What's on your Life List?

I take notes all the time on my phone but keep forgetting to go back, read and follow up on what I was supposed to do. Yesterday, I scrolled through and deleted some notes; recipes I'll never make, books I've read and really ... do I need a note to tell me to eat right and exercise more?
Anyway, I found a "Life List" that I wrote about a year and 1/2 ago.

Things on the list that I've already accomplished:
Lose 15 lbs.
Paint at Ghost Ranch
Show at ASLD summer art market
Paint joyfully
Meet new people
Travel more

Things that I think I can still achieve:
Lose 15 more lbs.
Visit and paint in every National Park
Paint in Monet's Garden
Get a dog
Do artist in residence programs
Go to the movies more often
Watch Game of Thrones
Visit Sedona/energy vortex

And things that will likely never happen but it's nice to dream:
Lose yet another 15 lbs.
Ride in a hot air balloon
Sleep like I did when I was 20
Learn another language
Paint easily, beautifully and prolifically and get "discovered" with no effort whatsoever on my part

So, ya know - not bad. I'll keep plugging away. Sometimes it's good to be disorganized (I tell myself) - it was nice finding this list and realizing that I am working toward some goals. Here are my upcoming events for the busy month of June.

Littleton Plein Air Festival
Wednesday, May 30 through Friday, June 1st
I'll be out painting for 3 days with 50 other artists around Littleton.
Schedule is here.

Please visit me at the Summer Art Market where I will be standing around for 2 full days!
Art Students League of Denver
Summer Art Market
Booth #38 on 3rd just east of Grant Street
Saturday, June 9th 10am - 6pm   Sunday, June 10th 10am - 5 pm.
I'll be there and set up by 9 - come early to beat the crowds!

Along with my plein air pastels and studio oil and acrylic paintings - I am also selling some of my pen & ink sketches you may have seen on instagram.

Finally - I've donated this painting to the Alzheimer's Association Art Auction held on June 9th. See my facebook post to see much of the art that will be auctioned off that evening here.

Thanks for following and hope you have a great beginning of summer!

Just After Fall

30x40 oil on gallery wrapped canvas

lisahutart@gmail.com

http://www.lisahut.com

@lishutart on instagram

"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do." Rumi

It's just cheese!

This week I'm in Iowa, the red buds are in full bloom and all the trees are gorgeous. Everything is so green. It's quite beautiful here with many picturesque barns and I am hanging out with my son, yay!

One day I painted at Ledges State Park with a couple of local plein air painters that I met in Santa Fe a few weeks ago. That day was spent painting and connecting with new friends. We all have so much in common (hello geocachers!) and I really enjoyed the companionship of painters who love to be outdoors too.

Virginia Bluebells in Iowa, 11x14 pastel

Ledges State Park, Iowa 11x14 pastel

I went to the Des Moines Farmers Market on Saturday. It was raining, but still fun - I got fresh doughnuts for breakfast and beautiful lilacs for Mothers Day.

Des Moines Farmers Market

Also, I've heard of cheese curds and really don't know what a cheese curd is. So I asked. It seemed like a simple question. The woman selling them said "it's just cheese". I said what's the difference, though? "All cheese is a cheese curd before it's mushed together" she said. Sooo, it's just a different shape? She said again "It's just cheese". I guess she can only answer that question about a 100 times a week and I was the 101st. So, I bought some and ate them.

Beautiful barns all around

Pella, Iowa plenty of tulips - a week after Tulip Time

I learned what a century barn is, differences of silos, that there is a Fall Barn Tour in Iowa and a lot of random farming facts. Also, the shoulders on the roads are gravel, which I guess works well for tractors. I think it's also for photographers - so when you are driving and taking pictures and accidentally run off the road a little ... the gravel is a good heads up. Just sayin'.
Last, I learned what Dutch letters are and I finally tried cheese curds. It's just cheese, ya know.

PACE 2018 New Mexico Road Trip

I recently got back from the Plein Air Convention in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I drove down a few days early to paint in Taos; and stayed extra time at Ghost Ranch. Just about a thousand or so artists all convening in one spot. Yeah, it was great.

I watched demos and took a lot of notes. I learned a lot; and feel equally inspired ... and hopeless. After watching a Dave Santillanes demo, then a Kevin Macpherson one ... you know you are never going to be that good. Then I toured Albert Handell's studio. Again, there isn't enough time in my life to achieve the masterful level of art that these guys have accomplished.

I met painters from all over; new friends in Colorado, Texas and Iowa, which I'm excited about as I'm headed to Ames next week. I also chanced upon this guy painting at Ghost Ranch. I felt a connection with a kindred soul, loving the outdoors and the eternal quest to capture it on canvas. He is living my dream; painting on the road for the next 5 months. Check out Jeff Markowsky and his beautifully executed work here. He describes in his blog how I feel about painting outside; but just don't quite have the words for.

Also, on the drive down I was behind a guy on a motorcycle who was jamming out to music. Like full on dancing, arm waving, head bobbing, almost doing the Madonna Vogue thing. Not subtle. Granted, it could have been chemically induced, but all I could do was smile and enjoy that the guy was that happy and danced regardless of who was watching.

Last, I finally recovered a huge bag of art supplies that I accidentally left at my Air bnb and it's slowly on its way home through my artist network of friends. phew. I'm gonna go do a little dance where no one can see me, I'm not that brave yet.

Rio Grande River from the John Dunn Bridge

In downtown Santa Fe, the tree and window caught my eye

Ghost Ranch - the wind trying to rip away my easel

The Little Buckaroo Barn

Lately, I've been doing watercolor under paintings on my pastels. When I painted this in Rocky Mountain National Park a few weeks ago, it was 28 degrees out. Never one to give up - I used a thermos and tried hot water in an insulated coffee cup. Unfortunately, by the time your brush makes it from the cup to the paper ... crystals. I hate giving up. I headed to the car, blasted the heat for a few minutes and melted the paint then headed back out to do the pastels plein air. All on snowshoes.

If you follow my instagram here you'll think that I no longer paint, and just take photos of owls. This sweet family of owls is within walking distance of my house and I've been watching them grow up. I'm headed out of town soon to paint in New Mexico and hope I can still visit them when I come back. I'm a little owl obsessed, and you guessed it - I'm painting them too.

The Little Buckaroo Barn at Trail River Ranch - built in 1942

Three Owlets growing up fast

Be Passionate - No Lollygagging!

Last week, I spent some time in Utah painting with a couple of friends. My husband biked over 165 miles in the Moab Skinny Tire Festival. He really likes riding his bike and burned a lot of calories. He's passionate about it. I really like painting and standing around. I do not burn a lot of calories. We still make a good team.

Anyway, when I'm standing around - it's with pastels in hand and squinting at a view; trying to decipher how to get that magic on paper. I can paint those rocks slightly better than when I first tried and in a few more years, I hope to be better still. Painting trips with friends really are wonderful. Like minded artists that will paint all day, read art books at night, watch art videos, talk about art and then start doing it all over again. We eat meals as if we were in school; 10 minutes to cram in lunch so you can get to your next class on time. It's way more important to get back out and paint than lollygag around (is that even a real word?).

Now, I'm up in the mountains painting snow - different temperature than the perfect 60 degrees I enjoyed in Utah. I think it was 28 here yesterday. And, I'm with friends again. Big hug to all you artists out there - thanks for welcoming me into the world of plein air painting. I wish everyone could find their passion be it bowling, hiking, tree shaping, ice fishing, palm reading, time travel, bird watching ... you get the idea. Go find your passion and enjoy every minute because life is short.

Sunset 11x14 pastel

Dead Horse Point State Park, Utah

Tenmile Range

Today Plein Air Artists Colorado met up in Dillon at Sapphire Point to paint the gorgeous vista of Tenmile Range and Breckenridge Ski Resort.

The overlook is stunning and there were quite a few "drive by" visitors. People visiting from Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia ... they'd stop and take a photo and off they would go. I've done that in many places too. But, no matter how good your camera is, it's never as beautiful as in real life. I have thousands of photos. But now, I stop and look. It's so much better than a photo. I try to burn it into my brain and yes, I'm always painting in my head.

So, I followed my friend Debby's advice today to keep it simple. I haven't been painting much so it was really nice to paint and be outside. The sun was bright and the snow brighter. Blinding actually.

After lunch, my friends got in another painting and I spent the time sketching, taking photos ... and painting in my head. I can't show you that one but it's there, and it's a pretty good one!
Artists know what I'm talking about.

Breckenridge Ski from Sapphire Point

pastel

Dressed for 9,000 feet and a nice cold wind

Debby

Anita, Debby, Jennifer

Artists know how to pick a spot

5 am Motivational Chatter

Morning folks! I was happy to submit art again this year to Colorado Preservation Inc.'s Saving Places Conference. I sold these two paintings and it's great to have a portion of the proceeds go to this worthy cause. Read here about the places they are saving.

Cline Ranch 11x14 pastel

Colorful Colfax 11x14 oil

When we dropped off our art, I followed my buddy Debby McAllister down the street. I've mentioned before that we blend in downtown wearing our paint spattered old clothes - but Debby upped the anti by dragging a 1970's vintage suitcase along with her. These hard sided suitcases are a great way to protect & transport paintings.

All those people on the train - as we waited to cross the tracks - thought we were homeless at 7 am dragging a very old suitcase down 14th street. Little did they know she was dragging a suitcase full of beautiful art worth a couple thousand dollars. Judge not, right?

 

I woke up early today (as usual) and instead of grabbing my phone my hand landed on my fitbit - I pushed the button hoping to see the time and if I should get up or try to sleep a little longer.
Good Morning LISA! it flashed.
Then, Up & At 'Em! It's gonna be a great day! MOVE more! ... and I kept hitting the button, hoping to see if I could go back to sleep. And it went on and on ....

Apparently, this is called "motivational chatter" that starts off each morning that I put the tracker on. I usually ignore it but today, I've decided to turn my critical inner voice off, listen to my Fitbit and have a Good Morning and have a GREAT day. Hope you do too.