Another "little gem"....

"The Edge of Town"

5" x 7" Acrylic on Linen

Occasionally, I play around with acrylics...sometimes with good results...sometimes not. Today's project turned out pretty good.  I'm using the new "Chroma" acrylics that don't dry quite as fast, allowing more time to blend values and colors.  I have several linen panels that I received as a prize in an exhibition last summer, so I decided to test one of them out.  Working with acrylic is somewhat "backward" from the watercolor process: Watercolor dries about three shades (values) lighter...and acrylic dries about 3 shades (values) darker.  When I'm crossing over from one medium to the other, it takes me a little while to adjust.  This little acrylic painting took me 3 times longer than normal to complete because I couldn't get the "lights" light enough.  I had to keep going back and reworking the highlighted areas, and softening (greying) the background to make it recede. I think it turned out alright.  While I've got my brain tuned into the "acrylic mode", I'll get another one going in the next day or so.  

The Porch

 I've been working in the studio for the past several days and here's the result.  I live in a grand, century-old victorian.  This is the corner of the front wrap-around porch.  Beautiful peach-color irises in the front yard.  I have an unlimited amount of subject matter with the house and grounds.  This is the first of several to come.

11 x 14 Watercolor on 300# Arches

Announcement

"Awesome Autumn"

20x24 Watercolor

This painting won top honors in a show last December, and I'm proud to announce "Awesome Autumn" has been accepted into the 24th Annual Texas & Neighbors Regional Exhibition, Irving, Texas.  Out of 300 entries received from a 5-state area, 81 were selected for the exhibition. The opening reception and announcement of award winners is April 26th.  It's an honor to be able to exhibit and compete among some "mighty fine painters".  

March 26th, I'm giving another watercolor demonstration in Graham, Texas; an active art community about 3 hours Northwest of Waxahachie.  This will be my first trip to visit this lively art group and I'm looking forward to it.

The following day, I travel South to Marble Falls, Texas to participate in the Bluebonnet Music & Art Festival, March 27, 28, & 29th.  This is one of my favorite paint out events.  Last year I won 2nd place & I'm looking forward to returning.  Plenty of music & subject matter and a large group of art patrons in that area.   

April 22 - 26 will find me painting the Hill Country of Fredricksburg, Texas again.  I'm one of the participating artists of "Plain Air Southwest 2009" sponsored by Outdoor Painters Society.  For more information about this year-long paint out, visit the event website. 

I've been working more in the studio than outside for the past couple of weeks...it's been warm enough during the day, but the wind has been awful!!!! not very good for painting outdoors.  I'm getting some nice work done at the easel though...I'll share with you soon. 

An Evening with the DeSoto Art League

I love giving demonstrations!  Last Thursday, I was the guest artist for the DeSoto Art League in DeSoto, Texas. I'm a member of this lively and friendly group of artists, so I'm honored to have been asked to give a program. They "tested my mettle" with questions and comments throughout the 1 hour and 20 minute demo.  

I began my program with comments about how I set up my palette, color choices, brushes, and paper.   I also announced that I intended to complete as many mini-landscapes as was possible in the time alloted me...and that my paintings will be donated to the group as door prizes.  This prompted a round of applause!

In this photo, I'm discussing the different types of support available to watercolor artists now; I brought this small painting from my studio... a 6x9 on cold press watercolor board.  

  In this photo, I've finished up the demo and have completed 4 small 6x8 landscapes.  On a roll and in my studio, I can paint as many as 6 in about 90 minutes, but the interaction with the group slowed me down a bit....I completed each one in about 20 minutes; not too bad! My purpose in the "quick-draw" format was to demonstrate that not all paintings have to be "masterpieces"...watercolor is a perfect medium for quick, spontaneous color and value studies.    It was fun watching as the names of the door prize winners were announced....all 4 winners had great big smiles on their faces.  As I said....I love giving demonstrations! 

PAINT OUT IN OVILLA, TEXAS

Yesterday, 3 other painters and I traveled to the nearby town of Ovilla, Texas.  The historic downtown area has been around more than 100 years, and there are a couple of interesting store fronts with lots of character that just beg to be painted.  I settled on a rusty old tin building on Main Street, with a small antique store across the street in the background, and a building on my right casting a deep shadow rounds out the composition.  The wind was blowing about 30 mph straight out of the North....a bit chilly; 48 degrees but a clear blue sky.  I set up next to my SUV, using it as a "wind-break".   Not the best of conditions for plein air....but I've painted in worse! I'm just glad to get out of the studio and into the open air!

                                        "Downtown Ovilla, Texas"  11" x 14" Watercolor

     

I'd like to thank the owners of the building that was my subject today, Mr. & Mrs. John Sims.  They dropped by as I was finishing up and they were excited to see their building in my painting. They shared with me their vision of opening a business in the old building soon. Another "perk" of painting plein air gives me the opportunity to meet some very nice people.....!

Update!

I'm thrilled to announce I've been accepted into Plein Air Southwest!  It's a year-long painting event with artist's choice of 4 official locations; Big Bend National Park in February, Texas Hill Country in April, Ouray, Colorado in July, and Canyon De Chelly, Arizona in September.  I'm planning to participate in the Hill Country paint out later this Spring.  

March 26th I'm going to be the guest artist for the Graham Art Guild, Graham, Texas (about 2 hours NW of Ft. Worth).  I really enjoy giving demonstrations and sharing what I do with other artists. 

The next day after the Graham demonstration,  I'll be in Marble Falls, Texas for their annual event: March 27, 28, and 29, Bluebonnet Music & Fine Arts Festival .  It's a 3-day paint out competition with the best jazz & blues music in Texas! I participated in this event last year and won 2nd place.  I'm looking forward to painting the historic downtown area again.

Tomorrow, I'm painting out with the Saturday Painters....I'll post my painting as soon as I can get it uploaded from my camera to my computer.  

Until next time.....Keep those brushes wet!

Atteberry's Home

9" x 12" Watercolor

I've been working on a commission for the past couple of weeks and I finished it yesterday.  This is a portrait of Bill and Kathy Atteberry's home in Midlothian, Texas.  I started the painting on location, returning 2 more times to make sure I had the roof and porch lines correct.  The home faced the East with a "ga-zillion" trees in the front yard that kept the entrance in shadow all day. The only time sunlight hit the entrance was for about 45 minutes around 10:30 am, therefore my time on location was very limiting. On the last trip, the sun was filtering through the trees highlighting the American Flag.  Up to that point, I hadn't really committed to an area or "center of interest".  Shadows on the lawn leading to the flag on the porch was the perfect lead-in to the painting.   I presented the Atteberrys with their painting this afternoon; they were delighted with it.  Bill said that I had "nailed it".  That's about the best compliment a patron can give me.