PAINTING THE FRONT BED AT SALEM'S TEA HOUSE

Hey Friends,  Saturday was a gray grey day indeed.  I still set up my tripod at the Salem Tea House.

Only once were there a couple drops of rain.

My attraction was the old stump laying on it's side.  It looked burned. charred.  You can see I have started with sky and boxwoods.

Had to get up and stretch several times so took this photo from West Main, across from the Dynasty.

Now you can see I'm moving right along.  The threat of a thunderstorm helps to keep from dilly-dallying.  They call it tickling the painting.

The poppies add a lot of interest.  Once they have had a few years they will be the focal point.

Now if you go around to the back, you are treated to these massive trees.  I would bet at one time that was a koi pond between the benches.  I can see some paintings done here.

This shot was taken from the fence you see up there in previous photo.  And you can see the edge of the patio with iron chairs on the left.  If they seat diners out there in the warm months, that would be an interesting painting.

Love these gnarly old trees.

Hope to get back there soon.

A BIG Thank You to Kim Arney for allowing me to paint.

HAPPY TRAILS

BIG SHADOW

Hey Friends,  Back with No. 2 in my Wheatland Farm short series.  A single giant tree I hope is still standing after the tornadoes Sunday.  I choose to paint it because of the shadow it threw, big and wide.  There were some cows at the other end.

Here it is shown on a wall somewhere in cyber space. 

Would look pretty nice in a frame, right?

I will post more in a few days.

HAPPY TRAILS

MOONLIGHT SAIL

Hey Friends,  This is 12" x 4" study I made for a larger painting.

This is now at the Little Gallery at Smith Mountain Lake.

This week and next will be very hectic, with doc appt's and getting life ready for a knee replacement.

I'm sure my blog will be one of the first to be neglected

Hope to get some posts scheduled to self post.  Should be interesting.

Happy Trails

STRENGTH FOR THE JOURNEY AHEAD - EXHIBIT AT 2ND HELPINGS

Hey Friends,  One of my most favorite things to paint is the sky.  The big puffy clouds, the long skinny dark clouds of storms, of sunsets.  I could still lay on a blanket and watch them go by but you know how adults are.  No one wants to waste time, no one wants to appear lazy.  No one would consider that a meaningful use of time.  I'm thinking maybe the next time I go to plein air, I will just take a blanket and a camera.

Ya never know, maybe I will capture some glorious clouds on film for future paintings.

I would never consider that a waste of time, if I wound up with another painting I love, like the one above.

She is available to grace your home at my website HERE.

Or prints are available HERE.

Have a lovely week.

Happy Trails

PINK MORNING - ORIGINAL SKYSCAPE PAINTING

Hey Friends,  This is one of the paintings hanging in the new art show "SPRING SENSATIONS" at 2nd Helpings Gallery.  Located in the old Sears Building on Williamson Rd. near Rt.460.

And here is a shot of what it could look like hanging in a home.

You can go by 2nd Helpings to see it in person and THEN take it home. HeHe!

Thanks for stopping by

Happy Trails

SMOKE OVER OUR VALLEY - ORIGINAL LANDSCAPE PAINTING

Hey Friends,  It's over whelming so I'm trying to make some room in my studio.  If I think a painting has some merit, I will offer it on Ebay as the last channel.  This was started on Mill Mountain, back when Wytheville was suffering with a lot of brush fires.  The wind blew the smoke into our valley and it sat there for a day and an evening.

This painted with oils and is 10" x 19".  This is a nice hand made frame and is not the garrish gold seen in the photo.  It has a softer golden look.

It is up for auction HERE on Ebay.

Thanks for stopping by

Happy Trails

PINK BOXWOOD - ORIGINAL MIXED MEDIA PAINTING

Hey Friends, The DLP's installed the new show "SPRING SENSATIONS" at 2nd Helpings Gallery in Roanoke on Williamson Rd.  This painting is hanging in the show along with a few more I will post about soon.

This is how it started it's life.  I gelled some quotes and words on to an 18x24 deep canvas along with a few pieces of hand colored papers.

I kept adding papers in the blue sky and the green grassy areas.

Here is a close up of one corner and maybe you can see some of the verbiage.  You can click on the image to make it bigger.

And here is what it would like hanging on your wall.  It is varnished and wired and ready to hang.

Shipping is free in the continental US.

It is available at my website FASO.

Repros and pillows and such are available at FAA.

Hope to see you at 2nd Helpings Sat. the 8th from 1-3 for our reception.  We will be painting and visiting with you.

Happy Trails

TWINKLE TWINKLE - Original Landscape Painting

Hey Friends,  This Painting was created because I wanted to put that beautiful cloud on canvas.  I enjoy storms and all their drama probably because I've never been hurt by one

And I wanted to add a little whimsy here by using some paper with verbage on it. This paper has the little song on it. Twinkle Little Star.  I know it doesn't have anything to do with a storm but storms do happen a lot, late in the day, and then the moon and stars come out.

Whether you are a storm lover or hater, this would look good hanging on your wall. 

Check it out on my website HERE.

Or check out the prints on FAA HERE

Have a wonderful day.

Happy Trails

BROKEN WORDS - A Large Original Expressive Painting

Hey Friends,  Another expression from my sub conscience.  Symbolic of the pains we all go through in our short little lives.  Lots of words are spoken, as promises or threats, to keep us in line.  Rarely spoken from a true heart

It can hurt.  But if you wait just a little bit, a new dawn will shed new light.

You will see a new path, if your eyes are open.

Sometimes my brain surprises even me with all this melancholy or would you call it BS?!

Anyway, Hard or Easy, LIFE is GOOD.

You can purchase at my website, www.suefurrow 

OR

maybe you prefer a pillow or T-shirt at FAA.

Thanks for stopping.

Happy Trails

POND IN PEARISBURG

Hey Friends,  I remembered again to take progress shots, this is just a couple of them.

I have a photo of the wonderful pond in Pearisburg, Va. on my Chrome Book.

A closer look at the water lilies.  They were not in bloom at the time I took the photo.

That is a bridge way in the distance.

The Koi are another figment of my imagination but they fulfilled their purpose.

There were lots of reflections and sky patterns in the water.

Here is the final piece at 24" x 18".  The colors are very true.

This is available in my website, www.suefurrow.com .

I love process shots on other people's blogs and hope you enjoy them too.

Please feel free to comment.

Happy Trails

BROKEN WORDS LANDSCAPE PAINTING

Hey Friends,  I remembered to take process shots, YAY!!  I took a lot more than this but did not want you to leave bored.  I started this 24" x 24" piece as usual, trying to feel my way thru.

Even went so far as the gravel road and grass.  Looking pretty mundane at this point.

I taped some plastic over it and tried a couple thoughts and was confident enough to continue.

And this is what I ended up with.  Another YAY !!  I like it and it's abstract enough for me.  If you click on the image, you should get a larger version and maybe you can see the words.

This way of painting or maybe I should say this process, takes longer to complete.  For me it does, but the greatest reason I paint to start with is the process.  Not because of a technique or the finished product but for the process.  It is like meditation, I can be lost for hours.  And enjoy every minute.

Comments are welcome.

Happy Trails

BUCHANAN VIRGINIA HAS A SWINGING BRIDGE

Hey Friends,  Have you all been busy?  Busy with Life?  And busy with Holiday stuff?  Some people thrive on this season.  Seems like I remember being that way, years ago.  Maybe it was because I had kids at home then.  Or maybe because I worked in the holiday decorating industry.  Or could it be because I have now turned into a stogy old crumpet?   NAH !

On to something more pleasant.  I just picked out, randomly, something I have painted recently.

Above was my starting point.  It is 24x18, acrylic on canvas.

I am attempting to simplify and abstract the scene of the swinging bridge over the James River in Buchanan, Va.  Not very far from my home here in Salem, Va.

I bet I know what you are thinking, Simplified maybe BUT abstracted?  No Way.

One little detail photo.

And I agree with you.  This might be as simple as I can get, right now.  At this point in my journey.  Heck, this might be IT !?  Only time will tell.

This was a rather tuff painting for me.  Always questioning what I should do next.  In spite of all the doubts, I kinda like it.

More to come.  I have painted several in the last month and can't wait to start on the next one.  As soon as I decide what it should be.

Hope all of you dear friends are enjoying your shopping and wrapping.  Hope you get to see all that you love this year.

Happy Trails

Travel Safely

New Work added to Website and FAA

Hey Friends,  I have finished a few new pieces of work this weekend.  This one above is available in my website, HERE, which is FASO and prints can be had HERE, inFineArtAmerica.

I am working to free myself from the representational.  Most of my life has been spent creating something we recognize.  I no longer feel the happiness it used to be.  My work now is headed in the direction I want to go.  Expressing a different view or a different idea. 

Such as this piece "Listen with Your Heart".  It has a tree and a barn but that's not the focal point.  It is the free spirit, looking to the future and hope for our kind.  I could never be happy without Mother Nature and I'm afraid the future generations will never see it.

This piece is meant to be uplifting, not sad, when you listen to my words.  But it needs to be said, and by a ga-zillion more like me.

LISTEN

Happy Trails

NEW SHOW HANGING AT THE JEFFERSON CENTER IN DT ROANOKE

Hey Friends,  We, the DLP's, hung our show of new work at the Jefferson Center yesterday.

A wide assortment of work to peruse.  And if you click HERE you can see a few more photos.

Top photo, 2 landscapes on the ends are my work.  And this photo has 2 of my abstracts.

And here is a defibrillator  device with my abstract "Can't You Feel My Heart Beat" ( do you remember that old song?) hanging OVER it, not under it !!  I have tried, at least a dozen times to straighten this photo.  Could be my computer but I know how to do it and it looks correct in the folder it's saved in but when I load it to blogger it flips !!  WHY?

This is a great show and I hope you will allow enough time to see it when you go for one of their performances.  CLICK HERE to see their schedule

Glad you stopped in.

Happy Trails

ANOTHER GREAT DAY FOR PAINTING ! ! !

The only way to see the video is to go to the blogger site by clicking up there on the title of this post or on "Dairy of a Madd Painter up there.  And I just found out this video is 2 seconds long, the battery died.  Man, what a learning curve.  Hoping to get better at this.

Hey Dear Friends,  Hope your day was fun and fruit full like mine.  The painting above was started a month ago in the field.  Just got back to it and finished it.  I'm going to title it Fleece Vines 'cuz I think that's what the pinkish blooms are.

I made 4 videos today.  Of me painting 3 different works.  And they are all to long (too many MB) for Blogger.  Has to be less than 100MB.  I just need to figure out how many minutes or seconds that is ! 

Sheesh, as if computers aren't enough work already.

So whadda ya do with videos that are too long?  Get a YouTube Channel you say?  Well maybe I'll fool with that some day, when I can't get outside.

The video here is about trying Robert Burridge's technique.  I've seen several of his Bob Blast's and I've been hankering to try something new.

I've always painted fairly realistically and I just want to stretch a bit.

I have had this argument with myself for years.  the Art Establishment/Galleries say you should pick one technique, or one subject, or one theme and stick with it for years.  They say it will confuse your collectors to change.  Well, my feeling is "If you're a world famous artist this might be true".  But for me (since I'm not famous) I don't think it matters much.

We are always reading that we should follow our Bliss and paint what we want to see, so that's what I'm doing.  At least until I'm bored.  I really want to paint abstracted landscapes or maybe it's called expressive landscapes.  Whatever,  maybe I'll wind up with Suescapes.  HA.

More coming your way, so stay tuned!  And any healthy advice is welcomed.

Happy Trails

FINALLY - A DAY OF PAINTING !!!

Hey Friends,  It has been a great day here in the steam bowl of SW Virginia, also known as the Roanoke-Salem area.  The photo above was taken when my paint group, DLP, was at the Peaks of Otter on the Blue Ridge Parkway last month.  I started 3 paintings that morning.  I finally finished one today.

And I had my wits about me and took the camera out to the studio for progress shots

I even made a tiny, 30 second video, at the bottom of this post.

This is a sycamore tree that may be in it's final stages of life.  Slowly, limb by limb, they die.

Almost finished here, about another hour will do it..  This is on a gesso'd panel.  My favorite surface.

I do love the "YES" canvas but the gesso'd masonite is the best.

And here is the little video, I do hope it works.  I have one of my favorite CD's play in the background.  That would be, Beaux Jacque and the Hi-Rollers.  A zydeco band from Louisiana.

It's hard to paint while they are playing.  All she wants to do is dance!

I will post my others in a day or so.  I may hate them in the morning.

Thanks for your visit.

Happy Trails

LAVENDER FESTIVAL AT EVERGREEN WAS FABULOUS

Hey Friends,  This post will be a bit long.  I'm just trying to show you what you missed!

After scouting around I found this spot I liked.  The view is to the left.

I had to bleach the background out a bit to make the painting show up.  I was sitting in the shade.

I love it when others show their palettes so I did one.

I was set up right next to a huge line for burgers and along came a sweet little shy pup called Carly.  She is a cock a poo just like MeeMee except the color of beautiful rust.  She had the same nature as MeeMee ! Loved her.

OK, almost finished!  This is 8x16 inches.

As I said, I was next to the line of burger lovers and talked with most of them.  This lady in white tank top was trying her best to dodge the camera BUT I got her.  It would be nice to know that she saw this blog post.

Then I went around to the other end of the Craft Hut to start another painting.  Small 6x8 this time.  And this was another high traffic area.  Lots of people going inside to see the lavender workshops, so I was able to talk with lots more about our workshop.

Here is a view of the folks picking lavender for their own use.  I hope there is enough left for our workshop.  This festival reminds me a lot, of a festival I attended, years ago, in France.  It was actually a wine fest but it was on a family farm and the landscape was beautiful but mostly the people are what jogged my memory.  They were all happy, smiling, friendly and seemed grateful, as if life was really good.  I loved it all and was so happy I did not miss it.

Go to Evergreen's website to register for the workshop.  CLICK HERE.

Hope to see your smiling face next Sat.

Happy Trails