latest Stuff / My ART Journal

  This page will be kept up as my bi-weekly journal describing work currently underway, my thoughts and my art adventures.  New info will be added at the top.

November 10 - I have been working on a 12" x 16"commissioned oil painting for a couple in Lincoln, Nebraska.  The scene is nearby my studio - a scene of the irrigation canal with the native Cottonwood trees changing color .  Here is a small progress photo.  My complimentary color underpainting method is really making my work worthwhile and satisfying as it gives me a bit of confidence that everything will work out.

In other events, I went out yesterday and worked 2.5 hours on a 12" x 18" plein air pastel of a scene near Algodones.  We've been fortunate to have a long stretch of perfect Indian Summer weather of late and the autumn foliage has held well on the trees with the absence of any wind.

Finally, I am gearing up trying to complete some more work before the Fourth Avenue Merchants Assoc. Winter Art Fair in Tucson Dec. 10 -12.  

October 21  - I have completed improving my studio by building six storage cabinets for framed paintings , re-painting the room and installing storage shelves and a flat file.  All I can say is WOW what an improvement.  I sold two linoleum prints at the Fine Art Show in Corrales held at the San Ysidro Church.  Johnson's of Madrid will be showing more of my prints during November and December as well.

October 3 -   I am back from a great week in southern Utah.  I did 5 paintings over 4 days and entered 1 oil and 1 pastel in the Juried Plein Air Competition.  My pastel "Escalante Sandstone Patterns" won 3rd Place Award and was sold during the Silent Auction for $ 335.  It was a 9" x 12" pastel done on Wallis paper and was a blast to do as I hurried to capture the retreating shadows.  Here is a thumbnail.  Click to view the larger image.  See also my Recent Events Page which I've updated to include the five new works I did this week.  The oil painting I entered in the competition did not win an award but represents my most bold oil to date with lots of color and the use of complimentary color underpainting, which interestingly I did on all 5 paintings this week.  It represents a new approach which gives me more confidence.  

  "Escalante Sandstone Patterns" pastel           "Escalante Canyons Shadows" oil  

Here are the other three paintings

"Looking Into the Circle Cliffs From Boulder Mountain" pastel

 "Under the Circle Cliffs" pastel (This also SOLD)

                                "Boulder Canyon Shadows" oil

September 17 - The Bernalillo County Water authority calendar for 2010 will use these THREE images:

One of my pastels was accepted into the Pastel Society of New Mexico 18th Annual National Pastel Painting Exhibition during November 2009 in Albuquerque. It is titled "Sunset at the Watchman in Zion National Park" and is shown as a thumbnail below left.   In addition, there will by a concurrent show of Small Works by PSNM Members and one of my small pastels "Rio Grande Gorge Shadows (6" x 8") was accepted and a thumbnail is shown to the right below.  The Opening reception is Friday, November 6 fro 5pm - 8 pm at the Hispanic Arts Center at EXPO NM. 

Finally, I am off to Escalante at the end of this week for the week-long Escalante Canyons Art Festival

  Wish me good weather and inspired painting!  I'll report back on September 29th.  Bien Viaje!

August 24 -Here is another 9" x 12" pastel from a scene in southern Utah near Boulder

August 20 - I've been asked to provide an image for the Water Utility Authority 2010 Calendar.  It should be an image of water I reckon!   More details to come.

My apologies - I haven't signed on lately as I have been busy getting the final publicity and arrangements ready for the Rio Grande Art Association ENCANTADA!  Juried Oil & Acrylic Painting Exhibition set to open September 4th in Albuquerque.  I entered 3 oils and one was accepted. 

July 27 - I was invited to provide the image for New Mexico Tech Office of Advancement 2009 Holiday greeting card

Here is the probable image that will be used:

On other news, here are a few new small ( 6" x 9" ) pastels I have done:

July 17, 2009 - This is more like a bi-weekly journal rather than a weekly.  I have been busy doing small oils and pastels and also another experimental bas relief in my abstraction collaboration.

Here is the 12" x 24" textural surface bas relief or whatever you want to call it.  It was based on photos I took while in Zion NP where I saw striking textural differences between grasses and lichen-covered volcanic rocks.  There are grasses embedded into Plaster of Paris and color applied using either printing ink, oil paint and pastel painted with turpenoid

Here is an 11" x 14" oil painting done from photos of a hog backed ridge in the Galisteo basin south of Santa Fe

June 23, 2009 - The live painting at the Chatter Ensemble concert went really well - including picture perfect weather and energetic musical performances by a host of musicians and performers.   Here is a photo that my wife Debby took during the concert and my painting of a scene looking east from the Open Space Visitors center along the Rio Grande bosque:

I worked for about three hours on an 18" x 24" oil painting shown in progress here then the final painting, which, by the way sold at auction for $ 600.  Forty percent of the sale went to benefit the Chatter Ensemble.

Here is the final painting........click on the thumbnail to view a bigger image

         May 18, 2009 - Next event is the RGAA ART SHOW AND PAINTOUT at Coronado State Monument in Bernalillo. 

Here is the painting I did at the event.

May 5, 2009 -The Opening Reception of Destination: Abstraction was well attended at ArtHaus 66 Gallery.  Here is a photo from the May 1st reception:

Lots of interesting discussions

Also - New pastels in the studio - Santa Rita Mountain Nocturne 6" x 8"

White Mesa Patterns - 6" x 8" pastel

April 30, 2009

Opening May 1st - Destination Abstraction Show at ArtHaus66 Gallery! 

On Friday, May 1st, please make plans to come to the Opening Reception for the Destination Abstraction show at the ArtHaus 66 gallery.  This show will highlight the last two years of collaboration I have had with 6 other Albuquerque area artists as we took on Abstract Art.  The group includes Fred Yost, Betsy Greenlee, Jaci Fisher, Leila Hall, Elaine Scott, Rod Groves and Jeff Potter. 

April 16, 2009.    I  have just returned from a 5 day trip to St. George, Utah (in the SW corner of the state) to exhibit my pastels and oils at the annual Arts Festival there. It was my first trip to that region of the Beehive State and I came away impressed with the diversity of scenery and pride of the locals for their growing city, which is about 90,000 in population. I enjoyed the Festival - a nice location in a park in the historic district but sales were slow and it rained one of the days of the show. On the way home I spent a day in Zion National Park taking photos for future art and I also spent 3 hours on a pastel painting en plein air of towering vistas on the west façade  This is a photo of the pastel after 1 hour where I had done a Turpenoid wash.

1 hour pastel + Turpenoid scrubbing wash  

After another 2 hours this is where I stopped for now.

 (update June 11, 2009) Here is the finished work - I really tied to ramp up the color and exaggerate the blue in the shadows.

March 30, 2009 -  I am now working on more pastels from red rock country in preparation for another show in St. George Utah on April 8th & 9th.

BIG NEWS this week is the Opening Reception for the MasterWorks of New Mexico Show.  For details, CLICK HERE  Hope to see you at the reception!   I have one large oil painting    

  and four miniature paintings in the show (3 pastel and one linoleum block print.  Here  are pictures of the miniature pastels I submitted:

Rio Puerco Valley Buttes  Natural Bridges Nat'l Monument     Cabezon View

March 26, 2009 -  On my drive home home to New Mexico I stopped near Portal AZ to do a small plein air oil painting of the Chiricahua Mountains. 

Here is a photo of the view and the 11" x 14" oil after working for 3 hours.    

March 25, 2009  - I am back from Tucson and I enjoyed the 4th Avenue Spring Festival.  Despite some hassle due to my booth violating the fire lane, I managed to comply with the help of Kurt at the Festival.  A gallery opening soon in East Tucson expressed interest in representing me so details to follow soon.  I probably will apply for the Winter Festival too.  Here are a few photos from my trip.

Pictured at left is the 4th Avenue Trolley. It runs from the University of Arizona campus into the 4th Avenue business district, just NE of downtown Tucson. 

March 18, 2009

First, I stopped working on the Organ Mountain Panorama oil.; maybe will go back to it later in the Spring   

2-23-09 Good news and bad news.  I had one of two oil paintings  accepted into 2009  MasterWorks, but two pastels rejected.

February 22, 2009

Bisbee, AZ afternoon"    12" x 16" oil on canvas.- This painting was done  partially  at  Rio Rancho Art Association on 2-2-09  

Idea Board 

I am getting ready for two arts fairs this coming spring -

 in Tucson AZ ( March 20 - 22)

 and St. George UT (April 9 -10).          

    Experimental Art Group Link   >

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