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....

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 ...

South Carolina Sky

South Carolina Sky___8x10 oil on linen panel___sold at SEWE

I painted South Carolina Sky yesterday as a demo for the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition here in Charleston. It was done from memory of the ACE Basin Wildlife area near here, a place where I have frequently gone to paint after the show. Last year there, I saw this lone palm on a narrow reach of land above the estuary...farther down the road I photographed the FULL moon's reflaction, and thought about a composition like this...I never got around to painting it till this morning! I usually do a demo with something more familiar in mind, so this was risky to try something I had never worked through. One of these days I will probably embarrass myself with this kind of "bravery". Unfortunately, I am the type person who doesn't stop for driving directons. I get lost a lot, but I do it with great confidence!
If you love South Carolina, you are familiar with this view of a palm tree with a crescent...the symbols on the state flag!

Men's rebuttle

Cove Harbor Sunrise__6x8 study/demo_____$150 unframed
The trees weren't really there, but it was a good teaching moment when I dropped my loaded brush on the canvas...right in that spot. I could have scraped it off, but it was more fun to show the group how to make "lemonade with a lemon!" As usual, we had amazing sunrises at Cove Harbor!

Artist Chatter....
After Friday's post I EXPECTED some hefty comments from my man artist friends! ...And I got a few!
Many of us have had this discussion before! Are men artists better? Then why are there more men showing in the "big" shows?
Some of the women say there is a gender bias (and that is why they sign their name as an initial...so no one will know the gender. Like V....Vaughan).
Some men say that women's art is often too...."pretty", with nice soft pastel colors.
It is true that a strong piece of art usually has more powerful contrasts of value and texture and that women tend to "see" color better, so they push it differently.
My PERSONAL opinion is that there is room for both, but that MOVING FORWARD is the job of every good artist. (I also think that good strong value contrasts make for a better painting!)
Women might claim the bias, but the men artists I know claim to walk an even tougher road than the women, because often they have to be the main breadwinners of their family.
One thing ALL artists have in common. None of us just stumbles onto success. It is hard work, and takes years of development and "dues paying"...there are no shortcuts. Good thing for us is that there are as many different tastes for art as there are artists. That's why I often pray for the people coming to my art shows....If I feel like my work looks bad, I remind God that even people with bad taste need art too, and hopefully they will come by my booth! (wink!)

Harbor Flight

Harbor FLight___24x18 oil on linen___for Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, unless you want it first

I have been in the studio this week, preparing for upcoming shows and travels. The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition is in Charleston, SC each year and I am almost finished preparing for it. This one is actually a "study" for a larger canvas I am working on...I like working out problems in paint. When I finish the study, I usually "wish there was more"....all the time spent "in the scene" FINALLY comes together at the end and it's hard to "put down the brush" (If you are an artist, you KNOW......this is why we sometimes OVERWORK a painting). Rather than overworking, I prefer to just do another one, to "FINISH" the mood! It's sort of like reading a good book or getting engrossed in a good movie. Just when you get into the story and the characters, the movie ends!....This painting has not "ended" for me, yet....there will be a sequel! :) HAPPY NEW YEAR!

oat

Low Country_ACE Basin

Low Country Hideaway____6x8 oil study on linen panel___$150
With the cold wind at our backs we stood and painted on the causeway between the waters at ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge.
ACE is for the three rivers that converge here: Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto rivers. ACE Basin is a 350,000 acre area made up of many different habitat types such as brackish water tidal marshes, fresh water wetlands, bottomland hardwoods, pine and hardwood uplands, barrier islands and beaches. It is one of the largest undeveloped estuaries on the East Coast of the United States. The wildlife abounds…especially birds! I think this painting needs a little snowy egret in it! If you want this sketch, I will put the bird in there, if you will let me! Vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Late in the Low Country

"Late in the Low Country"____8x10____$150 if you are the first to ask!
Imagine a beautiful low country wetland in South Carolina. Here is a typical scene where I have been painting this week! Now, imagine standing on a narrow causeway, with this blackwater ahead and water behind, and alligator slides up and down the causeway. I was painting there when the wind came up and tipped my easel set-up, knocking my turp tank off. It rolled down one of the big slides and into the black water, with my friend, artist Melanie Fain close behind. She saw where it went in, so I stuck my arm into that water to get part of it out. I came halfway to my senses and switched to my non-painting LEFT arm, sinking it as deep as I could into the water, feeling for the inner part of the turp can. No luck, but I got a good case of the "creeps" and the rest of my senses came back. Another artist friend, Joe Garcia swooshed the water around for awhile, but he couldn't find it, either. ...I am sad because this was my first turp can, and I get attached to such things!....
Glad to be home with both arms, though!!!
Below is a good bit of info about a BIG WORKSHOP I'll have in April. See if you'd like to come.
This one will be COMPREHENSIVE....full of goodies....hope you will consider it!
_________________________________________________________________
V....Vaughan at the Iron Horse Inn, Granbury, TX. April 6-9 (4 days), 2009
This span of days will give us SPECTACULAR sunrises, sunsets and moonrises. We WILL work at the extreme ends of the day for some sessions. This will be a COMPLETE painting workshop, and will include many exercises to give you NOTICEABLE improvement in your drawing, color mixing, brushwork and speed.


The site itself is FULL of variety for painting from life. If you have never painted en plein air this will be a great place to start. If you are experienced, I'd love to get my "hands on" you to help take you to the next level. You WILL leave there a better painter.


Here is info Theresa sent me about the Iron Horse Inn, itself...

The Iron Horse Inn is a beautiful historic mansion , with much of its original furniture and antiques. It has a fascinating history, and all of our guests are given the historic tour. The house is over 6,500 sq. ft and all of the unique bedrooms have private bathrooms. Guests have full usegbof the 2 living rooms, dining room and large front porch.
The house is set on over an acre of gardens with 400 year old live oaks and a fish pond and waterfall. at night all of the trees are lit with mercury vapor lights which look like dappled moonlight!

Breakfasts and lunches are served in the large dining room on the historic 1885 mission oak dining table. The Iron Horse is known for its delicious breakfasts!

The studio is a brand new, 2 story building in the garden with bright and airy space, and is available 24 hours for all workshop participants who just don't want to stop painting.

We are right beside the hike and bike track with over 2 miles of lovely walks to explore. The trail takes you to the historic center of Granbury which is a quaint town with its original storefronts and court house. There are many lovely gift shops, antique shops, restaurants and galleries and there is even live theater on the weekends. Granbury is also situated on a large lake and there are many pret ty parts of the lake to explore, including a beach and a boardwalk.

Of course the main reason folks will want to come is to have the pleasure of doing a V...Vaughan workshop for 4 whole days! And the prices are pretty great too. For as little as $550 up to 5 participants can share our Garden Gate Cottage, have breakfast and lunch for 4 days, take 4 days tuition with V..Vaughan and have 24 hour access to the purpose built studio. This is one of the most reasonable artistic retreats around.

I hope that this may wet some appetites! It will be a really lovely experience for everyone.

Later at Caro's

"Later at Caro's" .... 6 x 6 oil ....$100

Immediately after finishing my birthday painting (see yesterday) I took up another canvas and painted this one as more storms rolled in. There is a real thrill about painting to the sounds of approaching thunder...and having an escape door for shelter nearby!

vvaughan8@yahoo.com if you want to purchase

Easter Birthday at Caro's

"Easter Birthday..." 6 x 6 oil My birthday present to me :)

Easter Sunday, April 8 was my birthday...I was geared up for a warm sunrise service on the beach to commemorate the resurrection of Christ, but the service was moved indoors...it snowed a few miles north of Rockport, TX and was bitter cold on the beach...not our usual April weather...well...SOMETIMES!

A couple of Roseate Spoonbills made my day as I painted this one...they flew by as I was painting the now green marsh grasses by Caro's place, and provided a spot of "complementary color" for my birthday present!!!

Cove Harbor in Feb.

"Cove Harbor in February"______sold...sort of
If you ever come to my workshop in Rockport, TX, I can pretty well promise you that we WILL paint here. This area is on the way to Aransas Pass....on the left as you leave Rockport. There are ALWAYS pelicans here, fishermen, barges tugging by, and beautiful skies! The next Plein Air Workshop day is in March! I THINK March 17, but maybe the 31....please contact me if you are interested!....I hope you like this one, Caro and Don!!

Rockport Dusk

"Rockport Dusk" _________8x10_________available
Last Friday evening in Rockport, I went to my favorite place with my friend Mary and we painted til it got so dark we couldn't see. I painted the Pelican first (scroll down to see him) and then this one, virtually in the dark....I tell the artists that I teach that the first thing to do as an outdoor painter is toKNOW your pallette and to be consistant with where you put thyour colors....I have finally learned to stay put with my mixing and not "SPRAWL" color all over the pallette...that way I can paint faster, without having to look for things... This one will ship with my art to Charleston unless someone wants it! My 8 x 10's go for $450 but the First one to reply gets it for $300...let me know! I take all kinds of payments...

Blackwater Greens

"Blackwater Greens" 6 x 6.......................$100 TODAY

If you are looking in for the first time today, scroll down for other paintings from the Blackwater Refuge in Maryland. I painted there a couple weeks ago. At just the right moment as the sun rose, the water in the distance actually looked minty green! It felt strange to "apply" that color, and I did not like the painting that day, but now, it is one of my favorites, lately! This one is available.