California Dreaming

I have just gotten home from a driving trip to California with my husband. We were gone two and a half weeks. During that time we visited with our sons and their families, but we also spent quality time in three of our beautiful National Parks, Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Yosemite. I collected enough inspiration and photos to keep me painting for a long time!! I must admit that I found some of the scenary too awesome to try to capture in a painting. Mother Nature has much more skill than I could ever hope to have!! I do have some photos that I plan to work from, but they may not see the light of day!!!

We spent a week of the trip at a condo on Bass Lake in California just south of Yosemite National Park. The lake is truly beautiful. It is at about 3400 ft. above sea level with beautiful conifer forest surrounding it. I did a couple of paintings during the week. I think I am finished with this one which I titled "Bass Lake Shoreline I". Here is the photo of the scene, my thumbnails, my sketch and the painting. I have put my name on it....but may still do some tweaks after I look at it for awhile.

Company on Location

Despite the heat wave Arizona is experiencing (daily temps from 112 to 116) I went out painting early this morning. The location was a new one for me out in the desert. The morning was actually a little overcast which gave great misty color to the mountains in the background. As I was painting, I thought I heard the sound of hoofbeats and looked up to see I was being observed from a nearby hill by a band of three horses.....a mare, a yearling, and a foal. I am not sure if they were mustangs or range stock belonging to someone because they were not as timid as most mustangs I see while out painting. They went on their way out of sight and I resumed painting. Not 20 minutes later they reappeared walking towards me in the actual scene I was painting. They continued to amble along grazing and came within 50 feet of me. Needless to say I stopped painting to take pictures. The foal even stopped to check me out for several minutes before continuing to follow his mother. They finally moved to a tree not too far from my location and gathered in the shade to relax. I went back to my painting with a smile on my face knowing they were back there in the shade critiquing my work. Made for a fun painting day!!

Trip to France Art Work

As promised I have taken photos of the four pieces that I completed while at the Richard McKinley workshop in France so that I could share them with you.

This piece titled "Roman Gate" was completed on our first day of painting after arrival. The location is Castelfranc which was a walled town during the Roman Empire. There are components of the wall and this gate still standing. I really liked the arch of the gate and the different colors in the stone. I was also intrigued by the light coming through the gate and slanting across the grassy area in front of it.

This second piece is titled "Wine Cellar Niche". This location is at Haut Baran where we stayed. I stood on the flagstone steps down to the pool to view the side of the wine cellar building which had this niche filled with flowers. The hydrangea were so beautiful! I fell in love with this scene as soon as I saw it. The door to the left is the entrance to one of the guest rooms in the main building. As you can see the landscaping at Haut Baran is breathtaking!

The third piece is "Theron Vineyard Lavender". Theron Vineyard is an absolutely beautiful vineyard located on top of a gently rising hill. Above the lavender is a castle. I first began the piece with the castle included. However, I realized the castle became the focus when included and I really wanted to paint the lavender. I changed gears and started all over with new thumbnail sketches that focused on the lavender field. The color of the lavender was a real challenge to capture....not really lavender and not really blue. Loved it!!

The fourth piece I completed during the workshop is titled "Belaye Overlook". Belaye is a tiny town at the top of a hill overlooking the Lot Valley with the Lot River snaking it's way through beautiful farmland. What intrigued me about this scene were the shadows slanting across the river and farmland as the afternoon progressed. I was also caught by the shapes of the farmland as the different fields accommodated the curve of the river.

I will be working on the remaining pieces begun in France in the next few weeks. I am hoping to finish them before my husband and I leave on a driving trip to California the end of July. In any event I will share them as I complete them. In the meantime I would be interested in any feedback or comments you might wish to share about the four presented here!

Trip to France

I have just returned from a 12 day trip to France. I was in France to participate in an art workshop with Richard McKinley, whom I have been working with for over a year whenever possible. The workshop was held at Haut Baran, a privately owned French chateau in the Lot Valley, two hours outside of Toulouse (photo above). The owners, William and Rosalie Haas are Americans, although William's family is from France and he spent his summers there from a very early age. They purchased the chateau and converted it into a location for retreats for groups. They specialize in art groups and gourmet cooking groups. The location is stunning, the hospitality is superb, and the food served is truly an experience itself!

Richard is a gifted artist and teacher and strives to provide a rewarding learning experience for each participant. Because of this it is very difficult to get into one of his workshops as they fill immediately and always have wait lists. However, the economy had an impact on this workshop resulting in only 8 artists. This small group meant lots of one on one time for each artist with Richard. We started each morning with breakfast at 8 or 8:30 and worked until dinner which was usually around 7:30 or 8:00 pm. We painted at the Haut Baran itself as well as at various towns and small villages within 15 minutes drive. We also took advantage of opportunities to experience the French culture by visiting a historical watermill, a village street market, and walks through the small villages. We also had the wonderful opportunity to visit Peche Merle to tour the caves containing prehistoric art. Truly inspiring!

In upcoming blog entries I will share some of the artwork I created during the workshop. As always, workshop settings are for learning and trying new things....which means that the pieces often are not completed during the workshop. I need to photograph the completed pieces and work to complete the unfinished pieces in the days to come. First, though.......I need to recover from the jet lag.....the nine hour time difference and long flights definitely take some recovery time! Needless to say....it was definitely worth it!

2009 Cave Creek Film and Arts Festival

For the second year in a row I was juried into the Cave Creek Film and Arts Festival. The piece juried in is "Boot Scootin' Wannabes". The juried entries will be exhibited at the Desert Foothills Library in Cave Creek from June 19th through the end of July. Although there will be a reception on July 10th from 6 to 8 pm, the actual awards will be announced on July 19th at the Film and Arts Festival awards ceremony (for all divisions) from 6 to 0 pm at the Fine Arts Center at Cactus Shadows High School in Cave Creek. If you happen to be in the area on either date please stop in and join the festivities!

IAPS Video

Last weekend I attended the International Association of Pastel Societies Eighth Biennial Convention in Albuquerque, NM. I took along a new toy.....a Flip Video Camcorder. I took a few video clips which I put together into a movie called "Scenes from IAPS 2009 and posted it on You Tube. I thought you might enjoy it:

IAPS Biennial Convention 2009

I just returned from a wonderful weekend in Albuquerque attending the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) Biennial Convention. Bob and I flew to Albuquerque Thursday morning arriving at 11:30 in the morning. This allowed us to get to the convention hotel in time for me to attend the first session of the conference. This convention draws people from all over the world, although the majority are from the United States. Yet, the convention is just small enough that you get to meet people easily at sessions and other convention activities. You also have the opportunity to attend sessions to learn from a large number of the artists one reads about in the art journals. I was able to attend sessions with Liz Haywood-Sullivan, Michael Chesley Johnson, Richard McKinley, Sean Dye, and Kim Lordier. I learned a lot!!! Some of the things I learned were new to me, but then some of the things I have heard or seen before......but they really jelled for me hearing them this last weekend. One of the concepts that really jelled for me was the fact that the artist is painting a concept....not specifically a scene. All the tools and techniques I have been learning are to be used to design a painting to communicate the concept that drew me to the painting to begin with. An artist is not a camera....faithfully recording a scene. An artist "designs" a painting, modifying and interpreting the scene to share the reason the scene first attracted them. I knew this...but never connected all the ramifications of "knowing this". After this last weekend I think I am going to be approaching my painting in a whole different way!!!