Day 91 Second Time Around

I wasn't totally happy with the roses I painted yesterday so I gave it another go. I changed the layout, made it larger, worked much harder on details and value. Basically, I payed attention like I should with each painting. After taking the photo and seeing it on the screen one or two little things always jump out that I still want to fix. I'm sure that a couple thousand more paintings will make all the difference!

Second Time Around
9x12 oil on linen panel

Day 90 Friendship

I've received flowers twice this week from different friends. When I saw the gift of roses, I knew I would paint them before I could even say thank you. I've been thinking a lot about friendship these days. I'm lucky that I have always had deep meaningful friendships with a variety of wonderful women. Some are new and many I've know for a couple of decades or more. Girlfriends are the best. You can talk for hours or days and still wish you had more time. They listen, commiserate, cry with you and laugh. Laughing is the best. Laughing so hard you snort (or pee your pants) is even better. If we haven't laughed that hard lately together, give me a call. You know who you are.

Friendship
5x7 oil on canvas panel
sold

Day 89 Dressy

I headed out to paint this morning and after setting up my easel discovered I forgot paper. Grrr. I was planning to only be out 2 hours anyway. I had my sketchbook so I spent an hour drawing; a house, a tree, another painter who had her supplies and an adorable dog that wouldn't hold still.
My spring theme continues - this abstract is sort of flowers, sort of not but makes me think of the pretty floral designed fabrics that appear every spring on lovely Easter dresses. I'm working on a large abstract to donate to the Alzheimer's Association for their annual art auction. This isn't it yet, but I'm getting there.

Dressy
24x24 acrylic on 1.5" gallery wrapped canvas
Sold

Day 88 Silverthorne Shadows

I've created more that 88 paintings since January 1st. I admit, not all of them good. Friends have asked if I really paint every day, well almost. Some days, if time allows I will paint all day and have 2 or 3 paintings. Occasionally, I will spend a day framing, priming canvas or generally cleaning the art studio that has become an exceptionally big mess. Today was one of those days. Since I have a handful of extra paintings I can still post everyday but they have all been painted since January 1st. This was painted last week just north of Silverthorne along the Blue River. I really wanted to paint the shadows on the snow. Didn't spend much time on the rest of the painting (which shows) but I think I got what I wanted in the foreground at least.
Silverthorne Shadows
9x12 pastel

Day 87 Easter Ranunculus

Happy Easter! My friend Kristi posted a lovely photo of her Easter flowers yesterday and it called out to me to paint. It's not the first time she has generously let me use her photos for reference. She is a gifted artist and writer "in the know" for all things photography, design, color and words of wisdom. I did take some artistic license as the white vase was too dominate, so I threw in some extra greenery. I may have to work on this one more it's not quite there. Thank you Kristi!
http://kristioliver.blogspot.com/2016_02_01_archive.html

Easter Ranunculus
20x20 oil on canvas

Day 86 Tulips and Chocolate

I have tulips all over my house thanks to the grocery store. Since our blizzard on Wednesday, then continued snow this week there have been no deliveries to our local King Soopers for 3 days. The store was half empty (of food, not people) something I've never seen. There were plenty of flowers and Easter candy though - so we'll be just fine.

Tulips and Chocolate
5x7 oil canvas panel
sold

Day 85 Lilacs on the Fence

Purple makes me happy. Always has. I declared it my favorite color as a child and have never wavered, I'm loyal like that. I've loved iris, hyacinth, lavender, african violets, lupine, kitten tails and of course lilacs. I have several huge lilac bushes but I'm not sure they will flower this year. They are resilient but also fickle - sometimes blooming, sometimes not. You could say they are on the fence. If you see me cutting a branch along your fence, you'll know why.

Lilacs on the Fence
10x20 acrylic on 1.5" gallery wrapped canvas
sold

Day 84 Canyonlands in the Wind

I'm still thinking about my recent trip to Utah and painting the beautiful canyons and arches. I have a lot of reference photos to work from. This was a spot in Canyonlands NP in the Needles district that I so wanted to capture. It makes me think of the steep cliffs and the ferocious wind that day. I've never toughed it out through that much wind, but I was committed to stay put for a least an hour or so and try. This painting is a combination of the plein air studies, photos and my memory.
Canyonlands in the Wind
20x20 Acrylic on 1.5" gallery wrapped canvas

Day 83 Stone Lantern

Yesterday, I did paint the lantern in the Japanese garden twice. This time I zoomed in a little closer and tried to pay more attention to the lantern instead of the reflection. There was not much blooming at the Botanic Gardens yesterday but I'm still renewing my membership. I'm sure it will be fun to paint there all summer. Today, I watched it snow all day and painted in the studio, mostly in acrylic. You'll have to wait to see those tomorrow.
Stone Lantern
9x12 pastel

Day 82 Snow Lantern

I visited the Botanic Gardens today in short sleeves! I love spring, and yep, it's supposed to be a blizzard tomorrow in Denver. After deciding to paint in the Japanese Garden the volunteers told me this stone sculpture was a snow lantern. They had lots of great info but I was busy trying to figure out how to paint the water, what to leave out, etc. so most of what they told me drifted right past me. I am fascinated with Japanese gardens and flower arranging and will spend some time reading about it. After setting up my easel - the maintenance crew showed up and decided to trim the trees all around the sculpture. sigh. I didn't want to move so I just painted and pretended they weren't there.
Snow Lantern
9x12 pastel

Day 81 Gardens 81

The first day of spring has arrived. It's beautiful out - for now. I have only 3 lonely looking daffodils in my yard. That's it. I NEED more flowers ... so what's a girl to do but paint them?
Gardens 81
16x20 acrylic on 5/8" gallery wrapped canvas

Day 80 Sevillano & Havarti

I am so drawn to color these days. I'm picking what I paint based on its color. Probably because it's a strength, when I really need to concentrate on working on my drawing skills and value. Regardless, I had fun putting cheese and olives on an orange fiesta ware plate to paint. I really wanted olives with pimentos but only had these. Tough problem. If you don't know which is the Sevillano, Picholine or Havarti, you are missing out. I planned to crop this down to an 8x10 which might explain the unfinished right side ... or I just ended up wandering off and eating some cheese and olives.
Sevillano & Havarti
9x12 pastel

Day 79 Swirling Away

It looks like this rose is about to swirl down a bowl of liquid but it was actually sitting on a very pretty teal placemat. After painting the rose and pears yesterday I wanted to concentrate on painting the rose this time around. I'm looking forward to flowers blooming outside soon!
Swirling Away
9x12 pastel

Day 78 Pears and Rose

I painted a still life of a rose and some pears today. A bright placemat gave me the opportunity to use those teal pastels that I will probably never use up, because I have lots. Really, I wasn't inspired to haul myself outside today as I've been out a lot lately. Maybe tomorrow.
Pears and Rose
9x12 pastel

Day 77 Prickly Pear

Last week hikes included this great trail up Hunter Canyon just west of Moab. An easy 4 miler round trip with no elevation gain. It was so pretty, my friends and I just kept going and made it a 7.5 mile hike. The cactus got thicker and thicker and I did end up with my share of spikes through my shoes. One long barb in particular made me think I was going to die (sort of like a paper cut, how could something that small be so painful?). The prickly pear variety with glochid spines really do hurt like crazy. No worries, I managed to hike out with my tiny injury and have since fully recovered enough to do a painting in the studio.
Prickly Pear
5x7 oil on panel

Day 76 Dead Horse Point

Another plein air pastel from the top of Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah. Don't let the name of the park deter you from visiting. The view of the Colorado river 2,000 feet below takes your breath away. I've tried to stand up here on more than one occasion and paint this vast scene and haven't mastered it yet. Can't wait to try again.
Dead Horse Point
9x12 pastel

Day 75 Wall Street

Wall Street is a rock climbing area near Moab, Utah. My favorite part of climbing are the names of the routes. Some routes on Wall Street include "Tastes like chicken", "Nervous in suburbia", "Static cling" and "Flakes of wrath". I did not have to battle wind for a change, just an occasional truck flying by at twice the speed limit. It's all worth it to hang out in Moab and paint.
Wall Street
5x7 oil on panel

Day 74 Big Spring Canyon Overlook

This was painted in the needles district in Canyonlands National Park. It was a 360 degree view so I painted in the direction in which I'd be least likely to get blown off the edge.
The wind was so strong that I couldn't set up my easel and did this pastel in my lap, while sitting wedged between a tree and a rock. I couldn't let go of my foam board for a second, note the fingerprints all over the edges. The wind was so strong I didn't have to tap or knock off any loose pastel dust, it was taken care of by mother nature. Can't wait to use this color study and redo it in the studio.
Big Spring Canyon Overlook
6x9 pastel

Day 73 Beauty Interrupted

This view at Dead Horse State Park is so overwhelmingly beautiful. Stunning clouds, rock formations and the Colorado River 2,000 feet below - I could paint here for weeks. The big dark cloud overhead had me shivering. I was battling fierce wind and finally needed to take down my easel in fear of it toppling over. I was interrupted! The last thing I wanted was a scattering of colorful (expensive) broken pastels all over the viewpoint platform that I was standing on.

Beauty Interrupted

9x12 pastel

Day 72 La Sal Mountain Range

More painting of the La Sal mountain range from Arches National Park in Utah. I had to be pretty speedy on this plein air pastel as the hikers were returning so I really zoomed in on my view. This is Mount Mellenthin, the 2nd highest peak in the range at 12,726 feet above sea level.
La Sal Mountain Range
8x10 pastel

Day 71 Above Fiery Furnace

Today was a struggle in value. Not sure why, I know it's the first thing I need to determine in a painting but my eyes were telling me one thing and my value tools were telling me another. COLOR was the culprit - changing my values to what I thought were darker when really it was lighter. I'm going to reference my sketches and photos and contemplate on this awhile. Regardless, I did have fun painting even though I know my values weren't quite right ... there is always tomorrow!
Above Fiery Furnace
9x12 pastel
sold

Day 70 Delicate Arch

If you haven't visited Arches National Park in Utah ... you should. The rock formations are pretty amazing. I didn't get a chance to paint today so here's a sketch from my sketchbook. Along with daily painting I'm keeping a sketchbook to improve my rusty drawing skills. I sat on a rock, happily, as I'm not a fan of "exposure" to sketch this view. Getting here wasn't difficult, it's only 3 miles roundtrip, unless you have a fear of heights, gulp. Delicate arch is over 80 feet tall and quite amazing to see.
Delicate Arch
6x9 sketchbook

Day 69 Definition

This is another landscape. Really. I see the trees, dark shadows and the sunlight reflecting off the ground. Then I turned it 90 degrees counter clockwise. And I liked it. Might be something different to you - or just look like a bunch of shapes. Which is what a painting is after all, shapes that sometimes have definition, sometimes not.
Definition
9x12 pastel

Day 68 A Bit of Graffiti

I painted today at Bible Park in Denver with a pretty decent size group of PAAC painters. I wandered around for a while and finally decided to paint a section of the creek and bridge. Honestly, it was the graffiti that drew me in. Bright red with an arrow pointing the way out. I guess it's proof that I'm painting to learn something. I'm getting my "canvas miles" in as they say.
A Bit of Graffiti
6x8 pastel

Day 67 Abandon

Today I spent all day in the studio. I organized, did some framing and painted a couple of abstracts. I'm still only halfway through cleaning up the chaotic mess. I found a pastel of a barn that I did a year ago but it was too representational and boring. Since it was on pastelbord I could wash off most of the pastels and start over. I went after it with the abandon of a kid with crayons. No intention of it being anything other than abstract - it's fun to paint just for fun sometimes.
Abandon
11x14 pastel on pastelbord

Day 66 Pushing Through

I was surprised to see a small group of crocus and one lone daffodil blooming in my front yard yesterday. I haven't planted bulbs for years but a few manage to come up each spring in my neglected yard. They push through each year, regardless. I'm also pushing through, the daily painting is becoming more work than fun and I'm feeling short on time. I'm getting close to declaring "weekly painting".
Pushing through
9x12 pastel

Day 65 Concept

Another from Rocky Mt Nat Park. The shadows were really nice below these tree trunks but I somehow overworked it and lost the concept of the painting. Generally, artists have a concept or something specific they feel or want to say. For this painting it was supposed to be about the "shadows". But then I diddled around so much with the trees that I lost what I was trying to say. I probably watched a bird or two, commented on the fast moving clouds, contemplated how to get the colors right, dropped a few pastels in the snow, reworked areas one time too many, changed my mind about the layout, etc., etc., etc. I'm not complaining, but it was a tough day "in the office".
It's a study. I learned something. Slow down. Remember your concept.
Concept
8x10 pastel

Day 64 RMNP Snowy Trail

Painted this small study in Rocky Mountain National Park - but I managed to overwork it. I've got to remember I'm doing studies to learn, not pushing it to get a finished painting, and then ruining it. I really need to back up, slow down and get back to fundamentals. I'm going to start drawing everyday to start.
RMNP Snowy Trail
5x7 pastel

Day 63 Zooming In

I'm back painting outside today and surrounded by views in multiple directions. I'm learning to zoom in and pick one thing to paint, instead of painting EVERYTHING. Painting everything never works, it's too much and you run out of time to do it justice. There will never be enough time to paint all the beauty I'm surrounded by.
Zooming In
9x12 pastel

Day 62 Changing Sky

I love being out in nature painting beautiful clouds and sky.  Or really close to nature, like looking out a window in case the wind is blowing in a cold, ferocious way.
Changing Sky
9x12 pastel
sold

Day 61 Union Station

Painting with fellow artists downtown Denver this morning, I'm so happy to have PAAC to paint with. Challenges included parked cars that move and the ever changing light. The sun on the teal umbrellas and the reflections in the windows stood out for me. My biggest challenge was finding a parking spot and parallel parking, I'm a county girl. Thanks Debby for looking out for me!

Union Station 9x12 pastel
sold