The Domino Parlor

The Domino Parlor
24" x 20"
Oil on Canvas

Ahhh! Finished! Now its on to the next one. Yeehaw!
(Please excuse the glare, it is still very wet.)

I was a little nervous about all those straight lines, but my anxiety disappeared as I let go more and more of having to retain control of the outcome of the painting. And THAT my dear friends is the secret, at least for me, of getting into "the zone." Let go. Relax. Take a deep breath. In the words of our darling Jason Mraz, "hold your own, know your name, and go your own way." Trust the inner self.
I am merely a channel for creativity, and when I let it have its own way, when I put my trust in the unseen muse- he/she does all the work for me. Man, life is good!

Kind of off the subject but not really, I picked up a print of a Juli Adams's watercolor piece, "Internal Compass," many years ago and loved it. I was way out of tune with my own intuition at the time, but the idea and the painting both appealed to me. I love that painting. Her work has changed a lot since then, but I still love it. It has progressed into a quirkier style that really resonates with my imagination. Juli could create whole Alice in Wonderland type universes with the dreamlike and slightly depraved innocence of her subjects. Oh, I love her work!

Back to the main... Fun painting. I really enjoyed it.

Next stop: landscape central! I would like to do some more architectural pieces as well... As soon as the weather warms up just a bit I am going back onto Main and to Sycamore to paint some more of our adorable town's history!

Varney's, AKA The Domino Parlor - WIP

OK. I'm giving in. It's the Domino Parlor. Every one that sees it says "Oh! Its the Domino Parlor!" Even people on the street when I was working on location. Gotta tell ya, though, I am lovin this painting regardless. Really enjoying the process. Looking forward to seeing it completed!

Varney' Chemist Laden - WIP

"I do wonderful work in a wonderful way, my wonderful work feels like wonderful play, I give a wonderful service for wonderful pay."

We have the greatest jobs in the world folks! I had so much fun tonight. I felt so free and excited running up and down Main Street looking for the perfect painting spot tonight. It is rainy and cold out there, but man oh man, I had fun. The shop that currently resides in this building is called something like Granny's attic, but it will always be Varney's to me. My mom saw the painting and said "Oh! It's the Domino Parlor!" I remember that name too, but when it was Varney's Chemist Laden it was crammed with the cutest, softest stuffed animals, barrels of funky smelling stuff in the middle of the room just as you walked in, and one very special wall that seemed lined floor to ceiling with jars of old fashioned candies. I would go there with my best friend one summer and we would get Swizzle Stix- colored, crystallized sugar in wooden sticks with a varnished wooden ball on the handle- i loved the look f them just as much as the glory of pure sugar on the tongue. They also had this pale gray and white cat that looked so perfect he would take people by surprise when he moved among all the stuffed critters in the shop. He would sit at the window in the evening, after the store had closed, and watched the people walk by. He was so so soft. Mmm... good memories! Every time I walk past that place, I feel like a teeny bopper again.

I am looking forward to going out again tomorrow! What a wonderful painting experience.

Olmos Park

Olmos Park

20 x 24
oil on canvas
Click here to purchase.

Whew! Its been a while. I had a great week painting with Seth Camm of San Antonio, TX. This was my first time painting en plein air on a canvas larger than 9 x 12. It was so fun! I would never go back if my sweet little Thumbox wasn't so very sweet, and little... What can I say? It's cute. It makes my voice go up an octave or two when talking about it, its so cute.

Middle Creek Mesquites

Middle Creek Mesquites
6" x 8"
oil on canvas board

Sorry about the washed out photo. I did a rush job on this batch of images, but will have a better one when I put it on my website. I'll let you know when I do that...

This was right down the street from the previous post's painting spot. I went a little haywire with the color. Well, with the red swath of earth.

Again, working on distance and laying down the paint and leaving it. I enjoyed working around the branches and foliage clumps on the Mesquite trees. I love these trees. They are so variable and limber looking in the shapes they take.

Middle Creek View

Middle Creek View
6" x 8"
oil on canvas board

I have been concentrating on my brushwork and portraying distance. I adjusted some of the colors on this one last night. The distant hills were so dark, they were barely distinguishable from those in front of them.

I have always been intimidated by the thought of putting down the paint and leaving it, but its actually a lot of fun! A challenge. Challenge is good. Plus it forces me to concentrate on the exact color I want to put down.

Texas Windmill- testing, tesing 1,2,3

Texas Windmill
6" x 12"
oil on canvas

Oh joy! I have been trying to learn a new program (Aperture 2) and I have made a breakthrough. I can now adjust a photo, and then (hold onto your hats!) POST IT ON MY BLOG!!!! WOOOAAAAH!

Sounds simple, I know, but I totally underestimated the differences between a Mac and a plain ol' PC. I will never go back. NEVER, I TELL YOU! The only thing I really miss is the "end" button, and the right click... I think I saw something in the manual about that- I'll have to read it again.

So to the painting... This is a sweet little plein air piece I just love. (I'm setting it aside as another option for the Whistle Pik show. I like it that much.) The windmill and water tank are situated right next to a farmhouse surrounded by fields, hay bales, barbed wire fences, and a few clumps of cacti. As soon as the cactus fruit are plump and purple I am going to pick some and eat em! Beautiful views and tasty fruit. Life is good.

I may need to retake the photo. Its a bit washed out.
This is a test of the emergency blog post system.... this is only a test.

HAY!

Hay!
9" x 12"
oil on canvas board (linen)
Click here to purchase.

About a month ago I was driving down Friendship Lane and saw all these wonderful pot-bellied hay bales lounging in the fields on either side of the road. I took some pictures and used them for the first time last night. I had originally set up my easel off the back porch, but it was soooo hot and the sun was soooo bright that I wimped out and decided to work from a photo instead.

I hadn't painted since I went up to Washington to pack my stuff for the move, so I was feeling a bit rusty. I have to admit, I was not mentally in the best of places while working on this one, but I found forcing myself to focus on the process of painting to be good medicine. It was a good reminder to ditch the "tossers," as my friend Simon puts it, and move on. Unpleasant people and unhappy thoughts are not worth wasting my time and energy on, especially when I can put my energy toward something as amazing as creation.

Art and laughter are the best medicine.

And chocolate.
We cannot forget chocolate!

Texas Summer Sunset

Texas Summer Sunset
9" x 12"
oil on linen board

This is the view from the middle of the field next to my mom's house. Just over the hill is the Kerrville Highway and some motels I forget the name of. The view hasn't changed much since I was a teenager. I'm glad.

I love this painting! Not just because I am in the painting-loving-mood, I am just really excited about this one. I love that pole with all the lines and boxes and streetlights sprouting out in every direction, and the colors that just explode out of nowhere at that most magical time of the day: The Golden Hour. Rightly named. King Midas had his way with the sky and the field, and every little weed became a thing of beauty.

The first day I worked on this one was kind of a mini disaster. I didn't get everything down that I wanted and my tripod was falling apart. Yes, my lovely, new, super-fantastic tripod that I adore so very much because it shrinks down to the size of a pixie cane and weighs just a bit more than a pencil... Anyway! The next day was better, and I was thankful for the previous day's work because I was able to concentrate on what I liked best about the scene- the contrast in colors. I am wishing now that I had taken a picture of the first day's work so you could see the changes. There were changes! Not huge, luckily the infrastructure was pretty sound. Just minor things like a shadow placement here and there, but even the small changes made a big difference.

I like it so much I am going to hang on to it for consideration into the Whistle Pik show in December.

I think this is another one of those transitional paintings for me. While working on it, I felt more in control of what I was doing than I ever have been. I even scraped away some of the paint in the sky on a whim and ended up with some much needed subtle variation. I didn't freak out when some of the blue-ish green from the trees blended into the sky... I just let it be what it would be, and I like the result.

I would like to say thank you to my friend Oscar Arroyo for sparking my interest with his utterly luscious paintings of electricity poles. I love it when artists take the mundane and make it beautiful.

Oh! and this painting is on linen, not my regular canvas. I totally see why people never go back. I'm hooked. I plan on working through the last of my canvases and changing over for good. The paint behaves differently on linen. Subtle maybe, but definitely different. It just feels good.

Little update: This might be the last post I make for the next three weeks. We'll see how things go. I'm in the process of moving back to Texas, and you know how that goes...

Pip pip, cheerio- I'll be back soon!



P.S. Thank you all for leaving your comments- every blogger and artist knows the incredible value of your support!

River Road

River Road
6" x 12"
oil on canvas board

Funny, but I didn't care much for this painting until today. I tucked it away in my wet canvas carrier to dry for a few days and lo and behold- I love it! It makes me want to get out and paint more. Maybe I am just in the right sort of mood to enjoy it now.

Still playing Catch-Up

Aunt Vicki's Garden
6" x 8"
oil on canvas board
Sold

I loved the colors of the light, shadows and reflected light on and around that pot, and I had fun with the limestone paving stones.

A Break from the Heat

A Break from the Heat
6" x 8"
oil on canvas board
Click here to purchase.

Those clouds were a welcomed sight. It was so hot! I loved the cool swirling energy of the scene. It was a relief.
I truly saw something for the first time the other day- there is a warm band that usually stands between a cool color and a really intense/bright one. Does that make sense? Anyway I find myself looking for it everywhere now. I was so obsessed with it when I did this painting that I think I may have gone a little overboard with it, but I still like it. I love every painting that represents a transition in the way I see or think. It means progress.

Mansfield Dam: Lake View I
6" x 8"
original oil on canvas board
Click here to purchase.

Mansfield Dam: Lake View II
6" x 8"
original oil on canvas board
Click here to purchase.

I got to go paint with the Plein Air Austin Crew and these are the result. It was a great painting session filled with beautiful views, wonderful people and unexpected weather changes. We could see the rain coming from across the lake. Awesome.

Texas Oaks

Texas Oaks
6" x 8"
original oil on canvas board
Click here to purchase.

Another wonderful view from my mom's back yard. My son was taking a nap, so sat on the back door's step and stole a few minutes for this painting.

I love this painting. Greens have been giving me trouble for a while now, but I stopped trying to see them as shades of green and started looking for the reds, purples and blues instead.

I am so hooked.

My Mother's Crepe Myrtle

My Mother's Crepe Myrtle
6" x 8"
original oil on canvas board
Sold

I was visiting with my mom while she watered the back yard and fell in love with this Crepe Myrtle. The evening sun was shining on it perfectly and the blooms were fantastic.

I am amazed at how many stunning views I find in my mother's back yard. I never saw so much beauty in the Texas Hill Country as I do now. Everywhere I turn I find another spot I would like to paint. I love plein air!

Enchanted Rock Shadows

Enchanted Rock Shadows
6" x 8"
original oil on canvas board
Click here to purchase.

I had a request from a friend for a painting of Enchanted Rock, and this is one of the studies. I found a great spot with absolutely no shade that overlooks the dome. (sweatin' and paintin') One good thing about a drought is all the dust in the air that creates such beautiful atmosphere in the distance.

I look forward to going out and painting some more. This place is a great subject with endless painting possibilities.

Uppers and downers... but mostly uppers!

So I'm running without a camera this week. Its in the shop. (Canon has excellent customer service, by the way)

But that really doesn't matter much because I have done very little painting. I have been assembling canvas panels, cleaning brushes, trying to figure out what I did with that other tube of yellow, and sketching a lot, in a very mild attempt to plan the next painting.

And... I get to spend six weeks in Texas visiting family -starting Monday!! So I've been a little preoccupied with planning for that as well. My brother-in-law (Brad's doublemint twin) and nephew are coming up for a visit this weekend so I will probably get to paint on Saturday or Sunday. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Some really good news: I got a formal invitation today from Whistle Pik Galleries to participate in their 2009 Christmas Miniature show. The show will run for the month of December in the "Main Street" gallery, and the Show Reception/Artist's Wine Reception will be from 6 to 8 pm on Friday December 4. I will be there if anyone wants to come say howdy. I'll be posting the info again the closer we get to December.

And just when you think the deal couldn't possibly get any sweeter, it does. I get to see my family again when I go down for the show! Awesome! Its not exactly "home for the holidays," but its close enough. I haven't been in Texas in December in years and years. Maybe I'll get lucky and be there when the Kristkindl Market/festival is going on. How fun!

I get to be a tourist in my hometown! I appreciate the touristy stuff in Fredericksburg so much more now that I don't live there... aint that the way, though?