Category: #MesasandSunsets

Praising Winter Rain

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PRAISING WINTER RAIN

“Praising Winter Rain”  9″ X 12″  acrylic on vellum

Welcome to 2019 and the winter that we have been waiting for. Those of us who live in the Southwest pray for winter rains and those like myself who have the great fortune to live in the mountains of Arizona are thankful for snow falls.

Any moisture is a blessing…

This year is starting off with plenty of it so I created this praise painting to express my gratitude to God.

Praise paintings are early morning studies on vellum paper that I create after my meditation and journaling when I first step into the studio. Simple heartfelt quick studies of what is on my mind.

If you want to see more of my work, please visit here.

Praising Winter Rain, Original Acrylic Painting

9″ X 12″ acrylic painting on vellum paper, matted in white to 12″ X 16″ and ready to frame.

$75.00

Creating Atmosphere

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STORMS A COMING

“Storms A Coming”  9″ X 12″ Acrylic on Vellum

This is one of my early morning studies where I was practicing technique. I wanted the feel of a storm coming yet the sun was still shinning through that sucker hole as my meteorologist husband would say.  So the painting is bright and colorful yet the sky is threatening. It definitely makes the colors pop and the shadows interesting; a favorite of  many of my followers.

It is a practice of mine to work on vellum paper to warm up in the studio before I start my day of painting.  It keeps my skills honed and allows me time for experimentation. This is an example of atmospheric experimentation,  I wanted my sky full of drama yet a landscape full of promise. Spring flowers popping up from winter rains.  Though we are experiencing extreme draught in our part of the world I am ever hopeful that God will nurture our arid lands.

This painting is matted and ready to frame total area 12″ X 16″.  A great value since I sell them far below my canvas work.

“Storms A Coming” Original acrylic painting on vellum.

Painting is 9″ X 12″ matted to 12″ X 16″ Ready for your own unique frame.

$65.00

Creating Early Morning Studies

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SPRINGTIME ON THE MESA

“Spring Time On The Mesa”  9″T X 12″W  Acrylic on Vellum

I started a practice at the first of the year to force me to hone my skills and bring me into the studio and away from the office.  I have found that this art business of mine renders me more time in the office doing marketing than in the actual studio.  I must get an assistant, but I digress.

I call this practice my early morning 10 to 15 minute study. I have a pad of Vellum that I use strictly to create quick studies.  I work the first 10 minutes of the morning laying down on the paper what ever comes to mind. This practice really is a marker as to how I am thinking that day and the mood I am in. I never finish the study in one sitting but instead put it aside and pick it up again the next morning.  The next day my mood may have changed and I may go in another direction with the study. Eventually I finish it and may find I like what I have created so I will mat it and sell it way below what I charge for a normal acrylic painting done on gallery wrap canvas. The customer ends up with a Boutique Art Original at a much lower price. That is how many of my new customers have started their collections of my work.

This practice loosens me up and allows me to experiment with new techniques so I am constantly getting better. It also quickly gets me ready for a day of work in the studio.

So what do you do to start your day?

“Spring Time On The Mesa”

9″ X 12″ original acrylic painting on vellum paper, matted to 12" X 16" and ready to frame.

$75.00

Morning On The Mesa

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Morning On The Mesa

“Morning On The Mesa” 12″ X 13″ Acrylic on Gallery Wrap

Wow, this is my first post of 2018 because of six weeks working on a Wizard of Oz set for our local Youth Theater.  As their set designer I have been busy down in the basement of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Prescott, AZ creating a large, 7′ X 12′ story book that will be the backdrop (Center Stage) for the show.  But more about that on a later post.

So you can image how exciting it was to finally paint for fun today.  So I choose some of my favorite colors, purple and teal, and used their softest hue for each by adding white and formed a pastel palette.  Then I took my favorite subject a desert mesa and added a river (always wanting to quench my thirst) then drew my inspiration from memories.  A soft, dreamy painting of a sunrise, that mirrors my expectations for a new beginning to 2018; a year of possibilities in the studio for teaching, showing and selling art.

I am so glad to be back in the studio creating one panting at a time…

 

 

ASPENS

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ASPENS

Aspens 14″ X 11″  Acrylic on 1 1/2″ gallery wrap canvas

Just down the street is a beautiful clump of Aspens, they are the first in the neighborhood to turn brilliant yellow. They herald in the passage of time and the dance of Autumn. The riotous colors of the pears and ash were cued to bring forth there graduar and I got a quick step to my gait. Yes Fall is my favorite season of the year; no wonder that my first demo of the Artist Studio Tour was this little gem.

This is nowhere in particular but it was nestled in my heart and spewed out on Friday last. Reminicent of Granite Mountain and the meadows of Aspen that grow in Flagstaff.  It appears to be a composite of beautiful memories of Northern Arizona.  God’s tapestry that brings me joy.

Enjoying the beauty of Autumn on painting at a time…

ASPENS 14″T X 11″W, Acrylic on Gallery Wrap Canvas

Beautiful fall scene. Original one of a kind art, sides painted, and ready to hang. UV coating to protect the colors from fading. Shipping Free in the United States

$230.00

FAR AWAY LANDS

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FAR AWAY LANDS

“Far Away Lands”  24″ X 24″ Acrylic on 1 1/2″ gallery wrap canvas

This last weekend was the Prescott Area Artists Studio Tour which I was honored to have participated in. This was my demo for Saturday and Sunday.  It is so full of energy brought in by all the visitors to the studio. The positive vibes along with feelings of love, swelled my heart and I created some place different and new, a far away place sheltered by everyone’s love and good wishes.

I love the chance to meet new friends and fellow travelers of life. It is an opportunity to share my story and to hear theirs. It is amazing how often we have things in common, or from the same area; It seems like a divine introduction, with God saying you will really like this person.  I always do and the circle keeps getting bigger and better.

Thanks to all who shared my studio this weekend, you brought a piece of happiness and blessed this place with abundance.

Meeting new friends one painting at a time…

 

MISTY MORNING

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MISTY MORNING

“Misty Morning” 8″ X 8″ acrylic on gallery wrap canvas

I love fall mornings when the mist begins to rise off the desert and it is indistinguishable between the sky and earth. A coolness settles in, shapes blur and dreams become real. This is how I felt this morning as I was sitting on the deck planning a day in the studio. A cool dampness settled in and I recalled this scene from long ago. So it became probable that I would paint that feeling and make dreams become real.

This is how all my paintings start, a feeling, an emotion, a memory, they come to life in my being and then show up on a canvas. It is how creativity works in me. I praise this experience and how it brings the light into my life.

This must be number 22 in my 30 in 30 challenge, I have lost count, but I have not lost the magic.

Creating magic one painting at a time…

 

 

PASSING THROUGH ON THE WAY…

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PASSING BY ON THE WAY

“Passing Through On The Way”  9″ X 12″ on 150 lb. pressed paper

Half way through my 30 in 30 challenge and the last half will be a bit more tasking since I have the Studio Tour coming up in two weeks. But that is another story and today I am still finding creativity oozing out of me. It has been fun experimenting with different color palettes. Fuchsia was todays color choice. I think I have painted mesas in every color imaginable, so today was no exception.

As for the reason I painted them Fuchsia… What could be more exciting than driving miles  down I-40 through Arizona and New Mexico heading on the way to somewhere.  You got the idea. I have traveled this route many times and the collective memories are etched in my brain. I have been thinking about a road trip after the Studio Tour, which lead me to remember the comforting rhythm of the car wheels traveling down such roads. The topography is mesas, hundreds of mesas. Mostly brown, but when the sun hits them just right, they magically turn beautiful colors. So todays fuchsia becomes mesas and the familiar cadence of a road trip.

Traveling in my mind’s eye… one painting at a time.

ABOVE THE REST

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ABOVE THE VALLEY

“Above the Rest”  9″ X 12″ acrylic on pressed paper

Another painting in my 30 in 30 challenge. Here I was experimenting in looking down on a Mountain from across the valley, standing on the opposite ridge line. The Aspens turning color is the key to making this work.   You see the hight of the mountain in the foreground and the broadness of the valley.

I like the colors I chose. Using colors opposite on the color wheel from each other really makes the mountain stand out. It really does make you feel Above the Rest. This is why I love the West, there is always a mountain in the distance.

After a short blip in my schedule I am back at the 30 paintings in 30 day challenge.  Let the journey continue, one painting at a time.

ABOVE THE REST

An original acrylic painting on 9″ X 12″ vellum paper, matted in white to 12" X 16" and ready to frame.

$75.00

LONE TREE

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LONE TREE

“Lone Tree”  9″ X 12″ acrylic on paper

Day five of my 30 paintings in 30 days brought me to a color palette of Ultramarine Blue, Brilliant Purple, and Sage Green.  I love working in triads and mixing the paints subtly together.  This turned out to be a quick painting, as was yesterdays.  I think I have found my groove. I love doing these experimental paintings it flexes my creativity, spontaneously riveting me into a firm painting.

I seem to always revert back to my purple and blue color palette, just seems right to me.  These colors lead me to a spiritual mindset and I begin to meditate as I paint. I feel blessed that I can find a mindfulness as I work. I love to reflect on the environment that I was planted into, the Southwest; an arid and empty space that gives you room to grow and nourish your thirst and vision.

Creating beauty one painting at a time.  Follow the Journey.

LONE TREE

An original acrylic on 9" X 12" paper, ready to mat and frame.

$45.00