Painting in Taos, New Mexico

This oil is of our local sculpture park and I just liked the hazy swamp grass and the ambiance of the September water swamp. Another outdoor painting that brings memories of the smell of the swamp (not as bad as you would think!) and the warmth of the hot Setember sun in Colorado.

Really could it get any more beautiful than Taos, NM? The golden chamisa, the blue mountains and the blue-grey sage? The trees had yet to begin turning but we still had plenty of color in all our paintings. I only wish I had the stamina to paint as many hours as I used to. Knee surgery has certainly slowed me down this summer. This beautiful scene is just north of Taos by Arroyo Seco. I will post my finished painting here as soon as I get it photographed.

Bear at Bear Creek Park

Could there be anything more appropriate than a bear wandering around Bear Creek Park while we plein air painted? There he was just a few yards away seemingly enjoying himself as we were!
Painting en plein air is certainly one of the most satisfying ways to enjoy your day outdoors. I don't know of anything that is more fun, enjoyable, frustrating and almost impossible! That has to be one of the reasons I am so drawn to painting outdoors. I am preparing for a show of my plein air work at our Art on Mountain Gallery starting September 1 here in beautiful downtown Fort Collins. Come and join us on Art Walk night, September 3rd, at 102 West Mountain Avenue from 5 to 9. I will have about 20 new plein air paintings to show from the last couple of years of painting from Tuscany to Malibu, Colorado to Texas. The great thing about a plein air painting is that you can almost feel the atmosphere that the artist enjoyed at the time of the painting, unlike a studio painting, it's all right HERE, mosquitoes embedded in the painting, a few bear hairs and the usual blood, sweat and tears!!

Cruising the Baltic Sea

Could anything be more beautiful than cruising the Baltic Sea? Visiting London, Bruges, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Rostock, St. Petersberg and Tallin, Estonia. Wow. We are numb with exhaustion! But it was gorgeous and there will be a few paintings resulting from this trip although my forte is landscapes, mostly with just nature and there are lots of buildings on our photos!

Glad to be home.

Off to St. Petersburg!

This painting just went into the Evergreen Pastel Show in Evergreen, Colorado. It is a painting I did of the lillies in my backyard last year. They are just getting ready to bloom again now and we will probably miss them as we are off on a cruise through the Baltic Sea. We will go through all the Scandinavian capitals (except Norway) and Tallinn, Estonia, Berlin and Bruges, Belgium on our way to St. Petersburg where we will tour the Hermitage and probably see 1 millionth of their art. But just to be there will be great.

Landscapes from New Mexico

We are packing up to go to Littleton and take a class from the guru of landscape pastel, Albert Handell. This should be a fabulous class and I hope to learn a lot. He is one of the Master Pastelist's that I've always wanted to study with so I am very excited.
This is a painting of some cottonwoods hanging over an arroyo in New Mexico that I did last year, I love the vibrancy of the leaves against the dark background. A fun painting.

Almost healed! Lilli and I reading Elmo.

Lilli and I spend a lot of time reading books, especially since both of us have been under the weather. This is her Elmo book that I bought in LaMesa, CA, last year. A daughter of a good friend of mine there has a children's book shop! So cute, it has a train that runs around the top of the room, and darling little places to read to kids. I wish it was here, although we do have a very nice one, called Reader's Cove, that has a real Ark inside. Lilli loves it, she runs down the gangplank as fast as she can go, scary!

I am working on some new pieces for the gallery, they are watercolor with webbing spray, such a fun thing to do, absolutely different from my usual work. I am enjoying my art more now than ever, mainly because I don't work so hard at it! More like fun.

Studio windowsills, porcelain ceramic

This is the finish for my studio, porcelain tile windowsills. I wish the tulips were real but they are just for still life painting....we can pretend, though! (the white piles outside on the steps is, yes, real snow. It's gone now, March 13th, about time!) The cat not wanting a bath is Melanie, but I haven't had time to get her painted. Now that I am
home with my new knee maybe I can get somet of those putzy things done!

In the studio, notice wood flooring meets carpet tiles (that's for us sloppy painters!).

New studio fireplace

This is my new studio fireplace. The mantel was purchased in San Diego at an antique shop when I was teaching there in 1996. So I have hauled it around all over Colorado and shown it
in all my shops, etc. Now, it finally has a home. On
top of the fireplace I have a print of Nicholai Fechin's
Bali Girl which I got from a friend of mine, Judy Johnson, I keep it there in memory of her.

There's a very old sled from New Mexico leaning up against the mantle and, a carved pheasant (my Dad's favorite bird) on top.

In front is a Persian rug I got from Ebay. I guess nobody liked red that week because I got it for only about $200.00, it's an 8 x 10 and has gorgeous color and isn't even worn. Of course now it will have cat fur and painters "tracks"!!

It has taken us eight years to finish off my studio with the fireplace, the wooden planed floor and the window sills. Well, worth it, now...as soon as I get
my knee moving easily again...I'll be hard at it!

Knee Surgery, hope to get back to painting!!

Last week I took Liesl and Katie up to Rocky Mountain National Park and we enjoyed seeing the elk out there relaxing in their winter feeding grounds. Katie is Liesl's cousin from California who has just moved here, we are so excited to have her here!

Enjoying our grandchildren is the order of the day this winter since I am going in for knee surgery on Wednesday, I hope to get back to painting and feeling much better in April.

This is our newest grandchild, Colin and his big sister Faith who is 11. We got to see them in January in Missouri where they live by Kansas City.

We hope to see more of them next summer. Don't they look alike!

Next is our grandchild, Lilli, who is sitting on my lap doing a Dora sticker book. What wonderful fun they all are!