2017----something new

      2017    Happy New Year   all - -- -I  haven't been painting, and I have missed it a great deal..   June 2nd,  2016 I had a mishap with my dog, Ruby, and dislocated my shoulder...  I had no idea what that can do to a person. let alone one my age!!  But I am fine,  had surgery on Dec 1st that made all the difference in the world for my problem,  I didn't hurt or tear my rotator cuff tho, just messed up some biceps and a tendon.  Sure made my range of motion impossible for a time.  I can now reach my easel in front of me,  I paint while standing and like to reach forward which was very hard to do.
      I got these two done a few days ago - -both paintings I have done before, but I thought it would get the creative juices going.   One in watercolor, and used a different way, so an experiment of sorts.   The one with the clouds this time was painted in gouche on stretched canson paper, Moonstone, in color.    Then it was finished in pastel.  I had done these both a few years ago so it was fun to do them in way different mediums and also techniques.  The old barn painting is in watercolor, was our old barn and is gone now.

                         

                                   

First 9 x 12 pastel for the year.

This was a plein-air painted this January, 2016, a time of day I normally avoid painting in as the light is cool--and mostly flat.   Its everywhere, and hard to connect shapes by shadow---also the color is not as dynamic.  Its a hard time of day in which to paint.  The reason this was painted is painters from Reno drove out to paint on this sunny day in January which is usually a very cold time of year,  we had some snow but very bright skies.   It was fun, and as we normally do, we searched and searched for just the right place to paint in---could not come up with anything so I chose a familiar place thinking it would help me at least get something done.   Very interesting to paint in this light, values are so close and looked quite plain even tho its a great scene.  It is much better with those late afternoon shadows for sure.

It was  a great way to start the new painting year----So get ready everyone!  let's paint.!

My few summer plein-air pastels

   I have 5 pastels I completed over the summer and would like to post them with a few comments.  Each one has been a fact searching project.  Always have had a difficult times with trees and getting them to set in my paintings as they should to express the feeling I was trying for.  We all love trees, and they should be as you want them to be.  And sometimes they are just in the background, and still should appear natural.  Color for them is hard, so much green!  And ruggedness, and tangly, and so on - -largeness is a big problem.  Well, it all is, but a great journey.

   

So here is an assortment of trees in different places done over the summer.  That is Wolf creek meadow, the forth one down.  I love this place, so many trails come out of this area along to the east where the Carson river runs.  The little pinion tree is near my house,  and the bright one with the willows is actually a lake!   Its so dry here, and the lakes are very low as it was done in Sept. on an outing with the Reno Tahoe Plein air painters at Silver lake.  

It was  a great summer with experiments made into Plein-air painting but still I should of worked much harder!  I did reduce the colors in my small double sketch box made by Heilman, and put in many greys and neutrals, and still got plenty of color!  The one done at Silver lake was mid-morning, and on a reclaimed piece of Uart with a orange-red wash of acrylic paint which helped brighten it a lot.  I do use watercolor under paintings as well.

Also this bear was in my yard this summer, mid-morning, and I got this picture from my kitchen window!  He was quite large but didn't stay long.

Can't wait until the snow flies, to try and paint then. Hope you are all painting!

across the pasture in Dutch Valley

This was done this morning in pastel on  small piece of Sansfix, dark blue.  I had gotten a small tablet of this for just sketching and thinking.  I have been thinking about something a friend had gone through while attending a clinic.  That was the color of the mountains in a lot of the west that are covered with sage. As they go out in the distance its easy to pay attention the the atmospheric appearances of these hills and mt's and blue them out - - -but when they are not even 1/4 mile from you you tend to try for the colors that you see.  We have had a lot of rain lately and there is a lot of color!!  Trying not to get too hi-key, I wanted to play with these thoughts.  I did the mt. first with a mouse grey (almost purple) shade, and then added a little local color over it.  It made you think a lot - -sage can be so many different shades of sage-greenish purple, and when rained on can look lush. This range had burned off in 1985 and so most of the pinions are gone, leaving a lot of sagebrush to take over. I just st in my yard under a patio umbrella and day-dreamed the morning away!  I have many more things to try - -like now do something like this with Oils, getting distance, and matching values to show the sun touched color. The sun was almost overhead in this one, just before noon.  Still, the mt. had to be darker in value than the foreground or sky.  More to come.

Tuesday, June 9th's try

Well -  -- Here is the last oil painting I have tried to do.  I am still not using any black, and and a split complimentary palette.  I did use Transparent Yellow oxide to tone the canvas and leave a nice yellow glow under the sky and ground planes.  So many thing s to try - - -and to remember!  This was about 9 am until 11 am on a grey cloudy-skied Tuesday.   A few of the Ladies from Reno came out this morning to paint also.  They were down by the orchard, and close to the road, I was in the brush to learn brush colors - -how to get paint off my brush - -and to keep my dog safe.  She spent the time hunting squirrels!!!    The comp. on this isn't to great - -- just getting the colors for the time of day was enough for me this time I guess.  I sure miss judged the middle range of hills, with that spot of green!!  Well, it did help to get out there.    Happy painting!

Reno Tahoe Plein Airs painters came out to Paint!

I  am happy to say  the Reno Tahoe Plein  Air painters, a group of Plein air painter brought together by an BlogSpot post created by painter Carolyn Thompson from Reno made the trip out to the Carson Valley to paint  on June 1st.    It was great to see them all with their easels set up in various places that morning.  I was too excited  I guess to get pictures of them,  I am sorry.   3 ladies came from Fallon Nevada, and most from Reno, some from Carson City  and then myself.  This is always fun, and I love to see what they paint.  This is what I was able to do,  in pastel , 

on pastelmat, 9 x 12

 

I was surprised I was able to get these old building and the above ground gas tanks we have on the ranch , from their back sides.   I have never done so many buildings at one go before!   Going out with a group like this sure does get you going again and I am ready now to continue.  And Carolyn did 2 paintings, small, in Oil.  She did the cows in the corral, and the big tractor!  She said she might send me one and if she does I will post it here.   Happy painting!

 

Spring Sage--mid-morning

Yesterday in the mid morning, out painting to learn to deal with sage brush. I had a great time, and now feel a bit better about it and will do more. There is so much to learn using these oils. I did use a small palette of primaries on a burnt sienna toned ground. I do want to get more color into the brush, but this is a good start. So interesting learning these new things, I. E. color mixing - -catching the light--recession,---and even local color--as well as foregrounds!!!  Thanks goodness it's fun!  Hope you are all painting!

Painting at the ranch - -with a group from Tahoe

I  am sorry to say I forgot my camera this fun day, so didn't get pictures of all the busy painters that came out for the morning to paint as a group with David Russo, who teaches many art disciplines at Tahoe. Lots of watercolorists came, and a very interesting painter who used dyes and silk!!  Her work was beautiful when she was done, even putting in one of our old retired bulls! I think all enjoyed the morning, my painting friend from Silver Springs, Nv. came out and did a great pastel. Again, no camera, so I could show her work.  It was of lilacs and milk cans! I did this old car, that was in the brush, which was my main focus--Brush!  Unfortunately, I mainly looked at the car and the brush just is still a problem. I am trying  oils, and mixing from a split-primary palette  and get using to mixing this way.  No black at all on my palette, but its so easy to mix a dark.  I will continue to work out my sagebrush problems!  There is plenty around to paint from! Happy painting all.  

2015------been out panting a little

Now its the end of March 2015, and thats just amazing to me.  Time flies, no matter what.  Not much of a winter for the west this year, even in our area just below Lake Tahoe on the Sierra Crest.  We really need the water, and this year will be a trial. But have been painting---practicing with Oils, a medium I hardly use.  I have learned to enjoy pastels so much for Plein Air painting, while I know Oils are supposedly easier.  In so many ways they are, but there are some area's they take a bit more care or supplies to make things easier.  Like wet panel carriers, or a good turps container, but all in all , things can be down sized easily for taking out in the field.  Just all a learning curve, and I finally got a great pochade box and tri-pod - - -both by Sienna Plein Air.   I do think these things are nice and easy to use.
So . . . . ..  here are 3 recent efforts.  The first one is done indoors from a notan in one of my sketch books - -done to get into things.

This one is a bit bright---learning to mix from my chosen palette of a split-primary set of paints. Ater this I went out one late PM, and tried using pastels to get the light and shadow patterns as the sun went down behind the mountain on the home ranch. I managed to get this , in pastels.

  and so wanted to try it with oils.  The sun is in the south , the end of February - -and you can see, no snow - -its so odd for us as we are normally pretty buried with it in Feb.!

  Again I see I got my mixes quite bright - -even tho I know the cammera does push the blues . This was oils, a few weeks later in the same place. I painted fast as I was interrupted  quite a bit. So odd as I don't really see to many folks normally! This was mostly done on site, with some added after much thinking later.  I will do this again on site and hope for better results.

  This last one was done mid-morning in Hope Valley---again just for me to learn to mix from my palette a bit faster and hopefully more accurately.  I see many errors, but will continue in order to learn - - -  -but I do like my pastels at this point better!!!   So all for now - -hope  you are all happily painting.

Just a couple weeks ago

Just a couple weeks ago, My good pastel artist friend Carole Karsh  drove out to our place from Dayton. Nev.  Her and her puppy. Dude, walked with me and my painting partner, Ruby.  We went North of the ranch toward views of Mt's and Bluff's, Sky and clouds.  We carried our stuff in backpacks and were quite comfortable. It still hasn't stormed much here, and our scenes were quite Nevada Hi-dessert stuff.   We spent a couple of nice hours painting different scenes  that included this bluff. Depending on where you stood it seemed like a large world.   Hope to keep this up thru out the winter months.  Hope it snows.

I  did get some Plein-air's  painted this summer - - -- but posting was hard as I lost my P C..  Now I  have a new one and am trying to get caught up.  It really was a great summer, cooler than most, and very nice days.  I can't believe its Sept all ready!!  This is the first one I did for a practice  right at my drive-way one morning.       After that , it was in April that the plein-air painters from Tahoe came down for the morning in April.  There were 21 painters at the ranch on Foothill road!!    I quickly joined them, and did  rough one of the old barn.

  

This one is on  pastel card by senniliar and I used a turpinoid under wash.  Its small, and the shadows went fast!   It was a fun morning, all the people were so nice

I will just load the next ones that I did this summer and end there.  The next one was in June, on a stormy morning .  Lots of fun!  I do hope to get some this fall , when all the color begins!!  Happy Painting.

  

Hello all.

> So Sorry I haven.t been posting anything - - -had to get a new computer and have not figured it out yet!! What a pain this is--have been painting and will get back to you all ---keep painting !

 This painting is in the late P.M., looking to the north from the ranch on "Foothill - - a scene that is dramatically beautiful each day.

This is a fall scene in Hope Valley. 9 x 12

One from th summer's Plein-air event in Markleeville, painting done in early a. m. in Hope Valley

A summer sketch done in one of our pastures, late August P. M.

Theses are my most recent paintings this year.  Fall was beautiful, and long lasting in our area.  Even today, Nov 1, began as a golden peaceful day!   The shadows on the ranch where I live on the hills, across the valley, as the sun comes over the mt.s from the East are amazing in the mornings.  I will try them one day, but for now, I just love looking at them!!  I do hope to do some winter paintings with snow this year, now all we need is the snow!

New plein air paintings-

I have been doing a bit more plein-air lately, but had not posted the paintings.  Recently, I was painting with the Markleeville Gallery as they hosted their Plein-air week.  It was fun, and had some challenges with the weather.  One day being windy and grey, and the rest of the days , clear, but very hot---we actually had a heat wave that was uncomfortable but also drying for the area.  Sure hope we get our usual snowy winter this next time! Before the Plein-air week I went out on a local Nevada desert area that I enjoy with Oil painter Ray Freeman.  We hadn't painted together in quite a while so I enjoyed this mornings' outing.  This was at the beginning of June:

This is a place I know well as I used to love riding all over this large open desert and hope to get back out here to paint again.

Then a few days after this, I went with Carolyn Thompson from Reno, Nevada, to paint near or at Blue Lakes, California.  It was a windy morning that we chose, and cool.  So I climbed on some huge rocks in the sun and tried this scene, on a 8 x 10 piece of Uart I had  with me:

I am surprised at how  this one came out.  I could look down on the lake from here, but as its name goes, it was just "blue" so I was glad I 

chose the rocks.

The next one is a sketch I made on morning in Hope Valley before the Plein-air week started, I liked how this area looked early in the morning, facing into the sun as it came up from the east---so this is a place I went back to during the week.  The resulting 9 x 12,( and is a bit different than this sketch) is now hanging in the Gallery so I guess the practise helped.  Our paintings will hang for a month there.   We met some nice people during the event, and many really good plein-air painters were there.  I really enjoyed it this year. :

The  whole area , tho , is so different that it was last year as far as color goes,   and is a  lot drier and so we worry about fire.  When fall comes , we have such wonderful color--but this year may pass without  such dramatic color because of the dryness.  I will have to wait and see. So, thats it, Hope you are all out painting!

This is this morning's practice painting.   I was up early, browned  short ribs for the croc-pot, loaded my new pup , and was gone by 6:30-----still not early enough as it is really hot for the month of June this year.  I drove to Hope Valley, hoping it would be cooler!   Its at least a thousand ft. higher that the ranch.  Anyhow, it wasn't!  But it was very pretty, although the "green" will be gone early this year as we had no snow to speak of, so no water.   My new pup, Ruby, is a red boarder collie and is about 5 mos. now.  Very stubborn, but really cute.

  She didn't want to come to me in this shot, she is very independant!  So this morning, she was on a leash, and she had a good time.  I worked fast, this was pastel with a pastel underwash with alcohol. It dried fast, and gave me a good value plan to follow.   I was back home by 10 am!!!  This is 10 x 12.

I, again this year, am doing the Markleeville Plein-air painting week held now for its 3rd year, in Markleeville, Ca--Alpine County.   Alpine County is very beautiful and we are very lucky to have the gallery, and Evelyn Yonkers support and organization skills working for all the artists who attend.   I am hoping this year Evelyn herself has the time to get out and paint also!   Check out the Markleeville Gallery web-site for a list of all the artists and read about the event.   

www.markleevilleartgallery.com 

May 1 st , 2013

Mt's behind ranch.

This was my 4th P. A. for 2013.  I seem to be getting off at a very slow start!  This was done at 11:30 am until maybe 1 PM or there about.  Yes, it was painted when the sun was full  on hitting the whole hill and mountainside!  I never paint at this time of day as I rather like shadows in my paintings.  Two ladies, one from San Jose, and another who moved here about 10 years ago, came by and wanted to paint on the ranch.  Of course I said "Yes"!  So they actually came out 2 days in a row, at the same times.  They used watercolor, and large sheets of paper.  The second day, they had my attention and I joined them. They liked the Mt, and I found a place that was both shady and had some sun for them to paint in- - - - and I joined them.   It was fun, a very nice way to spend a day!     They also told me about an Artists Open Studio event coming up in the Carson Valley on the weekend of May 18 and 19th.   Linda Sandhagen, one of the ladies,  will be in this event.   I am sure I will go!

I  did get out again , and do hope to more often.  Plein-air painting is really fun, and with pastels I really enjoy it.   I do plan to do more in Oils this year tho.   My friend from Dayton, Nev. drove out for the day to paint.  She chose to use Oils, and brought with her a great gift from her very artsy and inventive sister.  This time she  has invented something the Oil painters will love as Oil paint is very expensive.  Its called a Pallet Garage, and is made from arclyic and uses clove oil to keep the paints moist between paintings.   To find out more about this neat tool, go to www.palettegarage.com and check it out.

I used my pastels and found a bank that still had some snow.  It was a cloudy day, very grey light which is something I need to practice anyhow, as well as close up subjects.  Its done on Senniliar pastel card, with a turpinod under painting, and is 9 x 12.

This was painted  on the Lane that leads to the Old  ranch on Foothill road.   I love the hugeness and the closeness of these Mountains.  The light this time of year is so wonderful and I hope to catch it.   Hope you are all painting as well.  This took two afternoons, as I felt a bit rusty and was just staring at everything!   I used Uart with an underpainting wash..

Finally--a few fall paint efforts to post

I have been a bit troubled  by my lack of computer knowledge, and so haven't posted in awhile.  Jane Welles, an artist from Nevada City, returned to the ranch this fall to paint.  She really loves plein-air painting, and is very good at it, so I feel very excited that she likes to come where I can watch and paint with her.   We went along the East Carson one morning, after school had started and there were less tourists in the area.  We actually found a great place  in a camp ground, with tables and  creature comforts.  The light was amazing, along with all that color.  So much for me to look at--so here is my small start---8 x 10---on Walis white with a watercolor underpainting, which helped me at least get the feel of the light.     I thought I may make changes on this--but its a good start, and reminder of a great morning--so I will leave it as is.

 Later that evening, Jane and I painted  in front of the old ranch house, in the shade, and just looked at what was close---the sun had begun to go down the huge mt. behind us, with the last of the light raking thru and hitting the locust tree at the driveway---it was amazing seeing this tree almost turn orange!   I didn't do a great job painting this, but I assure you , I learned something about light this day!!!   I didn't get pictures of any of Janes, but she painted a group of cottonwood trucks that were also hit by the light.  We had a great time!!!! Dark about when we went in.

A few days before this, I was painting with my friend from Dayton, Nev, Carol Karch--and we also had a great time.  I painted this one on the new Canson Touch--in a dk. brown shade.    It really was on interesting surface, and color to try--I will again.   Carole did a lovely painting wlso this day, which you can see on WC---we also tried an evening

painting using oils back at the house that day-----another fun experiance, light was leaving fast  but using a notan underpainting I was able to get this far in oils---9 x 12  I can go back into this one to Finnish if I choose but haven't yet.  So this is all I have done lately, and today we have snow and colder temps.    We did have a beautiful fall again this year----so wonderful its hard to believe it can be so beautiful.    Well, now for winter!!!

Sept.! So much cooler, but dry - - -

I have not been out painting in almost a month!!!  Its been warm this summer, and I have been indoors, really trying to learn to make a quilt correctly!  So many methods to try.  But now as the summer is cooling a bit and the night s are wonderfully cool, I have seen a different light beginning to show things  a bit more clear.  As we get into the fall, the sen goes into the southern part of the sky and I love the light.   This is one of out summer pastures, along the river.  I was going to paint the river, but instead liked the mt/ scene as the light on the mt. was something I wanted to try to paint with some belief.    Also, foreground practise is always needed in my world.  So, hopefully this will get me out there again, getting ready for the fall color and even some snow this year, on site!!!!

This is on Senniliar Pastel card, using Turpinod for an underpainting.  Brownish board, mounted on foamcor---9 x 12