"Radishes"

8 x 8

oil on hardboard

sold

Carol Marine has started a new weekly challenge through Daily Paint Works. The object of the current challenge is to paint one subject in a ten minute time frame, and then repeat it multiple times. I had heard that this was one of Carol's exercises in her workshops but had never tried it myself. The idea is to simplify and to concentrate on shapes, color and values. What a great exercise! Be sure to click on the link above and check what other artists are submitting to the challenge. Do you have any idea how fast ten minutes can fly by?

"Sunset at White Rock Lake"

8 x 10

oil on gessoed hardboard

White Rock Lake, not far from the heart of downtown Dallas, is the perfect get away from the busy city. Motor boats are not allowed on the lake but sailboats are abundant. 

"Lakeside Swan"

8 x 10

oil on gessoed hardboard

If you saw my December 3rd post of a plein air painting, I included a photo of this "visitor" who kept me company at lakes edge. 

"Stone Bridge"

8 x 10

oil on gessoed hardboard

Squeezed in one afternoon of plein air painting last weekend right before we had snow the following day. Predominately an Anders Zorn palette kept this very earthy and wintry looking.

"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!

"Saints Galore"

8 x 10

oil on gessoed hardboard

Christmas greetings from the three saints on my kitchen window sill!

"Picnic in Colorado"

8 x 10

oil on stretched canvas

This is a scene in Colorado, painted predominantly with the Zorn palette, cad red, yellow orche, titanium white and ivory black.   

"Fall Colors"

9 x 12

oil on gessoed hardboard

Am trying to take advantage of the perfect fall weather here in Dallas by getting in some plein air painting. The colors this year have been spectacular, found this scene at one of our local parks. Look who was keeping me company at lake's edge!

"After the Storm"

5 x 7

oil on gessoed hardboard

The Some Texas Artists Like To Paint blog is featuring "sky" paintings this month. I will have to admit that this theme has me much more aware of what's going on overhead each time I'm outside! Be sure to check out what other Texas artists are doing. 

"Outdoor Still Life"

9 x 12

oil on gessoed hardboard

The weather was perfect the other day for plein air, so set up in the backyard and painted this scene from  our patio table. 

"Waitin' to Walk for Annie"

8 x 10

oil on gessoed hardboard
sold

One of the wonderful things about the artist blog is the community of friends that you make online. One of these online friends, Annie Salness of Portland, Oregon, is in need of her friend's help. Annie, artist, wife and mother of four, at age 46, had a stroke in mid October and a group in her hometown is having an "Art Walk for Annie" to help with medical expenses. Leslie Saeta (California) and Dreama Tolle Perry (Kentucky) have started a special blog for artists to donate a painting with all proceeds going to the Salness family. You can see this blog here. 

You can purchase this painting, "Waitin' to Walk for Annie",  by clicking the Buy Now button at the bottom of this post. You can own this painting and know that 100% of your money will go to help Annie and her family. Here is what the painting looks like framed.

$85.00 unframed, thank you!

"Dry Docked"

8 x 10

oil on gessoed hardboard

A recent plein air painting from Calvin Liang's workshop painted at Highland Lakes Marina on Lake Travis.

"Anderson Grist Mill"

9 x 12

oil on gessoed hardboard

This was my first day's painting from my recent workshop with Calvin Liang. We started the week at the Anderson Mill, an old grist mill dating from around the Civil War days.  

Here is Calvin in front of the mill and just starting his demo in the morning. Not sure what he is saying in this photo, but am sure he is stressing the importance of the four elements in the structure of a painting: shape, color and it's correct temperature, values, and edges-sharp, soft or lost. He stressed these four principles all week. Thanks, Calvin, I need the repetition! 

This photo of our workshop attendees, along with Calvin and Qiang who organized the class, was taken the last day of the workshop. What a sterling group, I couldn't have asked for a more talented bunch of artists to spend the week with. As you can see, the weather was sunny and perfect all week long. 

"Red Row Boat"

9 x 12

oil on gessoed hardboard

Packing up with great anticipation for the Calvin Liang plein air workshop next week in the Austin area. Before I put the lid on all the paints, I wanted to try Calvin's suggested palette, so what better way than to experiment with one of his painting subjects. Check out the link above to see Calvin's paintings at the Greenhouse Gallery in San Antonio.

Donation

8 x 10

oil on stretched canvas
sold

This painting, titled "One Left Out", is being donated to the art auction for New Friends New Life, an organization that benefits young women in trouble and their families in the Dallas/Ft Worth area.   

This is painted with the Swedish artist Anders Zorn palette using only four colors, cadmium red light, yellow orche, ivory black, and titanium white. 

"Onion and Garlic Picnic"

8 x 10

oil on stretched canvas

Getting ready to make a big jump into plein air painting! Heading to a workshop with Calvin Liang and, weather permitting, we'll be painting on location north of Austin around the lake area. Hope to get his suggested palette together and practice with it before I head that direction in a few days. Am so excited to have the opportunity to study with Liang and to also learn more from a previous workshop instructor Qiang Huang who is sponsoring this workshop. Two such fabulous artists! 

"Pears and Bamboo"

8 x 10

oil on stretched canvas

Think this is my first attempt at painting pears, have these sitting on a small bamboo stand. Think I'll use them again but in a different setting, but have to hurry before they get eaten! 

"Antique Books of Common Prayer"

8 x 10

oil on stretched canvas

These miniature antique books were a gift, perfectly tied together as a small package...two Books of Common Prayer, one from Sussex, England, and the smaller one, a New Testament dated in the early 1900's.

"Sunflowers and Pumpkins"

8 x 10

oil on stretched canvas

sold

Can't resist a fresh bouquet of sunflowers at the market! Seemed like a perfect match for the pumpkins and autumn leaves. We are so grateful to finally have some cooler Fall temperatures.

"Colorado in the Fall"

8 x 10

oil on hardboard

Last year we spent a week in the Fall with friends in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. This was painted from a photograph taken on one of our many hikes through the area. Although this was painted in the studio, I'm hoping to get more involved with plein air painting, especially now that the Texas temperatures have dropped below 100.

"Birdie"

7 1/2 x 8

oil on hardboard
sold

Birdie is our friend's year and a half year old shih tzu, a cuter face is not to be found!

"Patty Cake"

8 x 8

oil on hardboard
sold

I was out shopping yesterday and saw this adorable child with her grandmother, who I quickly asked if she minded if I take a photograph. Gave her one of my cards so she wouldn't think I was a stalker! But I was instantly taken in by this happy little girl, and with so much hair at such a young age. She immediately started playing "patty cake" when I took my camera out. Had never painted dark skin tones, so refered to Color Mixing Recipes by William F. Powell for a good formula. A great reference book if you haven't read it.

"The Gifts"

8 x 10

oil on hardboard

This painting is a set up of two gifts from friends. The stein was a surprise from an artist friend who knows I like to paint still life's and the peaches were given to my husband by a friend at church. The terra cotta rim around the stein seemed to be a perfect match with the peaches.Thanks, Angela and  Sandy.

Postcard

Just had these new postcards printed at Vistaprint. Not quite the moo.com card but similar. I've had "writer's block" lately or do you call it "painter's block". I have been painting but not anything I wanted to post, you know, something that would come back to haunt me in a year or two!

"Fishing In Pagosa Springs"

8 x 10

oil on gessoed hardboard

The Some Texas Artists Like to Paint blog has a different theme each month and for September it's "fish". Not having any idea what I would contribute, I looked through some past photographs and found this, a guy fishing in the stream in downtown Pagosa Springs. We were fortunate to spend a week with friends in Colorado last year and I remember snapping this photo from a bridge along the river walk. Thought the overhead view and foreshortened figure looked a little abstract amidst the water and rocks.

"Morning Fruit"

11 x 14

oil on stretched canvas

Some of the best grapefruit comes from the Texas Rio Grande Valley. This half never made it back to the refrigerator!

"Brass Vase"

11 x 14

oil on stretched canvas
available at Dutch Art Gallery

I'm real excited about this painting! Have finally seen some results in this still life in trying to achieve a looser style. I really don't know why that is so hard for some of us. Maybe it helped that I had a lot of time to "think" about this painting. Everything for this still life was set up at the end of last week, when I got a call from the painter ready to repair the ceiling in the breakfast room where I have my "studio" set up. We had had one of those "pesky little step through the ceiling accidents". So, the vegetables go back in the refrigerator until today, repairs done and it's time to paint again. Had mentally painted this for a couple of days, reminding myself to first block everything in very loosely with a large fan brush. My husband says golf is so hard and challenging because there's so much to remember and think about. Painting is just like that!

"Talavera Sunflowers"

11 x 14

oil on stretched canvas
available at Dutch Art Gallery

This is a talavera jar that I usually keep small packages of smarties in for my grandchildren, but thought it looked perfect as a vase for these sunflowers. The peppers will go in shrimp and grits tonight, still enjoying the tastes of Charleston!

"Dreaming"

7 1/2 x 8

oil on hardboard

This month the theme for the blog Some Texas Artists Like To Paint is "dreams", and I have painted this picture of my granddaughter napping at age 3 (she's now 13). Be sure and check out what my fellow Texas artist friends are posting.

"Last Putt of the Day"

8 x 10

oil on stretched canvas

Another golf shot inspired by the recent British Open.

I have a good friend who just started her blog, check it out http://suethompsonpaints.blogspot.com/ and welcome her to our blogging community.

"In The Rough"

8 x 10

oil on hardboard

sold

Thought this was a great shot from the recent British Open. My golfer husband said a better title would have been "Out of the Rough" if the player hit the ball correctly. Which ever is correct, you get the idea!

"Texas Star"

8 x 10

oil on hardboard

sold

Texas is known as the Lone Star state, and I think the real star (besides the one on the flag) is the Texas cowboy.

"Sunflowers in Blue and White"

8 x 10

oil on stretched canvas

sold

Thanks to Qiang Huang and his help in painting a blue and white vase in a recent workshop, I find I am now drawn to these china pieces more and more for use in still lifes. Having fresh sunflowers is an added bonus!

"Summer Table"

8 x 10

oil on stretched canvas

Had fun with this "summer" setup of sunflowers and watermelon! Reminds me of a previous painting I did of my grandson last year. Thanks for all of your previous comments, hope you are all having a great summer!

"Red, White and Blue"

8 x 10

oil on stretched canvas

Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July weekend!

"Bowl Full Of Cherries"

11 x 14

oil on stretched canvas

Old books and blue and white, some of my favorite things!

"Antique Book"

8 x 10

oil on stretched canvas

sold

Enjoyed incorporating this old Shakespearean book, dated 1858, into this painting. It's a beautiful book with a gold embossed cover and spine, but is so fragile that just by opening it causes pages to loosen, so it's not handled very often.

"Surfing"

8 x 10

oil on stretched canvas

There's a different kind of surfing going on at the beaches these days! This sun worshiper at Hilton Head Island was staying connected to the outside world by "surfing the internet".

"Hilton Head Beach"

8 x 10

oil on stretched canvas

The beaches on Hilton Head Island were incredibly beautiful and pristine.

On another subject, my "Johnny Appleseed" painting has been purchased by the Toby Jug Museum in Evanston, Il. Check out the museum's site to learn more about the history of these unique ceramics.

"Beaufort Bay"

8 x 10

oil on stretched canvas

Just returned from a tour of the Low Country around Charleston and Savannah; loved everything we saw, but especially Beaufort, South Carolina. This is a view of the bay in Beaufort with the lush marshes in the foreground. These are the grasses that are used in the gullah baskets handwoven in the area. Beaufort was also one of the cities used in the filming of Forrest Gump.