Sunny Day Aspen

a beautiful morning, this aspen tree was very full of leaves and extra twigs. I simplified them and am pleased with the results. Aspen trunks are so colorful and detailed, I wanted to include the light-dappled and reflective effects of the light bark. The more I look, the better I see!

Rainy Day Aspen

my second in the series. The palette knife was useful in scraping on some of the dark colors when I was finished with the trees. Again, painted this one in the rain. Glad to see the afternoon rains are back in Colorado. 6 x 8 framed in gold $200

Little Aspen Grove

I have wanted to paint aspen on location for a long time. I did one in watercolor years ago, but never in oil. Yesterday I found this little grove just as it had finished a light rain. The observation you get is incredible. The lighting changes, the color changes, each tree is slightly a different shade. Very subtle. I want to do more, this is just a 6 x 8 in size. I want to do a series, so I really get to know the aspen trees.

Delphinium Delight

A small painting done on location at the HAS demo garden this morning, 6 x 8 of a group of delphiniums. The light changed under the filtered tree often, so it was a matter of remembering the essence. I loved the variety of color.

Bowl of Cherries

I took the photo references for this when the first cherries came out at the grocery store. I loved the way they looked in the purple bowl in the sink with the morning shadows and a few drops of water. I positioned the composition for the most dynamic impact, and built it up, layer by layer. Original oil 11 x 14 $400 framed.

Santa Fe revised

the new version with the orange roses. There may still be a few more things I change, but I like the color the roses add, and the ladder was glazed with color a few more times to get a more accurate shade. What do you think? Feedback welcome.

adjusting elements

This is the first version I did of an adobe building visited in Santa Fe. It was an early morning shot and I liked the shadows and the ladder and the blue windows. The flowers were snowballs, and the more I look at this, the more I realize it doesn't have the zing I wanted in colors. I really like to crank up the colors in Santa Fe, because it feels so colorful to me. I changed the color of the ladder, the flowers (made them into those orange/red wild roses that were not blooming yet) and have a few more changes to make. I'll post the new version tomorrow so you can see the difference. The painting has to take over where the reference leaves off. (sometimes more than others!)

Pecos Church

I've been working on this for awhile. It's 12 x 16 in oil and would be $500 framed. It's been layer upon layer, adding elements that weren't there, and enhancing what was there. This is an old New Mexico church that I photographed 6 years ago on a visit to Santa Fe, and the photo was pretty basic and plain. I've seen so many paintings done of similar churches there that I guess they all were calling me to bring it to the life that I feel when I'm there. The lines and perspective were a lesson in archetecture, and the more you look the more you see in relationships of lines to one another. I'm pleased with the light and glow it achieves.

Another Poppy

I found another one! The HAS garden downtown has beautiful poppies in bloom, despite the heat of yesterday. My thing was to go to Taos and paint poppies (its been in my head to do so for about a year now) and so I'm the Colorado Springs poppy scout. There may be more! I love painting them, although there are some peonies and iris waiting at HAS also. This one is 6 x 8 inches for $200 framed.

the last Poppy

did not paint today as it was 97 degrees in the shade. The last poppy in my garden last evening I painted in the shade. Spring flowers seem to be here for about a week each, then move on. The daylilies are budding, as is the lavender. Must be the heat.

Poppies and Iris

This is another backyard painting 9 x 12 on location. I really love this time of year. Everything is in bloom. The challenge is to want to capture all the details, vs. create a painting of it. This one had a lot of details that needed to be coordinated and simplified. I want to do another one before the poppies are gone, they last only about a week every year.

Rocks and Water

another beautiful day in Colorado. 6 x 8 inch study on location with Pikes Peak Plein Aire Painters. I travel light with a small paint box and lightweight easel. 3 geese hung out with us while we were painting, and the sound of rushing water was like music. Painting outdoors is the best.

Lilacs

a small sketch for the color and detail on location, the fragrance while painting was a nice bonus. I love spring flowers.

Poppies from Life

Did these Saturday morning in my backyard. Love this time of year with everything blooming. Want to paint it all.

Poppy Passion

every year I have to paint poppies, they grow in my garden and the ones I do from nature are better than the ones I do from photos. This one is from a photo, but I loved the composition. Have to try again from nature, they are blooming now.

Simplifying the Complicated

Didn't simplify very much! This is a 6 x 8 study done on location that I loved the location. Didn't really think in advance about how much detail there was. My brush was old (have since tossed it for a better one)and yet I continued to daub on the paint because I loved being here in this place. The light changed in an hour (of course) but the scene was so engaging it was a challenge to simplify it into paint. Patterns, light, and shadows. That's the key, it always is. "Paint what you see" wasn't so helpful, because I saw a lot. So I took off my glasses. Always helps, to simplify into near-sighted vision. Squinting can have the same effect. You CAN see the forest AND the trees!

Painting from Life

Painting from life is always a good thing. With several others, we had intended to go paint a location a mile or so away from my house. The wind was extreme, so headed for a fellow painter's studio. He had set up several still lifes which seemed like a let-down after the plan to paint outdoors for the first time since last summer. It was really a good experience, as it took the same concentration, color mixing, and "seeing" that is crucial to painting of any kind. Any time one can paint from life is preferable to using photos for reference. I recommend it!

In season again

My apple tree is in bloom and I painted these beauties several years ago at Happy Apple Farm in Penrose. Orchards in bloom have always inspired me as I have seen other artists interpretations of them for years. I loved seeing the orchards when I drove between offices for work the year I lived on the Western Slope. I did a few touch-ups on these this winter and they kept me going until now,as the real thing has returned. I have not painted since April, as I have been teaching and not had 2 days off in a row for a month. I realize the first day off is for errands, getting caught up and then the second day I feel like I have the freedom to paint or do something creative. It takes time to be creative. The orchards and I are back in season again. Yay.

Gateway Truck and Mine

a truck in context. In the fall of 2007, I found this beauty in the town of Gateway on the border of Utah and Colorado. Walked around a bit to create just the right composition with the old mine and the truck. This was in between Norwood and Grand Junction, just as you are entering Unaweep Canyon on the border (Gateway) of Colorado and Utah. Gorgeous red rock country, the Dolores River, spectacularly glowing with fall colors and light or anytime in the afternoon glow of light. The truck portrait has become a historical family portrait in this one.

Tres Trees-stage 2

stage 2, I added some depth to the foreground with shadows and snow and softened the edges of the distant hills, adding a little subtle interest to the midground area. I don't want to take away from the trees, but kind of like the mist effect that covers the basic shapes. Lost and found edges are true to nature, and always add interest to a painting.