Out To Sea - By Tina Bohlman

Out To Sea - View from the Betzel's - 36 x 48 Oil on Canvas

First let me say that a good commission doesn't come along very often....nor does one often have a "story". This commission is one that resulted from being in the right place at the right time; I'm a true believer that things happen when they're supposed to. This story began last October during my participation in the Invitational Coastal Paint Out in Port Aransas, TX. On the last morning of the event, there was a Quick Draw event - it was cold and the wind was coming off the ship channel about 30 mph...but I persevered & painted a nice one in spite of the uncomfortable conditions. After the Quick Draw, my husband & I wanted to grab some coffee to "warm up" & decided to have a late breakfast at a local cafe`. It was very crowded with only 1 table available, so it was good to be seated and not have to wait. About 10 minutes later, another couple came in - no table available, so my husband (who never met a stranger) waved them over to share our table. We exchanged names...the usual chit-chat about "where we're from" and "why we're here". Bill & Jeanne were from Ft. Worth and purchased a 2nd home in Port A. Long story short, they invited us to see their home and to discuss a commission painting for a large wall in the living area. Their home is located on the entrance of ship channel to Corpus Christi Bay just about 1/4 mile down from the ferry landing. Lovely home; gorgeous view. Bill & Jeanne's favorite past-time is watching the dolphins "playing" out in front of the ships as they come & go. So...my commission was to replicate their "view"....the channel, the ship, their pier....and the dolphins.

So, my journey began with creating a composition that would include these elements, with a huge orange tanker (they gave me a photo of "THE" ship) as the focus. Problem #1: I have never painted anything (that floats) bigger than a shrimper. Problem #2: The canvas is 36 x 48...almost taller than I am...and when on the easel, it is definitely above my head. Problem #3: The tanker is really, really big and the elements had to be "to scale" in comparison. Problem #4: This ship is a bright, eye-popping orange!

From December until the end of April, I spent almost as much time planning & thinking as I did re-mixing a slightly different color than the one previously applied. One "adjustment" lead to another, and another; layer upon layer until the final stroke almost 5 months later. I put the painting on my fireplace mantel and after 2 weeks, decided it was finished & signed it.



"Leading the Way" - Dolphins 12x12 Oil on canvas

One of the issues I had with "scale" is that the dolphins had to be very tiny in the painting - and the dolphins were the source of a lot of fun for Bill and Jeanne...watching them jump and "challenge" the ship to catch them. Off and on over the last month, I painted this small "close-up" of the dolphins as a surprise gift for them. Now, this is a FUN painting! It makes me smile.

Meanwhile, as I was struggling with the usual problems that accompany a large commission work, Bill and Jeanne were going through struggles of their own; Bill had open heart surgery (doing fine & recovering nicely) and she was scheduled for rotator cuff surgery in about 2 weeks. So when I let them know the painting was ready, they were thrilled and excited to see it. My husband and I delivered both paintings last Sunday afternoon. They love it....as well as the little dolphin painting...and the timing is perfect - with Bill still recovering and Jeanne scheduled for surgery soon, their trips to Port A have been put off for at least 2 or 3 more months. The painting is hanging in their patio room which is kind of "tropical" and they can enjoy the "view" of the ship channel as if they are looking through the windows in their home in Port A.

I'd also like to mention that this commission is very special....but in a personal way - my husband and I now have 2 new friends; and it all began with sharing a breakfast table with strangers in Port Aransas, Texas.

By the way, have I ever mentioned that I really do love my job?

Friday Night at Uptown Village

Friday Night at Uptown Village

9x12 plein air watercolor

A couple of weeks ago, the Ellis County Art Association was the "featured non-profit" organization at the Uptown Village shopping center in Cedar Hill, Texas.  Every Friday night throughout the summer this upscale shopping center sponsors a music concert - the price of admission is a donation of money or supplies for the featured organization.  We were honored with a special location under a tent with a table for our information pamphlets and brochures.  

When the music concert started, another artist and I set up our easels and began a painting demonstration on the Uptown Village lawn. There we were - among more than a hundred adults and children - painting to the beat of a really good blues & jazz band! The scene was chaotic; children running & playing in a water sprinkler; the music was so loud it was impossible to carry on a conversation; adults singing along and dancing to the music. I've participated in many a plein air event with people looking on, but this was by far the most distracting painting situation I've ever been in.  It was about 7 pm so I only had about 90 minutes before the light disappeared.  I decided to keep the composition as simple as possible; an umbrella table with figures in shadow, a street lamp, a backdrop of buildings and a pedestrian couple in the sunlight.  Once I finished the drawing, the painting came together quite easily although this definitely tested my ability to focus and concentrate!

It was a fun evening which resulted in a very generous monetary donation to our association by Uptown Village.  As a token of appreciation, I gifted this painting to the Uptown Village Center's marketing director. She was surprised and delighted with the painting and promised to give it a place of "honor" in her office.  

I've mentioned this many times before, but it's worth saying again.... I really, really love what I do!

1st Place Award - PAINT CORSICANA

Last weekend was spent doing my favorite activity...painting en plein air! Corsicana is about 40 miles south of Waxahachie so it was an easy day trip to participate in this fun, fun event. What made it even more fun is winning the 1st place award. About 20 really good painters competed in the 2-day event. The 1st day I completed 2 paintings: : Corsicana Skyline and Navarro County Courthouse. It was a long day; didn't get home till about 6pm. The next morning, decided to paint in the downtown area; the light was just right and completed painting #3: Saturday in Downtown Corsicana.

"Corsicana Skyline" 9 x 12 (sold)

"Saturday in Downtown Corsicana" 11x14 (sold)

Honorable Mention Award

"Navarro County Courthouse" 11x14 (Available)

1st Place Award

This is the 2nd year for Corsicana Art League to sponsor a paint out and the event was a great success, with a well attended wine & cheese reception, nice cash awards, and a few sales (I sold 2!). Plans are already underway for next year and expanding the painting period to a week! WooHoo...can't wait! The exhibition will be on display at the Corsicana Visitor's Center until the week of October 19th.

On Location in Fredricksburg, Texas

I love ALL of Texas...but the Fredricksburg area in the Hill Country is one of my favorite places to paint and last week, I spent 3 glorious days there working on location (en plein air).  My cousin Connie Bernhard and her husband Dennis have a 500 acre ranch just west of Harper (22 miles west of Fredricksburg) and they provided "room and board" during my stay. (am I lucky or what?)  Their ranch is beautiful with rolling hills, a creek, sheep, cattle, and 2 llamas; "Tony" llama, and "Dolly" llama. Dennis' old home place is on the creek and I want to do several paintings of that location with the original outbuildings later on this year.  The painting  of the red barn is a "shearing barn" on their ranch.  The next one is a scene on the banks of the Little Devil River, north of their property about 8 miles.

                                                                

                       

The next is of a building on a historic site just east of Fredricksburg.  I liked the wagon under the overhang with distant hills.  The next painting is out on Grapetown Road.  I have no clue exactly where it is; The small rock structure out in the middle of a pasture with distant hills in the background made a nice composition. I'm planning on making another trip in the Fall when there's a lot of color all over the area.  My cousin's home is on a hill overlooking a beautiful valley; I have the perfect spot already picked out! 

"Outta Gas" 16" x 20" Watercolor
I've been painting every day the past couple of weeks, trying to meet several deadlines; 22 illustrations for a children's book and 2 exhibitions. I can't share my book illustrations yet...the author is still working with a publisher. But, I can share one of the paintings I completed last week for a membership exhibition of the Ellis County Art Association in my hometown of Waxahachie, Texas. This painting is of an old abandoned gas station with 50's era trucks parked behind it. The scene is on a corner of a little town in South Central Texas called New Zulch. It has most of the "ingredients" for a Texas landscape...all that's missing is a Longhorn standing in a patch of Bluebonnets! I plan to do several paintings of this location from different angles. The change from Daylight Savings time has resulted in a lot less time for plein air, and more time in the studio. Speaking of studio, I better get back to work.

Another Paint Out!

Today, I traveled south about 45 miles to Corsicana, Texas to participate in a 2-day paint out. After checking in, I drove around the historic downtown area and came upon an old feed store. The sunlight was filtered by a haze so I opted to get my drawing in place and return tomorrow, hoping for better light conditions. Check back in a couple of days; I'll have at least 2 new paintings to share!

Farmer's Market

TEXAS FARMER - 9" x 13"











Today, I spent a delightful morning in our historic downtown. Every Saturday, we have a Farmers Market on our courthouse square and I make it a point to complete at least one en plein aire painting. There are usually about 15 to 20 vendors that set up to sell locally grown produce. This vendor's tent with the red, white & blue caught my fancy. I noticed while I was painting that I wasn't the only one drawn to the colorful tent....he had a lot of "browsers". So, did I, actually; it's fun when people sort of "creep" up to peek at my work! I always stop painting and engage them in a little conversation....