Cowboy Coffee

Cowboy Coffee
10" x 8"  Oil
Temporarily on hold...However, please contact me if interested

I have not been up to posting or painting this week.  What with the devastating fires here in Colorado Springs, my mind has been elsewhere.  I find the constant smoke bothersome, my eyes hurt, we're told to keep our doors and windows shut, the record breaking heat has been hard.  However, I am so grateful that we are safe and that no lives have been lost in the fire.  My heart goes out to all those who have lost their homes.  It's been a sad, tragic, awful 6 days.  The fire is not expected to be fully contained until mid-July.

This is another painting I did while at the Medano-Zapata Ranch.  The pot was sitting on the hearth in the dining room, so I set it up outside in the sun.  I wondered how many cups of coffee have been poured for all the generations of ranchers and cowboys.  Who knows, between this and the European Coffee Maker I posted last month from Venice I might search for other coffee pots and start a coffee series.

Great Sand Dunes Logs

Sand Dunes Logs

8" x 6"  Oil

$75.00 + $10. s/h

This is another plein air piece painted at the Great Sand Dunes National Park.  I love how the logs, sand, shadows and light create an abstract feel.

I guess that kids of all ages enjoy "the beach" no matter where it is!

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Great Sand Dunes National Park
10" x 8"  Oil
Temporarily On Hold...Although, Please let me know if you are interested

While at the Medano Zapata Ranch we headed over to the Great Sand Dunes National Park for some early morning painting.  The Great Sand Dunes are nestled against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and are a natural system that includes high mountain peaks, sparkling streams (although pretty low right now), powerful winds and of course sand.  This wild landscape is unexpectedly awe-inspiring.

I set up right in the stream bed.  

These huge dunes are the tallest in North America.  They comprise about 11 percent of 

an enormous sand deposit that covers more than 330 square miles.  

We were set-up and painting by 7:00 and were soon followed by climbers seeking the top 

and looking forward to the thrill of sliding down.  Many use a plastic snow sled or 

big piece of cardboard.

Old Homestead Barn

Old Homestead Barn

6" x 8"  Oil

$100.00 + $10. s/h

The Medano Zapata Ranch has several old living areas (for want of a better description) spread across the 103,000 acres.  We were given access to the entire ranch for painting and photo access.  One of the areas was a former ranch (the Medano and Zapata were two ranches at one time).  This old barn sits out behind the now abandoned, deteriorating Medano Ranch.   It must have once been a very bustling ranch as there were many out buildings, bunk houses, corrals, barns, large house, sheds.  I thought it would be so great refurbished and rented to vacationers.  But, as it's a National Historic Site the expense of repairing that to it's former glory would probably be quite large.   So, I sat there imagining all that must have gone on over the decades in that corner of Colorado.

When I was out there painting in the sun and heat in the shade of my car and umbrella this barn looked bright red, I could see what it must have been like years ago.  Sitting here in my studio posting the painting, it looks a bit bright.  Maybe I should go back and age it a bit.

Afternoon on the Ranch

Afternoon on the Ranch

6" x 8"  Oil

$100.00 + $10. s/h

SOLD

I recently attended a four day Artists Gathering Invitational at the Medano Zapata Ranch in southern Colorado.  The ranch is owned by the Nature Conservancy and managed by the Phillips family who also manage a ranch near Colorado Springs.  It's a 103,000 acre bison and guest ranch bordering Great Sand Dunes National Park.  The area is ecologically diverse with high desert grasslands, forest, wetlands, sand dunes, creeks and lush meadows and scrub.  Each year a group of Colorado artists are invited to photograph and paint on the ranch.  This exposure allows us a way to teach about the Nature Conservancy ranch.  There will be three shows this fall and winter featuring work done as a result of the experience.  I was thrilled to be invited and to learn about ranch life first hand.  I painted this piece right outside of our guest house.

I think I shot this one in the middle of the day, the light is pretty flat.  But you get the idea of the vastness of the ranch.  Part of the Sand Dunes National Park can be seen in the background.

Many ranches in Colorado have large cottonwood trees around the houses and old homesteads.  These

 trees love water and grow well near streams.  They're a necessity as it is hot and dry here!

Home, home on the range.  You can see a few of the bison herd on the range.  The

 ranch manages a herd of 2,500 bison.

This is Gordon, an orphaned bison baby.  He was found in a ditch and is temporarily 

being kept in the stables where he's hand fed.  When he can take care of himself he'll

 be kept in a pasture with other orphaned bison and be enjoyed by ranch guests.  

Ie:  they'll be able to see bison up close.

Kissing Camels

Kissing Camels
8" x 10"  Oil
SOLD -- Commission

This recent commission was painted for a woman who found me by googleing the "Garden of the Gods."  I hike there regularly and have done many paintings of the park.  She went to my website, looked at my local paintings, and contacted me.  After many emails back and forth, she decided to have me paint this scene instead of buying one that I had previously painted.  For those of you not from Colorado Springs, and not familiar with The Garden of The Gods, near the upper left top of the cliff you can see the camels kissing...thus the name!

This morning I went to her home, as she just bought another painting!  Never underestimate the power of the internet.  And, bloggers, make sure you have great labels on each post that can be picked up by Google.

Roses Galore

Roses Galore

6" x 8"  Oil on canvas on board

$100.00 + $10. s/h

We couldn't get over all of the roses all over Italy.  They were everywhere!!  I've never seen anything like it before.  

This is the one of the buildings in the villa(s) in Tuscany;  our apartment, 4 bedrooms is shown.  Villa Fabronni/Villa Panzalla in San Polo in Chianti.  These were about 45 minutes from Florence.

The pool is surrounded by olive trees, roses, and vineyards

The stairway to the pool

One of the windows in our apartment.

The road to the villa

Vineyards and Poppies

Vineyards and Poppies
6" x 6"  Oil
$100.00 + $10. s/h

This is from the last place we stayed in Tuscany.  We moved around to several locations and towns in our three weeks there.  We felt it allowed us to see more and drive less.  Anyway, this old villa (like many in Tuscany) has been turned into apartments (13 in two locations).  There were swimming pools, restaurant, fresh bread delivery in the morning, weddings.  It was a wonderful location in the Chianti region.

I found a little shade under an olive tree.

There were poppies everywhere in Tuscany.  May is a beautiful month in Italy.

This vineyard let the poppies grown right into the vines.  I thought this was so beautiful.  My husband said that you could see how they chose the colors for their flag.

European Coffee Maker

European Coffee Maker
8" x 6"  Oil
$100.00 + $10. s/h

SOLD

My husband and I just got back from an incredible, once in a life time trip!  Those of you who follow my blog know that we love to travel.  So, to celebrate our birthdays and 30th anniversary, we decided to take a trip.  Peter wanted to go on a transatlantic crossing and I wanted to go to Italy for 3 weeks.  Since relationships need a lot of compromising, we did both!  I posted off and on during the trip as we had internet access and time, and will try to catch up with more paintings and trip photos.

This was one of five coffee makers in the apartment we rented in Lido in Venice.  (We found the apartment on VRBO, vacation rental by owner).  I loved the colors and reflections of all the coffee makers.  And, got to love European coffee!

We rented the upstairs apartment.  Lido is a beautiful island in Venice.  We liked having a bit of peace and quiet after the crowds across the water.

Loved all of the beautiful reflections in the Venetian canals.

Everything in Venice has to be delivered and picked up by boat.