House On The Corner

House On the Corner
plein air oil  8" x 10"
$195.00 + $10. s/h
Holiday Sale  $156.00
SOLD

In mid October I participated in the "Florence Paint The Town Plein Air Event" in Florence, CO.  Florence is a small, rural town about 50 minutes south of Colorado Springs.  It's a fun event as there are so many great things to paint every where you look:  landscapes, the Arkansas River, ranches, old buildings, and so much more!

The last morning of the event is a Quick Draw, where you have 2 hours to paint anything that is in, or that you can see from, a small neighborhood park.  An old car or truck is brought in for the artists to paint, artifacts are set up on a picnic table, and sometimes a model is provided (usually in old western garb.)  After walking around the park searching for my subject, I saw a charming yellow house on the corner.  The light was creating a strong pattern on the side and I immediately knew that this was to be my painting.  I quickly drew a pencil sketch of where the light and shadows were as I knew it wouldn't last for more than a short time.  With in 30 minutes the entire wall of the house, except for one little corner, was in shadow.  I painted the light area as quickly as I could and used that corner as my color spot for the light.

It's so important to not chase the light when plein air painting.  Use your sketch as your reminder of the darks and lights.

The holidays are almost upon us.  For November and December I'm having a holiday studio sale.  All of my paintings are 25% off with free shipping.  Many of my paintings can be seen on my Daily Paintworks site, or scroll back through my blog.  Email me about any paintings that you would like and I'll send you a Paypal button with the reduced price!  Thank you!

Windmill On The Plains

Windmill On The Plains
12" x 9"  oil on stretched canvas
click here for Paypal
$295.00 + $10. s/h
Holiday Sale  $221.25

I have a big series of photos of windmills.  I didn't realize it until I was edited my photos.  I guess I'm drawn to their history, the past life on the plains.  You often see a windmill out on the plains just sitting in the middle of nowhere.  But, you know that it was once sitting in the middle of something.  I like the peaks of clouds behind the blades.

The holidays are almost upon us.  For November and December I'm having a holiday studio sale.  All of my paintings are 25% off with free shipping.  Many of my paintings can be seen on my Daily Paintworks site, or scroll back through my blog.  Email me about any paintings that you would like and I'll send you a Paypal button with the reduced price!  Thank you!

In The Canyon

In the Canyon
plein air oil  9" x 12"
$495.00 + $10. s/h
SOLD

Fall is a beautiful time in Colorado, really almost everywhere I think.  The weather is great, the colors are amazing, the days are warm. It's my favorite time to paint.  This was painted in 11 Mile Canyon, about 1 1/2 hours west of Colorado Springs.  The sun could only reach part of the scene which created a strong dark, contrasting background.  Sometimes Mother Nature knows how to work her magic!

The holidays are almost upon us.  For November and December I'm having a holiday studio sale.  All of my paintings are 25% off with free shipping.  Many of my paintings can be seen on my Daily Paintworks site, or scroll back through my blog.  Email me about any paintings that you would like and I'll send you a Paypal button with the reduced price!  Thank you!

Early Fall Aspen

Early Fall Aspen
plein air oil  11" x 14"
click here for Paypal
$395.00 + $10. s/h
Holiday Sale  $296.25

This was painted in September just when the aspen leaves were starting to change.  I love painting the fall colors.  The early change is especially fun to paint as there are still green leaves amongst the many yellows.

The holidays are almost upon us.  For November and December I'm having a holiday studio sale.  All of my paintings are 25% off with free shipping.  Many of my paintings can be seen on my Daily Paintworks site, or scroll back through my blog.  Email me about any paintings that you would like and I'll send you a Paypal button with the reduced price!  Thank you!

Rhododendrons

Rhododendrons
plein air oil  10" x 8"
click here for Paypal
$195.00 + $10. s/h
Holiday Sale  $156.00

A plein air painting from this summer.  I was in a garden here in Colorado Springs, which had amazing rhododendrons in the back yard.  I so rarely see them and just couldn't resist painting them.  It was a fun and challenging painting which required simplifying the shapes and mixing so many whites.

The holidays are almost upon us.  For November and December I'm having a holiday studio sale.  All of my paintings are 25% off with free shipping.  Many of my paintings can be seen on my Daily Paintworks site, or scroll back through my blog.  Email me about any paintings that you would like and I'll send you a Paypal button with the reduced price!  Thank you!

Watering Can

Watering Can
plein air oil  8" x 8"
click here for Paypal
$195.00 + $10. s/h
Holiday Sale - $156.00

This is another plein air piece from late summer.  I guess I've been slow to post.  My plein air group was invited to a home of "gardeners".  Their yard and gardens were spectacular!

The holidays are almost upon us.  For November and December I'm having a holiday studio sale.  All of my paintings are 25% off with free shipping.  Many of my paintings can be seen on my Daily Paintworks site, or scroll back through my blog.  Email me about any paintings that you would like and I'll send you a Paypal button with the reduced price!  Thank you!

Flame Red

Flame Red
plein air oil  8" x 8"
click here for Paypal
$195.00 + $10. s/h
Holiday sale price - $156.00

This plein air painting was done late in August in a garden not too far from my house....I seem to have several summer paintings still to post!  The geraniums on our deck had large blossoms.  This variety had numerous, small blossoms.  I loved the shadow it created.

The holidays are almost upon us.  For November and December I'm having a holiday studio sale.  All of my paintings are 25% off with free shipping.  Many of my paintings can be seen on my Daily Paintworks site, or scroll back through my blog.  Email me about any paintings that you would like and I'll send you a Paypal button with the reduced price!  Thank you!

Winding Its Way

Winding Its Way

plein air oil  9" x 12"

click here for Paypal

$295.00 + $10. s/h - normal price

$221.25 - holiday sale

This is another plein air piece from our summer trip to Salida.  This one's also along the Arkansas River, but not in a shady spot.  The umbrella certainly keeps my canvas and palette in the shade, but I was hot!  

The holidays are almost upon us.  For November and December I'm having a holiday studio sale.  All of my paintings are 25% off with free shipping.  Many of my paintings can be seen on my Daily Paintworks site, or scroll back through my blog.  Email me about any paintings that you would like and I'll send you a Paypal button with the reduced price!  Thank you!

River's Everlasting Flow

River's Everlasting Flow
plein air oil  9" x 12"
click here for Paypal
$295.00 + $10. s/h - normal price
$221.25 - holiday sale

This plein air painting was done this past summer in Salida, CO.  Salida (population more or less  5500) is about 3 hours from Colorado Springs.  The Arkansas River runs right through downtown Salida adding a wonderful feel to the town.  There are regularly kayakers, fisherman, rafters, etc using the Arkansas.  We did a float trip one afternoon.  There are lots of galleries and studios in the downtown as well.  I love visiting Salida.  It sits in a beautiful agricultural valley.

It's wonderful when I can set up and paint in a shady area!  And I really like listening

 to the waters' music while I paint!

The holidays are almost upon us.  For November and December I'm having a holiday studio sale.  All of my paintings are 25% off with free shipping.  Many of my paintings can be seen on my Daily Paintworks site, or scroll back through my blog.  Email me about any paintings that you would like and I'll send you a Paypal button with the reduced price!  Thank you!

Old Wringer

Old Wringer
plein air oil  10" x 8"
SOLD

This old washing machine (and quite a few others) was sitting in a former garden supply store.  I loved the color!  Right away I knew I wanted to paint it.  I photoed the others in case I don't get back there soon to paint, although I imagine they'll be there next spring.

I'm sure that this washer was thought of as very modern and made washing and rinsing much easier!  After items were washed and rinsed, water had to be removed by twisting.  To help reduce this labor, the wringer/mangle machine was developed.  The mangle used two rollers under spring tension to squeeze water out of clothing and household linens.  Each laundry item would be fed though the wringer separately.  The first wringers were hand-cranked, but were eventually included as a powered attachment above the washer tub.  The wringer would be swung over the wash tub so that the extracted wash water would fall back into the tub to be reused for the next load.  I remember as a little girl, my mom had the washing machine set up so that the rinse water would go into a big sink and that water would be reused for the next load.

The holidays are almost upon us.  For November and December I'm having a holiday studio sale.  All of my paintings are 25% off with free shipping.  Many of my paintings can be seen on my Daily Paintworks site, or scroll back through my blog.  Email me about any paintings that you would like and I'll send you a Paypal button with the reduced price!  Thank you!

Harvest Baskets

Harvest Baskets
plein air oil  11" x 14"
SOLD
$495.00 + $10. s/h

This painting is "sort of" plein air.  I had planned on painting in a nearby orchard.  The day turned out to be very, very windy.  The orchard has a large store with seasonal produce, jams, etc for sale.  The front of the store is several large garage doors.  So, I stood inside out of the wind to paint this.  Is that plein air?  Or is it just all prima, since I was not quite out doors?

Along The Path

Along The Path
plein air oil  12" x 9"
click here for Paypal
$295.00 + $10. s/h

This was painted in Goose Gossage Park here in Colorado Springs.  The park is a long, narrow park which runs between the Interstate and Monument Creek.  It has a wonderful path along the eastern side which over looks the Creek and is used by both bikers and hikers.  There are several spots right by the path and near the parking lots which make perfect over looks and are great places to paint.

The park is named after Colorado Springs' favorite "local boy done good" Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Goose Gossage.  It is a children's sports complex with softball, soccer, & baseball fields & a huge skateboard area all under lights.  After his 22 year baseball career Goose Gossage returned to the Springs where he raised his family.

Roadside Cliffs

Roadside Cliffs
plein air oil  9" x 12"
click here for Paypal
$295.00 + $10. s/h

I loved the way these cliffs became golden in the sunlight.  I had passed them on an overcast day and hardly paid any attention to them.  But on a warm, sunny day the whole scene became a painting waiting to happen!

Old School House

Old School House
Oil  18" x 24"
click here for Paypal
$795.00 + $20. s/h

This is the 8th (of 9, although there will be 2 more later) of my recent Grasslands series.  This old school house appeared to be sitting in the middle of nowhere.  I should re-do that sentence:  This old school house was sitting in the middle of nowhere.  Actually, it is the community center for the town of Stoneham, which I mentioned in the last post about the book & the restaurant.  Anyway, Stoneham is out in the middle of nowhere.  There are about 4 buildings left from the "old days" as well as a very large, still in use granary.  I'm not sure who uses this community center, but it's there!

Every where that we stopped on this trip my husband would warn me to look out for snakes.  I don't know if you've ever seen a woman tip-toeing around photoing in the grasslands, but if you have, it was me!  The woman from the restaurant (again, last post) warned us to be on the look out for rattle snakes.  My husband was right!  She said that she had recently run over one in her plow when she was out moving the fields.

A repeat from the past posts about this series:

A short while ago I received a phone call from a student at UNC, Greeley, Mina Jackson.  She is a freshman journalism major and wanted to interview about my paintings in the Grasslands Show.  Here is a link to the article she wrote:  Grasslands Article  I was so impressed with her preparation, she had 15 questions all ready to ask.  I think the article is well written for a first year student.  Thank you Mina!

I recently participated in the "Grasslands Inspiration IV Show" in the Mari Michener Gallery at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, my alma mater.  The paintings for the show were to be of the 7 "grassland counties" in northeastern Colorado.  It had been years since I'd been to that part of Colorado.  So, my husband, always supportive of any thing art related that I want to do, and I spent two days driving around the back roads in that area taking 100s of photos and getting inspired by the grasslands.  Both of us had a great time and couldn't get over all of the different "grasses" and their many, varied colors!

Upon returning home I spent hours editing the photos, then sketching my favorite locations.  I did several dozen sketches before starting the paintings.  Originally I had planned on doing very large paintings, but due to time, most of the paintings were 12" x 12".  I ended up loving that size and painting 9 12 x12s as well as 2 larger paintings of the grasslands!  I was motivated by a new inspiration!

For the next 2 weeks I'll be posting grassland paintings.  Enjoy!

Tawny Cover

Tawny Cover
Oil  12" x 12"
click here for Paypal
$395.00 + $10. s/h

This is the 7th painting in my Grasslands series.  While traveling through the Grasslands this past summer we found a restaurant tucked away in a very small town, Stoneham.  A book on the Grasslands was sitting near the entrance and the owner lent in to me.  I loved all of the adjectives and descriptors in the book and used many of them for the painting titles in this series.

I know we don't all read every blog that we see, so I'm repeating the interview & background about this series from the blogs that I posted the last few days: 

A short while ago I received a phone call from a student at UNC, Greeley, Mina Jackson.  She is a freshman journalism major and wanted to interview about my paintings in the Grasslands Show.  Here is a link to the article she wrote:  Grasslands Article  I was so impressed with her preparation, she had 15 questions all ready to ask.  I think the article is well written for a first year student.  Thank you Mina!

A repeat from the first post of this series:

I recently participated in the "Grasslands Inspiration IV Show" in the Mari Michener Gallery at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, my alma mater.  The paintings for the show were to be of the 7 "grassland counties" in northeastern Colorado.  It had been years since I'd been to that part of Colorado.  So, my husband, always supportive of any thing art related that I want to do, and I spent two days driving around the back roads in that area taking 100s of photos and getting inspired by the grasslands.  Both of us had a great time and couldn't get over all of the different "grasses" and their many, varied colors!

Upon returning home I spent hours editing the photos, then sketching my favorite locations.  I did several dozen sketches before starting the paintings.  Originally I had planned on doing very large paintings, but due to time, most of the paintings were 12" x 12".  I ended up loving that size and painting 9 12 x12s as well as 2 larger paintings of the grasslands!  I was motivated by a new inspiration!

For the next 2 weeks I'll be posting grassland paintings.  Enjoy!

Morning Light

Morning Light
Oil  12" x 12"
SOLD

This is the 6th of the recent paintings in my "Grasslands" series.

I was thrilled that "Morning Light" received "Best Of Show"!

A repeat from the first post of this series:

I recently participated in the "Grasslands Inspiration IV Show" in the Mari Michener Gallery at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, my alma mater.  The paintings for the show were to be of the 7 "grassland counties" in northeastern Colorado.  It had been years since I'd been to that part of Colorado.  So, my husband, always supportive of any thing art related that I want to do, and I spent two days driving around the back roads in that area taking 100s of photos and getting inspired by the grasslands.  Both of us had a great time and couldn't get over all of the different "grasses" and their many, varied colors!

Upon returning home I spent hours editing the photos, then sketching my favorite locations.  I did several dozen sketches before starting the paintings.  Originally I had planned on doing very large paintings, but due to time, most of the paintings were 12" x 12".  I ended up loving that size and painting 9 12 x12s as well as 2 larger paintings of the grasslands!  I was motivated by a new inspiration!

For the next 2 weeks I'll be posting grassland paintings.  Enjoy!

Vast & Quiet

Vast & Quiet
Oil  12" x 12"
click here for Paypal
$395.00 + $10. s/h

This is the 5th painting in my recent "Grasslands" series.  So many of the fields that we saw in the Grasslands seemed to go on forever, or at least for miles.  This one caught my eye as it was almost one shade of green with just vary subtle differences in value.  I wanted to create these mild differences so made the painting very minimal.  I'm happy with the results and the simplicity.

I know we don't all read every blog that we see, so I'm repeating the interview & background about this series from the blogs that I posted the last few days:

A short while ago I received a phone call from a student at UNC, Greeley, Mina Jackson.  She is a freshman journalism major and wanted to interview about my paintings in the Grasslands Show.  Here is a link to the article she wrote:  Grasslands Article  I was so impressed with her preparation, she had 15 questions all ready to ask.  I think the article is well written for a first year student.  Thank you Mina!

A repeat from the first post of this series:

I recently participated in the "Grasslands Inspiration IV Show" in the Mari Michener Gallery at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, my alma mater.  The paintings for the show were to be of the 7 "grassland counties" in northeastern Colorado.  It had been years since I'd been to that part of Colorado.  So, my husband, always supportive of any thing art related that I want to do, and I spent two days driving around the back roads in that area taking 100s of photos and getting inspired by the grasslands.  Both of us had a great time and couldn't get over all of the different "grasses" and their many, varied colors!

Upon returning home I spent hours editing the photos, then sketching my favorite locations.  I did several dozen sketches before starting the paintings.  Originally I had planned on doing very large paintings, but due to time, most of the paintings were 12" x 12".  I ended up loving that size and painting 9 12 x12s as well as 2 larger paintings of the grasslands!  I was motivated by a new inspiration!

For the next 2 weeks I'll be posting grassland paintings.  Enjoy!

Ribbons Of Grass

Ribbons Of Grass
Oil  12" x 12"
click here for Paypal
$395.00 + $10. s/h

This is the 4th in my recent "Grasslands" series.  I loved the way the ranchers' plowing created ribbons back & forth across the fields.

A short while ago I received a phone call from a student at UNC, Greeley, Mina Jackson.  She is a freshman journalism major and wanted to interview about my paintings in the Grasslands Show.  Here is a link to the article she wrote:  Grasslands Article  I was so impressed with her preparation, she had 15 questions all ready to ask.  I think the article is well written for a first year student.  Thank you Mina!

A repeat from the first post of this series:

I recently participated in the "Grasslands Inspiration IV Show" in the Mari Michener Gallery at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, my alma mater.  The paintings for the show were to be of the 7 "grassland counties" in northeastern Colorado.  It had been years since I'd been to that part of Colorado.  So, my husband, always supportive of any thing art related that I want to do, and I spent two days driving around the back roads in that area taking 100s of photos and getting inspired by the grasslands.  Both of us had a great time and couldn't get over all of the different "grasses" and their many, varied colors!

Upon returning home I spent hours editing the photos, then sketching my favorite locations.  I did several dozen sketches before starting the paintings.  Originally I had planned on doing very large paintings, but due to time, most of the paintings were 12" x 12".  I ended up loving that size and painting 9 12 x12s as well as 2 larger paintings of the grasslands!  I was motivated by a new inspiration!

For the next 2 weeks I'll be posting grassland paintings.  Enjoy!

Gentle Rolls

Gentle Rolls
Oil  12" x 12"
click here for Paypal
$395.00 + $10. s/h

This is the 3rd painting in my recent "Grasslands" series.  I really liked this one.  I liked the different crops that were on each side of the road, the hay in the far pasture, the corn in the middle, the mowed field to the right & the plowed field in the front.  Ranchers, and/or farmers, always have more work!  Something in the field always needs a little care.

A repeat from the first post of this series:

I recently participated in the "Grasslands Inspiration IV Show" in the Mari Michener Gallery at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, my alma mater.  The paintings for the show were to be of the 7 "grassland counties" in northeastern Colorado.  It had been years since I'd been to that part of Colorado.  So, my husband, always supportive of any thing art related that I want to do, and I spent two days driving around the back roads in that area taking 100s of photos and getting inspired by the grasslands.  Both of us had a great time and couldn't get over all of the different "grasses" and their many, varied colors!

Upon returning home I spent hours editing the photos, then sketching my favorite locations.  I did several dozen sketches before starting the paintings.  Originally I had planned on doing very large paintings, but due to time, most of the paintings were 12" x 12".  I ended up loving that size and painting 9 12 x12s as well as 2 larger paintings of the grasslands!  I was motivated by a new inspiration!

For the next 2 weeks I'll be posting grassland paintings.  Enjoy!

Ocean Of Gold

Ocean Of Gold
oil  12" x 12"
click here for Paypal
$395.00 + $10. s/h

While driving through the grasslands of Colorado photoing reference material (i.e. grass!) my husband asked me how I was going to paint these.  At that point I wasn't quite sure what the paintings would look like, what the composition would be, etc.  I knew that would all fall into place.  He said to me that I should paint them like my "ocean" series that I did on several past trips to Mexico.  As I looked out the car window I realized that the grasses were like the ocean:  rolling hills of color and waving with the breeze.  This painting definitely reminded me of the ocean, (although golden) with the sand in front.

A repeat from the first post of this series:

I recently participated in the "Grasslands Inspiration IV Show" in the Mari Michener Gallery at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, my alma mater.  The paintings for the show were to be of the 7 "grassland counties" in northeastern Colorado.  It had been years since I'd been to that part of Colorado.  So, my husband, always supportive of any thing art related that I want to do, and I spent two days driving around the back roads in that area taking 100s of photos and getting inspired by the grasslands.  Both of us had a great time and couldn't get over all of the different "grasses" and their many, varied colors!

Upon returning home I spent hours editing the photos, then sketching my favorite locations.  I did several dozen sketches before starting the paintings.  Originally I had planned on doing very large paintings, but due to time, most of the paintings were 12" x 12".  I ended up loving that size and painting 9 12 x12s as well as 2 larger paintings of the grasslands!  I was motivated by a new inspiration!

For the next 2 weeks I'll be posting grassland paintings.  Enjoy!

Field Of Clover

Field Of Clover
Oil  12" x 12"
click here for Paypal
$395.00 + $10. s/h

I recently participated in the "Grasslands Inspiration IV Show" in the Mari Michener Gallery at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, my alma mater.  The paintings for the show were to be of the 7 "grassland counties" in northeastern Colorado.  It had been years since I'd been to that part of Colorado.  So, my husband, always supportive of any thing art related that I want to do, and I spent two days driving around the back roads in that area taking 100s of photos and getting inspired by the grasslands.  Both of us had a great time and couldn't get over all of the different "grasses" and their many, varied colors!

Upon returning home I spent hours editing the photos, then sketching my favorite locations.  I did several dozen sketches before starting the paintings.  Originally I had planned on doing very large paintings, but due to time, most of the paintings were 12" x 12".  I ended up loving that size and painting 9 12 x12s as well as 2 larger paintings of the grasslands!  I was motivated by a new inspiration!  This was one of the three paintings that I submitted to the show.

For the next 2 weeks I'll be posting grassland paintings.  Enjoy!

Window Reflection

Window Reflection
plein air oil
9" x 12"
SOLD

The was the 7th & last painting done at the South Park Plein Air Arts Celebration in Fairplay, CO earlier this month.  This was painted during Saturday morning's "Quick Draw".  We could set up any where on Front Street (which is the main street of the old part of Fairplay).  The quick draw was from 10 - 12.  Our paintings were to be turned in framed by 12:30 & there was an auction at 1:00, with the proceeds going to the food bank.

I did a series of paintings of walls & lanterns of Mexico and saw another painting here.  I was drawn to this light and it's reflection.  With the limited time, I knew that I wanted to paint something that was familiar.  I was happy with the result & happy that this sold in the auction.

South Park Plein Air Arts Celebration is a wonderful plein air event!

Mountain Pond

Mountain Pond
plein air oil  12" x 12"
SOLD

This painting was done at the Beaver Ponds Environmental Education Center just outside of Fairplay, CO during the South Park Plein Air Arts Celebration earlier this month.  This was the 6th and last painting done during the main 3 days of the event.  One of the great things about this plein air event is that the town of Fairplay organizes locations to paint.  I'd never been to the Center, nor did I know about it.  It was very interesting.  Of course, beaver ponds, but trails in the woods, a river, lots of aspen trees.  Upon first arriving I decided to walk the circular trail to find a spot to paint.  I saw very large hoof prints in the mud.  I am very familiar with elk prints, these were so much bigger, I knew they must be a moose.  The Center owner said that they frequently have a moose family near by.

After just a short while the shade around my easel disappeared and I was too lazy to walk back to my car to get my umbrella.  You want your canvas and palette to be in the shade, so I propped another canvas up to help a bit.

Friday evening is the Event Show in the bank lobby (there's only 1 bank in town.)  Every day at 4 pm we turned in 2 framed paintings from that day.  Each day at dinner one painting received a "Painting Of The Day" Award.  The awards for the 3 day event were given out on Friday night at the reception.

I was thrilled that "Mountain Pond" received an Honorable Mention!  And I was also so pleased that the painting sold!

Up Your Alley

Up Your Alley
plein air oil  12" x 9"
click here for Paypal
$295.00 + $10. s/h

This alley is the 5th painting from the South Park Plein Air Arts Celebration in Fairplay, CO earlier this month.  I had also spotted this location when I was scouting on the first evening in town.  I loved the shadows in the alley and the bits of light on the rickety, old fence.  The wobbly, old out buildings created fun shapes & shadows.

Again, a little bit of artistic license was used.  I found the leaves of the trees to the left of the buildings in the back yard a bit distracting.  I preferred the simplicity of the mountains as a back ground.  It created one more interesting shape instead of a mess of leaves.  I often do a pencil sketch before beginning a painting.  This helps me plan the composition.  It was as I was scribbling in the leaves in the sketch that I knew they would be distracting.

Green With Envy

Green With Envy
plein air oil  12" x 12"
click here for Paypal
$395.00 + $10. s/h

This tractor is the 4th painting that I did in the recent South Park Plein Air Arts Celebration, Fairplay, CO.  I had spotted it the first evening when I was walking up and down the alley off of Front Street in Fairplay.  I loved the complementary colors, but there was no light on it in the evening.  I decided to head back to it earlier in the day on another day.

I used a bit of artistic license and shortened the body just a bit because I wanted to use a square canvas.  One of the challenges of a plein air event is the planning that goes in to it in advance.  You have to decide how many and what size canvases to take.  The canvases all get stamped on the back before the painting begins.  Each canvas has to be framed upon "turn it."  So, you have to pack the right size frames, hardware and tools.  Additionally, you have to be able to frame a painting quickly, and often from the back of your car.

Hartsel Bison

Hartsel Bison
plein air oil  9" x 12"
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$295.00 + $10. s/h

This painting was done on the morning of Day 2 of the South Park Plein Air Arts Celebration.  This day was sort of a free day i.e.:  the town of Fairplay didn't have an organized location but made suggestions, or we could paint any where within 30 miles of Fairplay.  Hartsel is about 15 miles from Fairplay, and I knew that there's a bison herd there, so I made that my destination.  However, just because there's a herd doesn't mean that they'll be close enough to paint.  They don't care if they're near the road.

Well, they were sort of close.  So I set my plein air gear up right by my car, right by the side of the county road and painted away.  The bison appeared to just be standing around, but as they chew, they step, they chew again and step again.  After about an hour the bison were pretty far away and no longer near by.  

Old Coffee Pot

Old Coffee Pot
plein air oil  12" x 9"
$295.00 + $10. s/h
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This piece was done in the afternoon of the first day of the South Park Plein Air Arts Celebration.  I painted yesterday's posted piece in the morning, then lunch was delivered to us out on the ranch.  We're not talking about a simple sandwich, we're talking pulled pork barbecue, cole slaw, fruit, cookies.  As I said, this is a GREAT plein air event!

Anyway, as time progressed, obviously the ranch owners purchased modern appliances and kitchen utensils.  The old favorites weren't thrown away, they were set up around the barns and out buildings. Every one of them called out to me to become a painting!

Ranch Rocker

Ranch Rocker
plein air oil  8" x 10"
$195.00 + $10. s/h
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I recently participated in the South Park Plein Air Arts Celebration in Fairplay, CO.  This is a wonderful plein air event.  The town of Fairplay organizes it so well, providing food every day, arranging painting excursions to private ranches, & having evening gatherings.

This rocker was painted the first morning out on a ranch about 20 minutes from Fairplay. The ranch family has lived there for 4 generations.  After walking all around the ranch and being a bit overwhelmed by the views, trees, buildings, etc. I focused in on this old rocker.  I could imagine the pleasure the "rockee" would have enjoying his view and resting after a hard days' work.

Honoring 100 Years of Our National Parks

I have a show hanging at Cheyenne Mountain State Park Visitors Center here in Colorado Springs.  

In honor of our 100 year anniversary of the National Park system, the show is of paintings of 

county, state and national parks and wild life areas we have visited.  These photos show one wall of the show.  The paintings are from Bear Creek Park, Colorado Springs;  Arches & Canyonlands National Parks, Moab, Utah;  Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego, CA;  Hovenweep National Monument, Colorado;  Paint Mines Archeological District, Calhan, CO;  Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO;  Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah;  Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge, CO;  Big Bend National Park, Texas; as well as a few more local Colorado parks.  

As the show is in the Visitors Center, I created a small information sheet about each Park which hangs by each painting.  If you're in the Colorado Springs area, please stop by the Visitors Center.  The show hangs until the end of October.  

Fallen Log

Fallen Log
plein air oil  9" x 12"
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$295.00 + $10. s/h

This log is on our property in the mountains.  I've looked at it for years, slowly rotting away.  I always take my painting supplies when we go up there in case something jumps out at me waiting to be painted.  I saw the light, shadow, grasses and decided that this was an interesting painting.  I'd also recently looked again at Richard Schmid's book and remembered his painting of a log and was inspired!

Old Blue

Old Blue
plein air oil  11" x 14"
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$395.00 + $10. s/h

I found this old horse trailer when I was painting in Como, CO.  Como is about 2 hours west of Colorado Springs in the mountains.  Here is some info on Como:

It is believed the town was named by miners from Como, Italy, who worked the coal fields of the area. In 1879, the town became the location of a depot of the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad, which was extended over Kenosha Pass to reach the silver mining areas during the Colorado Silver Boom. Later, the town served as a division point for trains going northward over Boreas Pass and southward toward Garos and over Trout Creek Pass at the western end of South Park. The town has many historic weathered structures, including the roundhouse, hotel, and depot and has the air of a ghost town that is still nevertheless populated, by twenty people. It has a small commercial district consisting of a post office, gallery, hotel. The depot has been renovated with plans to make it an area tourist attraction.

PAAC 20th National Exhibition

Thursday night was the opening of the PAAC National show at Mary Williams Fine Art in Boulder, CO.  I was thrilled to have been juried into the show.  It's always fun to go to openings and connect with artist friends who I see only occasionally and to meet new artists.  

Thursday evening I met an artist who I've known online for 8 years!  That was fun to meet in person and now we're trying to get together to paint.  She lives here in Colorado, it's a big state, but about 7 hours from Colorado Springs.  You never know what opportunities painting is going to open!

Grasslands Inspiration IV Show

I was thrilled and honored to receive this award last night at the Opening of the 

Grasslands Inspiration IV Show at Mari Michener Gallery

University Of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO.

It was a wonderful show full of great photos, watercolors, oils, acrylics and dry media 

influenced by the grasslands of north-eastern Colorado.  Thank you UNC (my alma mater) 

and the Northern Colorado Heritage League.

The show hangs until September 23.  Stop by and see it if you're in the Greeley area!

Grassland Inspiration IV

Grassland Inspiration IV:  Looking East Prairie Appreciation Show

UNC (University of Northern Colorado) Michener Library Greeley, CO  

August 22 - September 23, 2016

These are two of the three paintings that I will have in the Grasslands Show at UNC in Greeley.  Because I had participated in the Littleton, CO paint-out in early June, I received an email a short time later inviting me to participate in the Grasslands Show.  I had never heard of this show, but am an alumni of UNC and thought that it would be fun to participate.  There were well laid out eligibility and requirement "bullets" in the brochure.  The most important was that the paintings had to be of the 7 "grassland counties" i.e.:  the seven counties in northeastern Colorado.  It had been years since I'd been up there, Greeley is about 2 1/2 hours from Colorado Springs.  So, my husband, always supportive of any thing related to painting that I do, and I spent two days driving around the back roads in that area and taking 100s of photos and getting so inspired by the grasslands.  It was really fun!  

Upon returning home I spent hours editing my photos and looking further for inspiration.  Then I sketched dozens of pictures of my favorite locations.   Dozens because once I started looking I was so inspired by all of the different colors of the grass.  Then, I started painting.  My idea had been to do three pretty large paintings, but it was already the third week of July and the paintings were due in Greeley on August 17th!  That didn't leave me much time, but I work well under pressure.  Because I wasn't sure which of my sketch/ideas would become the largest painting, I decided to do several 12" x 12" "practice" pieces first.  Well, those "several" pieces became 7!  I loved painting those 12" x 12" pieces.  While deciding which of those would become a larger piece, I started on a large square painting of an old school house sitting in the middle of nowhere.  Then I also started on a large square of a windmill.  

Then, we went on a week long trip, so I wasn't able to finish the windmill, or start on the larger one of the grasses.  But, I chose the two of the 12x12s that I liked the most (above), framed them and submitted those two and the school house.  I think that it's important that we always know what we can do and just do it.  I realized that I wanted to enter this event, I didn't have lots of time, but I could do it.  And, I'm really happy with all of my paintings!  I'll post them soon.