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NEWS

Hi everyone,

This is my newest painting,

"CHIMAYO ROSES"

10x8" oil

It will be available for purchase soon.

These two floral paintings were just delivered to Sumner and Dene today

for their upcoming VALENTINE SHOW opening next Friday, February 5.

 "BY THE WINDOW"

10x8"

"SHADES OF BLUE"

10x8"

Both paintings are framed in antique silver speckle frames.

I am getting excited about painting!

MY new 150 CHALLENGE SHOW is starting

just as soon as my 150 cradled panels get here.

I am also planning day trips,

plein air and photo excursions, 

a Taos retreat, a spring Studio Sale and much more.

Throw in a wedding,

a couple of knee replacements and I

have all the makings of a great year.

To view the new 150 CHALLENGE SHOW site,
"150 FACES AND PLACES"

please click HERE. 

the last two....

GETTING READY FOR A SHOW

 Yay, my show is almost here and I'm starting to get excited.

This is a 30x48" sunflowers wild garden painting.

I saved it for near the end because I love playing with all of

those colors and shapes.

It's like a big puzzle.
Please click on the image for a larger view.

This is my last painting.

I thought I was done and someone asked,

"Did you paint Canyon Women?"

And I didn't.

I forgot!

I try to paint at least one Canyon Women painting for each show.

These women have worked hard in the chile fields

all day and are headed home to their sweet little casita in the mountains.

Okay, gotta get back to it.

Postcards are in, have to print my mailing list labels and get those out.

We have hooking, wiring, titling, and inventorying to do.

And I am working on a two big painting commission 

for a hospital expansion that is due October 31st.

No time to stop and think about it.

Like Nike says, "Just Do It."

TO VIEW ALL SHOW PAINTINGS, CLICK HERE.

new paintings

New paintings

These are my two newest paintings for Sumner and Dene.

This is not my normal color palette at all.

Lots of light, earthy colors.

You know, a lot of people (most not from here)

think that New Mexico is ugly and brown.

Well, we are brown, but we are not ugly.

Where other people see dirt as just an ugly, washed out color,

I see richness. I see golds, sages, oranges, yellows, greys, 

and much more.

New Mexico is a jewel box of beautiful colors

and I'm so glad I live here!

 "ALGODONES VALLEY"

11x14"

oil on gallery wrap

"HILLS OF SAGE"

24x30"

oil on gallery wrap

2 daily painting

"AUTUMN ON THE MESA"

6x8"

oil on panel

 Please click on the image to enlarge

I am so happy to be painting daily studies again!

For one thing, they get me motivated to paint, 

which gets me into the studio early.

 They also help me avoid procrastination (which I have loads of).

This is a view of the Algodones plateau from the high mesas of Placitas.

I was painting back on the old Placitas Loop Road, the sky was full

of clouds and I must have shot a million photos.

To purchase, please click on the Paypal button below.

Also, please come to visit me this Friday, July 3, at

Sumner and Dene Gallery downtown for the Architecture Show!

The Artist Reception is from 5-8pm.

I have ten paintings in the show and there will be work by some of 

Sumner and Dene's stellar artists.

517 Central Avenue NW, 505-842-1400.

See you then! 

  

SUMNER AND DENE GALLERY
Architecture Show

FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

ARTIST RECEPTION 5-8PM.

The paintings below will be included in the show.

I'm still painting for the next few days

and I specifically have a downtown urban scene in mind

that I would like to capture!

I hope you will come down to the show to visit with me 

and see the paintings.

It's a group show and since I love all of the other artists'

work, I can't wait to see them myself.

 "A LITTLE VINO"

8x8"

oil on panel

The cool blue door at the Corrales Winery

 "CLOUDY DAY IN SECO

9x12"

oil on panel 

The main street running through Arroyo Seco -

filled with shops, galleries, eateries, and major coolness

 "SHOPPING IN SECO"

8x10"

oil on panel

I loved painting this woman's reflection in the door.

 "SACRED GROUND"

8x10"

oil on panel

Beautiful old church in Corrales

 "CHIMAYO RISTRAS"

9x12"

oil on panel

This is the old Vigil store that stands next to Santuario de Chimayo.

It was full of ristras and the building was not so colrful,

but I had to include the old gas pump on the far left.

 "POBLANOS WINDOW"

8x8"

oil on panel

This is a window with hollyhocks at the

beautiful Los Poblanos Inn in the north valley.

 "AUTUMN AT SECO CHURCH"

8x8"

oil on panel

I have painted this scene a couple of times and I never tire of it.

The warm adobe with the red roof of the church and the chamisa

and the blue sky - yum!

"AUTUMN AT BLACK MESA"

12x9"

oil on panel

My favorite of the bunch!

The blue of the mountain top sings to me.

I could stare at this painting all day.

Quite a few things coming up on the agenda that I will talk about next week.

Have a great Father's Day!

last garden walk through

YESTERDAY'S GARDEN

Yesterday I toured the last garden in Corrales.

I am actually painting at this one, so I took a little

extra time to look at spaces and shady spots to see where I might 

fit in and stay out of the line of tour foot traffic.

 This is a view of the Corrales graveyard.

I think it's beautiful and serene.

 Beautiful potted flowers.

  A sweet little birdbath surrounded by flowers

 Here is their exposed adobe wall that looks toward the Sandia mountains.

 A person escaping from the ground.

 A garden gnome escaping from the ground.

 Cool sculputal lizard gate.

 Not sure what these are but they reminded me of wildflower fields.

 Guardian of the garden.

 Maybe Jupiter's Beard?

 Behind the wall, there are lovely clumps of sage.

 Another view of flowers in the rock garden.

 I always love flowers against a grey background.

Not sure what these are.

They kind of look like snapdragons.

 I really want to paint this scene but it is next to a sidewalk

and right in the line of traffic flow.

I'll have to see when I get there in the morning.

 Awesome "tree" gate

 Sun sculpture

The only negative about this garden is there are no trees for shade.

Not one.

I will have to definitely bring my umbrella!

 Of course, I had to take a couple of photos of Corrales while I was there.

Meandering acequia

 Just grass and trees but I want to make a painting of this.

 Blue gate at the Corrales Winery.

I wanted to paint this last fall during a group paint out,

but never got the chance. I will try it soon.

 Vineyards at the Corrales Winery.

 Okay, these are not at one of the gardens or even in Corrales.

These beautiful cactus are just around the corner in my neighborhood.

I drive by these all the time, and I bet most people never even notice them.

Since I usually always carry a "real" camera around with me

(I dislike using my iphone camera),  

I am always on the lookout for unseen things that might be beautiful.

 This is a almost full-blooming cholla cactus.

A regular old prickly pear cactus.

It is beautiful in the midday Albuquerque sun.

Well - a couple of things...

Tonight is the opening of Sumner and Dene's GARDEN SHOW!

I am an invited Guest Artist and will be at the opening reception from 5-8pm.

Please join us and come on out and view all of the paintings.

It's going to be spectacular!

This Sunday, I will be painting at the Corrales Garden Tour.
Tickets are $10 and the tour is from 9am - 4pm
Come and watch us paint!

Sumner and Dene is located at 517 Central NW, 

on Central between 5th and 6th streets, near the Kimo Theater.

505-842-1400

gardens galore

Garden Four

Yesterday, I went on a walking tour of Garden Four for the upcoming Corrales Garden Tour.

I am not scheduled to paint at this garden, but I liked it so much, 

the owner said I could come back and paint after the tour.

 Look at this pot overflowing with pansies!

 This home had a beautiful inside space with a bridge-covered pond, birds, and

lots of beautiful orchids and palm trees.

 Coreopsis look so pretty against this cream colored adobe wall.

Nice shadows too.

 Another view of a stand of coreopsis.

 This is a little field of blanketflowers.

I love the colors under the shade of a cottonwood.

Lots of pale greys, purples, and blues.

This is how the field looked in full sun!

We are seeing the last garden tomorrow.

Please come down and visit me at Sumner and Dene Gallery

on Friday, June 5 (this Friday), from 5-8pm

for the Artists Reception for their popular GARDEN SHOW.

I am one of the Guest Artists and have 23

paintings in the show! 

They are located at 517 Central NW 

near the Kimo Theater.

the art of the garden

FLOWERS AND A GARDEN THEME!

I delivered my paintings to the gallery today.

What a pretty place! And right in the heart of downtown.

It makes me want to own a loft so I can see all of "happenings."

Here is the postcard for the show with all of the information.

I hope you can make it down to the show.

I hear it's going to be a party!

big changes....

CHANGES

Those of you who know me well know that I have 

been going through some changes.

I have had a painting block for a while now,

just going through the motions to get things done.

My best collector and personal friend Tom 

passed away unexpectedly last year.

My art buddy, day-trip traveling partner Goldie

moved to Atlanta to be with her daughter.

These two people were my biggest supporters and

I'm not gonna lie - I felt lost without them.

How was I going to get rid of this ineria

and get back into my love of making art?

After much soul searching and time spent sitting and

staring off into space,

I came to the conclusion that my art life needed

to be shaken up a bit. No, A LOT.

It was either make a drastic change or stop working.

So - and this is a big one - 

I have left the gallery that I have been with

for the last 13 years.

This gallery gave me my first start in painting

and helped me learn the ropes in doing my 

first group show, my first local big art show, my first solo show.

They have always been so supportive and

I wouldn't be where I am without them.

Thank you, Weems Galleries.

Whew, scary move for sure.

 So now I am floating....

After years of nonstop shows and deadlines, what do I do?

The first thing I did was take a few days off, 

sit down, and think about where I wanted my career to be in five years.

The second thing I did was go to Santa Fe and watch a demo 

of an artist whose work I liked.

Those of you who know me know that I don't "do" the workshop thing.

i always thought taking a workshop would steer me away from my own style.

But this was more like a talk and discussion about his techniques and materials.

The third thing I did was buy some palette knives.

I then watched a few youtube videos and went through 

my books on painting with a knife.

I checked in with (and joined) palette knife groups on facebook.

Then I just jumped in and created my first palette knife work.

Not gonna lie, it was way too thick.

Painting with a knife is HARD.

I gave the painting to my daughter (who loved it!)

But I kept at it and am now loving the knife.

Here is my second attempt:

"WINDOWSILL"

8x8"

oil on panel

I love this painting, so I'm thinking, 

maybe I am onto something here.

My third attempt:

"BLOOMS"

8x10"

oil on panel

It felt kind of strange, not using a brush.

The knife does not go where I want it to go!

I bought better knives and a few spatula-type brushes and that helped.

Then - I was talking to one of my artist friends one day and she

mentioned that she was participating in an invitational

GARDEN SHOW at Sumner and Dene gallery in June.

I thought cool, that might be fun, so I called the gallery and 

they invited me to participate.

I accepted and was excited for the first time in a long time.

Now, I am busy creating a series of paintings

that are garden related.

No pressure, I can do one or twenty one.

Another of my new goals was to make a plan to

go out on location all this spring and summer and paint BIG.

I don't know if I will use knives or brushes but the

main goal is to get out of my comfort zone of small paintings and 

go for size out in the beautiful landscape- 16x20 through 30x40, to start.

I have done HUGE paintings in the past, but all were created in the studio.

It's hard enough to paint en plein air - but to paint BIG in plein air?

Scary!

I am still trying to figure out the actual set-up to do that.

So anyway, I hope you will bear with me, join me on this new venture.

and check out the GARDEN SHOW this June at Sumner and Dene.

Here are the other paintings so far:

 "CORRALES SUMMER 12x9" oil

"DUET" 12x16" oil

"HIDDEN GARDEN 11x14 oil 

"POPPY GARDEN" 8x10" oil

"PRAIRIE GARDEN" 14x11" oil

"SPLENDID" V" 12x9" oil

"SUNBATHING" 10x8" oil

 "HIDDEN GARDEN" 8x10" oil

"WILD GARDEN" 12x9" oil

Thank you all for supporting me

every time I go through some kind of art breakthough.

Life is good!