Sunday, August 31, 2008

work in progress

"CURTAIN CALL"
10"X8"
SOLD
This is a work in progress, I hope to have it completed tomorrow. I should also be finished tomorrow with my commission of the Abiquiu church. And on Tuesday, guess where I'm going? Santuario de Chimayo, the beautiful church that I've painted so often! I think it's been about 9 years since I've actually been there. I'm not taking paints, just going on a day trip, but I am taking my camera - for photos and maybe a video or two. I'm sure some of those photos will become paintings for Artfest. Enjoy your Labor Day!

"PROUD HERITAGE"

"PROUD HERITAGE"
10"X8"
SOLD
These costumes are a little different. Very colorful but in a more linear way. They definitely remind me of Mexico or maybe Guatamala.
I'm thinking the dancers just finished a performance and they're resting again an adobe wall, maybe waving at some of their family or fans. I wanted to background to be very neutral so as not to compete with the beautiful skirts and blouses.

Grower's Market

Just a touch of what I saw today at theLos Ranchos Grower's Market. I will post a new dancer painting tomorrow morning...

Friday, August 29, 2008

Abiquiu and Labor Day

This is a photo of the church in Abiquiu. I'm working on a painting for someone right now of this beautiful church, which I WISH I had seen in person (that's my next trip - that and Chimayo). I ran errands ALL day today and came home too tired to do anything, although I did make sure I rode the bike for 25 minutes and applied ice to my knees.
I am getting up really early tomorrow to go to the Farmer's Market and see what goodies I can find. I also hope to clean my studio, finish up two paintings over the weekend, and do a little "playing" (what my favorite cousin and I call driving around looking at houses, antique stores and whatever else we can find).
Then on Monday I start painting nonstop for Weems Artfest. I will try my best to slip in a daily painting as often as possible. I'll be sure to show some of those Artfest paintings from start to finish, so you will get a good look at my process.
Also, my painting for the Balloon Fiesta was picked up today. They will be selling giclees (basically really nice prints on canvas) of the painting at Balloon Fiesta park all during the Fiesta. They will be $25. If any of you would like one, let me know, because we're trying to figure out a way that I can also sell them from my blogsite.
I saw the first little yellow leaves on the ground today and I know fall is just around the corner. I love fall and winter - to me they are a time of renewal and warmth. Family and Friends. Connection and Coziness. I must be feeling nostalgic because I just want you all to know that I treasure all the friends I have made on this site and I love the comments, the feedback, and it makes me feel so good to know that what you think I am creating is worthwhile. Enjoy your long weekend. Love,
Dee

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

"GOLDEN ASPENS"

"GOLDEN ASPENS"
10"X8"
We've had a couple of cool mornings here, which leads me to believe that fall might just be around the corner...hopefully. I always think of northern New Mexico at this time and can't wait for the aspens to turn that beautiful golden color. I don't paint aspens very often. I've done a few in my daily paintings and I usually paint one large painting for every show I do. The lining on the trees is intensive, let me tell you. A 40x30 painting takes weeks. I hope you enjoy. Tomorrow I will be posting a finished commission of the little church in Abiquiu, NM, where the renowned artist Georgia O'Keefe lived and painted.

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $99.00 plus $10.00 s/h
Or, send me an email


Tuesday, August 26, 2008

"BLANKET FLOWERS"

"BLANKET FLOWERS"
8"X10"
SOLD

"AROUND THE WORLD TWIRL"

"AROUND THE WORLD TWIRL"
8"X8"
SOLD
This is the next painting in my series of folklorico dancers. This dancer was walking at the state fair and just twirling away to the music!

"MOONGLOW"

"MOONGLOW"
8"X8"
SOLD
A finished commissioned painting.

Monday, August 25, 2008

"TAOS FALL"

"TAOS FALL"
8"X8"
SOLD
A commissioned painting of a beautiful fall day on the Taos rim.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

I NEED A TITLE!

My Balloon Painting
12"x9"
It's finally done. I love it. I think it's whimsical, playful, colorful, and it shows a lot of New Mexico: the Rio Grande River, chamisa, cottonwoods, sunflowers, the Gazebo at Old Town, the Hyatt Hotels downtown, the Sandia Pueblo, the Sandia Mountains, a beautiful valley landing-take off field, and our starry New Mexico nights. And balloons! Now I just need a TITLE. Help me out!!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Monday, August 18, 2008

It's Balloon Time!

Rough Sketch for Balloon Painting
12"x9"
This is a rough sketch for my Balloon Fiesta painting. This painting is being purchased by the Balloon Fiesta and made into giclees to sell during the firsta. It has a lot of elements in it; flowers, the river, balloons, fields, cottonwoods, the Hyatt hotel downtown, the Sandia Pueblo, the Sandia Mountains, the gazebo at Old Town, an old adobe with Ristras, a moon rise and stars. Wish me luck, I think I will need it!

WAITING: work in progress

WAITING: work in progress
SOLD
The latest in my series of dancers. These dancers are in a park, waiting in the wings to perform. I hope to complete this one tonight. I just thought I would show you the process. Normally, I work all over the painting, making sure it's cohesive and the colors have a nice contrast. With my dancers, I have been painting the background first and leaving the best for last - the dresses!

"FALL COLORS, PLACITAS"

"FALL COLORS, PLACITAS"
10"X8"
SOLD
I love the colors in this piece; soft, muted, and warm. It's from a photo I took in Placitas last October. We've had some rain here the last couple of days and cooler temperatures, so I know fall is just around the corner! I hope you enjoy this one because it came together for me nicely.
Tomorrow I have three commissions to finish up and a ballon fiesta painting to complete. I also have another underpainted folklorico dancer painting. I will finish that and post it tomorrow too. It will be a busy and hopefully, productive Monday.

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $99.00 plus $10.00 s/h
Or, send me an email

Thursday, August 14, 2008

"PLAZA DANCERS"

"PLAZA DANCERS"
8"X10"
SOLD
This is the next painting in a small series of folklorico dancers. I am really not used to doing figurative work, so they are harder for me and take more time. But I do love the colors and the sense of movement. I actually went down to the local dance studio and they gave me several photos plus a list of their performances, so hopefully I can get some shots of my own - there's one coming up this Sunday that I'm going to try to attend. Hope you enjoy!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

"TAOS HOLLYHOCKS"

"TAOS HOLLYHOCKS"
10"X8"
oil
An oil I painted in Taos on my weekend trip. I was sitting out on the patio and these hollyhocks were right up against the adobe wall. I barely got the last brushstroke down and it started pouring rain. I love the immediacy of oil, the thickness, yes, I guess the mess too. I will be sneaking an oil painting into the blog every so often, just to try to hone my skills. I hope you like it.


Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $99.00 plus $10.00 s/h
Or, send me an email

Monday, August 11, 2008


BACK FROM TAOS

Arroyo Seco: I want to live in this little village!
El Salto Peak and sunflowers by where we stayed
Well, I'm back. I had a nice quiet relaxing weekend. Actually, it was a little too relaxing, all I did was lay around and sleep. It came a huge rainstorm on Saturday, so hard that my brother-in-law's car almost got hit by a big boulder rolling down off the mountain. The air was fresh and cool too. I did one little oil painting of hollyhocks and that was it.
Tomorrow I start back to work. I'm trying to exercise in the morning and work in the afternoon. I never can stick to any kind of schedule, but I'm going to try 12pm-5pm and see if I can do it. The artist in me just hates deadlines and anything to do with a schedule. We'll see.
I'm going to try to get some daily paintings done this week and then I start painting for Weems Artfest. I am also painting an 8x10 for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta that they will make into little giclees and sell. So, it's gonna be a busy week.

Friday, August 08, 2008

"MY MADRID"

"MY MADRID"
8"X10"
I painted this scene a couple of weeks ago in oil on location in the cool, hip village of Madrid, New Mexico. I also took photos, most of which were pretty spectacular. This one however, was not. It was overexposed and after I printed it, I got paint all over it. BUT, I always think of Madrid as colorful and beautiful - a really fun place to go on a day trip. So, I improvised and embellished. And I consider this acrylic version, "MY MADRID," the real one because this is how I see it. Colorful, kind of like a circus, and somewhere you just go to hang out, shop, and get away for the day.
I will not have a new daily painting post until Sunday night or Monday. Enjoy your weekend!

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $99.00 plus $10.00 s/h
Or, send me an email

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Tom's Churches

Corrales Church
Santuario de Chimayo

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

"THE DANCERS"

"THE DANCERS"
8"X10"
SOLD
I decided to try something a little different! This is a painting of dancers from the Mexican Folklorico group performing at the New Mexico State Fair. I've always loved their brilliant ruffled costumes and have wanted to paint them for quite some time. I wasn't sure what the finished piece would look like, but I love it. I just painted what I saw, not what I thought they should look like. If there's a request for more, I may paint a whole series!

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

"LTTLE CHURCH IN THE CANYON"

"LITTLE CHURCH IN THE CANYON"
8"X8"
no longer available
This little church is so cute! It's short and squat compared to a lot of the bigger and more ornate churches in New Mexico. The view is from the side, the front door is around the corner on the right. I think I would be happy going to Mass here, especially down in this little canyon among the flowers.

Sunday, August 03, 2008

"CHURCH AT GOLDEN"

"CHURCH AT GOLDEN"
8"X8"

For those of you who remember, I've painted this church twice and it was white. When I went to paint the Turquoise Trail a couple of weeks ago, I missed the turn off road, because this church sits high up on a hill. When I drove up the little bumpy dirt road, I was surprised to see that it had been replastered a soft adobe color, although parts of it were still white. There was also a chain link fence around it. I don't know if they have Mass there on Sundays, but it's probably to keep vandals away. I was sad because I couldn't get up close, but the shots I got were nice. This is a beautiful little church and it has the most wonderful crosses and little wagon-like structures around it. Click below for purchase information:
Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $99.00 plus $10.00 s/h
Or, send me an email



"MOON WATCHERS AT CHIMAYO"

"MOON WATCHERS AT CHIMAYO"
8"X8"
SOLD
This is painting #2 of "Tribute to a Beautiful Earth," the series we're working on with www.dailypainters.com. I have always felt a deep connection to my Canyon Women. They are simple, I usually paint them in threes, and they are always watching, working, or nurturing. I feel like these women have probably done a good day's work, now they are resting and supporting each other - maybe they have come to the church because it's near their home and when they saw the full moon coming up over the mountains, they just stopped to breathe a moment and take it all in. I know, in my own life, I need to pause every once in a while, stop what I'm doing, and just enjoy our beautiful earth and everything she gives us.

Saturday, August 02, 2008

HELLO EVERYONE,
It seems that Blogger has blocked everyone's blog (at least everyone I know) to check for threats of spamming. I'm using this post as a test to see if everything's back to normal.

"BEAUTIFUL CHAMISA"

"BEAUTIFUL CHAMISA"
8"X8"
SOLD
Tribute to a Beautiful Earth - Day 1
I almost forgot about the month-long tribute that we're doing on www.dailypainters.com.
All of the daily painters (myself included) are creating daily painters about our beautiful, magical earth. These paintings can be about conservation, the environment, people, places, things, etc. My idea for tomorrow's painting is my canyon women holding up our fragile earth as a prayer to the Gods, Spirits, whatever we might call the Divine. I am happy to say that I absolutely love being alive, that we are all incredible contributions to the world, and that I don't do enough to live simply and lightly. Stay tuned...

Friday, August 01, 2008

Plein Air Painters of New Mexico
"PAINTING THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT"
Opening Reception with Artists:
TONIGHT
5 - 9pm Friday, August 1, 2008
SUMNER & DENE GALLERY
517 Central NW
Albquerque, NM
842-1400
Anyone who lives in Albuquerque - please come on down tonoght and see this wonderful exhibition of 120 paintings painted in plein air by 60 extraordinary artists in 6 days of intensive creativity!
I will be there myself at 5pm, so come down and have a look at my plein air work (not my usual style), and day hi!!