Between Storms

This painting of the Valle Grande Caldero in New Mexico's Jemez Mountains was interesting to paint as the progressive changes from dark to light had to be subtle, especially with the fog drifting up from the valleys. A rainstorm had just passed over and another was forming in the west. There was a slight clearing in the sky between the two; the incoming clouds were light and fluffy as they were coalescing into rain clouds. Unfortunately, no matter how I tried, I could not photograph the painting showing the cloud details as clearly as the rest. I think, however, you can get the feeling of a rainy day in the mountains.

This is the first new painting for my summer show, "Sacred Spaces, Sacred Places", which will focus on those natural and man made sanctuaries that call to or reflect our highest yearnings as humans. For me, these places are in nature but churches, synagogs, temples or mosques are spiritual homes to others. The architectural features of religious structures are fascinating in themselves and I will be painting quite a few of these over the next few months. Always, of course, there will be landscapes.

Cloudscape I

This is the third and final painting I will take to the Paseo Art Association tomorrow for their January show. Yesterday a major cold front moved into Oklahoma and the clouds were so amazing and unusual that they would never be believable. If I had had my camera with me, as I usually do, I would have photographed them and tried to make them real in a painting. The bitter cold continues today so don't know if I will take my completed painting outside to photograph or not. If not, it will be a few days before I post again.

Someone has suggested that I should put sizes, prices on the blog. I had never considered that and am not sure how I feel about it...but I'll try on this one and see. All the Cloudscapes are the same size, although different orientations, and same price.

Cloudscape IV

This is the second painting accepted for the smART show in the Paseo in January. I will be interested to see how people respond to them, although unfortunately I will miss the opening. Friends have liked these paintings but they may not have a broad appeal. One person said I should show some landforms at the bottom to orient the canvas but the two where I did that were not accepted into the show - and they really were less interesting to look at. You can see them posteed earlier and form your own opinion. I would love to hear your thoughts on that. I think the dark undersides of the clouds perform the same function and it can be reinforced when there is rain falling but that may not work for everyone.

We are in for a spell of very cold weather so I think I shall stay ensconced in my warm home and work on some paintings for the next few days. Two landscapes and an abstraction of adobe walls are on my easels now - I should finish all three and have some new paintings to post soon.

Cloudscape III

This is one of three cloudscapes accepted into the smART show in the Paseo (OKC) in January. It is the first time I have entered a show and I am delighted that I will be represented with these paintings. That good news energized me, so tonight I have completed one painting, found my way through a difficulty in another that I have had going for months, and started a new one! That is a lot for me at one time so I am quite pleased with myself at the moment.

Lake Clouds

In September-October of 2006, I spent a few weeks in Wyoming at Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. My next to the last day in the parks, I went to Yellowstone Lake where I had a peaceful lunch at the Lodge overlooking the lake. These clouds were forerunners announcing the change of seasons - the first winter storm moved in the next day. I could happily have spent the winter in that country were it not for my cats impatiently awaiting me at home.

One of these days I will paint some aspect of the Lamar Valley in the northeastern section of Yellowstone. If ever one place has called to me to spend the rest of my life there, it was the Lamar Valley. The yearning that I have for that life is palpable when I am in any high mountain country in the west. In part it is my love of nature, in part my life on ranches in New Mexico and Colorado, and ultimately some lingering wispy feelings from a past I don't remember.

Prairie CLouds

Since returning home after Thanksgiving I have been painting clouds and more clouds. As I talked about in earlier posts of clouds, they are a constant source of imaginative inspiration even when they are as amorphous and fleeting those in a late spring sky. In this painting, the landscape is but a color abstraction while greater detail is in the clouds themselves. In my next several posts, you will see one cloudscape with landforms but the others will focus fully on the clouds themselves and their complexities.

I am entering these cloud paintings in a January show in the Paseo in Oklahoma City. I have never applied to a juried show so this process is good practice for me. We'll see how it turns out!

Piers II

This is a second version of this image and is very similar to the first. This time, however, I kept the range of colors much closer. The first version had a lot of lavender-gray tones throughout and I have almost completely removed them. This relates to the color-on-color paintings I have been doing, although the color variations are not as subtle as in the fruit paintings. The view through this structure fascinates me and I am tempted to paint it yet again - maybe with exuberant colors that will change the narrative entirely.

That, however, is for another day. I am taking off for the Thanksgiving holiday and won't have any new posts until early December. To those of you who are reading this, I wish you a time of thanksgiving for all that we have and freedom from concerns about what we do not have.

Red Pear on Red

This is the last of color-on-color paintings for awhile - but I will be getting back to them after Thanksgiving. I am thinking about other ways of exploring this technique, especially in landscapes. I have some vague ideas but haven't pulled them into concrete form yet.

Currently I am working on some small cloud paintings to submit for a juried show - the first time I have tried that avenue and it will be interesting to see what comes of it. Sue Clancy, a fantastic and successful Norman artist, recommended a book by Caroll Michels, "How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist", which I have purchased and am reading/using as a reference. It is a great guide and I need to learn/apply these approaches if I want to be a professional artist. It sounds so strange to think of myself that way but I am working on it. The long hiatus I recently took from this blog - and from much painting - is part of that process. I think I have now made a big stride forward in this regard and so am being productive again. "It's all process" - I have said that so many times to so many people over the years, now I am saying it to myself!

Pomegranet

As I mentioned in my last post, painting red on red is more difficult for me but I do like the effect. It is also introducing me to new fruits I might not think about otherwise. I have never eaten a pomegranet so that will be a further exploration once I have finished with painting it. There is something so appealing about its shape - it makes me think of hungry baby birds in the nest.

Yesterday several of us met to talk about having an art event in the spring. It was interesting to discuss the many aspects such an undertaking involves and I suspect we will find there are things we have yet to consider. The upshot was that we see no negatives and are going to proceed. As we finalize plans, I will post more information on this blog as well as on the web site we develop.

After another hiatus, I am finally back to painting and am enthusiastic about it again. I want to do a series of six small cloudscapes and have one well underway already this morning. I feel like I need to get all of them started this week as the holiday season is defintely upon us and I will be traveling quite a bit during this time.

On an entirely different topic - a friend gave me two CDs of the Huun Huur Tu throat singers from Tuva in central Asia. They are truly amazing and listening to their voices and melodies elevates my spirits and my soul. You can google them to learn about their art and to order their music. Definitely well worth it!

Pumpkin

Once again it has been far too long since I blogged - and since I finished a painting, for that matter. I do have two large ones underway that I should finish next week. I have no more museum tours before Thanksgiving and that really frees up the necessary blocks of time.

I have also been active in learning more about arts organizations. Ten or so of us are meeting Sunday to discuss a joint open studio in April. Some of us have also been looking into the feasibility of creating a Norman Arts organization but there is much to consider and it all takes time. I find myself wanting to limit my activities, knowing that I could get all wrapped up in the process and do no painting at all. My limited production in recent weeks stands as testimony to that. However, it is all important and worthy of time and energy.

The holidays are upon us and I look forward to spending time with my family. This pumpkin painting certainly made my mouth water for Thankgiving's pumpkin pie! I am still enjoying painting color on color and have several more of these to post. The peachy red background for the peach and the orange for the pumpkin lent themselves to this way of painting. The others I have done are red on red and I find those much more difficult. However, the last two I did turned out well so that please me.

Until tomorrow!

A Peach of a Peach

I have to admit that I love this little painting. It was a happy accident that the fabric I had matched some of the colors in the peach so well. I wish it reproduced better so the subtle variations of color would be more obvious. I'm not sure what the shadows on the edges are about as they are not on the image that I uploaded.

One of the great things I have learned recently is that everything out there is a potential subject. It seems obvious but I was so focused on landscapes that I really didn't look at other possible ideas for paintings. Now I know that I don't have to go anywhere but to my studio to make a painting that challenges me and gives me genuine pleasure...and that is such a gift. Having said that, I am really ready to tackle another landscape and hope to get one well underway tomorrow.

Red on Red

Painting Grapes and Green Pears got me interested in working with a low contrast in color and value between the background and the subject. The almost purple red of the Delicious apple absorbed light except in the spots where it was reflecting directly the light source. The closest area of continuity was in the shadow where the dark red of the apple blends almost seamlessly into the red highlights in the background shadow. I enjoyed working with this idea and will be doing more such paintings.

Meanwhile, this has been a "paintless" week given an extremely busy schedule, some problems created by a worker at my house (yet to be resolved) and some cyclical health problems that came back with a roar. Giving tours to 4th graders at the art museum is a wonderful and meaningful activity that I will continue but it does eat into my time.

I did spend an afternoon at the State Capitol in OKC looking at Sue Clancy's show - a wonderful and delightful time. Sue is a talented and skilled artist, a very smart person with great humor and wonderfully pithy ways to interpret our daily language into images that tickle our fancy, sometimes provoking outright/outloud laughter while pricking our conscience. Her work reminds us of the joys in life and language while gently prodding us to pay attention and to speak out. You can see Sue's work on her web site at http://home.telepath.com/~artist/.

Today, I am cleaning house and will make time to get back into my studio to make something, anything to get me junp-started again before the coming week takes off in a flurry of activity.

Green Pears and Grapes

My first still life paintings had a background that was a contrasting color to the fruit. Richard Mckown suggested I try painting green pears against a green background. That was surprisingly difficult and fun at the same time. I am doing a few more of these small color-on-color paintings before moving on to larger formats. I love the way each painting gives you a new challenge or problem to solve. The process can never get old as long as we keep trying new things.

This is true in all aspects of life - getting stale is definitely not a goal - or even an option. I had a session with an energy worker this morning and she once again urged me to write my stories. Somehow this seems to be something beyond my abilities but once again I decided that I would use this blog to present in a coherent way those "musings" that I included in my url. Today, those thoughts are on energy - how it affects us and how we can have an effect on it. Given the current political season and all the smearing that is going on, I have been righteously indignant and angry quite a bit of the time. What I had forgotten was the reality that the energy created by my negative thoughts was feeding the very energies that were creating the negative thoughts in me. That energy cycle is real and it is much too easy to get caught up in it. So, I am now focusing on Obama and Biden and the positive benefits they will bring to the system. By focusing on those values, ideals and principles that have meaning to me, I will be contributing to the energy that is nurturing them and the good in all of us.

And this brings me back to painting - the energy I am feeling at any given time moves through me into the painting I am making. This is reminder to me - if I am unable to deal with some aspect of my work, I need to look inside me for the problem rather then trying to find it in the work itself. Lessons learned and relearned are the cycle of my life!

White Sue

This is the first of four paintings Richard McKown is making of me. Being a model is an amazing experience - the collaborative nature of the process was stronger than I ever could have imagined. It is wonderful to watch the work progress through the evening and from one session to the next. We pretty much work two nights per week - three hours per night. Lots of conversation relating to art - with breaks at the computer looking up and discussing other artists' paintings. No one could be a better mentor to me and I am so appreciative of his guidance.

I have a few more small paintings to post but plan to start some larger ones, which will take more time. Depending on how they go, I may post some paintings-in-progress so you can see how I work. Meanwhile Richard has started on a second painting of me. The pose is similar but the colors - lavender on lavender with gold - are in the same value range so there will not be the hgh contrast. It will be fun to see how it develops.

I made this painting one morning standing on a dock at Lake Thunderbird. The morning clouds move slowly across the sky, gradually losing ground to the sun and dissipating as you watch. The challenge for me was to capture that sense of movement and impermanence. I hope to do a lot more painting outside once the pollen counts have dropped enough that I can be out for long periods without being affected. Meanwhile there are lots of subjects for me to paint and I am working on those this weekend.

Clouds #2

Most of us have looked for faces or animals while watching clouds float by on a lazy day. That's not what I was doing or trying to replicate when I made this painting, but looking at it several days later I saw a woman's face. Then my cousin emailed asking if I had seen the woman's face and the man's. That really caught me by surprise but when I looked again, there he was. It is really surprising what you can do without any awareness of it.

I am struggling now with another cloud painting. I was trying to tie the clouds to the ground and have ended up painting the Sandia Mountains as much as the clouds - suddenly I have a small landscape which was not my intention at all. So, now I have to figure out what I want to do to finish that painting - that's my goal for the morning.

Clouds #1

Clouds have always fascinated me with their beauty and delicacy and power - I can watch them for hours. Over the years I have taken more photographs of clouds than anything else. Finally I have begun to paint them and am pleased with the results. So - a break from fruit to turn our eyes skyward for a day or so.

I am planning a series of paintings reflecting the foundational and the ephemeral - earth to sky, stones and bones to clouds - the extremes of the physical world against which we define our beliefs and our place in the universe. These paintings will take some time to do but I will continue to paint and post smaller ones.

A Pair of Pears

One great thing about painting fruit is that you can just eat the subject when you are through - or make a pear pie. This may be a great way to improve my diet, especially if I start painting vegetables! In looking at these paintings and one I have just completed, I realized that I am standing very close to the subjects I am painting. When I finish my current one, I will paint a few more of fruits but stand further across the room and get a different perspective on them. For me, this will be an interesting comparison of two ways to approach a subject.

I spent a few delightful days with friends at Lake Texhoma and the visit turned into a wonderful opportunity to make art connections in that part of the world. My firend's brother, Paul, is an amazing artist working in obsidian, wood, bones and stone - any native materials he collects. Unfortunately, he does not exhibit or sell his work, so you have to have a personal connection to see the beauty he creates.

Denison, Texas has a charming downtown with many galleries and artist studios as well as antique shops. They have two art tour weekends each year as well as other offerings. Southeastern University's Centre Gallery in Durant, Oklahoma, recently received the Hogan collection of Native American art. There are 93 paintings by artists from the plains and pueblo cultures, most of them well-known for their work. In Ardmore. Oklahoma there are two exciting things happening. The Goddard Center has just opened an exhibit of Jesus Moroles' granite sculptures that is well-worth a special trip before the exhibition closes on November 20. In addition to the large sculptures there are works of molded paper and photography that showcase granite in different ways.

Another exciting happening in Ardmore is an on-going project by Sandra and Gerald Wells who are reviving a district in the historic downtown area with the intention of creating a central community focused on the arts with a variety of galleries and shops. They bring a clear vision with lots of energy to this project and I am sure they will make this a successful venture. I love their underlying belief in and commitment to the idea that "There is unity in community." I plan to stay in touch with their activities and will report any special events that are taking place.

Pears

From apples to pears - no oranges yet. Pears have such interesting shapes and that makes them fun to paint. The two Bartlett pears came from the grocery store but the one on the right came from a friend's pear tree. It is thicker and squatter than the pears we normally see - the meat is dense and it is considerably heavier than the other two. Fruit trees are such a wonderful addition to a landscape. I have a dwarf peach tree that has produced fruits for several years but they have never ripened. The chimney sweep noticed the tree, picked a peach off the ground and ate it. When I said that the peaches weren't ripe, he gave me a strange look then said "Taste one." I did - it was sweet and good even though the meat was whitish and the skin was a pale green-white. I would love to know what kind of peach this is. Next year I will harvest those peaches before the worms and birds get to them and eat them for breakfast.

Will be off for a few days to visit some friends - she's another artist and we have several art activities in mind. Will post again after I return home.

An Apple a Day #4

When I lived in Mountainair, NM, I had a banana apple tree that produced the most wonderful fruit each fall. Banana apples are an heirloom variety and the only ones I have ever eaten came from that tree. They are yellow, crisp and crunchy, both sweet and tart, and smell faintly like bananas. Every time I see a yellow apple, I remember that tree and smile.

New Mexico vegetation had some allergens for me but nothing like those in Oklahoma. All categories are high this week and have ramped up a chronic inflammatory disease that cycles through my system. So, plans for painting outdoors are once again postponed until we get a frost that will knock out the allergens. Thus I will return tomaking almost-daily still life paintings or working from photographs for the immediate future. Overcoming frustrations and challenges is an important aspect of creativity - at least that is what I am telling myself. Adaptation and flexibility are becoming my mantras for the time being.

An Apple a Day #3

It's early this morning and I have to be out the door sooner than I would like. No painting today at all as I will be at a docent training at the art museum for most of the day after some volunteer hours at the Charles M. Russell Center for the Study of Art of the American West. Art days aren't always about making art - sometimes they are strictly learning about art. And the best days are a bit of both. Yesterday I started another still life and sat for the start of another painting by Richard. There is real excitement with the success of his last painting and the anticipation for this one.

An Apple a Day #2

The apple paintings have helped me develop a feeling of volume as well as being perfect for practicing the application of palette-mixed colors to show subtle variations. Sometimes this seems natural, other times I really have to work at it. I like what I am getting and have been surprised at how much I like the more traditional results when I thought my preference would be an impressionistic approach with bold slashes of color. The traditional approach is certainly where my interest lies now.

Yesterday, I left home early to meet a friend in OKC for breakfast and then to take the three-hour round-trip boat tour on the newly designated Oklahoma River. This is part of a long-term development project in the city that has been very successful and it is a delight to see people plying sculls and kayaks down the river. Even more delightful was seeing herons, including blue herons. They are one of my favorite birds and I hope to paint some from the photos I got.

The issue of painting from life and painting from photos is an on-going question for me. I have usually painted from photos, many of them, taken long ago, cannot be duplicated. Making still life paintings has certainly shown me the great advantage of that approach but I also know I shall continue painting from photographs. The real challenge will be to incorporate the informaiton and skills from life into scenes captured by the camera with its limitations.

An Apple a Day #1

Blogging, I am learning, is something which I must do in the morning before I begin painting or some other activity - once I'm moving along, I forget to blog. I started daily paintings by making a small still life each day. I haven't been as consistent as I hoped to be but am working on that. I began by painting an apple a day on small - 5" X 5" - canvases that lend themselves to a central, simple image. It is fun to make these paintings as well as challenging to learn the subtle changes of color that give volume to the image.

Early yesterday morning, two friends and I went out to a nearby lake to paint. My first painting went well - the second did not. Being tired and rushed definitely have detrimental consequences. And learning what to take and how to package it all requires some thoughtful planning. As we enter into the pleasant days of fall, I'll get lots of practice as we plan to do this on a regular basis and challenge ourselves to push our limits as painters.

Red Pears

Awhile back I wanted to paint and complete a small picture fairly quickly as I had been having trouble with a larger painting of Yellowstone Falls and Canyon; I needed to refocus on something new. I had never been interested in still life painting but that seemed to be what I was drawn to in my frustration. Thus, the red pears - my first attempt at a still life. Moderately pleased with how it turned out - and really pleased with the process of painting it - I decided to paint a few more and will be posting these images daily now that I have photographed them

It seems that I need to have paintings to post daily entries in this blog even though I titled it Paintings and Musings. My antipathy to writing and habit of ignoring it won out over the idea of "musing" about various related topics. This I will work on and try to make daily entries whether or not I have a painting...or anything to say.

I have been sitting for Richard McKown, my art mentor, as he prepares for an exhibition opening on September 19. We finished Thursday night and this painting is powerful. The whole process of being a model surprised me as it is such a collaborative adventure. Richard and I talked art throughout each three-plus hour sitting and there were approximately 15 sittings. That's the equivalent seat-time of a college course and that was the level of our conversations. I have learned so much that I would never had had the opportunity to do without Richard's knowledge and ability to make it comprehensible and interesting. As I completed each small still life, I would take it to him feeling much like a first-grader giving her teacher a special offering. His critiques were dead on and each succeeding painting improved as a result of his comments. He occasionally gives me homework and perhaps one of these days I'll post those so you can see the exercises that have benefitted me.

Wichita Mountain Buffalo

This painting is dear to my heart because of my connection to a buffalo herd that lived for a time on the Colorado Ranch. Their presence is so powerful and so full of their essential being that I am always drawn to them. I had never painted animals before and it was important for me to paint them as well as I could. The landscape of the Wichita Mountains is of the kind which most clearly speaks to me, so the combination of the two subjects was a natural. I will probably keep this painting always.

This is the last painting I will post for awhile as I am changing gears somewhat and working on small still lives to develop my technique and skills. I have some large paintings in mind - New Mexico, Wyoming as well as Oklahoma - and need to mull them over before starting to paint. I will, however, keep posting thoughts about my painting and my struggles to improve as an artist. I watch my mentor, Richard McKown, as he paints the first of four paintings he is doing with me as his model and learn so much each sitting. He also has assignments for me now and again to push me and help me grow. Next posting, will be an interesting execise he gave me.

All painting postings will wait, however, until I have a chance to photograph them!

Oklahoma has a varied and diverse landscape even though people often think of it only as a flat prairie. This painting is above Turner Falls in the Arbuckle Mountains looking westward to the open lands that stretch through the Texas Panhandle. The vast vistas and far horizons are typical of Oklahoma and often define the state's image. What people don't always realize is that four climate zones meet in Oklahoma, creating large and widely diverse vegetation ranging from the swamps of the southeast to the arid Panhandle, from the Crosstimbers of the east to the canyons of the west. Add to this the large number of rivers and lakes in the state and there is something new and unique almost anywhere you look.

In the summer of 2007 I attended The Writing Salon in Taos and decided to drive home via the Oklahoma panhandle - a part of the state I had never seen. I didn't expect much and was blown away by the beauty of the country - I love the panhandle. It is far from everywhere and feels incredibly vast. Black Mesa is the highest point in Oklahoma, entering the far NW corner of the state from NM and Colorado. This view of the mesa is looking west along the highway with the mesa in the distance. Not far from where I was standing is the entrance to Black Mesa State Park - canyon and stream, lots of vegetation, even wild turkeys. It also has some beautiful rock formations which you will see one of the days on this blog.

For now, I have painted four small "an-apple-a-day" paintings and was pleased to see progress with each one. Will be doing more small paintings while completing some larger ones I have started - then on to new New Mexico paintings! Today, however, is more chore-driven, having spent the morning with the electrician here and having to clean house before chimney and carpet cleaners come next week - fortunately, in that order! Tomorrow is Saturday and I will get back to the easel early in the day.

Santa Fe Home

Many artists have painted this house on Delgado Street in the old part of Santa Fe. Not only are the architectural elements appealing but the landscaping of rocks, desert plants and potted geraniums has been typical of New Mexico for many years. This early painting is from a photo taken about five years ago. Today, Santa Fe landscapes often include desert plants mixed with blue spirea bushes and lavender-blue Russian sage. In the near future I want to paint a house in Lamy where the perimeter wall is lined with Russian sage - the cool lavender-blue against the warm adobe is quite lovely.

I have one more completed painting to post as well as a few small ones of apples. After that, I will be working on new paintings for a show next June-July and will post them as I complete them. In the meantime, I will try to blog daily giving an update on my painting progress and any other thoughts that come to mind.

The arts in Oklahoma are going strong and it is exciting to be a part of it all. There are many elements related to the arts community and one can pick and choose the activities which most appeal. Today is the docent recruitment coffee for the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma. I have been intermittently involved with the museum as a docent and as a temporary, part-time employee since 1993. Being a docent is one of my most enjoyable and rewarding activities over the years. We are lucky in Norman to have an excellent art museum with a superb collection of southwestern art, a great resource for study. In January, a large part of the museum will close in order to add another story to the original building to house the Adkins Collection of Southwestern Art. It is an exciting time to be involved.

Approaching Storm

This painting of an approaching storm is truly a representation of the creative storm that is consuming my thoughts at this time. It is one of my first paintings and my recent trip to New Mexico during "monsoon season" brought it to mind. The ranch where I lived bordered a large open basin bound by mountains on the far side. Summer storms began with incredible cloud formations that coalesced and eventually produced great thunderstorms which would move across the basin. I would sit on my portal, very like this one, and watch nature's beautiful drama as it progressed across the horizon. This year, housesitting near Santa Fe in a similar setting, I watched the storm clouds grow throughout the day and was once again overwhelmed by their power and beauty.

My New Mexico trip did not really go as planned but turned out to be much better in ways I could never have anticipated. An artist friend and mentor had talked to me about my painting the day before I left and his words intensely focused my thoughts in new amd more serious directions. I spent a lot of time traveling to places I have known and loved, visiting with old friends, looking, absorbing and thinking. There was also a reaffirmation of my connection between visual and verbal during a casual brainstorming session with two writers. All of this has brought me to the conclusion that I have to recommit myself to painting in a more deliberate way than I have done in the past. I came back with hundreds of photographs from which I will create many NM paintings, but more importantly, I began to identify the core elements that are essential to how I perceive the world around me. These are the elements that will be the formative energy in what I create.

The most powerful images for me are of rocks and clouds - the basic structures of our world and its most ephemeral manifestations. Human structures, especially churches, parallel these natural forms with a sense of foundations and spiritual yearnings. The Catholic churches of NM, built of earth or stone and reflecting the clouds in their architecture, serve as a metaphor for the human experience. Adobe structures - whether pueblos or individual homes - bring these same elements to our daily life. Finally I realized that painting fruits or vegetables or flowers (none of which have interested me before) is just another way of relating a universal process to an individual's life and growth. Making this rather obvious jump has encouraged me to expand my painting horizons to include still lives, which will give me much practice at painting directly from the object - something I cannot do with NM forms while living in Oklahoma! So I will continue to paint from photographs while also spending more time outside painting directly from nature.

Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe

Like many churches in New Mexico, Our Lady of Guadalupe in Santa Fe has undergone many renovations and restorations. This painting was based on a photo taken after the work done in the early 1920s. It is the first of three paintings commissioned by dear friends and is their favorite church in Santa Fe. This was an early effort and it taught me a lot about hard and soft edges, values, and perspective. As with all those things in life which we find difficult but through which we persist, I moved from frustration to real pleasure with this painting.

I have a book of New Mexican churches with historic photographs and am going to select a few of them to visit for new paintings - and in some way try to imply the structural history of the churches while painting their current form. I am not sure if this is possible or how I would go about it but it is, at the very least, an interesting way for me to view the current structures. I respond strongly to the underlying structure of things and the way that structure forms what we see even when hidden by other layers. I plan to explore this in future paintings and this way of looking at the churches will certainly provide me with lots of challenges.

Gran Quivira

Franciscan priest Fray Diego de Santander began building the mission church of San Buenaventura soon after his 1659 arrival at Gran Quivira; it was, however, never completed as the pueblo was abandoned by 1672. The smaller Chapel of San Isidro continued to serve the pueblo as it had since the the early 1630s. Unlike the sandstone pueblos and churches at Abo and Quarai, the pueblo and mission buildings at Gran Quivira were limestone constructions. Where Abo and Quarai were situated in valleys coming off of the Manzano Mountains, Gran Quivira sat atop a mesa considerably to the south. Members of the three pueblos gathered salt from the salt flats in the Estancia Basin to the east, thus the Spanish name of Salinas for the province and its communities.

The history of the 17th century missions, just one element of the Spanish incursion into the southwest, is a fascinating one and the Catholic Church has continued to play an integral role in the development of New Mexico's contemporary culture. The missions themselves are iconic structures that draw people from all over the world and are the subject of many, many paintings - including my own. In my upcoming trip to NM I plan to visit both my favorite missions and some with which I am less familiar in order to create more paintings in the near future.

San Gregorio de Abo

When the Spanish first arrived in the Salinas pueblos they built small chapels before beginning construction of the mission churches. No one had found the small chapel built in the 1620s at Abo until Jake Ivey began the Historic Structures Report. Working together we discovered the walls of the early chapel had been expanded to create the nave of the much larger and more complex mission of San Gregorio built in 1629. Only one tall wall remains with its bell tower and buttresses on the west side. There were two conventos at Abo, one built on top of the other and visitors can see remnants of both. Abo sits in the middle of a valley opening to the south from the Manzano Mountains in NM. A stream provided water to the pueblo and its fields, as was the situation at Quarai (see previous post). However, like Quaria, drought and famine forced the abandonment of Abo by 1672 and it was never resettled by the native population.

Painting has taken a back seat in my daily activities lately and I am so looking forward to a NM trip to start painting again. The land there reaches into my being in way difficult to describe. I think that spending some time exploring new and familiar places and visiting with old friends will stimulate my creative muse and get me started with a new group of paintings as well as new ideas on life and living productively.

La Purisima Conception de Cuarac

This is a closer view of the mission church at Quarai in Salinas NM (see previous post). The red sandstone walls taper from four feet wide at the foundation up 40 feet to the roof beam sockets where Great Horned owls nest each spring, usually producing two young. The sandstone used in the church ranges from a pinkish beige on a hot, dry summer's day through shades of rosy red to a dark purplish mahogany when it is wet. Thus the aspect of the church is different almost every day. I was the interpretive ranger at this site back in the 1980s and it remains dear to my heart. I had the good fortune of working with the historical archeologist on the historic structures report for all the Salinas missions; an experience that gave me a deep appreciation for and understanding of Spanish mission architecture.

During that time, I probably did more writing than I have in the years since then as I wrote most of the interpretive materials for the three Salinas sites. Since I am beginning to use this blog to record some of my thoughts, it is appropriate that painting and writing are coming together in this space. Perhaps I will get past my resistance to writing by focusing on painting and thinking about art in general. I am looking forward to a trip to New Mexico and getting back in touch with that land, its structures and people. It is no secret that there is a creative energy there that is unique to the place. The early Taos and Santa Fe artists and their successors have shown the world the beauty and diversity of that energy.

Here in Norman, the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma has a world-class collection of southwestern art thanks to the generosity of several collectors. There are also Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works, Native American paintings, ceramics and basketry as well as American painters. With so much art available to me along with many artists in the area, I feel like I can grow as an artist in this environment and find stimulation and support in all my efforts. That is a very good feeling!

Quarai Winter

Back in the 1980s I was an interpretive ranger at Salinas National Monument in New Mexico. The ruins of the 17th century mission churches at Quarai, Gran Quivera and Abo are amazing structures, giving glimpses not only into the architure and building processes but also hinting visually at life 400 hundred years ago. This painting of the 1628 mission, La Purisima Conception de Cuarar (Quarai), looks down the valley toward the village of Punta de Agua and the Estancia Basin beyond. Located in the foothills of the Manzano Mountains, Quarai enjoyed a fertile and somewhat protected location, although in the 1660s famine decimated all the Salinas pueblos which were abandoned by 1672. I love this part of central New Mexico and its history. This is the one of five paintings I did some years ago of the mission churches. In a forthcoming trip to NM I will be exploring other missions and pueblos with an eye to a series of NM paintings.

Meanwhile, there is another creative nudge occupying some of my attention. All my adult life people have urged me to write my stories - and all my adult life I have resisted. These prods had pretty much ended as I produced more paintings but in the past two weeks once again people have been urging me to write. Two such prods came from individuals whom I had just met. Knowing how much I have disliked the idea of sitting down and trying to produce a piece of writing, I am now viewing this painting blog as a bridge to writing. One of those new acquaintances urging me to write is himself a writer who explores his thoughts in notes to himself. That reminded me of Hugh Prather's Notes to Myself which I first read years ago while living in NM. And for the previous two summers I attended The Writing Salon in Taos - again connecting these two aspects of my life. So, maybe this is the stimulation I have needed to venture into the written word. We'll see how far I go.

Lake Radnor

I have just returned from Nashville where I delivered this commissioned painting of Lake Radnor. It is such a beautiful and peaceful spot, I wanted to capture its serenity. Knowing where the painting will hang, I tried to blend colors that would be true to the lake while complementing the room. The family loves the painting and their response has been most gratifying. Lake Radnor is a favorite place of theirs. Sense of place is so important to me in my life that I want each of my landscapes to express that connection. There are so many beautiful places in Tennessee that I am sure I will be painting more of them in the years to come - and I am delighted to have completed this first one.

Each painting is a lesson for me and there were several important things to address as I worked out the problems in this one. Keeping the lake surface flat, showing the hills in the background through the trees and giving a sense of depth were the major elements that I worked on. Painting the rocks and the reflections in the water were the fun parts, especially painting the broken limb and its reflection.

Turner Falls

Another water painting - and my next-to-last one in this group of images. This is a side view of Turner Falls in south central Oklahoma and it was another "learning" painting. I had several photographs from this perspective and decided on this view because of the composition as well as the interplay between the bright water and the darker earth and vegetation tones. Painting the water falling over the edge was very hard for me and eventually I painted it as almost a solid sheet. After looking at it for several months, I knew I had to go in and repaint the whole center section of the painting as well as emphasize other points...a scary thought. However, having identified the major problems, the repainting went more smoothly than I would have imagined possible and resulted in a painting which pleases me. This was the largest painting I had done, 24 X 36, and covering that much canvas was also a challenge.

I am heading to Nashville to deliver a commissioned painting of Lake Radnor. After I have returned home, I'll post that most recent water painting and will then move on to other things.

Beaver's Bend

Since I seem to be on a water theme, I thought I'd post my other completed water paintings. I was visitng Beaver's Bend in southeastern Oklahoma last year and found it quite different from other parts of the state. Sitting on a balcony, drinking coffee on a rainy, misty morning was one of those perfect moments that stays with you. In this painting, I was trying to capture the feeling of the storm remnants with the sun trying to break through. This was challenging and I will continue to paint this lake - and others - always trying to get the feeling of the water and its reflections under many conditions.

Waterfall

This painting is the second and last one I painted from someone else's photograph. I was intrigued with painting water and waterfalls and loved both the colors and the composition of this one. I also experimented with a pallet knife - using it to form some of the rocks. It was more difficult than I imagined it would be but I liked the effects.

The painting I am currently working on is another waterfall - the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River - and it is proving to be quite a challenge for me. However, I am also starting to paint some still lives and will likely give them priority for awhile. The need to have a place to arrange objects for still lives has forced me to address space issues in my studio/laundry room. This week I have moved out a storage unit and rearranged my work area. It is going to be a much better space for painting and I'm excited to get started.

It's been a week since I blogged and I am sorry to have lost the rhythm since I will be traveling some in the next few months and I don't want to lose the habit. A friend, a portrait painter, has a show coming up and I have been sitting for him. Not only is it interesting and fun but we have wonderful conversations about art and I am learning so much in the process - about making art, about art history, and about my own experience of art. Thinking and talking about it is having a deep affect on me which I will be exploring in future blogs.

Usually I paint only from photos I have taken but this painting is an exception to that. I came across a postcard many years ago of a 1924 photograph, Teepee at Bow Lake. I was so taken with the image that I finally decided to paint it, although without the Native American man standing in front of the teepee. This is one of my favorite paintings because of personal ties - I spent my 30th summer camping and hiking in Canda - and because it emotionally pleases me at some deep level. The light on the teepee and the softness of the mountain slopes with clouds moving in brings a real sense of peace to me.

This is also my first attempt at painting water and while there is much to improve in that regard I keep it as is so that it will always serve as a lesson for me. Since then I have painted several paintings with a water focus and love the challenge of it.

Meditation

I spent my thirtieth summer camping in Canada - starting on Vancouver Island in Strathcona Wilderness Area, then to the island's west coast before heading inland to the Canadian Rockies. Vancouver Island is one of those places that reaches deep into my being and in this painting I was trying to find in me the elements that resonated most with the island. The estuaries, the strait, and the Pacific Ocean cradle the island and you always end up at one of those spots. This rocky outcrop on the west side of the island looking out to the Pacific was one of my favorite places and I returned many years later to contemplate, photograph and internalize the spiritual quality it evokes.

Oil Tanks

Continuing with the idea of Oklahoma's economy I was taken with the ubiquitous oil storage tanks. The newer ones are soft shades of blue, green or beige while the older ones are black and silver and rusty - and those are the ones that I find beautiful. Having painted the tractor in Panhandle Farming and gone crazy trying to paint its tires, I swore I would never paint another tire - but this painting really needed the truck so once again I painted a tire - only one this time, you will notice! I found this site on a rainy Sunday afternoon and love the way the cloudy sky works with the grays of the tanks, the truck, the storage shed and the reflections in the puddles of water.

A third "economic history" painting so far exists only in my photos. I found a building with a strange series of cone-shaped objects on the roof in Washington OK. I didn't know what it was nor did anyone I asked - so finally I drove back to Washington and learned it was a cotton gin. One day I will paint it and post it.

Panhandle Farming

In late July 2007, on my way home from a writing workshop in Taos, I drove through the Oklahoma Panhandle and was amazed at how beautiful that country is - I love it up there and am concerned about the effects and consequences of the extreme drought it is experiencing. So far I have made two paintings from that drive and have ideas for several more. This painting carries on the previous seasonal theme in that the fields have been harvested and the farmer is plowing them for the next crop. For the Discovering Oklahoma show, I wanted to give some indication of Oklahoma's economy and certainly farming has been a major part of the state's growth.

Fantasy Prarie Winter

This painting emerged from my brush one day as I was longing for snow and cold. Winter is my time of year, snow and cold are my elements - and the beauty of the season always speaks to me. The details of the landscape could be almost any place in central or western Oklahoma but they came from my mind rather than a specific vista. Having painted this, I wanted to recreate the general landscape at other seasons - thus Autumn Prairie and Rainy Summer came along in time.

Rainy Summer

The rains of 2007 created and nurtured lush summer pastures throughout the state. I saw more varieties and quantities of wildflowers in the fields than I have ever seen before. This painting almost seems over the top for an Oklahoma landscape but it represents the many fields, so full of color, that I saw as I traveled the state finding vistas for my Discovering Oklahoma show.

Autumn Prairie

In 2007, Oklahoma had a very rainy spring and summer. This is the first of three paintings showing the lushness of the prairie landscape in such a wet year. The colors of the vegetation, vibrant and varied, complement the green of the cedars and the gray-blue sky before an approaching storm.

Eroding Stone

This recent painting is one of my favorites for several reasons. It is the first time I used a 12 x 36 canvas and I love the vertical form. It is the perfect size for this painting of a water-eroded crevice in a huge (maybe 30' high) boulder in Robber's Cave State Park. Earthforms and water are what speak to me and this painting relates to both. It is also a different style of painting than I have done before and I like the play of the intense realism of the rock at the bottom against the more abstract face of the boulder with shadows from a nearby tree flowing across it. The contrast between the subtle and brighter colors also pleases me.

Snags

One surprise for me was the realization that I love to paint water. This small 8 X 10 painting of tree stumps in Lake Paul's Valley is the only one so far where water is the primary subject. The snags serve mainly as objects to provide reflections in the water. Trees and vegetation on the nearby shore give colored shadows to the blue sky reflected in the lake on a cloudless day.

Red Earth

This is another early painting - from a photo I took of an eroding hillside just north of Norman. Earth and earth forms fascinate me - I love the feel of it and the way it molds itself on the bones of the earth. The red clay of Oklahoma is rich and beautiful and the way in which this hillside was eroding into a gully is quintessential Oklahoma earth. This painting now belongs to an artist friend who has been a mentor since my early attempts at painting. I usually don't frame my paintings but he has surrounded this painting with a magnificent frame which gives it a presence that I never knew was there.

Piers

Twenty years ago as I was taking a back road to work, I went past the piers supporting the 23rd Street on-ramp to I-235 in Oklahoma City. These utilitarian structures had such beauty in their symmetry with the light shining through that I brought my camera the next day and shot several photos. There is a spiritual essence to this view of the piers that belies their functionality, and that ambiguity still intrigues me. This painting evokes a deep response in some people and the friend who bought it is such a spiritual being that I know it has found its perfect home in her home.