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!

A Birthday Day....

I have a favorite cousin.

Her name is Goldie Kay and she is more like a sister than a cousin.

I wanted to do something special for her birthday, but what?

Since our favorite thing is to jump in the car and head out on a day trip,

I thought a semi-spontaneous day trip might be just the right birthday present .

So I just told her to come over about nine in the morning and we were going "somewhere."

I started out by taking her to her favorite little general store in Tesuque, NM,

which is just north of Santa Fe.

Here she is at the restaurant and as you can see,

she doesn't like her picture taken, especially with her glasses on.

Sorry cousin!

 Tesuque Market - we had a delicious breakfast

 Scary Day of the Dead - looks like paper mache

Then I asked her where from there  - and she said Chimayo.

This is the road coming down into the valley of Chimayo.

 This is the beautiful old church.

They had luminarias up and a Christmas wreath on the front door.

There's still some fall color.

And LOTS of people.

I didn't think about it being Saturday.

 colorful signs in Chimayo

 An old truck with a broken windshield.

I thought it looked artistic - kind of a sunburst crack.

 beautiful stream in Chimayo

 A guy selling red chile and ristras

 lots of ristras out today

 It was almost impossible to find a place to park

so I had to make do with photographing the church from afar.

 Goldie made a cross of wood to put in the fence and said prayers for her kids.

 My cross of wood

 a cowboy kind of dude in a really cool car

 A pretty old cemetery

 A sign that says "BEWARE OF RAM."

He wasn't very big but he sure gave us the evil eye.

 I think this was in Cordova.

We were trying to find a little chapel on a hill and ended up on this 

TINY steep driveway that led to someone's house.

Embarassing.

Dogs barked at us.

I sure wouldn't want to have to drive down this road with snow on it!

 Here's the chapel on the hill.

I never did find out how to get up to it.

 Oh my gosh, we had a belly laugh over this one.

Someone obviously moved and left a very distinct message on the garage door.

It says:

 MOVED TO ARROYO SECO.

Behind Jehovah Witness church.

Brown House.

We would not stop laughing.

 The beautiful village of Truchas.

I wasn't going to come this far but we didn't see any snow.

Well, hardly.

 Cemetery on the way to Truchas.

Snow on the dark side of the grave.

 Snow on the peaks above Truchas

 Isn't this a beautiful scene?

 An old church in Truchas

Look at all that snow in the background.

 We always go down this little road in Truchas 

and we happened to get behind a cattle drive.

We could not stop laughing.

There was an old truck with two old-timers in it.

We let them pass and crawled along behind them.

There were teenagers and a baby in this group.

We wondered where they were going....

 Beautiful stream along the way

 Cows and snow

 Slow going.

I think this walk took about thirty minutes.

The lead cow finally turned into a driveway and every cow followed right behind him.

Then the truck turned in and the guys waved at us.

That was so much fun!

 The mountains and edges of Truchas

We had a beautiful day.

The purpose of this trip was to be spontaneous (we were),

see beautiful scenery (we did),

and treat my wonderful cousin to a great birthday trip to northern New Mexico.

I think I succeeded....

I am working on a series of small church paintings for a Weems Uptown Gallery show that opens this month.
The photo above is going to be a painting of Chimayo with a cross and roses.
I have been procrastinating (major), waiting for the kitchen to be done so I can feel like I'm not a stranger in my own house, but I finally decided to start working.
So....I start painting today and right when I'm really getting into it (let's really get that cerulean going on the sky), my husband comes home and wants me to go with him to drop off the sink at the fabricators. They need to make a template. So I put my brushes in the spirits (a no-no), and took off to run errands.
We did that, then we went to look at portable buildings, then grabbed something to eat at Long John Silvers.
They are in with an A&W, so we shared an old time frosty mug of root beer..
When we got home, I ran (well, not literally) to Curves to do a workout before they closed. 
I came back home and glory be - Southwest Art magazine and Art News had come in the mail today, 
so I sat down for a few to flip through them.
Then...I must have dozed off for a few because when I woke up, it was dark outside. Darn!
So here I am in the studio again.At 7:34pm. And the Bachelor comes on at 8pm.
I just sighed, cleaned off my brushes and put everything away until tomorrow.
I do like the way this one is going though..... 

Now this one....our group of artists, "LET'S PAINT NEW MEXICO", is working on Challenge 10 - creating a painting of an old cruiser rumbling down the Rim Road near Valdez, NM, which you can reach on your way to Taos Ski Valley.
The photo is courtesy of a friend and fabulous photographer, Steve Bundy.
Okay, this painting is going to be hard, I already know. I'll tell you how I know...
We usually have about 10-12 artists complete each painting, even though we have over 30 artists on our roster.
I have received about 6 images so far. And I usually do mine right away. but I know it's not going to be easy, so I am waiting til the last minute. I sketched it yesterday and the car looks really boxy. In the photo is it wider, a little more whimsical. I shall adjust while painting. So, wish me luck on this one!
The countertop/backsplash guys are supposed to be here tomorrow. If all goes well, they will complete their work and it will be gorgeous. Then Wednesday, our friend Greg will come and install the sink, faucet, garbage disposal, overhead light, and ceiling fan. 
AND IT WILL BE DONE.
I am so tired of eating out, I can't even tell you. I yearn to make my own salad.....

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. 

down to the wire

"THE BLUE WINDOW"

10X8"

#4

 I only have five left to post...

Wow, I can't believe I'm almost through.

 I'm going to drag today's painting time out as long as possible.

Here are the latest, in no particular order.

 "FALL IN THE VILLAGE"

8X8"

#19

 "TAOS ASPENS"

8X8"

#9

 "CANONES STREAM"

8X10"

#17

 "CANYON WOMEN IN THE JEMEZ"

8X8"

#18

 "SUMMER GARDEN"

10X8"

#10

 "HONDO HIDDEN"

8X8"

#24

 "BED OF IRIS"

8X10"

#20

 "SARGE"

8X8"

#3

"THE RIVER BETWEEN"

8X10"

#21