Snow Spread Before Shelby

Snow Spread Before Shelby___6x8 oil on linen___for Passing America...exhibit
The snow was deep and covered every inch of the plains...deep! From Minnesota to Montana!! We saw a lot of animals struggle through the drifts: coyotes, deer, foxes...and bald eagles flying above!....And domestic cattle and horses huddled together, too, but they all seemed used to it! I REALLY LIKED to see a herd of deer gathered around some hay bales nibbling their lunch...
This was the last painting I did "en train air", on my Amtrak trip through the Great Plains. I have a number of other "starts" from the train, and a few I did while spending a couple days in Great Falls. But for now, I have to earn a living and paint for the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, SC. I have some nice ones prepared for the show...I will begin to post those tomorrow, and you can see them FIRST! (and buy them first, too, if you want!)
***GOOD NEWS! My cancelled workshop in Rockport, TX has been rescheduled for THIS MONDAY, Feb 7. Monday is an odd day, but why not come! The details are below.
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V…. Vaughan
1-Day Plein Air Workshop: Sketching and Pushing Color from Dawn til Dusk
Monday, February 7, 7:00 a.m. to noon,and 4:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Bonus (optional) Sunrise Sketching Tuesday, February 8 at Charlotte Plummers. Be there at 7:00 to set up. DONE by 8:30
$100 for members, $125 for non-members
$50 deposit reserves seat, balance due by workshop;
Please call to enroll. Supply list available.
I will share my methods of seeing and sketching FAST. We will work with pencils and sketchbooks, but will also sketch with brush on canvas or panel. The day starts at sunrise and we will work all morning, then take a break after lunch and come back for another session, ending with the moon at sunset! You will create many small sketches and color studies…lessons to take with you into the studio! BRING your plein air gear, a sketchbook and plenty of small panels (6x8, 8x10). Monday 7 am – 12 pm …Meet at Cove Harbor at 7, sunrise demo and boatyard plein air sketching. Topic: pushing color…Break for lunch and talk about art, marketing, etc. Meet for a crescent moonset 5 -7 pm or a little later if the moon and sky are interesting … we can paint the crescent moon and sunset till about 6:30 pm Those who want to can meet at Charlotte Plummers for a BONUS session on Saturday morning at 7 to paint the sunrise there

My Colorado Sketchbook__p1

Blanca Peak___from my sketchbook______ask
From the bayou to the mountains! Our usual family vacation is in Colorado at about this time every year. Here is a sketch from my sketchbook of my favorite "fourteener" in southern Colorado. Blanca Peak can be seen for miles, ANYWHERE you happen to be in the San Luis Valley.
Not all of us are here, but the kids with their work and summer obligations will come and go at different times! This was our year to open the cabin, and we found that the garage/shop area was home to some packrats this winter, so we have been cleaning up a lot. It's been funny because these creatures carried things all over the place! What does a pack-rat need with 80 small pieces of pvc, 13 packages of hinges, and old paperback novels? They carried these things from their usual places into the far reaches. But they must have eaten well, by the looks of their droppings!

Little Twilight Glow

Little Twilight Glow___9x12 oil on linen panel___sold (a commission)
This is a sort of "backwards" commission. USUALLY I do small studies in oils, as I work out compositional and color problems...and sometimes I make things up. When the idea works, I might turn it into a large canvas, using the smaller one as reference. THIS ONE, though, is a small version of a LARGE painting I posted in December. Click here to see it and compare composition, color and design. I will ship it to a collector in Colorado next week when it dries!
Hey you artists! Have you taken a workshop lately? It's a good way to snap out of "doldrums", to get some new ideas and to have some constant critique to sharpen you up. I welcome you to my winter workshop at Fredericksburg Artists School, Feb. 5-7. Email for info vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Canyon morning

"Canyon Morning" 9 x 12

From a photo of our place in Colorado....I began this demo for a group of teachers in Rockport a few weeks ago. I am back from South Carolina today, but headed down to the coast this afternoon to teach at the Rockport Center for the Arts. This will be the first plein air class for the Spring...and spring is hitting here already! I noticed all the buds on our trees this morning,....Coming soon: the Farm in GREEN!