Springtime on the Desert

Springtime is my favorite time to be on the desert. Everything comes alive almost over night. The desert seems to know it's growing season is limited to a short period before the sun scorches the earth once more. The variety of flowers are as intense as their colors. The flowers of the pepper bush put out a scent to attract the insects so its blossoms will be fertilized. The honey sweetness of it's bloom overwhelms my senses and fills the night air. The flowers I enjoy the most, however, are the members of the cactus family with their neon colors they blind the eye with beauty. I find it hard to resist painting the cactus this time of the year and so I offer these two beauties for your enjoyment. Englemann's Hedgehog 6" x 8" oil and Beaver Tail Prickly-Pear 8" x 6" oil .

Coyote Moon

Here is my offering for the class I teach at Canvas a la Carte tomorrow night. I hope everyone will enjoy doing this whimsical coyote. We hear the Coyotes howling often in Kayenta. When I hear them they always sound so joyful like they just had a long awaited for meal. I think the Coyote in the painting must be well fed as he seems to be smiling. We also see the night sky in this beautiful "dark" community of Kayenta so I added the big dipper.

Bonnie and Penny

I decided that it was time to paint a self portrait... at age 5 that is. When I was that age my parents lived on a small farm at the point where Federal Blvd. and the Boulder Turnpike intersected in Westminster, Colorado. I have fond memories of living there even though it was only for a brief period of my life before the State exercised their right of eminent domain. We literally lived "Old McDonald's Farm" and every animal had a name. The animals I remember most were the chickens, it was my job to help gather the eggs, our ducks Huey, Louie and Louise, our dog Bob, our goat Nanny, our horse Beauty, and my calf Penny, so named because she was copper colored like a penny. I'm sure my memory was prompted by the photo that led me to paint this self portrait. The easiest thing about the painting was not remembering exactly what I looked like. I do remember my red cowboy boots as they were a favorite. My sister thinks it looks like me when I was little so I will go with her expert opinion. I especially hope my family will enjoy this one.

"Gila on Cactus" and "Rufus the Rangy Rooster"

While it is always nice to sell a painting, I enjoy donating my art to worthy causes if they can raise some money for the organization at a fundraiser. Such was the case last night. We attended the Heart Walk Foundation auction to aid the Q'ero Indians of Peru. The foundation has no paid employees and are not affiliated with any religious organization. They truly work from the heart and their only mission is to aid this dieing culture by providing services to help them survive. I was proud to offer "Gila on Cactus" for their auction. My hope is that the proceeds from the sale of this pastel will further the Heart Walk Foundation's mission. To learn more about the Heart Walk Foundation, visit their web site at www.heartwalkfoundation.org/index.php

On another note I will be teaching another class at Canvas a la Carte. We will paint Rufus the Rangy Rooster. Join us at Blue Raven on March 17th for lots of fun.

Marshland

Here is another water scene. This one is done in pastel. I started this painting for a bird art show. My intention was to place some ducks in the painting, however, when I added a duck in the foreground it just took away the calming serenity of the scene. I took the bird out and decided I liked the painting a lot better without the birds. I ended up painting a Chickadee in oil for the art show and I promise to post that one at a later date. Pastel 11" x 14".

Steamboat Mountain

This painting of Steamboat Mountain on the Green River started as a watercolor sketch done in camp the evening after we past this scene. Roger and I rafted the Green River through the Gates of Lodore National Monument summer before last. As we rounded the bend in the river this massive towering sandstone cliff came into view. We agreed it was the most impressive of all the rock formations on that river. The canyon narrowed just past this bend and we met rapids that wanted to shove us against the cliff face which was a shear drop from mountain top to the river. For some reason I could not get a good photo reproduction of the colors in this painting but I was pretty happy with the results of my work. Moving water is for me a challenging aspect of painting. I have decided to paint as much water as I can for the next couple of months in order to prepare for our Grand Canyon painting and rafting trip in May. This is an oil 8" x 10". Hope you enjoy it.

Morning Coffee, Dessert and Coffee, Snowman

Wow what happened to December. Not much painting took place this month especially later on. We spent a week in Sedona, AZ in early December and I painted a couple of oils from the patio at the place we were staying. Sedona is a haven for artists and there is a new painting every direction you look. The first painting is of Coffee Pot Rock early in the morning. I guess one could call this "Morning Coffee" 5"x 7". I was very enthusiastic about this beautiful scene until I saw what it looked like in the evening. I had to repaint the same rock formation with the fading winter light. The colors were astounding. This one I'll call "Dessert and Coffee" 8" x 10". The rest of the month has been spent in Alaska with family and even though I had great intentions of doing a Christmas Card painting, I didn't quite make it happen until it was too late to get it printed. I'm adding that painting to my blog as well since it is really a winter painting. I'll try harder next year to get one finished in time to send out for Christmas. The final painting I did this December is called "Snowman" 8" x 10"and is from a collage of several photos of our children when they were young and their dog Sparky.