new 150 CHALLENGE paintings

Hi all,

Here are my two newest 150 CHALLENGE paintings.

It is nice to get back into the groove.

I have 50 paintings to complete, but for some reason,

it doesn't feel like a lot.

I'm not under a deadline and I can paint whatever and whenever I want.

Yesterday, I really felt like I had to paint a still life.

I don't know why - I was just drawn to painting flowers and vases.

I finished CORNER WINDOW, and I was really happy

with the sunlight playing through the window and around the flowers.

Then Jemez called to me.

Maybe because I am itching to take a little day trip there

but I'm waiting until I can see at least a little

green in the landscape.

I hope you enjoy these two and today,

the door is open for me to paint ANYTHING!

I have a new Challenge image for our group,

"LET'S PAINT NEW MEXICO!"

It's an old truck, so I may paint that.

Here is the image:

Here are my new Challenge paintings:

#52 "JEMEZ BACKROADS"

8x10"

oil on cradled board

$150

#53  "CORNER WINDOW"

8x8"

oil on cradled board

$150

P.S. If you are interested in purchasing either

of these paintings, you can click on the link HERE.

three new 150 challenge paintings

Hi all,

I sketched seventeen paintings yesterday and I have painted three so far.

I hope you like them and watch for the Purchase link at the bottom of the page.

 "OLD TOWN TWINKLES"

8x10"

oil on cradled gessoboard

$150

I love this sweet little alcove in old town.

The window is a beautiful cobalt blue and with

the pinks and reds of the flowers and the twinkle lights,

it's just a grand place to visit!

 "BIRDSONG"

10x8"

oil on cradled board

$150

A scene from last week's garden in Corrales.

I fell in love with the beauty of this gorgeous wildflower garden!

I arrived about early in the morning to paint

and all I could hear were the sounds of nature.

Birds singing, bees buzzing (mosquitos too).

Therefore, my title of BIRDSONG.

"SPRING ASPENS AND LILACS"

8x10"

oil on cradled board

$150

Oh my gosh, I can't tell you how

much I love this painting!

It is spring aspens and lilacs in Taos, actually in Arroyo Seco.

The sunlight was shining through the trees and I 

had to capture the scene with my camera.

The finished painting is very impressionistic,

maybe that's why I like it so much.

Up close, it looks like nothing but colors.

But step back, and it becomes something that

really reminds me of that beautiful morning.

For Purchase information,

CLICK HERE.

new 150 Challenge painting

"ROSES AT RANCHO"

10x8"

oil

My newest 150 Challenge painting!

I have lots to blog about and another new painting

but I won't have time to blog about anything 

until tonight.

If you want to view purchase information

and read more about this painting,

CLICK HERE.

#145 "THE BLUE DOOR"

"THE BLUE DOOR"

8X8"

oil on board

#145

I am back at it!

Working on getting my postcards out and the 150 Challenge paintings.

life is good!

To see all of the 150 Challenge paintings so far, click HERE.

8 - "BY THE WINDOW"

"BY THE WINDOW

10x8"

oil on panel

$100

A soft still life of a full vase of flowers 

sitting by an open window with a view to the outside.

Whew, that was a long sentence!

This was just so much fun to paint.

Lots of color notes everywhere.

To purchase, click HERE.

1 - "TAOS TREASURES"

"TAOS TREASURES"

8x10"

oil on panel
SOLD

My first painting of the new year!

Actually my first painting in about two months.

This is a pot of geraniums showcasing a Taos

window filled with beautiful treasures.

The contrast of the blue and orange/reds were what

originally caught my eye and I am happy with the result.

I took a much needed break and enjoyed the holidays

and activities with my family. It was wonderful.

Sometimes, after working super hard, I really

have to take a time of decompression and star-gazing to 

find out where I want to go next in my life and my career.

I've been slowly getting the studio organized

 over the past couple of weeks.  

Paints are in order, panels are ready to go.

When I first started this painting,

I sketched hesitantly.

It had been two months, after all.

But when I put that first buttery dollop on the surface,

I knew I was back home.

Painting is what I was born to do.

It all came back and I am excited about 2016.

I do have a couple of commissions to complete

and will get started on those this week.

Other than that, I am concentrating on my health.

I have a very important wedding to attend this summer. 

 I have scheduled my first knee replacement surgery in August

and the second knee will follow about three months later.

It's time, the pain is getting too strong and it's

really limiting my ability to do the things I want to do.

So, I hope you enjoy my first painting of 2016. 

I'm going to aim for five per week, but

don't hold me to that.

I'm winging it this year....

new retro paintings

 149

 148

 

 147

I am finally getting in the groove - whew, it has taken what feels like forever 

to embrace the linework again.

Now I am loving it!

I am almost finished with 146 and will be posting that tonight.

My main goal for Saturday is to sit down and make a big chart

showing how many weeks I have until September 26.

Then I will spend time dividing up my larger paintings

and ornaments into those weeks - mainly so I don't have a million 

paintings and ornaments to do close to the show opening.

I also am making labels for my postcards for the first time!

I have always written my postcard addresses by hand.

It seems more personal and when I'm writing,

I'm thinking back to that person and the painting they bought,

and the experiences that we had then and have shared since then.

Some clients are first time buyers, some are one-time buyers,

and some are fanatical in their collecting.

I love them all! 

I am also organizing my first day trip of the new year and I can't wait.

I think it's going to be a loop - Tesuque, Chimayo, Truchas,

and back down through Abiquiu and Black Mesa.

That's taking on a lot for one day, I may end up having to tone it down, but we'll see.
I'm trying to hold off until spring is really here so I can see lots of green in the landscape.

I will be taking photos for the retro Challenge and plan to take
 my oil plein air gear so I can paint out on location.

I am really missing that right now.

I also want to set up a small plein air group to paint my neighbor's back yard.

It will soon be full of larkspurs and roses and wildflowers.

Bill's Yard

Thanks for watching and supporting my work!
To see all of the Retro challenge paintings, click HERE.

Remember, the Retro Challenge show opens Friday, September 26, 2014!

The Santa Fe, Canyon Road, Tesuque, Abiquiu, Black Mesa, Ghost Ranch, El Rito Expeirence

Oh wow!

I just got back from two days of painting, picture-taking, 

sight-seeing, town exploring, and much more.

And boy, am I tired.

  I am posting these pics for a couple of days for you to enjoy.

 Clay women at Jackalope Pottery in Santa Fe 

 The cross section 

I bought two.

 Rose garden in the Canyon Road neighborhood 

 Beautiful gate on Upper Canyon Road 

It was the upside down pale pink roses that attracted me.

Does this upside down thing mean something?

 What ARE these?

They look glorious against adobe walls!

 An old wagon in front of Jackalope Pottery 

Love the cut-out heart.

 Yellow hollyhocks 

You know these will become a painting.

 Star York's playful horses in front of one of the galleries 

 My favorite sculpture on Canyon Road 

Don't you love the shadows on these faces?

 The contrast of this elk against the orange of the flowers and the blue of the windows.....

 Simple orange lillies against an adobe wall 

 Pot of flowers against a gallery wall 

This guy hangs out all around the Santa Fe Plaza, waiting for people who are tired of walking.

Cool stars and chairs 

Colorful newspaper stands

The beautiful church in the heart of Santa Fe Plaza.

The Algodones plateau in spring 

 Alfalfa fields in Bernalillo

Could be hay, I don't know the difference.

 Beautiful red bushes and the lovely porch at the Abiquiu Inn 

Had to have the huevos rancheros.

 A beautiful cross at Black Mesa

 The San Idelphonso church at Black Mesa

 The very tall ET-like hoodoos at Ghost Ranch

Look at those beautiful colors.

 Abiquiu Lake and Pedernal 

The lake water looked really turquoise today.

 Colored rock formations at Ghost Ranch

 A beautiful old building in El Rito

Wouldn't this make a cool studio/gallery?

 This is actually a working restaurant in El Rito!

The clerk at Ghost Ranch said she had dinner here the night before last and it was good.

Should have checked their hours of operation.

 An old window with fake roses in El Rito

 beautiful Descanso near the water in El Rito

 Old adobe right on the street in El Rito

This one is occupied.

 Old old house in El Rito 

Occupied 

They also have an art studio tour every year.

I'm going to go this year!

 Beautiful old restored church

 An old barn

Someone had strung grapevine wreaths across the front of the gate.

I love this photo.

It shows the old original tin roof before they came out with the new stuff.

The gable is beautiful.

And the colors with the cream-colored adobe, yum.

Hope you enjoyed this little slice of life vignette of New Mexico.
Oh, and to see the newest 145 Challenge painting, CLICK HERE.