TAOS STEPS - A Work in Progress

TAOS STEPS  12" x 16" Egg Tempera

I've been working on this painting, off and on, (mostly off) for about 6 years.  The medium is Egg Tempera; a mixture of dry pigment, water, and egg yolk. The technique is tedious, at best, if the artist mixes the formula from "scratch", then paint is applied, in thin transparent glazes, layering one color over another using a cross-hatching stroke. That's the "old method"....today's modern technology has helped the painter by producing the medium, premixed, in a tube so there's no guess work on the formula....but the process still takes a while.  Painting on a specially prepared rigid board (Masonite), each application of paint dries in about a minute and another layer can be applied over it.  A painting session of 4 or 5 hours is about all I can do at a time.  I work on it for a day, maybe two, then set it aside allowing for the paint and colors to "shift" in value as they dry.  Currently, I have approximately 100 hours in this painting.  It's almost done; I have a little more foreground work, and will touch up the sky a little in a few places.....another 15 or 20 hours ought to do it :-)

New Painting - "Down Rush"

Last summer, I purchased several tubes of "open" acrylic paints. The term "open" meaning that they don't "set up" or "skin" over as fast, giving the artist more painting time.  I'm used to quick drying paint....nothing dries any quicker than watercolor :-) . However, my "issue" with acrylic has been the shift in value after it dries; it drops down about 3 shades darker.  Watercolor shifts "up" (lightens) about 3 shades when dry. So, switching between acrylic and watercolor is a real "brain-drain"..taking me waaaaay out of my comfort zone.  So, having said all that, I played around with them for a few days, then set them up on my shelf.......going back to my favorite medium...watercolor.

Looking for something different to do during some rainy days, I decided to give them a try again.  All week, I've been "practicing" with acrylics, making color samples and testing for the shifts in values from light to slightly darker ....and "Down Rush" is today's result. 

"Down Rush" 

Acrylic on Linen 6" x 8"

 I had so much fun that I've started another one...stay tuned!

Another day at Kocian's Corner

Kocian's Red Tractor

A few weeks ago, I spent the day painting at James & Melinda Kocian's country estate. My subject that day was the red tractor parked in front of their implement barn.  The day was pretty windy and I had one hand on my shade umbrella and my body braced against my easel. All in all, the painting was pretty successful, I think.  Another paint out is planned there in May. 

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! 

Blue Ribbon for "Outta Gas"

Great news!!!! My painting, "Outta Gas" won First Place in watermedia category Friday night at the Visual Artists of Cedar Hill, TX annual open exhibition.  What a great way to finish up the week! 

"Outta Gas"

16" x 20" Watercolor

October In The Valley

This has been a good week in the studio.  My favorite month is October and nowhere is it more beautiful than in the Colorado Rockies! Using several of my photographs for reference, this composition came together rather quickly; Aspens from one photo, a valley farm from another, a stream, and  mountains.  The rainstorm in the distance adds mood and atmosphere.  

October In The Valley

20" x 24" Watercolor

The past several days have been rain. rain, & more rain....perfect weather for studio work...(I have a difficult time staying inside when the sun is shining!)  Right now the Bluebonnets are blooming all over North Texas....my paint gear is packed & I'm out the door first thing in the morning! The forecast is blue skies & temperature in the 70's.There's a perfect place waiting for me; a barn up on a hill covered with Bluebonnets! My weekend's going pretty good!

HIDDEN FALLS

HIDDEN FALLS

16 X 20 WATERCOLOR

Whew! 2 long days in the studio, but it was time well spent, I think. This painting is one I've had "in my head" for about 10 years. The waterfall is well hidden in the back country of the San Juan mountain range in southwestern Colorado.  I love that part of Colorado; it's the least traveled and affected by tourism. 

While I'm "on a roll", I think I'll get back to the easel.....in my mind's eye, there's another painting that's been waiting for me; it's time to begin the journey.  I need to get all the studio time I can right now....next week I'll be 4 days in the Georgetown, Texas area with family.  I'm taking my painting gear, hoping to get in a little plein air time.