A Walk in the Woods

Diptych in Oil 36x96--sold

 

This was painted for (and sold at) the Arizona Fine Art Expo.  The painting is of a beautiful spot my husband and I hiked through in Glacier National Park.  

Although you won't be able to see this painting--it's found a new home--I hope you will stop by the Expo in Scottsdale.  The show will continue until March 30th, and I've painted lots of new paintings that I haven't had time to post yet.  In addition to seeing this incredible show with 100 artists, you can sit in the sculpture garden and enjoy 80+ degree weather.  What a double bonus!

"It's a Beautiful Day" 20x30 Oil

My idea of a beautiful day is to be plein air painting, and husband's is to be playing golf.  On one of his rounds I asked him to take some photos for me, and they became the inspiration for this painting. When I asked him what he thought the title should be, he instantly came up with "It's a Beautiful Day."  

 

I'm looking forward to my winter in Arizona, where I will definitely not be playing golf.  I hope you will stop by and see what I am doing at the Arizona Fine Art Expo in Scottsdale, Jan 16th through March 30th.

Five Onions

 Five Onions 16x20 Oil on Linen Panel

I will be showing my work and painting at the Arizona Fine Art Expo again this coming January 16th to March 30th.  If you're in Scottsdale, I hope you'll drop by and say hello.  The address is 26540 N Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85255 (southwest corner of Scottsdale Rd and Jomax.)  Another winter in the sun--yes!

Arizona Fine Art Expo--Only 5 Days Left

Sunflowers and Milk Can--48 x 30--Oil on Canvas

It's hard to believe this ten week show is almost over and that there are only five days left.  Thanks so much to all of my wonderful new collectors and to all of you who have had so many kind words about my art work.  Your support is greatly appreciated!  Thanks also to my new artist friends.  Your friendship, encouragement and advice have made these past ten weeks not only a great learning experience but also lots of fun.  We've "weathered" everything together from 40 to 97 degree days in the tent, to Galas and Garden Parties, and have managed to do it with style!

If you haven't had a chance to visit the show yet I hope you'll take advantage of these last few days.  Come see all the beautiful art work and the amazing sculpture garden, and enjoy the live music on Saturday and Sunday, April 2nd and 3rd.  The show is located in Scottsdale on the southwest corner of Scottsdale Road and Jomax (on the MacDonald Ranch site.)

Happy Thanksgiving and the Joy of Early Preparations

Hello, Spring!  18x24 Oil

 

It's quite cold and snowy here today, but I'm not complaining.  While many of you are busy doing last minute grocery shopping, cleaning, and cooking to get ready for tomorrow's feast, I'm smugly sitting in front of my easel and munching on turkey left-overs.  

 

Because a couple of our (very grown) children have to work tomorrow, we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving early.  I thought it might feel strange, but I now realize that early planning, preparation, and stuffing yourself instead of the turkey is definitely the way to go.  

 

Getting the turkey carved, the stuffing into a serving dish, the potatoes mashed and gravy made while heating assorted veggies and rolls, and pouring last minute drinks all at the same time while trying to converse with friends and family and dodge the grandchildren who still love to run through in the kitchen is like conducting a symphonic grand finale.  It's all about your timing, and I'm usually up to the challenge.  But this year I decided to forego the podium, enlisted the help of a couple of crock pots and made most of the dishes and all the desserts the day before.  I used this make-ahead recipe for mashed potatoes and it was so easy and so good that my conductor days are over.  Another time saver was making the stuffing in the morning and putting it into a crock pot instead of the turkey.  While I used my own recipe for this, a similar recipe for stuffing can be found online.  

 

Instead of cooking all day and being so tired that I really only wanted to eat pie and drink a glass of wine, I actually got to visit with family and friends and enjoy dinner.  I even got to try the hors d'oeuvres--amazing!

Now, with all this talk about the joy of early preparation, you can see why it's never too early to plan to visit Scottsdale and the Arizona Fine Art Festival.  You'll be able to see "Hello, Spring!" in person and perhaps that will get you thinking about planning your own spring flowers and garden.  (And I promise it won't be snowing in Scottsdale.)

P.S.  Don't tell anyone, but next year I'm cooking the turkey ahead.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Another Painting for Arizona Fine Art Expo

Hydrangeas with Pincushions and China Berries 20x16 Oil

I did the set-up for this still life over a year ago, and even though I was excited about painting it for some reason I couldn't make myself get started.  I got as far as completing a rough drawing on the panel and there it sat, staring at me for months.

Still life has primarily been what I've painted--especially florals.  Early this summer I was feeling like I needed to change things up a bit and I started looking at painting videos posted on YouTube.  I came across Karin Jurick's video* that shows her laying out her palette, which if you haven't seen the video is extensive.  I loved her comment in reference to a limited palette that, "People, there's a world out there."  I got inspired by all that color and immediately bought some new tubes.  What fun!  

Here are some of my new favorite colors and why I love them:

Asphaltum (Rembrandt)  A transparent warm dark.  Great addition to your palette if you use Transparent Oxide Red.  Add white and it becomes the perfect color for a sandy beach.

Greenish Umber (Rembrandt)  A transparent cooler dark.  Add white and it becomes a warm green/grey (cooler than Monochrome Tint Warm below)  (Note: This is nothing like Grumbacher Greenish Umber.  When you add white to that you get a grayed viridian color.  Both are good.)

Monochrome Tint Warm (Holbein)  A mid-value greenish gray.  Very handy to use as a beginning mix.

Yellow Grey (Holbein)  A mid-value warm sand color--sort of a grayed down version of yellow ochre pale and warmer than Monochrome Tint Warm.  Also handy to use as a beginning mix.

Blue Grey (Holbein)  This mid-value blue looks fairly intense out of the tube, but it doesn't have a strong tinting ability.  Add a bit of white and you've got a very workable light sky color, add a bit of naples yellow pale to that mix and you've got a great green for the sky.

Violet Grey (Holbein)  A periwinkle color--similar to the blue grey above but a better tinter.  I was lucky enough to spend a week in Provence this summer, and if you want to paint those vibrant blue shutters this is a great color to have on hand.

After adding these colors (and a few more I'll talk about at a later time) to my palette, I took another look at the Hydrangea drawing and decided to give it a go.  The entire painting is primarily these colors with the addition of Gamblin Titanium/Zinc White, a touch of Windsor Newton Yellow Ochre Pale and Ultramarine Blue, plus a touch of Rembrandt Transparent Oxide Red and Viridian. 

What I discovered was that while I could certainly come close to mixing all my new colors, I not only saved time but it gave me a cleaner color with which to start.  The more colors you mix together the more grayed down your mix becomes.  Rather than mixing from several primaries, if you can start with a color that's already close in value and hue it gives you more room to make additions to get what you want and still keep it clean.

*If you haven't seen Karin Jurick's palette video, check it out.  If you're not familiar with Arizona Fine Art Expo, look at my last posting or click on the link to the website.

Arizona Fine Art Expo

Hydrangeas and Milk Can 30x40 Oil

The end of daylight savings time is always such a shock.  It's great to have that extra light in the morning, but oh so dark in the late afternoon.  I shouldn't complain--it was in the high 70's where I live in Colorado yesterday.  That's darn near a record breaker for Nov. 6th, but those of us who live here know we are on borrowed time.  Old man winter and his snow-packed roads are going to appear any moment now, so I decided to post some flowers to remind myself that Spring really is on the way.  It's just going to take awhile.

The good news is that I'll be spending a good chunk of this winter in Scottsdale, AZ, where it's quite a bit warmer.  I will be participating in the Arizona Fine Art Expo, which starts mid January and ends the first week of April.  Every year, the Arizona Fine Art Expo showcases more than 100 nationally-acclaimed artists applying their artistic talents.  You can walk through the main gallery/studio area as well as the two-acre sculpture garden and watch your favorite artists applying their talents in a studio situation.  Grab a latte in the cafe and enjoy the musical entertainment on the weekends, or have a quiet weekday visit to the Koi pond and hummingbird/butterfly garden.  Visit often and watch the progress as paintings are completed, sculptures are cast, and pottery is fired.

The Expo will be open every day from 10am to 6 pm and is located on the southwest corner of Scottsdale and Jomax Roads.  Hope to see you there!

"Go Ahead, Enjoy Yourself!"

"Go Ahead, Enjoy Yourself!"  9x12 Oil/Linen Panel

I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July and that you enjoyed yourself with family and friends, great summer-time food, and--of course--lots of fireworks!

Every once in a while my husband enjoys himself with breakfast pastries, and so I decided to paint this and hang it in our kitchen for awhile.  It's a good reminder that sometimes it's OK to indulge.  Starting January 20th it will be hanging at the Arizona Fine Art Expo, where I will be painting and showing my work through April 7th.  I've just committed to this event so I'll write more about this in a later post, but if you're in the area (North Scottsdale) I hope you'll stop by and say hello.