Nine Doorways with Sky

Here is another new painting in the Doorways Series that I am exhibiting at JTAG, where we are having our Season Opening this Friday night from 6pm to 9pm.

NINE DOORWAYS WITH SKY         oil on canvas    8" x 8"

Cool Morning Walk

this morning the sky was utterly cloudless from horizon to horizon, 365 degrees, the most lovely deep blue overhead, graced by the silver moon...

and a Mourning Dove on lookout atop a Joshua Tree

Raven soaring as only a raven can...

and when I got back to my door I found a tiny young (2 1/2") collared lizard had fallen into a little bucket and needed rescuing...this photo on the flagstone clearly shows its amazing feet, and that its tail was recently sacrificed to save its life...a new one just starting to form...this is not the first time I have found a lizard in a bucket...I try to remember to either leave buckets lying on their sides or with a stick in them so curious critters can climb out...

JTAG Opening for the Fall Season

Joshua Tree Art Gallery, known as JTAG, is having an opening celebration with new work by all the artists this Friday, 3 September, from 6pm to 9pm.

Continuing the Doorways Series, the painting below, just finished, will be included:

NINE DOORWAYS   oil on canvas    12" x 12"

New Homestead Painting

DESERT DREAM            oil on canvas             16" x 20"

and the fourth piece of the Crossroads Series:

CROSSROADS 4             oil on canvas             9" x 12"

Cloud Show Continues

Cloudburst to the southeast on Wednesday

cloudburst to the south on Thursday

this evening a thunderhead to the north as the sun goes down...

lots of lightning and thunder and wind with all of these...too beautiful for words...

Wondrous Clouds

just a cloud, directly overhead in our blue blue sky

my wide angle lens can picture only a fraction of the show the clouds have been giving us at any given moment in these past two days...

Crossroads 3

CROSSROADS 3            oil on canvas              9" x 12"

Inspiration from Michael at Box of Crayons

I subscribe to this blog, and I love this entry so much that I have to pass it on:

The Great Work Blog

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We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities – Great Work Quote 85 Posted: 25 Aug 2010 02:56 AM PDT We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities. ~ Walt Kelly I get a regular dose of quotes from Quotes of the Day, and this one showed up today. I actually laughed out loud – it’s such an elegant reminder of the possibilities that exist in every nook and cranny for Great Work if only we stopped motoring along at a gazillion miles an hour, paused for breath, and looked around us. Opportunities for connection. For impact. For fun. For friendship. For meaning. For difference. So no excuses then. Related posts: Great Work Quote #33: “Do not quit. You see, the most constant state of an artist is…” Great Quote #22: “… not a bolt to be tightened…but a seed to be planted” Great Work Quote #51: “The world is mud-luscious and…”

Desert Skies

last night's full moon with pink thunderheads

at sun-up this morning it was already 80 degrees F, sign of a hot day to come, and it was hot, leveling off at 104 F in the shade in the afternoon ...there is very little humidity, so the evaporative cooler worked like magic...

overhead the clouds were lovely...

clouds later in the morning...

even after the sun disappeared the temperature had only dropped to 98 F...

which was cool enough to go out for a walk and watch the full moon appear through the clouds...it was even more quiet than usual....no people noise whatsoever...I assume they stayed inside because of the heat...normally people go outside when the sun goes...

the only sounds were a few insects, and once, a bird...

Crossroads 2

CROSSROADS 2            oil on canvas      9" x 12"

Planting a Tree in the Desert

first step, of course, to dig a large hole

and, of course, hardpan, or caliche was encountered, at about 2 feet...

this meant a delay while it was soaked with water and chipped away at for a couple of days until a hole about 8" in diameter penetrated it so that the tree roots could grow downwards...

then water, mulch and fertilizer was mixed with the sand in the hole up to where the bottom of the 5 gallon size tree was to be planted, and left overnight to solidify...

the tree to be planted was a Chinaberry tree (berries shown above from a more mature tree planted 4 years ago), also known as an Umbrella Tree from the shape it takes as it grows larger...

and a sturdy pole was placed a little off center and tapped firmly in from a ladder with a small sledge hammer... 

by then the setting sun was turning the mountains pink and blue...

early on this blessedly cool morning the 7' tall sapling was planted and watered and secured to its stake so that the winter winds could not pull it over while its roots grow to anchor it...

and already it was casting its promising bit of shade on the studio wall...

First of Crossroads Series

CROSSROADS 1             oil on canvas           9" x 12"  

  

A Beetle, A Fly, and a Butterfly

I can see this beetle holding onto the texture of the stucco with its tiny feet

there were a fair number of these large flies buzzing around at the beginning of August, yet not pesky like little house flies...I was surprised that the close-up photo showed its faceted eyes

this small butterfly, called a Mormon Metalmark,  showed up here just one day and has not been seen since...

and tonight as I write this there is loud insect noise outside...cicadas?

LIttle Desert Scenes

SHADED DESERT HOME      oil on canvas   6" x 6"

CABIN with a VIEW      oil on board     5" x 7"

Painting Wild Melons

the beauty of these green and yellow melons gleaming in the sand was irresistible — I had to bring some into the studio and paint them:   

COYOTE MELON 1   oil on canvas   6" x 6"

COYOTE MELON 2   oil on canvas  6" x 6"

these are subtle paintings, I am not able to bring the images in so their delicacy is accurately represented...

Inspiration from the East Coast

Yesterday morning I was delighted to find an email in my inbox from Natalie in Connecticut....here is what she said:

"I checked out your work this morning and felt very emotionally moved by the simplicity, beauty of your lines and colors.  Thank you.    I am a movement teacher and ten years ago, felt a hunger to paint after seeing  Rothko's work.  I just painted on whatever I could find; boards, mostly.  Now have a funky studio where I am blessed and challenged to grow.   Thank you so much."

This is a photo from her website, where she describes doing exciting work giving the gift of freedom to paint in her classes.  www.intuitpaint.com.

Little Doorway Painting

LITTLE BLUE DOORWAY      oil on canvas     6" x 6" x 1.5"

Summer Desert Details

subtle colors of summer...

cholla ball

Texas Sage and Sixty Doorways

the Texas Sage outside my studio is in full bloom, attracting so many bees just after sunrise than it sounds like a hive...

I'm working on a new series of doorways paintings...finished this one today:

SIXTY DOORWAYS    oil on canvas     30" x 30"

below is a painting from a previous doorways series:

108 DOORWAYS    oil on board     48" x 36"

60's Watercolor Drawings

watercolor and india ink on paper     12" x 16"

watercolor and india ink on paper   16" x 12"