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.

Playa Prieta

Secluded Beach, 9 x 12

Crystal clear turquoise water, sunlit red rocks, empty quiet beach... paradise.

Offerings of the Season

Light and Mist, 9 x 12

It's the rainy season in Costa Rica and it rains almost every afternoon. Sometimes the rain continues into the evening, but sometimes it's just an afternoon shower and the sun breaks back through the mist and fog. On this particular day as the rain lifted there was soft color in the sky and a ribbon of intense light on the horizon - it was heartbreakingly gorgeous.

Miguel's #1

Sea Cave, 9 x 12

When we first got to Costa Rica, we had the good fortune of riding a hotel shuttle with the local golf pro. Hearing about my quest for compelling painting sites, he immediately offered to have his course manager, Miguel, take me to all the best views at the golf course. This is Miguel's #1 favorite spot just off the 18th hole - a shady clifftop overlooking the ocean with Howler Monkeys in the trees.

Costa Rica!

Papagayo Cove, 12 x 9

Bill and I just returned from a relaxing week in Costa Rica, on the Papagayo Peninsula in the Guanacoste region (aka northwest corner). We had a great time - I was thrilled to be able to paint almost every day and will post the results over the next few days. It's beautiful country, and a friendly country. PS - We snorkeled at the underwater coral reefs near this point... muy bueno. :)

Rain Down

Scattered Showers, 12 x 12

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There is nothing quite like oncoming rain - looking across the lake, feeling the wind pick up, and knowing it is headed this way. I watched this one blow in a couple of weeks ago and had to paint fast while it was still in the distance. But it was coming in fast...

Perseverance

Gray Day, Blue Awning, 12 x 12

In spite of the increasing threat of rain yesterday (thanks to Hurricane Dolly on the coast) a few hardy souls gathered for our Thursday paint out at the Elisabet Ney Sculpture Museum grounds. Three times we closed up our paintboxes and ran for cover as showers blew through. Our reward for not giving up was a moment of sunlight and some small patches of blue sky before the big rains came later in the day.

Speaking of cool Austin pools...

Poolside at Barton Springs, 16x12

So my sister from New York was wondering if Deep Eddy is the same pool as the one in "in that big park with the great lemonade?" No, we have TWO really amazing pools in Austin!! This painting is from the other great pool - Barton Springs in Zilker Park - also spring fed and 68 degrees year 'round. Right at the pool entrance is a bronze sculpture of 3 old legendary Austinites and a plaque quotes one of them, "I wish you might be here and go with me on a sunny afternoon... Everywhere it is beautiful..." See you soon, Erin... :)

Saturday Morning at Deep Eddy

Summer Wheels, 12 x 12

Did I mention that it's hot here? Today we painted and then swam at Austin's well-loved Deep Eddy Swimming Pool. According to the web site (www.deepeddy.org/pool), it is the oldest swimming pool in Texas and began as a swimming hole in the Colorado River where "cold springs rose from the river banks and a large boulder formed an eddy." In the 1920's, the pool was concreted in and at that time featured cabins, zip line, a Ferris wheel, and even a diving horse! The bathhouse in my painting was originally built during the Depression-era. And Deep Eddy today? Still spring-fed and 68 degrees - so nice.

Painting Adventures

Morning Haze, 12 x 16

People often have advice and stories for plein air painters... Today, I was just getting ready to paint this scene across the lake when some park maintenance guys came through. One of them came over to me and said, "you'll be fine here." I smiled to myself thinking how nice that was that he was concerned for my safety. Then he continued, "we've only ever seen small snakes where you're standing. The big ones are up on the hill behind you." No snakes today, I am happy to report.

91 Degrees and Some Clouds

91 Degrees and Some Clouds, 12 x 12

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The Texas sky has been amazing these last few weeks. Last Wednesday I was driving out to paint from this beautiful hillside where I knew there was shade. The daily weather report came on the radio, "91 degrees and some clouds". Well I was looking at the clouds and these were SOME clouds! She should have said, "91 degrees and unbelievable clouds... or 91 degrees and clouds are taking over the sky..."

McKinney Falls

Clouds Over Swimming Hole, 16x12

Rock Ledge at the Falls, 8x12

On Thursday our Plein Air Austin group met at McKinney Falls - it was gorgeous and pretty comfortable for those of who stayed in the shade. And jumping in the swimming hole was the ultimate cooldown! Barbara Haviland from Beaumont (http://www.bhavilandfineart.com/) joined us and we loved having her (and her husband Sam who brought snacks and helped carry things.)

Summer in Austin

First Watch, 12 x 12

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Dappled Pink, 12 x 16

I am finally getting back into the swing of things after my big show at the Davis Gallery (still up for one more week.) After taking a little break, getting out into the field with paints is pure delight. It's pretty hot here in Austin, so we have to stay close to water and yesterday my painting group went to a local park with a little neighborhood pool. These two paintings are of Reed Park... a lovely spot in Tarrytown.