Wednesday, January 12, 2011

"Neighborhood Fall"

8 x 10
oil on stretched canvas

It's been close to a month since I last posted, guess you could say I've been AWOL or maybe even MIA. The holidays and out of town company had a lot to do with it, but the main reason is that our house was broken into a couple of days before Christmas. So we've been preoccupied with police reports, repairs to doors, locks and gates, and insurance claims, along with immediately replacing stolen Christmas gifts from under the tree. Still working on other items that were taken, computers, cameras, etc. Even had one painting stolen...hmmm...should I consider that a compliment? What a headache! Did I add that I was also robbed of lots of painting time since then?

The above landscape is a plein air piece from our neighborhood, painted just a few days before Christmas (and the robbery). Looks like we live in the country but took the liberty to change the concrete streets to country roads, and I blocked out the other houses nearby as well. Our fall colors were beautiful this year and seemed to last longer than usual. 

My plans for the new year is to continue to work on some plein air pieces in preparation for an entry to an outdoor event in Colorado later this summer. Plein air is a whole new ball game for me and more of a challenge than I imagined, hats off to all who embrace it full time. And thanks for letting me vent and whine a little!


8 comments:

  1. Ann, this is a gorgeous piece with excellent light play in the leaves. I am so very sorry to hear of what you have been through this past Christmas season, though. I wish there was some way I could help you as you so gracefully helped me. Considering they took a painting and Christmas gifts, I can only assume that this was more of a desperate act than one of pure thievery for thievery's sake. I am stopping myself from going off on how hard times are these days. Sometimes I wish we could go back in time to when days were simpler and people were horrified by heinous acts (so they were much less frequent).

    At any rate, I am thankful you were able to replace things and hope and pray that 2011 is a blessed year for you and your family. And did I say how much I love this autumn piece???

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  2. Was so glad to see you had posted a beautiful painting but so sorry to hear why you have been missing. What a terrible thing to go through. Good luck with all that. Yuck! At least your robber had good taste since he took one of your paintings.
    This painting is so beautiful and serene. ( The calm before your storm.)
    You have such talent so we hope to see lots more in the coming days.
    It has been almost a year since YOU and Qiang helped me get started on my blog. I will never forget all the help you were to me in every way.

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  3. Ann, I am so very sorry to hear of this awful event. Thankfully, no one was at home at the time. It's nice to hear that you are on your way to recovery. I think the worst would be the feeling of violation and vulneralbility. At least they have good taste in art!

    Great painting! Beautiful colors and has that wonderful feeling of Autumn days. Well done!

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  4. Ann, Sorry that happened to you. I hope you managed to have a good time with your family through all that.

    It's fun to hear about your plein air plans. I started out plein air painting and it is actually hard for me to work in studio. Plein air is tough, but rewarding. Keep it going.

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  5. Gorgeous color palette. Great job on the trees.

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  6. I'm so sorry that this terrible thing happened to you. It's a nightmare!! But the main thing...everyone is okay!! This painting is absolutely beautiful...the colors are perfect. I hope to see more of your paintings.

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  7. Many, many years ago we went through a similar experience; it very much was a violation on our privacy and security. I am so sorry you had this experience.

    I predict we'll be out painting again...soon!

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  8. A beautiful piece Ann, love the colors...glad to see that you're getting out there. So sorry to hear all the happenings you went thru and thankful everyone is okay.

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