Courthouse Butte Rock, Sedona, AZ

Nature pulls at your heartstrings when in Sedona, AZ! Your spirit soars as you take in the rhapsody of such beauty. All around, there is another breath-taking sight to behold. Even when the weather turns bad, it is incredible, for the purity of the air provides for dramatic lighting not often seen elsewhere.

For an artist and/or photographer, it is almost overload the first time you visit. I have since been back several times and am just now able to attempt to record that beauty in paint. I was priveledged to return to Sedona with my daughter, Missy, and her family. What a feast for the soul as we watched the sun set from the airport as it cast it's golden fire on Coffepot Rock and Courthouse Butte!

'Courthouse Butte'   (Sedona, AZ)       oil on panel 9 x 12"          $300



This original oil painting can grace your wall if you are the first to press the button!

Keep watching; I will soon post the painting of Cathedral Rock.

Thank you for letting me be a part of your day.... -Ruth Ann

# 23 After the Bloom. ..& giving a lesson

Feeling a little better today, had lots to do and then had the company of my granddaughter, Alyssa. We got into a discussion about art and I invited her to join me in the studio and I gave her a little lesson in color theory and showed her how to mix a variety of browns just using her primaries. Something she had asked an art teacher and didn't get a satisfactory answer. I was happy that I cleared it up for her.

Then I did a quick demo from a photo that I took my first time in AZ. Incredible skies and color saturation out there. The cacti has just finished their blooming, so I missed that, but it was quite an adventure, none the less.

I re purposed a previously painted panel; felt good to cover it up and get another lesson out of it rather than let it be tinder for the fire. Quality time passing on a little art!

 

#23  After the Bloom

oil on panel

 

Thanks for looking..........have a wonderful day!            Ruth Ann

# 5 of 30 in 30 days

I painted this scene in a large format and since it is one of my very favorite places, Sedona, I wanted to paint it again in a smaller size.

I have to admit, I liked it better about 40 brushstrokes ago, but since none of you were here in my studio to grab the brush from me, here it is...

                        Red Rock Crossing in Autumn         9 x 12" oil on panel        $75

                                              Have a fabulous weekend..........Ruth Ann

Red Kiss #1

I have been planning to try these little paintings for quite some time, but somehow they just never materialized. I so wanted to paint on some large paintings yesterday, but my neck and shoulder had other ideas. Now normally, I would just remind them who is boss and do what I want anyhow. They have proved to me enough, that they are really in control. So I decided a compromise and do this little kiss painting.

What fun!                                                     Red Kiss #1

           
                                                            2 5/8  X  2 7/8"     oil on wood

I love painting on this surface! Rather expensive for a full sheet but worth it! MDO sign board.
It has a paper surface that is a golden brown midtone and it takes the oil paint beautifully. I don't have to prep it any way. Just cut it to size, sand the edges and ready to paint! I think I will have fun coming up with something from the home improvement store to act as a frame.

Give a kiss to someone YOU love...........................: )       Ruth Ann

#30 ... A la votre fini

Well, it is day 30...I did it! 30 paintings in 30 days.....Great discipline for me. I will probably repeat this later in the year. I am hoping it kickstarted some good habits of getting to the studio and producing.

I am excited to get started on some of the larger paintings that I have just been agonizing over, not  being able to work on them yet. I have also been trying to analyze what I am trying to convey in my work. I really want to tell a story. Getting to see the Norman Rockwell exhibit at the DAI was quite a treat. The colors in his fleshtones is incredible. The things that are lost to the viewer when they were reproduced on the cover of Satuday Evening Post.

I don't yearn to do what he did nor do I want to paint just as he did but I am certaily inspired by the beautiful nuances of good clean color I found  repeatedly in his work. That is one of my goals...fresher, cleaner colors. Those darn complimentary colors need to leave my brain for awhile!

With today being the last day, I wanted an appropriate title. Salud was a consideration and so was fini but I wanted a little more, so after a little research, here it is....

                                                  A la votre fini            5 x 7 oil on panel


Translated in French, meaning...."to the end or finish".............so I make a toast with my margarita........to the FINISH!

May you all find something in your life, today, to make a toast....................Ruth Ann

Painting #25 ...........Finding our own Direction

Those darn cherries just wouldn't hold still! Either that or my eyes wouldn't focus........could be my glasses keep slipping....

Not quite finished with this one. I worked on linen today and used very little medium yet it was very slick and hard to get my paint to stay. I will have to add some dark to the background and soften some edges on the cherries. My first attempt to include a doily that had cross stitch on it. Not so simple to try to just suggest it.

Well, just like the cherries, I am still trying to find my own direction!

Finding our own Direction      oil on linen    3.5 x 5"    

Thanks for looking!      Ruth Ann

Painting #24...The One That Got Away

Well, I have a finished painting but it needs some 'tweaking' to say the least. Try as I might, I squinted, I glanced quickly, I turned it upside down ( but then I realized I would have to stand on my head, since I couldn't 'flip' my still life)....

The photo isn't quite accurate. The orange shows up too sharp and intense and there is a glare in a few places. I will take a new photo when it dries down more.

I believe it will work better if I use almost no medium when I have a high key background. Or I need to work in layers with more time to dry, not a one sitting painting. So that is good, I seem to be learning a thing or two...

The One That Got Away   5 x 7" oil on panel  

Thanks for looking.............Ruth Ann

Painting # 19 Lean on Me

What a perfect day to be safe and warm in the studio. Outside it was snowing and blowing, making the roads unfit for travel. So glad my husband had the day off so I wouldn't spend all day worrying about him on the road.

Those pears were getting pretty ripe and the smell made me want to sink my teeth in for a bite, so I had to get them painted. There are two left now.

I had difficulty with the highlight on the red one. The light sounrce I used was a warm incandescent bulb. Therefore the highlight should be warm, right? But it looked so cool and blue. So I know I will have to work on that some but I had to stop, as I was just messing up the good parts, so before I completely destroyed it, I decided to let it rest.

Lean on Me           5 x 7" oil on panel    

Think I'll go "Lean " on my husband and watch a good movie. This struggle wore me out.

Painting #9 "No matter how you slice it...

Some days you have so much pending, you almost forget what you were planning to do when you went to the studio. That was my day. Before I knew it, a couple of hours had gone by and I was running short on studio time to get my daily painting done.

I decided to grab a quick bite for lunch, first. The leftover cherry turnover made perfect desert. But wait, it was too hot to eat and the cherries oozing out the seam just screamed "paint me!". I was already to start when I just needed to change the angle.........too late! Gotta eat it. Yummy! Okay, on to plan B...

I had some leftover fruit that needed to be used or thrown out, so I sliced the orange and then the apple ........but that was a little boring, so I had decided to slice the apple sideways.....wa-la a set up!

The title seemed obvious...........

" No matter how you slice it, it is still apples to oranges..." 

5 x 7" oil on panel