Tarzan and Jane

This is a plein air painting of the Trinity River at the Audebon Center south of Dallas. I was really enchanted with the vines and small trunks of trees that framed my view of the river. The painting reminded me of something Fragonard might have painted so I kind of pushed that idea. I will probably work on this a little bit more but now I'm in Santa Fe and there is snow out here so I'm thinking of doing a full moon snow at night painting. We'll see.

Trinity River Audubon Center

This is the finished painting which I originally posted on October 16. I decided that it's not easy to finish a plein air painting in the studio. The feeling is just not the same. It's hard to summon up the origianl excitement. However, I like how this painting looks.

Being in the River

It's been a while since I posted but I have been working very hard on completing several paintings. This is one that I believe is near completion. I'm still considering putting a blue glaze over the water, but haven't decided yet.

Napa Valley, California

Today I went out to a park with trails and did a few watercolors. The views are absolutely beautiful. The vineyards are autumn colors and everything looks so lush. It is a veritable feast for the eyes.

Trinity River Audubon Center

This is the beginning of a plein air painting I started today at the Trinity River Audubon Center south of Dallas. What a beautiful place! And the weather was absolutely perfect today. I had some trouble getting all my gear to the site but the effort was worth it, although I'm going out right now to get a box on wheels to haul stuff tomorrow. This is the first day of a workshop that is being taught by Henry Finkelstein. I'll post this painting again when it's finished.

A New Kind of Canoe

Last Thursday I gave a demonstration painting to the Klepper Art Club here in Dallas. They were particularly interested in seeing me paint water. I limited myself to six tubes of paint: three warm primaries and three cool primaries. I did this painting in about an hour and a half, working from a photo. The canoe is a proto-type of a new design with aluminum frame and plexiglass panels. Pretty cool.

A Shell

I was trying to use the principles learned in the Jan Hart workshop about color relationships. I like how the shadow looks like it is wet. That was pretty much one of those happy accidents that watercolor is famous for.

Three Little Pears

Just got home from the watercolor workshop that I took with Jan Hart in Santa Fe. It was all about knowing your pigments and color relationships. This is one of my little efforts during the workshop. It was great to have three days of concentrated work and the added bonus is that it was at Edwardine's studio, which is always a feast for the eyes.

Peas in the Pod

These peas were purchased at the farmer's market in Santa Fe and they were delicious! But before I ate them, I painted a few.

Floating is Good

Today I'm going back to Dallas and so I decided to paint a quick watercolor before closing up the studio here in Santa Fe. For the most part, being here in SF is like floating. It's very peaceful and I have more time for contemplation; this is good.

Synchronized Swimming

I'm in Santa Fe right now, so naturally, my thoughts turn to water. I'm getting ready for a watercolor workshop out here in a few weeks so I'm sorting my colors and making sure that I have everything I need for the workshop. But I got distracted and this is the result.

Another Reflection by a Stream

This is my final reflection by a stream, for now. This is what I really mean.

Cicada or Locust?

I found this little bug outside (he was dead) and thought he would be a good subject for a small daily painting. He has been waiting in my studio for several weeks. Finally this morning I wanted to try a panel that I had prepared with oil primer instead of the usual gesso. The idea of the oil primer is that the surface is a lot smoother to paint. I love to paint on smooth surfaces and this did not disappoint. The paint was like warm butter.

Reflection by a Stream

This is the painting that I've obsessed over for the last couple of weeks. I would love to have some comments and don't sugar coat it.

More Synchronized Swimmers

Yes, this is an abstract of the swimmers series that I've been working on. The interesting thing is that this actually came first and it was only after I had done four or five of the swimmers that I noticed a sort of Jungian connection to this piece. Think of it as an archetype of the swimmers. The rhythm, pattern, and colors are all there. This is what I really mean.

Go with the flow

Someone said to me yesterday that she thought that watercolor was so difficult to work with because it's so hard to control. But that's the thing, it's not meant to be controlled. You have to go with the flow and have fun. Lots of fun.

It's still wet

I was so excited by this watercolor that I did this morning, that it's still wet! I love the spontaneity of watercolor and the way it moves around. You always get surprises. Swimming in a circle with a bunch of friends, what a contemplative and peaceful thing to do.

All Together Now

I hope I can keep up all the funness here. If anyone knows of an amateur synchronized swim group, let me know. I might have to start my own. Doing things together is always more powerful than alone. With that in mind, I'd like to ask everyone who reads this to pray for my niece who has just learned that cancer has returned for the third time. She is such a beautiful young woman, so all together now.....!

Could it BE anymore fun?

This, in my opinion, has to be the most fun ever. The only thing that could come close is tap dancing in a chorus line or playing in a blues band. The next thing after that is painting a watercolor of synchronized swimming. Today is going to be dedicated to fun.

Synchronized Swimming

I had an idea some time ago to do a series of paintings based on synchronized swimming. I started collecting photo references for this purpose and did some quick watercolor sketches, exploring the shapes and colors. Somehow the timing wasn't right, but now, I'm feeling that the time has arrived to restart work on this idea. Call it synchronicity, it's definitely what I really mean.

Comale River

This is the last painting I'll post from my plein air week in Taos. This is my personal favorite work that I did that week. Water fascinates me and the movement also speaks to me. I was standing right on the edge of what is really a mountain stream. The colors changed as the sun moved across the sky so I had to work fast. One of the things that I like about plein air painting is that sometimes you are painting the memory of the colors which can turn out to be more interesting that the actual colors. I also want to mention that I just read the blog of someone whose husband gave to her one of my paintings for their wedding anniversary. The story is beautiful: www.dreamsofsimplelife.blogspot.com

Echo Amphitheatre

To understand the size of this formation, the tall pine tree on the left is a huge fully grown tree. This place is, for lack of a better word, awesome. Again, working quickly to capture the light and cast shadows. Another fun thing about this location, is that people come along all day and many go up into the amphitheatre and test the echo effect. I'm set up about four blocks away and still get the full show. Like America doesn't have talent.

Rock Formation Near Abiqui

This is a view of a rock formation outside of Abiqui not far from Ghost Ranch. The colors of the rocks are amazing so that is what I concentrated on. The sun moved quickly so the colors and shadows changed. I had to paint fast to capture a moment. I did two paintings that day.

Beaver Sighting at Fort Burgwin

Today I spent the entire day sitting here by the side of this babbling little brook and here is the result.  I was industriously painting and looked up to see an actual beaver crossing the brook on the log in the distance (in my painting).  This was exciting as I had never seen a real beaver before! I painted another smaller painting and now I'm very tired.  Tomorrow we go to Abiqui.

Taos Sunset

One thing you can pretty much count on in Taos is a beautiful sunset.  We go south of town about ten miles on the highway to Santa Fe where there is a scenic view pull over and set up our easels and paint, mix some anticipated colors and be well prepared for the magic moment.  This particular evening I jumped the gun a little and didn't get to paint the spectacular finale, so I just sat down and enjoyed the show!

Into the Woods

This is the painting that I did yesterday.  Sitting there gazing at the trees was so peaceful.   I was also trying to be in a meditative state as I painted.  The flies did intrude, but as I said yesterday, I won.

A Very Good Day

The picture that I took of my painting didn't turn out and I left it in the Art Barn so I decided to post a picture of the my setup on location. Today we went up the mountain to a very pretty meadow but I decided that I wanted to paint the trees near my car so I wouldn't have to lug all my stuff so far (save energy for the important stuff).  I spent about an hour and a half doing preliminary drawings and then mixing paint before I actually started painting.  Today the big battle was with flies.  Many flies.  But I persisted and at the end of the day, I'm pleased with my painting.  We are going to paint the sunset tonight, so I'm going to take a rest now.

Water over a Log

This is the large watercolor I'm working on in my studio in Santa Fe.  I'm not finished with it, but this morning when I walked into my studio, I really liked how it looks right now, so I thought I would post it.  I'm getting together all my things for a week of plein air painting in Taos with the group from SMU and Suzanne Clarke which starts tomorrow. 

The Hand of God

I was visiting sister, Helen, today and she owns this painting that I did some time ago.  I love it because it has all my favorite elements (things tropical and water) and the colors are nice.  Even though the hand looks crazy, the inspiration was a sculpted hand I saw in Xilitla, Mexico in the Shangri-la (Las Posas) that was created by the eccentric Englishman, Edward James.

In The Woods

This is the first painting of my day in East Texas.  I forgot to mention yesterday that I spent one hour on that painting.  I spent two hours on this one.  I think that the rule, faster is better, worked out here.  However, this was a confusing view and I spent some time keeping my branches sorted out.  I'm considering making larger paintints of one if not all of these views.

Where Bambi Comes to Drink Water

This is the second painting I did in East Texas.  The water was brackish (sorry Bambi) and the most lovely brown color I've ever seen.  But I added the blue so it would be understood to be water in the painting. 

By a Quiet Pond

Last Thursday I went out to Lake Bob Sandlin  with Suzanne Clarke to do some plein air painting.  This lake is in East Texas about a 100 miles from Dallas.  We went into a wooded area where I painted two views.  I'm going to show the last of three paintings that I did in the course of four hours.  The interesting thing is that the old rule of painting fast is best held true pretty much this day.  I spent 30 minutes on this painting.  The colors turned out very vivid because I was sitting in the shade and looking at a scene in the sun.  When I make corrections on this painting, I'll make the grass in the foreground more green and adjust my darks and lights.  Over all it was a great day.

Water over a Log

This is a small watercolor I did yesterday. I love the colors of the water and the way objects under the water appear.   Today I decided to see if it would look good in a larger format.  So I started working on a large piece of paper, 38" x 50".  We'll see.

Triangular Composition

This is a quick oil study that I did in preparation for abstracting it further.  I liked the muted colors and decided that it didn't need to be more abstract.

Floating

This is a watercolor study I did in preparation for a large oil painting that I started yesterday.  

The Peas Aren't Ready

Saturday I went to visit my Mom to wish her a happy Mother's Day and went to see my sister's garden.  She had sweet peas growing and so I picked a few.  Unfortunately, as you can see, they haven't reached maturity.  But they are lovely nonetheless. 

Spilling the Beans

This is a collage using an old wallpaper, the little ellipses made me think of seeds, one of my favorite things.

More Beans to Come

About five years ago I did a series of mixed media beans that were alot of fun.  Recently I've decided to experiment with acrylics and so I'm doing these little bean studies.  So far, it's bean fun. 

Geometric Man

When I doodle, it's almost always triangles in patterns.   Wondering why I love this little watercolor so much,  I realized that he is composed of triangles! I actually painted this as a reclining nude, but when I finished I thought it looked better as a vertical.

Beaver Dam Outside Taos

This is a large painting that I recently finished.  It's part of my "generosity of water" series.  I think I did a good job in capturing the rushing water and the sticks in the damn remind me of a Kandinski painting.

Carlos Carolyn and Black Magic Woman

Last night the piano teacher called me Carlos Carolyn because I did a passable solo on the piano while we were playing "Black Magic Woman", so I determined to post a nude that had some magic today.  Here she is.

Don't turn your face

This is a very quick watercolor sketch done in the life drawing studio.  I've been restricting myself to watercolor in these weekly sessions and am getting good results lately. I love the way watercolor is unpredictable.  The title is taken from a  poem I really like  by Miguel Unamuno called "Throw Yourself Like Seed".

Back to the Rheinfahrt

Sensing that my fans are tired of the relentless renditions of the "Wave's Embrace"  I have chosen to post this small daily painting even though its tone is in direct contrast to my present mood.  This is from our trip down the Rhine in February.  This castle is one among many that are perched high above the river.  I tried to make it moody by adding the fog and then I added a yellow glaze that immediately made me think of  Thornfield Hall in Jane Eyre.

Yet Another Embrace

And then I wondered, what would happen if I painted this image on Yuppo?  I like painting on smooth surfaces, as it forces me to be more painterly.  The first painting of this triptych was painted on a rough porous canvas, the second on a good smooth grade canvas and now this.  Yuppo is a kind of plastic paper that is smoother than a china plate. 

Another Embrace

This is another try at this image, which I must say, has captured me for unfathomable reasons.  I can't say what I really mean because I don't know.  My Friend, Julie Lazarus, has suggested that I dispay the two together.  I think I'm going to paint yet another, for a trio.  

In the Wave's Embrace

You probably thought that I was lost, but no, I've been working very hard lately.  Also, this particular painting seems very timely since it has been raining for the last several days; I am, indeed, in the wave's embrace.  The water is flowing down my street.  

Tagesgrauen und Siegried's Rheinfahrt

This is really Ted's Rheinfahrt that we made while in Germany.  We stayed in an old castle on the Rhine that had been renovated to a hotel, and we took a little afternoon boat up the river to a town where we took a train back to our little town, St. Goar.  You can imagine that especially in the winter when the fogs roll in, the dramatic feeling that must have inspired Wagner.  I've been listening to him and painting a few small canvases, using the watercolors as a reference that I made while we were there.

A Habanero Nude

The Pines of Rome

Oops, this is pretty small.  I don't know why.  This is a watercolor that I did in my moleskin sketchbook while in Rome.  We stayed at the University of Dallas Rome Campus which is up in the hills near Castelgandolfo (the Pope's summer residence).  It was dusk and the trees were silhouettes against the sunset.  You could see the lights of Rome in the distance.  

Jude's Flowers

This is a tiny little bouquet of a common weed here in Texas, I think it's called pennyroyal.  My exquisite grandson, Jude, brought these to me yesterday after I had been gone for two weeks.  So this morning, I had to paint these flowers. Both the flowers and the painting are full of love.