Green Places

Coyote Green___6x8 oil study on linen panel___$190 still wet!
Our coyote is back! We have had him hanging around almost every day last week. We think it is a female, and wonder if there will be puppies ?! Stay tuned. Till then, I am enjoying my time with her...safely inside my car, but watching as neighbors jog past her. One guy had his little dog out there, running around off the leash, while he peeked out from behind the fence. When asked, he said he was using his dog to bring the coyote in closer....???!!!...(I will enjoy hearing my bloggers' comments on that smart guy!)
All I know is that is that our grasses are so GREEN and that makes a nice complement to the orangey fur of our coyote!...Meanwhile, I snapped a few pictures of our orangey domestic coyote relatives on the stairs this week! I have so many artist blog friends, I bet you can tell who painted some of these on the wall behind Romeo ... a few works I have traded for over the years.
(...happy Birthday, Sister Sam!)

Romeo's place on the Stairs...

Romeo and Johnson (aka: Puppypuppypuppy) The big guy is a little bit upset, because there is a puppy on his top stair...

Post Oak Ponds

Post Oak Ponds__6x8 oil on linen panel__for Passing America: The Great Plains

Returning from College Station, TX we passed through the narrow "Post Oak Belt" of Texas.

To look at a geologic map of Texas there are "bands" of "eco-systems" that follow a sort of parallel with the coast line. These seem to step down from the high plains (Llano Estacado) and the Cap Rock Escarpment. The eco-regions include the Blackland Prairies (where our old farm was....situated on sticky, black clay dirt), and the Post Oak Belt, which has sandy, red dirt. There are places where you can see black clay on one side of the road, and red sand on the other...

Driving back toward the sunset, I caught a glimpse of this scene : a little farm back in the trees, with only the porch lights visible.....behind us in the east, the full moon (called Supermoon this month) was rising...

NEW MINI-WORKSHOP!! If you live in the Austin, TX area, I will be teaching a special event mini-workshop on
April 14, 6-8 pm. This is part of a new Art Night event at Hyde Park Quarries. There will be a few demos, talks and HANDS ON art activities for ALL artists (12 and over). I will do a quick demo, then teach and lead a small group on the basics of oil painting. We will do a Texas Spring Landscape. ALL MATERIALS are provided for a small $10 fee. Click this link for info and to register online. Then let me know if you are coming!
http://www.hpbs.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=117988

The Last to Leaf

The Last to Leaf__6x8 oil on linen panel_for Passing America: The Great Plains

My title makes reference to the fact that pecan trees are always LAST to bud in the Texas Springtime. My FAVORITE trees, pecans provide SO MUCH for us! Of course the great nut for food, but also the wood of the tree is some of the best hardwood, the shells are used for mulch.

I PARTICULARLY love the way they look at ALL times of the year, but especially in spring. While all the other trees can't wait to put out leaves, the patient pecan remains barren to the END, avoiding any possibility of ice or cold surprising them. For the artist's eye, they provide punctuations of browns and purples to contrast the cool greens of the season....then, when they DO bud with leaves, they are the bright cool-green spots amid DEEP rich greens of trees that budded six weeks before....I LOVE pecan trees so much, that it is a DREAM of mine, if we are ever able to own a farm again, I want a PECAN FARM!....hoping!

on Yesterday's Post I mentioned a mini workshop in Austin on April 14. I just found out you can register for it online. Click here and look for info about the Art Night Event

Passing the Post Oak

Passing the Post Oak __6x8 oil on linen panel__for Passing America: The Great Plains

On the way through east-central Texas, there is a narrow band of "geology" called the post oak belt. Post Oaks are tall, straight oak trees that never get TOO big in these parts. It is generally fairly flat on this part of the VERY southernmost area of the American Great Plains. Passing this little farm I liked the unusual hilliness, and how the post oaks made stately vertical contrasts to the scene. I saw no other life on this farm, except the cows, so I supposed that the farm house was over this hill.

Spring is just emerging, so the colors are a nice "in-between" version of orange and green.

We are having a VERY MILD spring. By now we usually have had a cold blast or two, but each day of March has been a little nicer than the day before....and more warm is on the way!

NEW MINI-WORKSHOP!! If you live in the Austin, TX area, I will be teaching a special event mini-workshop on

April 14, 6-8 pm. This is part of a new Art Night event at Hyde Park Quarries. There will be a few demos, talks and HANDS ON art activities for ALL artists (12 and over). I will do a quick demo, then teach and lead a small group on the basics of oil painting. We will do a Texas Spring Landscape. ALL MATERIALS are provided for a small $10 fee. Can you come? vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Spring Textures Passing

Spring Textures Passing__6x8 oil on linen panel_for Passing America: The Great Plains

The Great Plains have no SPECIFIC boundary. In fact, when I began this project, I spent some study time trying to map out a border, but found as many different definitions for this boundary as there was reference to it! Some books described the plains all the way to the Texas Gulf Coast, while others stopped short, somewhere in Central Texas. Either way, I was glad to know that I have spent my whole life in the Great Plains (having lived in Central Texas all my life).

Saturday day we went east to College Station, TX where my in-laws settled after we all left the farm. Today, March 19 is my mother-in-law, Billie Vaughan's birthday. Driving there takes us through a few narrow bands of Texas' diverse landscape, but this scene was typical of this time of year, when the trees are just starting to bud out....the little farm was separated from it's barns by a fence line and little bunch of trees.

Supermoon

Supermoon__6x8 oil on linen panel__for Passing America: The Great Plains

"Supermoon" is when the orbit of the moon makes it pass the closest it can to Earth. This means it looks bigger, brighter and BETTER than usual!...I guess.... While this special full moon was rising, the car was very dark, so I was only able to sketch a scene and put down a few color notes....then I "memorized" the relationships of color, studied the forms as they passed by, and completed this from memory...

Our family drove to College Station for my mother-in-law's birthday, yesterday. I brought along my gear to do some "drive-by" paintings. This WILL be part of my exhibit called Passing America: The Great Plains. The exhibit opens on Oct 7, late this year, and runs through December in Lincoln, NE at the Great Plains Art Museum at the University f Nebraska.
I am VERY excited to be in the "home stretch" of this wonderful project and study. I will now be working FULL TIME on the paintings, to complete over 100 "drive-by" studies like this one, and about 50 larger works. I have about 70-80 of the small ones done, and 1 of the big ones....yes, I said "one".... I hope you will follow along with my Passing America Blog, and contribute comments there as you want to. Everyone has a farm in their memory....

Down to Drink

Down to Drink___6x8 oil on linen panel___$190 still wet!
Our neighborhood coyote hung around here all afternoon, yesterday, it seems. You know how once you see something cool, you are always on the look-out to see it again whenever you are near the same place? So, ever since I saw the coyote a couple weeks ago (on the day my son signed a scholarship letter to play college football for the Kansas Wesleyan Univ. Coyotes!)....I have looked for the coyote in that same place ever since...yesterday he was there! In the same area, a narrow greenbelt between houses where there often is water. Yesterday there was no water, but I painted it anyway. Brushy Creek is not too far from here, so there is plenty for this guy to drink.
While I photographed, I called my son who was at home and told him to come see...that is his truck below, with one Coyote eyeing the other!

Coyote Meets Coyote_____

Play Ball

Blake__pencil on archival paper__for Blake's Mom
It is spring break here in Round Rock, Texas, and the kids are off school, but the games play on! We have had a series this week, so lots of different guys are getting to play, and the other night was Blake's game to pitch...a tough outing for Blake as he was hit in the face while at bat, which really rattled him on the mound later...My son was called on in the last inning and he shut down the side, but our bats could not make up the difference in the bottom of the inning, so we lost......but our team bounced back the next night. So far, it has been a great baseball season for the Round Rock Dragons!
By the way, for you ball fans...there are MANY former Dragon players in the pros! Some might play for YOUR favorite team! Probably the best ones live right here in my neighborhood...(or their parents still do!) I will name names if anyone is interested!

Coyote Stories

Coyote Stalker___6x8 oil on linen panel___$250

Painting this coyote in our neighborhood made me remember my many Coyote stories!

When we lived on the farm, there were MANY nights I would call the kids outside to listen to a yipping pack pass by in the pasture....sometimes there would be a pack over "here" yipping across to a pack over "there"....but as development loomed closer to us, there were fewer coyotes around.

A particularly memorable encounter was a few years ago driving through Arizona. It was near Prescott on a big open, divided highway and I noticed a couple of little puppies crossing the road. The brakelights went on, and I saw that they had followed the mama Coyote across to the center. Driving slowly past, I noticed the VERY agitated mother looking back across where she'd come from, and there was one pup afraid to cross....I circled around to watch, fearing the worst, because this little pack blended in with the surroundings so well.....Though I drove by slowly, there was no change: the mom and babies on one side, calling to the lone pup on the other....it crushed my heart, and I had to leave, but, believe me, I prayed for that little group of coyotes!

Coyote Glare

Coyote Glare__6x8 oil on linen panel___$250 unframed, includes shipping

We pronounce them "KIE-Oats".

This one visited our neighborhood on the day my son committed to play football for the Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes. When I first saw him standing in the road a few houses away from our house, I thought it was a WOLF! I said NO WAY is a coyote that big and thick and so well groomed! BOY, he was a healthy one! Many of my friends have posted to say that he is probably snacking on neighborhood cats!

I just remembered our first week away from the farm, here in suburbia, I was thinking about all I missed, and one thing was the coyotes yipping....that night, RIGHT OUTSIDE our back fence which adjoins a ranch, there was a pack of coyotes yipping....CLOSER than they ever were at the farm! RIGHT OUTSIDE the fence!...It was neat and comforting, (the sound....I was a little creeped out that they were so close), and I thought it was neat that there were coyotes here, but that was the only time I ever heard them...4 years ago! Now this!!! just last week! In broad daylight.
This guy walked the fence line slowly, and I figured he was looking for people's pets to snack on, so I scared him off.....

Coyote Daybreak

Coyote Daybreak__5x7 oil on canvas from Last Year on the Farm...see all 365 here

In 2006 and 2007 I painted every day of our family's LAST YEAR on the FARM. The paintings became an exhibit that went all over the country for a year of solo shows at museums. Some of the works are still available on my web site.

While thinking about coyotes this week, I remembered painting my FIRST coyote one early morning on the farm.

I was outside painting the sunrise when this coyote jogged by, on the way to the tank for a drink. He probably did it all the time, because he looked so “at ease”, and had no idea that I was above him just watching, memorizing his form so that I could add him to the painting!
I had decided to post this tonight, because I never have and my “theme” this week is coyotes…. see yesterday's post and photos!

Now a Coyote

Now a Coyote___6x8 study on linen panel...for my coyote son!...but I will paint others!!

I have mentioned a few times that my son is being recruited to play college football. (see highlight film, and turn up the volume!) Well, he has finally made a decision to accept a great offer from Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, KS. It is a great fit for him and closer to home than some of the schools in Texas that looked at him!... Jokingly, I told my son that I liked this school immediately after looking at their web site. They have a cool logo and mascot: Coyote

Now, get this...on the day he decided for sure I was returning home from an appointment, and there in the middle of the road in our quiet suburban neighborhood was a beautifully grooomed, well-fed, healthy mature coyote...a REAL ONE! I flew to our house (4 doors away), got my camera and went back to find him waiting for me! A few of my pics are below...OF COURSE I thanked God for the little "sign", and was wondering what would have happened had he decided to play for the Tigers??

Also below are two stages of this study in progress...and a few words about my process...

State 2: I filled in some color and value shapes to get started on the relationships of contrasts. This stage is a visual impression of what I think I see, "color-wise". Cools, warms, and what I call "Punctuation Marks". See state 1 below...
There should be a state 3 and state 4 before the finished one above, but I forgot to snap pictures, and worked too fast :)

State 1: My sketch was on a linen panel that had some old paint on it (nose area)...I just ignored this and sketched around it, starting with the HIGHLIGHTS. Keeping the color thin...State 2 is above. photos below...

See Mr. Coyote in the shade by the fence?

He turned to get a better look at me... I have never seen a healthier looking coyote in the wild!

Poser...

Morning Moonset

Morning Moonset___24x24 oil on linen____for Cowgirl Up! Wickenburg, AZ, March 25-May 8

Here is my third painting for the big show! It is a scene I saw a few years ago while in Northern Arizona...my favorite time of day is early morning and it is a real treat to see the full moon going down just as the sun is rising. ... I like it when it's still dark enough that the lights on the farms are still visible, so that's how I painted this scene...and it is an Arizona landscape without the saguaro cactus icon!!!The little part that took me the longest was the moon! Click the blog image to see a larger version, and MAYBE you can see the man in the moon! Join me in Wickenburg if you can! Please tell all your Arizona friends to come see the show!
***WORKSHOPS ahead!...
Fredericksburg, TX in mid June. Start planning ! It will be my longest workshop of the year.
David City, NEBRASKA in October. This one is in conjunction with the opening of my newest exhibit. A solo show at the Great Plains Art Museum in Lincoln. The workshop is filling fast.
email me if you want the brochure/info on these workshops vvaughan8@yahoo.com

Tonos Dulces

Tonos Dulces__30 x 24 oil on linen__for Cowgirl Up! Wickenburg, AZ, March 25 - May 8

The title means "Sweet Sounds", referring to the bell and the song of the doves.
I have painted several versions of the bells at San Xavier in Arizona, but this one is my favorite because of the doves. THe mission itself is known as "the Dove of the desert"..I might change the title to "The Dove of the Desert". See a detail below.
If you are near Wickenburg, go to the Desert Caballeros Museum to see the show! Cowgirl Up! is a great gathering of the best women artists working in western themes...I have 3 large works there this year, and a couple of small things...now I am trying to re-wrangle my schedule so that I can go out to the show for a couple days.!

Monzon San Xavier

Monzon San Xavier__36 x 36 Oil on linen__available at Cowgirl Up! Wickenburg, AZ, Mar. 25- May


A couple weeks ago I posted my small study for this big painting. Click to see the study.

The title means "San Xavier Monsoon", referring to the big rains over Mission San Xavier. I have seen the monsoons which water the dry Arizona landscape in late summer, and I can imagine what a blessing they are to the people of the desert.....This is my biggest painting for the show, and I wish you could see it in person! The frame is a heavy, distressed, black with an antique-looking gold liner. I have a real hard time photographing the big canvases! Below is a detail...

Monzon San Xavier__detail

SV vs VR

SV vs VR___from my sketchbook

Another tournament this weekend, for the Round Rock Dragons. This afternoon was my son's time to pitch again. Sketching and keeping track of his pitches keeps me from "cheering"...This man does not like parental "cheering"... We played a team called Vista Ridge, and my son managed to start and finish a "two hitter", shut out, full game (7 innings) with 99 pitches, 6 strikeouts, and stayed ahead in the count on almost every batter. It wasn't perfect, but with great batting and defense from his teammates we won!

Tomorrow I will post the BIG version of one I painted a few days ago...click here to see the little one and compare the two tomorrow!

Uphill from Here

Uphill From Here__6x8 oil on linen panel__a "drive-by" for Passing America... exhibit, Oct., 2007

I think I will work on this one a little bit, now that I see it "in print". (A good way to "proof" your work is to look at a picture of it, a few days after it's done, when your eye is "removed" from the process of MAKING, and can view it less "personally").
Sorry that the picture has some bad glare on it! I shot it in a hurry today and only took one picture (another lesson....ALWAYS take several pictures...)
I painted this one on the way to Kansas...I only glimpsed the scene for 10-15 seconds as we drove by, and it made an "impression" that I wanted to paint....The best thing I like about this "drive-by" painting is that I happened to see the same scene on the way back! I wasn't looking for it, but there it was, and I noticed that, though I simplified the impression, (took out a few buildings and fences) it was VERY CLOSE to the actual scene!
One last lesson for you artists...your IMPRESSION of something is FAR MORE VALUABLE as ART, than copying a careful rendering of all the details! Any good technician can copy accurately, but only YOU can communicate YOUR personal impression!!!

Snow Melt to Fog

Snow Melt to Fog___6x8 oil on linen for Passing America: The Great Plains___exhibit opens Oct. 11, NE

A long span of highway was shrouded in thick fog on my recent trek through the Plains. It was a sure sign that the seasons are changing from winter to summer! I am an Impressionist, so sunlight is like "candy"!....Without it, I pouted for a few miles, but then the irresistible muted tones of the day called out to me and I just had to paint them! Passing by the fields and farms, the snow was melting and nearly gone in Kansas. We were told that this was a very snowy winter, and colder than usual!...

As I think back on the quick trip, I cannot recall seeing ANY LIFE on the farms we passed! Except for livestock, the people seemed to be indoors. It was a Sunday...maybe they were at church? It was damp and cool....that never stops a farmer...Perhaps it's that time of winter when there is really nothing to do, but REST...

Hay for Something

Hay for Something_6x8 oil on linen panel__a "drive-by" painting for the exhibit Passing America..., Oct, 2011

Talk about a WHIRWIND trip through the Great Plains! It was decided at the LAST SECOND that we would drive to Kansas on Sunday morning! One purpose was to pay a visit to a college in Kansas that my son is considering for his college football career, and I needed to see it, so we went! Of course I will jump at the chance to do some work on my project Passing America : The Great Plains, so I brought the paints and did some "drive-by" studies along the way!

This little vignette was nestled in the corner of a large, dreary pasture in southern Kansas. The hay was damp, sagging, and probably baled a year ago or more. (As I look at the painting, I think I painted the bales a little bit too much "intact"...It made me wonder what it was baled for? Perhaps a small herd of livestock that had to be sold? The chilly, late winter weather made this scene especially melancholy to me.

SV vs SV

SV vs SV___from my sketchbook
This weekend was a big baseball tournament hosted by our Round Rock Dragons.

We played 5 great games, and only lost one. We played some of the best teams in the state.
I sketched my son, Sam (SV) while he pitched against a school called Smithson Valley (also SV)....so thus, the catchy title...While sketching, I also kept his BASIC pitching stats, right there on the sketch! I ACCIDENTLY did this last year, and liked the result, so here it is again. He would NOT like me showing this on my blog, so please don't tell him! If you can read a baseball scorecard, it is OBVIOUS that he had 6 good innings. A NO HITTER in those six innings, but that dang third inning,..it was a team effort of miscues, including his! He finished strong, and that was good for his first full game of the year! (spoken like a mom, right?)
The sketch looks like him...he is very tall!

A Study for...

San Xavier Monsoon - study____8x6 oil on linen___available when I am done with it __$190

I like to work out my paint problems on a small scale, before diving into a large canvas. This painting has been "brewing" for a few years as I have traveled through Arizona...

I am working from my own reference: photos of the Mission San Xavier, pictures of monsoon clouds in Colorado, and sunset pictures from Arizona...it is a work in progress!

Took a quick trip to Kansas this weekend...do any of my blog friends know anyone in Salina, or Wichita, KANSAS...just curious!

:)

Joe Sketch

Joe___pencil sketch on paper___rough fora painting, soon
Pretty soon, I will do a painting of our left-handed pitcher, Joe. My son has played on a team with Joe since Little League, and they are good friends. The painting I will do is for Joe's mom, who bid the highest on an original work of art which I donated for a baseball fundraiser. The highest bid will get a special work of art of their ballplayer, which I will paint especially for them! Joe's mom won, so I took my sketchbook to the game today to practice on Joe. Lucky for me, he pitched well and stayed in the game the whole time!
We are the Round Rock High School Dragon Varsity...with a LONG and successful tradition of baseball in Texas! Many of our former players are in the pros right now!
My son, Samuel, a "righty" will pitch tomorrow....prayers, please!

Little Egret Sketch

Little Egret Sketch___graphite on paper...a small one
Before I "turn west", I have this one little egret sketch to post...Starting tomorrow I will be working to finish works for "Cowgirl Up!", one of the premier shows for women and Western Art in the country. The show opens next month...

...and, it's baseball season for my high school senior! The team has a big tournament starting tomorrow, so I will be there sketching and working on my tan!

Single

"Single"___12x6 oil on linen panel___sorry for the bad photo (my glare and blur technique)!
This is the only photo I have in my camera tonght...something I promised to send via e-mail to a collector I just met at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, SC. I hope they look at my blog, because for the moment I forget who they are! I am sure I have it written down in my show stuff, which is packed and on the way home...but I am "stranded" in Charleston with my daughter.
If you are a skier, you understand the title of this little painting. While standing in line at the ski lifts, the lift attendant will holler out "SINGLE" to let skiers know there is ONE available seat headed up the mountain. Most skiers travel in pairs and ride together, but the ones that ski alone get paired up on the lift to make the lines move faster....unless the lines are short, then the single skier gets to ride in solitude...like my little guy in the painting!
I'm Embarrassed to say that I accidently botched our return flight plans. It is a strange feeling to show up at the airport and have them tell you that your flight is for Monday, MARCH 21. Oh sheesh...This is a NEW botch for me (I thought I had done ALL of them by now)!! So, we checked into a hotel by the airport, rode the bus to town, and tromped around Charleston all day!....so much for my show profits!!! Delta Airlines will NOT get anymore of my busness, by the way, thanks to a snarky lady in Cincinnati named...
...d a n g ....I forget...sheesh...

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!

ACE Egret

Egret Quick-Draw at Southeastern Wildlife Exposition____18x18___sold
Many art events have a "Quick-Draw" event. Artists get one hour to complete a painting, a few minutes to frame it, and then the works are auctioned off for the benefit of a charity or the event itself.
I LOVE these quick-draw events because they feed my competetive nature. Competing against the clock, on a fairly large painting(18x18 canvas size) is a little bit of an adrenalin rush!
This one above is an egret nestled aagainst the grasses in the low country at ACE Basin, near Charleston, SC where I painted last year after the show :)
Tonight was the soire....AHHHH, OYSTERS!!

""Mighty Quin"____watercolor and pencil on acid free board___Lloyd Collection

Not a great picture, but look at this carefully and you will see my friend Quin Lloyd in action (a few years ago!) His wife, my greatest friend, Pam, commissioned this watercolor and pencil artwork, a montage of his athletic passions...I was not as "experienced" an artist back then, and would love to make compositional "fixes" but will have to just make BETTER ones next time! If you know a "hero" (husband, wife, CHILD...) and can send me lots of pictures, I would love to paint something like this for YOU! Please e-mail me if you want more info vvaughan8@yahoo.com

I am in Charleston RIGHT NOW for the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. GREAT weather and crowds and wonderful southern hospitality! (It's REAL, y'all!). I get to do a couple of demos today, so I will be posting new works tomorrow!

Lorraine Sketch

Lorraine Sketch from the Rockport Workshop____5 minute sketch with oil on linen

Monday and Tuesday I taught a workshop in Rockport, TX. Our focus was capturing impressions QUICKLY. I worked in color in the morning demo, then gave some instruction on "seeing" to sketch fast...it is a favorite topic of mine. Maybe because as a young artist, I am sure I was the slowest artist in the world: very deliberate and obsessed with PERFECTION.

Yes, I was perfect ... :) ....NOT!

But my detailed drawings were pretty dang close to the photo I copied line for line, value for value...and the eraser was my friend!

I am very glad I spent so much time being technically accurate. It trained my eye! A very young artist NEEDS THIS, because they have very little experience in ANYTHING. This is why they are generally impatient with verbal instruction in large doses. They prefer to DO IT, rather than analyze it! I reassure my adult students that they HAVE experience, even if they are new to art! Experience like GEOMETRY, science and physics...these go a LONG way in helping define certain art principles!
My group this week learned a few things in our sketch sessions. I hope they are PRACTICING! :)

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!)

Boat Study

Boat Study___6x8 oil on linen panel___for Caro and Don
Ahhh! I just enjoyed a WONDERFUL couple of days painting in Rockport, TX with a fabulous group of artists who let me pretend to teach them! As usual, we met at my favorite haunts..this demo was a quickie at the Cove Harbor Boatyard....I got home a few hours ago and went straight to a ball game. (It is now baseball season...the first scrimmage was tonight for the Round Rock High School Dragons! No pressure, guys, there were 4 pro scouts in the stands with their radar guns and note pads!)
Yes, this is what I would describe as a perfect day!
But it came after a very sad weekend. One of my great friends and the best boss I ever had died suddenly on Saturday. Susan Owen was the principal at Round Rock Christian Academy where I taught for 19 years. She was just a few years older than me, a YOUNG woman :)...even younger at heart! Her great gifts were gifts of the Spirit. If you ever wonder what Jesus was like, her name would be at the top of the list: Gracious, and FULL of real love and real grace and real mercy. And no one I know who knows her EVER saw her deviate from this type of goodness. Can you imagine having a boss whose door was ALWAYS open, and who ALWAYS was ready to hear you and to laugh or cry with you? And to watch her work with children was a work of art. Of course, being the principal, she often had little "law breakers" in her office. Susan had a way of correcting them with love and RESTORING these little renegades, rather than heaping on them with a guilt trip. They usually skipped away from her office, and were determined to do better just for Mrs. Owen!...I could go on and on, and I will miss her TERRIBLY...I hope you will meet someone like Susan some day.
I am sorry to be behind with e-mail replies...will catch up tomorrow

Trout Ready

Trout Ready___8x6 oil on linen panel__available at Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, Feb 17-20, 2011

SEWE is in Charleston, SC. It is my FAVORITE SHOW each year, for so many reasons! For the next few days I will depart from my Great Plains project posts, and show off some of the small works I am taking to The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in a couple weeks. Of course, as my blog buddy, you have the first chance to claim it, if you are interested in a purchase. Please e-mail me! vvaughan8@yahoo.com

For you artists, below is a conversation with an artist pal Robin Cheers. We had a chit chat, today...everyone can relate to it! If you look at Robin's work you would never guess she EVER struggles with ANYTHING!

R...instead of painting, when I have a real painting to do, I do other things, look for the perfect image to work from, change my mind, etc.
Here is the reply...and a DISCLAIMER: It is ESPECIALLY for my WOMEN artists!
V....Every artist does that!!…some days it just rolls out of us, and then when we REALLY Want to do a good one, we fall into a “hold” or “circle pattern”…hovering and agitating and hearing voices that say “what do you think you are doing…??”
One of the most amazing things I have noticed about SOME artists (usually a man) who picks up the brush and BOLDLY slaps on the paint and thinks that each stroke he makes is brilliant and presents a loose, high contrasty thing and immediately sells it!!...with cockiness!! They just don’t seem to anguish like we do…but they GET AFTER IT AND CONQUER IT! We tend to try to “love” our paintings into quality…they aim to “CONQUER” it, and end up with stronger works many times!

Hmmm….as I type this I am thinking I should go “CONQUER” something right now!

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.
____________________________________________________________________________________
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

Pawnee Morning Star Ritual

Cold Crescent__11x14 oil on linen___available at Act I Gallery, Taos, NM next week.

A few days ago I posted a study I did on my Amtrak trip of The Morning star. An artist buddy quickly wrote to me about The Morning Star ceremony of the Pawnee Indians -a ritual sacrifice of a young girl in the spring. It's a shame that such a beautiful phenomena is associated with such a terrible ritual. I prefer the Bible reference to "The Bright and Morning Star" as a special name/description for Jesus.
Michael Ome Untiedt , a great artist and friend told me all about it and sent me some info. He also mentioned that there is a place in Ireland where there is evidence that their ancient peoples followed the movement of Venus, (actually a planet and NOT a star). They followed its very course in the solar system, and studies indicate that they had to keep track of this for some 400 years, handing down their observations to the next generation without the benefit of WRITING...So fascinating that I caught myself "wikipedia-ing" for part of my morning and had to hustle myself back to the Plains....

I decided today to make a larger version of the Amtrak study, and altered it a bit...can you tell how???

My workshop in Rockport this weekend has been postponed. They are expecting BAD WINTER WEATHER there for the next day or two. We are pushing it forward to next week, so NOW YOU CAN plan to come! It might be Monday, Feb 7...maybe Friday Feb 11. I will know the new date on Thursday.

PLEASE e-mail me if you are interested...maybe you can caravan with those of us going down from the Austin area. vvaughan8@yahoo.com

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

Trees by the Tracks

Trees by the Tracks___8x6 oil on linen___for Passing America....exhibit Oct-Dec 2011,

Great Plains Art Museum, Lincoln, NE

The Amtrak Empire Builder stopped in Minot, ND. It was just long enough that I was able to do a little more detail on this small canvas. The sun was up, but still low in the sky, and shadows played across the lower part of the branches. I never looked to see what was making the shadows, but spent the time trying to catch the impression of sunlight on the tops of the trees.

I will be teaching this kind of "painting fast impressions" in an upcoming one-day workshop in Rockport, TX. Join us on Friday, Feb 4, and we also will paint on Saturday morning. Details below! If it is cold we will work in the Art center, right on the waterfront. I am also looking into the option of another indoor venue with a view

***WORKSHOP in Rockport! ***
Here are the basics, but email me if you want more info...this is an intensive one-day study workshop to equip you to move forward...(plus optional Saturday am paintout)
Sketching and Pushing Color from Dawn til Dark
FRIDAY, Feb 4 (with an optional Saturday morning paint-out)
7am at Cove Harbour til about noon, and 4:30 – 7 pm
also, Sat 7am at Charlotte Plummers
Seeing and sketching fast…with pencils, sketchbooks, brush on panels,
$100 for members, $125 for non

Barn Light Near Rugby, ND

Barn Light Near Rugby, ND__6x8 oil "drive-by" study for Passing America: The Great Plains
Another sunrise study near Rugby.
This scene passed by fast, and I sketched the buildings in quickly with just a few lines, and made notes about the color in my sketchbook. The sunrise color lingered awhile, so I was able to do the sky and use the landscape along the rails to put color notes on the canvas. I am betting that the buildings I saw look nothing like this, but the IMPRESSION I had of them is "just right" in this little painting.
Haha, My train travel buddy, Rhonda, commented that she slept through all the excitement of my night time works....I had a bunch of sketches and notes to show her the next morning....and wondered how she slept through my rattling around in the bottom bunk, frequently turning on my light to write the notes...I can sketch in the (nearly) dark, but needed a little light for the words...
I am an "impressionist", after all! And I will be teaching some of my techniques in a one-day-plus a morning workshop in Rockport, TX next Friday and Saturday. Oh, I hope the weather is 1/2 as beautiful as it was this weekend. I hear it might be a little chilly, but we have a nice classroom to work in if that happens. See details below.
I got to teach about 30 amazing ART TEACHERS at the Art Educator Days events at the Rockport Center for the Arts. THhey had a blast, taking workshops from about 10 instructors and learning a wide variety of art disciplines to take back to the classroom. These teachers are amazing artists in their own right. I had a BIGGER blast than they did!...I hope some of the local ones (and YOU!)can join the FULL day workshop next Friday!
***WORKSHOP in Rockport! ***
Here are the basics, but email me if you want more info...this is an intensive one-day study workshop to equip you to move forward...(plus optional Saturday am paintout)
Sketching and Pushing Color from Dawn til Dark
FRIDAY, Feb 4 (with an optional Saturday morning paint-out)
7am at Cove Harbour til about noon, and 4:30 – 7 pm
also, Sat 7am at Charlotte Plummers
Seeing and sketching fast…with pencils, sketchbooks, brush on panels,
$100 for members, $125 for non

Sunrise West of Rugby

Sunrise West of Rugby, ND___6x8 oil on linen___for Passing America...Exhibit opens Oct. 7

Rugby, North Dakota was a landmark for a few of us on the train (Amtrak Empire Builder). When anyone wondered where we were that morning, we all said things like "30 minutes from Rugby" or we passed Rugby a while ago"....it was an easy name to remember. Later in the day, when we were FAR from Rugby, we STILL referenced it, because it was fun to say! ...As I mentioned yesterday, the sunrise seemed to last a while this far north, so I enjoyed painting several small works back to back to back!.

***a friend, Dot Courson suggested that I am not a plein air painter, but this would be "train air"...I corrected the spelling to "trein air"...

I will be teaching this technique of capturing impressions quickly in Rockport, TX next Friday-Saturday. JOIN ME! ...info below

***WORKSHOP in Rockport! ***
Here are the basics, but email me if you want more info...this is an intensive one-day study workshop to equip you to move forward...(plus optional Saturday am paintout)
Sketching and Pushing Color from Dawn til Dark
FRIDAY, Feb 4 (with an optional Saturday morning paint-out)
7am at Cove Harbour til about noon, and 4:30 – 7 pm
also, Sat 7am at Charlotte Plummers
Seeing and sketching fast…with pencils, sketchbooks, brush on panels,
$100 for members, $125 for non