Day 3 of 2013 - 30 paintings in 30 days

It has been a really tough day at work and the show opens tomorrow; let's hope I get all the photos on the gallery wall nicely in time!

That meant little time for a painting after a quick supper tonight. I even had to skip lunch completely, so  I was certainly hungry and needed to eat before thinking I could pick up a brush! I am still dragging and it shows in my painting. Funny how our emotional state usually shows up on our surface.

                                 
                                                 6 x 10" oil on panel

Day 2.... 30 paintings in 30 days 2013

Well, I am sort of sticking to my idea of western paintings. I always loved the colors of the sky when I captured these photos while exploring the area just northwest of Phoenix. The sun was starting to set and I was trying to navigate my husband to an area where I could get a decent shot that didn't include houses. I allowed my intuition to guide me, and directed him to take a right or left, urging him to just trust me; we ended up in this beautiful clear area and when I saw the statue backlit, I knew someday I would try to capture it in paint.

                                                            9 x 14.5"  oil on panel

I would really appreciate help in a title for this one.........any suggestions????

Have a wonderful evening and may he shine his light upon you......  Ruth Ann

Tom Lucas momento

Met an artist in the Silver Sage Gallery...........owner/artist Tom Lucas. Not only does he paint items that are Native American, he also makes them. I was privleged to talk to him and hear some wonderful stories and watch him work on a delicate pair of baby moccasins as he beaded the tiny seed beads on the tops. Tomorrow I get to go back and hopefully make a selection of one of the items for my own collection.

We also had the privledge of visiting Greg Beecham's ranch and he ran his horses so we could get some action shots of them stirring up the dust in the corral. The neighboring ranch's horses got excited and decided to run, too!  Photos to come.........

Painting frenzy

I guess you could say I am in a painting frenzy. A real challenge I have gotten myself into this time! Getting all new paintings going  for a semi-solo show in October. To top it off, they are much larger than I do on a regular basis and after doing the 30 paintings in 30 days that were mostly 5 x 7", these 18 x 24 up to 29 x 50" seem like monsters!

I need to wait for the show to reveal any of them, so I am sharing a recent western smaller painting.

So far on the easels I have, Cathedral Rock, The West Rim, Chapel of the Holy Cross and Yellowstone Falls.


 The title of the show is "EAST MEETS WEST". I will probably add some animals to a few; like the quail that I saw so many times in Cave Creek, AZ; or the buffalo of Jackson Hole ; the moose in Dubois or the antelope in Pinedale.

I have never had more than 1 painting going at a time, so this is a real change for me. It seems to be working, as I can do a little on one and then move on before I overwork anything. I also have almost always painted 'alla prima' and very tight and detailed. Plein air painting has loosened me up and I approach it very differently now. I have been laying in the foundations with using Liquin as a medium; so far, so good. I also have allowed myself to use any tube colors I choose, experimenting with a few I rarely use.

I am planning on making my own simple framing from 1 x 2" poplar or pine and staining it a rich mahogany, I think. My miter saw doesn't cut very accurate angles so I may need to use an old fashioned wood miter box and hand saw. I will test one this week.

I did manage to make my display stands and get them stained. I will post a photo of them later in the week.

#29 Dressed for the Occasion

So after doing such a quick one yesterday, I was ready to tackle a more complex subject for today's painting. I wanted to paint this ever since I photographed it during my first visit to the great state of Wyoming............God's country! If you have never been, put it on your bucket list and be sure to visit the area around Dubois. Incredible! I will be working on some large paintings from my visit, later this year.

I was fortunate to have been in the company of some mighty fantastic artists while I was there. One was a genuine cowboy and brought his horse and posed all afternoon on the last day of our visit. Thanks, John Phelps!

Dressed for the Occasion

5 x 7"  oil on panel

Until tomorrow.....................Happy Trails!                    Ruth Ann

Painting #27 ..... The Day is Done

It was a tough time choosing what to paint. Having too many ideas can be a bad thing. Everything I chose for my composition was complicated and would make a great large painting; but not one I could do justice on a small one.

I finally chose my favorite hair clips that I caught out of the corner of my eye, sitting  on my taboret. They needed a little something more and I immediately tucked in the sweet, worn moccassins that we got at the auction last week. I adore the painting for today. Made me in such a good mood...love it when a plan comes together!

The Day is Done   4 x 4"   oil on linen   

And so it is....................until tomorrow!   Thanks for looking.     Ruth Ann

Painting #8 ......." Spurred On..."

All gessoed panels are not created equal! Today I wanted a different size than I had on hand in the Ampersand brand, so I used another brand from the local art supply store. I felt it was rather shiny and a little too slick so I used some 220 grit sandpaper on it and sanded in layers; first top to bottom, then cross that grain from side to side; then diagonal, then crossed that grain on another diagonal. Giving it less shine and a little texture, I proceeded to paint.

 "Spurred On"

8 x 8"   oil on panel  $75

To put it mildly, I struggled! Big time! I was too far into the painting to scrap it since I was feeling under the weather due to a reaction to medication, but I was determined to do the painting today.

The plan was to paint this with real drama and darks,  but I rather like it this way, too. I am pretty sure I will try it with the drama using linen on panel.

Painting #6 Jailbird Feather ( in umber)

Okay,,, you are probably wondering where in the heck I got that title.  Funny story! For those of you who know my husband, Claude, you know he is pretty quiet and not much on the "sense of humor".

Recently we were on vacation out west and had stopped on our way back from Tortilla Flats to explore this little ghost town. Upon exploring the old jail cell, there on the floor lay this black bird feather. I collected the feather to put in my newly adorned cowgirl hat. As we headed for Cave Creek I said to my husband, "I wonder what kind of bird this came from", not  expecting an answer from him but I got no response at all...then he turned to me and very seriously replied...."It must be a jail-bird feather!".
I cracked up!!!! One of the best one-liners he has ever come up with. Now, I can never part with that feather.

Jailbird Feather    5 x 7" oil on panel 

Today I also went a step further with my viewfinder.. I decided to cut a piece of cardboard with an opening to match the size I was painting on; 5 x 7".  Then I fastened it to my Stanright easel and moved it around until it had the composition I wanted. This really helped as I could move much further away so I didn't get caught up in details right away.

I also decided to try gridding it off with string to match how I grid my canvas. I love it! I usually do that with photos, so I love being able to solve the issue when painting from life.

Here is a distant view also....

Until tomorrow.......