Arizona or Bust

Last winter we traveled as far west as Big Bend National Park, in southwest Texas before heading back to Rhode Island in February. Now you know coming home in February was not part of the plan; we were headed to Arizona when we decided to come home after talking with Ted's Dad. He was 96, feeling lonely and that's all we really had to hear. He'd had another fall, another trip to the ER and he just wanted us to come home. There wasn't even a conversation; we stayed a couple of days longer then began the long haul home in our motorhome.

Murray died a few weeks after his 97th birthday in July, and we never regretted for a moment coming home. The last few months we spent a lot of time together and knew we'd done the right thing.

So now this winter we breathed a sigh of relief when we made it to Arizona! First stop, about 50 miles south of Tuscon,  Kartchner Caverns State Park. I love the state parks as there is always an abundance of natural beauty and space. 

Happy to set up to paint, although the weather has not gotten even to 50 degrees. And when the sun goes behind the mountains, it gets cold so fast.

My best effort, 6x12 on linen, a challenge to get the colors!

Las Cruces, NM

We are visiting Las Cruces, NM and I was so happy to meet with fellow blogger, inspired artist and perfectly lovely Julie Ford Oliver! As we are traveling this winter in our RV, and headed to Arizona, I wanted to reach out to Julie and see if we could meet. 

She was completely welcoming with a wonderful studio tour, visit to one of her galleries M Phillip's Fine Art Gallery and we met up again for lunch at one of her favorite spots in Las Cruces to talk about art, goal setting and so much we have in common.  Julie has a love for all things avian and since this bird was nesting in the tree right outside my window, I know I had to paint her.

In gratitude for your generosity and the time we spent discussing ART, thank you Julie! 

Intentions and Goals with a burst of color

As the new year begins, I once again set my goals and my intentions. I actually set intentions on a daily basis, as a tool to live in the present. The difference between  an intention and a goal? An intention seems to me to be more spiritually centered, where I can detach from the outcome, surrender the process to the universe, and focus on the present moment. My truest intentions will always come from my heart. Intentions are about our inner selves.

A goal will outline the steps I will take to reach a desired outcome. Goal setting is based on reasoning, analyzing and planning. For an artist, it's left brain activity and some of us need help to plan those specific steps that will result in an external achievement at some future point.

And now- on to the painting!

There  is usually one things that attracts me first, the thing or feeling that makes me want to paint. In this case it was the intense burst of color from that tree against the backdrop of the bluest sky. 

I also like how the structural shadow shape from the building counterbalances the organic shape of the tree.

It was a magic moment for me; the goal of completing the painting using design principles, paint application and brushwork. I also set an intention to have the painting give the same feeling to the viewer as I had when I came upon the scene.

Take Two

Another look at the dried pods and flowers that is part of the large collection of things to paint at the studio. There is never a shortage of items to inspire, but I decided to have a go at the same items but paint it in a different way. I did, however, keep the shadow a large element in my composition, this time cropping the pods quite sharply at the top of the painting. The yellow horizontal band made its' way in to break up the shadow with a structured shape to contrast against the many organic shapes.

Dried Pods

Studio still life has many of the elements within my control- what I choose to paint, how it will be lit, the composition of the elements. In this painting I chose to emphasize the shadow as an integral part of the composition. 8x10 on linen. I'm fascinated with rendering the pods with minimum detail while letting the viewer know exactly what they're looking at.

Simplify

I wanted to incorporate some pattern into this very simplified still life, while emphasizing the strong verticals along the right side of the piece. This was done with gouache- a small study used to play with a few ideas I'm having.

Heading Home- Travel Journal

We spent a few days before heading back to New England on the Blue Ridge Parkway exploring small towns and hiking the trails with Cooper our Labradoodle who loves being in the woods exploring. 

This campground Chantilly Farm in Floyd, Virginia holds music festivals all summer long featuring bluegrass at its best in a beautiful setting surrounded by hills. In the town of Floyd is the famous Floyd Country Store with their renowned foot tapping Friday night Jamboree and Sunday bluegrass brunch.

I did a small gouache study before we left of the hills at the campground. So peaceful.