inspired

Western Lights

11x14

oil on canvas

there's a lot of inspiration in the sky lately.  i've been taking pictures of clouds and sunsets and i have lots of photos as food for paintings.  i've been working on some small works and some things that i don't like enough to share.  hey, they can't all be gems!  gotta learn and grow and experiment and fail in order to find the things that work (and those that don't).

there are certain lights that i want to capture that i see in new mexico.  every week on my way out to the softball fields i would pull over and take pictures of the western skies on my phone.  they were the most expressive clouds!  i love when rays of light push through these heavy dark clouds and shine down on the ground like the rays are so determined to do their jobs that they battle their way through.  and ever since i was a kid i always imagined that wherever those rays hit on the ground something amazing was happening, not like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, but someone was being born or given a gift.

i want to do a larger piece like Western Lights.  my smaller works are selling more right now, so i'll continue doing them, but the expressive painter in me really really wants to work large scale!  can you imagine this the size of your wall?!  i'm going to need a bigger studio...

in other news, i'm planning a week long Colorado driving trip to hit all the scenic highways during peak fall times.  i have a big fold out map and highlighters and i'm mapping out my driving strategy.  there's something about road trips that just gets me so excited!  i love road maps and exploring and seeing things i've never seen before.  can't wait to experience the mountains and the fall colors of the trees and you know i'll have a ton of pictures to show you!  tomorrow i head out for a hike at tent rocks and then back to the studio.  better rest up!  namaste!

little big things

Little Big Storm, 6x6, oil on panel

i've got a collection of canvas going on in the studio, way too much white in here! i've got a thing for either mini works or humongous works! this is a little 6x6 that i did that i really want to do in a 48x48. that will probably be my next purchase....that and a bunch of paint! i'm also planning on experimenting with using less white and concentrating on color and mixing new colors. it's going to be a crazy week at work with our biggest show of the year happening, but oddly that frantic activity makes me even more invigorated in the studio!

so i guess it's been awhile since i've updated, sorry about that! can't say that i've been super busy, just maybe a little in a slump. i got to go on vacation for my cousin's wedding...but i was so miserable in the humidity, all i could think about was coming back to high and dry santa fe! it was good to see the family though and go somewhere new. in september i'm planning on taking a trip somewhere...just not sure where yet.

as for an update on my kitty, he's been on two different antibiotics for about 7 weeks now, 1 more to go. nothing more fun than shoving a pill and two squirts of a nasty sticky medicine down his throat twice a day. his progress (or lack thereof) is nothing i can see outwardly. for awhile i felt that he was lethargic, but he seems pretty normal now. i really won't know if the meds helped until a couple weeks after we're done if something happens, or doesn't.

too tired to continue painting tonight, catch you all in the daylight!

who has time to blog?!

PC

Into the Wild

24"x24"

oil on canvas

got my groove back! i was going through a little artist's block moment, but i think i'm through it now. i've got a lot to keep me going including a few sales and a new gallery! i've been having a lot of fun at Beals & Abbate, dropping in to talk to bobby, jacob and the visitors and bringing still-wet paintings in at random times. today i met a great bronze sculptor, Upton Ethelbah, who also shows there. (and he loved my work! woot!) i was excited to hear that the gallery plans on doing a show to raise money for breast cancer research. i'll definitely be doing a piece for that dedicated to my aunt.

as i mentioned earlier, looks like my work is headed to Palm Springs! i'm getting work out to the Heath Gallery for their July 2nd show. wish i could get out there for it, but i've got way too much going on here at home and a wedding in myrtle beach at the end of july. i'm definitely looking forward to a beach trip! the piece pictured above will be headed out to Palm Springs for the show.

in other news, keep my baby boy, PC, in your thoughts. he's been having some medical troubles and i get the test results in this week (he's only 8! should not have these problems!). i'm hoping that it's just an infection or something fixable and not the "C" word. i'll be heartbroken if i lose him. :-(

warrior

i'm a little delirious...this is a big painting and i use a little brush! i've been working on it for 3 days now. the plan is to finish it by monday, cross your fingers. i delivered the art that i had to my new gallery, Beals & Abbate Fine Art (713 Canyon Road). they officially open on monday! i'll probably drop in before work to see my stuff up on the wall. don't worry, i'll take pictures for ya'll non-santa feans.

as for next week, i'm in deep need of an adventure and just a plain old break. so i've decided to head up to moab, utah to camp at arches national park! i can't wait to get hiking and take pictures. i'll be bringing a sketchbook and my pastels and doing a lot of drawing. but for now, i'd better get back to this beast of a painting so i can be outta here first thing tuesday!

new moon, new gallery

i've been working on moon pieces a lot lately. i did a smaller version of this, which sold, and i decided to do a really big one! it's 36x36 and this is as far as i've gotten...my arm is pretty much numb. my brush strokes are so small and active that i get physically tired doing these larger pieces! good exercise, right?!

i've been painting a lot this last couple of weeks because i found myself with an excellent goal to paint towards. there's a new gallery opening on canyon road and the owners have asked me to be in the gallery. holy crap!! i was in disbelief for awhile, thinking something was going to happen to make it not true, but after talking with them a couple of times, i am allowing myself to tell everyone. it's at 713 Canyon Road and it's called Beals and Abbate Fine Art. Their info is out there, but the website isn't up yet. They plan to open their doors on May 16th.

so now i'm represented at Mount Palomar Winery in Temecula, CA, Rogoway's Turquoise Tortoise in Tubac, AZ and now Santa Fe. it's kinda awesome to see all of my work finally amounting to something during this last year. i've had so much great support in my friends, family, workplace, new collector's...and, of course, a good start thanks to my aunt.

now, i'm headed to bed and letting my arm rest so i can get back into this tomorrow! not to mention i'm doing the finishing touches on my aunt's house tomorrow as we should be closing on the house on thursday. i'm happy and sad at the same time...i'll have no excuse to go out to eldorado anymore. this whole chapter of my life with my aunt feels like it's closing and the next chapter is all about me and my career. everything happens for a reason.

goodnight and namaste!

exercise

ahhh, that felt nice! i haven't abstracted in awhile. i broke a sweat on this one, may start another one tonight if my right arm has the strength. i must look like some kind of frantic mad scientist on the verge of some great discovery to anyone peeking in my window while i'm working on these. the landscapes are more intimate and slow, while the abstracts are a blur of action and movement, which i hope comes across when you look at the pieces. can't wait to get this piece and manifesting framed, they're going to look crisp and awesome! is it weird that i'm madly in love with my own drawings?! now all i have to do is find a venue that wants to show a whole series of just these abstract drawings?!

this piece is called Blue Horizons, it's 8" x 11" and is done with hard pastels and graphite on bristol paper. i'll have to mat this as the special removable tape i used for the edges also removes the paper when pealing off. grrr. guess i'll have to look for something else. or perhaps i just leave my edges raw and free as a nice surprise for anyone who reframes?!

back in the metaphorical saddle

sweet accidental camera phone snap as i was getting ready to take the pic below...

just for fun...guess which brush is my favorite?!!

ha. so hi! sorry, it's been awhile i guess. i had not been feeling well since before christmas really. i was very tired and lots of other stuff and then don't even get me started about my allergies to the juniper for the last month! oh my goddess....pollen of death in new mexico! but i went to a couple of doctors and spent a lot of money and i'm feeling soooo much better. so much so that i am happily painting again! sometimes you just get in a rut. between my health and the crazy painting for my show, i burned myself out a bit. it's kinda like writer's block...artist's get painter's block. that big white canvas mocks us and we can't quite figure out how to conquer it.

i'm starting with the smaller canvases, though, and working my way up. plus, big canvases and paint are expensive. *hint hint* anywho, i'm playing around a bit with some paintings based on my grad school abstract work that i really liked, as well as continuing my landscapes and cloudscapes. i think they can talk to each other though. the abstracts have a great layering quality and some really nice color palettes. i don't have any pics at the moment, but i'm sure i'll be sharing.

in other news, i just sent some paintings down to tubac, arizona to a gallery who is maybe possibly interested in showing my work... *crosses fingers and toes* either way, it's going to be a great year for me with lots of new beginnings and setbacks and trying agains. that's the way it goes. always get back up and keep going!

(the answer, by the way, is the third one wrapped in duct tape!)