When life gives you lemons, draw them, 11 x 14 inches dry pastels, graphite on paper

"When life gives you lemons, draw them." (Nikki)

"Color! What a deep and mysterious language." (Paul Gauguin)

trees

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Today’s work, details

Friday, May 9th, 2008


 
Maple Leaves, details after a few more hours working today - 48 x 84 x 3 inches acrylics on canvas.

Maple Leaves, upper right details

Maple Leaves, details after a few more hours working today – 48 x 84 x 3 inches acrylics on canvas. Changes may be subtle from here on; time to set it against a wall and study for a while before adding more. It’s a good time to start another painting.

Maple Leaves, work in progress

Thursday, May 8th, 2008


 
Maple Leaves - 48 x 84 x 3 inches Acrylics on stretched canvas. Work in progress - 3rd day.

Maple Leaves – 48H x 84W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted. Work in progress.

On paintings with such large surfaces, acrylics are used more like watercolors, with gradually built thin layers of paint and matte gel medium. Soon after this stage as I become more confident with the subject, paint is applied thicker in areas helping to give a better illusion of depth.

Painting large again

Saturday, May 3rd, 2008


 

Maple Leaves, 48H x 84W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas. Just started.  Maple Leaves, 48H x 84W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas. Work in progress.

This morning I started painting Maple leaves on one of the large heavy-duty frames we made last week. Trying to think of a catchier title as I work. 48H x 84W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas. It should be a good study of the color green.
And speaking of green, yet another photo of one of the Anoles running around in the back yard this morning – I love watching these little guys!
 
Male Green Anole in our back yard, Lewisville, TX

 

White Pine Bows

Friday, April 18th, 2008


 

White Pine Bows, 20 x 34 x 1.5 inches acrylics on canvas
White Pine Bows, 20H x 34W x 2D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted. (sold 2010)

Some paintings take a long time and change dramatically from start to finish. Others have a clear direction and seem to flow out in a day, as this one did.

White Pine Bows, 20 x 34 x 1.5 inches acrylics on canvas, just started White Pine Bows, 20 x 34 x 1.5 inches acrylics on canvas, phase 2

Post-dated note: showcased in Visual Arts Society of Texas’ 125 Show July 24th – August 15, 2008.
Also, Debby Davis a local Denton TX poet wrote a poem inspired by the White Pine Bows painting
Bouncing branch to bough within stiff white pines,
finding my eyes uplifted; what a show!
Violinist gently pulls; taut bow whines.

Bouncing branch to bough within stiff white pines,
like the beat of an orchestra playing.
Violinist gently pulls; taut bow whines
raining harmonies; colors displaying.

Like the beat of an orchestra playing,
my thumping heart strings tug me into now!
raining harmonies; colors displaying,
I am an audience of one somehow.

My thumping heart strings tug me into now!
It is the secret that only I shall know.
I am an audience of one somehow.
Fragile notes fracture light into rainbow.

Rocky Mountain Vista finished

Sunday, April 13th, 2008


 

 Rocky Mountain Vista, top detail image, acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted

 Rocky Mountain Vista, central detail image, acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted

 Rocky Mountain Vista, lower detail image, acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted

48 x 24 x 2 inches, acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides paintedRocky Mountain Vista 48H x 24W x 2D inches, acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted, detail images.

Left: Complete image. Paintings that are proportionately longer than wider don’t photograph well or show impressively on screen, so this has been split into three separate detail images.

Progress on Rocky Mountain Vista

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008


 
Rocky Mountain Vista, 48 x 24 inches acrylics on canvas, work in progress. 

Rocky Mountain Vista, 48H x 24W inches acrylics on canvas after one more day of work, still in progress and almost finished.

Rocky Mountain Vista started

Monday, April 7th, 2008


 

48 x 24 inches acrylics on stretched canvas - work in progress.

Started last night, work in progress: Rocky Mountain Vista 48 x 24 inches acrylics on stretched canvas.

Northern Delights 02, finished

Saturday, April 5th, 2008


 

Northern Delights 02, 24 x 36 inches Acrylics on wrapped canvas

Northern Delights 02, 24H x 36W inches acrylics on wrapped canvas, finished this morning.

Northern Delights 02

Friday, April 4th, 2008


 

Northern Delights 02 started, Quaking Aspen, 24H x 36W inches acrylics on canvas  Northern Delights 02, Quaking Aspen, 24H x 36W inches acrylics on canvas, phase 02

Northern Delights 02, Quaking Aspen, 24H x 36W inches acrylics on canvas, started this morning (left) – work in progress – above: after a few more hours…hope to keep brushstrokes and colors fresh and uncomplicated in this one.

Tree Bark

Thursday, April 3rd, 2008


 

Silver Birch, a short-lived tree revealing darker aged wood Deeply furrowed wood of the White Willow Papery bark of the River Birch, Stony Plain, Alberta Shagbark Hickory, Ohio
American Sycamore, Coppell, Texas Knobcone Pine bark, Ottawa, Ontario Netleaf Hackberry - highly varied textures; warts and ridges Needs positive ID - Possibly Hackberry or the “Toothache Tree”, with medicinal bark properties
Pine bark, Wyoming Planetree, Sycamore family, Irving, Texas Shredded character, Cedar in Eastern Wyoming Longleaf Pine, the official tree of North Carolina - Raleigh, NC
Probably a variety of Hackberry - welcome a positive ID from someone Cabbage Palmetto, native to Florida and Caribbean coastlines Pecan tree knot, Dallas Texas White Birch, cracked aged bark - southern Ontario, Canada
Old Burr Oak, reaching heights of 130 ft., with acorns larger than any other Oak. Crepe Myrtle branches - Eucalyptus family Large old Magnolia, bark and branches Shaggybark Eucalyptus

To view more tree-specific photography please visit the Dancing With Trees Solo Exhibition website.

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