Monday, February 28, 2011

New Abstract Painting: "Backstage"





BACKSTAGE       oil on canvas        12" x 12"




the setting sun painting the Bullion mountains blue and red yesterday




Sunday, February 27, 2011

Abstract Painting: "Markers"


this painting makes me think of the Washington Monument and the Vietnam Memorial wall..



MARKERS         oil on canvas      8" x 8"

...the phrase "markers in the fabric of time" came into my consciousness this morning...how my life could be that, or my child, or my paintings....



.



Saturday, February 26, 2011

Storm Clouds Coming In Yesterday




about an hour before sunset



after sunset

it rained a bit last night, more possible today and tonight...now at 9am there is some blue sky, sunshine and a pale quarter moon visible...a stiff wind is keeping the wind chimes busy...
and large patches of green stuff are showing in the sand


Friday, February 25, 2011

Andrew Crane, John Luckett and a Fire Painting

I like to look at Brit Andrew Crane's work that he publishes on his blog.  This morning I was thinking I hadn't seen anything new for a while, wondering if he was on vacation or what...sure enough in my inbox is a notification of a new post...and not just one, but TWO paintings that are 12 feet tall and 7 feet wide...no, he was not on vacation....
I like to look at Andrew Crane and John Luckett, who works nearby in the Joshua Tree area, because their work is wonderful to me, and they are producing abstract expressionist work on flat surfaces, which is my primary interest.  Very inspiring.


So I continue to paint...here is the most recently completed painting:


BURNING OF STRAW DOGS
oil on canvas    48" x 36"

(title references Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching Chapter 5)


Thursday, February 24, 2011

Morning Details



silver moon just after sunrise



first sun lighting the dew on the tiny plants growing out of the sand



flowering plum







and the very first Carolina Jasmine flower of 2011, blooming near where Roadrunner roosts every night





Wednesday, February 23, 2011

February Cactus Wrens





the cactus wrens are busy gathering stuff to make soft nests in the middle of the cholla cacti




here it is bracing itself against the sand to pull twigs loose




on lookout in the nearby yucca




Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Monday, February 21, 2011

Simple Beauty




Sheephole Mountains northeast of the town of 29 Palms, shortly after sunset today...view from the end of my driveway


Saturday, February 19, 2011

Friday, February 18, 2011

Headline: SUN APPEARS AGAIN



I wake up early, the sky just beginning to lighten above a large soft dark gray cloud...beaneath the cloud is a sliver of pale yellow light just above the horizon...

a half hour later it is bursting with color as our planet turns toward its sun-star

(what looks like a small black dot in the center is a raven)

again I am awed by all this predictability in this world where I seem to be constantly asked to venture into the unknown...and I guess I ask for it to be that way...

"Life is always either a tightrope or a featherbed.  
Give me the tightrope."         — Edith Wharton 






Thursday, February 17, 2011

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Raven Croak




there are lots of superstitions about dark birds...I have come to love Raven's hoarse echoing croaking (and their rarer, more musical singing)...and the way the sun gleams on its shiny feathers as its fluid wings play across the sky, enriching this desert paradise...



Saturday, February 12, 2011

February Morning, Mojave


clear, 45 degrees F at 8am, air filled with the resonating sounds of doves calling


mist at the base of the mountains in the northeast




telephoto of Mt San Gorgonio in the west, with the neighbor's suguaro, planted 35 years ago when he moved here, an amateur astronomer, for the clear skies and to raise his family... 




Thursday, February 10, 2011

Exploring the Hills West of Landers


it's been cool at night, almost freezing...mostly clear skies...warm in the sun in the middle of the day, perfect for exploring...


this was shot from the hills that slope westward towards the mountains from Landers, looking east northeast towards the bulk of Goat Mountain and the Sheephole range in the distance on the right



wonderful boulder formations are not just found in the National Park



bits of green appearing in protected places



desert survivors


Wednesday, February 9, 2011

New Abstract Painting: "Spinning Sea"




SPINNING SEA              oil on canvas              30" x 40"


I am meditating about "perfection"...

"No good work whatever can be perfect, and the demand for perfection is always a sign of a misunderstanding of the ends of art."

— John Ruskin  1819-1900










Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Monday, February 7, 2011

Little Spiral Painting




LITTLE SPIRAL       oil on canvas    8" x 8" x 1.5"

available for US $170.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Swenson and Bluefield Collaborative Mini-Paintings



6" x 6"    oil on canvas    
available for US$40. each:     


LYRE




RACE COURSE



THE FIRST QUESTION




TOO MUCH PEPPER


These can be see at JTAG (The Joshua Tree Art Gallery collective) on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am - 3pm during February, or purchased directly from me or Karine Swenson.


Saturday, February 5, 2011

Friday, February 4, 2011

Mojave StormCloud Painting




MOJAVE STORM CLOUDS        oil on canvas             16" x 20"   

available for US $600.   


Thursday, February 3, 2011

New Landscapes Showing in Joshua Tree




JANUARY AFTERNOON          oil on canvas           8" x 10"    

  


CABIN ON A SUNLIT RIDGE         oil on canvas    9" x 14"

These are available at True World Gallery














Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Whirlpool Study Painting




WHIRLPOOL STUDY         oil on canvas                 14" x 18"