Adventures of Calvin

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It was so fun to finally paint in historic Fort Scott, Kansas!  Years ago, I was near here painting, and I took a quick spin around town before heading back home.  The beautiful historic buildings lining the cobble stoned streets were so inviting! I was pleasantly surprised to find new life and fresh paint on some of these places - especially this block!  It was a pleasure to paint here - even if I had to work around a downpour! Thank you, Tim Van Hoeke for inviting me, my old high school friend turned mayor!  This painting is celebrating the 10th anniversary of this place.  Painting number 4611 in 4611 days. 

 

Warm Winter Light

 

Hooray for a chance to paint this winter wonderland!  Now, if we could only raise the temperature a bit...!!  I love when the warm light in the sky reflects and bounces off the winter snow, pushing those shadows to blue and purple.  Thank goodness for no wind because it's a little brutal out there.  I layer up, beginning with Canadian running pants and base layer shirt, warming socks and topping off with a down coat that is warm to 7 degrees below zero and warming gloves.  I also wait for the warmest part of the day - and work fast!  If I get too cold, I go in.  New this year - rechargeable hand warmers!  Painting number 5061 in 5061 days. 

Night on 2nd Street

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This watercolor batik is of a dear friend's house in Sainte Genevieve, and is a special surprise for our Mother-Daughter weekend visit to our favorite inn!  Following the starry night theme I've used for two other special paintings in the area, I paint this in multiple layers of ink, watercolor and hot wax on delicate tissue thin rice paper. The effect is luminous, and always unpredictable, making the final painting one of a kind indeed.  We had a marvelous trip full of adventures, and this painting will have a new home tomorrow as a Mother's Day gift!  Painting number 5039 in 5039 days. 

Spring Waters

Meramec Spring is one of my favorite places to paint, and is beautiful in every season.  The blue water steals the show as it quickly passes through, and my oils are the perfect medium to describe the motion.  I could paint for days on end here - if only I had the time. Painting number 4060 in 4060 days.

Red Roof Barn in Winter

These amazing Midwest barns grow older every day, and I can see their decline each time I revisit one from year to year. I feel like I need to capture them with paint while they still stand, because one day they may not.  Painting number 4033 in 4033 days. 

Bartle Hall Sky Stations

Love capturing the iconic Bartle Hall Sky Stations in watercolor batik on rice paper!  These towers shine like jewels on our skyline at night!  I'm posting another large gallery piece focusing on all things Kansas City, as we celebratethe wedding of our middle son with a woman who already feels like our daughter! How very blessed we are indeed!  Painting number 3928 in 3928 days. 

Moon and Stars over Main Street Inn

I LOVE returning to this magical place to visit with friends and make new ones!  Sainte Genevieve is a special place in this world - and I'm thanking my lucky stars that I found it!  Most often, I paint en plein air, finding my perfect scenes and capturing them in oils. For this gorgeous scene, I actually captured the image while painting a different composition in oil, of the same nocturne.  Everything about your place screamed watercolor batik to me - clear skies, moon and stars, in hot wax bright vibrant color, and finally I had the time while painting other gallery pieces, to realize my vision in this special medium.  Its how it works with special places and scenes, and sometimes, I don't get the chance to paint that vision before it is gone.  I can see the painting so clearly in my mind, but sometimes life gets in the way, and all those other obligations call to me before I can bring the painting to fruition, and then it is gone, a lost opportunity forgotten until I revisit the place, and feel the urge anew.  This crazy artist life, how hard it is to describe to another.  I feel a painting, already a vision in my mind, waiting for the breath of life, and if I have the time I dive right in...... but then there are the times I just can't pick up the brushes yet..... Tonight I am thankful this one came to fruition, and I'm saying a little prayer for all those paintings yet to be! Painting number 3728 in 3728 days. 

Jean Baptiste-Valle House Batik

I am painting the Jean Baptiste Valle House in watercolor batik tonight, with the view from the garden.  This place is joyful in bloom, and I love the formal rhythm of this garden.  It reminds me a little of the Loose Park rose garden, and I an really enjoying the process of layering watercolor, ink, and hot wax.  I am teaching this method March 24 and 25 at Silver Sycamore Gallery in Sainte Genevieve, and will be bringing paintings to the gallery that reflect the area.  Painting number 3717 in 3717 days. 

Rocky Mountain View

Day 4 of my Artist Residency in the Rockies - and this place gets more inspiring each day! I've visited with so many lovely people, while sharing my passion for painting. I took a little longer to complete this painting than normal, which happens sometimes when I'm visiting so much.  I love getting to study those colors in the mountains, something I never get the chance to do in Missouri. I'm hoping to excel at those ranges before I leave here, lol! It rained shortly after this - and a rainbow landed in this scene, just right of the largest mountain! I don't think I've ever seen that before!  Blessings surely abound in this place, and I'm so happy I'm here for it!  Painting number 4334 in 4334 days and day 14 of the #stradaeasel challenge.

Chez Elle Creperie

Kansas City is full of wonderful places to gather with friends, and I can't believe I didn't find this place until this year!  It is lovely to sit out under the umbrellas on a gorgeous day, and even lovelier to paint it in the shade of a tree across the street!  The entire area is beautiful, and I hope to come here often to sketch it all!  This painting is Now Showing at PGAV Architects, for Arts KC., along with a collection of my Kansas City artwork.  Painting number 4286 in 4286 days. 

Barns near the Park

This painting of the barns near the fairgrounds of Sainte Genevieve is now showing at Music Art Love!  I started this drawing from an on site sketch and painting in the fall.  Love the timeless quality of this place, standing much as it did a hundred years ago or so. Love getting to paint such amazing places!  Come see this painting in person at the gallery on Main Street in SainteGenevieve, Missouri.  Painting number 4268 in 4268 days!  😍❤️🎨

Garden at Jean Baptiste Valle House

I love painting the garden of the Jean Baptiste-Valle House, and this time I've chosen ink and watercolor on handmade paper.  This historic place is inside the boundary of the national park in Sainte Genevieve, Missouri.  I painted here in oils during the fall plein air last year, and that painting now hangs in a private gallery.  It feels like a whole new place in a different medium.  I will never tire of painting in a garden!  This will soon be hanging at Music Art Love in Sainte Genevieve, beginning next Thursday!  Painting number 4264 in 4263 days. 

After the Rain

I am forever drawn to a glorious skyscape!  I don't often take the time to paint them, because it means dropping everything on a time to capture the sky.  So, today I am making that effort, and hope to do more of this.  There's nothing like practice to improve those skills!  Painting number 3370 in 3370 days. 

Bartle Hall Sky Towers

I've been wanting to work on several large watercolor batik paintings to show when I hang work in Kansas City venues.  After sketching this one in site, I've returned home for the layering of watercolor and hot wax.  The rice paper is so fragile, I must be very careful when handing it wet. It almost falls apart as I work it!  This delicate medium can be very challenging, but oh that light is luminous!  So worth the extra steps!  This one will hang in the executive offices of Blue Cross Blue Shield for the next 3 months. Painting number 3350 in 3350 days. 

Hereford Quartet

 

Huzzah River Autumn

 The Huzzah River is a favorite place to paint when down in Steelville, Missouri.  Known for it's rafting, the banks of this river are fabulous to paint from. On this day, I stayed close enough to the large bridge to duck for cover of the rain started.  It wasn't rain that poured down from the bridge, but road crews cleaning and rinsing the bridge!  That was fun to dodge all the dirty water!  Lol!  Just another plein air adventure!  Painting number 2903 in 2903 days.  This painting is currently available at Gallery Zeke in Steelville.

Autumn at Maramec Springs

 I have driven by this Maramec Springs Park several times on my way to Steelville and Saint Genevieve, always wanting to check out out - but never enough time.  WELL.  I will not be making that mistake again.  This place is a wellspring for masterpieces and I could never tire of painting here!  With a focus of painting larger in the field, I am working on a 20x16 masonite panel.  Gessoed and dare I say previously painted - I am upcycling old works.  So, this painting has a secret painting underneath.  Isn't that fun?  My third large piece this week, the process really seemed more comfortable today.  The first day was a struggle to cover the surface, the second was more manageable, and today was almost effortless.  With such an inspiring place, how could it be otherwise?  Painting number 2850 in 2850 days.  This painting is now showing at Gallery Zeke for a limited time only! 

Cattle by the Pond

Spring colors are sweeping over the landscape, and overnight the pasture is green.  I couldn't find these guys this morning, and had to call my neighbor to discover they'd moved to a back pasture.  This turned out to be a treat as the cattle were lined up behind that pond, just waiting to be painted!  With high wind gusts today, it was necessary to keep one hand on my easel at all times!  And perhaps I should have chosen a smaller panel, the 16x20 really caught the wind like a sail!  Oh, but it was worth it. Painting number 2295 in 2295 days.

Sailboats in Sister Bay

The sailboats along the coast of Door County call me in like a siren call.  I'm drawn to them, and can hardly pass by without painting them.  Living in the Midwest, I don't have the opportunity to paint these beauties, so I must seize the moments when I can!  I'm playing with the color a bit, injecting a little blue in a sunset where there was very little.  This is larger at 20x16, so it is important to step back often for the full view.  I think I'll let this one rest for now, and look with fresh eyes in the morning!  Painting number 1685 in 1685 days.

oil on panel, 16x20
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Rainy Day Sunflower Field