Lake Louise

 

Lake Louise, Oil, 20" X 24". I think this is finished now, but I will wait a few weeks to post it to my website until I am sure and happy with it.  I had a large (for me) canvas that I picked up 2 years ago at a sidewalk sale and kept thinking about what I would paint on it. Finally I took the plunge.  I loved the colors of the lakes in Alberta, Canada, colors from the glacial silt.  We took a trip there several years ago and I enjoy looking at my old photos.

Meanwhile, I submitted three other paintings for a "monochrome" show at the Meridian library and two were selected. They will go up at the end of the month.  One that I posted last time (Monochrome etude #1) although I personally liked #2 better and my older acrylic 8" X 10" painting of Rabbi Y'Shia.

Studies

 

The Treasure Valley Artist Alliance has an exhibit later this month for monochrome paintings so I did two small studies.  This one is a winter creek at a retreat center in Connecticut. I tried using manganese blue for it and wasn't happy with the result. oil painting 8 X 10" on stretched canvas.

I tried Prussian blue for my next study and liked the result better. From a photo of a bird on bushes (probably bamboo) in Ein Hod Israel. oil painting 8 X 10" on stretched canvas.

These are drying now and I don't know if I will submit them or not.  My painting of the Pelicans from Laguna Beach is on exhibit now in Meridian, Idaho.  There is a gallery on the 3rd floor of City Hall there.  Here is a link to the online exhibit.

I also painted (again) the Athabasca River in Alberta from my old photos.

These are all oil paintings today.  This one is 11" X 14" on canvas board.  I was looking down at the river from a high point.  I need to practice more. I didn't quite get that in my painting.

I've enjoyed doing these studies in the past. I even sold one many years ago. Here is a link to that monochome of Edna Creek (Idaho).

Winter again

Before the Rain, 16" X 20" oil on stretched canvas

This is my first painting with really thick oil paint (not water mixable oils).  I had a canvas painting I did not like and decided to recycle. I found that I still had a container of Alexander Magic White and Alexander oil paints from an online class I took several years ago. Bill Alexander was the precursor of Bob Ross painting style, wet into wet.  I did not continue with that painting style, but it kind of worked for this image. I had permission from Sean Bunce Photography of Boise to paint his image of Before the Rain (which I saw on Facebook). I used the photo as an inspirational one and did not make a copy, just played with the really thick paint, abstracting the image a bit.  I don't know how long it will take to dry, but I assume it will be quite a while. I liked the colors, but I couldn't match up as well since I only had a limited set of Alexander oil paint tubes.

Robie Creek, 10" X 20",  water mixable oil on stretched canvas

I worked on this painting for several weeks and I'm not quite happy with it.  I need to take more lessons on painting shadows.  This painting seems too flat to me. Not sure if I can fix it or not. Anyway, this is from my own photo of early spring at Robie Creek (which is off Route 21 on the way to Idaho City in Idaho). We have gone swimming there in the spring time with our dog, but not at this location.  The water was running very fast in the spring so we just took photos.

Yesterday was a holiday in the U.S. (Martin Luther King Day) and I was having a bit of cabin fever. I do get tired of just being in the city even as nice as it is.  We took a drive up to Idaho City and I took some photos. We had a good lunch at Trudy's Kitchen and brought home desserts for later.

I took some photos on the way back from the moving car. I was surprised that they came out and showed the nice scenery in this part of Idaho. Winter is mild in Boise where we live and I don't miss the extreme winters of New Hampshire, but I needed to see a little snow and more trees. Morning in Boise started out foggy, but cleared by noon time. Nice blue skies on the trip.

 

Happy New Year

 

Just a fun painting I did recently. Snowy Owl on black canvas.  8 X 10. oil painting.  I still have 2 more black canvases that I picked up on sale. Have to decide what to put on them.  I found many photos that are copyright free on Pixabay.com.  I picked this one because I liked the expression.  I feel that the owl is talking to me "Hoo R U?"

Happy new year to all. I hope that 2021 is a better year than 2020. I don't know when the vaccine for the Covid virus will be available to us, but we plan on taking it.  We are still hoping to be able to travel again next year.

Last painting of 2020. Not quite finished. I couldn't figure out how to make the black horse look more like a horse. "Cold day at the ranch", 8 X 10, oil painting. Painted from my photo taken at this place. I went there to paint, but it was too cold. I just did a few sketches, then painted from my photos back in my warm studio.

Winter 2020

 

Little Dell Reservoir, Salt Lake City, Utah

While we haven't been traveling due to Covid (and we are older and in high risk group)., we did take a drive to Salt Lake City to visit my daughter last month. The weather was not pleasant enough for hiking, but we did a drive through the canyons and I thought this scene was beautiful. I painted it later in my studio back in Boise. It is 11 X 14 oil paint on canvas board.  I hope we can see the same view in the spring or summer. I would like to paint it again with those colors too. My website now prints puzzles too and I am tempted to buy this one myself. I think it would be challenging.

Last night was the first night of Chanukah. It is a quiet holiday since we can't get together with family, but we enjoyed our rabbi's Zoom presentation last night.  Learned a few new details about the history of the holiday too.  Lots of songs are available on the internet. This was a new one for me. Parody song by the Maccabeats.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkGuaTAD920

As a special treat (besides latkes), I bought a beef tongue (lengua de res) at a Mexican store and cooked it last night with my mother's sweet and sour recipe. It was delicious. My mom has been gone for over 20 years, but that recipe brought back good memories and I'm glad I still have some of hers.

Happy holiday, happy winter. I saw a few snowflakes today, but they don't seem to be sticking. I'm o.k. with that. I had enough snow after all my years living in New England. Happy with milder winter here in Boise. 

Painting in studio and plein air

 

Cloudy Day on Antelope Island, 14" X 11", oil painting on stretched canvas.  I am a bit frustrated with the plein air painting, but plan to continue.  I decided to work on a painting in my studio instead. It was much more satisfying, plus I reviewed my photos from my trip to Antelope Island (Great Salt Lake, Utah) and enjoyed my memories too. (about 8 years ago).

Meanwhile I bought some water based oil pastels to play with. They are like crayons, but turn into paint when you brush some water on them.  I brought them with me to the group painting at Polecat trail in Boise (Idaho) and tried them out.  I wasn't happy with the result, but they were fun to play with.

When I was back in my studio, I painted over the dry painting and liked it much better. I could mix the colors better too. The foothills in Boise are very dull in color at this time of year (mostly yellow ochre), but they are near enough for a quick painting trip.

This is a 8 X 10  painting on Yes brand mixed media canvas.  I also purchased some 6" X 8"gesso'ed board. I bought some small hardboards online and put 2-3 coats of gesso on them (sanding in between).  These are easy to bring out with me for the plein air painting. The gesso dries quickly so it doesn't take too long to prepare the boards. I will take them with me tomorrow for my next plein air outing.

Plein Air Attempts

 

I decided to play with expressionist colors on this attempt at plein air painting.  I actually like my teal tree, but was unhappy with the building behind it.  My group was painting at the Nazareth Retreat Center in Boise. I got permission for the group to go there and about 5 of us showed up, 2 oil painters, 3 watercolor painters. The group posts on FaceBook (Plein Air Painters of Idaho) so I get to see what other painters have created.  We keep socially distanced, wear masks when talking to each other and I feel safe painting outdoors.

I went back to realistic colors this week, but struggled with perspective and the cold morning. I don't paint with gloves so I didn't stay too long. My arthritic hands don't really do well with colder temperatures. Anyway, I enjoyed painting and several walkers stopped by on the Greenbelt path and said nice things.  I may work on this one a bit more in my studio.

After being a bit frustrated with the plein air painting struggle, I painted this 11 X 14 canvas board in my studio.  "Just Paddling"  from one of my photos in Alberta, Canada.  This was hard too, but I enjoyed it more.  I still haven't figured out how to get reflections in the water, but I will keep trying.

My website on Fine Art America is doing well and I sold several prints last month, also some cards. I find people like to buy the ones with words on them.  Everyone needs a little inspiration at times.

Denali - Alaska

 

Denali National Park in spring. 18 X 24" oil on stretched canvas. I'm not sure if this is quite done yet. I did one layer of glazing on the mountains, but I'm thinking that I might need a second one to lighten them up a bit.  They need to recede back a bit further. I'm still learning.

Since we have not been able to travel this year, I painted from a photo of Yellowstone Park. I am missing our travels. The different colors on the hill interested me.  11 X 14 on canvas board.

My Fine Art America website is doing fine with selling prints for me. I had an inquiry from a customer who wanted the Apache Wedding Prayer on a different painting and the Cherokee Wedding Prayer (which I was not familiar with) on another painting.  I created these for him and he bought the prints so next month I will get a little commission.  I am glad people are looking at that website.

Jewish New Year

 

I decided to make another design with my mixed media painting from Lavender Acres in Meridian, Idaho. That was a great farm to visit. 

I also played with more acrylic paint in an expressionist style. I was tired of painting boring and realistic colors. This was fun. It is from Jump Creek Falls Recreation area in Melba, Idaho. 10" X 20".

Rosh Hashanah 2020/5781

 

I was thinking about the Jewish new year which starts in September.  2020 hasn't been a good year for most people so I am hopeful that 5781 (the Jewish year) will be better.  The verse is from the Haftarah reading last shabbat.  This is from a series of haftarot from Isaiah about consolation (after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (remembered on Tisha B'Av this month).  Isaiah is trying to console the people with hope for the future.  I can relate to that.

I will probably design something else for the holiday as I have time to think about it more. The photo was taken in Israel in 2012 when I was on an 8 week trip then. We were touring the Eilat area with a group and this was in a botanical park there. Eilat is at the southern end of Israel, after a long drive through the desert. While it is a big tourist area, I found something spiritual there too.