Bluebonnets at the Gate!

No Barbarians Here!

Please forgive my silly title but when the first car of painters arrived at this charming Texas farm for two days of plein air painting we fell on this scene like barbarians at a feast! Our painting class has been graciously invited by one of my students to paint at her family farm every Spring for the last 3 years. However; this year the wild flowers were truly spectacular, best ever… Wow! It was hard to focus on so much natural splendor. Believe it or not, this can be a problem. The tendency is to try to put too much in each painting. I did 2 nice paintings and one awful one for that very reason. Best thing to do is use a View Finder and Edit, Edit, Edit!

Hollees Farm

Cows on the move

The Oil Painters of America was invited by the Hoerster Family to join in a Plein Air Paint-Out in Art, Texas (near Mason Texas, not far from Fredericksburg). Naturally I could not pass up the chance to make Art in Art! Saturday morning was cold and windy but we soldiered out to the ranch where I spied a group of cows that I thought would make a charming scene. However; the cows were not so keen on posing. I painted two cows and they started to move. By the time I finished the painting the whole herd was way off in the field you see in the distance. Got to be quick when it comes to livestock.

Golden Bouquet

Available at Harris Gallery, Houston

Experimenting with Gold Leaf

A Few years ago I did a series of painting using Gold Leaf backgrounds. I had gotten the idea from old religious paintings where the Saints were depicted in prayerful poises with gold leaf backgrounds to symbolize the presence of the holy. Also, gold represents purity of spirit as in, “A soul full of gold”.

Last week I lost two “Golden Souls”, so I would like to dedicate this little painting to my friends. They were both rare and precious people… Golden.

Poppy Easter!

Available Harris Gallery, Houston

My Spring Garden

Last week I went to the flower market and found Poppies, Hydrangeas, Ranunculus, and Paper Whites. This happens only in early Spring in Houston and I was so excited I could not wait to plant and paint them for Easter!
The Star of the painting is the orange poppies on the left, but your eye is pulled through the painting with the strong diagonal from the bottom left to the top right. The white flowers are also used to pull your eye around the painting and the second focal is the red and yellow grouping in the middle right. This is a pretty big painting (24″x30″)and is going to be part of my Show at Harris Gallery in Houston sometime this Fall. I will get back to you with the exact dates later.