"THE HAYDEN GRAIN CO."

Here is the finished painting. 

It's 12"h X 24"w

Oil on panel

Here's photo reference if you're interested.

Thanks for hanging in there.

"SAY CHEEZE!"

 "CHEEZE"

8"h X 30"w

oil on panel

Available for sale on my website 

Thanks for taking a look. 

Have a great weekend.

Some details below for your viewing pleasure.

"ELK RIVER ROAD"

BARN

6" X 6"

I have a student coming to my studio for some refresher oil

painting lessons. She brings a photo and we paint side by side

painting the same image. It's an experiment for now we'll see

how it shakes out. This way she gets to paint what's close to

her heart and I get a challenge in the process. 

It's been interesting. The first painting we did together I had to

wipe off after she left there was no saving it!

Thanks for following. 

"JUSTICE"

"ROUTT COUNTY COURTHOUSE"

6" X 6"

Downtown Steamboat Springs has changed quite a bit but one thing remains constant

 The Courthouse.

I love this building. The front doors are 3" thick. 

 The classic architecture is truly appreciated along with the history and sense of place.

 Remember when the jail was in the basement???

The times they are a changing.

Thanks for looking.

"REVIEW"

This gives you an idea of scale on the Usual Suspect Pez piece.

We are praying for snow!

I rode my bike twice this week and that's not a good thing

in the scheme of things. 

Thanks for looking.

"THE USUAL SUSPECTS"

"THE USUAL SUSPECTS"

8"H X 30"W

OIL ON PANEL

I painted this for the Palette show at the Steamboat Springs Arts council.

I don't know if it will get in but it was painted specifically for  the show.

The piece is suppose to have taste, texture, sound and smell.

I figured those little pez dispensers would make some sound - the wrappers for touch 

the candy for taste and smell. 

Not sure if it will qualify but it sure was fun to paint.

COMIC RELIEF IN THE ARTS!

"PEZ A DAY #1"

This is the first installment on a large painting.

It was still wet - I couldn't get good photo shots so this will 

have to do for now. I'm kind of excited about this piece

it's suppose to offer some "comic relief" in the arts.

Thanks and have a great weekend!

"THE KITCHEN SINK"

First Friday - Dec. 5th - demo painting at the gallery

It's a long story and it's below if you can or want to get through it.

photo reference for painting of my kitchen sink

Thursday night Dec 4th the gallery I belong to had a meet and greet your painters night. 

Four of us presented our work - ideas - and whatever else came to mind.

Gregory Block was the first to discuss his work and he's pretty famous 

needless to say it was a tough act to follow. 

He explained in detail his painting titled "JACOB'S LADDER"(click to see his painting).

He takes everything into consideration to set up his still life arrangements.

  Meaning of the objects chosen - color palette is a huge consideration - lighting is essential 

He paints from life - in other words he sits or stands for days

in front of the still life and paints what he sees - I could go on but you get the drift.

I was so relieved when another painter was chosen to follow Gregory's presentation

that by the time they got to me I could just be me and a lot of the audience had drifted.

As most of you know I paint the still life that just happens and I paint it from a photo.

I was in my kitchen wednesday night and I saw my sink in a whole new light. 

Snapped a number of shots - chose one - and painted it for the Galleries First Friday Event.

Everyone that had been at the presentation the night before 

asked me if my "The Kitchen Sink" was a response to Gregory's "Jacob's Ladder"? 

Well that got another conversation started.

I have the shelves -  darkness at the top - bright light below. Objects in a row

(if you can tell what they are). So yes it is a kind of response but from a completely 

different place. Then I started to think about Picasso and Braque(I'm not comparing myself

so don't misconstrue my drift here) but Picasso would visit Braque's studio and if

Braque was painting a vase that said vase would end up in a Picasso painting the next day. 

The crux of the matter is that everything comes from something or somewhere.

Call and response in music - learning and art it's everywhere.

I don't know if any of that made sense but it gets you thinking. 

If you really want to get your mind in a bundle go see "Birdman" 

it's not for the faint of heart nor is it some easy movie going 

but it will get you thinking it may even hurt a little! 

Hey if you made it this far you should get a prize. 

Thanks for following.

"STIMULUS PACKAGE" HOUSE PORTRAIT

 An architect friend of mine called me and said can you paint a house?

I said with a roller sure but with a small paint brush I'm not so sure.

So I gave it a go. Here's the finished product and they bought it so I'm

happy -  hence the title Stimulus package - merry christmas to me.

Here's the photo I worked from. Too much hill and too much 

background. I've cropped it here to what they wanted. They 

wanted the house larger and the pond included. Solution 

below. I'm revealing my tricks that could come back 

and bite me in the a--! 

I took a sheet of plexi - propped it up on 2 kleenex boxes

with a white sheet of paper underneath. I should've recorded

how I did this but I didn't. Took another photo of the reflection. 

And there you have it - reflection on a pond minus the hill.

Thanks!

I'm painting like mad just can't show anything cause it's 

stuff for christmas. 

"TWISTERS - DETAIL #2"

Twisters is in Williams, AZ

"TWISTERS - DETAIL"

 This painting is 34"H X 18"W

it will be in 3 parts.

Twisters - Route 66

"THE CLASSICS"

18" X 24" oil on panel

I don't think this needs any explanation let me know

if it's truly unclear. Might be hard to see on the blog.

I was unsure about this painting but now I love it.

My hubby came up with the title weeks ago and it

took this long to figure out how to paint it.

"BOTANIC PARK"

SINGAPORE BOTANIC PARK ORCHID GARDENER

I've started to look through my Singapore photos. Hard to 

believe that in 2000 I was still shooting with film. 

I must've shot 20 rolls. On occasion when I'm stuck I 

might give Singapore a go. We'll see. 

Thanks for following and commenting too.

"IT'S NOT ABOUT THE SALE"

"DECORATION DAY"

Memorial Day was first observed in 1868

when it was called Decoration Day

A day set aside to honor the

600,000 U.S. men and women who died in the Civil War.

Millions more have served since

 and many have made the ultimate sacrifice.

"PART I - ODE TO EAKINS"

My brother sent me a photo and it triggered a memory 

of the painter Thomas Eakins. This painting will be in 3 parts

Painting dimensions 10" X 16"

Each day I'll give a little background on 

Eakins(pronounced AY kins; 1844-1916)

Quotes are taken from The Annotated Mona Lisa

"When Eakins decided to paint a crucifixion, he strapped his

model to a cross. His first concern was to get the anatomy right.

To learn anatomy, he dissected cadavers and became 

so knowledgeable on the subject he lectured to medical students. 

He plotted out the perspective of his paintings with mathematical precision."

"I hate affectation," he wrote. 

"I am learning to make solid, heavy work."

I had not thought about Eakins for years - to tell the truth he's kind of

a blip on the screen in the art world. Most of my art history books

devote a paragraph to Eakins nothing more. 

Also, I'm not comparing myself in any way to his artistic ability.

This is fun for me and I learn something new in the process.

Thanks for following!

"SPOON BRIDGE"

"ODE TO CLAES"

Stick a cherry on a spoon and what do you get?

Claes Oldenburg's "Spoonbridge and Cherry"

here's the link to Claes Oldenburg's sculpture

http://www.walkerart.org/collections/artworks/spoonbridge-and-cherry

Claes Oldenburg is best known for his ingenious, oversized renditions of ordinary objects, like the giant “soft” three-way plug and overturned bag of french fries in the Walker’s own collection. He and Coosje van Bruggen, his wife and collaborator, had already created a number of large-scale public sculptures, including the Batcolumn in Chicago, when they were asked to design a fountain-sculpture for the planned Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The spoon had appeared as a motif in a number of Oldenburg’s drawings and plans over the years, inspired by a novelty item (a spoon resting on a glob of fake chocolate) he had acquired in 1962. Eventually the utensil emerged—in humorously gigantic scale—as the theme of the Minneapolis project. Van Bruggen contributed the cherry as a playful reference to the Garden’s formal geometry, which reminded her of Versailles and the exaggerated dining etiquette Louis XIV imposed there. She also conceived the pond’s shape in the form of linden seed. (Linden trees are planted along the allées that stretch before the fountain.) The complex fabrication of the 5,800 pound spoon and 1,200 pound cherry was carried out at two shipbuilding yards in New England. The sculpture has become a beloved icon in the Garden, whether glaceed with snow in the Minnesota winters or gleaming in the warmer months, with water flowing over the surface of the cherry and a fine mist rising from its stem.

Thanks for following and have a great weekend!

"THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME"

"WAMEGO, KANSAS"

A couple of years ago on our drive from Steamboat Springs to NY via St. Louis and D.C.

We stumbled upon the OZ Museum in Wamego, Kansas.
I shouldn't say stumbled because the billboards appeared for hundreds of miles
before the museum - I saw a tin man billboard and was hooked - I knew this place was for me
I spent hours in the museum - the original books - drawings - games etc.
Just the right amount of funky
We were informed that one set of Ruby Slippers resided at the
Smithsonian National Museum of American History in D.C.
How's that for a perfect coincidence?
Wamego is a great little town if you're in the area give it a go!
I love the Wizard of OZ but it use to scare the crap out of me
I remember hiding behind my mom when things got really bad - you know the parts
Thanks for following the yellow brick road
TTFN
My new internet is dandy - I think we're there