Day 11: "30 in 30"

I doubled up painting hours the last two days in order to paint a commission piece.  This painting, entitled "Eastern Sierra Mountains, Bishop, Calif." was fun to paint, and I hope my clients will be happy with it.  I am posting it as part of my "30 in 30" challenge, so you can get a sneak "peak" at it (no pun intended).  I enjoy doing commissions and will be happy to do one for you. It gives me great joy to paint for someone else's surprise!  Tomorrow, I will get back to my ranch theme, so please tune in.

 

 "Eastern Sierra Mountains, Bishop, Calif."
12" x 16"
Commission piece

Day 10: "30 in 30"

This painting is a slight departure from my "All Things Ranch" theme (except that I did start painting it at the ranch). I used my daily painting time today to put the finishing touches on this piece, "Reflecting on Lake Springfield," just in time to donate it to the Denim and Diamonds auction. The auction will be held October 12 in Springfield, Illinois to benefit the Simmons Cancer Center of SIU School of Medicine. I grew up on Lake Springfield and spent many hours water-skiing, sailing and swimming. When I returned home to visit last month, I was flooded with fond memories of the Lake, and somehow the beckoning of the Adirondack deck chairs and the beautiful boathouse called me to paint this scene.  I hope this painting goes to a good home and raises lots of funds for the Cancer Center, which helps so many people!  

 

 

 "Reflecting on Lake Springfield"
12" x 16"
SOLD.  Donated to Denim and Diamonds.

Day 9: "30 in 30"

This painting celebrates the cowgirl, the tough rancher who works cattle day-in-and-day-out, from gathering to sorting to roping, doctoring and branding.  Two years ago, at my first branding, a neighborhood event, I took lots of pictures as the dust was flying, cows were bellowing, and smoke filled the air. I continue to be amazed at the roping skills of the cowgirls and cowboys who come to help each other get the job done.  I would much rather paint the scene than be caught in the middle of flying hooves, ropes and branding irons in a small pen.  Cowgirl up, my rancher girlfriends!

 "Cowgirl Up"
12" x 9"
SOLD

Day 8: "30 in 30"

When I first moved to California from Chicago in 1990, I ran around like a kid in a candy store, smelling flowers and admiring the abundant fruit growing on trees everywhere. Thus I feel tremendously blessed to have an orchard at our ranch--where the trees overflow every spring and summer with lemons, oranges, apples, pears, grapefruit and many other types of fruit. Just the smell of orange blossoms makes me giddy with happiness.  Today's painting depicts a tree branch with luscious lemons just begging to be picked.  It's time for lemonade!

"Orchard Lemons," 8" x 10"
$440

Day 7: "30 in 30"

The expression on this bovine's face caught my eye, just as the cattle trailer was about to be unloaded at the Templeton market, where the livestock are auctioned off.  I'm not sure if this is a heifer or a steer, but either way, I'm sure it is hoping to end up as some aspiring youth's 4-H project.  The hard lines of the trailer required lots of intense concentration on my part today.  I hope you like the result.  I have reached the end of the first week of my 30-day painting challenge!  Only three weeks left...

 

 "To Market, to Market"
9" x 12"
$495

Day 6: "30 in 30"

I struggled with this painting, starting more than once, perhaps because it had tension and strong emotion behind it.  Last fall, we added a new brown-and-white paint horse, Luke, to our herd.  After separating him from the other horses for a few days, in which they could only sniff over the fence, we decided it was time to let him get acquainted up close.  We put him in the round pen with our alpha gelding, Blue, a smoky charcoal-and-white paint horse.  They started out okay, sniffing and acting curious, but then, before we knew it, they turned their hindquarters toward each other and began an all-out kicking fight for dominance.  I had never seen this happen before!  My daughter snapped a photo and video as I jumped in to intervene.  Surprisingly, the smaller horse, Blue, won the round, and today he still maintains his alpha position.  It all ended well, as all of our mares and geldings are now good friends!

"Dueling Paints" 
11" x 14"
$605

 

Day 5: "30 in 30"

It is Day 5, and I felt the need to stretch out and do a landscape.  I chose my favorite scene at the Blue Moon Ranch--dinnertime--when the horses wander down to the pasture to feed.  This painting depicts the 100-year-old Redwood barn on the property, and the chestnut Quarter Horse Biscuit, our first ranch horse, who has since passed away.  This scene will forever be etched in my memory and in my dreams.  

 

"Pasture Dreams"
11" x 14"
$605

Day 4: The "30 Paintings in 30 Days" Challenge

Today's painting is of the wild daffodils which bloomed last April at our Blue Moon ranch.  Considering that we are in our second year of drought, and the earth is currently dry as dust, it is amazing to me that the spring still brought forth green grass and daffodils, along with many beautiful wildflowers, which made me (and our horses) supremely happy.  I pray for rain this fall and winter, to end the drought and bring water again to the Central Coast. I hope you enjoy this whimsical painting.  

 "Wild Daffodils, Blue Moon Ranch"
10" x 8"
SOLD Donated to cancer auction

Day 3: The "30 Paintings in 30 Days" Challenge

I have been wanting to paint this picture for a couple of years, and finally got around to it, thanks to the challenge!  It depicts a cowboy leading his horse home after a long cattle round-up.  Ranch life is rough, and a good cowboy depends on his loyal horse to get him through.  We ask much of this majestic beast of burden, and the horse gives back, willingly, even when he could do otherwise.  Here I celebrate the horse and the unique bond between him and his partner.

Day 3:  "Headin' Home"
9" x 12"
$495

 

Day 2: The "30 Paintings in 30 Days" Challenge

In this painting, I tried to capture the Charolais Bull's serene expression, along with the tranquility of the field from which he stands watch over his herd of cows and calfs at the Blue Moon Ranch in Central California.  The late afternoon or early evening is my favorite time of day to paint, as I love the long shadows and soft light.  Both my husband and father-in-law said this is their favorite painting yet, and I think that has something to do with the fact that it is their bull!  

Day 2: "Charolais Bull, Blue Moon Ranch"
9" x 12"
$495
 

Day 1: The "30 Paintings in 30 Days" Challenge

My theme for the 30-Day Challenge is "All Things Ranch."  For the first day, I started with a painting of a little rosebud that sprouted up last spring next to the ranch house window.  If you are interested in this piece, please let me know.  I am offering my daily 30-day paintings at a reduced price, and all will be framed in beautiful wooden plein air frames with museum glass.  Thank you for following my blog and I look forward to starting another painting on Day 2! 

Day 1:  "Ranch Rose
" 8" x 10"
SOLD

Shape by Shape: The Freedom of Painting without a Sketch

This summer I got on a painting roll. During my stay at our Blue Moon Ranch in Central California, I started experimenting with a new way to paint. I had recently purchased a sample pack of 5x7-inch sanded Ampersand pastel boards at the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) biannual convention in Albuquerque. Armed with these small surfaces, I set out to paint. Inspired by the demonstrators at IAPS, including Carole Katchen, Donna Yaeger and Marla Baggetta, I wanted to just dive in and paint freely. They had encouraged me to experiment and not be afraid to fail. So this time I abandoned my usual first step--the sketch. Instead, I boldly jumped in with a blocking technique to add one shape after another and feel my way through the painting. Voila! It was such a liberating feeling! Forgetting about what subject matter I was seeing, I simply observed lights and darks, warm and cool colors, and positive and negative space. Suddenly the image began to emerge, and it looked fresh and exciting. It took nearly eight years of pastel painting to develop the confidence to do this. Here are the first three paintings I did, quickly and simply.  

Prancer, 5x7

Papa Rooster, 7x5

Ranch Hands, 5x7

Next, I wanted to take this technique to the next level, by using a larger surface size and more complex subjects. On my trip to Springfield, Illinois to visit my parents, I challenged myself to see what would happen. Still, without sketching a single line, I blocked in shapes with the pastels, one at a time. Here are the paintings I completed there. The first one is on a multimedia pastel panel and the other two on the Ampersand board.  

 

Watching Over the Brood, 9x12

Sunrise, Lake Springfield, 11x14

Romping Around, 11x14

The last one, a painting of my Arabian horse, Gracie, was the most difficult, as I needed to capture the anatomy of a horse and her movement through the space toward me, all without sketching.  I started with her face and blocked in from there, making a few spatial marks in the foreground and background for reference.    

Blocking in the painting of Gracie.

I hope you enjoy these paintings as much as I enjoyed the process. Now I feel ready to start painting everything in sight! This fall I will take on a "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge, so look out! Artist Leslie Saeta is sponsoring the challenge, beginning August 30. Check it out at lesliesaeta.blogspot.com. 

By the way, If you are interested in any of these paintings, they are all available for purchase. Please contact me through my website.  Thank you!