adobe shadows

2018

"ADOBE SHADOWS"

8x10"

oil

A floral scene from Los Ranchos, NM

Flowers against warm adobe

I am happy to have the first painting of 2018

under my belt.

It was so hard to get started!

I warmed up the studio. 

Than I ate lunch.

Then I watched one of my shows.

Then I straightened up the stuff on the dining room table.

Then I came in and checked my email.

Then I checked my favorite artists' websites and blogs.

I totally realized that I was procrastinating.

I haven't painted anything except ornaments

since before Christmas!

But I did start and it is just like riding a bicycle.

You just go by rote:

Put on the lights

Put on the gloves

Get the paints out on the palette

Get out the Gamsol

Get out the kleenix

Get out the wipees

Get a small paper plate

Put some acrylic paint on it

Very loosely sketch your scene 

Check your email one last time

Go to the bathroom

Go outside and pet the dogs

Have a snack

Sit down and stare at the panel on your easel

NOW GO, YOU MORON!

As you can see, I finally went and it felt so good. 

This painting is Challenge 2018-1 on our group,

"LET'S PAINT NEW MEXICO!"

We have a facebook page and a blog.

To check out the blog, click here.

On facebook, type "let's paint new mexico" into the search box.

Keep an eye out for our group exhibition this fall!

Okay, now that I have one painting done,

I want to do a million more......

say hi

Two paintings I've been working on:

 

A LITTLE MAGIC

10x8"

oil
$150
(Contact me to purchase)

"JEMEZ ARROYO"

8x10"

oil
$150

(To purchase, click HERE.)

I am back in the groove of painting in the studio for a few days.

So different from plein air painting!

These are the things I love about my studio:

a ceiling fan

windows and french doors

decent lighting (could be WAY better)

my computer is next to me

great cds to listen to

all supplies at hand or nearby

bathroom just a few steps away.

TV in the other room if I want a break

art magazines on a table if I need inspiration

my puppies can join me

nice comfy chairs

can go read or take a nap if the mood strikes

being alone

A little different from plein air painting:

no gas or car wear and tear

no lugging of painting gear 

no wind

no rain

no dust or sand

no bugs 
no potty

no sun beating down

no deciding where to go

no "forgetting" of equipment or paint

 no paying for food at expensive restaurants

no having to look for a place to stay

being alone

 The moral of the story is that no matter where an artist works,

whether it be in the field or in the studio,

we spend a lot of time alone.  

Too much time sometimes.

But we need that time to come up with ideas.

To get motivated and inspired.

To plan for shows and paint outs and events.

I live art. I breathe art. When I'm on vacation, 
when everyone else is enjoying themselves,
I am scouting. Scouting locations.
Scouting compositions.
I can't turn it off.
And not everyone understands that.

One of my favorite things is to get together with a group

of artists and just hang out. Just chill.

Talk about art.

Eat some good food.

Talk about marketing.

Talk about sales. Or lack of sales.

We're just hanging out, being ALONE together.

And it's a nice place to be.

So if you see someone out painting

and feel moved to do so.....

Stop and say hi and say, Nice work!"
Or say, "It's coming along."
Or, "How long does it take you to do that?"

That will keep us going for at least a week.
That's all us artist loners need.

 One person being interested in the work.

One compliment goes a long way for a loner.

P.S. If you are interested in either of the above paintings,
please email me at dshadowtail@aol.com

.

new paintings

3 -  "SHADES OF BLUE"

10x8"

oil on panel
Purchase information, click HERE.

2 - "FLOWER CANYON"

8x8"

oil on panel
$100
Purchase information, email dshadowtail@aol.com

4 -  "TAOS LIGHT"

10x8"

oil on panel

SOLD

5 -  "SUNSHINE"

8x10"

oil on panel
$100
Purchase information, email dshadowtail@aol.com

 "MESSY STUDIO"

about 300 square feet

lots of clutter and dust

Not for Sale

I am finally feeling back in the zone a little bit.

I want to paint every day now!

I have some ideas for my upcoming show in September, but

still need to ponder over it a bit.

I hope you guys are liking my new work.

getting ready for the Retro Challenge

 There has been much cleaning and unpacking going on!

I am finally getting motivated - mostly because I know I have a huge project

coming up and time is wasting away...

The Retro Challenge 2014 is coming!!

What you see above is the reorganization of my studio - 

the packing up of unused canvases and gessboards and the unpacking 

of 150 new gallery wrap 8x8s and 8x10s.

The moving around of oil paints and a new oil painting area.

The purchase of acrylics for painting

and acrylics for ornaments.

Lots of sealer and ink too.

 Isn't this beautiful? Just kidding.

This is my old rickety chair, a bunch of trash and the displacement of many things!

 Can you tell I have no idea what I'm doing yet?

 These are my ornaments-to-be.

They have been sanded and primed and are awaiting painting.

I plan on having at least 50 of these for my Weems show in September.

 These are the wooden chopsticks that I use for holding ornaments while

they are being painted. I slip them through the golden top

 and then I can twirl them any which way to paint.

I also use them for hanging ornaments to dry.

My nice clean canvases all stacked and ready to go.

And, oh so intimidating!

My postcard is being produced now and will be

ready for mailing in about a week.

The Retro Challenge begins on March 1, and you can follow along here.

DAY TRIP AND OTHER THINGS

Did you ever just need to get away for the day?

Well, I needed it. Badly. So.....

I signed up for a luncheon and two-studio tour last Saturday in Santa Fe 

with a wonderful group of women from the New Mexico chapter of 

the National Museum of Women in the Arts, which is housed in Washington, DC.

It is the only museum in the world solely dedicated to women in the arts.

Before I show you photos of my trip, though, 

I wanted to show you this painting I just finished.

This is "DEFINITION" a 24x30" framed piece that is my donation to this year's 

Legacy Art Event, which is happening in a couple of weeks.

It is a painting of one of my favorite places, the Rio Chama

near Abiquiu and it's also my fav time of year, autumn.

Hopefully someone will fall in love with it at the live auction, and make 

some money for scholarship students. 

So I haven't gone ON a day trip in a while, especially alone, 

 mostly because of car troubles that have been resolved.

I'm happy because I was about to go crazy! The mechanic finally figured out what was wrong, 

after we paid A LOT of money, so he didn't charge us for what was actually wrong with it - a

sensor of some sort.

But to get back to my story, the photos you are going to see below 

are of two artists and their studios.

And boy, were they different. And fascinating!  

 This is the studio of Ligia Bouton. 

So large, bright, and open. I loved it!

The crate you see on the far left is a large installation piece titled 

"Six Photographs of People I Don't Know: Photograph 5, The Bouquet."  

I will show you the piece displayed in an exhibition tomorrow.

The pigs on the wall are handmade and being readied for an

exhibition - they are called "Understudy for the Animal Farm."

Each pig is comprised of two pillowcases handcut and sewn by the artist.

These heads are also masks and may be worn.

She is making a series of thirty.

 This is a view of a large pinon tree out of the studio window.
I got distracted.

 Closer view of the pigs.

 Two large garage doors - I want these!

 Ligia demonstrating how the pig heads work.

 They are actually soft and cuddly.

 My favorite pig

 A view of a passing cloud out the studio window.

Man, those clouds keep calling me.....

From there, we moved to the studio of NM artist Carol Anthony.

Carol paints with oil sticks in a cross-hatch technique 

and then uses her fingers to manipulate her medium.

Her house was so unique and beautiful.

Every door was old and beautiful and had a story attached to it.

}There was art everywhere - Carol's, pieces her friends had given her, 

and the art of her twin sister, who passed away several years ago.

 This is the living room.

It was so warm and cozy,

I wanted to snuggle down and take a nap or read a book....

 The house is straw bale construction and it has a very solid adobe-like feel.

This is her dining room and through the archway is her studio.

 Another view of the dining room - don't you just love the kiva fireplace?

I kind of felt like I had stepped back in time.

 This is a view outside the front yard of another house nicknamed "The Cloister."

 A snapshot of a lone cloud passing by....
I think I am a cloud freak.

 A view of one of the houses on the property.

 A small thatch-roofed meditation room.

 Straw bales are surprisingly soft to sit on.

 A massage room.....

 An old outhouse.

This is so unique - notice the handle made of old wood.

 An adobe wall with chamisa that is still in the dormant stage, no green blooms yet.

I had a wonderful time and wish my studio was as unique as this one. Lovely.

Gearing Up for a Challenge

CLEANING THE STUDIO

To me, cleaning my studio is like cleaning and clearing my mind.

Getting ready to start something new and fresh.

Here are a few photos of my studio in the throes of messiness:

 Things are kind of a disaster in the studio right now - I just got a big order of paints in, 

you can see them on the counter, some boxes are opened, some are not. 

There are papers everywhere, boxes on the floor, my photos are unorganized.

I'm not looking forward to this.

No, that's a lie.

I am looking forward to this.

Because once it's done, I will be able to just sit and focus

and think about the upcoming 145 day Challenge.

What subjects am I going to paint?

What day trips do I want to take?

Are people going to be interested?

What kind of yummy food am I going to serve for the meal

at the end of the Challenge?
Hmm, that will take some heavy-duty thinking....

 A close up of my new oil paints - Gamblin of course. 

The only kind I use except for Old Holland's Violet Grey and Winsor Newton's Permanent Rose.

You can also see the containers of Gamsol, Gamblin's odorless mineral spirits.

Couldn't live without that stuff.
And on the floor, is my small carry tray thingy filled with
all of my plein air supplies.
When I'm ready to go, I just grab it, a chair, an umbrella,
and I can be off.

 This is a shot of my ornaments in baskets on the floor that I keep saying 

I'm going to paint and never seem to actually find the time to do. 

Maybe one of these days.

You can also see the small easels I use for daily painting 

(I have three of those and eight other easels).

Then, there are the boxes of Wipees I use to clean EVERYTHING, the purple latex gloves, 

and the Kleenix (although any brand will do) that I use for wiping my brushes when painting. 

And the mess of paper I always have laying about.

 Aah, better.

The panels are organized, the brushes are laid out.

The two large red canvases are going to be skyscapes for an

upcoming show at Weems Uptown gallery.

My roll-around cart of photos for subjects is basically straight.

I'm just waiting for 132 panels to come in and

145 custom ordered antique silver speckle plein air frames.

My car is ready, I will be on the road soon.

 Paints are all organized and set up from light to dark.

 One more view of my clean studio.

Sometime during the Challenge, I'm going to paint it a beautiful grey-green.

This is my ever-faithful cd cabinet.

It doesn't close all the way, so I have a hair tie looped around the two knobs.

The cabinet is packed with cds inside.

I don't think I will ever have a shortage of music.

Also, my Wolf Kahn calender for inspiration.

I think I'm almost ready.....

seeing red...in more ways than one

Greetings!

Today has been a weird day.

It started off really well - I woke up, slept good, then went to Planet Fitness to work out.

I had a good workout riding the bike for 45 minutes. Until...

Until I went to get into my car, and it wouldn't start.

Okay, I'm pretty laid back.

I usually just try to let things roll off of me.

I don't usually get very stressed.

BUT....we have put over $2000 into this car just since August.

I was seeing red. Lots of red. Frustrated red.

So my trusty husband came and jump-started me and off we went to the mechanic.

Turns out we need a new battery. Another $155.

But worth it for a car that runs and starts when I need it to.

So I got dropped off at my house, and I was so tense.

Just hyped up and couldn't seem to get motivated to do anything.

I decided to make myself some lunch, sat down on the couch 

and became a certified couch potato for an hour.

I watched Millionaire Matchmaker and LA Shrink.

Those two crazy shows put my problems into perspective and I felt better.

I finally made it into the studio and finished toning my panels.

And yes, they were red. But a calming reddish-orange, not mean and angry red.

And I slowly began to breathe again.....

Here are a few photos my toning process.

 On the left is a SOLD commission still life in the works.

It will be a blue vase of poppies. And the poppies will be sort of a dark fuschia red.

the red you see in that little red frame on the right.

When I tone, I do the panels all at once and they are put everywhere - on top of photos, 

on top of a roll of upstanding paper towels, on top of my paints. 

I even have one balancing on top of my trash can.

But look at how organized my table looks!

Enjoy it while it lasts...

 Oh I'm sorry, I have not one but TWO panels balanced on my trash can.

I even have one lying on top of my brushes. 

My bad.

A semi-arial view of toned canvas everywhere.

I think I toned about seventy-five of those babies.

Now what to do?

More on that later....

on to other things

ON TO NEW THINGS.....

My taxes are done.

It must be spring cleaning time because now I've moved on to my studio!

The studio is not bad. At first glance, it even looks okay.

But I know better. I know where the clutter is.

Those who know me know how much I LOVE books.

Especially art books. Well, art books are now becoming my clutter.

Today I am being firm and going through all of my art books

and only keeping the ones I really want or need.

I may have a little garage sale for all of my artist friends when 

I'm done spring cleaning.

I want my area to be as decluttered as possibly so when I go into the studio 

painting is my only focus. 

I'm also trying to make some room to have a couple of small painting

WORKSHOPS this summer.

I've been asked numerous times if I teach or do workshops 

and the answer has always been no. Until now!

If you are interested in learning techniques involved in daily painting, plein air painting,

blogging, marketing, and how to get out in the art world, keep this in mind.

My idea is to have 3-6 students for a day long workshop - 

half inside and half outside under the cottonwood trees.

A nice lunch and lots of great instruction and conversation.

Affordable and fun. 

More on that later....

OTHER NEWS

I have a couple of projects coming up....

One is for an exhibition called SEED.

I'm doing one painting and the theme is, you guessed it - seeds!

I'm not sure what I'm doing yet, but there's a lot of room for interpretation.

The other is a group exhibition at Weems Uptown called 

"FLOWERS AND VEGGIES."

I am painting 6-8 large pieces - I'm actually looking at some 30x30 canvases that 

are really deep - about three inches.

They would be awesome covered in wild chaotic flowers and painted around the sides, 

very three dimensional and sculptural. 

I'll probably pick up one or two canvases to start on Monday and

see where that goes. 

You guys know I love painting those wild flowers!

I am going to work on a daily painting to post tonight, so keep an eye out.

AND, I'm going on a retreat this weekend.

I'll be doing a labryinth walk, meditation, writing, etc. 

Don't forget to set your clocks this weekend!

  

Taos on Dwellable