Tag: outdoor life

Visiting Arizona

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View of Lake Pleasant

We are enjoying the opportunity to visit the Phoenix area and Scottsdale while staying at the Lake Pleasant Regional Park in Arizona. We, my husband and I plus our 2 Boxers, have been to Arizona in Spring and Summer but the winter season in the desert cannot be beat!

This morning, before the rain really set in, we were able to take a hike down to the lake and see the beautiful views.

This trip had a rough beginning though. We were supposed to leave Sunday evening but got only 10 minutes from the house when the truck lost power, causing us to turn around. Being so close to home when we broke down was a blessing though and we are so thankful that we were kept safe. Two days later, we were on our way again to enjoy family and the beautiful Arizona scenery.

Happy Valentines Day!

Last Painting of 2018

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Happy New Year! Since my last post, the holidays have come and gone. From Thanksgiving on, every day has been filled with “to do” lists, places to be and of course, enjoying the holidays spent in the company of friends and family. I pray that you all had a wonderful holiday season and look forward to beginning the New Year of 2019.

I managed to get one last painting in for the year – – a small, 9″ x 12″ watercolor portrait of a friends daughter. It has been far too long since I’ve painted something other than a still life or landscape, so it felt good to get back into painting people. The colors reflect the temperature, time of day and hopefully, mood.

Below is from my sketchbook:

Final painting, “Evie”

I completed quite a few paintings this year, some that turned out well and others I just chock up to a learning experience. I narrowed down my favorites to 6 paintings:May 2019 keep you healthy, happy and give you all a prosperous new year!

Nest In The Vine

Painting

11″ x 14″ oil on canvas

My husband and I have dear friends that own a small vineyard, Klender Cellars in Paso Robles, producing an amazing boutique wine. Throughout the year, we have had the privilege to see their vineyard during its many stages and have participated at harvest time. Owning a vineyard is hard work so it was easy to come to the conclusion that access is definitely better than ownership! Their vineyard is always fascinating and has been a tremendous source of inspiration for me with my painting. On one particular visit, my friend showed me a birds nest that was in the vines of the Cabernet grapes that were still green.

Shown below is my concept sketch and stages of my painting.

Focusing On Painting

Painting

12″ x 16″ oil on paper

In the beginning of summer, there was a question that I needed to ask myself, “How much time with social media is too much time?”. As I do my best to get my work “out there”, I realized that for me, it was taking over the already limited time I had to paint so I decided to just focus on my painting. I started by making a plan to finish a stack of paintings that I had set aside quite awhile ago before starting anything new AND before posting. I plan to stick with this plan in order to produce more work and post less.

Here are the paintings that I have completed:

“Poppies In The Vineyard” (22″ x 30″ rework/acrylics on watercolor paper)

“A Vineyard Row” (22″ x 30″ rework/acrylics on watercolor paper)

“Blueberries” (12″ x 16″ oil on primed watercolor paper)

Now that the stack has been completed, I feel much better about focusing on new projects. Until next time, take care and enjoy the last bits of summertime fun and warm weather!

Time for a few changes…

Painting

22″ x 30″ oil

“Poppies In A Vineyard” was started a year or so ago and although I placed it in my completed stack, I was never really satisfied with it and knew I would make some adjustments to it later. Instead of overworking something to death, it is better to set something aside for awhile. I finally pulled it out this week and was able to view it with a critical eye and see what was bothering me.

When painting, I always mix a tad of black with other colors for my dark darks but low and behold, I had areas of black that looked like a chalkboard plus I had some areas that were quite rushed in comparison to the rest of the painting. The changes have been made and I am pleased with the outcome.

Here is a recap of the process:

I prepared a 22″ x 30″ single sheet of 300lb watercolor paper prepared with gesso and then made my sketch.

Then came the layout of color

Chose to rework some areas on my desk instead of my easel. Sometimes I will work upside to better concentrate on some areas.

Finally I can call this painting finished!

Work In Progress…

Painting

9″ x 14″

This summer I have been concentrating on watercolor paintings – from very small to medium in size. This landscape is an elongated vertical format which highlights the shadows on the path as well as the morning light coming through the trees.

I have used illustration board, 300 Lb Arches single sheets, Arches watercolor blocks and currently am trying the Fabriano 300 Lb single sheets. I am actually a bit disappointed with how this paper takes the watercolor but am working through the difficulties.

I began by sketching on the watercolor paper then started laying out my color.

I am now at the point of fine tuning and adding greater depth and contrast. Comments are welcome, especially if you have a favorite watercolor paper or board to work on.🎨