Day 2- Hold On!

Happy to finish day 2's painting! This was more complicated than yesterdays.  I'll try this again, in another style or in different colors. Maybe experiment with various backgrounds  (the mountains & terrain around our valley)?

I've been asked to paint this certain fellow in another scene, but when I saw this old photo it was too good to be true. The composition was perfect! The background wasn't so hot (old cars and trucks that would be confusing so I left them out). I'm not sure who the young man is in this photo, but I felt this painting could tell a great story.

September's Flight

I love September! It reminds me of a new start- probably a remnant from many years past (new school years starting with fresh books, teachers, and new hopes). This September I'm taking on a 30 day challenge by artist Leslie Sateta (her link will be below).Why? To get myself back into my studio. Life tends to get in the way of art, other priorities constantly pull me away from what I love. 

My goal is  to paint each day, complete the painting- whether it's a study or finished piece. No rules- I can paint in any medium, just so I get back to enjoying the process. What am I going to paint? No rules, right? :-)

Today's piece was done on my back deck, watercolor study of a friend. 

It's not too late for you to join so clink on the link to Leslie's challenge.  http://lesliesaeta.blogspot.com/2013/08/getting-ready-for-30-paintings-in-30.html

Ride To The Mission

Another in my series of Rancheros Visitadores paintings. This was donated to California Rangeland Trust for their event on June 1st. It took 2 attempts to make this painting a reality. I enjoyed the first painting but was humbly reminded that paintings don't always turn out as we hope. :-( This 2nd painting was an attempt to capture the feeling of these cowboys (and their horses) at the end of a long day on the trail. They all seemed to have something to share. Hopefully, I captured some of those stories.

Thanks for viewing my art!

Sonata In B Minor

This may look similar to my last entry, but it's a different painting. The size of this one is only 5X7 inches as I'm entering this into Iowa Watercolor Society's  Miniature Show. This is the 2nd small painting I've completed in the last week and I'm enjoying painting small! My hope is that even though this is small in stature it still translates large in feeling. I finished this today while listening to a CD by pianist Van Cliburn entitled 'My Favorite Liszt'. I think that helped. 

Celebrating The Earth

Last week I was excited to get an email from the editor of CASA magazine in Santa Barbara. They asked me to bring in two paintings for an upcoming show titled 'Celebrating The Earth'. The editor chose the 1st painting from my website. However,  I only had a few days to complete & frame this 2nd painting. I'm thankful this bouquet was in my house and ready to sit still for me!  This bouquet came from the Farmers Market here in Solvang. I'm proud to celebrate what comes from our valley & the hands of our local growers!

Classical Still Life I

I photographed this still life set-up at an oil workshop with Qiang Huang. I wanted to try this in watercolor and had the opportunity this week. This is a small painting for me (6X6 inches) and I enjoyed painting small- a lot! Much faster to complete and I didn't feel overwhelmed like I frequently do with a large sheet of wet paper! 

Tres Hombres

Another in my Visitadores series (aka Pink Cowboy series). When I took this photo I enjoyed the way the cowboys seemed to be connected. You could tell they were good friends, and enjoying the day. I hope this painting translates some of that closeness with the viewer.

Halfway through this I wondered which was more important to 'get right'. The anatomy of the horses or the accuracy of the cowboy's hats? ;-)