new painting

"FOR A SONG"

6x8"

oil

SOLD

The newest entry into my 100 Challenge of small gems.

I love Abiquiu and its surrounding areas.

 I'm pretty surethis image was taken after I turned onto Monastery Road.

Unparalleled colors and views!

For purchase information, scroll to bottom of screen.

THE PLACE BETWEEN"

9x12"

oil

I must be in hollyhock mode because

I am seeing them everywhere and want to paint them

nonstop for a month.

This is an impressionistic version and

I think they have a very dreamy quality.

Email me at dshadowtail@aol.com for

more information about this painting.

To view all FOR A SONG paintings:
CLICK HERE.

#28 "JEMEZ HILLS"

"JEMEZ HILLS"

8x8"

oil

I just got back from a gorgeous trip to Jemez!

I won't have time to show you the pics and tell the story 

until this weekend, but the colors were amazing.

This painting was painted in late spring, when

the leaves were that green that is so hard to mix

and even harder to describe.

I want to just say "spring" green.

If you love this little gem and want to make it your own,

click on the Paypal button below and follow the steps. it's easy!

New Paintings

Back in Painting Mode

Seriously, if you ever lose your desire and 

motivation for painting - take a few days off.

Visit art galleries. 

Get some new art books.

Go to Barnes and Noble and browse the art magazines.

Get online and see other artists' websites and blogs.

And them, get in the studio and PAINT something.

I am in work mode now and in a way,

that's not good because I have 7 shopping days until

Christmas and I have bought NOTHING.

Zilch. Nada.

But I'm not worried. Why?

Because I do this every year.

I have ordered a turkey with fixings from the local

store and will buy my supplies to make all of my goodies this week.

But in the meantime, I will paint.

 This is a SOLD commission of beautiful hills and mesas.

.

#60  "GARDEN ABSTRACT"

8x8"

oil

For every landscape I paint, I try to throw in a wild and chaotic abstract piece.

Why? Because it loosens up my hand 

and reminds me what I love about being an artist.

This is a view of larkspur and poppies from a Corrales Garden.

Today, I will be painting Canyon Women!

You can find this painting available HERE.

DP7 "PINONS AT SUNSET"

"PINONS AT SUNSET"

10x8"

oil on hardboard

Available at little Luna Gallery
Madrid, NM

I don't know about you but when I'm out driving

and looking for beautiful scenes, I sometimes

wish I could be like other plein air painters - 

the ones who load up a big heavy backpacks on their backs and

head out deep into the woods and mountains.

They get the real deal.

They paint the hidden views that we only dream about.

My version of that is having all of my painting gear in the back of my car.

I see a spot, a vista, and I pull over, get out, open the trunk,

drag everything out, set it up, and finally....I paint.

Or, I go super small, and take a 5x7 or 6x8 thumb box

in the front of my car, on the seat next to me.

I find my spot, get my box, and I'm ready to go.

It's so easy, although a little too cramped.

Especially for someone who likes to wave their arms around when they paint.
And I have to bring my wipees to immediately clean all of the
paint I smear on the steering wheel and the windows.

This scene was one of those scenes.

Way up in the woods, right next to the pinon and sky. 

Candy colors and nature's beauty.

 

DP4 "ASPEN HILLS"

"ASPEN HILLS"

8x8"

oil on hardboard 

 Available at Little Luna Gallery
Madrid, NM

I've been feeling a mad craving to paint a really large aspen painting - 

this is a small study to get me in the mood.

Our beautiful aspen color is almost all gone now.

Pretty soon we'll see nothing but beautiful grey branches against those mountains.

And those branches are still lovely - and so beautiful to paint.

For this piece, I started with no sketching.

The mountains were barely blocked in.

The darker reddish color at the bottom of the trees was placed.

Then the trunks of the trees.

I started shaping the aspen trees and adding color by looking at 

the painting as a whole.

The sky was added halfway through the painting

and finished up after the trees were complete.

I would still like to get WAY loose and more abstract with a painting like this.

It does feel loose, but still controlled.

In other news - 

I'm finished with my Weems Artfest auction painting and it will be delivered 

today or tomorrow.

I will post photos later.

It's a big beautiful Elena Gallegos sunset and will be

offered through a silent auction at Weems Artfest

 this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Expo New Mexico.
The auction benefits three different New mexico charities.
I declined doing any physical shows at all this year,
so am not in the show, but I am going to go and see all of the fantastic art and artists.

Check HERE to details about Artfest.

new 145 Challenge painting

"THOSE ABIQUIU COWS"

6x6"

#127

  PURCHASE INFORMATION, CLICK HERE.

I love this painting!

After about a total of two hours of painting, tweaking and taking photos,

looking at them, tweaking some more, etc., I love it.

My original photo was pretty bland, so I had to imagine.

I am itching for a trip to Abiquiu so bad I can hardly stand it.

Soon!

In other news, I have 20 people signed up for my dinner at the end of the Challenge.

It's happening September 29, costs $49, 

and half of the proceeds go to New Mexico Dogs Deserve Better.

If you want to come and enjoy a dinner under the cottonwoods with me,

 send your reservation check to:

Dee Sanchez, 403 Camino del Bosque NW, Albuquerque, NM  87114

I will also be painting in Santa Fe later this month for the 

PAPNM event Plein Air Santa Fe.

Five days of exploring that great city. Yay!

I hope to come back with some great studies, some finished painting, 

and 1000 photographs for future reference.

So, today is a painting day, have a great weekend, and I think my 

next painting should be flowers on a red background.

Sunflowers or autumn bouquet?

.

Changing Gears

Hello everyone - 

I have taken a week off and it has been SO relaxing. 

I've taken naps almost every day, gone to Curves, 

gone to the gym to swim, and just generally done nothing work related at all.

The problem for me is, after about a week of this, all I can think about is starting work again.

So here I am, planning and getting ready for making some serious art!

BALLOON POSTER

Here is the evolution of the Balloon Poster up until now. 

I created the sketch, toned the canvas, shifted some things around:

 original sketch made larger

 toned with burnt sienna and red on canvas

 This is the first color I applied to the canvas. 

I hadn't worked in acrylics in a while and it felt so different.

I have really gotten used to my oils!

I knew I wanted the biggest balloon to really make a statement 

and draw people into the landscape.

I wanted people to feel like they could be up in that balloon, 

floating over those sunflowers, drifting over the fields, and headed out over the horizon - 

to places like Abiquiu, Jemez, Taos, some of my favorite places in New Mexico.

There were initially three balloons but we increased it to four.

 This is a more finished stage. 

The balloons are all in place, the painting is bright, a nice contrast of colors.

Now, to begin the linework.

Oh, and can you spot the hidden state bird of New Mexico?
Click on the image if you would like a larger view.

 Detail of adding lines to the sunflowers and surrounding areas.

Okay, this is the piece almost completed.

The border will be black around the poster.

The "Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta" will be in turquoise, 

to match the large balloon and my signature.

The words, "Blaze a Trail," which is theme theme of this year's fiesta, 

will be the same color as the sunflowers.

I will post a photo of the actual poster as soon as I see it.

I'm excited!!

The painting for the 

2012 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

Oh, and one more thing - 

I have decided that all of the new paintings 

for the Balloon Fiesta will be acrylic with linework! 

So, if you are one of my "line" collectors, 

get ready to see some new art!
Here is what I will be working on for the next 4 months:


- lots of small paintings, sizes 4x4 and up
- a few larger pieces
- landscapes and everything New Mexico
- gallery wrap canvas painted black around the sides
- lightweight - easy to carry home in luggage or to ship
- lots of new magnets
- maybe notecards and calenders
- a few surprise ornaments


Stay tuned!


Oh, and there is only a little over two weeks to choose your 150 Challenge painting before the show closes!