Heading North

Chief

"Old Bear"

Well it is time to pack up and leave the Southwest and head North to Alaska for the summer, but before I leave I will rearrange my studio space at Blue Raven and replace "Two Bear" woman with "Chief" since "Two Bear" is heading for her new home in Las Vegas.  I know the new owner will love her.  I will also teach one more class this evening then clean my brushes and say adios until we return in the fall. Here is "Chief"  and "Old Bear"
I'm looking forward to attempting some quality art this summer in Alaska at the Judi Betts workshop and the Great Alaska Plein Air Retreat http://pleinairalaska.com/

My Latest Art

Court of the Patriarchs at Zion NP

With lots of company and travel since February I was surprised to see I still had a little time to complete a few pieces of art.  I just completed this painting of Zion National Park in the Court of the Patriarchs (also Oil 14" x 18").   I also completed these paintings of a Rooster and Hens ( Oil 14" x 18").  They were lots of fun to paint and the added humor of the hens provided me with a good laugh.  Let me know if they give you a chuckle as well.

Henrietta, Scarlett, and Marilyn

Rufus

Native American Portraits, Dexter, and Tuscany

I've spent the last few weeks painting Native Americans from historic photos. When I paint these faces I become very involved emotionally with the painting and what these peoples lives must have been like, their status in the tribe, how they lived and their daily routine. It seems each time I paint a face there is also something familiar. After painting Uwat, the second painting here I had two family members comment that she reminded them of Molly Head. I find these resemblances so interesting. It seems to show the commonality of mankind. Dog Woman, the first painting here must have had a lot of prestige in the tribe as indicated by all of the elk teeth sewn on her dress and Luqaiot has such a proud look about him. The dog is Dexter, the studio dog belonging to the owner of Blue Raven Studio and the last two paintings are tiny little paintings of Tuscany that I painted from photos I took when we were there several years ago. The rest of my time has been spent teaching Canvas a la Carte classes and teaching a one day Color Pencil Workshop.

Desert Bloom, Christmas in the Southwest, Poinsettia, and Friend's Grandson

The "Desert Bloom "painting was a first for me. Not the first flower I've ever painted but the first canvas of this size. It is 36" x 40". I painted it to hang on a wall in my master bedroom/bath. I knew it would take me several days to cover a canvas of this size so I started with an under painting done in acrylic paints and then proceeded to paint the canvas in oils. I loved the effect and I'm sure I will paint this way on a large canvas again. I also managed to get a small oil completed for a Christmas card this year. It is of an adobe door I saw in Santa Fe, NM a couple of years ago. I added the snow and the wreath. I also painted/taught this poinsettia at Canvas-a-la-Carte and last but not least I was honored to paint a friend's grandson. I did this in exchange for a wonderful print from the famous Indian artist Kevin Red Star. The young man also happens to be his grandson. Wow, no pressure there. What am I thinking, painting a famous artist's grandson. I was pretty pleased with the way it turned out, but most importantly I'm sure my friend will love it. What are friends for, they have to love your art, right? Merry Christmas to all. We're back to Alaska for Christmas.

More Grand Canyon Paintings

I couldn't upload all of the images in one post so here are the rest of the Grand Canyon paintings. Be sure to look at the previous posts to see more paintings of the Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon Paintings

Last May, Roger and I joined an eight day rafting adventure down the Grand Canyon. Our main purpose was to satisfy an item on our bucket list, but I also wanted to paint. We joined a plein air painting trip led by Cody De Long, an amazing artist who has received awards for his paintings of the Grand Canyon. I had the opportunity to paint twice a day during the trip so theoretically I should have finished the trip with 12 - 14 paintings. It didn't happen! I found out how difficult it is to complete a painting in around two hours. I was depressed when we ended the trip and I only had one painting that was reasonably good. I felt I had wasted time painting on the river instead of just enjoying the magnificent scenery. Well five months later I have now completed five more paintings. One a month, which at my speed that is just about right. The trip was an amazing experience best summed up by poet Amil Quayle called

"Go There"
Anything you have read about the Grand Canyon is a lie
Language falters and dies before the fact
The experience is inexpressible in words
The Grand Canyon is its own language
Written across space, causality and time
See how puny these words are
Do not believe them
Go there

Greeting Card Art "Water Lilies"

I decided to paint some greeting cards in acrylic earlier this summer. After I got started I couldn't quit and ended up painting a total of 10 original cards that I photographed and also turned the photos into to greeting cards. Each original 5" x 7" painting was painted from photo's I've taken on my travels and are suitable for framing. It was a nice break from oil painting and gave me some idea's for Canvas a la Carte. Who wouldn't enjoy receiving an original piece of art in the form of a greeting card. Available for purchase in Blue Raven this fall.