Tulips and the Mountains

Another one from our stay at Catalina State Park. We are north of Tucson, in Oro Valley, and have enjoyed visiting the Tucson Botanical Gardens where the Frido Kahlo exhibit puts you right into her world of inspiration. If you're anywhere near Tucson, don't miss it.  We went to the Sonoran Desert Museum,  and I thoroughly enjoyed a private tour by a docent at the Tucson Museum of Art. 

Respect to the mountain painters!

New admiration for all those plein air painters who paint the mountains! My experience is so little, yet it is basically the same thing- look and look and look. I picked a very small segment of the Catalina Mt foothills and just tried to find the shapes.

Secret Path

We found a path at the edge of the lake where we (me and Cooper) could walk along and explore and sniff (that would be Cooper) to our hearts delight. It started at the point where I had painted a few days earlier and I wanted this painting to reflect the path leading us in rather than on the water of the lake. The afternoon light cast long shadows from the trees across the path which interested me. Tried again to abstract "everything"! 
Painted on 8x10 linen on panel

Yellow House

Since we are so close to Mexico we decided to visit Nogales for a look around. We walked across the border after parking in downtown Nogales. Cooper is a wonderful ambassador and with his company we built some bridges, no walls for us! The wall is actually in great evidence around this border town.
Of course we ate some fabulous street food, bought some blankets and a gorgeous serape, and took a ton of photos with my i-phone. The line to get back to the States was quite long, but they let us through when they saw our dog Cooper and "didn't want him to have an accident in the building". We laughed and went to the next Customs Officer, knowing that Cooper would never go in a building!
Here's my ode to Mexico painting, 8x10, oil on linen panel, from one of my reference photos with a couple of changes to suit my composition. The sky is mostly King's Blue, an Old Holland paint that's new to me.

Patagonia Lake Reflections

We've traveled south and are now at Patagonia Lake State Park, which is only 15 miles from Nogales, Mexico. This park is remote and known as a birding destination, where hundreds of species have been sighted. The birding trail winds along the shore and I had to take advantage of a guided bird walk led by a Park Ranger this morning. My binoculars are sub par but I got some good sightings and  tips on how to use them with help from Ranger John and learned something new. Isn't that what it's all about anyway- being in the culture wherever you are and being willing to participate in learning?
These folks are birding fanatics! I loved it and loved even more sitting and painting these reflections in the lake 100 yards from my campsite!

Mesquite Tree

I had to fiddle with this a bit as the mountains first had too much chroma, then the value wasn't right. I wish I could have painted this as a true plein air, but my eye wasn't buying it! I did a little research and found out that this is a mesquite tree; they are everywhere in this part of southern Arizona.

 

Zero In

I always seem to be drawn back to a closer focus, to cropping my compositions to make the space feel more intimate. I need to find out what kind of trees these are; they are abundant in this area and have the most fascinating branches and shapes. They are leafless this time of year; that only adds to their appeal to me!

It was an easier painting than the previous post- goes to show it really does help to become very familiar with your subject. Find something that can hold your interest while you learn more each painting session.

This one is 6x6 on linen.