Winter Greys #4

Winter Grey's #4 oil 6 x 6
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This is the last of the Winter Greys series I think. I actually painted this back in December on one of those spectacular foggy winter days, but forgot to post it. Today it was 70 and spring does in fact seem near. I am working on some larger pieces for shows and galleries which is at least one of the reasons posting has been more sporadic. I'll post some work in progress if nothing else later this week.

After The Rain

After the Rain oil 6 x 6
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Well, the flirtation ended abruptly. The last few days have been cold, windy, rainy-decidedly unspring-like. I don't really mind- I love the winter color harmonies and I'm not sure I'm ready for green 24/7.

Bogata Barns

Bogata Barns 6 x 5 oil
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Today was a beautiful sunny day with mild temperatures. It felt and even smelled different. And then at sunset I noticed that the sun had moved a little to the north. Is winter over? I doubt it, but Spring sent out a scout today.

Winter Crows

Winter Crows Oil 6 x 6
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We have some crows that hang out on our property. I love watching birds but I am not a big fan of crows. They do make a lot of racket but what I really don't like is that they raid other birds' nests. Last summer I watched from my studio window as a pair of them took on a snake -they won. But, I must admit they make an elegant, albeit slightly sinister, accent in the winter landscape.

Winter Field

Winter Field- 12 x 12 oil
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Some of you may recognize this painting- a small version of this was posted a few weeks ago. I liked it and decided to try to size it up to use for the Panhandle Plains Museum show. I wasn't sure if I could recreate the texture in the field with the dry brush technique I mentioned in the previous post. I made a few changes but overall I think it worked out well.

I also got some good news late yesterday! I had two paintings accepted into the prestigious Salon International show at Greenhouse Gallery.

Winter Greys #3

Winter Greys #3 oil 6 x 6
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This week we had freezing rain followed by freezing fog. I have to admit, that's a new one to me! I do love the color harmonies it produces in the landscape - and the utter bareness of the trees and the muffled quality of both color and sound. Its such a lovely contrast to the sensual melancholy of fall and the lush exuberance of spring.

EmptyEasel Feature

This morning a nice surprise in my inbox- an email from Dan at EmptyEasel letting me know that my work is being featured today here. So, click on over and read it!

Scatter Creek Dusk

Scatter Creek Dusk Oil 6 x 6
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Lately the eastern sky has turned the most beautiful shade of pinky mauvey grey right at dusk. I tend to be looking west at that time of day and its always such a nice surprise to turn around and see something equally as beautiful in a whole different color harmony.

Winter Field- A Bluebird Day #2

Winter Field- A Bluebird Day # 2 Oil 6 x 6
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Its hard to believe that two days ago I was painting in my studio wearing a jacket, fingerless gloves and ear muffs with the little electric heater going full blast! But today, well...it was just another bluebird day.

Winter Field-A Bluebird Day

Winter Field- A Bluebird Day Oil 6 x 6
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Sunday afternoon my husband and I took a ride. It was what he calls a bluebird day- meaning a winter day with blue skies and mild temperatures. The bright blue sky reflecting in the puddles in this field just made my day.

Rick's Pool #4- Christmas Moon

Rick's Pool #4- Christmas Moon 6 x 6 oil
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The moon on Christmas Eve was huge. It never ceases to amaze me how illuminated the landscape is during a full moon.

Rick's Pool #3

Rick's Pool #3 Oil 6 x 6
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As some of you might have surmised, I've taken a few liberties with the topography in the Ricks Pool series (is three a series?). I am an artist, not a camera lens and that's part of what we do as artists- edit, rearrange- translate reality into a work of art. I have always been envious of my artist friends who paint still life. They can actually move that apple or bowl around in the composition until its in just the right place in relationship to everything else. Landscape painters, absent a handy backhoe or earth mover, have to learn to move mountains, not to mention trees and ponds, in two dimensions and then convincingly paint them as if in three.

Winter Greys #2

Winter Greys #2 Oil 6 x 6
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Morning fog again today.

Rick's Pool #2

Rick's Pool #2 oil 6 x 6
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Same song, second verse. As I have mentioned here before, I am always having a conversation with myself as I paint about whether what I have done is not enough-just enough-too much. Unlike a lot of artists, I tend to quit too soon rather than overwork a piece. I'm pretty sure I'm not lazy.....:) , so I expect it has something to do with wanting to keep things simple and hopefully just a little elegant and mysterious. I actually photographed this yesterday with the intention of posting it and then realized..uh oh..not enough. So I spent a little more time on it today and I think I moved it into the just enough category, but just barely.

Rick's Pool

Rick's Pool Oil 6 x 6
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This one has been in the incubator- that is to say, my head, for a while. Some take longer than others, but today I finally painted it. So, about the title. Here in Texas (or at least this part of Texas- its a big place) , people refer to ponds, often man made and used to water livestock, as pools. Occasionally you'll hear somebody call it a stock tank, but usually its called a pool. When first made, they have sides built up to hold the water, but I think after a while the cattle manage to return things to natural elevation. And they can get fancy- some people stock them with fish and build little docks on them. I even saw one with a fountain in the middle. But this one- on my neighbor Rick's property- is just your basic pool.

November Twilight

November Twilight Oil 5.75 x 6
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The rain finally stopped. By last evening the sky was full of color and the air was crisp and cool.

The Day After Thanksgiving

The Day After Thanksgiving Oil 6 x 8
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Late on Thanksgiving weather blew in- by Friday morning the sky was heavy and violet grey. Noises- even the rainfall-seemed muffled in the thick damp atmosphere. I've always loved the woodcuts of the landscape in rain and snow by Japanese masters, so I decided to try to capture that effect in this little piece. Can you see the rain falling?

Morning Haze

Morning Haze Oil 6 x 8
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Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. So many blessings here in our great land.

Backyard Magic #4

Backyard Magic #4 Oil 4 x 8
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This is how the sunset looked one day in late August. Really- I'm not kidding. It looked like there had been a fiery volcanic eruption over the hill on our neighbor's ranch and the sky was bathed in hot lava. Of course, nothing like that happened. It was just a sunset. In a few minutes, it was over and everything went back to normal. More or less.

Heading South

Heading South oil 6 x 6
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I think autumn is one of the most evocative times of the year. Unlike spring, which is all about rebirth and looking forward, fall is a reflective time - more about looking back than forward. It can have an almost sensual feel, made even more poignant by the passing days. The word "autumn" itself is a metaphor for loss and the passage of time. I don't know that I got all of that in this little painting, but I sure did try.