Yoga Bliss Festival

The very best part of a yoga retreat weekend is the total immersion in all things yoga.  This year, I've been drawn to the deep restorative and sound bath classes, so I've filled my schedule with them plus a little Myo Yin Yan.  Each is a special shared experience that lingers long after the session ends. I'm looking forward to all tomorrow's classes have to offer. Now Showing at the Yoga Bliss Festival at Harmonie Verein in Augusta, where you can come take a class and leave restored! Painting number 4952 in 4952 days. 

Christmas at Union Station

 Wow!  What a magical place Union Station is at Christmas time! With holiday music in the air, and families coming to enjoy the tree, all is merry and bright!  I feel nostalgic in this place, with a feeling of reverence as I remember the six generations of my family that have walked these halls, that I now paint.  Could any of them have imagined I would?  As I do so often - and hardly anyone knows - I have painted my family members into the crowd, and I am all the way to the right - painting the scene at my easel. Just a little something extra for those who really look!  Painting number   3969 in 3969 days. 

Plaza Lights Magic

I absolutely LOVE painting the Country Club Plaza for the holidays!  Always inspiring, this place is celebrating it's 100th year!  Though I've painted these gorgeous streets multiple times, I've never chosen acrylics to do it with.  I've been painting a great deal lately, so it's wonderful to stretch into a different medium for a bit.  I'm using a do brush technique with heavy body acrylics, without water.  They build up with a thicker, more opaque quality this way.  And the color pop of that acrylic paint is also very different from my oils.  Such a great change!  The best bonus is that the painting dries very quickly, so I could frame it up the same day!  This one is now showing at HDR Inc in Kansas City along with 14 others.  It is the 3955th painting in 3955 days. 

Kansas City Skyline from Main

 

I love capturing Kansas City in watercolor batik!  This view is looking down Main from near Union Station, where I could sketch from the Link that connects Crown Center to Union Station. Catching this place in the golden hour was my good fortune, so I marked those colors quickly!  This large gallery piece is one that shows with my Kansas City Collection for the Now Showing program with ArtsKC. Painting number 3930 in 3930 days. 

Kansas City is full of beautiful bridges, and this one crosses Brush Creek on Benton Boulevard. I've drawn this from a smaller piece I did en plein air during one of the Brush Creek Art Walks.  I show this piece in the Now Showing program with other large pieces in Kansas City.  Love getting to paint these great places! We're celebrating the marriage of our middle son tonight to a wonderful young woman who is now our newest daughter!  Can't wait to share the fun with the whole family tomorrow!  Painting number 3927 in 3927 days. 

Mid-day at Union Station

 

I love using pen and ink in a place I always use color - Union Station Kansas City.  The timeless beauty and architecture keep me coming back to this place where generations of my family have walked.  I can feel the history, almost see my relatives meeting trains and departing on trips.  The clock high above the bustle is an icon here.  Kansas City is special, and I'm so happy to create in such a place. Painting number 3926 in 3926 days. 

Falling Water

 I love painting at the nature sanctuary when in Parkville, Missouri.  It's a bit of a hike in, but totally worth the effort.  The trail is a beautiful one to walk or run, as it passes through woods and along the creek fed by these falls. This place is especially nice after a good rain, when the water is rushing.  I've painted this a few times, and each trip reveals something new to me. The light streaming through the trees was exceptional this day.  Love these tranquil moments painting by the falling water. Painting number 3092 in 3092 days. Now showing at the Cathy Kline Art Gallery for the MVIS Signature Show. 

Red Rockers on the Porch

I love the nostalgia of rockers on a front porch, especially at a gorgeous historic inn like this one!  Main Street Inn has always been an inn, dating back to the early days of Sainte Genevieve.  What's even better is when someone brings an historic place back to life, restoring it and bringing it to glory.  Such a place must be painted!  Mom and I enjoyed our stay here last September, and we will all be enjoying many other stays here, as it is the very best B and B I've ever stayed in. Lovely place to spend some time. Painting number 3085 in 3085 days.  This painting opens tomorrow night at Music Art Love Gallery in Sainte Genevieve, Missouri.  Meet and Greet from 5:00 to 9:00 during the Fourth Friday Art Walk!

First Signs of Spring at Maramec

 Painting at one of my favorite places, I have to make this post fast.  I've not had a cell connection until just now, so I'm posting as fast as I can!  It was sheer joy to paint today in the warm weather and gentle breezes!  How could I be so lucky?  I'm only down here because I needed to deliver a tire to my son at college - one that was not available anywhere closer than Liberty, up by us!  Since I'm in the area, you know I must paint!  I talked to stop many wonderful visitors as I worked - I just love the artist life!  Painting number 2979 in 2979 days. 

Glory in the Sky

I am constantly drawn to the cloud show appearing in the skies above me.  Distracted while driving, weeding, or at any outdoor event - I feel a compulsion to drop everything and capture the beauty in paint!  So often the light is fleeting, so I rush in to mark the colors first, followed by the highlights, and finish with the shadow tones. I find these remain longer than the rest, so I can mark the areas quickly and return as I pull it all together.  Perhaps I should do a painting challenge on the heavens - 100 skies in 100 days?  Maybe then I would be comfortable with  these cloud scenes!  Painting number 2431 in 2431 days.

Cloudscape in May

The skies are a constant source of inspiration, especially with so many color variations.  Needing a few larger pieces for upcoming shows, I am working on a 16x20 panel.  After blocking in the masses, I start laying in those loose strokes of color as they reflected from ground and sky.  I'm not sure this one is finished, but I will let it rest until tomorrow.  Fresh eyes are always clear eyes!  Painting number 2317 in 2317 days.

Hereford Quartet

Sometimes, I think I will finish a painting quickly, and then the process takes longer than expected. I was originally going to do a quick pen and ink with watercolor, but the color was so luscious!  It HAD to be painted in oil!  The golden hour light was perfect and fleeting - I hope to have many more chances at it this spring!  Painting number 2298 in 2298 days.

Sunflower Fields

In any given year, I paint many more than my posted 365.  I commit to one a day, but some days I may do two or three.  In busy times, I may forget to post a few I really like - which is what happened with this one!  I fully intended to get back out there, so I never took the photo.  Deciding I liked it as is, I forgot about the rest until tagging it for my showing at Burns and McDonnell.  So, now out is on the record, and if it does not sell, I'm going to hang it on my own wall!  I LOVE painting at Grinter farms!  Painting number 2262 in 2262 days.

Herefords in the Snow

Waiting for the day to warm up, afternoon offered the perfect opportunity to capture these darlings in oil!  I am still using my Richeson oil palette, and am enjoying the four different browns I have.  All these years I have only used one brown, or none at all, so pulling my brush through such a variety feels like a luxury!  Love the colors of this day, warm light, cold blue shadows on the snow, such a great combination for a painting.  Hope to paint many more like this!!  Painting number 2252 in 2252days.

sold

Chewy

Packed and ready to head to a paint out by 7am, and thunder started to roll.  Checking the radar, I knew there was quite a front coming, and I did NOT want to drive an hour through it.  So, I did some reorganizing of my studio supplies, vanished a painting, hung another painting, and the rain was still torrential.  I've wanted to paint Chewy again, so I dug out the big gallery wrapped panel and started the composition.  I did actually mark out my panel first, which I hardly ever do.  I had been listening to artist interviews all morning, and two mentioned this method for figure work.  I had learned portrait work years ago using this same principal.  I really found it helpful with the enlarging.  This is a little 9 pound dog, and the canvas is 16x20.  For some reason, the larger size can throw me off proportionally.  Perhaps because I seldom work portraits or figures this large?  I will use this method again, because it is a sure fire way to get a strong likeness!  Painting number 2048 in 2048 days.

oil on gallery wrapped canvas, 16x20

Fort Frisco

Nestled at the end of a cobblestone street is this charming stone house in Fort Scott.  It was a beautiful drive all the way down, so many places were calling my name!  I drive north constantly, so heading south was a real treat!  So much so, I want to return for more painting!  I start with a small ink drawing to establish my composition, and start painting those lines on my panel.  I'm working 16x20 today, which is a good size for this particular easel.  If the wind is up, a larger box or tripod is necessary.  It is always good to have these back ups in the trunk.  I was painting close to the street to get the perfect view, and I was a bit of a novelty!  Cars stopped, everyone talking and commenting on the painting, a few even took pics!  I do this so often in places where it's "normal" to see artists in the field, that it was super fun to see such surprise on those faces!  I LOVE how friendly small towns are!  I even did a little scouting of Main Street and the old Fort on my way out of town.  I'm so glad my childhood friend invited me down to paint his home!  Thanks, Tim!  Painting number 1964 in 1964 days.

oil on panel, 16x20
sold

Sunflowers at Sunset

oil on panel, 20x16
purchase here

The sunflowers have started showing their color, and after such a busy day, I come late to my easel.  Rushing to capture the fleeting light before it is gone, I swiftly mark the masses. The essence of the landscape is my goal, and the glorious blooms, my muse.  I'm laying the heads down loosely, hinting at the impression of their movement in the breeze.  Leaving this one a little more impressionistic appeals to me, suits my mood.  After all, less is more.  Painting number 1696 in 1696 days.

Late Light at the Creek

Today was not at all as I planned, and I did not find my painting window until late in the day.  I'm running out of panels and with boards primed but not cut, I find myself painting over one of my first plein air paintings.  It was an early one done my first year at Augusta Shores, and really not worthy of seeing the light of day!  With an acrylic underpainting (all my plein air work was acrylic back then) I simply painted over as I would a new panel - paint sketch, mass block in, then finish work.  It was only moderately distracting to have the very dark, strong tree lines below my emerging painting.  But, soon all was covered and I think I've got it to a finished stage.  I'll check again in tomorrow's daylight as today's is all gone!  Painting number 1686 in 1686 days.

oil on panel, 20x16
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Whispering Stream

Early light has a very special quality, the low light saturating the color in the landscape. Just like sunrise and sunset, the light is fleeting and colors must be marked quickly - to be filled in later.  I sketch quickly with paint, start marking the masses with their local color, and try to finish as quickly as possible.  Often, I am meeting edges and filling out masses after the landscape has already changed.  Another large one, this is 20x16, and I have the perfect frame for it!  Painting number 1671 in 1671 days.

oil over acrylic on panel, 20x16
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Crops in the Field

I've been carving enough time out of each day to paint larger pieces, and this one is 16x20.  The light is so warm in the golden hours of summer, it is a joy to paint the landscape.  The rows of crops have a beauty all their own, much like the rows of lavender and the vineyards.  The rich color of summer abounds here, where the days have been comfortable and the rain plenty.  Everything is so lush during a time of year that is normally hot and dry!  A gift to the painter indeed!  Painting number 1680 in 1680 days.

oil on panel, 20x16
purchase here