NEW QUARANTINED PAINTINGS

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Hi My Friend,  I know you are busy, like me, will try to keep this short.  I added new work done during the quarantine to my Ebay store and DPW.  The top piece was a humor problem I have ...everything is supposed to be humorous!   If you had as trouble as I did finding toilet paper and sanitizer you may not think it is too funny, but that is my problem.

The other two were done from memory.  Mom's old mail box she keeps gloves and tools in for the garden and the old shelter/shed that could fall any time.  Just junk under there mostly.  Lots of times we put the old golf cart under there.

Hope you will sign up for email updates her because I intend to give away small original paintings this year.   I wish all of you a long healthy, happy life.

HAPPY TRAILS

NEW ART HANGING AT PENNY LANE AND AN INVITATION TO THE CRITTER SHOW

Hey Friends,  We, the DLP's, hung new paintings at the new and fabulous, Penny Lane Gift Shop, on West Main St., Salem, Va.   Hope you can stop by soon.

They also have some very cute stuffed critters for Easter and candy eggs too!

And here is the  official invitation to the reception on Sat. April 9th from 1-3pm for the CRITTER show at 2nd Helpings Gallery in Roanoke, Va.

Do hope you will come over to chat with us.

I'm displaying polar bears and I know the other ladies will have cats, dogs, burros, birds and more!

Happy Trails

Out Collecting Reference Photos with the DLP today

Hi Friends, Today was a beautiful, sunny day, BLUE sky.  So the DLP and I took a little trip to gather some reference photos to work from for a big exhibit coming up soon at the Arts Depot in Abingdon, Va.

Top is at Claytor Lake State Park and this (above) is where we started at the Draper Mercantile.  I had never been here (I really need to get out of the house more) and it is a really nice place with great food.  And they have live music on Friday nights and PIE !!

And here is a closeup of me and a couple tools and a cradled panel.  Getting ready to start slinging some paint for this show coming up !!

I will keep you posted so you don't miss it.

Hope you can make it.

Happy Trails

PLEIN AIR PAINTING TODAY

 

Hey Friends,  A few shots to prove to you I'm still alive AND still painting.

#The Double Line Painters went to the little "Rotary Park" on Rt.419 also on the Greenway.

 

We all started one or two that will probably be finished back in the studios.

 

The water level is extremely low right now.  We need a long, steady rain of several days.

Don't think this is going to happen.

 

I suspect most of these little paintings will end up in our "150 Challenge".  Or maybe some of the festivals coming up this fall.

I'm pretty busy painting for our "Elements Show" and the Lynchburg and Pearisburg shows.

AND playing with the Gran Babes right now too.  They will be back in school soon so gotta enjoy summer while we can.

 

Thanks for coming by.

HAPPY TRAILS

IT'S GREAT TO BE BUSY, BUSY

 

Hey Friends,  Meet up with my plein air buddies this morning at Longwood Park in Salem, Va.

We had to put a base coat of color on some canvas for our workshop, being held at Evergreen Lavender Farm in Appomattox this Saturday morning.

You still have time to register (it's almost full) just click the purple above.

 

Top photo is what I'm working on in this photo.  I scrubbed it off and started over.  What a waste.

 

 

Did not have to scrub this one off.  This will be at the Little Gallery on Smith Mountain Lake soon I hope.  Will post a new blog to let you know for sure.

 

Thanks for coming by.

 

Happy Trails

Electric Lines

 

Hey Friends,  This mini was painted after a walk through the neighborhood.  On Wildwood Rd., right off I81, most of this summer, VDOT, has been sprucing up the pavement or AEP (I assume) has been cutting down trees.  Lots of trees have grown into the electric lines and needed to come down before winter arrived.  They also replaced the poles with taller ones and farther from the road.  They did a great job too.

 

Of course the old poles with their boxes and cans make a more pleasant painting, so I've got enough photos to last a lifetime.  And we know the birds don't mind perching on new wires.

Still having problems with the DPW sight but you can click HERE for Ebay.

 

Happy Trails

Autumn Colors and Jefferson Center

 

Hey Friends,  This colorful painting is for auction on Ebay starting at .99.

Click Here to add to your collection.

 

This painting is large at 24" sq. and will be hanging in the Holiday Show at the Jefferson Center this Dec. 2nd.    Go, enjoy looking at all the art work.

 

Happy Trails

Spirea and Iris on the Driveway

 

Hey Friends, The painting above was painted last Sunday, 5-25, and a couple photos of the work in progress below.  It's up for auction in Ebay now, CLICK HERE

 

 

It's a struggle to get the values right when outside in the bright sunlight.  I started with a dark warm brown canvas, as you can see above.  I think it helped.

 

 

This photograph looks more like or is closer to the real colors and values of the painting.  The top piece is scanned and looks too dark to me.

Just adding a side note here, on the other side of this scene on the driveway , my brother drove up to find a rattlesnake there !   Yuck Yuck - I can't stand a slithering snake, none of them, much less a poisonous rattler.  I went to Northwest Hardware and bought a bag of sulfur to sprinkle a band around the house.  Supposedly snakes will not cross the line.  Ordinary snakes, a band 4" wide, for rattlers, a band 8" wide !  The bag says this.

 

Anyway, Come to the Sedalia Center Artisan Fair tomorrow, Saturday May 31st.

I will be there with my painting buddies, the Double Line Painters of the Blue Ridge.

Have a great weekend

Happy Trails

Travel Safely

"the Crazy People at the Top of the Hill"

Hey Friends,  This is an on going series, I have been painting for years.  The early paintings have all sold, so I've started numbering them  This is #4 on a wrapped canvas 8x10.  The sides are painted the same green colors.  There is a huge history behind these paintings.  A history that can choke you so I doubt if it'll be coming out soon.
This is late evening, the sun was burning up the dry foliage.  Click here for Ebay.
Happy Trails
Travel Well

No School Today !

Hey Friends,  I thought maybe some of my friends that aren't local would like to see what happened here last night !  Above, looking out the front door.  There are birds, can you see them?

This is a slightly better shoot.  I think some of them might be Junco's.  I filled the feeder and new suet yesterday before it all started.  But I forgot to get the shovels out of the crawl space.  Duh.

This is my famous field up there.  I've painted this field at least a hundred times.  New goat house at the top.  It is 10:30 AM EST and it is still coming down lightly.

Here is a blurry shot of the deep snow.   Yep, that's 12 inches and still coming down.

Here is the dead giant pine right beside my studio (used to be my Dad's workshop).  I really thought that when I saw it this morning it might be down or missing a lot of limbs.  But No, it is hanging on.  The woodpeckers had a good time on it last summer.  I assume it died of old age.
Now I need to get busy with that brush.

Happy Trails
Happy Shoveling

Art by Night at Gallery 108

Hey Friends,  A photo I took just a couple hours ago while at the LAST ABN for Gallery 108 forever.

Seems pretty sad in so many ways but most of the artists are already anxious to try new venues and new shows.  Most are happy for a change especially the original founding members, they have been working all the details behind the scenes, long hours !

So as a good-bye the gallery is giving you a 20 % discount on everything in the gallery - everything!!

I know you can find some beautiful gifts at good prices.  The doors close on Dec. 31st.

Now come out to TINKERINGS on Main Street in downtown Salem tomorrow, Sat. the 8th.  The Double Line Painters will be demonstrating IN the window.  It will be fun, and Tinker has beautiful handcrafted gifts too.  Support your local business'.

Happy Trails
Travel Well

Commission Work

Hey Friends, Yesterday I had my favorite little man for 4-5 hours. The photo above is Nic in the swing and I'm laying on the ground clicking away. I was after reference photos for my swing paintings! He was pretty entertained by me laying on ground. He is such a sweetheart.
I thought I'd show you what I've been working on for a while. I haven't painted with oils for a long time so I'm pretty slow. I'm catching up now, I think. The photo above is the initial block in. Already I'm not happy with it. Everything is in a line. And even though that's pretty much how it is in real life - it doesn't make for a good composition. S0000-0-0-0-------
Here I've painted out the arbor bench and made the pond bigger. This seems to give more of an aerial perspective. So now I"ll put the bench back in, lower in picture plane and rotate it to the right. There will be 2 children and a dog in here also. And the pond doesn't look exactly like this, but I wanted to see inside so the beautiful Koi and plants show up better. The lady that commissioned this painting has worked real hard to landscape her yard and it is beautiful. Hope I can do it justice.
Happy Trails.

Morning Walks

Hey Friends, Love my morning walks !!! Every morning some Doves are perched on wires. In the very same spot. Usually two, sometimes three. I try every morning to get a photo. This one isn't too bad. One day all 3 will line up just right, just for a photo.

Much further into WildWood Road, I came across this beautiful scene. A dry creek bed. The stones here in Salem, Va. are gorgeous ! BUT then................................

When I looked directly down (I'm standing on a little stone bridge) at a small puddle of water, that seems to be churning !!! I'm thinking must be a spring making the water move !

UH - Uwwwww.......Yukkie............YUK.............YUK.............Sorry folks .... I can't stand SNAKES!

I know they're good for something, but I still can't stand the thoughts of them. And I hate to look at "em. Can you see it in the upper right??

I'll post something a little more pleasant next time. Have a great weekend.

Happy Trails.

Wabbit

Hey Friends, I'm posting this, mainly, for Lillie. We went for our walk to the pond and I told her I saw a little brown wabbit nearly every morning sitting beside the pond. So as we are walking, she is praying,( with eyes closed and still walking) that the bunny will be there. I believe she thought she would be able to catch it. As expected, there was no bunny. This was an evening walk and I see the wabbit on my morning walk.

I explained, the wabbit had gone home. It has to be real careful about getting home before it gets dark so the coyotes and foxes can't find him. That made sense to her and she was glad the wabbit was safe.

SO o o o o o. Lillie !!!! Here is that silly Wabbit !!! I saw him this morning .....I Love You.

Happy Trails.

New Books !!!!!!!

Hey Friends, A quick post to let you know I'm still hanging on. Doing well inspite of the 100 degrees that keeps hanging on too. Still walking, early in the mornings. Still loving it !
I just bought the two books pictured above, from Mr. Schmid's "Stove Prarie Press" site.
Fan-tab-ulous !!! Love their work. A tiny bit disappointed in Ms. Guzik's book. It is so minimally (is that a word?) illustrated. And I know she has painted a bazillion pictures so they could have included more. As it is there is one pictured on one page, nothing on the backside of the page except titles,etc.
Of course Mr. Schmids is big in size (love that) and lots of paintings pictured (love that) and it cost 3 times as much as Nancy's.
So the point is they could have done more with her book for a little more money.
Blah Blah - Like I know anything about making money or paintings.

Hope every last one of you are having great summers ! School will be back soon.
Happy Trails.

A SHORT WALK

Hey Friends, Today I took a short walk or a stroll just to be outside. I live in Salem, Va. next to a tiny stream of water called Gum Springs. This little spring is dry most of the year. When we are lucky enough to get rain, usually the spring, I love to walk around the area just to look at the water. The photo above is directly at the bottom of our gravel, muddy driveway. Pretty small at this point. In a couple of months the area to the left will be covered in day lillys. In another 2 weeks or so, there will be a bunch of May Apples, Dog Tooth Violets, Jack in the Pulpits and several other wildflowers along with daffodils and perennial geraniums springing up everywhere. This is the best time of the year.

In the photo above, I'm further down the stream and its getting a bit bigger. Can you see the moss growing on the big rock? This is a very rocky area and most of them have moss growing on them. Again the Dog Tooth Violets are sprouting already. I have painted these wildflowers many times and this little spring also.

Now I'm almost to the end of our little country road. This farmer made a dam to create this little pond. Gum Springs flows into it and out again and on for several miles to merge with the Roanoke River. Don't know why he wanted this pond, he has no horses or cows. He probably likes the ducks that visit. I took a bunch of photos that I plan to use as reference for paintings. So come back again to see what I've done with the paint. Have a wonderful weekend and get outside, life is much shorter than you realize.

Happy Trails.

NATIONAL ART CONTEST-REFELECTIONS

ART CLASS AT EAST SALEM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

An art class designed to help inspire the children to make a piece of artwork that makes them think "WOW"!!!!! This national contest can be whatever makes you say WOW in art, music,literature, photography and more. (can't remember the rest).

This was my first attempt at teaching anybody anything! And I must say it was overwhelming. As you can see from the fifth photo, there were 30 children. THIRTY! Mostly ages six to ten or so. That's way too many kids for me. I don't think I was able to get across any ideas or suggestions. I tried to show them how to do a little blending but we were using finger paints. As it turns out - finger paints are very transparent (no body at all). So you can't really blend or buildup with them. I never would have thought that finger paints are so hard to work with. Some children used colored pencils and pastels along with the paint. Some choose to do photography. All in all, they seemed to have a good time! As expected, some turned out some pretty good little paintings. A couple of the photos show how good some are and some show whats on their minds. One photo of Rachael's daughter, shows her pride with a vase of flowers.

This entire post is totally screwed up! I wanted to show a couple of photos then some text, then more photos, more text. But as you can see, I can't figure out how to do that. So, my apology to Rachael. I really wanted this to look good. To look like it was posted by someone that knew what they were doing!!! Maybe Rachael can go in under the comments and post a link to this contest site.

Anyway, the very first photo is of my little sweet grandbaby. The owner of my heart! She had a good time. Had 3 juices and popcorn and ran around giving good advice.

PS-I have no idea why there is so much space between my blocks of text. Maybe blogspot has changed something with the formatting. Don't know.

Hope you enjoyed!