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.