Balloon Blog

Hi all,

I didn't blog about balloons for a couple of days because 

when they went up, they drifted further north. Or south.

But they have been back for a couple of days now,

so I'm posting again.

Only two more days of mass ascension left!

 This one is really really bright.

Almost too much for my sleepy eyes to take first thing in the morning.

 Hiding in the trees

Going to land?

 Nope, back up for another few minutes.

 Okay, who or what is this?

 Nice view of the balloon under-carriage.

 Between the trees

 Almost touching down

 Uh-oh, is this another Mr. Creepy Eyes?

 No, she's a look-straight-ahead sweet little cow.

I will call her Lulu-Belle.

 Lulu Belle is headed this way....

 In the meantime, another balloon is going down next door.

 Whoa, Lulu Belle is directly overhead!

 There she goes, over the house.

 Floating away...

  I was out and about found this one landing on the street.

 This one landed in the Wagner cornfield in Corrales.

Lots of help there.

 Pumpkin fields in Corrales.

I couldn't find any more balloons, so I got distracted.

 Scarecrows!

Soon Corrales will be full of them!

 Red chile ristras at Wagner Farms

 The pumpkins are ready for taking home.

These look perfect for carving.

 Saw these beautiful sunflowers at the local market.

 Red chile ristras.

Every home should have one of these hanging on the porch.

 Next day, more morning balloons

 Blurry through the trees

 Another between the trees

Not too many today.

Hope we have great ballooning this weekend.

This weekend will be the last mass ascension of 2016.

On another note, my little thorny tree is full of berries for the birds

and the leaves are turning this color.

Fall is here!

ramblings

 "GRACE"

10x10"

oil on gallery wrap canvas

I am busy painting so much now.

I don't even notice much of what goes on around me

and when I do - it's only for a second.

My life revolves around the paints, the canvas, the brushes, the colors.

It's lonely and wonderful at the same time.

And blogging is so irregular!

To see all of the completed paintings so far, click HERE.

 I can always tell when fall is near because the sun

becomes much softer, more hazy, and it seems to have moved.

I love sitting outside in the swing now.

The air is a little cooler makes me more restful.

I love this photograph!

It's the tree in our back courtyard.

It's always the first one to get a few yellow leaves.

Just one or two, here or there.

Can you see the spider's web attached to the leaf on the left?

 Okay, this has me stumped.

I have never seen a butterly that looks just like a leaf before!

Is is a mechanism to protect him (or her) from predators?

He really liked this almost-empty hummingbird feeder.

 A view of my studio door in the changing autumn light.

Those rose bushes really need a haircut!

 Balloons are almost here!

Next weekend!

I am excited more than ever this year.

I don't know why - maybe it's because my granddaughter Sawyer

is old enough to see them and remember.

 Some special shapes....

 The Flying Pig and The Clock

 The Creamland Cow and The Old Woman in a Shoe

And Elvis, of course!

Have a great day and I will be painting!

Balloon Merchandise now available

BALLOON MERCHANDISE IS NOW AVAILABLE!!

To order any of the items below:

Call Balloon Fiesta at

1-888-422-7277

1-505-821-1000

POSTER PRICES:

Unsigned:  $65.00

Signed and numbered:  $150

COFFEE MUGS - TWO STYLES

Black or White

$10 each

 Black Coffee Mug

 White Coffee Mug/Cup

LONG SLEEVED T-SHIRTS

Black or White

$22 each

 White long-sleeved T-shirt

Black long-sleeved T-shirt

good morning

Good morning - 

I have been sick for nine days now.

Feeling a little better and am hoping to be well by Monday.

I have too much work to do to be sick...

Today is a big work day - twelve small paintings to finish up 

and blocking in an 18x24" commission too.

I have realized that some things are going to have to wait 

until after the Balloon Fiesta and Artfest are over.

My postcards are in, I will post 

one so you can see it later,

I hope to get them mailed out by this Thursday.

Okay, better get to it.

I hope to see you all at Balloon Fiesta!

Oh, and if you'd like to see all of the Fiesta paintings so far, please CLICK HERE.

new work

Hi everyone - 

I just looked at my postings and I haven't posted since August 21st - that's crazy!

I haven't been lazy at all, just busy.

I have 63 little paintings done for the upcoming Balloon Fiesta show that's happening October 6-14.

I've been sick the last few days and haven't been painting but I've been organizing for the show. 

There are so many things that have to be done, but the main one is having all of the artwork ready.

I have landscapes, balloons, Canyon Women, sunflowers, churches, dancers, flowers, etc. 

I can't wait for you to see them and I hope to have them all posted this week.

These paintings are not titled yet.

My postcard is on it's way here, it has the balloon poster painting on the front.

If I don't have your address and you want a postcard, send it to me, ok?

Okay, better go.

It's good to be back. 

What I've been up to....

"HIDDEN"

8X8"

oil on cradled hardboard

Hi guys, I know it's been a while since I've posted, but don't think I haven't been busy. 

Planning and organizing for two big back-to-back shows is exhausting! 

The image above is a new painting for the Balloon Fiesta show coming up October 6-14th.

It's of an old adobe building and a small hay barn in Arroyo Seco.

 The posters are here! The posters are here!

I spent one day last week hand-signing 400 of them.

It was hard but didn't take as long as I thought. 

We had a system!

 The image above and this article appeared in Albuquerque the Magazine's August edition, which is on the stands now. I can't believe that smile. I didn't want to and the photographer kept trying to make me laugh.

Not one of my better moments!

 Laying the posters out at Balloon Fiesta Headquarters for signing and numbering.

The posters will be available at www.balloonfiesta.com. 

They are $65 unsigned, $150 signed.

Their number is 505-821-1000.

 My husband and I decided to take a short trip to Taos for 

our 35th wedding anniversary (40 together).

We hardly ever travel alone, or we're always going to visit family.

This time it was just the two of us.

The image above is a raincloud gathering steam along the way.

You know this will be a Balloon Fiesta painting!

The river running through the mountains headed to Taos. 

needless to say, it was gorgeous!

The Rio Grande Gorge.

A bunch of you know what I mean when I say that as you 

come out of the horseshoe curve you have the best view of the gorge in the world.

This was where we stayed.

 El Monte Sagrado, which I think means sacred mountain.

It's very beautiful and interesting. 

 Fruit trees and native landscaping all around.

The rooms are all themed: Tibet, Japan, Painted Pony, Carribean, African, etc. 

This is a little casita at the resort with it's own private courtyard.

We ate at Tomasita's in Santa Fe on the way, then had dinner in Taos at Orlando's. 

We drove on through Arroyo Seco, which you see above.

Beautiful day.

The next morning, we had to go eat at Michael's Kitchen, the best place to eat in Taos.

Then it was time for home.

Oh, and we lost $10 gambling.

Bummer.

Passing Camel Rock on the way home. 

A natural formation that you used to be able to climb

 on and now they have fenced off for protection.

When we got home, it poured on us. 

Heavenly rain. unexpected.

Good to be home.

Guess what was waiting for me at home?

A huge order of cradled gessobord.

And that's not even all of it - they have the rest on backorder. 

Sheesh.

My daughter unboxed it and stacked it for me.

Sweet.

 These are some ornaments I started working on before I left.

I'm excited about these.

I'm going to try to get 40-50 done for the fiesta.

We'll see.

 Back at work, toning panels.

Such fun!

 My cousin and I went to Corrales to eat at Hannah and Nate's

and take a drive by "my" cornfield. I always like to track its progress.

It's pretty nigh and looked like it had already been picked.

 I believe this is green chile.

We'll go back in a couple of weeks and see what's happening.

Check out my newest blog,

"LET'S PAINT NEW MEXICO!"

Over 30 artists accepted the challenge of making art

from an image I post on the 1st and 15th of every  month.

the results from Challenge 1 have been beautiful.

To see the artwork, click HERE.

I'm doing a commission of Los Poblanos and had to go take some photos yesterday.

The clouds and the mountains were beautiful.

Los Poblanos was fair - the lotus flowers had faded, as had most of the roses. 

 This is a photo of the Los Poblanos Inn with their adobe wall, roses, and pampas grass.

I know, this is probably a boring photo for you, 

but this is one of my favorite places to photograph in Albuquerque. 

I call it "the house" and it's not really even a house, I think it's a storage shed. 

It sits in the Alameda Open Space and the fields are called "Alamo Farms."

You can walk the trail around it, but you can't walk into the open space.

I just like it because it has the backdrop of the mountains, 

and the field is always changing color.

So, if you see a painting that has the words "the house" in it, 

you'll know it's right here.

That's all for now - what a long post!

I am back to work, so look for daily postings.

Balloon paintings are available for purchase, until it the middle of September, 

so if you see something you love, email me at deesanchezart@hotmail.com

I missed you guys! Bye now...