Wyoming light

I have begun a small still life. It is good to have it to work on
when I am not out exploring the countryside.  Lots of history in this area.
We drove to Wheatland and made a big loop to get back to Torrington.
Part of the way we were on the Oregon Trail route.
We saw this guy crossing the road.

Bull snake (Pituophis catenifer sayi)

Morning cup o'

Morning cup o' joy

6" x 4.5"  oil on Wallis

This is totally after Qiang Huang (pronounced Chong Wong)

  http://qiang-huang.blogspot.com/...

...who is one of my favorite art bloggers. 

I love his way of speaking, thinking and writing about drawing & painting.

Would love to take a workshop from him...and the possibility is THERE because he lives in Austin where Hannah (my daughter) lives!

Plein Aire adventure in WY

Rock formation looks like a head looking to the left, doesn't it?

This beef cow walked under the road via a culvert; surprised me!

Wyoming countryside

My set-up - not so sturdy!  The painting didn't turn out, but it was fun.

The wind almost never stops on the prairie, but I found a sheltered spot along the road.

The sun felt so good to this Juneau girl (who didn't have a summer)!

Moonset

As the moon was setting, the sky was amazing.

9" x 6"  oil on Wallis paper

"Red in the morning, sailors take warning"

Yesterday - Photo of the "Hurricane Sandy" morning sky here in SE Wyoming

8" x 10". Oil on panel.

 

...while in Wyoming

Wyoming morning with snow. Aceo. Pastel.

..and full disclosure, it is iPhoto enhanced. The original is much paler.

Matt and I are in Torrington. It is very small, very flat and very dry.

I am sure to find some interesting things to paint and draw.

Faces #4 - beginning

oil sketch

I like my foamcore invention.

Faces #3 - Emily

6" x 6", oil on panel

Emily

Faces 3, Page 3

Worked on the eyes and face a bit.

Faces #3, Page 2

Getting some color on the whole thing.

Faces #3 begins

Here is the beginning of my next Faces painting.

 I am really loving this series.

These are all going to be on gessoed 

Masonite panel and all 6" x 6".

To help fit these small panels on my easel, I cut out a "tray"-like piece from foam-core that just fits the panel and my easel snugs them down so I can paint without shadows.

It takes a bit of work to dig out the foam but it is fine for now.

 

One of these days I would love an inset built specifically for small works,

something like this from Karen Jurick, a wonderful artist whose blog I follow.

Hope you have a good week!

Surfers - finished!

Surfers  

4" x 6", oil on panel

My thanks to Lisa and David Daum!

Had fun with this after a hard start. 

One of my smallest paintings ever.

Surfers Page 3

Not tons of progress. It's coming along...

Surfers Page 2

Surfers Page 1

Began this small painting a few weeks ago. 

Working on it next.

Am finding that no matter how large or small the painting, all of them are difficult!

Lions Head Mtn Fini

Lions Head Mountain, oil on panel, 11 x 14"

(Thinking of titling this The Oceans Are Rising.)

Drawing

(detail of an 11 x 8.5" pencil sketch)

I love drawing.

So as I ponder my Lions Head painting I post this totally, 

I mean no reference, made up woman. 

I think it is kind of funny and wonder if there is a bit of me in it. 

(as is said, each drawing or painting is a little bit of the artist themselves) 

I cannot see it of course. Doesn't look like anyone I know. 

Does she resemble someone you know?

Also

I subscribe to the blog:

Underpaintings

and  today he posted about a drawing exhibit.

Page 5

Here is a peek. 

I am at the point of waiting, looking, looking, looking to see if it is done.

There is more to do, I feel. 

Just some touches here/there...sometimes this 

feels like the hardest part of a painting. Near the end.

Happy Labor Day!

Page 4 - a GREAT day!

Marlene Dumas

Contemporary artist who

also just had her 59th birthday (on August 3).

So thrilled I found (or refound) her. I recognized her painting,

The Painter, oil on canvas, 1994 (housed at MOMA),

as I was reading Art Review. 

Would love to go to MOMA 

one day! Maybe NEXT birthday (wink).

This video is short and tells a little bit about her 2011 exhibit at

the 11th Lyon Biennale in France. To me her work hints of Bacon!

 

 

 Another peek of a bit more progress.

Page 3

Detail of the Lions Head work.

I am struggling a bit with this. Lots of reasons.

Not unusual for that to happen at the beginning of a painting.

But it is good to be painting!

Page 2

3.5 x 5.5" watercolor sketch

Lions Head Mtn

New work, page 1

5.5 x 8.5" pencil sketch study

Lions Head Mountain

Iconic Unibrow

I am sure you all know her.

 

Detail from 12 x 9" pencil drawing.

I was so engrossed in this drawing last night that I looked up and it was 1:30 am!

Sheesh....

8.5 x 5.5" pencil

Ivon Hitchens, painting

2.5 x 2" pastel

Teensy little pastel sketch of a bouquet.

GBH sketch

Great Blue Heron 

detail from 8.5 x 5.5" pencil sketch

This is my last sketch in a sketchbook that began in May of 2011!

I need a new small sketchbook - yay!

Ursus arctos sketch

8.5" x 5.5" pencil on paper

Grizzly Bear

 or

Ursus arctos horribilis

This is the season for bear fattening-up!

Bird sketch

2" x 5", pencil on paper

 

So this sounds cool,

...would love to go.

I love Odd Nerdrum's paintings. 

Never thought of describing his art as kitsch. 

However, there is some talk of a new branch of art called Kitsch.

I looked up kitsch in some online dictionaries and found:

 

: something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality

and

: something of tawdry design, appearance, or content created to appeal to popular or undiscriminating taste

and

: works of art and other objects (such as furniture) that are meant to look costly but actually are in poor taste
 
   Also

Origin: 1925–30;  German,  derivative of kitschen - to throw together (a work of art)

 

Could lead to some good discussion at our salons.

All that I've had the energy for is drawing. 

So here is another one from WetCanvas.

Hands are hard

Practicing in pencil. 

outlined area ~ 4"x 5.5"

Check this out: for members of WetCanvas, 

there is a free reference image library 

and I found this hand for practice.

 

Wetlands Sunset (study in greens)

10" x 30" oil on gallery wrapped canvas

This painting is hanging in the Franklin Street Gallery, 

Baranof Hotel, Juneau, Alaska.

Theme of the show is "Water States" 

and there are many lovely paintings hanging there all of August.

Go see it if you can!

Sketch for portrait H E Robus

Hugo Robus

17" x 14", graphite on paper

100 years ago, Hugo went to Paris.

He is my husband Matt's paternal grandfather. 

He was a painter and then a sculptor. I revere him.

Oh my gosh, wonder what he would say if he could see this...yikes.

Zoom-In #9

My Zoom-In of Blue II 

by Joan Miro, 1961

 

8 x 8" oil on canvas

Joan Miro

Thanks for the idea, O!

 

Now there are 9 - Zoom-In 8 x 8's and I can put them in a square for exhibit!

I may make a game of it and have people guess what the original painting is.

Stick to it

I admire artists who work every day. It takes much fortitude to do that. 

The Art Room interviewed Lisa Daria

and I learned how she prepares and just plain PAINTS every day.  

She inspires me.

Pear, anyone?

Pear, anyone? 8 x 8", oil on canvas

Detail of snake-in-a-pot painting...still working on this, nearly there!

Not quite finished with this. 

Also, not sure I want to keep the top background yellow...

Any comments about that?

I have a bit more done on this...but the MOST exciting thing for today

 is that I figured out, with the help of Katherine Tyrrell 

of the famous art blog,

 Making A Mark

(go there)

how to add an email subscription widget to my blog! (please note the box at top right)

Yayyyyy!!

Thank you so much Katherine, and Feedburner!

Quick sketch last night...

You can't really tell, but I was looking a bit down on this. 

I think because there is no background.

...and I ran out of paper for the feet!

This is all I had time for today - too much hub-ub.

This is on my easel...

but with all the hullaballoo going on, I have not had any chance to paint.

(bathroom remodels)

I need to get going on this 

AND 

finish my last Zoom-In, too, which is nearly done. 

For my next post I could show you the

reworked NewMexicoGirl.

Faces #2 - finished!

6" x 6", oil on panel

Here's a big hint. He wrote Coraline.

Y'all can start guessing now.

Face #2 (sketch)

Quick sketch on my panel of my next Faces painting.

This isn't someone I actually know, I just

think he is an awesome artist & writer.

the whole blamn dog

New project

Faces #1
Kate (detail)

oil on panel, 6" x 6"

I will be working on painting faces, 

or heads actually, because they may not be facing forward.

It will be good practice.

Thanks for viewing and have a safe and happy 

Independence Day!

(still working on Zoom-Ins and

 re-working others that I thought were finished but were not...)

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