New Color in the Desert Palette

This morning there was a new color to paint in the desert.The ironwood trees which previously looked mostly like dead trees have woken up and are in bloom. They have lovely pink blossoms on them which are a beautiful addition to the paint palette. It was a lot of fun to add this new color to our paintings. The palo verde trees are losing their yellow flowers so the ironwoods stepped up just in time!
My second painting was a little study of a baby cactus making its way in the shade of a tree. It was hard to separate the gray of the tree and the gray of the rocks.
What another great day in May. The high will be in the 80's today. A good 10 degrees lower than we should be. I am not complaining!

That's better!

Yesterday's painting had a strange split personality. I realized later that a half hour interruption during the painting might have altered my attack at the work. (maybe just an excuse!) My friend Carole Belliveau suggested that all was well except the tree which I knew didn't go with that saguaro. This morning I softened those brushstrokes on the tree. In a matter of seconds the tree now seems to be part of the painting. It is funny to realize how a tiny bit of blending could make such a difference. The surface quality of your work has to be cohesive with the whole. My colors and values were ok, but the use of the brush and the texture it provided were not in harmony with the rest.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you....

Not my best results out in the desert today. If you look at the painting it is almost as if there were two styles fighting it out. The saguaro cactus was a multi-armed specimen that was full of blossoms. The details on it just weren't jiving with the palo verde tree, also in bloom that got me really bogged down. Neither one were speaking the same language in the way I was painting them...Oh well, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose...but you always learn a little something along the way! Besides the not so great results it was another beautiful day in the desert. We set up in the shade of the preserve's building to get out of the wind. It was actually chilly! Unheard of for this late in May!

Mother's Day

meant2be events: {blessed2be} mother's day party My daughter Regina made a design story board based on one of my paintings. She is a wedding planner extraordinaire and creates events that are stunningly beautiful. She started her business Meant 2 Be Events from scratch and has become one of Phoenix's top planners. I am a proud mom!

Degas Compositions

Today I was at the horse race track taking some reference pictures. My digital camera like many others has a delay before the photo is taken. I noticed this again and again as I took the pictures of the horses being ridden and led. I quickly realized I was ending up with cropped compositions much like the ones drawn and painted by Degas. It was a bit comforting to think of them and not get so frustrated that the photos weren't always exactly what I planned. A horse heading into the shot, or out of it, cropped off dramatically, even by accident maybe just what was needed.

Painting the Desert in May

Painting the desert this May morning was spectacular! The Palo Verde trees were in bloom this week and lots of yellow was in nature's palate today. Be sure to click on the pictures to see them bigger. I was pretty happy with the loose foreground bushes today. Yes that cactus was leaning in towards the other saguaros. They usually grow pretty straight, but once in a while they lean to the side a bit. Because of some breezes it was not too warm this morning so I had a spot in the sun. It had some nice Palo Verde (Arizona's state tree) and saguaros (their blossom is our state flower)in the view. I did my usual routine of one main painting (11x14) and then a smaller quick study (8x10). The quick one needs some more darks in the tree on the left, but I will touch it up later. I am also posting my second one from last week. You maybe able to see that the trees weren't blooming as much yet. What a gorgeous day today was! Hope the temperatures hold for a while longer!