The Rio Chama is a branch of the Rio Grande River in New Mexico. It flows through the Chama River Canyon Wilderness and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Country like this is public land, subject to the rules and regulations to help preserve it, but also vulnerable to the whims and politics of the times. It is host to a variety of wild life and the beauty of the American Southwest.
Oil, 11×14, cotton canvas panel.
I don’t know if I have published this image before . . . . I have a feeling I did, but cannot find it. Of course, with all the stuff I have here on IY&B, it makes sense.
I painted this a few years ago. I worked really hard to get soft tones and paints. I had been working mostly in acrylics when I picked up the oils and was used to the hardness I seem to produce with acrylics. So, with the blendability of oils, that was my focus of the exercise.
The results here have been sitting around for ages with the thought the painting could use a bit of work. Looking at it now, it seems finished enough. I am pleased with the moodiness and sense of a damp woodland as well as how you can tell it is a misty day by the colors of the sky through the trees.
Oils, 10×14 canvas panel.
A hot, humid day with rain coming or going. Summer is leaving, time soon to bring in the harvest. Late afternoon.
I am totally into lavender fields! The bright colors just make you happy, and when in contrast to the warm yellows and golds of other plants, how can you not but rejoice in nature?
Yeah, it sounds corny, but landscapes and the countryside, no matter where, just make me happy. It can be in gentle countryside like here, in the desert, in the mountains – all just touches me and brings a bit of peace.
Oils, 10×14, cotton canvas panel.
I don’t know why, but I always thought these were called “plane trees,” but it turns out they are poplars. We don’t have them here in SoCal. The ones we do have that look similar – in the sense they are narrow trees that grow tall – can be a type of juniper or eucalyptus. I am really drawn to these trees because of their fine branches and leaves which change in the fall.
If you read my blitherings, you know that I am enrolled in an oil / acrylic painting class which meets weekly, and have been in it for several months. I chose oils as they can be worked on over several days with the paint remaining wet over a period of time. What I like about oils is they blend easily and a softness can be achieved (by me, at least) that I can never get when I use acrylics. In this painting, I worked on both simplification and abstraction of various elements of the painting as well as atmospheric perspective. I only considered this painting “finished” when I added some squiggles in the water to suggest movement.
Overall, I am pleased with my results. I have spent several months gazing at it. It never seemed done until those little squiggles showed up. Crazy, huh?
Oils, 12×16, cotton canvas panel
This is sort of an amalgamation of pictures and buildings. It may be part monastery, part hospital, part something. So, “Insititution”.
A few goals here. First, a building of some complexity. Next, contrast on the building with sunny areas and shady areas. Mission accomplished, sort of!
I also used gouache, white and black, for different areas of the painting.
Watercolors, Arches rough 140# 10×14 paper.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 