Oil Landscape, Barbed Wire in Ice 14 x 11

 

I wanted to depict the cold solitude of the Texas Panhandle.

This piece was completed from a reference picture I took on a car trip to Colorado.  I had supervision from Gloria, an North East Independent School District Adult Ed art instructor.  The perspective lines came from Professor Hua from University of the Incarnate Word, and the deep blue sky came from Janice Hindes, my instructor from the Coppini.  These influences all rattled around as I painted this.

The coldness and the desolation seem to make this a favorite piece of my Texas native friends.  

Landscape Pastel of Ten Mile Range (2011) ~12 x 14

What I hoped to do was to use pastels to capture the south-facing, landscape of Ten Mile Range and Dillon Lake in Summit, Co. CO. 

The method was to apply pastels in considerable detail -- as it was a small canvas.  Mostly this was an early plein air piece, although the morning sun seems to create racing shadows and the clouds too, seem to be coming or going.  Some, for sure, was completed with a reference photograph.

I have been drawn to the beauty and spirituality of nature from my first art efforts.   Enthusiasm.  From the Greek, "filled with God" -- yes, I remain enthusiastic about having fun with pastels and grateful for those who give of their time to give me suggestions.

Great News -- John Stewart Selected for Juried Exhibition

I am very pleased that the John Stewart portrait will be exhibited in Inspire's on Fire Emerging Artists Juried Exhibition and Gala at the Witte Museum 3801 Broadway San Antonio on Friday Sept 16, 2011 from 7 to 10:30 p.m. (see http://www.inspirefineart.org/). It was great to hear from Karen when I turned the piece in to her that it was 1 of 10 selected out of 150 amateur submissions.

Cleaning Gutters in the Rain

It finally rained over an inch here. We have months and months of drought conditions. The day before, knowing we had 40% chance, I made sure all the rainwater collection system valves were in the right place. At 2 a.m., I was awakened by the sound of water falling from the roof to the path outside the bedroom window. I got up and realized a downspout was blocked up. I got the ladder and an umbrella and freed it up. I think I collected several thousand gallons almost topping off the 7,500 gallon system. This is a pencil sketch from the morning.

FtSam Oak

There was a magnificant old oak tree across the parking lot from where I had some time to wait. So I did a pencil sketch of it. The two bushes to the right and down the road are a bit distracting. Perhaps if the road were clearer. I liked how the texture turned out for the leaves.

Santiago de Atitlan Pencil

Feeling a bit of the blah's and thought I would put this on the blog for fun. I created it last Jan perhaps. A mentor said -- keep drawing.

Point Loma CA near San Diego Pencil

This was a pencil drawing from the beach near Ocean Beach looking south. In pencils of various hardness and done from a photo after the fact.

Pastel, 12 x 15, Brooks AFB Post Office

The concept was to create a small memorial art work to this wonderful old Air Force Base.  One of the oldest buildings was the post office which probably dated from the 1930s.

This idea came as I talked to Adolph Trevino in our post office. He had worked there 7 years and knew the man who had worked there 40 years before him.  This was a very early pastel of mine on pastel paper.  I played with the colors.  I wanted the light of the sun to be spiritual, eternal.

I did finish the work, got Adolph to help me create a mat to frame it in that many people who were still at Brooks before it closed had a chance to sign.  I took it to the old postman who fortunately had moved nearby and I gave it to him myself.

Art is a bridge from the past into the future, sometimes harder to see when one is young.  It is abundantly clear as one gets older. 

Pastel, The Bridge At Cathedral Park

This is a small pastel on pastel paper depicting the old wooden bridge at Cathedral Park. 

It was my first detailed pastel and it was completed both from an image, and from visits to this nearby public place of the Episcopal Diocese of South Texas.

This is a spiritual place for many people and it has been for a very long time -- since the Native Americans camped nearby as they hunted buffalo crossing just north of this place.  It crosses the Torcido Springs which are the headwaters of the San Antonio River.  The view is to the east.  Up the hill is the columbarium that I have reserved.  This bridge to me represents life and learning.  

Pastel Landscape and Pencil Study, 18 x 24, Calafate Purple Sky

This, like much of my art, is about the majesty and beauty of the environment. 

It was created first in a pencil study and then a follow-up pastel on pastel paper.  It captures some of the big-sky and grandeur of this wonderful place in South America.  It was painted from an image after a visit there.  This was an early landscape pastel for me. 

It's meaning is mostly in its beauty.

The First Post -- Joyce

The first time, ever I saw your face, I thought the sun rose in your eyes...I knew our joy would fill the world and last until the end of time wrote Roberta Flack.

That it would be so with creation.

I am in an email exchange with a friend about what is Grace. I believe it is unwarranted favor. Patty Cooper befriended me a few months ago and suggested I start a blog as a place to put my art and get feedback. She has also been generous with her time reviewing my beginner's art. This is Grace.

Speaking of unwarranted...I look forward to your thoughts and feedback in your busy days because it will mean something to you just as it will to me.