Chihuly Perfection

Ahhh! The sun on another piece of perfection. This is just a small fragment of this particular exhibit which has approximately 150-200 pieces.

Chihuly's Blue Chandelier

Too bad I can't convey the size via the photo and again, the sun is behind the clouds. So although you can see the rich, deep blue, it lacks the sun-kissed sparkle. Fantastic piece

Another Chihuly Exhibit

This photo actually shows two of Chihuly's exhibit. The yellow in the distance is his Tree of Sunlight and the orange pieces in front (just a few pieces of approximately 75 similar shapes) are like bursts of flame. Unfortunately, these are in the shade and you miss the stunning impact of their color.

Chihuly Exhibit Entrance

If you can ever have the experience of attending a Dale Chihuly Exhibit, take it! This exhibit is at the Desert Botanical Gardens and goes thru May,2009. These 3 pieces are at the entrance of the Gardens and there are a total of 17 separate exhibits within the Gardens. As you can imagine, it is rather like going to Alaska and taking photos of the glaciers. No photos can do justice to the color, especially when the prisms of light travel thru each piece.

Peruvian Maiden II

Another version, but my photo is less than desirable on this...too fuzzy and I cropped top portion of hat. I believe I'm getting into the eyes better and the nose is better formed just by using the undiluted Burnt Sienna. Can hardly wait for my next "portrait".

Art Chix Show Dec 13-14,2008

Susan Roper took photos of all of the Art Chix and their display at our show last weekend. All involved did well, but the star of the show was Diane Eason and her fabulous art.

Peruvian Maiden

This is a little painting I did during Saturday at the Art Chix show. It was done very tiny (4x6) on a Kilimanjaro Baby Block. In an attempt to paint faces of ethnic intrigue, this was particularly appealing to me. In addition to the facial structure, the blanket and hat details satisfied my desire for small, intricate detail. The background was dropped in by "wet on wet" and then some dry brush at the finish. It was a neat exercise!

Christmas Quail

When I first started this piece last August, it was going to be my 2008 Season's Greeting card. However, even thought it is almost finished....it's not there yet. The male quail needs a bit more fine tuning and I need to deepen values more on the cactus, as well as add a thorn or two. The feathers on the female quail were an exercise in patience. The various background shades were dropped in by a wet on wet process taught to me by S.Roper and then each feather is done by a flick of the wrist with a small fan brush that is almost dry. It is watercolor on 300# and is 22"x30". Should reduce very well to a beautiful 2009 greeting card. Must admit that doing the birds was sorta fun for the first 100 strokes; after that I seriously considered naked quail....then stuffed quail....then baked....well, you can guess the rest. Will post the final when I am finished.

AZ Sunset

This was the beginning and it got more fabulous as the evening went on.

AZ Sunset

This was early in the sunset.

AZ Sunset

I took a series of photos as the evening progressed of the beautiful sunset. This is about midway thru the setting process.

Pueblo - Razor and Indio Ink

This painting was done using razor blades/black indio ink and watercolor washes. Susan Roper saw the technique used in an AAG demo and was so excited about it that she encouraged a whole group to try it in the workshop group. Using a Roper reference photo, the lines, doors, windows, etc., are all done with the razor blade and ink. Using gloves to work with the permanent ink, you dip the blade in ink and place the lines on the page. Mine was the least attractive of those completed during the workshop, but it was truly exciting to work "free hand" on blank paper. After ink was dried, the w/c wash was done. I'm quite pleased with the results and the adventure!

"Horned Owl" Gourd

Peter Quinn, a gourd artisan who is rapidly establishing a reputation for excellence, carved a replica of one of my paintings into this gourd and asked me to "fill in the blanks" with the colors used in the original painting. His burned-in sketch was so perfect, that I only wanted to tint his masterpiece. Peter and Jim Greenwald have formed an alliance - Peter's gourds have Jim's painted cartoons on them - talk about a "marriage" of talents. I understand that a selection of these one-of-a-kind craftsman masterpieces will be available for purchase at the SCG Oktoberfest.

European Street

Wanted to show my progress in the challenging stonework of this street scene. I worked on the tile roof this afternoon. Had already done some underpainting, but needed a photo of an older tile roof. My fellow artist, Barb Lang, and her photographer spouse, Charlie, sent me photos of the tile roofs in Italy. Barb took some lessons in Italy last May and Charlie took lots of photos. Still work to be done, but am rather pleased so far with the results.

City Flowers

This is a painting in the process -- with a long way to go -- lots of new challenges for me, including angles of lines, old stonework, values for shadows, and European cars. Am pleased with the building stonework on right side of painting. There is darker stonework on the center building that turned out nice (but doesn't really show in the photo), the blocked stonework on the left building is still "building" and needs to be adjusted as it is out of sync. I didn't notice that it was out of sync until I did the photo. Also, there needs to be some depth perception adjustments. My reference painting is from Arlen Madole, so I am anxious to do credible work even though this is waaaay outside of my comfort zone. Comments are welcome.

Half way down on the lift

Our free ride down was stunning - cool breezes, so silent with just the wind whistling thru the pine trees. I took this photo when we were about 2/3rds of the way down. I was so busy enjoying the elements, I forgot I had my camera. 3 more days of hiking and then we started back to Arizona. Back to the desert - back to oven-baked bottoms on leather seats - back to drops of prespiration rolling down your cheeks - but, also back to my wonderful friends at the Art Club!!

Park City, UT

After spending a few day's with Lar's daughter, Sarah, we went on to Park City, UT to spend time with friends. We arrived Monday night, and Tuesday morning we climbed this mountain - a 2.5 mile hike with 1,400 elevation gain. Our incentive - we got a FREE lift ride down the mountain. Guess they figured anyone able to make a climb like that deserved a free ride. Please note there are 3 people sitting and I am the one still standing to take the photo.

Sarah and her "Equipment"

After arriving in Vancouver, our next stop was Boise, Idaho to watch Sarah in advanced equestrian cross country event jumping, then on to Hailey, ID for a few days to visit with her. Sarah and her husband own/operate an equestrian facility south of Bellevue, ID. Sarah trains and competes -- can hardly wait until she is ready for the next Olympics. This is one of her horse trailers and trucks. And, that is her picture-perfect barn in back. They have a huge indoor arena and an even larger outdoor arena for training and practice. Pretty snazzy, huh?

Kodiak, AK

This was our typical view of the landscape, so now you know why I have such limited photos of a beautiful state. My friends, Susan and Tom Roper, took a cruise up here in May, 2008, and Susan took over 4,000 photos - all fantastic! Her paintings from some of those photos are equally fantastic!

Seward, Alaska

We were on a Resurrection Bay Wildlife Cruise out of Seward, AK. The little white dot is the Tahitian Princess. Notice how low the clouds are and it was only when we were out in the bay that you could see blue sky above the clouds. We saw lots of Orca whales, seals, birds, etc. - captain was a researcher of Orca whales, so it was fascinating to follow a family around as they played with our boat.

Totem Lodge, Ketchikan, AK

Who says whitening strips don't work on your teeth?? Clarity-wise, this is the best of the totem poles photos in Heritage Park. From Ketchikan, we went to Skagway, cruised Glacier Bay, Valdez, Seward, Kodiak, Juneau, Sitka, Victoria, and back to Vancouver.

Man of Honor, Ketchikan, AK

The Ketchikan guide advised that this was a Man of Honor, he was responsible for saving a village and the villagers honored him by carving this totem pole. There is no one above him and no one below - he was solely responsible. This is a rare event. Please note that I took this photo just before the deluge of rain. By the way, did you know that if your digital camera gets wet, you can put it in a bag of rice, close the bag, and in the morning, your camera will work again? It seems that the rice absorbs all of the moisture and condensation overnight. And you thought I didn't learn anything in Alaska....

Totem Pole - Ketchikan, Alaska

Lar and I just returned from a month of traveling. We drove from Arizona to board the Tahitian Princess in Vancouver, BC for a 14-day Alaskan cruise. I took this photo at the Heritage Totem Pole Park just outside of Ketchikan, AK. I wanted to concentrate on totem poles because my next watercolor series will focus on the figures in the poles. The weather was cold, wet, foggy, and lots of rain, so photography inexperience really comes out of the woodwork here. Not being able to use flash on interior shots really blew my opportunity to get great images that were stored inside. Please don't feel sorry for me because the weather was so cold, wet, foggy and rainy...I live in Arizona. I loved dressing in seven layers and wearing a coat and gloves. After living/working as an ex-pat in Mayfair, London, England, I enjoyed being in a maritime climate again. "Dry heat" is for the cactus wrens!!

Historial Treasures Series #115 - Tohono O'odam Pueblo Pottery, c 1800s

When I saw these two pieces of art I was taken with their stark simplicity of pattern and color. This is the first of many paintings where the background is unadorned and dark. It is black....it is American Journey Brown Derby....numerous washes give it a rich, dark, appearance with depth. It is simply framed, with no mat.

Historical Treasures Series #114 - Zia Pottery, c1890s

Sometimes pottery speaks to you...the blanket cradles the pottery on a table and the lighting was so soft and comforting. My paintbrush had a life of its own. It is a small painting (11x15) and framed in a large silver frame with no matting. It is striking in the home of a private collector.