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Sometimes a beautiful day with clouds rolling by is subject enough for a little painting. This day at the Bay, the air was cool, the sun was warm and a light breeze was blowing, (perfect for sailing)! As I looked out on the water I was filled with gratitude! Isn't it wonderful to live in this beautiful world?

                                          Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Whenever I get discouraged, I read Robert Henri's "The Art Spirit" about the human struggle to be your most authentic self. He says the beauty of people is the way they express themselves naturally through their gestures along the lines nature intended for them. This was painted by the canal in Kemah. A man strolled down to the dock with a plastic bucket, a fishing rod and some bait. As he sat down on his bucket with the rod in his hand I was struck with his simple dignity. The contrast between the elaborate fishing boat on the opposite shore and this simple fisherman made me question. Is either fisherman any happier than the other? Does it take a fancy, expensive fishing boat to make one happy or will a plastic bucket to sit on be good enough? Henri says "it takes wit, interest, energy and courage to be happy. One must be open and alive." I am so grateful this man, this figure, this fisherman, came into my view! 

While this scene may look too complicated to paint in a little over an hour, really, it is just puzzle pieces of large and small shapes. So try this simple trick if you don't believe me. If you wear reading glasses, keep them on while looking at a scene. Everything becomes quite blurry, right? Now, trick your mind into not naming these blurry shapes as a boat, or a tree, etc. but instead tell yourself you are just seeing big and little, different colored shapes. Paint the largest and darkest shapes on the canvas first, and the smaller colored shapes around it. Before you know it you will be painting the scene. Only after you have painted the sky and the water; then take off your glasses to see the masts and details on the boat. Details are the last thing to paint and you are now seeing like an artist!

By the way, this was painted last week at Olivia's "Class Sleepover" in Kemah. We went down Wednesday and painted that day, had a fabulous dinner, and then got up Thursday to paint at the marina down the street. Thanks so much, Olivia, for hosting us yet again this Fall! The Bay in October can't be beat!

A Blood Moon sounds kind of scary, don't you think? It's when the earth moves directly between the sun and the full moon in a total lunar eclipse and the earth's shadow falls on the moon which makes it appear red-orange. This happened on September 27-28, 2015, and some naysayers say it was to signal the End of Time..."The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood before the great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.", Joel 2:31.

 Whew, glad that's over! This last lunar eclipse was the final act of a Lunar Tetrad when 4 successive total lunar eclipses, with no partial lunar eclipses in between, are spaced six full moons apart. If that weren't enough, this last full moon was a Super Moon which appears bigger because it is closer to the earth. Some folks say, "A change is coming" when you have a lunar eclipse and they don't mean a Good Change, but in my experience it has been a joyous occasion. Our daughter was married 12 years ago on the night of a total lunar eclipse and they are very happy! And it was also quite a party!

The Kimball Art Center in Park City has been an institution committed to encouraging the Arts in this old mining town for 40 years. Last summer I taught 2 Plein Air painting workshops for the Kimball, and enjoyed it so much, I will do it again next summer. One of our favorite places to paint the 1st week was under this tree at the top of Guardsman's Pass with spectacular views in every direction. However; the 2nd week was at the end of August and a strong wind blew in. The saying goes, "If you want to be a plein air painter...you had better be a Good Sport", and these artists were Very Good Sports! Still, that day we were almost blown off the mountain! Ah, the things we endure for Art! Out of this misty blue of atmosphere, emerged the glow of a warm dry land dotted with fur trees in cool tones of blue-green. Even in discomfort, you can not help but be inspired!

Have you ever noticed what happens to the color of the sky as it approaches the land? The sky becomes lighter and warmer (either slightly pink or slightly yellow) and darker and more intense as it goes up in the sky. Often the color of the land bounces into the sky and visa versa. However; this only applies if you are looking away from the sun. As we approach the sun, the sky gets lighter and warmer because a greater volume of light is scattered into the atmosphere. What this means, is if you are mixing both from top to bottom and side to side you will need at least 4 separate colors to paint any given segment of a clear blue sky. But hold it...what about if clouds are present? They too take on the color of the land and the color of the sun. Smaller clouds are not as white because they have a lesser mass of vapor to reflect back the light. Now that you are totally bored...Let me change the subject and say the best time I had on this painting, was using a toothpick to scratch out the trunks of the aspen trees. Painting is more fun if you change things up, but you do need to know Some stuff.