A Painting and a Demo

Down by the Fish House, 12 x 16

Yesterday I got to paint with some great buddies at the new barn of our friend (and incredible artist) Lisa Beaman. Another glorious day and a fabulous lunch with friends... does it get any better than that?

PAINTING DEMO:
For my plein air students as promised (and anyone else who is interested). This is what my personal painting process looks like step by step. (Many thanks to my mentor Cassandra James, from whom I learned so much about art, and life.)

1 - Block in shapes with dark neutral (toned panel).

2 - Lay in darkest darks, correct drawing.

3 - Add color in shadow family (dark to light).

4 - Add color in light family (dark to light).

5 - Begin sky and ground plane (dark to light).

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6 - Continue sky, begin clouds.

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7 - Highlights in light family, lowlights in shadow family.

.8 - Final highlights, final painting.

Tom Miller Dam

Below the Dam, 12 x 16

Autumn is finally arriving here and this has been a week of clear, cool days. It's absolutely glorious! Yesterday afternoon it was quiet down by the dam (before the afternoon dog walkers I guess). A sweet mother with her 3 children stopped by my easel and the kids all told me about their art endeavors. I love those kind of visits - maybe one of them will be a painter some day!

The Tom Miller Dam was built in 1938-1940 on top of the remains of two other dams that were swept away by flooding some time before that. It separates Lake Austin and Ladybird Lake (both are part of a long chain of lakes that runs through the Ausin area.)

Sunnyside of the house

Mayfield House, 12 x 16

This historic 1870's cottage is surrounded by extensive gardens, lily ponds, hiking trails, and a large family of peacocks that struts around and generally keeps a watchful eye on things! The property was donated to the city of Austin in 1971 by the family of Allison Mayfield (a former Texas Secretary of State in the early 1900's). It's a peaceful spot right in the middle of town.

A Perfect Day

Trisha's Hay Barn, 12 x 12

We are beginning to have some wonderful, cooler days here in Austin; and today was one of them! I was so glad to be outside. Our painting group met up early at the beautiful ranch of one of our members, Trisha Bridges. There were Longhorns wandering around, horses that kept guard, and happy painters all around!

Art School Gallery Show

Trio, 12 x 12

My last couple of weeks have been so full. Teaching, travel, all good stuff... but it's nice to take a short breather. My still life class was invited to do a show at the Art School Gallery, and tomorrow morning I will go over to install it. My students are very excited - they have done great work and the show is going to be beautiful. This piece of mine will be included.

Beautiful Fall Day

Ladybird's Cistern, 12 x 16

Finally cooler, incredible blue sky... today was a perfect day to be out painting. My group met up at the Ladybird Wildflower Center and this is one of several cisterns for collecting water on the expansive property. Lady Bird left a huge mark on Texas with her commitment to wildflowers, native plants and natural landscapes. She made the world a better place.

"We are obligated to leaving the country

looking as good if not better than we found it."

- LADY BIRD JOHNSON

More Still Life Sketches

Still Lifes with Metal Containers, each 6 x 6

These are more small sketches from still life set-ups I did for my class. The challenge was to paint the metal vessels so that they actually look metallic. Our brains totally freak with the idea of "shiny." We have to over-ride that to just paint what is there... mostly muted passages with just a few spots of "shine." And it's tricky!

Sometimes they look different...

Morning Light Peeks Through, 30 x 40

Study for Morning Light, 12 x 16 (originally posted July 17)

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This is another large studio painting next to it's original study. In this case, the large piece took a different direction as I painted it (sometimes these things have a life of their own). Although it started out pretty much the same, the smaller trees on the water's edge kept fighting for dominance. Removing them was like ending a war on the canvas. It must have something to do with the overall size... anyway, peace was won and that's what counts!

Inspiring Story

The Menagerie, 6 x 15, pen and ink

I made this drawing a couple of weeks ago for local shopkeeper, Vicki Roan of The Menagerie. She wanted it for a big thank you ad to the community for 30 years in business. For those of you who are in Austin, the ad is in this morning's Glossy section of the American Statesman. A great article in the same section describes how she started the business out of her home as a single mom with young children. Now her grown daughter helps her run the business. It's a sweet story and I wish them 30 more years of success!

Large Painting with Small Study

Afternoon Glow, 30 x 30

. Study for "Afternoon Glow", 12 x 12 (originally posted 8/23)

This is another large painting based on a plein air study. I painted the smaller one on location on St. Simons Island, GA and then worked from that to paint the large piece. I had several people tell me they would be interested in seeing the the two together, so here you are. In this case, I followed the composition and color pretty closely. This process of starting small allows me to gather information on my travels for larger work back in the studio.

Saturday Morning

Pond Lily, 12 x 12

Yesterday morning, members of Plein Air Austin met at a local park expecting to paint at a pond with great morning reflections. But when we got there, it was covered with small algae plant forms (aka pond scum). In the midst of the algae, one small group of lily pads was thriving with beautiful lotus flowers. This lily was fully open, bathing in the sunlight.

Remembering Summer

Hill Country Clouds, 30 x 30

This is another studio piece based on a plein air painting from this summer. For these larger works, I begin the process outside gathering information about shapes, color and light. Then I paint a large version of my favorites and/or the ones that seem scalable (there are many small ones I love but don't think would work in a large format.) We had some of these big clouds again this week and they are so compelling!

Still Life Sketches

Still Life Sketches, each 6 x 6
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I teach painting at the Austin Museum of Art and my still life class started this past Wednesday. One of my favorite things about it is collecting paintable objects and creating fun vignettes for my students to paint... And of course I always want to paint them myself! So this week, I came home and did these quick sketches.

Visiting the Botanical Garden

Angel Trumpets, 12 x 12

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On Thursday our Plein Air Austin group went to Zilker Gardens, a botanical garden in Austin that is full of beautiful specimen plants. Right now is a good time to see color and lots of blossoms. This plant was my favorite - the fancy name is Datura, but "Angel Trumpets" is much more descriptive. (PS - they are beautiful, but highly poisonous!)

Back in the studio

In the Stillness, 30 x 48 diptych

Although the summer travel and painting on the road has been quite fun, I am enjoying being in my home studio and working on bigger canvasses! This larger piece is based on a plein air study I painted this summer on Lake Travis. It was a quiet morning on the lake and the reflections of the distant shore just sparkled.

This painting will go to the Davis Gallery here in Austin.

Make it a good one...

Golden Grasses, Golden Sky, 12 x 12

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Final post from my mountain trip... While I was painting this, a kind gentleman pulled off the road to come see what I was doing. He is a physician in Livingston, had a father who painted, and was thrilled that I was out there painting his town. As he drove off he told me, "make it a good one, this is where the new hospital is going."

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Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you got till it's gone?

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot...

- joni mitchell

Grazing...

Grazing in the Pasture, 9 x 12

During the two weeks I spent in the mountains, I kept passing cows in pastures and wishing I could paint them, but there was never a good place to set up. On the last day in Livingston, I finally found a field with room on the shoulder to paint that even had shade!

Yellowstone River

Mountain River, 16 x 12

Down by the Riverside, 12 x 12

Same river, different angles... these are from my days in Montana, where I went to visit my gallery Tierra Montana in a little Western town called Livingston.

Brilliante WEBlog Award!

Yesterday I received this award from two fellow bloggers, Elizabeth Floyd and Barbara Muir, and am so delighted. It's so encouraging and I am truly honored to be awarded in this way! Thanks Elizabeth and Barbara!

Here are the "Brilliant Weblog Award" rules of acceptance:

1. Put the logo on your blog
2. Add a link to the the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.
6. Participation is entirely voluntary (of course!).
7. Have fun...honoring the bloggers who inspire you regularly.

These are my picks (you are all my so good at what you do):

1. Carol Marine, for her consistent inspiration and delicious still lifes

2. Virginia Vaughan, for her farm series and other wonderful landscapes

3. Robin Cheers, for her loose 30 minute studies

4. Jann Alexander, for her fabulous photos of vanishing Austin scenes

5. Stephen Magsig, for his cool Detroit scenes

6. Jenedy Paige, for her lovely portraits

7. Gerald Schwartz, for his wonderful simple shapes and California light

Thank you all for your inspiration.

Outside the mountain house

Winter Woodpile, 9 x 12

At the end of a long day of hiking and painting, I couldn't resist one more attempt with this little vignette. Our friends had cleared some dead trees, the logs were all stacked so neatly and who can resist a red wheelbarrow? Not me.

On the way to Columbine Lake

Mountain Adventure, 12 x 12

There is something so spectacular about hiking in the mountains. Every time the path turns, a new vista appears that is more breathtaking than the last. (Columbine Lake, Tabernash, CO)

Home Again!

Log Barn with Silo, 12 x 16

For the last two weeks I have been painting in the mountains and having a blast! The first week I was in Tabernash, CO (near Winter Park) staying with dear friends who not only hosted me but also took me to some great painting spots. This old homestead barn is in a remote corner of a big YMCA ranch. A big family of marmots lives under this building and they watched me the whole time I was painting... keeping guard I guess.

Gone Paintin'

Window to the Hills, 30 x 30

This is the invitation painting for my upcoming show at the Annarella Gallery, in Georgetown, TX. Twelve paintings will be on display for the month of September. The opening is Friday, September 5th from 6-8pm, and coincides with Georgetown's monthly "First Friday" celebration where all the stores stay open late. It's a wonderfully historic downtown and a lovely, unique gallery. Hope to see you.

I am currently off on a painting trip to Colorado and Montana (along with a few days in California for the wedding of a dear cousin). I will start posting the paintings when I get back on Thursday. Until then, best wishes to all.

Abundant Blessings

Perissos Vineyard, 6 x 10.5

A week or so ago I posted a drawing I had done for a local charity and an amazing thing happened... I got a commission to do a drawing for a new wine label for Perissos Vineyard in the Texas Hill Country! Their web site explains their name, "Perissos is a Greek word found in the Bible meaning exceedingly abundant, beyond what is expected or hoped for. It is our sincere desire and intent that our wines live up to that description. However, it is our lives that we feel have been blessed exceedingly abundantly by God -- We have been blessed richly and are so grateful, thus the name Perissos."

I love that - I am blessed to be a part of it.

Another one from Georgia

Calm Before the Storm, 12 x 12

It rained on and off the day before Tropical Storm Fay moved up into Georgia. Then, in the afternoon, the sun finally shone through the mist with a warm glow. There was plenty more rain and wind yet to come (in fact, I left a day earlier than expected to escape the oncoming torrent), but this was a welcome interlude.

Painting in Georgia this week

Just Around the Bend, 9 x 12

This past week I went to St. Simons Island, Georgia to visit my in-laws and got a couple of paintings in before Tropical Storm Fay made her way up the coast. The predictions seemed to change by the hour; now it's coming, now it's not... But every time the sun came out my mother and father-in-law would push me out the door to seize the moment!

Thursday at the Easel

Still and Quiet Morning, 8 x 16

Today I painted with my buddy Tess (www.tesstraylorwalls.com). We were at the Austin Yacht Club, but we left out the yachts and focused on the gorgeous reflections. You just have to paint what grabs you. Don't get me wrong, the boats were great, but that peninsula in the distance with the light beaming through - that is what it was all about for me.

And now for something completely different...

House on Marshall Lane, 8 x 10

A friend of mine asked me to do a drawing for Hospice Austin's fundraiser invitation. (This home is the location of the fundraiser and the owners will get to keep the original drawing. That's pretty cool!) Although I always sketch before painting, I do it for composition purposes and to get the shapes and proportions in my eye. I rarely do a finished drawing these days, so this was a challenge and out of my routine. And it was fun... I highly recommend taking a challenge and getting out of the routine!!!

Across from Windy Point

In the Coolness, 12 x 12

Last week's paint out included a bit of a hike out to the water... I think we all wondered if it would be worth it. But standing in the shade at the edge of Lake Travis we were graced with a constant breeze and a beautiful view through this crooked little tree. And then we jumped in the lake.

Last Day in Costa Rica

Storm Cloud in the Distance, 9 x 12

On the last day I overheard a young girl tell her parents, "I love how we can be sitting here on the beach in the bright sun, and right across the water we see a thunderstorm; something completely different." She was so right... doesn't everything look beautiful from a sunny beach? I guess that's why we love vacations.