Painting and photos

 

We enjoyed a 2 week vacation back in NH in April. Took a ride to the beach, but it was Low Tide. Not that interesting. Anyway, I tried painting the rocks.  Low Tide, 8 X 10, oil on canvas board.

I took many photos of trees and ocean. Even though it was cold Atlantic Ocean water (42F), I saw people wading. Brrr....

And some photos from my recent visit to the Birds of Prey exhibit in Boise. The California condors in the cage are juveniles and are being raise for breeding when they reach maturity. The wing span was impressive.

This was the first time I had seen a real harpy eagle. He was quite vocal too.

Craft Fair

 My husband and I are sharing a table at this craft fair. It is a fundraiser for Women's and Children's Alliance in Boise at the Riverside Hotel.  We have not done any fairs for several years. We stopped when Covid started. I'm looking forward to it even though it is a long day for us. I will have cards and a few prints for sale. Joe has 8 or 9 books that he published. Some non-fiction, but most are thrillers (fiction). He will sign the books for buyers too.

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.

Another Summer Month

Doe and fawn at Municipal Park in downtown Boise, Idaho. I went there to paint with the plein air painters group.  I was surprised to see deer in an urban park, but I guess it is near enough to various rivers and the foothills for them to wander around. They were used to the children and did not run away even when kids came fairly close. This park is also a nature center and a good place for kids to learn about nature.

There were fish in the pond, but I didn't come to go fishing. I made such a mess with my last oil plein air painting that I decided to just sketch with watercolors.  I took photos of the last few outings and will go back to them later to make more paintings.  Here are a few:

This is my setup with my new Sienna pochade box.  This is a little better than my last box as it has a side panel to hold brushes and water, but it does not have a carry handle which I find strange. The professional plein air easels and tripods that the other artists use are very expensive and I wasn't sure I would continue with this kind of painting.  I really prefer to paint in my nice air conditioned studio.  I'm still getting used to the hot summers in Idaho.  We have been here 3 years now and I'm starting to enjoy going around looking at stuff.

The art group also did a trip to a lavender farm in the next town. I just did some sketching at that one, but plan on doing some actual paintings from my studies and photos.

Happy New Year

It's winter now, but I was thinking about spring. I remembered all the beautiful olive trees in the Galilee (Israel) on one of our trips there. I designed this from 4 different photos.  There had been a lot of winter rain so water was running between the trees. Oil painting, 11" X 14" on stretched canvas.

I was playing with leftover colors on my palette. This cat study was inspired by a sculpture seen in Joseph, Oregon.  I don't know if I'll finish it or make a larger one. It was just a fun project.

Happy 2019 to all.  I'm enjoying the mild winter in Boise after so many hard winters in New England.  The foothills (small mountains around Boise) are covered with snow, but the city streets are all clear. We've been able to walk around some of the parks and on the greenbelt (along the Boise River) with our dog since there is no snow and ice on those. I'm looking forward to 2019. We hope to take a trip to Alaska in June. I'll have lots of subjects to paint then!

I'm not taking any formal art classes now, but still studying from books and DVDs. There is so much to learn and my poor brain does not remember it all.   I  just decide on a subject, draw out a composition and try painting it, attempting to remember some of the principles learned earlier. Some succeed, others fail. It's o.k.  I look at all the failures as learning experiences.

Mountains and more

Sometimes I come across a verse that resonates with me and I put it on one of my paintings. I liked this one and felt it would go well on an old Chinese style watercolor I did many years ago.

I bought a panorama style canvas at a sidewalk sale this summer from the local art store.  I finally decided what to paint on it.  This is a slightly different view of Lydle Gulch.  I like it better than the first one I did, but I still have difficulty with the color of the sage brush.  The greens here in the west are quite different from the greens in New England.  I was given some suggestions by another painter so I will try those next time. He suggested mixing turquoise, orange and purple.  I will have to experiment more.

My husband and I went to a few artists studios as there was an artists open studios weekend tour last weekend.  I was very impressed with the landscapes of Fred Choate  and might take some classes with him.  I tried copying a video he had online as an example (below), but was not happy with my result.

I find I am not happy working with other people's images and color selections.  I have several of my own photos of the Sawtooth Mountains (in Idaho) and will try to come up with a composition from my own photos.

This is Tangle Falls in Alberta, Canada. I used both brush and palette knife with oil paints. It is drying now. I'm not sure if it's finished or if I need to work on the water a little more. It appears too white in the photo and I may add some more blues and greens to it. 16" X 20".

We enjoyed a bus tour with other senior citizens from Boise to Stanley (population 69) via Lowman and then back to Boise through Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley. It was a long day, but enjoyable since we didn't have to drive.  Stanley is the entry to the Sawtooth Mountains and hiking, fishing, star gazing (no light pollution) etc.  Sun Valley is the home of many wealthy people who like skiing.  The aspens were glowing with fall colors.  I didn't get a good photo of those since I was trying to photograph them through the bus window (last photo below).  We stopped for lunch in Stanley and I was able to walk around and take some photos of  the Sawtooth mountains.

New year 5779

It's a new Jewish year now and I hope to be better about writing monthly.  Somehow the time just gets away from me.  Meanwhile I continue taking lessons and learning to paint.  I'm disappointed in these two paintings, but maybe I'll work on them some more.

I struggled with the colors on this painting and tried glazing (a friend recommended) but gave up. I'm trying a new version with a different size canvas and a slightly different view of the gulch.  Here is the first step (the block in).  This canvas is a panorama style, 10" X 20".

After my frustration with the original Lydle Gulch painting, I decided to play with the image with pen and ink. I like this one better.

I had fun playing with a palette knife on this one, a view of Double Arch at Arches State Park in Moab, Utah.  I've done other paintings from my photos there.  I'm unhappy with my sagebrush type tree on the left and will probably tone it down a little before I call this one done.

One of my Idaho paintings has been selected for exhibit and will be up at the Nampa Civic Center for the next few months.  This is the first time I'm exhibiting in this location. It is through the Treasure Valley Artists Alliance group (which collaborates with the Nampa group).
Here is a link to Market Day.

Meanwhile I am preparing for the holiday bazaar season by reprinting cards and prints I hope to sell locally.  My husband and I are signed up for 3 bazaars (he sells his books and photos while I sell my cards). We're still exploring our new home state of Idaho and plan on going on a tour bus in a couple of weeks.  I'm sure I'll have more photos of the mountains at the end of the month. We did take a walking tour of downtown Boise (architecture and history) and found that very interesting. Lots of art downtown.

May it be a good, sweet and healthy year for all. L'Shanah Tovah.