooded fence lines, horizons punctuated with water towers or grain elevators, and the distant "line" where plain meets sky. The main difference I observed on my early April trip was the progressive change from spring in Texas to Late Winter in Nebraska. Careful observation tells a story of uniqueness of the regions from state to state, though. I notice subtle differences in crops, architecture, wild places between the farms and even the attire of the farmers! Things that Lady Bird Johnson once described in her book as each region "speaking in its own accent". I agree with her that each area of the country has a story to tell and it ought to "speak" and retain its personality...

Meridian Highway

Tracks Out of Enid___8x10 oil on linen panel__for Passing America...but available!

Leaving Enid we had a spectacular sunrise, and I was able to start several canvases for "drive- by" paintings...this one is about the sky. As we drove I snapped photos between brush strokes, and this rail yard was my favorite foreground. I imagine the cars will be full of farm products in a few months, but this day things looked quiet there.
The route for this leg of my recent plains trip a few weeks ago was the Meridian Highway. We call it US 81, now, and it was EXACTLY what I'd hoped it would be: A BIG ROAD FOR FARMS! It passed through MANY towns, and unlike to towns in the Texas Panhandle Plains, these towns were ALIVE with commerce, mostly driven by agriculture. This Meridian Highway has a great history and even its own web site.

http://www.drivetheost.com/meridianhighway.html This web site says:

As the only primary north-south highway girding America’s heartland, the Meridian intersected with dozens of named trails, including the Old Spanish Trail at San Antonio; the Bankead Highway at Fort Worth; the Ozark Trails at Oklahoma City; the National Old Trails at Wichita; the Santa Fe Trail at Newton, Kansas; the Victory Highway at Salina, Kansas; the Lincoln Highway at Columbus, Nebraska; and the Yellowstone Trail, at Millbank, South Dakota.
In 1926 most of the 2,400-mile-long Meridian Road was converted into U.S. 81, an improved two-lane highway connecting Laredo to Joliette, North Dakota.

Lavender Layers

Lavender Layers__6x8 oil on linen panel___$150 wet!! ...sketch included

Yesterday's post was a painting at this same location, the lavender fields at Becker Vineyards in Fredericksburg, TX. Just as this is not a banner year for our bluebonnets, it looks like the lavender crop might be sparse, too. But then, maybe lavender plants peak later in the spring....for now, the plants are not very big or lush, but I like the scruffy colors in the foliage with just hints of blooming flower. Sometimes a BEAUTIFUL, thick growth of blooms can look too "fantastic" in a painting...bordering on "cartoonish"...like yesterday, I painted this from my sketch, (below). See the difference in composition?

Green Extreme

Green Extreme___6x8 oil on linen panel__for Passing America: the Great Plains

Yesterday I posted a painting from the "winter" extreme of my recent plains trip. This one is the Spring extreme, someplace in Texas. This spot is where the farms have nearly FULLY complied with the change of seasons. Grasses, trees, and even the stubborn pecan trees are bloomed and budded in that bright clean green of spring. We are having a severe draught here in Texas, so I expect it to turn brown-yellow soon....but I hope not...we sure need rain!

Kansas Snowmelt

Kansas Snowmelt___6x8 oil on linen panel__a "drive by" painting for ___ Passing America: The Great Plains

The exhibit I mention will run from October through December, 2011. I have been criss-crossing the Great Plains since 2009, observing and painting what I see on the smaller farms. This most recent trip was for the purpose of seeing SPRING emerge.

Starting out in Central Texas, where I live, there has been PLENTY of green for over a month, now. On the plains farther north, winter hangs on a little bit longer, and I wanted to see it. I was especially eager for the return trip, when I would travel from "winter color" to "spring color"... The painting above was painted right about where the "green line" was...Everything north of this spot in Northern Kansas was still dormant with winter color, and there were plenty of marshy areas where I had seen snow last month. Everything south was tinted with spring greens...more amd more green as we got closer to Texas....tomorrow I will post the green extreme!